Both Jun Hua and Yi Yin had been to Shanglin Park countless times, and the so-called wandering around naturally didn’t mean to be near the main palace. If that were the case, it would be no different from taking a walk, and Jun Hua wouldn’t need Yi Yin to accompany him.

What Jun Hua wanted to do was to go to the vast hunting area outside, because with his rudimentary hunting skills, he could never go to those places by himself. Not only would he get nothing out of it, but he would also have to make a bunch of guards work to protect him. It was better not to go.

Yi Yin was different. He spent his childhood in Fuyu. It was not an exaggeration to say that he grew up on horseback. Since he returned to Yujing, the first place in the spring hunt every year was out of anyone’s reach, and no matter how dissatisfied others were, they could only compete for second place.

If it had been in the past, Jun Hua would definitely be embarrassed to trouble Yi Yin. Yi Yin didn’t like him, and if he burdened him with something, he would probably avoid him altogether.

But with that magical experience, Jun Hua changed his mind. He found that Yi Yin’s attitude towards him didn’t seem to be as bad as he thought. Otherwise, what reason did he have to be so good to Little Monkey since he was a child? The source was actually in himself.

Later facts proved Jun Hua’s guess. Yi Yin didn’t refuse the requests he made. He said he wanted to raise a little white tiger, and Yi Yin promised him to catch it. He said he wanted to go outside, and Yi Yin took him directly on horseback.

The tame prey in the hunting ground was docile by nature and couldn’t withstand Yi Yin’s destructive power. In a short time, the two returned with a full load.

The only regret was that Jun Hua overestimated his physical condition, and when he came back, he had a severe fever and lay in bed for three days and three nights.

Of course, there were benefits to being sick. It apparently struck a nerve, and Yi Yin came to visit every day, making Jun Hua almost wish he could stay feverish for a few more days. Yi Yin’s attitude change came too suddenly, making Jun Hua feel incredulous.

In fact, after Jun Hua’s condition improved, the relationship between the two didn’t become estranged.

They say that people’s hearts are the most difficult to satisfy. The more you get, the more you want. Jun Hua hadn’t believed this before, but now he did.

Originally, he only wanted to get closer to Yi Yin. He didn’t like that Wei Yang was the only one in Yi Yin’s eyes, especially since Wei Yang was using him.

Later, the two became more and more familiar, and Jun Hua began to be dissatisfied with the relationship of pure friendship. But he hadn’t figured out how to confess to Yi Yin, and Yi Yin was about to go to Fuyu on a mission with General Huo Dongjun.

The outcome of that war was known to Jun Hua, with the Great Yan winning a resounding victory, but the worry in his heart wasn’t diminished in the slightest.

He was afraid that his casual actions would affect the overall situation, and he was even more afraid that the smoothness of the war would deepen Wei Yang’s jealousy of Yi Yin.

No, he couldn’t sit still, he had to do something.

Fortunately, Jun Hua knew the future. It wasn’t easy to trip up Wei Yang, but it wasn’t difficult to plan a retreat for himself and Yi Yin. Besides, Wei Su refused to acknowledge Yi Yin as a member of the Wei family. Even if he really brought Wei Yang down, he might not be able to benefit from it.

In the previous life, he and Wei Ruo were able to cooperate happily, because both sides had their own needs, but now there was no such opportunity.

Since Jun Hua accompanied Wei Yang, the battle reports could be seen by him as soon as they were sent to the palace. Jun Hua knew the result, so he didn’t care about the battle reports themselves. What he focused on observing was Wei Yang’s expression and behaviour after seeing these battle reports.

Fortunately, the leader of the army was Huo Dongjun. The smooth progress of the war was due to his good command. Yi Yin was just a general under his command and was not too eye-catching. Wei Yang was currently short of men and was pleased to see the war reports, so he wouldn’t be dissatisfied for the time being.

Seeing that Wei Yang hadn’t developed too much fear of Yi Yin at the moment, Jun Hua breathed a sigh of relief. While trying to manoeuvre with Wei Yang unnoticeably, he secretly used the trick he had learned from Little Monkey and took advantage of the right age to take Suyun Pill.

