Chapter 166
The chief eunuch was also in a difficult position and said, “His Majesty said… in consideration of Your Highness being with child, he has specially bestowed one concubine to attend Prince An.”
The corner of Lu Hanzhi’s mouth twitched. He truly didn’t understand what the emperor was trying to do—why was he bestowing a woman into his son’s bedchamber?
The senior eunuch’s expression was also unpleasant as he explained, “Some time ago, all the ministers opposed His Majesty’s intention to elevate Concubine Yu to concubine. In the end, only Prince An gave his full support. His Majesty was deeply moved and originally intended to reward Prince An generously, but then felt that Prince An’s Wang Fei was a person of great talent and probably lacked no precious treasures.”
Lu Hanzhi: …I lack them. I really do!
Who would ever think they had too much money?
The senior eunuch continued, “It just so happened that the Crown Prince’s Side Consort entered the palace to visit the one residing in Lihen Hall. She and Young Lord Zong Yuan hit it off immediately and began chatting. Young Lord Zong Yuan expressed his gratitude toward Prince An and also mentioned that the Wang Fei labored tirelessly every day—despite his large pregnant belly, he still had to run around handling business. Presumably, Prince An would find it difficult to receive… proper personal care. So he said that he had a cousin—virtuous, refined, and gentle—who had just reached marriageable age… and thus petitioned His Majesty…”
The corner of Lu Hanzhi’s mouth twitched again as he asked, “And His Majesty… just agreed to this?”
The senior eunuch sighed and said, “No one knows what’s been going on with His Majesty lately. He’s been unusually irritable, and at the same time, he’s felt a bit guilty toward the young lord. When the young lord acted coquettishly toward him and pestered him persistently, His Majesty finally agreed. That young lord is quite something—he actually managed to have His Majesty send this old servant here to carry out the matter. Tell me, Your Highness, what could this old servant do? It’s likely His Majesty was expressing gratitude to Prince An for speaking up for him previously. This could be considered a form of consideration from a father toward his son.” After finishing this explanation, even the senior eunuch himself sounded lacking in confidence.
Everyone in the capital knew that Prince An and Prince An’s Wang Fei shared a deep bond—how could they possibly be willing to accept a foreign concubine from the Eastern Sea?
This was nothing more than deliberately adding trouble for them.
Lu Hanzhi finally understood. No wonder, when he parted ways with Zong Yuan last time, the little brat had said he had prepared a grand gift for him.
So this was where that “gift” had been waiting?
At the time, Lu Hanzhi hadn’t taken it to heart. Sure enough, a single lapse in vigilance had allowed a mistake to slip through.
And he had even thought that child was innocent and adorable—who would have guessed he was full of such malicious schemes?
Lu Hanzhi pinched his temples. Just then, the woman kneeling before him gently and submissively kowtowed again and said, “Madam, this lowly concubine, Ming Ji, is willing to follow any arrangements made by the Madam.”
Lu Hanzhi wanted to cry. Arrange what, exactly?!
Seeing Lu Hanzhi’s expression, the senior eunuch lowered his voice and said, “Your Highness, please don’t panic. She’s a foreign woman and doesn’t understand Central Plains customs. Strictly speaking, with her status, she wouldn’t even qualify to be a side consort. If Your Highness dislikes her, you may simply let her remain a concubine. In any case, she has neither title nor standing—leave her be, and she won’t be able to stir up any trouble.”
Lu Hanzhi pressed his temples again and said, “Alright. Thank you, Gonggong. I understand.”
This matter was most likely instigated by Su Wan’ning, who had egged Zong Yuan on. Lu Hanzhi still remembered that she had previously tried to stuff Zhaoyun into Prince An’s residence.
That attempt had backfired spectacularly—Zhaoyun ended up entering the Crown Prince’s residence instead, causing Su Wan’ning to permanently lose her chance to become the Crown Princess.
As long as Zhaoyun was there, her position as Crown Princess was firmly secured.
Now she had repeated the same trick, and sure enough, she had successfully stuffed another person into his own household.
Looking at the woman kneeling there, gentle and obedient, Lu Hanzhi thought for a moment—then suddenly broke into a wide grin.
