Although he heard Wei Chongrong say that he was going to spend the night in Dongfang’s tent, Jun Hua still waited without giving up. 

He remembered that when he was a child, every time he made too much trouble or was unreasonable, Wei Chongrong would use the trick of playing hard to get to deal with him. But every time it was just a trick; as long as Jun Hua insisted, Wei Chongrong would definitely fulfil his wish. 

Jun Hua waited and waited but instead of seeing Wei Chongrong lift the curtain and come in, he heard his footsteps gradually move away. 

It turned out that Brother Rong was still angry. Jun Hua sighed reluctantly, pulled up the quilt and wrapped himself up. 

In the middle of the night, Wei Chongrong quietly returned to his tent, and what he saw was Jun Hua wrapped in the quilt like a silkworm cocoon. 

He smiled speechlessly and shook his head, reached out and pulled the quilt down. The nights in the Wusu Steppes were a bit cold, but Jun Hua’s sleeping position was too exaggerated, as if he was going to suffocate himself. 

Wei Chongrong’s movements were so light that he would not be able to wake Jun Hua, who always slept soundly. But as soon as he moved, Jun Hua opened his eyes in a daze and asked blankly, “Brother Rong, you’re back?”

“En.” Wei Chongrong replied in a low voice. 

Jun Hua didn’t say anything and just moved towards the inner side of the bed, closed his eyes and continued to sleep. 

Wei Chongrong could see that Jun Hua hadn’t really woken up; he thought for a few moments, took off his outer robe and lay down beside him. 

In the early morning of the next day, Jun Hua woke up and habitually rolled on the bed with his eyes closed, but unexpectedly, he was stopped after just rolling halfway. 

Jun Hua was a little puzzled and slowly opened his bleary eyes. When he saw Wei Chongrong lying next to him, he hurriedly raised his hand and rubbed his eyes, saying in surprise: “Brother Rong, Brother Rong, why are you here?” Didn’t he say that he wanted to sleep with Dongfang? When did he come back?

Wei Chongrong folded his arms behind his head and said, seemingly without thinking, “Little Dongzi was snoring in his sleep. I thought he was too noisy, so I came back.” Dongfang, who was practising outside, inexplicably shivered and thought to himself: who is making up bad things about me?

How could Jun Hua not understand what Wei Chongrong meant? He grinned cheekily and stared at Wei Chongrong without saying anything. 

Wei Chongrong jumped up and sat cross-legged on the bed. At the same time, he also pulled Jun Hua up to sit face to face with him, and said solemnly: “Little Monkey, don’t smile yet. I have something to ask you, tell me clearly first.”

“Oh.” Jun Hua curbed his smile and responded seriously. In fact, he was not afraid of Wei Chongrong asking him questions. What he was afraid of was that Wei Chongrong would simply ignore him in anger, or drive him back to Yizhou. In that case, he would be really helpless. 

Wei Chongrong pressed his fist to his lips, coughed softly, and said with a serious expression: “Little Monkey, when did you start taking Suyun Pill? Why didn’t you discuss it with me before? Don’t you think you’re being too reckless?”

Jun Hua seemed to be uncomfortable with Wei Chongrong’s serious expression and sneaked a few glances at him before saying in a timid tone, “I started before the New Year. I… I didn’t dare to discuss it with you. If I did, you would definitely not agree.”

Obviously there was a timid expression on his face, but what he said sounded very righteous. Wei Chongrong didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. After a moment of silence, he asked, “Since you knew that I wouldn’t agree, why did you secretly take Suyun Pill?”

Jun Hua lowered his head and said innocently: “Because I like Brother Rong. If I don’t take Suyun Pill, how can I give Brother Rong a baby in the future? Or…” At this moment, his eyes suddenly lit up. 

Wei Chongrong was rendered helpless by Jun Hua’s bluntness, and he could be sure that Jun Hua was doing it on purpose. Because Jun Hua knew very well that in front of him, he couldn’t say what he didn’t like him, even though what the two of them understood as “like” probably didn’t mean the same thing. 

The sentence that Jun Hua hadn’t finished aroused Wei Chongrong’s curiosity, and he immediately asked, “Or what?”

Jun Hua blinked, a little embarrassed and a little delighted: “Or does it mean that Brother Rong is willing to bear a baby for me? But if you take the medicine now, it may be a bit late. Not everyone is as lucky as my daddy.”

Wei Chongrong was very fortunate that he was not drinking tea or water at the moment, otherwise he would have sprayed Jun Hua all over. Indeed, he had already reached the age of nineteen. If he took Suyun Pill at this time, it would be a bit late and it was likely that it would not work. 

