TL: Hua
Xu Yanqing simply offered a faint smile. After all, the salted fish was already feeling a bit tired and naturally had no desire to socialize with strangers.
Yin Yanjun’s gaze on the young master remained as warm and gentle as ever. He gently kneaded the young master’s hand resting on his thigh. After observing the young master’s slightly dejected appearance for a moment, Yin Yanjun raised his hand and poured him another half-cup of fine wine.
The aroma of the wine, like invisible wisps of smoke, permeated Xu Yanqing’s nostrils. Xu Yanqing sniffed it lightly, then looked up at the Taoist master with an exceptionally bright smile.
“Just one last half-cup,” Yin Yanjun sighed helplessly, as the young master’s gaze was too intense. In the end, he indulged the young master’s small wish.
Like a greedy cat, Xu Yanqing raised the small half-cup of wine and contentedly brought it to his lips. This time, he drank very slowly, savoring the taste.
“Little drunkard.” In the area hidden by the table and sleeves, Yin Yanjun tightened his grip on the young master’s slightly fleshy hand. He wondered if the young master had lost some weight recently, perhaps due to the birth of the little cub or because he was still growing.
Below the high platform, the ministers looked up to see the emperor gazing at Young Master Xu with gentle eyes and a faint smile. The emperor’s usual cold and detached aura had visibly dissipated.
They had a slightly unsettling premonition. Although the emperor had been able to purge the court by decisive means since his ascension, he had been “immortal-like” and “pure as the wind and moon” for so long that they had forgotten that the emperor had once been a person of unrestrained temperament, though his unruliness differed from Prince Huai’s wild extravagance.
Yin Yanjun’s cold gaze swept over the ministers from the high platform. He raised his cup, took a light sip, and the expression in his eyes grew deeper.
After all, today was the little cub’s full-month banquet, and amidst the clinking of cups, no one dared to disrespect the imperial family. At the same time, many ministers felt a sense of harmony between the emperor and Young Master Xu on the high platform, and a thought surprisingly arose in their hearts: perhaps this situation wasn’t so bad after all.
—
Coming out of Jiying Palace, Xu Yanqing’s fair face was already flushed. The Marquis and Madam Wu’an were escorted back to their mansion by guards arranged by Wen Jing after the banquet, while Young Master Xu of Marquis Wu’an’s residence moved back into Hanliang Palace.
According to Daliang custom, the full month banquet was held at noon, so after the imperial banquet, it was a little later than the usual nap time for the salted fish. Coupled with the few cups of wine Xu Yanqing had drunk, he felt much sleepier than usual.
The weather has been getting colder and colder recently. Inside Hanliang Palace, charcoal fires were burnt, making it warm and cozy. Xu Yanqing, utterly exhausted, shed his heavy brocade robe and quickly burrowed into the Taoist master’s dragon bed.
By the time Yin Yanjun had finished washing up and emerged, the exceptionally sleepy young master was already curled up and sound asleep in the vast dragon bed.
Previously, when the young master was carrying the little cub, he liked to sleep curled up, but with a large belly, he couldn’t curl up as tightly as he did now.
Seeing this, Yin Yanjun’s heart instantly melted, and for some inexplicable reason, he even felt a pang of tenderness for the young master.
Although he didn’t know why the young master lacked such a sense of security, he quietly walked over, lay down on the bed, and wrapped his arm around the young master’s waist.
Xu Yanqing felt the familiar warmth and slowly relaxed his curled-up body. He couldn’t help but rub his head back and forth against the Taoist master’s chest. After he finally settled down, he rested a hand on the Taoist master’s chest and fell into a deep sleep.
Xu Yanqing had rinsed his mouth with clear tea after dinner and changed out of his brocade robe, so there was no hint of alcohol in the dragon bed. Mostly, there was the Taoist master’s cool, clean scent. Coupled with the dim light inside the curtains, the salted fish young master slept for over an hour.
When the salted fish young master woke up, the Taoist master on the bed had been replaced by the little cub playing with his hands in the cradle.
