This Prince Consort Truly Has Great Prestige
Xian Feng returned ahead on horseback to bring word.
After learning that Su Ruhe and the others were coming, Chu Yuan instructed the kitchen to prepare more dishes. He personally went to the residence gate to receive them.
The carriage rolled in from the mouth of the alley. Lu Ronghuai stepped down first. With a dark face, he looked back at the carriage, then came to Chu Yuan’s side and asked, “Why did you come all the way to the gate? Are you feeling well?”
Chu Yuan smiled. “I had nothing to do, so I came to wait for Your Highness. Why is Your Highness displeased?”
Lu Ronghuai’s expression eased. He jerked his chin toward the carriage. “Nie Siran came. In a moment, let us not allow him through the gate.”
Chu Yuan: “...”
Nie Siran and Su Ruhe alighted from the carriage. Nie Siran walked over with a smile and glanced at Lu Ronghuai. “What ill of this one was Your Highness speaking just now?”
Lu Ronghuai gave a cold laugh. “Does this prince have so much leisure?”
“Your Highness has always had quite a lot of leisure.” Nie Siran opened his folding fan and said with a smiling face behind it.
“Come in, all of you.” Chu Yuan smiled and beckoned them over.
Lu Ronghuai cast Nie Siran a deeply unwilling look, then took Chu Yuan’s hand and walked in front.
After the group reached the front hall, Chu Yuan had the kitchen serve the dishes. Turning his head, he asked everyone, “Would you like wine?”
Lu Ronghuai immediately stopped him. “No wine. You cannot drink.”
Chu Yuan said, “I will not drink. Young Master Nie and Young Master Su seldom come by. Your Highness should drink a little with them.”
Nie Siran waved a hand. “Ah-Yuan need not trouble himself. We are not fond of drinking. A meal will do.”
Su Ruhe nodded, then frowned and glanced at Nie Siran.
Why was this man calling the Prince Consort so intimately? Was he not afraid Prince Li would beat him to death?
“Tomorrow is your coming-of-age ceremony, and then you may drink with them. Today, let it pass. The smell of wine is not good for you.” Lu Ronghuai drew Chu Yuan’s soup bowl over and carefully blew on it to cool it.
Chu Yuan did not insist further and asked instead, “Morning court ended more than an hour later than usual today. Did something happen?”
“The Liu family and the Crown Prince were thrown into prison to await judgment. Today Father Emperor also severely punished a group of officials aligned with the Crown Prince. The sky over Ye Jing is about to change.”
Chu Yuan listened as he recounted everything that had happened in court that day and his expression turned to shock. “In order to frame Your Highness, the Crown Prince actually did not hesitate to harm so many innocent common people.”
Fortunately, Lu Ronghuai had turned danger into safety and had not fallen into their trap.
With lingering fear in his heart, Chu Yuan could not help letting his gaze settle on Lu Ronghuai’s face.
Seeing the worry in his eyes, Lu Ronghuai rubbed the top of his head in reassurance. “It is all right now. With Duofu beside this Prince, any danger I meet can be turned from misfortune into blessing.”
Chu Yuan: “...”
The two guests in the midst of eating: “?”
“Who is Duofu?” Nie Siran looked over in confusion.
“It is... mmph.” Before Lu Ronghuai could finish, a piece of lotus and crispy pork was stuffed straight into his mouth.
Chu Yuan ground his teeth slightly and shot him a glare. “Your Highness should eat.”
“As you command, treasure.”
Everyone: “...”
After the meal, Nie Siran and Su Ruhe took their leave together and walked out through the residence gates side by side.
Su Ruhe returned to his carriage, and Nie Siran followed him right in.
“...Young Master Nie, Su has not written your storybooks anymore. You are a great man with great measure, so please spare me.”
“Those words are mistaken. I and Su gongzi may be counted friends. Su gongzi would not mean to drive me from the carriage, would he?”
Su Ruhe choked back his words.
“At court today, you did not encounter any danger, did you?” Nie Siran looked at him and suddenly asked.
Since he had suddenly shown concern, Su Ruhe awkwardly looked away and said softly, “No. At most, there was alarm but no real danger. It has all passed.”
“That is good.” Nie Siran leaned back against the carriage wall and idly fanned himself.
“Tomorrow is Ah-Yuan’s coming-of-age ceremony. You will come, will you not?” he asked again.
Su Ruhe paused. In truth, he had still not decided whether he would attend.
“Come. Ah-Yuan treats you as a friend. If you do not come, he will be very hurt.” Nie Siran tipped his head back and spoke leisurely, his eyes half narrowed.
