Chapter 34
Lu Hanzhi was filled with surprise—so Yuwen Min had already arranged a pass for him?
He smiled at the gatekeeper and said, “Thank you, please take me inside.”
The gatekeeper led Lu Hanzhi into the residence, and as he walked through, he was struck by the extravagant decadence of the imperial court.
Though the southern outskirts were still within the emperor’s domain, the common people there lived in extreme poverty.
Yet, within Prince An’s residence, the winding corridors, pavilions, grand towers, and flowing streams combined elegance with solemnity—it was truly magnificent.
It seemed the emperor had put in considerable effort to appease his violent and warlike son.
Before long, Lu Hanzhi was led to the martial training grounds in the rear courtyard, where Prince An was practicing his combat skills.
The heavy sword, Chen Ke, which should have weighed over a hundred catties of black iron, spun effortlessly in his hands as if it were nothing more than a folding fan.
Had it not been for the deafening thud when it finally struck the ground, Lu Hanzhi might have believed it was made of paper.
Instinctively taking two steps back, Lu Hanzhi steadied himself just as Yuwen Min stepped off the training platform and approached him.
Yuwen Min took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped the sweat from his forehead before asking, “Did you need something?”
Lu Hanzhi glanced at the Chen Ke in his hand, noting that the jade inlays remained intact—at least he hadn’t done anything reckless recently.
He then replied, “Yes, I have a favor to ask.”
Yuwen Min gave him a glance, his expression carrying an inexplicable hint of disdain.
Then, his gaze shifted to Ah Chan, and he reached out to take the small wooden wind-up horse from his hands.
Ah Chan eyed him warily. Seeing this, Yuwen Min retracted his hand and instead picked Ah Chan up.
Ah Chan, looking deeply resistant, did not appreciate being carried like a dish on a serving platter. However, like most people, he had an innate admiration for strength.
Seemingly fascinated by Yuwen Min’s heavy sword, he reluctantly accepted the way he was being held, abandoned his small wooden horse, and wrapped his hands around the hilt of the enormous sword—before opening his mouth and biting down on it.
Lu Hanzhi: …
With a speechless expression, Lu Hanzhi pinched his little face and scolded, “Why do you try to eat everything? Be careful, you might hurt your gums!”
As he spoke, he stuffed the wooden horse back into Ah Chan’s arms.
Ah Chan: *Waaah, wuwuwu…*
Tears welled up as he began to cry, clearly finding the sword far more enticing than the wooden horse.
Lu Hanzhi immediately relented and sighed helplessly, “Alright, alright, fine! But chew slowly! Be careful! No—this really isn’t okay. What if you start bleeding?”
Yuwen Min, now intrigued, watched the scene unfold with amusement, not interfering in their father-son interaction.
It was only when Lu Hanzhi noticed his gaze that he frowned and asked, “What’s so interesting about this?”
Yuwen Min, who was usually expressionless, couldn’t help but let the corner of his lips curl slightly. “Nothing, I just find it strange. I never expected the Third Young Master of the Lu family to be someone who compromises so unconditionally.”
Lu Hanzhi: ???
Really? He hadn’t even realized that about himself.
Yuwen Min glanced at the chubby child gnawing on his sword, then lifted Chen Ke with one hand and set it back on the weapon rack before picking up the little one with the other.
With a serious expression, he said, “Children are adorable, but excessive indulgence will spoil them. You shouldn’t always give in just because he cries. A heavy sword is covered in sweat and bloodstains—even though I had it cleaned this morning, it’s still unsanitary for a child.”
Lu Hanzhi gave him a look of sheer disbelief. First, he had claimed that having children wasn’t Lu Hanzhi’s fault. And now, he was lecturing him about child hygiene?
A tyrant like him—how did he know all this?
Lu Hanzhi looked up at Little Fatty Chan and found that, even after being picked up, he was still giggling away.
Perhaps he thought Yuwen Min was playing with him?
