Arc 3: Chapter 21
The second day of the new year saw clear and bright skies.
Jiang Qian lay on his side next to Lin Yuan, staring at the other without blinking. His eyes were dark and deep, full of obscure, morbid infatuation.
The bed curtains blocked out most of the sunlight, breeding shadows over the two people and making the scene on the bed inseparable from dream or reality.
A slender and pale hand slowly traced the teenager’s face. Jiang Qian stroked Lin Yuan’s lips lightly, trailed over his eyebrows, and reminded himself over and over again that this was not a dream.
Everything that happened last night was real, and Lin Yuan was also real……
At this moment, Jiang Qian was truly very happy, and an immeasurable sense of satisfaction coursed through his body. But at the same time, seeds of panic buried themselves into his heart like weeds.
He was scared, very scared.
Jiang Qian was scared that everything in front of him was just a hallucination. In reality, he was still in Prince Yanping’s mansion, kneeling and crawling in the mud like crazy.
Maybe…… his Lin Yuan was just a beautiful dream that he was having.
What if one day, when he stretched out his hand, his warm and lovely teenager disappeared and his dream shattered?
When Lin Yuan woke up, he felt as if his whole body was falling apart. His eyes were also so swollen that he could barely open them.
He aggrievedly called out twice and was quickly held in someone’s arms. The other person coaxed warmly: “What’s wrong? Does it hurt? I… I’ll massage you okay?”
Lin Yuan exerted a little more force and opened his eyes. He saw Jiang Qian’s look of worry and half of his anger dispersed, but there was still a bit left.
Lin Yuan bit Jiang Qian angrily and huffed: “It doesn’t just hurt, it really really really hurts! Last night…… you went too far last night. I feel like I’m going to die! Really going to die!”
Last night, Jiang Qian actually planned to only do it once. He knew that his little prince was delicate and needed to be cared for carefully, so he originally wasn’t going to toss the other much on their first time.
But when Jiang Qian looked at Lin Yuan under him with swollen lips, flushed eyes, and his body was full of his traces, something in Jiang Qian lost control and he had no rational thoughts left.
Jiang Qian guiltily hugged Lin Yuan, who was lying bonelessly on top of him, and massaged the other’s waist. He rubbed until he heard his little prince hum comfortably, and then moved his fingers downwards.
Lin Yuan couldn’t help but let out a little moan, and his eyelashes trembled slightly. He looked at the man in confusion: “...Jiang Qian?”
Jiang Qian smiled gently at him, looking even better than painting: “Does it hurt?”
Lin Yuan shyly buried his face into Jiang Qian’s chest and whispered: “A little……”
As he spoke, his breath passed through Jiang Qian’s thin inner robe and caused a faint itching that seemed to reach the tip of his heart.
Something surged in Jiang Qian’s eyes. His voice turned slightly hoarse, as if he was trying to endure: “It’s… it’s a little swollen. I’ll apply some more anti-swelling medicine……”
Lin Yuan nodded with his dimples: “Okay~”
Out of habit, he wanted to call out ‘husband’ (láo gōng), but in ancient times, people only used the more formal version of husband (xìang gōng).
So Lin Yuan changed his words and said coquettishly: “Husband~”
Jiang Qian was ready to go out and get medicine, but when he heard Lin Yuan’s words, his train of thought snapped and his mind was left buzzing. He pressed Lin Yuan under him and their lips were almost touching. His voice was even more hoarse than before, and even a little broken: “What did the little prince call this one……”
Jiang Qian stared at Lin Yuan, unwilling to miss the smallest detail: “This one didn’t hear clearly just now. Can the little prince say it again, just one more time…”
Lin Yuan blinked and obediently called again, just as sweet: “Husband…”
The light and soft voice was like a seductive hook that hooked Jiang Qian’s soul, hooked Jiang Qian’s spirit. Saying that Jiang Qian’s soul was turned upside down was not an exaggeration. t/n idiom for being head over heels in love
He kissed Lin Yuan’s lips, kissed the teenager’s eyes, and then kissed the tip of his nose.
The gentle kisses dropped over Lin Yuan’s face like a feather.
【Di! Congrats host, the villain’s blackening value has decreased to 68%.】
Lin Yuan was kissed until his whole body had softened. When Jiang Qian flipped him over, Lin Yuan couldn’t hold back his sobs anymore: “Husband…….”
“Husband……”
Every call was softer than clouds and could melt and mess up people’s hearts.
In the end, it took half an hour for them to get out of bed. Jiang Qian opened the door and let Lü Yi and Hui Yue send breakfast and clothes.
After a short wash, Lin Yuan sat on the bed with a pillow behind his back, and Jiang Qian fed him porridge spoonful by spoonful.
