Even Poison Tastes Sweet When You Feed Me

Prince Nolan rarely meddles in other people's affairs, but the person involved doesn't seem inclined to cooperate...

Prince Titus of Lyndaria let out a gentle sigh and refused without hesitation: "It's all in the past."

Ten years have gone by. Maybe back then there was some reluctance, maybe even now, bringing it up still stings faintly, but it's all over.

No matter what, there's no going back for them...

Prince Nolan doesn't like to force anyone. Prince Titus is an adult, with his own judgment—if he doesn't want it, then he doesn't want it; no one can make him.

So what if she's the eldest legitimate daughter of House Cui?

As long as Titus isn't willing, even a princess can't force him one bit.

The two chatted a bit more, then a servant came to report that the hot water was ready.

Prince Nolan had already mentally prepared himself—he knew there wouldn't be a bathhouse here at Titus's place, but why wasn't there even a bathtub?

Are they expecting him to just pour buckets of hot water over himself?

The conditions here are truly harsh. Prince Nolan couldn't understand—does Prince Titus really need to put himself through all this?

Helpless, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Prince Nolan picked up a bucket and showered, cleaned himself off, changed into clean clothes, and the first thing he did was summon his shadow guards to tidy up Prince Titus's rooms.

Even if Titus doesn't mind, Nolan does.

Comfort and convenience aren't the same thing. He wasn't after luxury, but he did want to live comfortably.

Serena Feng, upon hearing this, gave Nolan a big thumbs-up for his actions: Titus really is too hard on himself. It's fine if he wants to be strict with himself, but she doesn't want to suffer—she still plans to stay here a while longer to help Titus with his injured foot.

Ten years have passed. The prosthetic needs repairing, and besides...

The little dumpling from back then has grown up. He might not cling to her like he did as a child, but he's still as close to her as ever. Both his arms are ruined, but thanks to Prince Rui's years of careful care and all the good medicine she's sent, the muscles in his arms haven't atrophied—there might still be hope for treatment.

Serena wants to persuade Prince Rui to bring Little Dumpling to Mystic Healer Valley. There, she, the Valley Master, Dr. Redwater, and Dr. Marcus Guile will conduct a joint consultation to see if there's any hope for treatment.

Serena only discussed this with Prince Rui; Little Dumpling doesn't know, because she herself isn't very confident.

Prince Rui is fine, but if they give Little Dumpling hope only to let him down again, that would be a double blow for the child.

Serena hopes Prince Rui will find a reason to make Little Dumpling think they're just going to Mystic Healer Valley for fun. She'll have the Valley Master and the others examine him secretly, without Little Dumpling knowing.

Unless they're at least fifty percent sure, none of them will tell Little Dumpling anything.

"I need to think about it," Prince Rui said, his temples already streaked with gray.

Though he could guarantee his son would never want for food or clothing after his death, as a father, he still hoped to see his child healthy and whole.

All these years, he's worried endlessly about Little Dumpling's hands. If not for his careful care, Little Dumpling's hands wouldn't be in such good condition now.

Deep down, Prince Rui still hopes Little Dumpling's hands can be healed—it's just...

Serena and the Valley Master are his last hope. If that hope is shattered, he'll have to give up once and for all.

So, all these years, he's avoided seeking help—afraid Serena and the Valley Master would leave him in despair. Now that Serena's brought it up, he has to think it over carefully.

After discussing this, Serena went to find Little Dumpling. It had been more than ten years since she'd seen him—she wanted to know how the child she once saved was doing now...

Little Dumpling was well protected by Prince Rui. He'd grown up and matured; though he was still shy around strangers, he no longer just wanted to hide under his father's wing like he did as a child.

Looking at Little Dumpling, now showing the signs of youth, Serena's eyes were full of affection...

At first, Little Dumpling felt a bit awkward with Serena, complaining that she'd taken so long to see him—had she forgotten about him?

It wasn't until Serena told him about the past few years—about the Snow Wolves and Feng Jin, and what everyone had been doing—that Little Dumpling finally forgave her.

For the past ten years, Serena had hardly paused for breath. Only recently did she finally get a break, and that’s how she ended up traveling with Prince Nolan to see these beautiful lands.

Serena and Prince Nolan had stolen a rare moment of leisure together. Coming all the way from the Capital to the frontier was no easy feat—who knows when they’ll get another chance.

Even so, Serena and Prince Nolan didn’t stay long in the frontier. After half a month, they said their goodbyes to Prince Titus, Prince Rui, and the reluctant Little Dumpling...

Of course, their two weeks in the frontier weren’t fruitless. At the very least, Prince Titus promised that if he ever got tired of life here, he’d consider coming to the Capital.

Ten years have passed. Most people think he’s dead, and few remember him. Even if he appears in the Capital now, it won’t cause much of a stir.

Prince Nolan also summoned the local magistrate—a scholar from humble beginnings, who’d been sent to the frontier after passing the imperial exams ten years ago.

Despite being sidelined, he never complained or held a grudge. He worked diligently, managing the frontier well. Even though his superiors often stole credit for his achievements, he didn’t mind.

