REVENGE OR PROTECTION?

Yu Ming did look like a proud mother when he saw how charming Wu Jinhai was when he saw the man this morning, but he still remembered his grudge, and that was why he mercilessly pushed the younger man into the fish pond.

Of course, Wu Jinhai shouted angrily at him, but Yu Ming only laughed in satisfaction when he saw how angry the Crown Prince was.

But he didn't laugh for too long because he immediately reached out to help Wu Jinhai out of the pond, and the two of them were sitting on the grass by the pond at this time. Yu Ming asked a palace maid to fetch a towel for Wu Jinhai, and the Crown Prince was drying his black hair with the small towel now.

"I thought you woke up early because you need to attend the court meeting today, Xiao Hai. How can you sit casually with me like this instead of rushing into the meeting?" Yu Ming asked the younger man sitting next to him.

At this time, Wu Jinhai stopped drying his hair with the towel and threw the towel at the older man. "Do you think I'm sitting here casually for no reason? You have to ask yourself why I didn't go to the meeting soon!"

Yu Ming chuckled. In truth, he had longed for this kind of moment that he often had with Wu Jinhai in the past. He wouldn't say that his relationship with Wu Jinhai had always been harmonious. The two rarely had peaceful conversations, and conversely, they often fought once they started talking to each other.

That had always been the case in the years since Yu Ming had started following the younger man, and he suddenly felt nostalgic when he thought back on the memories that happened in the past.

He suddenly felt relaxed, and he even placed his palms on the grass behind his body before using them to support his body. He dramatically looked up at the sky, noting that the sun wasn't glaring dangerously today, and that was why he was still able to challenge the round fire in the blue sky.

"So, you will be attending the court meeting today? This is your first time attending the court meeting as a Crown Prince, right?" Yu Ming asked the younger man, and it looked like he didn't want to prolong the matter they were arguing about before.

Sighing heavily, Wu Jinhai took the towel from Yu Ming's lap before once again using it to dry his drenched hair. "To be precise, today will be my first time attending an official meeting in the palace. In the past, those old officials wouldn't even let me attend the meeting because of the poison in my body. They said that I was no different from a monster, and since what they said was not wrong, I didn't try to rebuke."

They didn't argue anymore, and Yu Ming's eyes finally left the blue sky as he looked at the black-haired man. "That was all in the past, and now we all know that you are not a monster. No one will be able to steal what is yours anymore, and you will have a peaceful life from now on, Xiao Hai," he replied.

The two often argued over petty matters, but Yu Ming always knew how to comfort Wu Jinhai when the young man needed it. However, Wu Jinhai didn't look relaxed after hearing his comforting words. Instead, the black-haired man once again sighed heavily.

"I'm not sure about that," Wu Jinhai replied. "Wu Jingguo's mother and those good-for-nothing officials couldn't refuse me from becoming the Crown Prince after I got rid of the poison in my body, but there's no guarantee that they won't try to mess with me in the future. They have lived comfortably all these years, and now when I suddenly sit on top of them, they will definitely feel insecure if I plan to snatch comfort from them, no?"

Yu Ming didn't answer right away, but there was a frown on his forehead as he continued to stare at the younger figure. "They will definitely think that you are going to snatch comfort from them, but you wouldn't do that, would you, Xiao Hai? All along, you just wanted to get everything back into your hands, but you weren't planning on taking revenge on them, right?"

Suddenly, there was a bit of worry in Yu Ming's voice as he asked the younger man. Wu Jinhai might have been able to notice, and that was why he stopped drying his hair with the towel and placed the towel on his lap.

"Revenge won't solve the problem. If I were to plot acts of revenge on them, then they would suffer damage, and the hatred in their hearts would only grow bigger like a snowball. They would seek revenge on me because of that, and the circle would continue. That's why I don't plan on taking revenge on them," Wu Jinhai replied, and Yu Ming seemed slightly relieved after hearing what the younger man had just said.

Once again, Yu Ming looked like a proud mother watching her son grow up, and he would almost smile at the younger man if the man didn't continue his speech, "I certainly won't seek revenge on them, but I will try to protect what's in my hands now. And if I have to hurt them or even kill them to protect what's in my hands, then I will."

"…" Yu Ming was speechless. Turns out Wu Jinhai wasn't fully grown yet.

Yu Ming shook his head helplessly, and he also stopped looking at the younger man. Instead, he looked at the fish pond in front of them as he said, "If you want to hurt them, then you should think about Wu Jingguo's feelings too. To be honest, I'm also curious about things related to your half-brother. What caused you to give your brother a chance when we were in Dong Lang two weeks ago, Xiao Hai? Why did you change your opinion of him and choose to trust him instead?"