Author’s note: These days I’m rushing for exams, so there may be typos. I’ll fix them after the exams.
We’re in the wrap-up phase now, and I don’t want to insert unnecessary melodrama. I want to write two characters who genuinely love each other, so it might not be as dramatic as before, but I’ll try to make it sweet.
As for childbearing and parenting, I’ll probably put that in the extras.
Jiang Huaiyi kept mentioning Xiao Yun, and the little puppy wouldn’t stop barking. In the pauses during Jiang Huaichu and Jiang Huaiyi’s conversation, Jiang Huaichu would repeatedly bend down to feed it. Jiang Huaiyi’s face grew darker and darker.
Taifei was on edge, stealing glances at Jiang Huaichu now and then. He looked weary and despondent. By contrast, every time Jiang Huaiyi opened his mouth, it seemed like he was about to scold him—yet, upon seeing Jiang Huaichu’s dispirited expression, he would purse his lips and swallow his words.
Taifei was finally relieved.
That evening, she went to the young Wangye’s chambers and softly said, “Since it was Xiao Yun who gave it to you, don’t let your brother find out. Otherwise, maybe send it back—”
Usually at this time, Jiang Huaichu would be seated at his desk reviewing documents. But not seeing him there, she looked around. When she turned her head, she discovered him curled up under a blanket, head turned to the side, fast asleep. His brows were relaxed, his expression peaceful, and there was even a faint smile on his lips.
She fetched another blanket from the cabinet and stepped forward to cover him. As she approached, she noticed that the puppy was curled in the crook of his arm, facing Jiang Huaichu, pressed closely against him, its furry belly rising and falling gently.
Man and dog—two completely mismatched things—yet together, surprisingly harmonious.
Taifei smiled. Just as she was about to cover him, the dog suddenly sat up, sniffing her scent. It stared at her with bright, beady eyes and huffed as if to warn her not to come any closer—Jiang Huaichu was his.
Jiang Huaichu seemed to be in deep sleep. He turned over, and the puppy immediately snuggled closer. Under Taifei’s watchful gaze, it proudly pushed aside Jiang Huaichu’s loosened waistband with its round head, burrowed into his outer robe, leaving only its little tail wagging high in the air.
Taifei, stifling her laughter, tiptoed out. Just as she reached the door, the man inside stirred and muttered sleepily: “Don’t make trouble.”
After a pause: “Don’t make trouble.”
“Xiao Yun, don’t make trouble!”
“Awwoo, awooo!”
The dog barked happily when it heard its name, but the man made no further sound for quite a while.
…
The next day, the bride-to-be, Yaner, arrived. News of Duan Wang’s upcoming marriage had already spread. The city was ablaze with decorations and festive cheer.
After paying respects to Jiang Huaiyi, the household helped Yaner settle in. Jiang Huaichu went to see her.
According to Nanruo’s customs, men and women were not to have physical contact before marriage. To avoid suspicion, Chen Yaner wore a veiled hat.
When they met, the door had to remain open, and someone had to be waiting outside. As soon as she saw him, she lowered her head to greet him, but before she could speak, her gaze landed on the little creature swaggering in beside Jiang Huaichu, pretending to be important.
“Wangye, this is…?”
“…A new pet,” Jiang Huaichu said casually, stepping through the door while playing with a translucent jade bead.
Chen Yaner smiled. “Wangye seems to like it very much?”
Jiang Huaichu was silent for a moment. “It’s… acceptable. How was your journey?”
Chen Yaner nodded politely. They exchanged pleasantries. Jiang Huaichu walked further in and sat down across a wide table.
Chen Yaner glanced toward the doorway, where an old matron was watching closely. She hesitated several times, about to speak, but when she looked at the Wangye, he seemed distracted.
She followed his gaze—and saw Wangye’s pet tugging furiously at the hem of his robe, dragging it far across the floor, seemingly in protest.
Chen Yaner blinked, then laughed. Sensing her gaze, Jiang Huaichu coughed lightly.
“Um…”
He picked up the puppy and placed it on the chair beside him. Now at the same level, the little thing finally seemed satisfied, stretching its hind legs straight while its front paws clung to the table edge, glaring at Chen Yaner.
Jiang Huaichu said, “It’s a little unruly…”
Chen Yaner replied, “It’s fine.”
From beneath her veil, her expression became more anxious and regretful.
“…My involvement with him… has put you in danger…”
Jiang Huaichu shook his head and said lightly, “It’s nothing.”
“But if you don’t go through with this marriage…”
Chen Yaner knew part of the truth. Jiang Huaichu’s older brother was strict about propriety and appearances, but he wouldn’t have kept her in the dark or forced her to suffer in silence.