This time, the relationship between Jun Hua and Yi Yin was much better than in the previous life, but only to the extent of being good friends. Jun Hua himself wasn’t sure when he could go further; he was afraid that if he delayed too long, he wouldn’t have the chance to see Tuantuan and Yuanyuan again.

Compared with the unfamiliar family and the unfamiliar Wei Chongrong, the biggest tie left to Jun Hua by the unrecognisable world of the reborn Wei Chongrong was the twins, and he hoped that he still had a chance to see them again. 

It was not that Jun Hua had no attachment to his parents and younger brother, but they already had Little Monkey and it didn’t matter if he was there or not.

Of course, Tuantuan and Yuanyuan were not his either, they were the babies of Little Monkey and Wei Chongrong. It was just that Jun Hua and Little Monkey had shared the body for nearly a year. Although he was just a spectator most of the time, Jun Hua had empathised with Little Monkey’s experience. Otherwise, when Little Monkey was in trouble in Nanyue, he would have no way to wake him up. In this way, Jun Hua’s feelings for Tuantuan and Yuanyuan had become very complicated.

Jun Hua once heard Little Monkey say that he hadn’t been with Wei Chongrong yet when he started taking Suyun Pill, he was just planning ahead.

Now that he thought about it, Little Monkey’s words made sense. Suyun Pill had an age limit for taking it, and once you were overage, its efficacy would be greatly reduced or even useless.

Jun Hua didn’t want to make himself regret it one day in the future, so as soon as Yi Yin left, he started taking Suyun Pill.

According to Jun Hua’s original idea, he didn’t plan to tell Yi Yin about taking Suyun Pill, so as not to cause him to misunderstand. He just wanted to give himself a chance. If it really came to that day, he didn’t think Yi Yin would mind his little concealment.

Unexpectedly, the plan couldn’t keep up with the changes. After less than half of Jun Hua’s medicine was taken, the army of the expedition to Fuyu triumphed. At this point, the Great Yan had recovered all the lost territory in the north, and Wei Yang was overjoyed and rewarded Huo Dongjun and many of his generals.

Yi Yin came to Hou Zhaoyang’s mansion within two days of returning to Yujing. He didn’t come by himself, but also brought a tender little white tiger.

Jun Hua was stunned, and it took a long time before he stammered, “You, how come you’re bringing it?” 

Yi Yin was taken aback when he heard it and said, “Didn’t you want a little white tiger?” Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made a special trip to the Arslan Mountains.

Seeing that Yi Yin misunderstood him, Jun Hua hurriedly said: “I didn’t mean that, I mean… The war is busy, where did you have time…” Jun Hua couldn’t go on in the middle of the sentence. He felt that he might as well not explain, the more he said, the more wrong it sounded.

Fortunately, Yi Yin understood Jun Hua’s meaning and explained: “My task of capturing Qingjia City was completed. Instead of waiting in the city, it was better to go out for a walk.” Qingjia City was really a place full of unpleasant memories for Yi Yin, and he couldn’t stay there.

Jun Hua remembered that Yi Yin had left Fuyu after Wei Zhao killed himself, and suddenly didn’t know what to say.

Fortunately, Yi Yin didn’t pause for too long. He sighed, handed over the little tiger cub that was much bigger than the previous little kitten, and said, “The little cub is less than a month old. Except for me, it hasn’t seen any outsiders. You can raise it since it’s little and train it well.”

Jun Hua smiled slightly and stretched out his hand towards the little tiger cub curled up in Yi Yin’s arms. But the little guy was familiar with Yi Yin’s smell and was very resistant to others. Before Jun Hua’s hand touched its back, it suddenly arched its body and let out a roar.

