Chapter 88
Yuwen Min looked up when he heard the noise and immediately threw the undergarment back into the water.
Lu Hanzhi pretended not to notice anything and said, “What are you dawdling about? We need to leave soon.”
Yuwen Min replied, “I’ll be ready in a moment.”
Lu Hanzhi said, “You’re washing too slowly. Mine is already drying.”
After saying this, he turned around, preparing to leave the room.
Before he left, he casually added, “Hey, what’s there to be embarrassed about? Young men full of vigor, it’s all the same.”
Yuwen Min paused, and the only thing left for him was Lu Hanzhi’s retreating figure.
At this moment, He Ming had already prepared the carriage, and a line of masked bodyguards stood neatly in the courtyard.
Lu Hanzhi, with an expression of disbelief, asked He Ming, “Who ordered these bodyguards to accompany us? We’re supposed to be investigating secretly, yet they’re making such a scene. Don’t they worry about drawing attention?”
He Ming bowed and said, “Young Master, His Royal Highness arranged this.”
Lu Hanzhi looked toward the group of bodyguards, and to his surprise, Xiao Liuzi was standing at the front.
Xiao Liuzi stepped forward, saluted Lu Hanzhi, and said, “Master asked me to temporarily manage the personal guards. Shi Niang*, please rest assured, the hidden guards will only protect us in secret. They won’t draw attention.”
Note: in Chinese, Shi Fu is master, and here Shi Ning refers to master’s wife. Niang means mother.
Lu Hanzhi: ???
Seeing Lu Hanzhi’s confused expression, Xiao Liuzi added, “Each of the hidden guards is highly skilled. They can hide their presence without a trace.”
Lu Hanzhi twitched his lips and said, “Liu’er, who taught you to call me that?”
Xiao Liuzi thought for a moment and corrected himself, “Shi…Die?”
Note: Shi Die technically is father lmao. The difference is that previously he called Lu Hanzhi mother now he calls him father. It’s more of a word play due to Lu Hanzhi’s gender.
Lu Hanzhi nearly spat blood. He waved his hand and said, “As long as you’re happy.”
From a distance, Lu Hanzhi saw Yuwen Min walking over with a dignified air. He carried a heavy sword on his back, and a personal attendant followed him.
Ah Chan, of course, had to go along. After all, he couldn’t leave Lu Hanzhi at night, and no one could stand the fuss he made.
The accompanying party naturally included Luan Feng and two matrons from the prince’s residence assigned to Lu Hanzhi. Recently, Ah Chan had finally gotten familiar with the new caretakers, and sometimes, with Luan Feng’s coaxing, he could fall asleep. However, if he didn’t see his father at night, he would often wake up in the middle of the night.
The two carriages, one behind the other, silently left the city while it was still early.
Lu Hanzhi held a map in his hand and spoke quietly to Yuwen Min, “We’ll probably need about three days of travel to reach Xinglin Slope.”
Yuwen Min glanced at the map and said, “It’s in Dongshan County.”
Lu Hanzhi nodded, “I heard that Xinglin Slope got its name because nearly eight out of ten families there are doctors. The medical skills in Xinglin Slope are renowned worldwide.”
Yuwen Min nodded, “I’ve heard of it.”
Lu Hanzhi asked, “Did you hear it from Doctor Lin?”
Yuwen Min nodded again.
On this journey, Lu Hanzhi kept wanting to strike up a conversation with Yuwen Min.
From astronomy to geography, from political knowledge he’d learned in university textbooks to the rules and systems of his world.
He talked a lot, and in the end, Lu Hanzhi thought this was probably what deep communication felt like.
Why hasn’t he completed the monarch related mission yet?
He thought to himself, this silly system… could it be the deep communication it meant?
But then he realized it wasn’t possible. Though the system was unreliable, it wasn’t that mischievous.
He must have missed the right topic. Eventually, he’d find the right one.
That night, they stayed at a large inn located in a busy marketplace.
Yuwen Min had left the capital secretly, without reporting his whereabouts, so he was unable to stay at the government guest house.
He Ming went and requested a room in the upper floor, along with two regular rooms.