Jiang Huaichu shook his head again. “It doesn’t matter to me.”
Chen Yaner said urgently, “How could it not matter?”
Jiang Huaichu’s eyes crinkled with a smile. “Do you think it’s easier for me to keep up a lifelong act with you to deceive him—or just never start at all? People shouldn’t live only for appearances. Some things can’t be faked. Like this little one—no matter how much you want to hide it, you can’t.”
He lowered his gaze toward his visibly rounded belly.
Seeing how lightly he treated it, Chen Yaner’s heart eased a bit, but she still said solemnly, “Though I vowed never to marry anyone but him, if it’s for your sake, I wouldn’t mind breaking that vow. Are you truly not afraid that the whole world will know?”
Jiang Huaichu smiled. “Why should I be ashamed? If Heaven made me this way, it’s no fault of mine. I’ve done nothing wrong—what do I have to feel guilty for? If others can’t accept it, that’s their problem. What does that have to do with me? Or with this little one?”
“Hiding it before was just to avoid stirring up trouble or distracting the army during tense times. It wasn’t because I feared disgrace. Don’t overthink it.”
Chen Yaner was moved, and after a long silence, she smiled bitterly. “Compared to you, I really am a fool.”
“Foolish people have the blessings of fools.”
Chen Yaner looked at him and asked softly, “Then your imperial brother…”
Jiang Huaichu had always been obedient to his elder brother.
Jiang Huaichu replied calmly, “My imperial brother is just momentarily anxious and confused. If something is done wrong, I have no reason to go along with it. He loves me, and at the root of that love is the wish for me to live well. If I clearly know what kind of life I want to live—what kind of life makes me happy—then I should follow my own will. Only if I remain happy will he truly be happy too.”
Jiang Huaichu looked up at her and smiled. “If I compromise now, and he sees you and me forced together awkwardly in the future, he’ll probably feel guilty for the rest of his life.”
Chen Yaner’s heart trembled. Looking at the younger man in front of her, who was two years her junior but shrewd beyond measure, she was silent for a while before saying sincerely, “Someone like you—if no one loved you—it would be everyone else’s loss for a lifetime.”
“Awuu! Awuu!”
Jiang Huaichu: “……”
Chen Yaner, who had just been feeling heavy-hearted, burst into laughter. “Wangye, may I hold him?”
Jiang Huaichu glanced at her, paused, and said nonchalantly, “He might bite.”
“It’s fine, his teeth haven’t even come in properly.”
Jiang Huaichu said, “…He’s rather aggressive with strangers.”
“No—”
Chen Yaner, perceptive as ever, caught on to something and looked at him with a hint of disbelief.
She had known Jiang Huaichu since they were young, sharing a sibling-like bond all these years. Jiang Huaichu had always been generous with her—so for him to act like this now…
“Then never mind,” Chen Yaner said.
Jiang Huaichu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and pulled the restless puppy onto his lap.
…
That evening, Jiang Huaichu held a porcelain bowl of mixed meat and searched around his residence for “Xiao Yun” but couldn’t find him. Being pregnant, he couldn’t move too fast, and going out wasn’t a good option either. So, he called for the steward. The moment the steward heard the Wangye’s dog was missing, he hurriedly summoned others to look. After searching high and low to no avail, they were about to post an imperial dog-hunting notice when suddenly the little puppy appeared, waddling at the side gate of the manor.
The steward was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed. He shouted for Wangye. Jiang Huaichu had just come out of the house and saw the little puppy dashing toward him, tongue out.
He sighed in relief and was about to scold him, but then noticed the faint jingling sound in the air. He looked down and saw that “Xiao Yun” now wore a collar with a small bell attached.
The steward laughed, “Maybe he snuck out to play, and someone thought he was cute and gifted him a little present. It’s quite adorable.”
“Xiao Yun” circled Jiang Huaichu’s ankles. Jiang Huaichu smiled, but when he caught a glimpse of the black-and-gold cord attached to the bell, his expression changed.
After the steward left, Jiang Huaichu brought the dog inside, closed the door, squatted down, and examined the cord closely. His expression shifted between green and red.
It was one of Xiao Yun’s hair ties.
No wonder the dog went missing—it had been lured away by Xiao Yun’s people.
If Xiao Yun could train the dog, he could certainly lure it away too.
There were definitely Xiao Yun’s people within the city.
Was this hair tie supposed to prove something? Prove he had the means? That he could still mess around under the nose of Jiang Huaichu’s imperial brother?
“Xiao Yun” was restless. Seeing that Jiang Huaichu wasn’t moving, it started circling him, the bell jingling incessantly.