But his Little Fatty Chan was quite resilient—he wasn’t shy with strangers, wasn’t afraid of heights, and now, even when lifted high into the air, he was having the time of his life.
Since this was his own child, Lu Hanzhi decided he should take Yuwen Min’s advice on parenting seriously.
Clearing his throat, he nodded and said, “Your Highness is right. I’ll be more mindful in the future.”
Yuwen Min gave him another surprised glance before asking, “Alright, so what is it you want from me?”
Lu Hanzhi: “Huh? How did you know?”
Yuwen Min smirked. “For the Third Young Master of the Lu family to act so polite—if you weren’t asking me for a favor, the sun might as well rise from the west.”
Dead tyrant. Look at you acting all smug.
Lu Hanzhi cleared his throat and said, “Well… I do have a favor to ask. Your Highness, would you be willing to help me?”
Yuwen Min, as if expecting this, replied, “That depends. I’m not omnipotent.”
Lu Hanzhi internally rolled his eyes. But since he needed help, he made sure to maintain a respectful demeanor.
“It’s nothing too difficult—just a bit expensive. I’d like to ask Your Highness for a precious ceremonial sword to personally gift to my father.”
Yuwen Min looked puzzled. “It’s not a festival, nor is it your father’s birthday. Why are you suddenly giving him a gift?”
Lu Hanzhi had already thought of an explanation beforehand. He said: “It’s not for any special occasion. I just want to mend my relationship with my father. Ever since I broke the rules and bore a child, he’s never treated me the same. Even though he believes that the child is Your Highness’s—of course, that’s just a convenient excuse, and they don’t know the truth—he remains disappointed in me for having a child out of wedlock. Whenever I return home, he avoids me entirely. I just want to use Your Highness’s influence to improve our relationship. If I give him a sword myself, he probably won’t care. But if it comes from Your Highness, he will value it more. After all, Your Highness holds a noble status. If you are willing to show favor to me and the Lu family, he will see it as an honor.”
After hearing this, Yuwen Min seemed to fall into deep thought.
Lu Hanzhi had mentally prepared himself to refuse, but instead, the other person nodded and said, “Alright. However, all I have here are weapons full of hostility, not scholarly swords. If you want a scholarly sword, you’ll need to go to my older brother for one.”
The Prince Chu’s residence wasn’t far; it was just across from Prince An’s residence.
Before Lu Hanzhi could speak, Yuwen Min took Ah Chan back into his hands and said, “Let’s go! I’ll take you to my older brother to get one.”
Lu Hanzhi felt deeply grateful, not expecting the future tyrant to be so easy-going.
The two of them walked to the Prince Chu’s residence, with the servants at the door seemingly accustomed to Yuwen Min’s frequent visits. They simply saluted and let them in.
Prince Chu happened to be home. With the court being peaceful these days, the princes had been living quietly.
Only the Third Prince was still imprisoned in the Great Zhao prison, but his trial had not yet taken place.
The Emperor treated the Third Prince much the same as the Eldest Prince. He neither wanted his crimes to be confirmed nor wanted to miss the opportunity to stir up trouble.
However, the Third Prince didn’t cause much of a stir, unlike the Eldest Prince, who could create a real impact.
After all, the tribal lands on the grasslands were far away, and causing a significant disturbance from there wasn’t easy.
The Rong family was different. If they ever rebelled, half of the Great Zhao’s territory could be lost.
The Emperor, while frustrated, had to keep pacifying the wronged Rong family and the Eldest Prince.
He even summoned the beloved daughter of the Prince Zhenbei and the Grand Princess, County Princess Zhaoyun, and expressed his intention to marry her to the Eldest Prince.
Lately, the Eldest Prince had been so anxious that he had blisters on his lips. He had claimed to be ill and hadn’t gone to the palace for several days, just to avoid County Princess Zhaoyun.
