Chapter 187
Lin Qingyang and Chu Lishu continued their peaceful days in the palace, accompanying the Fourth Prince in his studies. With Crown Prince Yuan Ye and the Third Prince absent, their study partners were naturally absent as well. The Eldest Prince had already been granted the title of king and no longer needed to attend the royal study hall. Meanwhile, Yue Chen and Huo Luo were preparing for their journey south and would participate in the investigation of the disaster situation, a request Chu Lishu had signaled for them to make to the Emperor.
Their reasons were easily found; with the recent lack of educational activities in the palace, they claimed to be bored and wanted to have some fun by going south. Given their usual capricious behavior, they were particularly adept at such things.
During this time, the Emperor needed unbiased officials to help uncover any corruption within the palace. As a result, the palace became quite relaxed. Lin Qingyang’s main task was to occasionally send people out to convey messages and inquire about the condition of the two female relatives receiving medical treatment at home.
Three days later, Yue Chen received a medicine chest from Lu Shi, which explained the various medications and their purposes.
Yue Chen expressed his gratitude to Lu Shi and saw him off before hurrying next door to find Huo Luo.
Huo Luo was practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard. With the hot summer weather, he was mostly shirtless, revealing his healthy and handsome bronzed skin. Every muscle on his tall frame seemed perfectly proportioned and defined, with the sunlight glistening on the beads of sweat, making him almost dazzling.
Yue Chen approached with light steps, waiting for him to finish his routine before speaking. In the past, he used to observe and analyze his moves, but now he found it difficult to look directly at him.
Huo Luo had already noticed Yue Chen’s arrival and quickly finished his sword practice. He caught the handkerchief thrown by Yue Chen and used it to wipe away the sweat on his body.
“What’s up?” Huo Luo approached, pouring himself some tea and water.
“Take a look, it’s from His Highness through Lu Shi,” Yue Chen opened the medicine box and introduced its contents to Huo Luo one by one.
Huo Luo’s expression turned strange upon hearing the name of a particular medicine. “Why is there a Xie Chun in here?”
Yue Chen chuckled, “What’s wrong? Isn’t it just right for you? Do you want to experience that kind of pain again?”
“Hmph!” Huo Luo immediately shot Yue Chen a glare.
Yue Chen smiled as he put away the medicine box and continued, “By the way, I heard outside that after the death of the supervisor of the Qintian Observatory, the Emperor privately tested the other four deputy chiefs, and sure enough, Gu Jing was promoted. It seems that the Cheng family still has some ability.”
Huo Luo frowned at the mention of the Cheng family. After all, the esteemed Empress Cheng was the Crown Prince’s biological mother. Although the Crown Prince was raised by the late Empress since childhood and treated her exceptionally well, it was still unexpected…
“With such relatives around, I can understand why His Highness doesn’t want descendants,” Huo Luo couldn’t help but comment.
“Huh? What are you talking about?” Yue Chen was puzzled for a moment. “When did His Highness tell you he doesn’t want descendants?”
“Before, when Gu Jing took a look at His Highness his palm, he mentioned it,” Huo Luo explained.
“What! Why haven’t I heard about this?” Yue Chen immediately became excited.
“That day, it was during the carriage ride, and we were discussing official matters. No one brought it up again after that,” Huo Luo recalled.
Yue Chen reached out and grabbed Huo Luo’s neck. “How dare you hog all the gossip about His Highness! Tell me everything, word for word, right now!”
Huo Luo quickly reached out and grabbed Yue Chen’s neck, recounting the conversation.
Yue Chen listened in shock, his eyes flickering. “Perhaps His Highness is truly disappointed with the Yuan clan, but now he’s probably more concerned about someone else. His Highness will always be His Highness, and his actions are admirable.”
“When His Highness chose Qingyang, it was expected,” Huo Luo added, refusing to back down. “It’s not surprising.”