Although the little tiger cub was small, its roar was quite loud, and its temperament of the king of beasts could be seen from an early age. Yi Yin was afraid that it would bite Jun Hua, so he hurriedly held it down, and then explained embarrassedly: “Huaixi, the little boy needs to get used a bit, should I…” At this point, Yi Yin was a bit stuck; what should he do? White tigers were very spiritual and needed to be raised since they were little, but the little tiger cub had been with him for more than half a month, and now it didn’t recognise outsiders. If he gave it to Jun Hua, he was afraid that Jun Hua couldn’t control it. But if he didn’t give it now, he would have no chance at all in the future.

“Why don’t you stay with me for a while?” Seeing that Yi Yin wanted to say something but stopped, Jun Hua hurriedly offered his idea.

Yi Yin’s eyes lit up, he smiled and nodded, “Yes, this method is good. The little boy needs to get used. I will accompany you while you get acquainted with it first, and wait until it recognises its master.” There was only this way, otherwise the little white tiger that had been caught would be his own and not given to Jun Hua.

After speaking, he glared at the little white tiger that was lying comfortably in his arms and threatened: “Behave yourself and don’t roar at Huaixi anymore, or I’ll stew you.”

The little white tiger looked up at Yi Yin blankly; one could only guess whether it understood him or not. 

Jun Hua couldn’t help laughing when he heard this. The more he looked at the furry little guy, the more he liked it, but he didn’t dare to stretch out his hand again.

Yi Yin saw what he was thinking, so he hugged the little white tiger tighter and smiled, “Huaixi, it’s okay, I’ll make sure the little cub doesn’t dare to move again…” Only when the little white tiger was familiar with Jun Hua’s scent could they talk about the two of them raising it together.

Jun Hua blinked and tried to reach out his hand. This time he just touched the fur on the little white tiger’s back and didn’t try to take it away. The little one also appeared to be well behaved and only grunted twice comfortably, neither crying out nor moving around.

In order to give Jun Hua and the little white tiger a chance to spend time together, Yi Yin stayed at Hou Zhaoyang’s residence for most of the month. As a result, he accidentally found out the fact that Jun Hua was taking Suyun Pill, mainly because the reaction to that thing was really too great.

Yi Yin was a bit confused at the time. Why was Jun Hua doing this? He was Hou Zhaoyang, who could force him to marry someone and have  children? Even Wei Yang didn’t have the guts to do so, unless…

He did it voluntarily.

Yi Yin thought about it for a while, and finally came up with this possibility, but he still couldn’t figure out who Jun Hua was doing it for.

Jun Hua had no relatives and didn’t usually like to deal with people. Except for Wei Yang, the only person who had the most contact with Jun Hua was Yi Yin himself.

But…

Jun Hua and Wei Yang had always been at odds. Although they both hid it well, Yi Yin had already seen it even when Wei Su was still there. Wei Yang didn’t like Jun Hua, didn’t like him very much.

On the other hand, Jun Hua didn’t have much affection for Wei Yang either.

The reason why the two of them were still able to maintain a situation where the monarch and the subject got along was basically due to the legacy of Wei Su.

As for himself…

Yi Yin was frightened by his own thoughts, and his mind went blank.

Jun Hua… maybe… could possibly… like him…

The 17th of the eight month of the 1st year of Zhenghe.

The first Mid-Autumn Festival of the new emperor’s reign almost coincided with the first birthday banquet of the emperor’s grandsons, and the Crown Prince’s Lord Consort, who was in charge of the overall arrangement, was busy enough.

According to Jun Hua’s character, he was the most impatient with palace affairs. Unfortunately, the emperor didn’t have an empress, and he, the Crown Prince’s Lord Consort, couldn’t shirk his responsibilities. Luckily, as a rule he divided the palace affairs between eunuchs and palace ladies in charge while he played a supervisory role.

The Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet was not much of a problem. There was a precedent, just follow the usual procedure. The trouble was the twins’ one-year-old birthday banquet. His Majesty the Emperor said that his baby grandsons would be over the age of one, so it had to be grand and magnificent, and there could be no negligence.

As a result, Jun Hua was so busy that he didn’t sleep well for half a month, but at least he managed to finish the job successfully.

