Oh, Is Your Highness Going to Punish Me?
On the second day of the fifth month, Xian Yue and Xian Yu arrived in Sang Cheng.
Chu Yuan had specially ordered the residence’s head chef to prepare a full table of fine dishes. When the two were pressed into their seats, they were still somewhat flattered and overwhelmed.
“Prince Consort, this is not appropriate.” Xian Yue rose twice, only to be pressed back down again both times.
Chu Yuan smiled. “These past days, both of you have worked hard. Xian Yue in particular, is the wound on your arm any better?”
For the first time, a shy look appeared on Xian Yue’s face. He quickly replied, “It has already healed completely. Many thanks for the Prince Consort’s concern.”
“You lost so much blood. Later, eat a little more and nourish yourself well.” Chu Yuan smiled as he turned and placed the little bundle in his arms into Xian Yu’s hands, after Xian Yu had been staring eagerly for quite a while.
“!”
Xian Yu fell into a flurry of confusion. Only with Chu Yuan’s help did he learn the proper way to hold a child.
He held the little heir in his arms, shuffled back in small steps to sit beside Xian Yue, and grew so excited that his words came out in a jumble.
“Look, look, the little heir... adorable... I am holding him... so adorable...”
Xian Yue had been speaking with Xian Feng. When he saw that hopeless display from him, he laughed and mocked him, “I know the little heir is adorable, but can you show a little more promise?”
Xian Shuang came in carrying dishes. Hearing that question, he calmly took the child from Xian Yu’s arms and, without the slightest hesitation, transferred the little heir into Xian Yue’s arms.
Xian Yue: “!!!”
He drew in a sharp breath. The smile on his face vanished at once. He did not dare move either arm, and he stammered, “N-no, no, no...”
Xian Shuang: “Is he not adorable?”
Xian Yue: “A-ador...”
Xian Shuang: “Are you nervous?”
Xian Yue’s neck went stiff. “Nerv...”
Before he could finish, Xian Shuang added, “The way you look now is even more hopeless.”
Xian Yue: “...”
Xian Yu laughed at the side until he slapped the table.
Jesting was jesting, yet the two of them still fondly crowded together to look at the little bundle and touch his milk-soft little cheeks.
The little one was handsome to begin with. When he smiled, the sweetness of it went straight into the heart. He was not afraid of strangers either, and he won the two men’s affection with ease.
The two thought they would have many idle days ahead to amuse themselves by playing with the little heir. Who would have thought that on the very next day, Prince Li sent them off to the Lu Cheng military camp.
Lu Cheng now had only fifty thousand soldiers defending the city. At present, neither Lu Ronghuai nor Bai Yi held military authority in hand. Xiqiang was very quiet for the time being, and there was no warfare along the Western Frontier either, but the soldiers still had to train each day. After Lu Ronghuai arrived, the difficulty of training multiplied, and the soldiers wailed to the heavens and cried bitterly without cease.
Emperor Hongjia’s edict urging him back to the capital had already been issued, yet Lu Ronghuai still ignored it. He did not care how the court might impeach him either, and each day he continued traveling back and forth between Sang Cheng and Lu Cheng as usual. He had not said it openly, but Chu Yuan had already more or less guessed a few things in his heart.
Sure enough, in the latter part of the fifth month, the Kingdom of Shi raised troops and came to invade.
The horns upon Lu Cheng’s walls were sounded, and wolf smoke was lit upon the beacon towers as well. War was on the verge of breaking out.
Lu Ronghuai counted forces through the night and made haste to Lu Cheng.
Chu Yuan remained in Sang Cheng. Xian Feng and the others returned once each day to tell him the latest situation.
This time the Kingdom of Shi had brought an army one hundred thousand strong. Every day they shouted challenges outside Lu Cheng’s gates. Lu Ronghuai had already driven them back three times, winning victories for the time being.
After hearing it all, Chu Yuan’s brows still remained tightly drawn.
“Have the reinforcements arrived?” he asked.
Xian Feng shook his head.
Once the war began, Bai Yi submitted a memorial to Emperor Hongjia. Yet after Emperor Hongjia received the urgent military report, he delayed sending troops for a long time. Only after three days did he finally relent and order Prince Rui to take charge of dispatching soldiers to Lu Cheng.