Yue Chen looked at Huo Luo’s determined face. Huo Luo was different from the Crown Prince, so there was no point in expecting anything. He had always known this.
“What are you looking at?” Huo Luo became increasingly sensitive to Yue Chen’s gaze and turned to meet it directly.
Yue Chen smiled and said, “I was just thinking, since His Highness was willing to wear women’s clothing fpr Lin Qingyang, what else can’t he do? But considering we’ve all seen His Highness in women’s clothing, will we be silenced in the future?”
Huo Luo’s lips were about to smirk, but he finally coughed reluctantly. “You’re always teasing His Highness. Be careful, or I’ll report you.”
“Don’t be so stingy. Well, just between us brothers, do you think His Highness looks good in women’s clothing? I didn’t dare to look closely at the time.”
“Do you think I dare? Except for Qingyang, who often catches glimpses, which one of us dares to look?” Huo Luo said here, suddenly glanced at Yue Chen, with a teasing tone, “I’d say, if you dressed up as a woman, you might look good too.”
Yue Chen squinted as he looked over at Huo Luo, who straightened his neck, ready to relish Yue Chen’s embarrassment for a moment. However, suddenly seeing Yue Chen’s mouth twitch, he instinctively felt something was amiss, but it was too late to retract his words.
Yue Chen then said hesitantly, “Since Brother Huo wants to see me in women’s clothing, I’ll go borrow some clothes from Auntie. I’ll just tell her that her son insists on seeing it, and I have no choice but to yield to your coercion.”
With that, Yue Chen abruptly jumped away, about to run off.
Huo Luo was greatly alarmed, knowing that Yue Chen was capable of such self-detrimental actions to gain the upper hand, so he hurriedly tried to stop him.
Having grown up together, Yue Chen naturally knew a few tricks to counterattack, and in the midst of their struggle, he proved as elusive as a fox, making it impossible for Huo Luo to get a grip on him. Huo Luo never dared to truly fight him, but in his panic, he grabbed Yue Chen’s collar and pulled forcefully backward. Yue Chen, losing his balance, toppled backward, and behind him was a stone table.
In a moment of crisis, Huo Luo, fearing Yue Chen might get hurt, instinctively reached out to grab him, but both of them tumbled and collided with the stone table with a loud thud.
Huo Luo, shirtless, ended up pressing directly onto Yue Chen’s body, while Yue Chen leaned back, half-laying on the table, with the back of his head supported by Huo Luo’s hand.
Both of them were stunned, locked in a close gaze, feeling each other’s rapid breaths and the discomfort of their bodies pressing against each other.
Yue Chen could only feel the weight of Huo Luo’s body heat bearing down on him heavily, almost making him feel overheated, while Huo Luo felt his body tensing up, the hot blood he had just exerted during his martial arts practice surging again.
Suddenly, footsteps could be heard in the distance, but neither of them reacted.
“Brother… I heard some noise, are you bullying… Ah!” Huo’s younger sister, a petite figure carrying a spear, walked in, ready to stand up for Yue Chen, only to witness the scene. She immediately covered her eyes, dropping the spear to the floor.
“I didn’t see anything, you two continue.” Then, a series of tinkling laughter faded away, leaving the two of them bewildered.
“What’s your sister doing?” Yue Chen exclaimed in astonishment.
“I have no idea, she has been so jittery lately,” Huo Luo raised an eyebrow. “Look, karma’s striking back, your waist is broken, be careful of leaving sequelae. Your back won’t be the same again.”
Huo Luo was fine bending down, but it was a different story for Yue Chen.
Just as Huo Luo was about to help Yue Chen up, Yue Chen suddenly hooked his foot, destabilizing Huo Luo’s firm footing. With a swift movement, Yue Chen exerted force from his waist and flipped them over, reversing their positions.
Huo Luo, not accustomed to being pinned down, instinctively tried to resist.
“Don’t move!” came the authoritative tone again.
