“Umm……” Yan Mu lowered her head and twiddled her fingers nervously.
She secretly shot a glance at Yu Yuan, signaling him to save her from this crisis1水生火热 (shuǐshēn-huǒrè) – deep water and scorching fire (idiom); hot water; deep water; dire straits; an abyss of suffering; extreme misery.
Yu Yuan held back his laughter and coughed lightly, “The imperial physician has given Ah Mu medicine to reduce her fever2antipyretic. Although she’s already okay, it’s still not advisable for her to be exposed to the wind for long periods of time.”
At his words, Father Yan glared at Yu Yuan, but reluctantly let Yan Mu go.
“Go back to your room and have a good rest. If you’re sick again, Dad won’t care about what happens to you.” After speaking, Father Yan went into his room to research his new batch of herbal plasters3膏药 (gāoyao) – medicated plasters like Salonpas
The ones used in ancient times might look like this: 
.
Yan Mu sighed in relief and dragged Yu Yuan towards the side room.
“Yu Yuan, I have something to ask you.” Yan Mu returned to her usual smiling4嬉皮笑脸 (xīpí-xiàoliǎn) – idiom; all smiles; smiling mischievously or ingratiatingly self as soon as she entered the room.
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“Txx?” Zw Zwyd pyv sd y nbyka yde rswale y nwr sq bsv vly qsa Zyd Yw.
Zyd Yw eaydj vbl bsv vly kd sdl ts yde blze vbl nwr kd bla bydep, wpkdt vbl alxykdkdt blyv qasx vbl nwr vs oyax blaplzq.
“Kwpv dso, kd vbl Rxrlakyz Rdpvkvwvl sq Yleknkdl, eke usw plnalvzu jkpp xl obkzl R oyp ypzllr?” Zyd Yw zlydle shla vs ypj okvb y pxkzl.
Zw Zwyd’p xshlxldv rywple, yde bl zssjle yoyu yp kq bl eked’v jdso obyv pbl oyp vyzjkdt ycswv.
Tl eked’v pyu yduvbkdt, obknb xlydv bl vynkvzu ytalle.
Zyd Yw qlzv lhld byrrkla.
Tsolhla, Zw Zwyd pweeldzu ypjle, “Tso eke usw jdso?”
Zyd Yw’p pxkzl qasgl.
She put down her teacup and awkwardly said, “A woman’s intuition.”
Yu Yuan’s eyes slightly darkened, staring at the red lips so close to him now.
He remembered how Yan Mu had teased him in the horse carriage just before.
Without waiting for Yan Mu to react, Yu Yuan picked her up and placed her on the bed.
Then, he leaned down and directly kissed her seductive red lips.
Eventually, Yan Mu was gasping for breath from the kiss, and when she couldn’t stand it any longer, she pushed Yu Yuan away.
“What are you doing?” Her voice was hoarse. Instead of sounding like she was reprimanding him, it seemed like she was coyly pretending to be angry.
“Tomorrow, I’m going to the Eldest Prince’s residence,” Yu Yuan suddenly said.
Hearing him mention the Eldest Prince, Yan Mu remembered that large fire.
Her body trembled involuntarily.
Yu Yuan hugged Yan Mu comfortingly.
“Are you afraid of the Eldest Prince?” Yu Yuan asked.
“I’m not afraid,” Yan Mu shook her head and said seriously. “I hate him. If one day he’s in trouble, I’ll have to kick his ass.”
“He won’t be complacent for too long.” A dark glint flashed in Yu Yuan’s eyes.
“How so?” Yan Mu was instantly energized.
“His Majesty’s body is weak, so there are more and more disputes about succession in the court…… the Eldest Prince is already thirty-two, so sometimes he resorts to extreme measures.”
Yan Mu understood the implications behind Yu Yuan’s words.
The Emperor had probably discovered that the assassination at the banquet had something to do with the Eldest Prince.
She wondered how the Emperor would deal with the Eldest Prince.
According to the plot, although the Eldest Prince would be punished for now, later, since his mother was the favored Noble Consort, it would be more like a slap on the wrist5雷声大雨点小 (léishēng dà, yǔdiǎn xiǎo) – loud thunder, but only tiny drops of rain (idiom); a lot of talk, but no action.