The little cub rarely cried or made a fuss. Even if no one paid attention to him after he woke up, he could entertain himself for a long time. Xu Yanqing gently poked the little cub’s soft, lotus-root-like arm with a finger. Looking at the little cub’s adorable, silly expression, he couldn’t figure out how such a little cub could become a sinister and obsessive character in the original plot.
By the time Xu Yanqing slowly strolled to the Imperial Study with the little cub, he saw the emperor playing chess with Prefect Ye. The two occasionally exchanged a few words, appearing very relaxed and at ease.
He had originally thought that since it was the little cub’s full-month banquet today, no ministers would come to the Taoist master with matters of state. However, he never expected Prefect Ye to be in the Imperial Study playing chess with the Taoist master at this very moment.
So, Xu Yanqing’s first thought was to quickly sneak away. But the next moment, he heard Prefect Ye respectfully call out, “Young Master Xu.”
There was no escaping. The salted fish could only put on his thick-as-a-city-wall face and push the little cub into the Imperial Study: “So Prefect Ye is here too!”
“It was this humble official’s oversight. Last time we met, I mistakenly took the young master for a young madam. It was truly a sin.” Prefect Ye stood up and bowed to apologize, looking utterly “sincere.”
So why bring up such an awkward matter again? Thankfully, Xu Yanqing had already mentally prepared himself. Hearing this, he jokingly said with great ease, “In that case, why doesn’t Prefect Ye give the little cub a more substantial meeting gift as an atonement?”
Prefect Ye’s eyes sparkled with a smile: “You’re right. It should indeed be so.”
Yin Yanjun turned his head to look at the young master, whose eyes were bright and held a hint of mischief. His gaze softened and became gentle: “Qingqing, come here.”
After all, Prefect Ye was still present. Xu Yanqing felt a bit uncomfortable under the Taoist master’s gaze, but he still pushed the little cub over: “Taoist master, why did you put the little cub back on the bed?”
“Yuanchen himself was looking for you as soon as he woke up,” Yin Yanjun explained softly to the young master, gently touching the little cub’s cheek with his raised hand.
Prefect Ye subtly observed the emperor and the young master for a moment, then took out a brocade box from his sleeve and presented it to the young master before getting up to leave.
Indeed, as Prefect Ye expected, this warm and harmonious scene truly fulfilled his earlier anticipation, making one feel pleased upon seeing it.
Xu Yanqing held the brocade box handed to him by Prefect Ye. Opening it, he saw a longevity lock made of jade inside. Its texture was lustrous, and it looked very beautiful.
However, the salted fish still felt a bit confused: “I feel that Prefect Ye seems a little strange.”
Yin Yanjun chuckled, pinching the young master’s chin: “Qingqing doesn’t know, but Ye Qin is an upright, selfless, and benevolent man who loves his people, yet he has one hobby: acting as a matchmaker.”
“A matchmaker?” Xu Yanqing was shocked and confused. Why would a dignified court official have such an odd hobby?
“Perhaps it’s because he comes from a family of matchmakers,” Yin Yanjun said under the young master’s shocked expression. He took a fruit from the tea table and calmly put it into the young master’s mouth.
Xu Yanqing’s attention completely shifted to the fruit in his mouth. He chewed and swallowed the fruit in a few quick bites.
Immediately, Xu Yanqing remembered someone else: “Today in Jiying Palace, a young man sitting next to Young Marquis Yin smiled at me. Do you know who that person is?”
Yin Yanjun hadn’t paid much attention to that. He took another plump, juicy fruit, offering it to the young master’s lips: “It must have been Yuancheng’s good friend. If you’re curious, just call Yuancheng and ask.”
The salted fish young master wasn’t that intensely curious; he had simply asked casually because it suddenly came to mind.
The little cub seemed to realize he had been forgotten by his two fathers again and cooed a few times. The salted fish young master then dropped his previous question and turned his head to tease the little cub.
—
After the little prince’s full-month banquet, the ministers frequently saw the relaxed Young Master Xu in the Imperial Study.