He stepped forward enthusiastically and helped the woman up, asking, “Oh my, judging by elder sister’s figure, you must be very good at bearing children, right?”
Lu Hanzhi gazed at the woman’s ample hips with open admiration.
The woman bowed slightly and replied submissively, “I only hope to further extend the Wang Ye’s lineage!”
Although her face was veiled, joy was evident in her eyes and brows.
The emperor meddling in idle affairs like this had truly handed Lu Hanzhi a major headache.
He couldn’t exactly throw her out of the residence—he even had to ensure she was properly accommodated.
The woman looked docile and delicate, soft and sweet.
When her veil was removed, she revealed a pair of upturned, alluring eyes that hooked the soul at a glance—clearly the type who knew how to please men.
Lu Hanzhi suddenly felt like laughing. He wondered what kind of reaction Yuwen Min would have if he found out the emperor had stuffed someone into his bedchamber.
So Lu Hanzhi instructed He Ming, saying, “Assign two maidservants to attend to this newcomer… Madam Ming. Let her temporarily stay in Qiuming Pavilion in the rear courtyard.”
Ah Chan came pattering over, frowned as he glanced at the woman, and said, “Daddy, pee-pee!”
Lu Hanzhi responded and said, “Alright, Daddy will help you pee.”
Before leaving, Lu Hanzhi added, “Ah, Madam Ming, I’m currently pregnant and also have to take care of a young child, so I may not have much time to attend to you. This way, I’ll have He Ming take you to Qiuming Pavilion first so you can rest.”
The woman continued to respond softly and obediently, “I will follow all arrangements made by Madam.”
Lu Hanzhi carried Ah Chan out to help him pee, whistling as he held up the little chubby bird.
Sure enough, when a child got plump, every part of him got plump.
Lu Hanzhi couldn’t help laughing and said, “Looks like our household had a bountiful harvest of grain!” This bird was being raised quite well.
Ah Chan didn’t understand. After finishing and pulling up his little pants, he looked at the woman in the peach-colored gauze dress and asked, “Who?”
Lu Hanzhi replied, “Your little mother.”
Ah Chan: …
He wrinkled his little brows in clear disgust and said, “Ah Chan doesn’t want!”
Lu Hanzhi pinched his chubby little cheek and asked, “Then who does Ah Chan want?”
“I want Daddy, Papa, big brother, little brother…” Then he reached toward Lu Hanzhi’s belly and added, “Little brother.”
Lu Hanzhi was amused and said, “Then Ah Chan must protect little brother in the future, alright?”
Ah Chan stomped his foot and said, “Mm-hmm! Ah Chan strong!!”
Lu Hanzhi felt that the child he was raising probably shared the same trait as himself—fiercely protective of one’s own.
Although problems kept coming one after another, looking at Ah Chan and then touching Ah Zhu in his belly, Lu Hanzhi felt that life was still something worth looking forward to.
Just as Lu Hanzhi was nursing his headache, Yuwen Min returned.
He probably hadn’t yet received news about the emperor sending him a woman.
Judging by his rather good mood, something good must have happened.
Before Lu Hanzhi could ask, Yuwen Min said, “Today, Father-in-law gave Ah Zhu and Xiao Liuzi their formal names. Ah Zhu is now called Yuwen Lingye, and Xiao Liuzi is called Lu Congwan. What does the Wang Fei think?”
Lu Hanzhi: ???
“Why was it Father who named them?” Wait—Lu Hanzhi frowned and said, “Wang Ye, the reason you took so long to name them… wasn’t because you simply didn’t know how to choose names, was it?”
Yuwen Min replied somewhat guiltily, “…That’s not exactly it. I just felt that children’s names were better entrusted to elders.”
Lu Hanzhi stifled a laugh and did not want to expose him. He said, “But Wang Ye was a step too late. Our Xiao Liuzi already had a proper name—and he has even acknowledged a father.”
Yuwen Min frowned and said, “A proper name? Who gave it to him? And how did he end up acknowledging a father? Is that something one can just acknowledge at will?”
It was rare for Lu Hanzhi to see Yuwen Min being so petty. He said, “From what I observed, that man should be Xiao Liuzi’s biological father. And moreover… his identity is probably anything but ordinary.”
