GO BACK TO THE DEMON REALM

"You asked me that question when you were the one who came to me? Don't you think it's strange?" Yu Ming asked back instead of answering.

How he asked back seemed to irritate the taller man standing in front of him as he replied, "Who came to you? Just return to your pavilion! I'm not in the mood to argue with you today."

It was Wu Jingguo standing in front of Yu Ming, and the younger man looked so irritated as if Yu Ming was stomping his feet at this moment. But there was a distance of two feet between them, so it was certain that Yu Ming did not stomp on Wu Jingguo's feet. Only his words managed to annoy the Prince.

"Did Concubine Zhu scold you, Your Highness?" Instead of listening to Wu Jingguo's orders, Yu Ming chose to question the taller man.

He and Wu Jingguo separated not far from Pingheng Hall because Wu Jingguo had to go to see his mother at the concubine's quarters. The younger man did not go for so long, and not even half an hour had passed when Yu Ming once again saw the man's annoyed face.

"That's none of your business," Wu Jingguo replied. "Now, could you step aside? His Majesty told me to visit Empress Dowager today because she isn't feeling well. I was planning to visit her together with His Highness the Crown Prince, but perhaps he still hasn't returned from Pingheng Hall, right?"

Yu Ming's lips formed an "O" shape after hearing Wu Jingguo's answer. He just remembered that Empress Dowager lived in a residence near Wu Jinhai's palace. It could be said that the Empress Dowager's residence was in a corner of the Xinyang Imperial Palace, and that place was even near the forest area, but it was the woman who chose that place. Even her son was speechless about the place she chose to live.

"You are right. Your brother is still at Pingheng Hall now, Your Highness. Would you like to wait for him? Perhaps you can wait for him at his palace," Yu Ming suggested.

"I don't think I need to wait for him. I will only pay the Empress Dowager a short visit before returning to my palace as I still have some work to finish," Wu Jingguo replied.

The Second Prince looked like he had made up his mind, and he was about to leave Yu Ming and head to Empress Dowager's place, but Yu Ming suddenly remembered something and immediately grabbed the Prince's sleeve.

Wu Jingguo was forced to stop in his tracks, and he even frowned at the hand that was still holding his sleeve. Yu Ming realized what he was doing, and he carefully removed the sleeve.

"I don't mean to touch you or anything, but could you take me with you when you visit the Empress Dowager, Your Highness? I originally planned to visit her with your brother, but maybe it wouldn't be bad to visit her with you instead," Yu Ming said.

Perhaps what Yu Ming said to him was unexpected, and Wu Jingguo furrowed his brows even more after hearing what the older man had just said. "If you originally planned to visit her with my brother, then you should just wait for him. Why did you suddenly change your mind?" He asked.

Yu Ming was still standing in front of Wu Jingguo, and he still had to crane his neck because the younger man was taller than him. It was indeed a shameful fact because Wu Jingguo was much younger than him, but the man had grown much taller than him.

When Yu Ming first arrived at the Xinyang Imperial Palace years ago, Wu Jingguo was still a child, and his first impression of the young man was how mischievous he had been when he was a child. Little Wu Jingguo was very active, and he liked to play all day with the servants in the palace.

Little Wu Jingguo loved playing with kites back then, and their first interaction occurred when the boy's kite got caught in a tree branch, and Yu Ming happened to sleep on the branch. Little Wu Jingguo was angry because it was his favorite kite, and he even cried at that time. The loud noise made by the boy managed to wake Yu Ming up, and when Yu Ming was feeling very annoyed, he finally got up to get the kite for the boy. But an accident happened when the kite broke when Yu Ming pulled it from the tree branch, and Wu Jingguo's cries grew louder.

Yu Ming's first impression of Wu Jingguo after they interacted was that of a noisy and whiny child, while Wu Jingguo's first impression of Yu Ming was that of a naughty boy who bullied him by breaking his favorite kite. In short, their first impression of each other wasn't good at all, and that was why they couldn't be friendly with each other all those years ago.

Unknowingly, Yu Ming reminisced about what happened years ago, and he even took a long time to answer the young man's question.

But the man in blue still looked quite patient as he didn't immediately leave the older man who didn't give him an answer right away, and Yu Ming finally opened his mouth to reply, "I also need to do something else after this, and that's why it would be better if I could immediately visit the Empress Dowager."

It seemed Wu Jingguo wasn't the only one who had something to do today, and he raised an eyebrow before asking, "What are you going to do after this? Are you going to the Red Pavilion like you said before?"

It turned out that Wu Jingguo still remembered the conversation they had before they parted ways near the Pingheng Hall earlier today, and Yu Ming smiled at the younger man before replying, "I won't be going to the Red Pavilion after visiting the Empress Dowager. Instead, I will be returning to the demon realm after this."