Chapter 73: Extra 1
At the end of the year, court affairs became increasingly busy. Li Zhan was leaving early and returning late almost every day.
Ji Qingzhou saw how hard he was working, constantly rushing back and forth, and thought it would be better for him to temporarily stay at Yinghui Pavilion until the workload eased, then return to the Prince Residence. But for Li Zhan, this suggestion was clearly out of the question. Unless he could bring Ji Qingzhou and the little one with him, he wouldn’t spend the night elsewhere even if someone beat him to death.
However, since the child’s identity had yet to be officially announced, suddenly taking him into the palace would surely stir up gossip.
What’s more, it was the depth of winter, and Li Zhan couldn’t bear to let the little one make such a trip and risk catching a cold—it would be too troublesome if he fell ill.
“You’ve been heading out before dawn and working until night. I’m worried you’ll collapse from exhaustion,” Ji Qingzhou said.
“That’s easy to solve. You know just how to refresh me…” Li Zhan leaned in as he spoke.
Ji Qingzhou glanced at the peacefully sleeping little one beside him and pushed Li Zhan’s face away. “Stop messing around.”
But Li Zhan couldn’t possibly stop. After being blocked, he changed tactics, leaned in again, and gave Ji Qingzhou a long, satisfying kiss before finally letting go.
Following Tang Shu’s instructions, Ji Qingzhou had delivered the baby via cesarean section, so the two of them were strictly forbidden from any “intimate activities” for at least three months. When Tang Shu relayed this, his expression had been meaningfully suggestive—and Li Zhan had somehow sensed a hint of schadenfreude in it.
After all, they were currently in the honeymoon phase, inseparable day and night, yet unable to go further. For many, it was a torturous situation.
But what Tang Shu didn’t know was that apart from the night the child was conceived, Li Zhan and Ji Qingzhou had never once “gone further” again. To outsiders they might seem passionately entangled, but only the two of them knew just how “pure” they really were.
“Let’s bathe together later,” Li Zhan murmured into Ji Qingzhou’s ear.
“I already bathed before you got back,” Ji Qingzhou frowned.
Li Zhan looked disappointed and said, “Just accompany me one more time. It’s been a while since I really got to see you… I kind of miss you.”
Ji Qingzhou recalled their shared bath a few days ago and the casual helping hand involved, and his face involuntarily turned a little red.
“You’re too tired. Let’s forget it tonight,” Ji Qingzhou replied.
“If you help me, I won’t feel tired anymore,” Li Zhan said, clinging to Ji Qingzhou and not letting go, his eyes filled with undisguised longing.
In the end, Ji Qingzhou couldn’t resist his gentle persistence and went with him to the bath that night.
By the time the two came out, it was already late, and Ji Qingzhou’s wrists were sore with exhaustion.
Time passed quickly, and Li Zhan remained busy right up until New Year’s Eve, when he finally got a moment to catch his breath.
On New Year’s Eve morning, after finishing the early court session, Li Zhan returned to the Prince Residence with the young emperor.
“Zhouzhou! Baby!” As soon as the young emperor stepped through the front gate, he broke into a joyful run, shouting excitedly for Ji Qingzhou and the little one. His voice echoed throughout the entire residence, drawing everyone’s attention.
Li Zhan followed behind and grabbed him by the back of his collar. “You’re going to be six after the new year. Try to act a little more mature.”
“Oh…” The young emperor immediately toned down his excitement, though his little face was still lit up with uncontrollable joy.
Inside, Ji Qingzhou was dozing by the short couch. Seeing the two of them return lifted his spirits.
The young emperor greeted him, then darted straight to the baby’s crib, clearly well-practiced in entertaining the child.
“Are you on break?” Ji Qingzhou asked Li Zhan.
“Yes, seven days off…” Li Zhan glanced at the young emperor to make sure he wasn’t paying attention, then leaned in to give Ji Qingzhou a quick kiss on the lips before continuing, “No court until the seventh day of the new year.”
Ji Qingzhou finally let out a sigh of relief and joked, “Why don’t you just rest until the fifteenth? You’re the one who decides when court resumes anyway.”
“Postponing court is easy,” Li Zhan replied, “but postponing court business isn’t. If we waited until the fifteenth, I’d just be drowning in paperwork and meetings for ten days straight afterward.” He sat down beside Ji Qingzhou and looked at the young emperor. “Let Cong’er work harder. Ideally, he should take over at sixteen… no, thirteen would be better. Then I won’t have to be this busy anymore.”