A few old-fashioned, stern ministers looked like they wanted to speak but dared not. In the end, looking at the lively and adorable little prince in the emperor’s arms, they could only sigh helplessly, signifying their reluctant compromise with the emperor.
Thus, when the Ministry of Rites proactively proposed to confer the title of Empress upon Young Master Xu, the old-fashioned ministers did not “straightforwardly admonish and threaten with death,” as rumored. Of course, they also didn’t happily agree to the emperor’s conferment of a male empress.
Yin Yanjun calmly took out the imperial seal, symbolizing the emperor, and placed a red mark on the imperial decree presented by the Ministry of Rites. Then, Prince Huai received the imperial decree and went to Marquis Wu’an’s residence to announce it.
Xu Yanqing had already returned to Marquis Wu’an’s residence the day before the announcement to continue his salted fish life. However, Young Marquis Yin’s big event was in another three to five days, so he was currently busy preparing a wedding gift for Yin Yuancheng.
When the imperial decree arrived, Xu Yanqing was rummaging through Marquis Wu’an’s storeroom, still unable to find a suitable gift. Then Mu Yu’s anxious voice was heard. “Young Master, Young Master, Prince Huai has arrived with His Majesty’s imperial decree! The Marquis wants you to quickly go to the front courtyard to receive the decree.”
Xu Yanqing slowly stood up from the ground. Hearing Mu Yu’s words, he already understood why today’s imperial decree had come.
Sure enough, when Xu Yanqing rushed to the front courtyard, Lady Su pulled him down, and he heard Prince Huai solemnly read out His Majesty’s imperial decree to confer the title of Empress.
It was indeed an imperial decree drafted by the Ministry of Rites; that lengthy, ornate passage almost made Prince Huai suffocate at Marquis Wu’an’s residence.
Once the decree of conferment was read, Prince Huai folded the imperial decree, handed it to Xu Yanqing, and bowed. His usually flamboyant face was filled with playful teasing: “From now on, Young Master Xu will be my little elder brother.”
Prince Huai was indeed a discerning and tactful person. Instead of immediately calling him “sister-in-law,” he amusingly referred to Xu Yanqing as “little elder brother.”
However, Xu Yanqing had not yet officially married the Taoist master. Although he had a somewhat salted fish personality, he was not ignorant of etiquette, so he slightly avoided Prince Huai’s bow.
Meanwhile, Marquis Wu’an enthusiastically pulled Prince Huai into the mansion for a drink. After one drink, Prince Huai seemed a bit tipsy. He kept calling Marquis Wu’an “uncle” repeatedly, praising him until the marquis felt light as a fairy. Finally, Lady Su couldn’t bear it anymore and directly pushed Xu Xianzhi in, neatly having her eldest son take over.
Although Xu Xianzhi usually didn’t particularly enjoy drinking with his colleagues, he was inwardly a person who could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk. He engaged in a back-and-forth drinking contest with Prince Huai, showing no signs of inferiority.
In the end, Xu Xianzhi managed to drink Prince Huai, that dissolute fellow, under the table. It was only when Lady Su saw this and intervened that Prince Huai was safely sent back to his mansion.
As soon as the people from Marquis Wu’an’s residence left, Prince Huai lay on his beloved Princess Consort’s lap, turned his head to the side, and threw up all over the floor.
The Princess Consort slapped her husband’s back repeatedly: “Didn’t you say you were going to Marquis Wu’an’s residence to announce the decree? How did you end up like this?”
Prince Huai, nestled in his Princess Consort’s arms, looked listless: “I truly exhausted myself for His Majesty’s marriage, even to the point of death. How would I know that the prince of Marquis Wu’an’s residence was so skilled at drinking and kept his abilities hidden!”
However, Prince Huai’s exhausting duty was not yet complete. After washing up and taking a short nap in his own mansion, he then entered the palace to report the “battle situation” to the emperor.
Upon meeting the emperor, Prince Huai wished he could have wept bitterly in the Imperial Study. In the end, he managed to scrounge up a pile of treasures from the emperor’s treasury, then went to Yunhe Palace with a cheeky grin to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager, only then leaving the palace gates contentedly.
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