It was because he was too busy that Jun Hua didn’t even have the strength to be depressed when during the Zhuazhou ceremony Tuantuan and Yuanyuan refused to pick up anything and finally picked up each other. 

The next day, Jun Hua had a free day and stayed in bed comfortably to catch up on his sleep, refusing to get up until after noon.

Wei Chongrong went to the court session early in the morning. He knew that Jun Hua had been busy for so long, so not only did he not wake him up, he also specifically ordered people not to disturb him. However, His Imperial Highness’s words were the golden rule for others, but to his precious sons, they were somewhat ineffective.

“Daddy, wake up…”

“Daddy, play with us…”

Tuantuan and Yuanyuan sat on the bed, shaking Jun Hua vigorously from left to right, vowing not to stop until they woke him up.

“Tuantuan, Yuanyuan, be good, don’t make a noise…” Jun Hua said, pulling up the quilt and continuing to sleep with his head covered.

Unwilling to be reconciled, Tuantuan stretched out his hand to pull down the quilt, but unfortunately his strength was not enough.

Yuanyuan turned his head and glanced at Tuantuan, suddenly flattened his mouth and let out a wail.

“Daddy, woo woo…” The way Yuanyuan cried was a typical “dry thunder and no rain”; the sound was loud but there was not a drop of tears on his face.

Tuantuan blinked blankly, completely unable to understand why his younger brother was crying.

The sound of Yuanyuan crying was so powerful that it quickly woke up Jun Hua who was trying to catch the tail end of a beautiful dream. No longer able to sleep soundly, he had to roll over and sit up, looking less than pleased at his two sons crawling onto his lap.

In fact, although Jun Hua was usually a little angry when being woken up, he wouldn’t be so angry that he would bother with two little children who didn’t know any better. There was a reason why he was really angry today, but that reason was, to put it mildly, perhaps a bit bizarre.

Just now, Jun Hua had a dream, and he dreamed of the long-lost Huaixi. This was the first time since Huaixi had said goodbye to him back then.

What surprised Jun Hua even more was that he didn’t just see Huaixi alone. Huaixi was holding two little identical-looking dumplings. Opposite them stood a man with a back that resembled his Brother Rong. He heard Huaixi call him Ah Yin.

And at Jun Hua’s feet, there was a majestic big white tiger lying on the ground, tall and with smooth fur. The two little dumplings seemed to like the big white tiger very much and stretched out their hands towards it desperately, causing Huaixi to be so busy that he could barely hold them.

The big white tiger also seemed to like the two little dumplings very much. He raised his eyes and looked at them but remained motionless obediently.

Seeing that the two little dumplings were about to cry because their little short hands couldn’t touch the big white tiger, Jun Hua laughed happily. He was about to get closer and see the scene in front of him more clearly, but he was awakened by Tuantuan and Yuanyuan. Naturally, he was quite upset.

Not long after, Wei Chongrong came back from the court and saw that the adult one and the little ones were both angry, so he asked curiously what happened.

Jun Hua curled his lips and briefly explained the whole story. After speaking, he sighed regretfully: “It’s all the fault of Tuantuan and Yuanyuan. If they hadn’t made so much noise, I would have been able to see more clearly. I don’t know when the next time I dream of them will be.”

Tuantuan and Yuanyuan were too young to understand Jun Hua’s words, but they could instinctively feel that their daddy was complaining about them to their father, so they both stretched out their hands towards Wei Chongrong and kept calling “Father”, trying to tell him of their grievances.

Wei Chongrong was taken aback, and then laughed loudly. He picked up one son with one arm and the other with the other, kissed them on both cheeks and then smiled: “Little Monkey, Tuantuan, Yuanyuan and I are in front of you, what else do you want to see…”

“Little Monkey…” Tuantuan murmured, repeating Wei Chongrong’s words, and poked Jun Hua’s face with his finger.