As soon as Lu Hanzhi arrived, the Eldest Prince ignored his mischievous younger brother and hurriedly took Lu Hanzhi’s hand, asking, “Han’er, why are you here today? Come in, come in! Did something happen with your second brother?”
Lu Hanzhi awkwardly smiled and said, “No, no, Your Highness. I came to you for something.”
Prince Chu appeared to relax, saying, “Oh, what is it?”
Lu Hanzhi explained his purpose and, feeling a bit sorry, added, “I didn’t inform you in advance. I apologize for being so abrupt.”
Prince Chu laughed and said, “You even called me that… and yet, you’re worried about being abrupt?”
Lu Hanzhi really liked Prince Chu’s straightforward and genuine personality. He liked Lu Xuzhi just as he was—honestly and openly showing his feelings, without hiding anything.
After saying this, Prince Chu waved at them and said, “Come, I’ll take you to pick one.”
Upon entering the Eldest Prince’s library, Lu Hanzhi finally understood what it meant to be surrounded by an array of treasures.
The Eldest Prince had a special room for storing scholarly swords, and inside were beautifully crafted short swords of various designs.
For a moment, Lu Hanzhi was overwhelmed by the choices and didn’t know which one to pick.
In the end, Prince Chu took one of the swords hanging in the main hall and handed it to him, saying, “This is the matching sword of the famous scholar Cui Shi from the previous dynasty. Scholars of our dynasty hold Cui Shi in high regard. I believe Lord Lu will certainly like it.”
Lu Hanzhi accepted the sword and nodded with satisfaction, then said to Prince Chu, “Thank you, Second Brother-in-law. My father will surely love it.”
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Min furrowed his brows, while Yuwen Jue smirked.
After leaving Prince Chu’s residence, Yuwen Min said, “I advise you not to call my oldest brother like that in front of outsiders. Be careful—words can lead to trouble.”
Lu Hanzhi replied, “Of course not. I only call him that when we’re alone.”
Yuwen Min seemed somewhat displeased as he said, “The Emperor intends to marry the Eldest Prince to County Princess Zhaoyun. This might not be easy for either of them.”
Lu Hanzhi was shocked and looked up, asking, “What… What? Does my second brother know about this?”
Yuwen Min shook his head, saying, “Probably not. The Eldest Prince won’t allow it to be spoken of, but he’s afraid that your second brother will learn about it from someone else. He’s in a difficult position.”
No wonder Yuwen Jue asked him as soon as he saw him if his second brother was looking for him—he must have been worried that Lu Hanzhi would find out about this.
Lu Hanzhi thought for a moment and said, “I think Prince Chu should tell my second brother about this. Whatever happens, they should face it together. If my second brother doesn’t know and only the Eldest Prince bears it, my second brother will feel sorry for him once he finds out.”
Yuwen Min nodded, “The Eldest Brother is determined not to tell him. These past few days, he’s been too worried to eat or sleep properly, and this morning, he even vomited. His face looks sickly.”
Lu Hanzhi had noticed this too. The Eldest Prince’s complexion was pale, almost waxy.
Lu Hanzhi asked, “Has a doctor been called?”
Yuwen Min shook his head, saying, “He refuses. I had a doctor sent over, but the Eldest Prince rejected him at the door. This is a matter of the heart, and I doubt a doctor can solve it.”
Lu Hanzhi sighed, saying, “If it’s vomiting, maybe he should try some hawthorn…” He stopped mid-sentence.
Wait, hawthorn? Isn’t that something he shouldn’t casually take?
If he remembered correctly, when he last entered his second brother’s room, he smelled a hint of Xiao Langjun’s scent.
Suddenly, a thought flashed in his mind.
Your favorite BL chaos wouldn’t be possible without coffee… lots of coffee….
Support Ciacia’s translation temple on Kofi—and if the cliffhanger demons are haunting you, join the Han’er Tier to purge them with advanced chapter access (up to 5!) before the masses even blink.
Obrigada pelos capítulos 🥰❣️