Ji Qingzhou looked at him, feeling a sudden pang of sympathy.
Li Zhan, the empire’s top civil servant, still had many years ahead of him.
“In a little while, once your health has fully recovered, I’d be glad if you could come help me,” Li Zhan said.
“Aren’t you afraid of gossip?” Ji Qingzhou asked.
Li Zhan replied, “You don’t hold any official title, so if you come to Yinghui Pavilion as my retainer, no one will be able to find fault with it—unless… the matter about the child is made public. If that happens, the court officials will definitely raise a fuss.”
Li Zhan wasn’t actually afraid of their fussing, but it would inevitably stir up unnecessary trouble.
Mosquitoes might not kill you, but they sure could annoy you to death…
“If the matter about the child gets out, it won’t just be a temporary stir,” Ji Qingzhou sighed, then turned to look at the young emperor and said, “Cong’er and Ze’er are too close. When the time comes, many people will see that as a taboo. Even the Empress Dowager might speak out. We may have a clear conscience, but Cong’er is old enough to understand now—he shouldn’t have to bear all this.”
Li Zhan nodded. Naturally, he understood what Ji Qingzhou meant.
If it really came to that, it wouldn’t just be Li Zhan that the court would harass—but the young emperor as well.
But both of them knew: a secret might be hidden for a time, but not forever.
“Don’t worry about all that. If that day ever comes, I’ll find a way to deal with it,” Li Zhan said to Ji Qingzhou.
Ji Qingzhou nodded, knowing that Li Zhan wasn’t just trying to comfort him. He had clearly already made preparations for every possible scenario.
Ever since the incident with the Qiu family last year, the Empress Dowager had shut herself away to pray and had rarely received visitors. Even the palace banquets during the holidays had been canceled.
On New Year’s Eve, the young emperor stayed at the Prince Residence to keep vigil for the new year.
On the first day of the new year, he went to the palace to greet the Empress Dowager, then returned again to the Prince Residence and stayed there until the morning of the seventh day, when he accompanied Li Zhan to morning court.
After the new year, court matters remained busy for several days.
It wasn’t until just before the Lantern Festival that things finally began to ease up a bit.
That day, Li Zhan had specifically ordered lanterns to be hung all around the Prince Residence, making the place look more festive.
The young emperor knew it was the day to go see the lanterns, and he was already fidgety by dinnertime.
But just when he finally got through dinner, he found out that the baby was too young to go out with them. His expression immediately fell, and all the joy and excitement disappeared without a trace.
The whole reason he had wanted to go see the lanterns… was to take the baby with him.
If the baby couldn’t go, then what was the point of going?
Ji Qingzhou and Li Zhan exchanged a helpless glance, both a little at a loss.
In the end, Ji Qingzhou had to coax him for a while before the young emperor reluctantly agreed to go out.
Right before leaving, the young emperor leaned over the baby’s crib and mumbled for quite a while, promising the baby he’d come right back after a bit of fun. He even explained that it wasn’t because he didn’t want to take the baby out to see the festivities—it was because the baby’s daddy and mommy wouldn’t let him!
Li Zhan: …
Ji Qingzhou: …
The capital’s Lantern Festival was always a grand event. Lanterns lit up the streets, illuminating the entire city.
People strolled by in groups of three or four, or brought their whole families, adding to the warmth and joy of the celebration.
“Sigh,” the young emperor said with a heavy sigh, like a miniature adult.
It was the baby’s first Lantern Festival since being born, and he hadn’t been able to bring him out to see it. What a shame.
Ji Qingzhou had thought that buying some fun trinkets would distract him and help him forget, at least for a little while. But even after buying four or five lanterns, the young emperor showed no interest in playing anymore. He kept urging Ji Qingzhou and Li Zhan to go home.
Li Zhan and Ji Qingzhou exchanged another look—clearly, they weren’t done enjoying the night yet.
In the end, they had no choice but to let Dong Dong take the young emperor back to the residence first.
“Imperial Uncle, Zhouzhou, aren’t you coming back with me?” the young emperor asked in confusion. “The baby’s still at home.”
Ji Qingzhou gave an awkward chuckle, inexplicably feeling a little guilty. The young emperor really had sacrificed a lot for this family.
“We’ll just walk around a bit more. Isn’t it fine for Dong Dong to take you back first?” Li Zhan asked.
The young emperor looked around, then said, “I get it… You and Zhouzhou… you’re going to sneak off for a secret meeting, right?”