Jun Hua was startled, not caring about his son’s actions. After a moment, he suddenly snapped out of it, “Brother Rong, let’s take Tuantuan and Yuanyuan to play with Jiaojiao.” Jiaojiao was the name of the big white tiger raised in the imperial garden.

In the imperial garden, Jiaojiao, who had rarely been out of the cage lately, happily rolled on the grass a few times and then obediently sat down in place.

Immediately afterwards, Tuantuan and Yuanyuan rushed over with a scream and had a lot of fun playing with the obedient big white tiger.

Wei Chongrong put his arms around Jun Hua and asked with a smile: “Is the scene you saw in your dream like this?” 

Jun Hua smiled without saying a word, feeling that it couldn’t be more perfect.

THE END

Translator’s note: Oh my, I can’t believe it is the last chapter of this incredible story I’m posting. I feel so nostalgic. Living in the company of Wei Zhao, Wei Chongrong, Little Monkey and the others for months was an incredible experience. Thank you, Luo Binghe, for accompanying me on this journey! It meant really a lot to me.

I actually suspect that 99% of people who will start reading this story will never reach the end. But I liked it so much, and I hope there will be those who will find it equally fascinating, with all its quirky, intricate world and its huge cast of awesome characters. Wei Zhao, Wei Zhao, you will forever stay in my heart!

If you liked the story, please leave a good review/rating on Novelupdates. If you want to support the translator, you’re very welcome to do it on Ko-fi 🙂

Previous / ToC

As the most privileged babies in the Great Yan, Tuantuan and Yuanyuan never lacked people to take care of them. However, the two little guys were picky by nature. Their biggest hobby was to stick to Jun Hua. They would cry endlessly if Jun Hua stayed a little farther away from them, and they were very skillful in crying. It was not that the two would cry together, they worked in shifts. You cry first and I will rest. When you are tired of crying, I will go on. We won’t stop until we achieve the goal and stick to Jun Hua’s side.

Facing the serious “Oedipus complex” of his sons, Wei Chongrong was initially angry. Should he be treated differently in this way? Although he was not so much involved in the process of carrying the babies for nine months, he was the one who was most attentive when the babies were born, okay? 

Not to mention anything else, just talking about the posture of holding his sons, his was much more standard than Jun Hua’s. It was a pity that it was useless. Tuantuan and Yuanyuan could stay in his arms for up to a stick of incense, and then they would look for Jun Hua. If he didn’t let them go, they would bawl at the top of their lungs.

Jun Hua was very pleased with himself for two days. The parent who gave birth was different. Tuantuan and Yuanyuan loved him so much, ah. But before the two little ones had the third day washing ceremony⁽¹⁾, Jun Hua couldn’t take it anymore. His sons’ clinginess was just a bit too much.

“Brother Rong, take Tuantuan and Yuanyuan to another room, I’ll sleep for a while, I’m going to die of drowsiness.” Jun Hua said with a yawn. He hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since Tuantuan and Yuanyuan were born. He really couldn’t hold on anymore. He was going to find the God of Dreams to have a chat.

Wei Chongrong was holding a twin on each arm and said hesitantly: “They won’t wake up for the time being, will they? When they wake up, if they can’t find you, they will cry again and will be hard to coax.” The intuition of the two children was too keen, and Wei Chongrong was scared of their crying.

Jun Hua lay back on the bed, pulled the quilt to cover his face, and said, “If they cry, let them cry, just don’t let me hear it. I’m really sleepy.” He spoke from under the quilt, his voice muffled.

Wei Chongrong carefully handed the two sons to the arms of the wet nurses, moving very lightly so as not to wake them up accidentally. After the transfer was completed safely, Wei Chongrong pulled the quilt down a little and said, “Don’t sleep with your head covered, it’s not good for your health.”

Jun Hua rolled over, turned his back to him and muttered, “Don’t bother me…”

Wei Chongrong smiled faintly and obediently sat down on the edge of the bed, signalling with his eyes for the wet nurses to carry Tuantuan and Yuanyuan to the next room.