Aside from rolling in bed, Jiang Qian always treated Lin Yuan meticulously and patiently.
Lin Yuan was usually quite the foodie, but today he couldn’t eat too much and only ate two bowls of porridge.
After breakfast, Jiang Qian sat on the bed with Lin Yuan now in his arms, and chatted with him.
But the peaceful hours didn’t last long. A while later, Lin Qiu knocked on the door and reported: “Little prince, the Princess and her family are visiting the Consort. They are now in the Consort’s yard. The Princess has sent someone to bring the little prince over.”
The Princess in name was the original’s older sister, Princess Pingyang. She was two years older than the original, married the eldest son of the Duke of State Wei at fifteen, and now had a daughter and son.
Per customs, married women would visit their mother’s house during the second day of the Chinese New Year. So Lin Yuan wasn’t surprised that Princess Pingyang would appear today.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t even stand up right now. His back hurt and that place also hurt.
Lin Yuan waved his hand listlessly and said slightly nasally: “Lin Qiu, go tell my sister that I caught a cold last night and can’t get up from bed.”
Lin Qiu nodded and was about to leave when Jiang Qian spoke: “Little prince, this won’t work.”
Lin Yuan looked at him puzzledly: “Why not?”
Jiang Qian held Lin Yuan’s hand and his voice was low and clear: “What if Princess Pingyang gets worried about the prince and comes here to see you in person? She’ll figure out the little prince’s lies immediately.”
Lin Yuan bowed his head and thought pensively. He looked up at Jiang Qian and asked: “Then what should I say?”
Jiang Qiang smiled meaningfully and said: “Lin Qiu, tell Princess Pingyang that I was the one who caught a cold last night and the little prince had to take care of me all night and didn’t get to sleep. Now, the little prince just finished feeding me medicine and is going to nap with me.”
Lin Qiu: “......”
If he said this, then Princess Pingyang indeed wouldn’t have the interest to check in person, but the Consort might explode on the spot.
After Lin Qiu left, Lin Yuan shook Jiang Qian’s hand with a grin: “Little princess, if Consort Mother and sister hear about this, then they’ll definitely think that you’ve been spoiled too much.”
Being addressed as ‘little princess’, Jiang Qian couldn’t help chuckling: “Little prince, you can’t call me ‘little princess’ casually. You also need a matchmaker and dowry.”
Lin Yuan knew that Jiang Qian was joking, but he still sat up a little straighter and said seriously in Jiang Qian’s ear: “Of course we will have a matchmaker and dowry, but I won’t have you marry me as the little princess. I want you to marry me so I can be Madame Jiang, husband~......”
The dark thoughts in Jiang Qian’s heart brewed again. He pinched Lin Yuan’s chin with a bit of force and said domineeringly: “I’ve taken note, Lin Yuan. With a matchmaker and dowry, on an auspicious day, I’ll take you as my wife and we will grow old together for the rest of our lives.”
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Jiang Qian stayed in Prince Chu’s mansion until the Lantern Festival. Then he began to go out frequently, even busier than before. He often would only come back for two or three days every half of a month.
Lin Yuan knew that Jiang Qian had no choice but to do those things, so he never complained and didn’t say a word about those matters. Every time Jiang Qian came back and pressed him onto the bed and asked for it, Lin Yuan would make sure to silently comfort him in the moments afterwards.
Like this, three years passed. In the eyes of the nobles and officials, Jiang Qian was no longer the male pet of Little Prince Lin, but the fangs and claws of the emperor-- a murderous knife.
Emperor Liang, who now favored Jiang Qian immensely, appointed him as a second-ranked admiral in the northern zhenfusi. t/n zhenfusi = a team of the imperial guards that were responsible for investigation, arrest, and interrogation without needing to go through the judicial department, they were specialized in using torture to suppress corrupt officials.
No one expected that after the execution of his entire family and demotion to slavery, Jiang Qian could still rise to become a second-ranked official, a position that could be said to hold infinite glory.
March came around, and along with it was the spring hunting season. The emperor led the royal family and important officials out of the capital to the Fenglin mountains.
Lin Yuan, as a first-ranked prince, lived in a tent close to the emperor’s imperial guards. As soon as Lü Yi and the others unpacked, he splayed across the couch and rubbed his waist aggrievedly.
Jiang Qian smiled and went to massage him and whispered: “Does it still hurt?”
It had taken two days from the capital to the Fenglin mountains, and before that, Jiang Qian hadn’t seen Lin Yuan in 20 days because of work affairs. So the night before their departure, they didn’t stop until dawn.
Lin Yuan hummed and enjoyed Jiang Qian’s massage until he didn’t feel any more pain. Then he energetically got up and with two shining eyes exclaimed: “Jiang Qian~ Let’s go out and play!”