TL: Hua
“Hmm.” The salted fish young master, lying on the Taoist master’s lap, raised his hand to take the stack of land deeds. His reddish lips curved slightly upward. “Daoist master, are you busy with government affairs recently?”
Yin Yanjun lowered his head, his handsome brows slightly puzzled.
Xu Yanqing playfully shook the land deeds in his hand. “Just now, you said to let me take my friends to the estate to play. Is it because you yourself don’t have time?”
At this point, the playfulness in the young master’s eyes gradually turned into a faint regret. With one hand, he boredly tugged at the Taoist master’s sleeve, playing with it. “Originally, I sent you the letter thinking of inviting you to the hot spring estate tomorrow for a day of relaxation. Since you don’t have time, I can only regretfully give up.”
Realizing he seemed to have been teased by the young master, Yin Yanjun’s cool and detached brows showed his usual indulgence. He quite helplessly pinched the young master’s cheek. “Qingqing is always teasing me.”
“Hahaha!” The salted fish young master snuggled into the Taoist master, laughing uncontrollably. After calming down for a while, he raised an eyebrow and continued, “Then, will Taoist master come with me to the hot spring estate tomorrow?”
“Naturally, I will,” Yin Yanjun nodded, his gaze falling on the young master’s increasingly clear and elegant face, gently caressing it with his thumb.
The two stayed nestled in the room for a long time until dusk. Only then did Yin Yanjun get up and leave Marquis Wu’an’s mansion.
After all, there was a crying baby in the palace. Although the baby’s salted fish father was too carefree, his imperial father was a very responsible person.
Although Xu Yanqing’s abdominal wound had almost healed, a C-section was, after all, a life-threatening matter. There was still an occasional throbbing pain inside.
After the Taoist master left, the salted fish young master leisurely nestled on the bed, legs crossed, flipping through the stack of land deeds in his hand. Every time Xu Yanqing finished reading them, he couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. The Taoist master was indeed the monarch of Daliang; he had an astonishing amount of capital.
These land deeds were all for excellent estates near the outskirts of the capital, no worse than the Yunshui Courtyard that the young master had painstakingly acquired from Young Marquis Yin.
Xu Yanqing, who had already become a small landlord, casually placed the stack of land deeds on the tea table. He turned his head and saw the Taoist master, who had supposedly left, return and push open the door.
Yin Yanjun now entered Marquis Wu’an’s mansion with great ease, as familiar and comfortable as entering and leaving the imperial palace. Xu Yanqing lazily sat up halfway from the arhat bed, his eyes curved into a smile as he asked, “Did you leave something behind?”
Yin Yanjun had wanted to say that he had left the young master behind, but he was accustomed to being dignified and reserved and was not used to too many sweet words at the moment, so he took out a bottle of ointment from his sleeve in silence: “Imperial Physician Han sent this ointment this afternoon. He said to tell you to continue applying it diligently, not to relax for a single day.”
The young master was usually as lazy as he could be in the imperial palace, so Yin Yanjun had to remind him repeatedly, fearing that the young master would avoid applying the medicine out of trouble and that his body would have problems again.
This ointment was the secret formula Xu Yanqing had been using since his wound healed. The Taoist master had specially granted Imperial Physician Han the privilege to use those secret formulas stored deep within the palace, just like the head of the Imperial Hospital. Xu Yanqing had already used several bottles of the ointment and was as familiar with its scent as could be.
Raising his hand to take the ointment, his fingertips couldn’t help but playfully brush across the Taoist master’s palm. “Taoist master has been at Marquis Wu’an’s mansion for so long; the little cub must be missing his imperial father.”
“Yuanchen should miss you more,” Yin Yanjun’s gaze on the young master deepened. His thumb gently rubbed the young master’s palm.
This time, Yin Yanjun did not stay in the young master’s room. He repeatedly reminded the young master about applying the medicine, then swiftly left the young master’s courtyard.