The two wet nurses nodded in silence and followed the orders. The Taisun and Wang Linjiang were both typical examples of put-them-down-they-will-cry babies. Someone had to hold them at any time. Fortunately, they were of a high status and had plenty of people around them who could rotate. If it were ordinary people, the whole family would be exhausted to death.

It was a rare moment of peace and quiet for Jun Hua, and he soon fell into a deep sleep, but before long, he heard someone calling him.

“Who are you? I’m asleep, don’t disturb me, okay?” He said with an impatient face as he raised his hand and rubbed his eyes.

The person wasn’t angry and only said warmly, “How can I talk to you if you don’t fall asleep?”

Jun Hua blinked, suddenly stunned, and said after a long time: “It’s you! Why haven’t you come out for a long time?” He remembered that when he just married Wei Chongrong, Huaixi would appear from time to time, and later when he and Tuantuan and Yuanyuan were in danger, Huaixi was the one who alerted him.

But after that, Huaixi never appeared again. When Jun Hua thought about it occasionally, he would wonder if it was just a dream and didn’t really happen. Fortunately, today Huaixi finally appeared again, and Jun Hua inexplicably felt a trace of joy.

“I’ve already seen everything I want to see. What would I come out for? Aren’t you afraid that I will steal your Brother Rong?” At first, when Huaixi found that the person he had been in love with for a lifetime fell in love with his other self, it was not that he minded it, but…

That person was Wei Chongrong, Little Monkey’s Brother Rong, not Yi Yin, let alone his.

Jun Hua shook his head and said with certainty, “No, it won’t happen. As slow as Brother Rong’s nature is, it’s not easy to make him move. But if he does, he won’t change his mind easily again. I have faith in him, you don’t stand a chance.”

“Is that so?” Huiaxi was taken aback for a moment, and smiled in relief: “Yes, he is your Brother Rong, not mine, so I am going to say goodbye to you.” This world didn’t belong to him and he was always out of place. He had no more regrets and wasn’t going to stay for long.

Jun Hua was startled and suddenly cried out, “Where are you going? I can’t share Brother Rong with you but I don’t mind sharing Daddy, Father and Little Tiger. Even Tuantuan and Yuanyuan, if they are willing to call you Daddy, I promise I won’t be angry.”

“Little Monkey, this is your life. I should have never been involved in it. Maybe it was God’s mercy that gave me such an opportunity to see that all my relatives are living well, but…”

Huaixi sighed and said reluctantly: “I am not from this world after all, it’s time to go.”

Jun Hua finally reacted and said anxiously: “But where can you go?”

“It’s fine everywhere, I don’t care. Little Monkey, you have to take care of yourself, and get the relationship between the twins right.”

“I know.” Jun Hua wanted to say something else, but found that the person beside him had disappeared.

……

When he said goodbye to Little Monkey, Jun Hua didn’t actually think about where he could go. He just didn’t want to disturb his and Wei Chongrong’s lives anymore. He was ready to take a long sleep and never resurface.

But after the long darkness, he still woke up.

“Master Hou, wake up, Master Hou…” The voice in his ears was familiar, and he tried to open his eyes.

Master Hou…

Something didn’t seem right…

Shouldn’t he be the Crown Prince’s Lord Consort? Jun Hua’s memory was still stuck in the time when Tuantuan and Yuanyuan were just born.

Taking a closer look, he saw Guan Yan who had taken care of him since he was a child.

Wrong…

He was not in Yongfu Palace…

Jun Hua regained his senses in an instant, raised his eyes and glanced around. This was the bedroom of Hou Zhaoyang’s mansion he was familiar with. The layout of the room was exactly the same as before.

Dared he say he had gone back again? Jun Hua couldn’t say whether he felt regretful or fortunate.

Then he heard Guan Yan say, “Master Hou, Captain Helian is here, what is your order…” If it were anyone else, Guan Yan wouldn’t have informed him at all if that person had chosen such a time to visit his home, but Yi Yin was different.

Helian?!

Helian Yiyin?!