Yan Mu sighed, and felt like it was all rather unfair for Chu Cong.
Both of them had the same father. The Eldest Prince was clearly dissolute, unprincipled, and tyrannical, but was highly valued by their father.
While Chu Cong was……
If he hadn’t been the son of the Empress but born from an ordinary concubine instead, she feared that it would’ve been difficult for him to grow up safely.
“Chu Cong is so pitiful,” Yan Mu couldn’t help but sigh.
As soon as she spoke, she felt Yu Yuan’s body tremble.
“What’s wrong?” Yan Mu asked, while hugging Yu Yuan.
“……Ah Mu can’t think of other men,” Yu Yuan said sullenly.
“No way.” Yan Mu didn’t know whether to cry or to laugh. “You’re even jealous of Chu Cong?”
This was as unbelievable as the Empress thinking that she was having an affair with Chu Cong.
“You still can’t think about him.”
Yan Mu didn’t know of Chu Cong’s feelings, so Yu Yuan naturally wouldn’t be foolish enough to openly speak of them to her.
The time Yan Mu was summoned into the palace by the Empress was still vivid in Yu Yuan’s mind.
For someone like Chu Cong, even a casual glance or gesture from him would cause a huge uproar.
Not to mention the matter of love.
A prince’s love was enough to kill an ordinary person.
I had no intention to kill Boren, but he died because of me6我不杀伯仁，伯仁因我而死 (wǒ bù shā bó rén, bó rén què yīn wǒ ér sǐ) – This is a proverb from Book of Jin, Volume 69, Historical Biography 39; Zhou Yi with courtesy name Boren, died; The meaning of this proverb is although I resent Boren, I had no intention of killing him; but because of my resentment, he was killed, and his death was indirectly related to me.; If you want to know more, google ‘Book of Jin’..
Chu Cong knew this well, so he had been avoiding Yan Mu.
But even so, the Empress still became suspicious.
Fortunately, Yan Mu got through the crisis safely.
Yu Yuan lowered his eyes.
The sky gradually turned dark. Yu Yuan would be going to the Eldest Prince’s residence early tomorrow morning, so he had to go to bed early tonight.
Although he really wanted to sleep with the fragrant and soft Yan Mu in his arms, Father Yan was right next door, so he still held himself back.
Yu Yuan reluctantly released Yan Mu.
Under Yan Mu’s teasing gaze, he let out a long sigh and went to the wide bed next door with heavy steps.
********************
At dawn, Yu Yuan arrived at the palace.
Eunuch Li, who was regarded as the Emperor’s personal eunuch, was in charge of delivering the imperial decree. Yu Yuan would be going to the Eldest Prince’s residence with him.
Everyone was well aware that the Eldest Prince was involved in the assassination attempt during the Empress’s birthday banquet.
The Emperor’s so-called decree was nothing more than finding an excuse to put the Eldest Prince under house arrest as a way to protect him.
After all, as long as the Noble Consort was still around, the Eldest Prince wouldn’t fall.
Sure enough, when Yu Yuan and Eunuch Li came to the Eldest Prince’s residence, the Eldest Prince still looked as wanton and unscrupulous as before.
He was surrounded by beautiful women in skimpy clothes, and when he saw Eunuch Li, he didn’t even get up to receive him.
After all, the Eldest Prince was a prince, so facing such a master, Eunuch Li couldn’t do anything about it.
Although he was the Chief Eunuch, he could only wait on the side for the Eldest Prince to get up.
After the Eldest Prince had had enough fun, he waved his hand to dismiss the beauties.
He patted his clothes, stood up, and asked pretentiously, “Ah, apologies for my tardiness. I was entangled in matters of extending my bloodline7开枝散叶 (kāi zhī sàn yè) – lit. to spread branches and leaves; to bear children; to produce offspring. Eunuch Li isn’t angry, right?”
Eunuch Li was naturally angry, but he could only pretend he wasn’t with a smile.
It was quite strange.
The Eldest Prince was licentious, devoid of principles, and indulgent in women. He was already thirty-two, but still didn’t have a single child.