Because the past two days had been hectic, after returning from the estate that day, Lu Hanzhi and Yuwen Jue had not yet had the chance to gather everyone for a small discussion.
Even Lu Xuzhi probably had not learned of this yet. After all, he and Yuwen Min were practically conjoined twins—once one of them knew something, the other was bound to know as well.
So Lu Hanzhi recounted the entire matter from beginning to end to Yuwen Min and also voiced his own conjectures.
Yuwen Min’s brows knit slightly as he said, “What you guessed does make some sense. Another day, we could let Mother Concubine meet this Zhong Yao. Perhaps she will be able to see something more clearly.”
Lu Hanzhi immediately said, “Ah… that’s right! How did I not think of this? Does Mother Concubine have time recently? Should I go and bring her out of the palace?”
Yuwen Min replied, “I entered the palace yesterday and saw that she looked quite well. His Majesty goes to Xiaoyu Residence every day to accompany Zong Yuan, so Mother Concubine has nothing much to occupy her. There’s no need to fetch her—I’ll just have someone pass along a message to the palace.” As he spoke, Yuwen Min washed his hands with fragrant soap and said, “I’ve been craving that ginger-juice century egg of yours today. Is there still some in the kitchen? Bring it up for me.”
Lu Hanzhi said, “Oh, yes. Today I had them make century egg tofu. You can try something new.”
When Yuwen Min heard there was a new dish, his mood immediately improved. He said, “Then I must taste it properly.”
Very soon, Luan Feng had people bring in a small table of dishes.
Yuwen Min sat down, picked up a white porcelain soup spoon, scooped up some tofu, and took a bite. As expected, the flavor was extraordinary.
It was a pity there was no wine, and Yuwen Min did not dare to drink anyway.
Yuwen Min was the type who collapsed after a single cup, and he was afraid that if he drank, he might do something outrageous again.
Lu Hanzhi had an important matter to attend to tonight, so naturally he could not allow him to drink.
After Yuwen Min had eaten his fill, Lu Hanzhi finally asked, “Did Wang Ye enjoy the meal?”
Looking at the bowl of century egg tofu scraped clean, Lu Hanzhi was astonished by the appetite of this father and his child.
Ah Chan pitter-pattered around the table, running back and forth. With Xiao Liuzi not around today, he was bored to the extreme.
Yuwen Min picked up Ah Chan and said, “I’m full. Does Wang Fei have something arranged?”
Lu Hanzhi smiled broadly and said, “Naturally. Wang Ye, this way please—I have a surprise for you.” As he spoke, he led him to Qiuming Pavilion.
Qiuming Pavilion was filled with festivity. Rose-red curtains had been hung, and large red lanterns were also put up.
Yuwen Min asked in confusion, “What does Wang Fei mean by this…? Are you planning to relive the wedding night with me?”
Lu Hanzhi smiled without answering and said, “Wang Ye will know in a moment.”
Yuwen Min knew that his Wang Fei could be mischievous at times, so he did not ask further and let he do as he pleased.
Thinking about it, he had not been able to give him a proper account on their wedding night last time. Taking this opportunity to make up for it was not a bad idea.
As soon as he entered the room, the maids helped him remove his outer robe and pushed him into the red canopy bed.
The maids closed the door and all withdrew from the bridal chamber.
Before long, a figure walked in from the outer room.
The footsteps were light, the figure graceful, and a trace of unfamiliar fragrance drifted from her body.
Yuwen Min instantly became alert, only to see that the person directly slipped into the canopy and reached toward him.
Yuwen Min casually grabbed the heavy sword at his side. He did not strike her down outright, showing restraint with his hand—but he showed no mercy with his foot.
There was a loud bang in the room. Before Lu Hanzhi outside could figure out what had happened, he saw a figure being kicked straight out of the room.
Yuwen Min stood there holding the heavy sword, looking fierce and menacing, pointing it at the woman lying on the ground. “Wang Fei, there is an assassin. Hide behind me.”
Lu Hanzhi: …
Ah… I knew you would take action, but I truly did not expect you to strike so heavily.
Your favorite BL chaos wouldn’t be possible without coffee… lots of coffee….
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