Li Zhan looked helpless. Where on earth had he picked up phrases like that?
But the moment the young emperor saw his expression, he seemed to understand, grinned mischievously, and followed Dong Dong away.
“Let’s go, rare chance for a secret rendezvous,” Ji Qingzhou said with a smile.
Li Zhan chuckled lowly at that, reaching out to take Ji Qingzhou’s hand.
There were crowds of people flowing through the long street, and no one paid them any attention.
But to be able to walk hand-in-hand in public still gave both of them a thrill of excitement.
“Young sirs, buy a sky lantern?” a vendor called out from a street stall. “Make a wish—it’ll bless you with a long and happy life!”
Ji Qingzhou had thought he would say something like “grow old together,” but he hadn’t expected “live a long life.” He was momentarily stunned.
The stall owner, seeing the two of them holding hands, immediately understood that their relationship wasn’t ordinary. Although it wasn’t uncommon in the Dayu Dynasty for men to be close with other men, most of those relationships didn’t come with any official recognition. Many were just fleeting infatuations of youth and rarely lasted long.
So even if ordinary people saw such things, they usually wouldn’t offer formal blessings.
“What else can it bless us with?” Li Zhan asked the stall owner. “If you say it well, I’ll buy all the sky lanterns on your stand tonight.”
Hearing this, the stall owner’s eyes lit up. He quickly declared loudly, “May you both grow old together, united in heart forever!”
Li Zhan smiled and handed over a silver ingot. “Is this enough?”
“More than enough, more than enough! Such generosity! Then let me add: may your lives be filled with joy, your days sweet as honey, and your marriage one of perfect harmony…” The stall owner, now holding the silver, seemed ready to unload every auspicious phrase he had ever learned.
Li Zhan turned to look at Ji Qingzhou and saw him smiling as he tried to hold back a laugh. At that moment, Li Zhan felt that the silver was very well spent.
The two of them only took one lantern with them and told the stall owner to give the rest away to the passersby on the street.
“This isn’t very safe. If the wind picks up, it could easily catch fire,” Ji Qingzhou reminded him.
“There’s no wind tonight, don’t worry,” Li Zhan said with a smile. “But if you’re still uneasy, I’ll have someone go remind the patrols to keep a closer eye out.”
Ji Qingzhou knew that during the Lantern Festival, the city patrols were already extra vigilant. They understood how important fire safety was, so he felt a bit more at ease.
Together, Li Zhan and Ji Qingzhou lit the sky lantern.
The two of them gazed at each other for a moment, the firelight reflecting in their eyes and on each other’s faces.
“Qingzhou, let’s get married,” Li Zhan suddenly said.
Ji Qingzhou froze, and his grip loosened involuntarily. The sky lantern floated gently up into the night sky.
The other lanterns Li Zhan had bought were also being lit and released, one after another. In an instant, the street filled with floating sky lanterns. The glow of the flames carried countless people’s wishes as they slowly rose into the air, illuminating the night sky over the capital in brilliant splendor.
“Okay,” Ji Qingzhou replied softly.
Li Zhan leaned in and kissed him amid the crowd, arms wrapped around him.
Occasionally, someone’s gaze would drift to them, but no one stared for long. Instead, they smiled kindly and looked away.
That night, in the brightness of the capital’s festive lights, they were just one ordinary couple among countless lovers. No one lingered on them with curious eyes. But in each other’s hearts and eyes, they were the most important person in the world.
That night, Li Zhan proposed.
In a moment of heat and emotion, Ji Qingzhou said yes…
In the days that followed, Li Zhan didn’t bring up the matter again. Ji Qingzhou felt both a little anxious and slightly relieved.
He knew better than anyone that getting married at a time like this would bring more harm than good.
And he had never been obsessed with such things. He didn’t want to invite endless future trouble just for the sake of some so-called “legitimacy.” In his eyes, that kind of recognition meant very little. Besides, as a man himself, he hadn’t mentally prepared himself to actually “marry into” the Prince Residence.
But letting Li Zhan marry into the Ji residence didn’t seem easy either.
Ji Qingzhou hadn’t even considered that possibility!
Yet not long after, one day while the two were bathing, Li Zhan suddenly brought it up again.
Ji Qingzhou had been busy at the time, and was so startled by the question that he nearly lost control of his grip on Li Zhan…
“We’re really going to get married?” Ji Qingzhou asked.
“Relax, I’m not going to send an eight-man wedding sedan to carry you over,” Li Zhan replied.
