“It’s your Papa Chu Yuan.”
Deep in the night.
The room doors were tightly shut.
In the pitch darkness, lips and tongues entwined in a kiss, ardent and lingering, full of soft enticement.
Lu Ronghuai held Chu Yuan tightly and kissed those lips he had longed for day and night. Like a man parched beyond endurance, he kept taking, tasting the sweetness, unable to have enough, as though he wished to swallow him whole into his very being.
After a long while, his kiss shifted from urgent and fierce to gentle and lingering. Bit by bit, he kissed away the tears on Chu Yuan’s face. His thin lips settled upon his trembling eyelids, pressing down in tender, cherishing kisses.
“My baobao, I am sorry, I came back late.” Their foreheads touched as Lu Ronghuai spoke, his voice rough.
He had ridden day and night without pause, worn out three horses, then climbed over city walls and the walls of the Nie residence before he could finally stand before him.
Chu Yuan clutched tightly at the fabric at his waist, tears still clinging to his lashes, his eyelashes damp and clumped, his nose, eyes, and lips all reddened.
He loosened his grip, wrapped his arms around Lu Ronghuai’s waist, and leaned into his embrace.
By his ear was the steady, powerful beat of the man’s heart. Only by listening to it did he slowly find his sense of realness.
“Your Highness.”
“Mm?”
“Your Highness.” He called again.
Lu Ronghuai smiled, holding him tighter. “Mm.”
“Wangli.”
“I am here.”
“You almost broke your promise.”
“Mm. Will Ah-Yuan forgive me?”
“Yes.”
“How can you be so good?” Lu Ronghuai’s heart softened completely. “If I made Ah-Yuan unhappy, Ah-Yuan could refuse to forgive me first. You could wait until I have properly apologized before forgiving me.”
“But you came back. I’m already very happy, so I forgive you.”
“Little fool.”
Chu Yuan said, “You are the fool.”
“Fine, I am the fool.”
In the darkness, they repeated the same questions and answers without weariness, one soft and lingering, the other indulgent without restraint.
After a while, Chu Yuan tightened his arms.
“Wangli, I missed you so much.”
Chu Yuan rarely expressed his feelings so plainly. This time, they had been apart too long, so long that neither could bear it, their longing like threads that pierced through the heart.
“I missed you too, very much,” Lu Ronghuai said, full of feeling.
In the Northen Frontier, there had not been a moment when he did not think of him. Especially after the clothes he had secretly brought along lost Chu Yuan’s scent, that longing became even harder to endure.
Without that familiar fragrance, his headaches had come back with a vengeance. Sometimes, when the yearning grew too strong, he would suddenly send troops to attack the northern barbarians, venting the agitation in his heart that way.
As the year’s end approached, seeing his expression grow darker by the day, Zhao Lu hardly dared to appear before him.
Fortunately, he had finally returned.
The two held each other quietly for quite some time. Suddenly, Chu Yuan blushed and asked softly, “Your Highness... why have you not... gone down yet?”
Lu Ronghuai kissed his soft cheek. “When a hungry wolf sees meat, how could it be full without taking a bite?”
“Then... do you want...”
Lu Ronghuai kissed his other cheek. “No. I am afraid of hurting you.”
A wolf starved for half a year could not be satisfied with just a taste. He feared he would not be able to restrain himself.
“I am hungry. I have not eaten for a day and a night. Is there any food in the house?” he asked.
“There is.” Hearing he had not eaten, Chu Yuan quickly went to open the door and poked his head out. “Le Shu, go to the kitchen and cook a bowl of dumplings.”
Xian Shuang moved even faster than Le Shu. He cupped his hands. “Master, this subordinate will go.”
Before Chu Yuan could respond, he had already turned and slipped away.
Chu Yuan blinked. “Why is Xian Shuang so eager tonight?”
Lu Ronghuai pulled him back and shut the door, letting out a low chuckle. “Who knows. Perhaps he wants to show off his qinggong.”
Half a quarter-hour later, Lu Ronghuai was eating steaming hot dumplings.
Chu Yuan propped his cheek as he watched him eat. Seeing how quickly he ate, he said, “Slow down. They are still hot.”
“What is this?” Lu Ronghuai paused mid-chew. He spat it out and frowned at the copper coin in his palm.
Chu Yuan’s eyes curved into crescents. He got up, took a red envelope from a box, and placed it in Lu Ronghuai’s hand.
“A New Year’s gift for Your Highness.”
“Eating a dumpling with a copper coin inside at the New Year means wealth will flow in abundantly and good fortune will follow you all year.”
Lu Ronghuai raised a brow.
He tucked the red envelope into his robes, then took Chu Yuan’s hand and pressed a kiss to it. “Very well. Thank you, my wife.”
“Eat properly.” Chu Yuan smiled and withdrew his hand.
“Your Highness, has the Northern Frontier campaign ended?”
“It has, and it has not.”
“?”
“Before the year ended, we had already reached the northern barbarians’ royal court. The army surrounded them, and their king came to me himself, willing to surrender and submit.”
Chu Yuan blinked, teasing lightly, “Submit to Lu Kingdom or submit to Your Highness?”
“What do you think?” Lu Ronghuai smiled with unruly ease and lightly smacked his hip. “For now, we hold position. After the New Year, we will sign terms... I plan to send a memorial to Father Emperor in the next few days, to request military authority.”
Chu Yuan had been yawning, but at this, half his drowsiness vanished. “Military authority? But Father Emperor already reclaimed it. To take it back again may not be possible.”