Lu Hanzhi entered the room holding Ah Chan, while Yuwen Min instructed Xiao Liuzi to scout the surroundings and check the terrain.
Lu Hanzhi looked at Xiao Liuzi, who had grown nearly half a head taller in less than a year, and had put on a little more weight than when he first arrived at the prince residence. He felt a deep sense of pride.
Ah Man, watching from the heavens, must be at peace now.
As Yuwen Min had said, Xiao Liuzi was indeed a natural at martial arts.
Especially in practicing qinggong skill, after just six months of training, Xiao Liuzi could leap lightly onto the roof.
One could not help but acknowledge that following Yuwen Min was a good way to learn.
Compared to his previous timidity, Xiao Liuzi’s skills had reached the level of an adult.
After returning, Xiao Liuzi reported on the surrounding situation, and Yuwen Min nodded. But when he looked over, Lu Hanzhi had already ordered the inn’s signature dishes and was sitting down, waiting for him to eat together.
Yuwen Min sat beside him and said, “When traveling, it’s best to be cautious about everything.”
Lu Hanzhi nodded. “It is indeed wise to be careful. Have you ever been attacked?”
Yuwen Min replied, “It’s rare for a prince to not be targeted by assassins.”
Lu Hanzhi couldn’t help but feel a touch of sympathy. “It must not have been easy for you princes to grow up! But… there is one thing I am really curious about. Is there really a team in the harem dedicated to terminating pregnancies?”
Yuwen Min looked confused. Lu Hanzhi explained, “It’s a group that ensures no other concubines have children, by secretly using drugs to cause miscarriages.”
Yuwen Min replied, “Yes, there is.”
Lu Hanzhi was astonished. “Really?”
Yuwen Min continued, “But it wasn’t in the harem; it was by the former political relatives who once held power.”
Lu Hanzhi became interested and, as he ate, asked, “Oh? Tell me more.”
Yuwen Min explained, “Once, the Xiao family controlled the court. The late emperor was weak, and the empress had only two sons and one daughter. Compared to the current emperor’s seven sons… plus the two concubines who are pregnant, doesn’t this make the family too thin?”
Lu Hanzhi slowly nodded. That was indeed too few children, and the youngest, Yuwen Min, was born only in the late years of the late emperor.
Yuwen Min continued, “Despite having so few children, it was the empress dowager who spared no effort to protect them. To ensure the two pregnant concubines were safe, she even hid them in her own palace, the Kunning Palace. She made them serve her, claiming it was out of jealousy for their beauty. Only after the children were born did people realize the true reason behind it. But even after the children were born, protecting them in such circumstances was difficult. The empress dowager also argued fiercely with her father and brothers in court, threatening that if anything happened to the children she had raised, it would be their fault, which actually ensured the children’s safety and allowed them to grow up.”
After hearing Yuwen Min’s explanation, Lu Hanzhi admired the empress dowager more and more.
It must have been a time filled with swords and bloodshed. He couldn’t even imagine how she endured it.
Yet, after the emperor ascended the throne, he turned around and did something ungrateful. The empress dowager, who was not his biological mother but was like one, was truly heartless.
In comparison, Yuwen Min seemed to be more loyal and affectionate.
Lu Hanzhi opened a jar of wine and said, “Drink less, to honor our loyal and righteous Prince An.”
This time, however, Yuwen Min didn’t indulge Lu Hanzhi. Instead, he took the jar from him, sealed it, and put it back, saying, “I can’t guarantee I will be able to control myself with you. The last time, things got out of my control.”
Lu Hanzhi blinked and tried to control his cravings.
It had been a long time since he had drunk wine. Was he really not going to let him drink?
Seeing Lu Hanzhi staring at the jar, Yuwen Min firmly opened the window and poured the wine out into the pond outside.
He couldn’t let things develop any further before he figured some things out.
Lu Hanzhi lay down, feeling a bit disappointed, but then saw Yuwen Min open the door and instruct Xiao Liuzi, “Go get a jar of plum wine.”
Lu Hanzhi’s eyes sparkled!