Ji Qingzhou raised a brow. “Then… what are you going to do?”
“We’ll set up a feast at the Prince Residence and bow to Heaven and Earth,” Li Zhan said. “That should be enough, right?”
Ji Qingzhou had been afraid Li Zhan was going to make a big fuss about it, so upon hearing his words, he instantly let out a sigh of relief. “That sounds perfect.”
Li Zhan leaned over to kiss him and said softly, “But it might feel a bit unfair to you…”
“You’re not feeling wronged, so why should I?” Ji Qingzhou smiled. “Compared to all that empty pomp, being peaceful and steady is what matters most. I really don’t want those court censors chasing after you and Cong’er every day with their memorials.”
Li Zhan naturally understood what Ji Qingzhou meant and didn’t say anything sentimental in return.
“When would be a good day to set it?” Ji Qingzhou asked.
“How about my birthday?” Li Zhan suggested.
Ji Qingzhou did the math—Li Zhan’s birthday was in September. Last year had been too chaotic; the day had come and gone before he even realized it. Although that date was still a bit far off, it felt meaningful enough.
So Ji Qingzhou nodded and agreed right away.
Time passed quickly. Winter faded into spring.
The willow trees in the Prince Residence’s courtyard soon sprouted new shoots and tender buds.
In the blink of an eye, it was already March.
There was a saying: “Spring makes one drowsy, autumn makes one tired.” People naturally slept more in the spring. Ji Qingzhou, having grown used to the leisurely pace of life in the Prince Residence, often slept in until he woke naturally. Most of the time, he would only be getting up when Li Zhan returned from court, just in time for them to have breakfast together.
That morning, after getting up, he didn’t see Li Zhan and assumed he hadn’t come back yet.
After he washed up with the help of the attendants, Guo Zi came in with a set of new clothes to help him dress.
Ji Qingzhou was still groggy from sleep and glanced at the bright red robe, asking, “When did this get made? It’s way too flashy—it’ll draw too much attention if I wear it outside.”
“It’s brand new. We should at least try it on, otherwise it’d be a waste just sitting in the chest,” Guo Zi replied quickly.
Ji Qingzhou didn’t think too much about it and let Guo Zi dress him, fix his hair, and place the hair crown properly.
“Wow, this outfit looks pretty sharp.” Ji Qingzhou rarely wore red. He looked at himself in the bronze mirror and found the look refreshingly novel.
A short while later, he stepped out of the sleeping quarters—only to see Li Zhan in full red attire, standing at the doorway waiting for him.
Li Zhan already had a naturally tall and upright figure. Now, dressed in crimson robes with a jade belt around his waist, he looked absolutely stunning. Ji Qingzhou had rarely seen him wear red before, so the sudden sight made his heart flutter. He walked over and leaned in to give him a kiss.
Li Zhan chuckled softly and took his hand, leading him out the door.
Ji Qingzhou glanced outside—and froze on the spot.
Beyond the doorway stood Chi Zhou, also dressed in ceremonial red robes trimmed with gold, holding a scroll embossed with gold in his hands.
“At the Prince’s invitation, I, Chi Zhou, am here to witness and officiate the union between His Highness and Young Master Ji,” Chi Zhou said, bowing slightly toward Ji Qingzhou.
Ji Qingzhou turned to look at Li Zhan, completely stunned and not reacting for a long time.
“Didn’t you say the date was set for your birthday?” Ji Qingzhou asked in a hushed voice.
“Today is my birthday,” Li Zhan replied with a smile.
Ji Qingzhou stared blankly, still trying to process it.
But Chi Zhou was still waiting, and clearly now wasn’t the time for idle chatter.
Chi Zhou then led them to the front hall, and only then did Ji Qingzhou realize that Li Zhan had invited quite a few guests.
In addition to Ji Qingzhou’s siblings and Qin Zheng, there were also many court officials present. Ji Qingzhou was surprised to find that Li Zhan seemed to have more and more trusted allies at court.
Other people cultivated allies to plot treason and seize the throne.
Li Zhan cultivated allies… to invite them to his wedding.
The ceremony was simple but not shabby—it was obvious Li Zhan had put in a great deal of thought and effort to prepare everything.
Ji Qingzhou remained in a state of dazed confusion for most of the event—though beneath that daze was mostly joy.
They were finally married.
In front of Heaven, Earth, and all their friends and family.
“The ceremony is complete,” Chi Zhou announced loudly after finishing the final rite.
