Chapter 72
At this moment, Yuwen Min was also feeling a bit frustrated. He had done nothing wrong last night, so why was he being misunderstood?
He finally understood why Lu Hanzhi had stopped Ah Chan from biting his neck earlier. The little guy certainly bit in the wrong place.
But for some reason, he was oddly pleased about it.
Lu Hanzhi, on the other hand, cleared his throat, as if acknowledging their actions. With a shy expression, he said, “Empress Dowager….. please don’t tease us.”
Yuwen Min: ??!!
The Empress Dowager laughed and finally pulled out the object she had been looking for.
It was a blue cloth pouch containing a pure white jade ruyi.
Ah Chan was about to receive another token.
The little guy had already collected tokens from several important people, mostly jade ruyi, but also jade pendants or jade locks.
The Empress Dowager stuffed the jade ruyi into Ah Chan’s large bellyband and said, “Do you know whose this is?”
Lu Hanzhi shook his head.
The Empress Dowager smiled, “It belonged to the late emperor, but it’s of no use now that he’s gone, so I’m giving it to Ah Chan.”
Lu Hanzhi was astonished and immediately stood up with Yuwen Min, bowing deeply to the Empress Dowager, “Thank you, Empress Dowager, for your kindness to Ah Chan.”
The Empress Dowager waved them to rise and spoke, “It’s nothing important. Since the person is gone, what use are these tokens?”
It was clear that the Empress Dowager still held deep affection for the late emperor.
The late emperor had not many consorts, and after several senior consorts had stayed by the imperial tomb for a few months, the Empress Dowager had granted them favors—either to accompany their children or to find their own places for retirement.
Lu Hanzhi said, “If the Empress Dowager ever feels tired or bored, you can come to my estate to relax. I’ve recently built a kiln, and I’m planning to make a white porcelain Guanyin statue to present to you for your 66th birthday.”
The Empress Dowager paused for a moment before smiling, “It’s rare for you to remember my birthday. I’m sure even the emperor has forgotten.”
Lu Hanzhi replied, “The emperor is busy with state affairs. But I’m sure he won’t forget your birthday. It’s your special one, and the whole country should celebrate.”
The Empress Dowager waved her hand and said, “I’m old now and don’t want to trouble myself anymore. But what you mentioned about the kiln, I’m quite interested in. I’ll come by your place another day to take a look.”
Lu Hanzhi immediately smiled and said, “That would be great! When you come, you can even make a piece of porcelain yourself. There’s nothing more fulfilling than holding and admiring a piece you’ve personally made.”
There were many types of kilns used for making porcelain figurines, which were considered craft items.
At that time, Lu Hanzhi planned to study the process carefully and make sure to please the Empress Dowager.
Lu Hanzhi always felt that someone capable of outwitting the dominant figures in the harem could not be an ordinary person.
The original text didn’t elaborate on this, probably because the Empress Dowager had long passed the point of resentment in her heart.
By the time they left the Empress Dowager’s palace, it was almost noon. Yuwen Min thought for a moment, then pulled Lu Hanzhi along and said, “Let’s go! We’ll have lunch at Mother Concubine’s palace.”
Lu Hanzhi asked, “Has Imperial Concubine Rong prepared the meal?”
Yuwen Min found it amusing. “Do you think I’d let my Wang Fei go hungry?”
Lu Hanzhi felt a strange sense of superiority and said, “I must admit, this identity is quite useful.”
Yuwen Min replied, “As long as Wang Fei is happy, that’s enough.”
Lu Hanzhi responded, “Our situation isn’t bad, actually. We can each do our own thing. But Your Highness, if you have someone you like, don’t waste time and miss out on what’s important.”
Yuwen Min stopped walking and looked at Lu Hanzhi, who was wearing auspicious robes, thoughtfully.
Today, Lu Hanzhi seemed less flirtatious than yesterday, with more of a heroic air.
The robes actually made him appear somewhat imposing.
Yuwen Min, who could usually enjoy the beauty of a person in silence, found that once Lu Hanzhi spoke, it was impossible to resist a feeling of disillusionment.
