The Peony On Your Crown

The Northern Border

It was unbearable.

Food refused to enter down his throat,
sleep didn't come easily, and if it did, vague dreams greeted him.

A huge field, full of peonies, in the centre, he was sitting with someone's head on his lap. When he turned, it was Commander Wang. Trying to snuggle in his stomach. Sleepy eyes looking up at him when he giggled.

Then a brilliant smile, full teeth on display. A duck laugh.

That was when he always woke up. Forehead covered with sweat. Cheeks covered with tears. They were no happy dreams even if they seemed so. They tortured him, to his very core.

He was to be engaged in a couple of weeks. It was now or never. He had to make a decision. It wasn't like he was running away, he just needed some answers.

He informed everyone that he wanted to do something before he got engaged. He would be back soon. He allowed only two soldiers to accompany him. They couldn't compromise his security.

He reached the northern border in two days.

Commander Wang? He was visiting a nearby village. Soldiers here got bored and often went inside villages to have some fun.

Maybe Wang Yibo went there to have some fun too. He likes women, after all.
What am I in front of all those beauties following the commander everyday. Let's wait for him to finish having fun and come back.

"Don't tell anyone about me. It's a secret visit."

He spent the night in a tent on the border, refusing to go to a nearby town and wait for the commander there. The tent itself had more than enough facilities and also looked luxurious.

The next day he did some inspection around the border. Everything seemed fine. The soldiers were in good health. No troubles from the nearby Kingdom. Trade was good and citizens happy.

But Commander Wang? He still hadn't returned.

"Do you want us to inform the commander, your highness?"

"No. I will wait. If anyone of you inform him about my arrival, I will personally behead you." He knew the soldiers were very loyal to their commander. The warning was for those who thought of informing him even after the prince said no.

No one would dare to tell him anything now.

Xiao zhan wanted to see how much fun the commander wanted to have.

The Sun set. No sign of the commander yet. His patience ran out. He called a few soldiers and went towards the village.

It wasn't that far away from the border and its size was definitely bigger than an average village.

He saw a place decorated with red lanterns without the new year. A few women were standing in front and talking with drunk men, hands around their waists and travelling lower. They giggled quietly whenever the man said something. Loud laughter could be heard over the soft music coming out of the windows. No other woman was entering in. Only men.

He knew what the place was.

A brothel.

"Is your commander inside?" He asked. He could see a few soldiers sitting there.

"No, your highness. Commander doesn't visit here." The soldier informed him.

"He doesn't? Then where does he go?"

"He actually has a little hut near the outskirts of the village."

The hut was at the very end, almost in the forest, but you could clearly see the houses of the village from there. It was just secluded and......locked.

"Then, there's only one other place he could be."

They took him to a small house, a civilian house.

"This is Lady Min's house. She's commander's......... friend."

Xiao zhan heard the implications in his voice. He didn't wait for them to knock, he unmounted his horse and pushed the door open. It wasn't even locked.

He didn't have to go much inside the house to discover them.

Commander Wang was sitting near a table, having dinner and the beautiful Lady Min was sitting close by, eating in the same plate. Thighs touching.

His eyes burned at the scene. Wang Yibo obviously saw him just then, judging by the look on his face and his hand frozen mid way.

He locked eyes with Wang Yibo to convey his thoughts, which he did successfully and left for the border again, shutting the door loudly behind himself.

Wang Yibo choked, but got up immediately to follow. The soldiers informed him of the prince's arrival. He yelled at them right there for not telling him earlier and left for the border too.

When he reached Xiao Zhan's tent, his soldiers refused to let him in. Prince's orders.

Wang Yibo understood. They could talk in the morning.

Wang Yibo sitting with that woman inside her house, doors unlocked, eating from the same plate...... the picture was plastered in his mind now.

So this was why he forgot about Xiao zhan so easily. He already had someone in his heart. Then why did he look at him with those eyes? why did he give him false hope? Why did he look heart broken when his engagement was announced? Why?

The questions seemed ever increasing.

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