Pregnant Salted Fish Chapter 64

TL: Hua

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Everyone, like Yin Yuancheng, looked towards the outside, and in an instant, their faces all showed expressions of profound shock.

Xu Xianzhi was calmer than the others; after all, ever since Ah Qing returned to Marquis Wu’an’s residence, the number of times he, a minor military official, could meet the emperor had been rising steadily.

So, Xu Xianzhi neatly stood up and bowed to Yin Yanjun and thoughtfully gave up the best seat next to his Ah Qing to the emperor.

This way, Xu Xianzhi directly sat beside Tuoba Jinshu. Since today was a small gathering of three or five friends, and given the open customs of Daliang with no strict male-female segregation, everyone was able to sit at one table.

Tuoba Jinshu was a little unaccustomed, but her impression of Xu Xianzhi, the prince, was quite good. Compared to the emperor, who had just arrived, she found Xu Xianzhi sitting beside her more acceptable.

Yin Yanjun took the seat next to the young master and received the teacup handed by Yin Yuanshuang. His cold, detached face showed little expression: “It was I who disturbed your enjoyment.”

“Hehe, Your Majesty is joking,” Yin Yuanshuang winked at Xu Yanqing, who was sitting nearby, and then said to her uncle, “Maybe Young Master Xu was just waiting for Your Majesty to arrive!”

The salted fish young master was innocently dragged into it, so he looked up blankly, completely out of it: “How did the conversation suddenly turn to me?”

Yin Yuanshuang turned her head and nudged Tuoba Jinshu beside her, blinking innocently: “Did it? No, it didn’t!”

Tuoba Jinshu didn’t speak, just smiled faintly, watching the two bicker.

Alright, as expected of the renowned Princess Jing’an of Daliang, Xu Yanqing silently drank his tea.

Under the table, Yin Yanjun took one of the young master’s hands and placed it on his lap. His usually stern and cold face only revealed a hint of a smile when his gaze fell upon the young master.

They naturally wouldn’t choose to soak in the hot spring first thing in the morning, as such good time shouldn’t be wasted entirely on bathing.

The servants at the estate led over a few horses for the esteemed guests to choose from. The hunting ground behind the estate wasn’t too large, but it was decent enough for leisure and entertainment.

Although Xu Yanqing wasn’t very good at riding, he rarely felt the urge to go out for a stroll, so he chose a small horse that looked particularly docile from the group.

Calling it a “small horse” might not be entirely accurate; it was more that this type of pony looked much weaker than other horses, completely lacking any tall and majestic aura.

Even Tuoba Jinshu chose a horse that looked quite heroic and spirited. She was a princess of the Xiling Kingdom; no matter how deeply she was kept in the inner chambers, she had not neglected any knowledge that royal children should learn.

Yin Yuancheng finally seized an opportunity to mock Xu Yanqing. Just as he started to speak a few sarcastic words, he felt an extremely cold gaze fall upon him.

The winter sun provided no warmth. Young Marquis Yin felt the warning pressure on him and wisely shut his mouth. Alright, the current emperor was no longer the same emperor as before.

Young Marquis Yin declared that from this day forward, he had completely lost the emperor’s favor.

Turning his grief into strength, Yin Yuancheng had no way to deal with Young Master Xu, so he angrily challenged Xu Xianzhi, determined to gain even a tiny bit of accomplishment from Young Master Xu’s elder brother.

Xu Xianzhi, whose foolish younger brother had been “abducted” by the emperor, just smiled rather honestly and said nothing, as he couldn’t do anything about the emperor.

But now that Young Marquis Yin had actively walked into his trap, he couldn’t be blamed for being ruthless and disregarding the past camaraderie they shared beating up a scumbag in the alley.

Yin Yuanshuang watched with great amusement, nudging Tuoba Jinshu beside her with her shoulder, a look of enjoyment on her face: “Jinshu, who do you think will win between them?”

Tuoba Jinshu’s gaze fell on Young Marquis Yin, then she looked at the heroic and tall Prince of Wu’an Marquis: “In the Xiling Kingdom, what I heard most about was the heroic deeds of Marquis Wu’an, who once held his ground against thousands. I imagine Prince Xu, as the heir to Marquis Wu’an, should not be too inferior.

As for Young Marquis Yin, I don’t know much about him. I heard that he grew up under the emperor’s care, so perhaps his riding and archery skills are superior to others.”

Yin Yuanshuang gently patted the horse she had chosen and heartlessly said, “The emperor’s riding and archery skills are definitely excellent, but I can guarantee that my brother is definitely not good. He will probably be utterly defeated by the prince of Wu’an Marquis today.”

Tuoba Jinshu’s eyes curved, smiling very reservedly: “Aren’t you afraid of Young Marquis Yin hearing you mock him like this and getting angry with you?”

“It’s just us sisters joking around,” Yin Yuanshuang chuckled, and then agilely swung her leg over the horse’s back. “Besides, I won’t actively tell anyone that Jinshu greatly admires the prince of Wu’an Marquis.”

After teasing Tuoba Jinshu, Yin Yuanshuang shook the reins in her hand, and the horse, obeying its master’s command, galloped away.

Tuoba Jinshu was caught off guard by Yin Yuanshuang’s sudden teasing, and for a moment, her face was bewildered.

Then, a blush appeared on her fair face. She could only follow Yin Yuanshuang, leaping onto her horse and chasing after her.

On the other side, Xu Yanqing stared somewhat nervously at the horse in front of him, which was smaller than other steeds. Extremely concerned for his safety, he turned to the Taoist master beside him: “Taoist master, if I climb on, will it directly throw me off?”