“Mm, I know.” Lu Ronghuai finished the bowl of dumplings in a few bites. “If he refuses me, then I have reason not to return to Ye Jing.”
Seeing he had not eaten enough, Chu Yuan asked Xian Shuang to cook another bowl, but Lu Ronghuai stopped him.
“No need. Eating too much at night makes it hard to sleep.” Lu Ronghuai pulled him onto his lap, his voice low and rough. “Sleepy, hm?”
“A little.” Chu Yuan wrapped his arms around his neck. “Your Highness does not intend to return to the capital?”
“No. We will live freely outside.” He looked at Chu Yuan’s round belly. “Has the baby troubled you these past months?”
Chu Yuan tilted his head, his eyes bright. “No. The baby is very well-behaved.”
“You have worked hard.” Lu Ronghuai held him close, then lowered his head and praised the belly as well. “You have done well too.”
At least the child had sense and had not tormented his father. As expected of his daughter, so sensible.
Chu Yuan’s eyes widened suddenly.
He grabbed Lu Ronghuai’s hand and pressed it to his belly.
“The baby just kicked me. Say a few more words.”
Lu Ronghuai said, “...Good evening?”
The belly stilled.
Lu Ronghuai frowned. “Why is my daughter ignoring me?”
Chu Yuan laughed helplessly. “Praise her.”
Lu Ronghuai cleared his throat. “Oh... you... you are very good.”
Beneath his broad palm, there suddenly came a light kick.
Lu Ronghuai froze.
“She... she moved!” He lowered his head in disbelief, staring at his palm.
“Mm, the baby likes Your Highness praising her.” Chu Yuan smiled gently, his brows soft, and his eyes full of warmth.
Lu Ronghuai immediately lifted him into his arms and strode quickly into the inner room, then gently set him down on the bed.
He even removed his shoes and outer robe, leaving him only in clean white sleepwear.
“Hm?” Chu Yuan lay on the bed, looking at him in confusion.
Lu Ronghuai crouched beside the bed, unbothered by his tall frame. Placing both hands on Chu Yuan’s belly, he spoke softly to it through the fabric.
“Baby, who is the most adorable person in the world?”
He answered himself, “It’s your papa Chu Yuan.”
The belly moved happily once.
Chu Yuan: “...”
“Who is the most beautiful person in the world?”
“Still your papa Chu Yuan.”
The belly moved again.
“Your High—” Chu Yuan pushed himself up to sit, but suddenly, without warning, his calf cramped.
“Ah... mm...” Chu Yuan bit his lower lip, his face turning pale in an instant.
“Ah-Yuan, what’s wrong?” Seeing his leg twitch, Lu Ronghuai immediately climbed onto the bed and pulled his leg into his arms.
“My leg... cramp... it hurts...” He could barely speak through the pain. The tearing sensation of the muscle was something he could never forget each time it happened.
Lu Ronghuai frowned deeply. With one hand holding his leg, the other began to massage along the meridians of his calf.
Then he pressed his palm against the calf, slowly sending warm, steady inner energy into it.
He kneaded and pressed, and after a while, the pain on Chu Yuan’s face gradually faded.
“Your Highness...” He was still catching his breath when he realized Lu Ronghuai had not spoken for some time. He tightened his fingers and reached out. “Hold me.”
Lu Ronghuai set down his leg, then silently leaned over him, avoiding his swollen belly, and drew him into his arms.
“Your Highness?” He cupped the man’s strong, handsome face. “I am fine now, it does not hurt—”
“Why did you not tell me?”
“Hm?”
Lu Ronghuai buried his face in the curve of Chu Yuan’s neck, his voice trembling. “Why did you not write it in your letters? How long have your legs been cramping?”
“Not long.” Chu Yuan hugged him back. “I did not want Your Highness to worry. Just as Your Highness does not want me to worry about you.”
“On the battlefield, whether you faced danger or were injured... I would worry too. But if Your Highness does not say it, I will not ask. Compared to you, what I suffer is nothing.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Ronghuai captured his lips in a forceful, possessive kiss.
A quarter-hour later, Chu Yuan could no longer resist his drowsiness. The moment his head touched the pillow, he fell asleep.
Lu Ronghuai gazed at his peaceful sleeping face, then carefully rose, tucked the blanket around him, and quietly left the room.
Another hour passed.
He returned, having bathed and changed his clothes. As soon as he lay down, the sleeping Chu Yuan instinctively moved closer.
Lu Ronghuai wrapped an arm around him and held him as they slept.
The next day, the first day of the new year.
Early in the morning, Chu Yuan was awakened by the lively sounds of firecrackers outside. His eyes had barely opened when a pair of warm hands covered his ears. He stirred, then soon fell asleep again.
When he woke again, it was already midday.
Chu Yuan touched the cold bedding beside him and sat on the bed in a daze.
“Prince Consort is still not awake?” Le Shu entered carrying a copper basin, smiling as he offered New Year greetings.
Chu Yuan blinked. “Last night... did His Highness come back?”
Le Shu set down the basin and turned back with a grin. “He did. His Highness is currently in Elder Nie’s study. Would Prince Consort like to go over?”
Chu Yuan instantly felt at ease. As he got dressed, he saw a heavy red envelope placed neatly atop his clothes.
“His Highness left that for you. He said that what other people’s children have, so should you.”
Chu Yuan stared at the red envelope, and the tips of his ears flushed red at once.
“...”
✧ A Word from the Author ✧
Lu dog: Who says our family doesn’t have a little one too? [Proud hands on hip]
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