At present, the reinforcements were still on the road. Lu Cheng had only fifty thousand soldiers. If they wished to withstand the assault of a hundred-thousand-strong army, their chances of victory were very slim.
Chu Yuan bit his lower lip and pondered countermeasures in silence.
Xian Feng saw his distress and smiled as he comforted him. “Prince Consort need not worry overmuch. The present situation has not yet reached its most perilous moment. His Highness also expected long ago that His Majesty would make things difficult for him once he defied the edict.”
Chu Yuan: “What did His Highness say?”
Xian Feng: “His Highness said that even if His Majesty refused to send troops, he could still beat back the army of the Kingdom of Shi.”
It would simply mean breaking completely with Emperor Hongjia. The histories might record a fierce stroke against him, but he had never cared for such things.
Xian Feng: “There is more. News has come from Ye Jing, and His Majesty has already sent troops. In at most five days, the reinforcements will arrive at Lu Cheng.”
Chu Yuan secretly let out a breath. “Can His Highness truly hold Lu Cheng for these five days?”
Xian Feng said with confidence, “He can. In the past, His Highness led eight thousand soldiers and still forced a victory over sixty thousand enemy troops. This time, the commander sent by the Kingdom of Shi is a brute. He has been played in circles by His Highness. During these past few days, we have lost only three thousand men, while the other side has lost forty thousand.”
“Has His Highness been injured?”
“...No.”
In truth, he had suffered a few superficial wounds. On the battlefield, swords and blades had no eyes. Lu Ronghuai also charged at the very front, so it was impossible for him to remain uninjured. He simply would not tell the Prince Consort, lest the Prince Consort remain at home worrying over him day after day.
Bai Qingyu remained in Sang Cheng this time to look after the entire household. His martial skill was strong, and with him there, Lu Ronghuai was all the more at ease at the front.
Min Chao led a great army of one hundred thousand men to Lu Cheng, helping Lu Ronghuai clear out the army of the Kingdom of Shi and seize spoils of war and prisoners.
Lu Ronghuai struck down the great general of the Kingdom of Shi beneath his horse and returned to the city carrying that man’s head.
The common people all came running out to celebrate.
Lu Ronghuai said a few words to Bai Yi. He then clamped his legs around the horse’s belly and, in an instant, rushed far ahead. Horse hooves flung up dust, and in the blink of an eye he had already run a great distance, leaving behind only a clean, dashing figure.
Min Chao rode forward and stared at the black speck disappearing into the distance. He asked, “Where is His Highness going?”
Bai Yi: “His Highness has not seen the Prince Consort for nearly half a month. He could not wait a moment longer and went back first.”
Min Chao understood at once, yet very quickly his brows drew together again, and puzzlement appeared on his square, upright face. “When did the Prince Consort come to the Western Frontier?”
Bai Yi cast him a sidelong glance. “Even His Majesty knows, yet you do not?”
Could it be that Emperor Hongjia had never told the assembled officials that Prince Li’s consort had fled?
Min Chao scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. “These days I have been occupied with my young daughter’s marriage. I truly did not know.”
Bai Yi: “Miss Min is going to be married? I wonder which family’s young man has such good fortune as to win Miss Min’s heart.”
Min Chao waved a hand with a smile. “It is the son of Minister Han of the Ministry of Rites. He and my Xiaomiao grew up together from childhood, and in time they came to look upon one another with favor. Once a daughter is grown, she cannot be kept at home.”
“So they are of green plums and bamboo horses. Good, good.” Bai Yi said with a smile.
Min Chao said politely, “It cannot compare with the Marquis’s good fortune. Miss Bai and His Highness Prince Jing are both willing to remain by your side and fulfill their filial duties. It is enough to make others envy you.”
After the two of them exchanged compliments for a while, their relationship became much more harmonious, and the formality from their first meeting faded away.
Lu Ronghuai reached home that afternoon.
“Your Highness?” Le Shu stood guard at the entrance. When he saw someone walking in from outside the courtyard, he still found it a little hard to believe even after recognizing him.
“Mm.” He looked at the tightly shut door and lowered his voice. “Is Ah-Yuan inside?”