After all, in storybooks, there were many plots where relationships developed due to injuries sustained from horseback riding. The young master was simply being cautious.

Yin Yanjun was somewhat amused. He let go of his reins and walked to the young master’s side, offering his warm and strong hand: “Qingqing, don’t be afraid.” The late-stage ASMR patient, Young Master Xu, felt a familiar tingling sensation in his ears. He looked up at the warm-eyed Taoist master and, without hesitation, placed his hand on his.

Ever since giving birth to the little cub, the young master’s previously plump face had gradually developed some youthful angles, still exquisitely beautiful without any sharp edges.

Yin Yanjun used force in his hand, steadily helping the young master onto the horse’s back.

Sitting higher, his vision felt much wider. This feeling was very novel for Xu Yanqing. He held the Taoist master’s hand, eager to try: “Can we make the horse run?”

“Let’s just stroll slowly first.” Yin Yanjun was not in a hurry. He held the horse with one hand and slowly walked forward, occasionally glancing at the young master on horseback.

The horse ambled forward. Xu Yanqing was patient and naturally not anxious. Even though the sounds of the others hunting in the forest occasionally reached his ears, he still leisurely circled the empty ground.

When he felt ready to handle it himself, Xu Yanqing took the reins and urged the Taoist master to mount his horse and ride alongside him.

Looking from behind, the two figures appeared particularly harmonious. The young master would occasionally lean his head over and chat idly with the Taoist master.

They slowly strolled all the way into the woods. It wasn’t cold enough yet for small animals to hibernate, so once they entered the forest, small animals would occasionally dart past them.

There was a wild rabbit that was very plump, just like the foolish rabbit in stories that ran into a tree and died. Xu Yanqing’s eyelashes curved as he tilted his head and quietly called Yin Yanjun a few times: “Taoist master, Taoist master, look at that really fat rabbit! We’ll have a feast today.”

Yin Yanjun leisurely took his bow and arrow from his horse and unhurriedly raised his hand to draw the bow. The foolish rabbit was soon tragically injured by the Taoist master’s arrow.

The rabbit was indeed very fat. Xu Yanqing urged his horse over, bent down directly, and lifted the severely injured rabbit: “Great, today’s your turn for a meat feast.”

By the time the group returned triumphantly from the forest, Young Master Xu was already leisurely sitting in the courtyard playing chess and drinking tea with the Taoist master.

The young master’s chess skills were still hopelessly bad, yet Yin Yanjun still wore a doting expression, allowing the young master to take back moves and restart frequently.

Hearing the clip-clop of horses, Xu Yanqing looked up and scanned his elder brother and Young Marquis Yin: “Who won and who lost? Why do you all have those expressions?”

“What expressions?” Yin Yuanshuang, who was walking behind, spoke with a warm and jade-like face as usual, “Speaking of winning and losing, the prince of Wu’an Marquis was superior.”

Xu Xianzhi looked at Ah Qing, who was playing chess with the emperor, and finally understood why his foolish younger brother, who was just as bad at chess as he was, could win against him again and again last time.

Both competing pairs had abundant harvests, but after sorting, Xu Xianzhi indeed had a slight edge. At noon, the servants set up charcoal fires in the courtyard, preparing to make roasted meat.

The entire hot spring estate seemed to be immersed in the fragrant aroma of roasted meat. Xu Yanqing had always loved meat, and ever since giving birth to the little cub, he had been forced to abstain by Imperial Physician Han. Now that the ban was lifted, he was naturally going to eat to his heart’s content.

The salted fish young master ate while not forgetting to feed the Taoist master. However, the Taoist master had only recently started eating meat again.

So, to prevent the Taoist master from getting tired of it, Xu Yanqing specially went among the servants and grilled some lean meat for him.

Xu Xianzhi, as the elder brother, watched with envy. So, while eating, he would occasionally shoot very resentful glances at his foolish younger brother, hoping to receive the same treatment.

Xu Yanqing was not blind and naturally saw his brother’s sour glances clearly. To express his endless love and respect for his brother, the young master could only eagerly run to the servants and grill two large plates of meat skewers to place in front of his brother.

Receiving his younger brother’s affection, Xu Xianzhi was instantly satisfied. He turned his head and didn’t forget to show off to Young Marquis Yin before finally eating and drinking contentedly.

Yin Yuancheng felt incredibly jealous, so he looked up at his younger sister, but unfortunately, his sister was busy eating and drinking with her friend and paid no attention to him.

Just as Yin Yuancheng was feeling gloomy, Yin Yuanshuang glanced at him helplessly and handed him a few skewers of grilled meat.

After lunch, the young master became extremely drowsy. Soon, he was leaning against the Taoist master, nodding off repeatedly, tears of sleepiness welling up in his eyes.

So, Yin Yanjun could only pick him up horizontally and follow the servants towards the direction of the bedroom.

He helped the young master remove his slightly thick brocade clothes and tucked him entirely into the warm quilt.

The young master slept soundly, and as soon as he was in bed, he couldn’t help but rub his face against the soft bedding. Yin Yanjun smiled dotingly.

Then, he also removed his own brocade robe, lay in the quilt, and raised his hand to pull the young master into his embrace.

Feeling the familiar warmth of the Taoist master’s body, Xu Yanqing, half-asleep, instinctively turned over and burrowed his head into Yin Yanjun’s arms.

His fuzzy head affectionately rubbed against Yin Yanjun’s chest. Xu Yanqing, half-dreaming, mumbled “Taoist master” a couple of times.

Yin Yanjun held the young master’s slender waist with one hand and gently stroked the top of his head with the other. Then, he closed his eyes and napped with the young master.

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