But the problem was, he had never thought about taking Suyun Pill, nor did he want Jun Hua to do it for him. Where on earth did Jun Hua get the confidence to decide that they would definitely be together in this life without informing him at all?

Seeing the expression on Wei Chongrong’s face changing, first shocked, then puzzled, but not hearing him say a word, Jun Hua panicked a little and said uneasily: “Brother Rong, are you angry?”

Wei Chongrong rubbed his forehead and said helplessly: “Little Monkey, I do like you very much, but the kind of like I mean may not be the kind of like you want, do you understand?”

Jun Hua opened his eyes wide, thought for a while, shook his head and said, “I don’t understand.” Like was like, dislike was dislike, why did Brother Rong make it so complicated, it was almost confusing him. 

Wei Chongrong sighed weakly, feeling that he had given himself a difficult problem and didn’t know how to solve it. 

Fortunately, Jun Hua didn’t leave him in a difficult position for long and continued, “I like Brother Rong, so I want to be with you all the time, what’s wrong with that? Wang Xiang has already married Wangfei Xiang, and His Majesty and His Highness Wang Qin will surely urge you to marry. And when you marry a wife, you will be good to her, and you will have a little baby. Brother Rong will surely love the little baby and will not have time to like me and be good to me.”

“Who did you hear say that I was going to marry a wife?” Wei Chongrong was baffled; no one had even urged him to get married, okay?

Jun Hua glanced at him and said naturally: “Do I need to hear it from someone? You are the heir of Wang Qin. How could you not marry a wife for the rest of your life? It’s just a matter of time. Has Brother Rong never thought about it?”

Wei Chongrong shook his head subconsciously: “Of course not.” It was not that Wei Chongrong lacked common sense, but in his previous life, his identity was so embarrassing that no one would consider marrying his daughter to him, and he himself was only thinking about Wei Yang, never considering marrying a wife and having children. 

Now, everything was different. Wei Zhao was alive, not to mention being a powerful prince with a heavy military force, enjoying the emperor’s trust. Wei Chongrong was his only son, and he was officially named the heir. Even if everyone knew that he had half of the foreign blood, most people would not care. Wei Chongrong had not been in the capital for the past two years, otherwise he would be surprised to find that in the entire Yujing, there were more than one or two families that regarded him as the best candidate for a son-in-law. 

Hearing Wei Chongrong say that he had never thought about getting married, Jun Hua smiled: “Brother Rong doesn’t like anyone else anyway. So why can’t you accept me? At least you do like me, don’t you?”

Wei Chongrong was completely speechless. Why did they talk and talk but the topic came back to the original one? He didn’t immediately answer Jun Hua’s question, but was silent for a long time and then said: “Little Monkey, don’t you think that what you did was too hasty?”

Jun Hua thought for a moment and shook his head. 

Wei Chongrong added: “You quietly took Suyun Pill without telling me anything. Have you ever thought that there was a possibility that I would reject you?” Frankly speaking, it was not easy for him to say the word “reject” to Jun Hua. 

Jun Hua nodded without thinking. 

Wei Chongrong was taken aback and asked rhetorically: “Why did you do that if you thought about it?”

“Because I like you. Even if Brother Rong can’t accept me for the time being, I won’t give up. If one day, you also like me, and I am past the age when I can take Suyun Pill, wouldn’t we be very pitiful? So I had to plan ahead.”

Wei Chongrong didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. He stretched out his hand, gently put it on Jun Hua’s shoulder, and sighed in a low voice: “Silly boy!”

Jun Hua blinked in confusion, a little puzzled by Wei Chongrong’s attitude. Did he accept him or did he not accept him?

“Do Hou Zhaoyang and Wang Changning know about you taking the Suyun Pill?” Wei Chongrong heard people say that the first three months of taking Suyun Pill were particularly painful, and some people even gave up halfway because they couldn’t stand it. The next ten months were slightly better, but there were also various discomforts. 

Jun Hua nodded in frustration and said, “As soon as I took the second one, Daddy discovered it. Fortunately, he didn’t tell Father.”

Suyun Pill was said to be taken continuously for one year but in fact, it was thirteen months. One pill every three days in the first three months, a total of thirty pills, and one pill every ten days in the next ten months, a total of thirty tablets, sixty pills together. 

According to Jun Hua’s original plan, he wanted to finish taking the medicine without telling Jun Qing and Ji Xin, and then go to Lingzhou to find Wei Chongrong. But he underestimated the medicinal properties of Suyun Pill. It was okay to take the first one; there was abdominal pain but no other abnormalities, so he gritted his teeth and endured it. 