After hearing the name “Wei Chongrong” for a long time, Jun Hua couldn’t react for a while. He was taken aback and hurriedly said, “Uncle Yan, bring Ah Yin in.” Guan Yan nodded and went out.

Jun Hua was lying on the bed, thinking about what time it was now. All along, Yi Yin had been lukewarm to him and had taken the initiative to come to his mansion only a handful of times. Good people don’t visit, and those who visit aren’t good…⁽²⁾

In a few moments, Jun Hua came up with the answer. It was the spring when he was seventeen years old, when he was accidentally injured during the spring hunt. If Yi Yin hadn’t come to his rescue in time, he wouldn’t probably just hurt his arm.

It was also strange because Yi Yin didn’t usually care for him, Wei Yang had always been the only one in his eyes and heart. That day, however, on a whim Yi Yin came to visit Jun Hua, but unfortunately, they didn’t get along, and they didn’t talk much before they quarrelled.

Just when Jun Hua was thinking about it, Guan Yan led Yi Yin to the door. Guan Yan didn’t come in, and after informing Jun Hua, gently opened the door and motioned to Yi Yin to enter the room by himself.

Yi Yin rarely came to Hou Zhaoyang’s mansion, and it was the first time he came to Jun Hua’s bedroom, so it was inevitable that he would be a little restrained. He stood stiffly, hesitated for a moment and asked, “Huaixi, are you better?” 

Hearing Yi Yin’s words, Jun Hua was shaken. He turned his head and looked straight at Yi Yin but didn’t know what to say.

Back then, when Wei Yang gave Yi Yin that cup of poisoned wine and he was powerless to stop it, Jun Hua knew that he was doomed.

He killed the emperor at whatever cost and avenged Yi Yin, but he could no longer find a purpose to keep himself alive.

What happened later was like a dream, in which he went to another world. In that world, everyone was living a good life, Daddy and Father were fine, Tuantuan and Yuanyuan were very good, and Little Monkey and his Brother Rong were even better.

It was a pity that he was not Little Monkey, and Wei Chongrong was no longer Yi Yin.

When he woke up from his dream, he went back in time to the 9th year of Taiping, seven years before Wei Yang gave Yi Yin the poisoned wine.

This time, he would definitely not let those things happen again.

Seeing Jun Hua staring at him but keeping silent, Yi Yin felt uneasy and called out: “Huaixi, is your wound hurting again? Do you want me to call the doctor to come and see…”

“Ah! No, I’m fine…”  Jun Hua regained his senses and answered Yi Yin’s question while propping himself up on the bed trying to get up.

After so many years, Jun Hua had obviously forgotten that his injured right hand couldn’t exert any strength. As soon as he was halfway up, he felt a piercing pain. He subconsciously let go and flopped to the bed all of a sudden. It was really embarrassing.

Damn it! How could he forget that he was still a wounded soldier!

Jun Hua thought he was going to fall back to the bed heavily, but unexpectedly fell into a warm embrace.

Before he could turn around and look, Yi Yin’s reproaching voice sounded in his ears: “You don’t think it’s enough to hurt one arm, do you? Do you want to hurt the other one to keep it company?”

After staying with Little Monkey for ten months, during which he could occasionally come out to get some fresh air, Jun Hua had long been accustomed to Wei Chongrong’s gentle words, and now he was stunned when he heard that Yi Yin was obviously concerned, but it didn’t sound good.

Was this the way they used to get along?

Yi Yin didn’t seem to realise that his attitude was a bit harsh. He gently helped Jun Hua to lie down on the bed, took a pillow and put it behind him to make him lie more comfortably, and then said: “It’s not that I’m criticising you, just your riding and shooting skills. What’s the point of going to the spring hunt? You can’t hit the prey but you can still be knocked down from the horse. Who is to blame for that, ah?” Speaking of Jun Hua’s injury, Yi Yin was extremely frustrated.

Jun Hua was completely taken aback when he heard these words. He admitted that his riding and shooting were really no match to Yi Yin’s, but…

He didn’t want it to be like this, he just couldn’t do anything about it.