Plum wine had a low alcohol content, so it was more like a fruity alcoholic beverage.
It could satisfy his craving for alcohol without making him drunk.
Soon, Xiao Liuzi returned with a jar of plum wine and respectfully handed it to Lu Hanzhi, saying, “Shi… Die.”
Lu Hanzhi: …
Yuwen Min: …
After Xiao Li left, Yuwen Min turned to Lu Hanzhi and asked, “Did you teach him to call you that?”
Lu Hanzhi thought for a moment and replied, “No, he figured it out on his own. But… it’s better than calling me ‘Shi Niang,’ right?”
That would be way too feminine.
Yuwen Min couldn’t help but laugh, feeling that being with Lu Hanzhi brought something new every day.
Eight-month-old Ah Chan could now support himself on the table and slowly walk. He climbed up to the couch, stood up, and waddled his little fat legs forward.
Yuwen Min didn’t stop him and let him continue climbing on his own.
Lu Hanzhi took a sip of plum wine and watched the scene.
He observed Ah Chan’s efforts for a while, then spoke, “Our Ah Chan sure has long legs.”
Yuwen Min subconsciously looked at Lu Hanzhi’s legs and said, “They probably take after your big pig trotter!”
Lu Hanzhi beamed with pride, “Of course.”
Yuwen Min felt a slight bitterness in his heart. Although he knew it was irrational, he couldn’t help it.
He instinctively replied, “My legs are also long.”
Lu Hanzhi choked on his wine, patting his chest as he said, “Well, of course! Your Highness has a perfect figure.”
Yuwen Min then asked, “Compared to your big pig trotter?”
Lu Hanzhi was about to burst out laughing. He replied, “Exactly the same—perfect.”
Yuwen Min didn’t know whether to feel happy or disappointed, but at least in Lu Hanzhi’s mind, he was as important as that big pig trotter.
Ah… I want to kill someone.
Although Yuwen Min wasn’t sure whether he should feel happy, it was clear that Su Wan’ning wasn’t happy at all.
Recently, she had really been unlucky, repeatedly falling into Lu Hanzhi’s hands.
It was bad enough that she had suffered a huge loss during the Empress Dowager’s birthday gift incident, but now even the line with County Princess Zhaoyun had been intercepted by him.
Now that Doctor Lin had even moved into the Crown Prince’s residence, he checked Zhaoyun’s pulse every day.
It was one thing for County Princess Zhaoyun to be involved, but even Lu Haozhi’s injuries were now being personally treated by him.
In just a few days, Lu Haozhi, whose legs had been broken, could already hold onto something and slowly move around.
But Su Wan’ning truly had no energy left to handle anything else. She had exhausted herself emotionally, planning to make a bold move, but ended up hurting herself time and again.
When she fell seriously ill, the Crown Prince only blamed it on her taking blood for the Crown Prince’s transcription of the classics.
He just ordered the doctor to take good care of her, not letting her suffer from wind or labor.
The Crown Prince was also burdened by national affairs, the Emperor had fallen ill, Prince Chu was nurturing his child, and Prince An had no interest in the court, focusing solely on martial arts.
Recently, with the martial exams upon them, the Crown Prince had no time to deal with matters in the back palace.
Even when County Princess Zhaoyun almost miscarried, he only visited her room at night, asked if the child was safe, and after confirming, didn’t give it another thought.
Because of this, Doctor Lin stayed briefly at the Crown Prince’s residence, and the Crown Prince didn’t stop him.
County Princess Zhaoyun went all out, pleading for Lu Haozhi, insisting that he didn’t intend to harm anyone, and that breaking his legs was already too harsh a punishment. Kicking him out of the Crown Prince’s residence was completely uncalled for.
The Crown Prince had to compromise with Zhaoyun, as Su Wan’ning no longer had the strength to interfere with his decisions.
During this period, she could only rest and regain her energy, no longer daring to take any action.
Meanwhile, Lu Hanzhi and Yuwen Min arrived at their destination, Xinglin Slope.
Your favorite BL chaos wouldn’t be possible without coffee… lots of coffee….
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