After taking Suyun Pill, your body will undergo great changes, especially in the first three months. Your physique will become weaker than usual, and you must avoid exertion. Strenuous exercise is definitely to be excluded even if you don’t stay in bed.

However, Jun Hua had to practise every day, and the combination of a strong reaction to the medicine and intense excessive exercise soon exposed him in front of Jun Qing. Jun Qing had this experience in the past and he had certain attainments in medical skills, so how could he not notice his son’s condition? 

Jun Hua was frightened at the time, afraid that Jun Qing would not allow him to take Suyun Pill again. This medicine had to be taken continuously. Once it was interrupted in the middle, if you continued to take it in the future, the efficacy of the medicine would be reduced and maybe it wouldn’t have an effect at all. 

Fortunately, Jun Qing didn’t do this. He just asked Jun Hua very seriously if he had thought about it clearly and would not regret it no matter what happened. If so, he wouldn’t stop him. 

Hearing Jun Qing’s calm words, Jun Hua was stunned. Then he nodded firmly and said yes, he would never regret it. He only liked Wei Chongrong and he could not accept that there would be other people around Wei Chongrong who would be closer than him. 

Wei Chongrong stroked Jun Hua’s cheek, and his tone became a little softer: “At the beginning, was it very hard?” Jun Hua was not sure about anything, and yet he could go to such lengths for him. These feelings were so heavy that he felt unable to carry them. 

Jun Hua nodded silently, and said after a long time: “Daddy said that it was fine for me to take the medicine, but I shouldn’t hide it from you. He originally wanted me to come to you after the first three months, but… But I was a little scared, so I kept pushing it off saying that I didn’t feel well and… I dragged it until now.”

Hearing this, Wei Chongrong sighed inaudibly. It was he who was wrong; Jun Hua was really not a child anymore. He had come to confess his love to him only after being prepared for all the psychological consequences including being rejected by him. It was not a childish moment of caprice. 

“Huaixi, I’m sorry!” Wei Chongrong heard himself say, “There are some things I haven’t figured out yet, and I can’t give you an answer for the time being.”

It was the child he had watched grow up since he was born. Even before he was born, Wei Chongrong vowed to take care of him, love him, and not let him suffer the slightest grievance. Before today, he had never refused any request from Jun Hua, even if it was unreasonable. 

Only this time, Jun Hua wanted something different; he wanted his feelings, as warm and sincere as his own feelings were. 

Wei Chongrong was not sure if he could afford it. He cared for Jun Hua, tolerated him in everything, doted on him in every way and had never been able to resist. If you wanted to talk about feelings, there were definitely some, but whether it was affection or love, he couldn’t tell.

When Jun Hua heard Wei Chongrong say the words “I’m sorry”, his face turned pale in an instant. What should he do if Wei Chongrong didn’t even give him a chance to work hard? Fortunately, Wei Chongrong went on to say that he needed time to think about it, and Jun Hua’s expression immediately changed from cloudy to clear. 

If Brother Rong really didn’t feel anything about him, he wouldn’t need to think about it, he would just say that he couldn’t accept him. But he said that he had to “figure out things.” This answer was simply too good for Jun Hua. 

He lowered his head, couldn’t help chuckling twice, suddenly propped up his body and lunged towards Wei Chongrong. 

Wei Chongrong was unprepared and was thrown backwards by Jun Hua, and the two fell on the bed together. 

“Brother Rong, I knew you couldn’t bear not to have me, it’s so good!” Jun Hua’s eyes were curved in a smile. 

Wei Chongrong was pressed squarely under him and couldn’t move. But he could see Jun Hua’s relaxed smile and knew he was in a very happy mood. 

“Master Shizi, Young Shizi, have you gotten up yet? It’s time for breakfast!” Dongfang said as he lifted the curtain and walked in. 

Jun Hua was in a good mood and didn’t notice anything wrong with his and Wei Chongrong’s position, smiling, “We’ll be up soon, wait a moment.”

Dongfang opened his mouth and it took a long time before he stammered, “I’m sorry, I came in at a bad time. I disturbed you. I’m leaving now. Go on.” As he said that, he really turned around and left, moving as fast as a gust of wind. 

Jun Hua got up from Wei Chongrong with a puzzled expression on his face: “Brother Rong, what’s wrong with Little Dongzi?”

Wei Chongrong got up after him. He naturally understood what Dongfang meant but he wasn’t going to explain it to Jun Hua. He just said indifferently, “Little Dongzi is always talking to the voices in his head, just leave him alone.”

Jun Hua really didn’t care. He jumped off the bed, picked up his clothes and put them on, seeming to be in good spirits, no longer sick like yesterday. 

Wei Chongrong got out of bed to get dressed, and at the same time asked, “Little Monkey, does it hurt anywhere?”