Huo Luo froze, his wrists instantly caught by Yue Chen’s hands and pressed against the table.
“Huo Luo, dare you question my waist? Don’t you know you shouldn’t doubt a man’s waist? And even if I’m not as skilled as you in martial arts, I still have some basic manners!”
Huo Luo stared blankly at Yue Chen above him, who was smiling confidently. As a primal strongman, Huo Luo felt oppressed by Yue Chen’s occasional dominance, causing him to feel dry-mouthed and tongue-tied. However, that feeling was short-lived each time, and he instinctively wanted to rise up and seize someone.
Yet, Yue Chen wouldn’t be serious unless it was a real issue, so he had already jumped away in the instant Huo Luo made a move.
“With that exchange, are you feeling any pain in your waist?”
Huo Luo’s face darkened inexplicably, “Do you want to try?”
Yue Chen was taken aback, looking disdainful, “What, do you want to bully me, someone who is powerless?”
Huo Luo immediately felt a familiar surge of frustration.
In the end, Yue Chen was teased into laughter before finally swaying away.
They hadn’t gone far when they bumped into Little Sister Huo. She was holding a small sketchbook, doodling away, and quickly tucked it away upon seeing him.
“Little Sister, did you come to rescue me just now? Thank you, and next time, come earlier, don’t let your brother bully me.”
Little Sister Huo pursed her lips and giggled foolishly, “Okay okay okay, I’ll definitely come a bit later… no, I’ll come on time.”
Even the clever Yue Chen couldn’t communicate with the younger girl, so he just smiled and said, “Tomorrow, when we go to Jiangnan, I’ll bring you some delicious food. Wait for your brothers to come back.”
“Big Brother Yue is always nice to me.”
With that, Yue Chen intended to leave.
But Little Sister Huo turned around and ran to find her brother.
“Brother! What’s going on between you and Big Brother Yue Chen? Are you guys together?” Little Sister Huo blurted out the shocking words as soon as she stepped into the courtyard, almost causing Huo Luo, who was calmly sipping tea, to choke on his tea leaves.
“You little brat, instead of practicing diligently, you’re indulging in wild fantasies!” Huo Luo was greatly shocked, yet at the same time, he couldn’t help feeling guilty deep down.
“Huh? Isn’t it? I just saw…”
“We were fighting!” Huo Luo’s face turned serious as he decisively intervened.
Being young, Little Sister Huo was easily swayed by her brother’s argument, thinking she had misunderstood. She suddenly felt bored.
“Before, our family even wanted me to marry Big Brother Yue.” Little Sister Huo suddenly said.
Huo Luo’s heart tightened instantly. “You’re still young… you don’t understand love and relationships yet, in the future…”
“But I don’t like Big Brother Yue’s type. I want to marry a mighty general like you, Brother, and fight enemies together on the battlefield,” Little Sister Huo said.
Huo Luo suddenly didn’t know what emotions or expressions to have. “Um… It’s your own lifelong decision, you decide.”
“But I really like Big Brother Yue being part of my family,” Little Sister Huo said regretfully. “I thought I could have one more sister-in-law.”
Huo Luo’s breathing rate changed at the mention of the word “sister-in-law.”
“Sigh, it seems like storybooks are really deceiving.”
Huo Luo furrowed his brow. “What storybooks?”
Little Sister Huo immediately changed the subject. “Brother, don’t you like Big Brother Yue at all?”
Huo Luo finally sensed something was amiss. His rough-natured sister, who always discussed martial arts and marksmanship with him, suddenly bringing up these topics seemed odd. “Stop beating around the bush. What do you want to say? If you don’t say it, then leave.”
Little Sister Huo, being caught off guard, could only say helplessly, “I overheard mother and the other aunts talking about finding you later and asking you to visit father’s old friends when you head south.”
Huo Luo furrowed his brow, puzzled.