As an official, his duty was to serve the people. As long as his conscience was clear and the locals benefitted, that was enough for him.

He wasn’t ambitious, but he was responsible. After Prince Nolan tested him, he made a mental note—this man’s rise is only a matter of time...

But Prince Nolan’s summons terrified the other officials, especially his superior, who knelt at the yamen gates to beg forgiveness. Prince Nolan didn’t see him—he simply sent a letter and let the higher-ups handle it according to the law.

That’s also why Serena and Prince Nolan only stayed for half a month. Their identities had been revealed, and every day officials flocked to see them—so many that it became unbearable. To avoid causing trouble for Prince Titus, they decided to leave.

After visiting Prince Titus in the northwestern frontier, Serena wanted to see the grasslands...

Evan Zhou was there, and her businesses were there too. It would be good to inspect them. Besides, in both her past and present lives, Serena had never truly experienced the grasslands—she wanted to ride freely across the steppe...

Serena wanted to go, and Prince Nolan had no objections. This trip had no set agenda—wherever Serena wanted to go, that’s where they’d go.

"Speaking of inspecting our businesses, I wonder how Tong Jue and Number Two are doing?" Serena asked, bored in the carriage.

Prince Nolan had to put down his book and answered seriously, "If there’s any news, you’ll be the first to know."

"Still no news from the Clean Hands group? Just the other day I saw some shadow guards huddled together, whispering—they must have been talking about Number Two, right?" Serena swore she hadn’t mistaken it.

Among Prince Nolan’s shadow guards, it wasn’t just Number Two and Flash who were lovesick—several others seemed to have found their own targets as well.

Looks like once Prince Nolan returns to the Capital, he’ll be writing out so many imperial marriage edicts his hand will cramp.

"A letter, seeking advice," Prince Nolan said simply, then dropped the subject and went back to his book...

Serena glanced at Prince Nolan, realizing he had no intention of responding. She settled down, pulling a medical book—and a stack of fruit—from under the tea table.

She read and snacked at the same time...

This habit!

Prince Nolan couldn’t stand it. In his view, reading was for reading—what was the point of eating while you read?

But...

He’d told Serena off several times, and while she always agreed in words, she never changed—just kept on as usual, completely unrepentant.

That wasn’t even the worst of it—the real issue was that Little Dumpling had picked up Serena’s bad habit too, insisting on snacks whenever he read...

Prince Nolan even wondered—would Little Dumpling demand snacks when he was reviewing imperial memos someday?

Just picturing it gave Prince Nolan the chills!

So girlish—nothing manly about it!

"Qing..." Prince Nolan was about to tell Serena to set a better example and not teach Little Dumpling bad habits, but before he could finish, Serena popped a piece of melon into his mouth. "Try it, it’s sweet."

Uh...

It wasn’t quite as romantic as a beauty adding incense to your reading, but the effect was much the same. With a beauty feeding him fruit, how could he refuse?

Of course he couldn’t, so...

Prince Nolan opened his mouth and took a bite.

"Is it good?" Serena asked with a smile.

Prince Nolan nodded, unable to resist Serena’s charm.

If you fed it to me, even arsenic would taste good.

"It’s good."—Even though it was sickly sweet!

"Glad you like it. Here, have another." Serena’s eyes sparkled with mischief. Before Prince Nolan could refuse, she fed him another piece...

It was a bit too sweet, but since Serena was feeding him, he ate it anyway.

Prince Nolan opened his mouth and took another bite...

Serena put down her book, circled the tea table, and settled into Prince Nolan’s lap. She set the fruit plate on her lap, eating a piece herself and feeding one to Prince Nolan...

As for Prince Nolan?

Left arm around his beauty, right hand holding a classic, eyes and hands busy, mouth never idle—life couldn’t be any sweeter.

Now, even if he wanted to complain about Serena’s habits, he couldn’t—his own were even worse...

......

Before leaving the frontier, Prince Nolan and Serena didn’t forget to thank the kindly old farmer who’d given them a ride into town.

Of course, Prince Nolan and Serena weren’t the type to give impractical gifts like jewels. Their thank-you was simple: a cart and ten acres of land.

The shadow guards handled it. When they delivered the gifts, they simply said it was a token of thanks from their master—never revealing Prince Nolan and Serena’s identities.

At first, the old farmer refused, but the shadow guards were direct: "Our master knew you’d refuse, so we didn’t prepare anything extravagant."

Unable to decline, the old farmer accepted. Afterwards, he told everyone how the noble guests from the Capital were so polite and respectful—not only did they thank him for the ride, they even gave a gift...

Neighbors took note. From then on, whenever someone saw a traveler on foot and happened to be passing by, they’d offer a lift if they could.

Sometimes there’d be a thank-you gift, but usually not much. Still, people were content...

Maybe it was a bit utilitarian, but it did make the local culture warmer—people were more willing to help each other.

And that old farmer? He died never knowing that the country’s most honored couple once rode in his cart...