After Xu Xianzhi finished his duties, he first paid his respects to his mother before returning to his room to change. When he came out of his courtyard in clean clothes, he vaguely saw a familiar figure, but unfortunately, before he could look closely, the figure had already disappeared.
“Why does that back look like the emperor, and he’s even coming out of Ah Qing’s courtyard?” Xu Xianzhi pondered that perhaps the emperor had come to visit Ah Qing. Now that the matter between the emperor and his foolish younger brother was settled, Xu Xianzhi naturally wouldn’t think too much about it.
Xu Xianzhi walked towards his younger brother’s courtyard. When he pushed the door open, he saw his foolish younger brother holding a medicine bottle in his hand, a hint of joy subtly showing on his brows.
“The emperor personally delivered something?” There was no need to hide anything in front of his own family; after all, it wasn’t the first or second time the emperor had personally delivered rewards under another identity.
Not to mention whether the emperor personally delivered the rewards; just the fact that his family Ah Qing had received three rewards from the emperor in just four or five days since returning to the mansion, those lords outside who constantly paid attention to the emperor must have already had their suspicions.
Xu Xianzhi didn’t care what those court officials felt. He casually sat down on the arhat bed, his eyes constantly fixed on the medicine bottle in Xu Yanqing’s hand.
“Mm-hmm,” Xu Yanqing placed the porcelain bottle on the tea table, then picked up the stack of land deeds he had just put down. “Here, the Taoist master sent a lot of land deeds. Brother, see if there’s anything you like; just take it.”
Xu Xianzhi casually took them, and after a quick glance through the land deeds, he couldn’t help but let out a rather unrefined sigh. “The emperor is indeed incredibly wealthy.” Xu Yanqing expressed his deep agreement.
Then Xu Xianzhi returned the land deeds, muttering, “You’re always so careless. You should let Mu Yu keep these land deeds for you properly, lest you lose every single one of them without knowing when.”
As an elder brother, he understood his foolish younger brother too well. Ah Qing had never lacked money since childhood, which led to his extravagant spending habits. He had countless opportunities to become a small millionaire, but in the end, he squandered it all and ended up penniless.
Xu Yanqing shrugged. “Got it.” Indeed, he was essentially someone who let money slip through his fingers.
“Oh, right,” Xu Yanqing suddenly remembered another matter and said to Xu Xianzhi, “Tomorrow is a day off. Do you have any other plans, Brother?”
“No, why?” Xu Xianzhi shook his head. He never liked going out to socialize with colleagues. Most of the time on his days off, he would stay at home and practice martial arts.
Both brothers had a salted fish disposition, but the young master was clearly excessively lazy; as long as he was cooped up in the courtyard, he was too lazy to move a muscle.
Xu Xianzhi, however, was merely too lazy to go out and socialize. There was still a big difference between the two.
Xu Yanqing propped his chin with his elbow, thought for a moment, and slowly said, “Princess Jing’an came over today and said that Young Marquis Yin’s wedding is approaching. Tomorrow, a few of us will have a small gathering at the hot spring estate in the outskirts of the capital. Before she left, Princess Jing’an asked me to give you an invitation as well.”
“You guys go by yourselves.” Xu Xianzhi had no interest in the hot spring estate. He’d rather practice a few more sets of boxing at home; compared to that, boxing was more satisfying.
Xu Yanqing shrugged. “They say the hot spring estate there is quite large, and there’s a hunting ground behind it. I suppose Princess Jing’an mentioned it because of your excellent riding and archery skills.”
“You’re going hunting too?” At this, Xu Xianzhi became worried. Ah Qing had always been clumsy with riding and archery since childhood. He was probably just going to be cannon fodder if he went hunting. How could Xu Xianzhi be at ease? “Forget it. Since the princess has already invited you, I’ll go with you tomorrow.”
…
Early the next morning, Xu Xianzhi asked his servants to harness the carriage and drive to the hot spring estate on the outskirts of the capital.