Su Ruhe blinked and asked in his gentle way, “Young Master Nie, is your way of addressing the Prince Consort a little too familiar? His Highness will be displeased.”
Nie Siran laughed aloud and deliberately teased him. “Is that so? I have always addressed my friends this way. Do you not think it makes our relationship seem all the closer?”
“Is that not so, Xiao He?”
“...”
“He-He?”
“........”
“Xiao Su?”
“Ah-He?”
“...Stop calling me that! “Do you have to be so annoying?” Su Ruhe’s dark eyes widened until they were perfectly round.
Once again, Nie Siran’s bright, unrestrained laughter rang through the carriage.
Early the next morning.
Before Chu Yuan had even properly awakened, Lu Ronghuai dug him out from under the covers.
His eyes still hazy with sleep, Chu Yuan sat limply in Lu Ronghuai’s arms, his head leaning against the side of Lu Ronghuai’s neck, allowing him to dress him piece by piece.
Now that summer had arrived, everyone had changed into light, flowing summer robes. Chu Yuan’s wardrobe had been stuffed full by Lu Ronghuai with the season’s popular styles.
Lu Ronghuai especially liked dressing Chu Yuan. One set each day, never the same twice. Seeing Chu Yuan look beautiful and resplendent each day like a little immortal youth, filled him with satisfaction and delight from the bottom of his heart.
Once Chu Yuan was dressed, Lu Ronghuai removed the Snow Wolf private seal from his own waist. Lowering his head, he tied it carefully and earnestly to Chu Yuan’s belt.
Chu Yuan murmured softly, “Your Highness?”
“Mm. I and the private seal both belong under Ah-Yuan’s care from now on. Ah-Yuan must not lose it.”
“All right.”
“So obedient.” He happily kissed Chu Yuan once on the cheek.
The touch against his lips was extraordinarily soft and smooth. One kiss did not satisfy him, so he cupped Chu Yuan’s face and kissed him several times in succession.
“Ever since Ah-yuan has been carrying the little one, his skin has grown softer and softer. It is almost soft enough to squeeze water from.” He stroked Chu Yuan’s face fondly, unable to put it down.
Chu Yuan’s body was still lazy with sleep. After being rubbed and kneaded thoroughly by Lu Ronghuai, he was carried off to wash his face, then fussed over and served breakfast by him.
By the time everything was settled, the sky had grown fully bright. Standing in the courtyard, Chu Yuan let out a soft breath as he looked at the phoenix trees Also called the Chinese parasol tree (Firmiana simplex). In classical Chinese poetry and culture it carries associations of elegance, loneliness, and the passage of time filling the grounds, his eyes as clear as pure water.
Lu Ronghuai went inside to change into another set of clothes. When he came back out, Xian Yu, Le Shu, and the others nearby were covering their mouths to hide their laughter.
“Hm?” Seeing the two of them laughing merrily and repeatedly flicking their brows and eyes toward the space behind him, Chu Yuan turned around.
Lu Ronghuai stood in the doorway. He wore a wide white robe woven with flowing cloud patterns in gilt, the cuffs embroidered in gold and silver threads in the shape of pine needles.
The only difference was that at his waist hung Chu Yuan’s jade rabbit pendant.
These clothes had been ordered into preparation two months ago. Every single stitch had been sewn with exquisite care.
Seeing Lu Ronghuai dressed so, Chu Yuan suddenly thought of the first time the two of them had entered the palace together to present themselves before the emperor, just after he had married into the residence.
At that time they had been as strangers sharing the same road, each harboring his own thoughts.
Now the man stood before him with smiling eyes, love overflowing within them.
Chu Yuan curved his lips.
This was the second time he had seen Lu Ronghuai in light-colored robes.
It had to be said, when a man was handsome enough, he looked good in anything.
Chu Yuan was used to seeing him dressed in black every day. Suddenly seeing him like this, his eyes brightened at once.
Dressed in robes of the same pattern, the two of them walked hand in hand along the main avenue of the Prince’s Residence. Along the way, every servant who saw them could not help turning their head, marveling that Prince Li and Prince Consort Li were truly a match made by Heaven, dazzling to the eye beyond compare.
For Chu Yuan’s birthday banquet and coming-of-age ceremony, Lu Ronghuai had sent invitations to nearly every noble house in Ye Jing.
Because of Lu Ronghuai’s vicious reputation, those who had received invitations did not dare fail to come. Not only did they have to attend, they had to attend in proper form. The congratulatory gifts given to Prince Consort Li could not be careless. They had to be the best and the most expensive.