Jiang Huaichu set down the dog bowl and stood up with a cold face, deciding not to feed it by hand anymore. He went to grab a book from the bookshelf. Behind him, the dog circled anxiously, the bell ringing in frustration. Jiang Huaichu smirked but quickly hid it, turned back, and said, “Eat by yourself.”
His gaze lingered a few seconds longer on the bell around the dog’s neck.
Frowning, he walked over, squatted, and gently pried open the little bell with his thumb and forefinger. With a soft “clack,” two small stones and a tightly folded note fell to the floor.
Jiang Huaichu’s expression darkened. He turned and walked away.
Behind him, “Xiao Yun” refused to eat, trailing after him, then suddenly pounced and clung to his ankle, biting the hem of his robe and tugging.
Jiang Huaichu ignored it, so it did what it always did—clung to his clothes like a spoiled child.
He looked down at the little thing. At this point, it seemed like it wanted him to read the note.
Half annoyed, half amused, he tried to pull his robe back. The dog refused to let go, wagging its tail eagerly, eyes sparkling with yearning.
That yearning, though originally for food, now carried a different message.
“Awuu! Awuu!”
Jiang Huaichu stood frozen for a few seconds, then turned back with a cold face, picked up the note, and glanced at it.
“Jiang Huaichu, if you’ve got the guts, come alone to the city wall at the second night watch.”
The handwriting had returned to its usual bold, arrogant strokes, full of provocation and challenge. Jiang Huaichu wasn’t surprised. As he’d always said—you can change the mountains, but not a man’s nature. That lawless temper of his—how long could he pretend to be obedient?
The city wall?
Jiang Huaichu sneered.
Even if he went, that wall was high—Xiao Yun wouldn’t be able to climb it.
He’d like to see him lose his temper in frustration.
…
At the main military camp that night:
At the first watch of the night, Xie Zhe stared at the masked man in black and was utterly numb. Exhausted, he muttered, “Your Majesty, is there anything you won’t do to chase your spouse?”
“Don’t make such a fuss,” Xiao Yun snapped irritably.
He picked up his bundle and prepared to leave. Xie Zhe hurried after him. “What if he doesn’t show up? You won’t even be able to see if he’s there from the bottom of the wall…”
Xie Zhe looked up at the sky—it was pitch black, not even a sliver of moonlight.
Xiao Yun said, “Even if he doesn’t go, he’ll have someone keep watch. I just need to let him know—I was there. That’s enough.”
Xiao Yun walked so quickly that Xie Zhe became anxious. “T-then how are you going to get up there? The city wall is so high!”
Nanruo’s city walls were built like they had a screw loose—twice as tall as Great Ning’s, nearly impossible to scale even by flying.
“You don’t need to worry about that. I have my ways.”
Xiao Yun raised an eyebrow at him and smiled. “Just wait for me to return victorious.”
He looked every bit the part of a valiant general heading into battle, full of heroic spirit—except what he was doing was more akin to petty thievery and rooftop escapades. Xie Zhe covered his face; he truly couldn’t bear to look.
Good thing the ministers didn’t know.
…
At the second watch of the night, Jiang Huaiyi had already gone to bed. Jiang Huaichu dismissed his own guards and climbed up the city wall without alerting anyone.
His royal brother had sealed the city gates—no one could enter or leave. The wall was so tall that it seemed overly secure, and so its defense was, ironically, somewhat lax.
Jiang Huaichu, not wanting to be discovered, didn’t light a lantern. He avoided the sentries and slowly made his way along the edge of the wall.
It was a dark and windy night, with not even a flicker of light. Sneaking out alone, dressed in black—everything about it was suspicious. It would be hard not to draw certain associations. Jiang Huaichu himself couldn’t quite describe his mood, but his face flushed slightly as he looked down at the little puppy trotting up the steps beside him, as if the dog were a witness to his sneaky behavior. He grew more annoyed—not sure if it was with the puppy, Xiao Yun, or himself.
He waited on the city wall for a while. Suddenly, from the darkness below, someone let out a low, roguish whistle. Jiang Huaichu froze.
He had come as agreed, but only to see how Xiao Yun intended to get up the wall. He didn’t need to respond—definitely didn’t need to let Xiao Yun know he was there.
Maybe Xiao Yun would hear no response and pretend to leave, only to arrogantly send the puppy back tomorrow with a letter chastising him for breaking the promise.
Just as Jiang Huaichu was about to crouch down and hide behind the wall, the whistle sounded again. The puppy beside him perked up its ears.
Jiang Huaichu froze, his face suddenly changing. Before he could cover the puppy’s mouth, it let out an excited “awoo!”