Little Sister Huo rattled off an explanation.
So, it turns out that when the Huo family’s army went to war years ago, Huo Luo’s father and his deputy general died together on the battlefield. At that time, Huo Luo’s father mentioned in letters home that the deputy general had a daughter who was three years younger than Huo Luo. He proposed that after the war, they could meet and if both parties were satisfied, they could arrange a marriage.
However, after the deaths of both fathers, the Huo family no longer held military power, and naturally, the contact was lost. Recently, upon hearing about Huo Luo’s upcoming trip, his mother suddenly remembered this matter. It was also because Huo Luo’s marriage had been delayed for so long that she became anxious. So, she thought if the other party hadn’t made any arrangements yet, Huo Luo’s visit might just help reestablish contact.
What made Little Sister Huo feel threatened was her mother’s warning that once the new sister-in-law crossed the threshold, she would have to follow her lead in learning what proper behavior for women in the inner chambers entails. She wouldn’t be allowed to spend her days playing with swords and spears. Little Sister Huo naturally preferred her brother and Big Brother Yue being together, as that meant she would have two brothers doting on her and wouldn’t oppose her practicing martial arts and going to battle.
So, she came to try to play matchmaker.
But it seemed things weren’t as she had hoped.
Huo Luo listened for a while, understanding the situation. Just as he was about to speak, his expression suddenly changed, and he dashed out, coincidentally bumping into Yue Chen, who was about to leave.
“Huo Luo, you’re not…” Seeing Yue Chen’s figure, Huo Luo felt a sudden panic and quickly stepped forward to grab Yue Chen’s arm.
Yue Chen’s face turned pale, and he looked somewhat embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. The medicine box was left here with you anyway, but I guess you’ll take care of it just the same. I’ll go back first and prepare other things.”
Huo Luo hadn’t seen Yue Chen with such an expression before. It was as if a confident fox had been drenched in a storm, its beautiful fur soaked, even its eyes obscured. Feeling a lump in his throat, Huo Luo wanted to say something, but Yue Chen had already averted his gaze, freed himself from Huo Luo’s grip, and turned to leave.
Huo Luo stood there, stunned, unsure of what to say if he were to catch up. He could only stand silently, lost in thought.
The next day, at the Imperial Court of Justice Review, some officials from the Ministry of Works, including Marquis An Nan, along with Huo Luo and Yue Chen, set off together.
Huo Luo climbed into the carriage and watched Yue Chen, who had fully recovered, leisurely preparing tea for himself. Seeing him enter, Yue Chen asked, “Why? You’re not gonna ride a horse?”
“Hmm, I’ll ride in the carriage with you.”
Yue Chen suddenly paused, chuckling. “You didn’t actually hurt your back yesterday, did you?”
Huo Luo’s expression darkened instantly. “And you have the nerve to say that! My back looks like it has turned red. How about yours… how is it?”
Yue Chen chuckled. “I’m fine.”
Huo Luo gave him a disdainful glance. Of course, he was fine; Huo Luo had eased up on his grip.
“Oh, by the way, I have something to tell you.”
“Hmm.”
“When we reach Huzhou, I’m going to visit a family.”
Yue Chen’s expression stiffened for a moment, but he quickly regained composure and continued brewing tea. “Is that so? The family you mentioned yesterday, that sounds promising! Maybe you’ll even find a good wife directly.”
Huo Luo furrowed his brow slightly, his expression serious. “You’ll accompany me.”
Yue Chen’s expression finally showed some strain as he looked at Huo Luo wordlessly. “We’re just friends. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to accompany you to visit such families, would it?”
“Why not? I’m just going to visit my father’s old friend’s house, see if there’s any way I can help. It’s not like I’m going to find a wife. What’s wrong with bringing a friend along?” Huo Luo replied.
Yue Chen’s eyes flickered. “Not… looking for a wife?”
“Hmm, I’m not thinking about marriage,” Huo Luo said.