Thinking of this, Eunuch Li felt his anger slightly subside.
His expression remained unchanged as he took out the imperial decree and started to read it aloud.
Only then did the Eldest Prince reluctantly kneel down.
The content of the decree was as everyone expected— the Eldest Prince was startled when protecting the Emperor from assassination, so the Emperor ordered him to recuperate in his residence for three months.
It was actually house arrest in disguise.
In the end, the old Emperor still cherished the Noble Consort’s son.
And he chose to protect him in this way.
After Eunuch Li finished reciting the decree for the Eldest Prince, he took out another decree8懿旨 (yìzhǐ) – Empress’s decree for the Side Imperial Consort.
“Your Highness, may I know where Her Highness the Side Imperial Consort is?” Eunuch Li asked.
Blocking him, the Eldest Prince stood up and said, “She’s unwell and unable to meet guests. Why don’t you give the imperial decree to this king?”
“Your Highness must be joking. This is Her Majesty the Empress’s decree, how can we do things carelessly?” Eunuch Li naturally disagreed.
Both of them were at a stalemate. After all, Eunuch Li was the Emperor’s man, so the Eldest Prince didn’t dare to go too far.
In the end, they reached a compromise—— Let Eunuch Li announce the decree outside the Side Imperial Consort’s room while she received the decree inside, with a door separating them.
The Eldest Prince didn’t have an official wife, only a Side Imperial Consort, and the rest of his women were without status.
The Empress couldn’t meddle in political affairs, so she could only direct her anger towards the Side Imperial Consort.
In short, in the Empress’s decree, the Side Imperial Consort was severely scolded9狗血淋头 (gǒuxuèlíntóu) – lit. to pour dog’s blood on (idiom); fig. torrent of abuse; (usually in 骂得狗血喷头) let loose a stream of abuse against somebody; pour out a flood of invective against somebody;. The Side Imperial Consort opened the door slightly and very calmly received the decree.
Before everyone present could clearly see the Side Imperial Consort’s face, she had already closed the door.
Eunuch Li felt truly oppressed while delivering this imperial decree, and inwardly scolded the Side Imperial Consort for being pretentious.
However, Yu Yuan was able to catch a quick glimpse of the Side Imperial Consort’s appearance from the angle he was standing at.
What shocked him was that the Side Imperial Consort’s face was actually seventy percent similar to his mother’s!
He subconsciously took a step back, suddenly remembering what Ah Yu had said— the Side Imperial Consort also had that same string of beads.
A bold thought surfaced in Yu Yuan’s mind.
A thought that was altogether ridiculous, laughable, and somewhat foolish.
His abnormality caught the Eldest Prince’s attention.
“You must be Bodyguard Yu, right?” The Eldest Prince asked through gritted teeth as he stared at Yu Yuan.
Yu Yuan was Chu Cong’s man, so his purpose in coming here was only to mock him.
Yu Yuan seemed oblivious to the Eldest Prince’s hostility. He stared at the tightly closed door and said word by word, “That’s right, I’m Yu Yuan.”
“Thud.” The sound of something falling in the room could be heard.
Yu Yuan retracted his gaze and looked towards the Eldest Prince, “Your Highness, is there something wrong?”
“This king wants to ask Bodyguard Yu if Miss Yan is still alright?” The Eldest Prince asked maliciously.
Yu Yuan’s fist immediately clenched.
He stared directly at Chu Hui’s face. A few locks of his hair fluttered in the wind, and his eyes were gloomy and frightening.
“……Of course, Ah Mu’s body is very well,” Yu Yuan coldly said.
There was a fire burning in his heart, making him so agitated that he was almost ready to bring down heaven and earth.
But he couldn’t. Although he was highly valued by Chu Cong now, he was far from reaching the point of total supremacy.
He stared at the Eldest Prince’s face.
He increasingly felt like he just wanted to take the Eldest Prince and……
Yu Yuan lowered his head to hide the icy-cold killing intent in his eyes.
The Eldest Prince didn’t believe that Yan Mu was in good health since he knew how big that fire was.
He only assumed that Yu Yuan was acting tough.