Everyone wore smiling faces, yet in their hearts they were shedding blood.
All had gathered in Apricot Garden, seizing the occasion of the banquet to exchange greetings and courtesies, conveniently expanding their own networks in the process.
Not long after, Nie Chouwen was welcomed into Apricot Garden.
To everyone’s surprise, not only had Nie Chouwen and Nie Siran come, but even Nie Xuxing, who wandered the world with no fixed whereabouts, and his adopted son Jiang Ni had appeared in person.
This Prince Consort Li truly had enormous prestige.
To think the entire Nie family had mobilized for his sake. Everyone thought so with inward astonishment.
“Elder Nie, Uncle Nie, Uncle Jiang, you have come.” Chu Yuan walked over happily and looked at them with open delight.
Jiang Ni smiled at him and said, “Happy birthday,Xiao Yuan.”
“Mm.” Chu Yuan pressed his lips together in a smile, the joy in his eyes shining brilliantly.
“In a while, let me take your pulse. How has your appetite been recently?” Jiang Ni cared about his condition, so he lowered his voice and asked.
“Everything is well. My appetite is even better.” When he said that, Chu Yuan himself grew a little embarrassed.
Not only had he escaped the nausea and vomiting that most people experienced in pregnancy, his appetite had actually improved over what it used to be.
He could eat and sleep with ease. In private, Lu Ronghuai had already begun calling him little pig.
“That is good. This child is sensible and knows to cherish you.” Seeing the crowd all around them, Jiang Ni knew it was not the right moment for conversation and let the subject rest.
“Your Highness, everyone has arrived, ah... apart from the Eastern Palace and the Liu family.” Xian Yu came over holding the register. “The palace has also sent rewards. This subordinate has already ordered them placed into the treasury.”
Lu Ronghuai’s gaze fell upon Chu Yuan’s face. Seeing him smiling like a blossom, his own expression softened involuntarily. “Good. Then let it begin.”
The coming-of-age ceremony formally began. Lu Ronghuai accompanied Chu Yuan personally, and under the gaze of all present, the two of them completed each step of the ceremony together.
Graceful music floated around them. The young man in the midst of the ritual had a face of clear beauty and a lovely, elegant figure. Every motion he made appeared especially refined and lovely for having been made by him.
At last, he came before Nie Chouwen.
Nie Chouwen watched him with a smile. In his old, clear eyes lay affection and admiration. “Good child, congratulations.”
“For these past six months, this old man has watched you walk your way to today step by step. I am sincerely glad for you. The bitter days are all behind you now. From here on, things will only grow better and better.”
Moisture gathered faintly in Chu Yuan’s eyes. He looked at Nie Chouwen with gratitude. “Thank you.”
Thank you for showing me kindness. Thank you for caring for me and helping me in the dark days of my life.
“There is no need to thank me. You possess excellent learning and talent, so do not let them go to waste in the years to come.” Nie Chouwen offered this advice.
When he said this, he deliberately cast a glance at Lu Ronghuai standing nearby.
How could Lu Ronghuai fail to see what he meant?
This old fellow feared he would confine Chu Yuan to the rear courtyard. Even at a moment like this, he still did not forget to warn him.
“Rest assured. Whatever Ah-Yuan wishes to do from now on, he may do. This Prince will accompany him in all things.”
Chu Yuan lifted his eyes to look at him. His eyes were limpid and shining, enough to stir anyone’s pity and affection.
Nie Chouwen emphasized, “Your Highness must keep your promise.”
“Mm.”
Receiving a satisfactory answer, Nie Chouwen stroked his white beard and instructed the attendant at one side, “Bring writing materials.”
The servants quickly prepared a writing table, paper, and brush. Everyone craned their necks from both sides to watch. Nie Chouwen picked up the brush, thought briefly, then wrote down two lines of verse with a sweeping hand.
“A person walks within a bright mirror; the heart desires to soar riding the wind...” Chu Yuan read the lines aloud softly.
“This old man gives you the courtesy name Xingyi, Chu Xingyi. Is it to your liking?”
Chu Yuan picked up that sheet of paper. Nie Chouwen’s brush carried deep strength and contained within it the bearing of ten thousand things. Every single character wrote itself directly into Chu Yuan’s heart.
“It is. I like it very much.”
✧ A Word from the Author ✧
Lu dog: Couples’ matching robes, of course. Envy us to death.
PS: Those two lines were excerpted from two different poems. They are not original lines by me.
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