Yue Chen struggled to control his emotions. “What? Are you planning to remain single?”
“I just won’t do anything against my conscience. Besides, His Highness’s affairs take precedence now; everything else comes second,” Huo Luo said.
Yue Chen chuckled. “You’re being silly. His Highness doesn’t care whether you marry or not. Don’t wait until you want to marry and then find out there are no good options left.”
“In that case, I won’t marry. I’ll learn from His Highness. Marrying someone you don’t truly love is meaningless. Besides, what His Highness is planning is already dangerous. We were willing to follow him originally, putting our lives on the line. We shouldn’t delay others,” Huo Luo said with some frustration. “You should be like me, wholeheartedly serving His Highness, no sneaking off. Let’s make a pact.”
Huo Luo seemed to hold his breath, raising his hand. His usually imposing eyes now looked childish, staring straight at Yue Chen.
Yue Chen stared blankly at Huo Luo’s hand, then suddenly chuckled weakly. He raised his hand to meet Huo Luo’s for the pact, but when Huo Luo tried to withdraw, Yue Chen unexpectedly tightened his grip, interlocking their fingers tightly.
Huo Luo was momentarily flustered but instinctively reciprocated, gripping tightly as well. Their eyes met in that intense moment.
Yue Chen’s dark eyes were profound, bottomless. His tone was calm, devoid of jest. “I swear, Huo Luo, if you remain unmarried in this lifetime, then I too shall remain unmarried.”
Huo Luo blinked, hearing that familiar laughter once again. His hand loosened as well.
“Otherwise, leaving you as a bachelor would be quite pitiful, wouldn’t it? How’s that? Is that brotherly enough?”
……
“Oh? Huo Luo…” Lin Qingyang suddenly snapped awake, and a ruler came down.
Chu Lishu reached out and caught it. Though not heavy, they could still hear the sound as it struck their palm.
Lin Qingyang immediately jolted and quickly straightened up, apologizing to the Grand Tutor.
Chu Lishu smiled gently. “I’m sorry, Grand Tutor. My cousin taught me late into the night yesterday, so I’m a bit tired today. It wasn’t intentional.”
The Grand Tutor’s mouth twitched as he retrieved the ruler, shooting Chu Lishu a glare. As the most promising student in his studies, how could Chu Lishu dare to fabricate such an unreasonable excuse? And to say it with such seriousness! Moreover, how long had Lin Qingyang been sleeping? Several times he intended to strike, but Chu Lishu silently reached out to stop him. The Grand Tutor couldn’t bring himself to strike then. Yet now, Lin Qingyang had dared to make noise even while asleep. He had to act, but even so, he couldn’t avoid Chu Lishu’s intervention. Who was the older brother and who was the younger one in this scenario?
The Grand Tutor ended the class with irritation. Lin Qingyang quickly grabbed Chu Lishu’s hand.
“It’s okay, the Grand Tutor’s strikes were light,” Chu Lishu said with a smile.
“Qingyang, did you not sleep well last night?” Xu Wenze asked.
The Fourth Prince yawned, sympathizing with Lin Qingyang’s plight.
Lin Qingyang shook his head awkwardly. It was just that he found it boring to accompany the Fourth Prince in studying very elementary books, which led to him dozing off. He truly admired Chu Lishu’s ability to multitask, appearing to be a well-behaved student on the surface while secretly plotting various schemes.
“What did you dream about just now? And why did you call out Huo Luo’s name?” Chu Lishu suddenly asked, his gaze carrying a hint of scrutiny.
Lin Qingyang didn’t want to elaborate on what he had dreamed about, so he simply said, “Just dreamed that they were having trouble over there.”
“Is that so?” Chu Lishu didn’t press further.
In fact, Lin Qingyang’s dream seemed to mention that the future wife of the future general mentioned in the original plot was from those two severely affected districts. Could they meet her on this trip?
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