That estate was said to be in the outskirts of the capital, but it wasn’t too far from the city. They arrived at their destination after a leisurely ride.
When Xu Yanqing brought Xu Xianzhi into the estate, Yin Yuancheng was sitting in the courtyard with Yin Yuanshuang and Princess Jinshu, drinking tea.
The hot spring estate was very large and had many plum trees, but these plum trees were common varieties, unlike the specially cultivated early-blooming plums in the imperial palace. They were still bare and had not yet bloomed.
Seeing the two Xu brothers enter, Yin Yuanshuang quickly waved them over. “You two brothers are so slow! Come quickly and have some tea.”
Almost all the seats were occupied by men. Only Princess Jing’an was a woman, so when Tuoba Jinshu saw the two Xu brothers approach, she pulled her small stool closer to Yin Yuanshuang.
Xu Yanqing hadn’t seen Yin Yuancheng for a while, so he sat down next to Yin Yuancheng, raised an eyebrow, and teased, “Indeed, a man in good spirits when good things happen! Young Marquis Yin looks truly radiant and energetic today.”
Yin Yuancheng scanned the young master up and down. “Two days ago, I requested permission to enter the palace and only saw the little prince once. Indeed, the emperor’s appearance is handsome, which is why you could give birth to such a beautiful child as the little prince.”
Sure enough, no matter how long it had been since they last met, Young Marquis Yin was still the same Young Marquis Yin, unwilling to admit defeat unless someone could subdue him.
However, there was no doubt that Young Master Xu was a thick-skinned genius who excelled at verbal sparring. Hearing Yin Yuancheng’s words, his face showed not a single hint of unusual emotion.
Instead, he was quite smug. “The Taoist master indeed has a good appearance, so the little cub also looks good. Young Marquis Yin’s appearance is not bad either. I imagine your future children will surely be beautiful.”
Being teased about children before even getting married, Yin Yuancheng’s skin hadn’t been tempered to the extent of Young Master Xu’s. So, he could only pull Xu Xianzhi, attempting to find a comrade-in-arms.
Unfortunately, Xu Xianzhi had no intention of offering a helping hand. He simply picked up a cup of tea and slowly drank it, occasionally turning his head to say a few words to Xu Yanqing.
The group chatted for a while. Yin Yuancheng, with his short memory, quickly turned his head and spoke to Young Master Xu again. “Now that you’ve come out of the palace, when do you plan to go back?”
“Go back for what?” Xu Yanqing held a cup of hot tea in his hand, playing with it, treating it as a hand warmer. “Marquis Wu’an’s mansion is the home I grew up in. Why should I be in a hurry to go back?”
“The little prince’s full month ceremony is coming soon. That’s the emperor’s eldest legitimate son and also the child you gave birth to after so much hardship. How can you bear to leave him alone in the imperial palace when he’s so small?” Yin Yuancheng’s gaze, tinged with a hint of probing, fell on Young Master Xu.
Xu Yanqing took a small sip of hot tea. “The little cub has his imperial father in the palace. There’s no need for me to worry about everything.”
Yin Yuancheng was at a loss now and could only say bitterly, “Alright, don’t tell me you don’t know what I mean. Logically speaking, the emperor will announce the little prince’s identity at the full month ceremony. What will you do then?”
“You might as well ask the Taoist master about that,” Xu Yanqing said with a hint of a smile in his eyes, gesturing for Young Marquis Yin to look outside.
As soon as Yin Yuancheng looked up, he saw the emperor slowly walking towards them, step by step. Instantly, Young Marquis Yin turned into a little mute.
Well, looking at how much the emperor cherished Young Master Xu now, there was no need for him to worry about these two.
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![Who Are You Calling A Canary? [Transmigration]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/20250108211651_200_280.jpg "Who Are You Calling A Canary? [Transmigration]")
I wonder when Yanqing’s brother and the foreign princess relationship is going to develop… 😙