Le Shu: “He is. He is napping together with the little lord and likely has not yet awakened.”
Lu Ronghuai nodded. He had originally meant to go in directly, but after turning the thought over, he went to the side courtyard on the other end and washed himself first. Only after changing into clean clothes did he return to the main courtyard.
He pushed the door open and went in. The room was hushed and still. After taking a few turns, he came into the inner chamber.
Parting layer after layer of gauze curtains, he saw Chu Yuan asleep upon the bed.
He lay turned partly toward the outside, sleeping very soundly. The thin quilt rested at his waist, and half his face had sunk into the soft bedding. His sleeping cheeks were faintly red, pink and soft.
His right arm stretched outward, encircling the infant within it. Even asleep, he still had not forgotten to protect the child.
Lu Ronghuai lowered his gaze and met Lu Duoyu’s clean, clear, dark eyes.
It was as though he knew Chu Yuan was still sleeping. After waking, he did not cry or fuss, but lay quietly on the bed and gnawed intently on his own little hand.
By the sixth month, the weather had turned warm. Lu Duoyu wore only a single layer of clothing, a silk little jacket the color of watery green. He had long since kicked his small quilt far away, exposing his little arms and legs, white as lotus-root joints. Both legs still kicked about in lively little motions, and his tiny feet curled upward in delight.
Lu Ronghuai looked at him for a while. He then knelt on one knee upon the bed, gently picked him up, placed him on the inner side of the bed, and casually tossed the small quilt back over him.
“Ya!” Lu Duoyu kicked his legs. He seemed somewhat displeased by suddenly being moved, and he voiced his protest aloud.
Lu Ronghuai placed his forefinger before his lips, furrowed his brows, and softly gave a “shh.” What he did not expect was that Lu Duoyu truly quieted down and went on gnawing his little hand, amusing himself quite contentedly.
Lu Ronghuai was surprised for a moment. He then lay down where Lu Duoyu had just been lying and wrapped Chu Yuan into his arms with one sweep of his arm.
The fullness within his embrace brought him satisfaction. The fatigue and longing of many days were eased at this moment. He closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep while holding Chu Yuan.
When Chu Yuan awoke, the evening dusk had already grown deep. Rosy clouds reflected the red sun, and the lingering light spread over the earth.
Even the window paper had been covered with a gentle red flush.
Just after waking, his mind was still a little muddled. He lingered in bed for a while, then lowered his head and only then discovered that his arms were empty.
Had the wet nurse carried him away to be fed?
“Little Fish?” He sat up and called tentatively.
From the outer room came the sound of a child’s bright, bubbling laughter.
Chu Yuan smiled, got out of bed, put on his shoes, and walked out of the inner chamber.
Once he turned past the screen, he saw the father and son playing upon the soft daybed.
Lu Ronghuai reclined sideways upon the daybed, holding Lu Duoyu aloft with one hand. He looked up at the child and calmly shifted him from his left hand to his right, then from his right hand back to his left.
It was Lu Duoyu’s first time playing in this way. He was not the least bit afraid. On the contrary, he laughed cheerfully, his little arms waving up and down in the air. All four of the milk teeth in his mouth had already grown in, and when he smiled, he looked very much like Chu Yuan.
“Your Highness.” Chu Yuan ran over and called out happily.
By the time he came over, Lu Ronghuai had already sat up. He directly tossed the child onto the soft daybed and let him play by himself. He then turned his head and drew the Chu Yuan who had run over into his arms.
“Let me hold you. Tsk, why is your waist still so slender? Have you not been eating properly?” Lu Ronghuai circled both arms around his waist, lifted him onto his lap, and narrowed his eyes in feigned anger.
Chu Yuan sat astride his lap, wrapped both arms around his neck, and took the initiative to kiss him on the cheek.
“Oh, is Your Highness going to punish me?”
Lu Ronghuai stared at his smiling face. He narrowed his eyes, his Adam’s apple rolling, and asked in a dangerous tone, “How do you want me to punish you?”
✧ A Word from the Author ✧
Lu Dog: And there is such a good thing as this?
I have to go to work now, my heart is broken.
0 Comments