The beauty was real, but the charm was a bit over the top.
Yuwen Min said, “Don’t worry. The reason I got medicine from Doctor Lin is that I don’t want you to lose your virtue here with me and then be unable to explain it to your big pig trotter.”
Lu Hanzhi found it amusing. He was somewhat speechless but decided to tease him: “Wait… Your Highness, do you care about that? Do you care if your partner has been with someone else?”
Yuwen Min didn’t know how to answer such a direct question. How could he respond?
He couldn’t help but remember how Lu Hanzhi had struggled last night from the passion, and his throat involuntarily tightened.
He moved forward and said, “No.”
Yes, he didn’t care. To him, it wasn’t a flaw.
Lu Hanzhi nearly burst out laughing. He quickly caught up with Yuwen Min and said, “You don’t care? But I do! If a man sleeps with another man or a woman, the cucumber’s no longer clean! Tsk tsk, just thinking about it feels dirty. No, no, I won’t have such a dirty man.”
Yuwen Min: ???
Even though he knew Lu Hanzhi was messing with him, Yuwen Min couldn’t help but want to knock his head.
Luckily, he was holding Ah Chan in his arms; otherwise, he might have been unable to stop himself from smashing Lu Hanzhi’s head.
Imperial Concubine Rong had been eagerly awaiting their visit to the palace, as it was rare for her to see her children for several days in a row.
However, Prince Chu had woken up feeling unwell and couldn’t come to the palace.
This time, only Prince An and his wife had arrived.
Concubine Rong had instructed the Imperial Kitchen to prepare many of Yuwen Min’s favorite dishes and a variety of snacks for the children, hoping they would come early.
But after waiting until noon, it was only when her youngest son and his wife arrived at the Chenxi Pavilion.
The senior palace maid, Er Ya, immediately welcomed them and signaled the junior maids to serve the food.
Soon, a full table of delicious dishes was set in the hall of Chenxi Pavilion.
Before Lu Hanzhi could greet Imperial Concubine Rong, she hurriedly approached and took Ah Chan from his arms. Recently, the concubine had become more relaxed around them.
Yuwen Min, however, had become used to it. As a daughter of a general, his mother was not a fragile woman like the others in the palace.
She could fight just as fiercely as any man.
As she took Ah Chan from Lu Hanzhi, Imperial Concubine Rong said, “You two sit down. The food is ready. You can eat first. I had Er Ya bring out some of my homemade osmanthus wine for you both to drink.”
The two of them shared an unspoken understanding and both reached out at the same time, saying, “No, no, thank you, Mother Concubine.”
Imperial Concubine Rong paused and then laughed.
She realized that her youngest son would collapse after a cup, and his wife is a Xiao Langjun.
But she was prepared, and she said, “Min’er can drink two bowls of my osmanthus wine, but today, just one bowl. Han’er… Did you just go through it last night?”
Lu Hanzhi: ???
Concubine Rong looked at his neck and said, “The love mark hasn’t faded…” Then, she looked at Yuwen Min’s neck and added, “Tsk tsk, the battle must have been fierce.”
Lu Hanzhi: !!!
Great Detective Felix Faure, Mo Song?
Yuwen Min was also helpless. He looked at Lu Hanzhi and said, “If I had known it would be like this, I’d have made sure the accusation was true.”
Lu Hanzhi said, “I was thinking the same. Your Highness, would you like to make up for it tonight?”
Yuwen Min: …
At this point, Yuwen Min resigned himself to the situation. There was no way to outdo Lu Hanzhi’s mischievousness, so he sat down obediently to eat.
At that moment, a palace maid served them wine in small cups, enough to fill about one bowl after drinking several cups.
Lu Hanzhi frowned at the small cups, and it seemed the senior palace maid noticed his thoughts. She stepped forward and smiled, “Let me change the cup for Wang Fei.”
Lu Hanzhi was satisfied. Since he had just gotten his period last night, no matter how much he drank today, it wouldn’t make it come early.
He smiled brightly at Yuwen Min and said, “Your Highness, your strength is impressive, but your wine drinking is too petty. Come, let’s drink from big cups!”