Cheers erupted from the crowd, with the young emperor the most excited of all. He shouted at the top of his lungs, “Time to crash the bridal chamber!”
Initially, no one had planned to tease the couple, but with the young emperor egging everyone on, the guests couldn’t hold back anymore.
Chi Zhou, “braving heaven’s wrath,” stepped up, and together with Qin Zheng and a few others, lifted Li Zhan right off the ground.
No one dared to lay hands on Ji Qingzhou, so instead they gathered around him while carrying Li Zhan, escorting the two of them into the “bridal chamber.”
Li Zhan had always been stern and reserved in front of others—this was the first time he’d ever been treated this way.
But everyone knew full well he wouldn’t get angry, so they grew bolder. More importantly, it was the young emperor who had said the words—they were just “fulfilling a royal command to crash the wedding.”
The cheerful chaos went on until Xiao Shan came to inform everyone that the banquet was about to begin. Only then did the guests, reluctantly, disperse.
The Prince Residence hadn’t been this lively in a long time. The festivities lasted well into the night before the guests finally took their leave.
Ji Qingzhou had drunk a little, though he wasn’t particularly tipsy. Li Zhan, on the other hand, had a faint flush of drunkenness on his face.
“Do you know why I said today… was my birthday?” In the bridal chamber, Li Zhan held Ji Qingzhou’s hand and, with the help of the wine, spoke to him seriously. “This time last year, I was on the road back to the capital…”
He hadn’t expected that while passing through a certain county, he would be ambushed outside the city.
Li Zhan had been injured during the attack, a wound to the chest—extremely dangerous…
Ji Qingzhou remembered the scar over his heart. He had never asked about its origin before, and now he finally knew—before returning to the palace last year, Li Zhan had encountered such a life-threatening event. Although Li Zhan only briefly mentioned the danger, Ji Qingzhou could sense that it must have been far worse than he let on.
“After I was injured, I was unconscious for a full day and night. When I woke up…” Li Zhan furrowed his brow slightly and said to Ji Qingzhou, “when I woke up, it felt like I had returned from another lifetime.”
Ji Qingzhou paused, and from those words—“returned from another lifetime”—he detected a deeper meaning.
Could it be… Li Zhan had been reborn at that moment?
“In my previous life, I had already let go of everything. I thought I would die just like that, but when I opened my eyes, I had gone back to the day after that ambush last year,” Li Zhan said. This was the first time he had told anyone about his rebirth, and the emotions in his heart naturally ran high.
Seeing this, Ji Qingzhou leaned in a little closer and casually placed a hand on him.
“I used to think no one would ever believe something so absurd,” Li Zhan said, “until I saw the painting you made for me before giving birth. Only then did I realize I wasn’t the only one who had gone through something like this. That’s when I thought—you would believe me and accept all of it, wouldn’t you?”
Ji Qingzhou asked, “So… you started using the day of your rebirth as your new birthday?”
“Yes,” Li Zhan replied. “At the time, I didn’t understand why Heaven had given me another chance. In my last life, I grew old alone with no attachments. There shouldn’t have been any reason to live again…”
As he spoke, he looked at Ji Qingzhou again and continued, “It wasn’t until I met you that I realized how great a gift it was to live a second time.”
As Li Zhan said these words, his eyes grew slightly red. Ji Qingzhou was moved, and he reached out to hug him.
The two of them held each other for a long time before Li Zhan turned and whispered in Ji Qingzhou’s ear, “That was my last secret. Now I’ve finally told you.”
This secret had weighed on Li Zhan’s heart for a long time. He hadn’t dared to tell anyone, and had assumed no one would ever believe him. It wasn’t exactly painful to carry, but it did come with a lingering loneliness—like he didn’t quite belong in this world.
But now that was over. Now he had Ji Qingzhou to share it with. To Li Zhan, that was the greatest comfort of all.
Ji Qingzhou couldn’t help but laugh. He thought to himself, Did you really need to go through such an elaborate ritual just to tell a secret?
You even went as far as to get married just to build up to this confession?
But as that thought barely passed through his mind, he heard Li Zhan say again, “Now that the talking’s done… we can get to the main event.”
“…What main event?” Ji Qingzhou asked in confusion.
Li Zhan chuckled low by his ear, his voice tinged with mischief. “The wedding night, of course.”
Ji Qingzhou: !!!
He had completely let his guard down—so this was what Li Zhan had been building up to. The confession was just the prelude to what came after!
Love the drama and palace machinations? Buy Ciacia a coffee on Kofi to keep the intrigue brewing.
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