Jun Hua was looking down to tie his belt, and when he heard the question, he raised his head and replied, “I’m fine, I’m completely fine.” He had reached the late stage of taking Suyun Pill, and the reaction to the medicine was already very low. Yesterday, he had abdominal pain because he had caught a cold. Fortunately, he was young and in good health and recovered after drinking the medicine. 

Wei Chongrong walked over and helped Jun Hua straighten his collar: “If you’re fine, let’s go to visit Hou Dingyuan today.”

“Sure, sure.” Jun Hua was very satisfied with Wei Chongrong’s arrangement and said contentedly: “I haven’t seen Uncle Lu for a long time. I wonder if he still recognises me when he sees me after so many years.”

“How can he not recognise you?” Wei Chongrong smiled, dumbfounded, “You’ve always looked the same since you were little, okay?”

The two of them washed up, dressed neatly and walked out of the tent. Dongfang set up a table on the grass with freshly brewed horse milk tea on it. 

Jun Hua had eaten very little yesterday, and his stomach had long been complaining about being empty. Seeing the hot horse milk tea, he couldn’t wait to walk over and pick up a bowl, but after he took a big sip, he frowned slightly: “Brother Rong, this taste is so strange!”

Wei Chongrong picked up a bowl of horse milk tea and said while drinking: “That’s because you are not used to it yet, just drink more and it’ll get better.”

“Really? Drinking more will make it taste good?” Jun Hua took another big sip with a sceptical expression.

Wei Chongrong laughed out loud: “That’s hard to say, some people will like it, and some people will never get used to it.” For example, Wei Zhao, the food he hated most in his life was horse milk tea. Let alone drinking it, he was not happy when someone mentioned it in front of him. 

Jun Hua smacked his lips and silently drank the horse milk tea, not saying anything else. 

After breakfast, Wei Chongrong and others left the herdsman’s place where they were boarding and headed for the residence of Hou Dingyuan Lu Ming. 

For Wei Chongrong and Jun Hua, Lu Ming could be regarded as a very close and special elder. Lu Ming was the adopted son of Jun Lin. Jun Qing had never been in contact with the Jun family and he had always regarded Lu Ming as his younger brother. Jun Hua was influenced by Jun Qing and was naturally very close to Lu Ming. 

Not to mention Wei Chongrong; he didn’t have many opportunities to interact with Lu Ming in this life, but in his previous life, Lu Ming was the only one who sneaked into Fuyu to try to rescue Wei Zhao – only for Wei Zhao to draw his sword and kill himself after entrusting his son to Lu Ming. It was Lu Ming who brought Wei Chongrong back to Yujing. 

In the 50th year of Yongjia of this life, Wei Su sent Wei Zhao, Ji Xin and Lu Ming to fight against Tiele and Fuyu, recover Youzhou and establish Lingzhou. 

After the war, because the situation in Youzhou and Lingzhou was very complicated, Wei Zhao didn’t dare to take it lightly. He ordered Lu Ming to remain in Youzhou and Huo Qingyang to stay in Lingzhou, just to keep an eye on Tiele and Fuyu and not give them any chance to make a comeback. 

Unlike Huo Qingyang, whose heart was in a different place, Lu Ming, who was three-quarters of Hu descent, obviously preferred life on the grasslands. Wei Zhao was short of people, so he was more than happy that Lu Ming was willing to be stationed in Youzhou. How could he be willing to replace him? 

“I heard that Uncle Lu got married and had a son a few years ago. Brother Rong, have you seen them?” Lu Ming was in Youzhou, and Jun Hua was in Yizhou with Jun Qing. One was in the northeast and the other was in the southwest. Thousands of li apart, there wasn’t much contact. 

Wei Chongrong had been in Lingzhou for nearly two years. He went hunting in the Wusu Steppes last summer. He immediately smiled and said, “Naturally, I have seen them.” Wei Zhao trusted Lu Ming very much and didn’t ask him to send his wife and child back to Yujing. 

Curiosity flared in Jun Hua’s eyes and he asked, “What does Aunt Lu look like? Is she beautiful?” The last time Jun Hua saw Lu Ming was when he was seven years old, and his memory was already very vague, except that Lu Ming had beautiful blue eyes. 

Wei Chongrong frowned and thought for a while, but it was hard to describe the appearance of Mrs. Hou Dingyuan, so he had to say to Jun Hua: “We are half a day away. Instead of listening to me, you might as well go and see in person, right?”

Due to Wei Chongrong’s evasive words, Jun Hua became more curious about the Aunt Lu whom he had never met before, and he swung his whip to speed up the horse. 

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