Yuwen Min’s lips twitched, and he looked up at Imperial Concubine Rong: Mother Concubine, are you going to stop this?
Imperial Concubine Rong, holding Ah Chan, was content with her grandchild and didn’t care about their drinking habits.
Er Ya, seeing what the concubine had in mind, moved quickly to replace the small cups with larger ones for Yuwen Min.
Yuwen Min, with a headache, looked at the large bowl. He knew very well what kind of person he was when drunk.
He wasn’t afraid of embarrassing himself; after all, he had done so in front of his mother, his imperial brother, and even in front of this little monkey last time.
Alright! If drinking was inevitable, then so be it!
Some people said that a person’s tolerance for alcohol could be built up, but no matter how much Yuwen Min tried, he couldn’t seem to develop any tolerance.
The best he could do was to try not to drink, maintaining his clarity of mind.
Fortunately, he had tried before, and after getting drunk, no one could harm him, so he didn’t care much about this harmless flaw.
Lu Hanzhi picked up a piece of lotus fish, raised his wine bowl, and clinked it with Yuwen Min’s, then drank half of his bowl in one go.
Before crossing into this book, Lu Hanzhi had a good tolerance for alcohol, and even after crossing, he could drink two or three jin without any issue.
For low-alcohol wines like the one Imperial Concubine Rong was serving, he could drink one or two jin as easily as drinking plain water.
But alcohol was still liquid, and drinking too much could lead to frequent trips to the restroom.
After visiting the restroom three times, Lu Hanzhi finally managed to get Yuwen Min thoroughly drunk.
Imperial Concubine Rong, observing from the side, was utterly shocked by what she was witnessing. This was the first time she had seen a couple behave like this.
This wasn’t a married couple at all; they were clearly more like close brothers, weren’t they?
Er Ya, also watching in astonishment, leaned over to Imperial Concubine Rong and whispered, “Young Lady, why do I feel like the Fourth Prince and the Wang Fei… well…”
Imperial Concubine Rong thought for a moment and said, “Perhaps this is their unique way of interacting. Who says a man or a woman has to always admire their spouse? Only when standing on equal footing can one go further together.”
Er Ya clicked her tongue in awe. “To be able to stand on equal footing with the Fourth Prince, this Young Master Lu is no simple character.”
Imperial Concubine Rong also noticed this. Holding Ah Chan in her arms, she instructed a palace maid to prepare a resting place for them.
At this point, Yuwen Min was completely drunk from Lu Hanzhi’s relentless drinking. He staggered as he walked, seeing double images of everything.
He refused to listen to anyone’s words, only responding to Lu Hanzhi.
Lu Hanzhi was also drunk. He stepped forward to support Yuwen Min and asked, “How about we go lie down for a bit?”
Yuwen Min agreed, “Okay.”
Lu Hanzhi then asked, “Where should we sleep?”
Yuwen Min answered, “My… room.”
Lu Hanzhi replied, “It wouldn’t be proper for me to sleep in your room, would it?”
Yuwen Min retorted, “A prince and his Wang Fei. What’s… improper about it?”
Lu Hanzhi asked again, “But… we…”
Yuwen Min had already taken his hand and was pulling him toward his private chamber, saying as they walked, “Come, I’ll take you to sleep.”
Lu Hanzhi, feeling a bit tipsy, muttered, “Alright, sleep.”
Yuwen Min said, “Wang Fei, I… don’t want you to leave.”
Lu Hanzhi, dazed, replied, “What?”
They entered the private chamber, and Er Ya had already prepared the bed. After making sure everything was set, she quietly left.
Yuwen Min removed his clothes and lay down on the bed. Lu Hanzhi followed and naturally snuggled close to him.
Lu Hanzhi felt something was off. He looked down, then suddenly sat up straight.
He lifted the blanket and jumped out of bed, instantly sobering up. Stepping back, he exclaimed, “Yuwen Min! Do you… sleep naked!?”
Yuwen Min’s erect figure left Lu Hanzhi startled, his heart racing.
Your favorite BL chaos wouldn’t be possible without coffee… lots of coffee….
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