The Eldest Prince even regarded Yu Yuan’s silence as sorrow.
The Eldest Prince laughed with schadenfreude as he watched Yu Yuan and the others leave his residence.
******************
Since Yu Yuan had returned, Yan Mu felt like something was wrong with him.
No matter how Yan Mu tried to make Yu Yuan happy, he would only hum in reply with his head lowered.
This made her extremely worried.
Watching Yu Yuan sit in the courtyard all afternoon, Yan Mu was increasingly concerned.
“Yu Yuan, have you eaten lunch?” Yan Mu asked.
Yu Yuan shook his head and still remained silent.
Yan Mu let out a soft sigh and turned to the kitchen.
She spent a long time in the kitchen to make steamed eggs and egg-fried rice.
There were still a few baskets of crabs, looking half dead, so Yan Mu simply steamed them.
Originally, Yan Mu also wanted to stir-fry some vegetables to make a balanced meal, but the leafy vegetables were too easily overcooked, as she had only flipped them over a few times before the leaves were burnt.
So, Yan Mu had no choice but to buy stir-fried cabbage with vinegar sauce10
from Restaurant Baoyue.
Once all the dishes were laid out, the table looked full and sumptuous.
“Eat some.” Yan Mu had washed her face and changed into a new outfit.
“Ah Mu……”
Yu Yuan raised his head and looked up at Yan Mu, his eyes flickering with emotions that Yan Mu couldn’t comprehend.
“What’s wrong?” Yan Mu was a little embarrassed by his gaze.
“Why are you so nice to me?” Yu Yuan picked up his chopsticks and poked at the rice.
Soy sauce was added to the egg-fried rice, giving it a light brown hue.
The golden eggs were like embellished stars, and the little pile of scallions was like an oasis in the desert.
Yu Yuan took a bite, and the rich flavor immediately spread throughout his mouth.
Delicious.
They were obviously simple ingredients, so how could they turn out so good?
Yu Yuan ate the egg fried rice one bite after another.
Seeing that Yu Yuan liked it, Yan Mu felt overjoyed.
She sat beside Yu Yuan and picked up some stir-fried cabbage with vinegar sauce for him with her chopsticks.
Thinking about Yu Yuan’s question just now, Yan Mu frowned, finding it difficult to answer.
“I can’t say,” Yan Mu answered frankly.
In the beginning, she’d indeed approached Yu Yuan because of her mission, but then things gradually changed.
Now, in her eyes, everything about Yu Yuan was good, extremely good.
Yan Mu was blinded by love, and subconsciously avoided the matter of returning home.
“Then what do you think is good about me?” Yan Mu asked in reply.
“Everything about Ah Mu is good,” Yu Yuan swallowed another bite of egg-fried rice and answered without thinking.
“Do you think my flaws are good too?” Yan Mu laughed and asked.
“Yes.” Yu Yuan nodded without hesitation.
Yan Mu was instantly moved, and she felt very tangled.
“Then….. what if I leave one day?” Yan Mu asked tentatively.
Yu Yuan’s movement paused, and he turned his head to look at Yan Mu deeply.
“Then you wouldn’t be good anymore,” Yu Yuan said in a muffled voice. “Even in spite of your strong points, I wouldn’t think you were good anymore.”
The corner of Yan Mu’s mouth twitched slightly, and she decided to skip past this unpleasant topic.
“You rarely behave like this, what’s wrong with you today?” Yan Mu finally asked her doubts aloud.
“Actually……” Yu Yuan lowered his eyes, “I suspect that the Side Imperial Consort of the Eldest Prince is my mother.”
——————————————————————————————————————
The author has something to say:
Yu Yuan: I want to get married quickly and sleep with wifey in my arms wuu wuu wuu
Edited by: Gaze
Ewww, then is the eldest prince his father?? 🤮🤮🤮
nope, he’s not
WELL
That was unexpected. I thought he was some sort of close/distant relative, but not like that… 😨
who do you mean by ‘he’? things will be revealed later xD
finally caught up with the updates after binge reading ! you are doing amazing job! Thank you so much for the translation. 😊 I wonder what will happen next!
Thank you very much for reading!!!