If there was a choice, wouldn’t he want to be proficient in martial arts like Little Monkey? But he was born with a crippled leg and weak health. He knew better than anyone how eager Wei Su was to cultivate another Jun Lin, but he had never even let anyone teach Jun Hua martial arts, not because Wei Su didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t. It could be seen at a glance he was really not a martial artist.

Just…

Could this be considered his fault?

Jun Hua had always disliked going to the spring hunt in Shanglin Park, but with Wei Yang taking the lead, how could he not go? Even if he returned empty-handed, he still had to ride a few circles, otherwise Wei Yang wouldn’t give him a good look.

Without the experience of being with Little Monkey, Jun Hua wouldn’t care too much about what Yi Yin said.

But with this contrast, he inexplicably felt aggrieved. The reason why Wei Chongrong treated Little Monkey so well was because he remembered that he had treated him so badly before. He wasn’t jealous of Little Monkey, but the feeling of injustice was really difficult to dispel.

Yi Yin rambled on for a long time, but suddenly noticed that Jun Hua was silent, so he hurriedly turned his head to look at him.

Then he saw Jun Hua with his head lowered, not saying a word. He couldn’t see the expression on his face. Yi Yin paused, intuitively feeling that Jun Hua was unhappy. He wanted to explain that he wasn’t malicious, but he didn’t know where to start.

After a long silence, Jun Hua raised his head and said indifferently: “In fact, you are not wrong, I am the one who is out of my depth.”

“No, I didn’t mean that…” Yi Yin was a little anxious when he found that Jun Hua misunderstood his words. He took two steps to the side of the bed, stretched out his hand to hold Jun Hua’s shoulder, and explained: “I was trying to say that it’s not worth hurting yourself for the trivial matter of spring hunting. The prey in Shanglin Park is all raised in captivity, and hunting is meaningless. It doesn’t matter if you go or not… No, I mean I can help you hunt whatever you want…” The more Yi Yin said, the more chaotic it sounded, making Jun Hua speechless. Was Yi Yin afraid that he wasn’t depressed enough?

“Whatever I want?” Jun Hua took a deep breath and reminded himself to be calm.

Yi Yin nodded and said firmly: “Yes, but you can’t want things like the Green Dragon and the Vermillion Bird.” Hunting was nothing to him; as long as an animal existed, he had a way to get it.

Jun Hua laughed, and then said, “I want a white tiger, is that okay?” There was a little white tiger originally kept in Wang Qin’s residence that Wei Chongrong had caught especially for Little Monkey, and later the tiger moved into the palace with them, growing furry and chubby, particularly cute. 

“A white tiger? A live one?” Yi Yin said word by word, seeming a little surprised.

Jun Hua pursed his lips and gave a soft “en”. Of course, he wanted a live one, he didn’t lack tiger skins.

Yi Yin was silent for a while, not saying whether it was possible or not, only confirming that he understood.

Upon seeing this, Jun Hua hurriedly said, “I just said it casually, if it’s difficult, forget it.” He suddenly felt that he seemed to be a little bit influenced by Little Monkey, but Yi Yin wasn’t Wei Chongrong. Wei Su only recognised him as a descendent of the Wei family, not as a member of the Wei family.

And exactly because of it the Ji family had no successor either, after all, his origin was kept secret. Empress Ji had given Wei Su two sons and three daughters. Except for Yi Yin, the only seedling, no one survived. If this weren’t the case, how could Wei Su with his temperament tolerate Yi Yin’s existence.

Nowadays, the power of the little emperor who ascended the throne at a young age was usurped by the Shangguan family, and there was no one available except the two of them. And they also depended on Wei Yang to survive, and no one could live without the other.

With Wei Zhao present, Wei Chongrong went from the heir of Wang Qin to the Crown Prince of the dynasty. A mere little white tiger was nothing, not a problem at all, but for Yi Yin, this requirement was a bit too much, and Jun Hua felt that he was too abrupt.

Besides, if Yi Yin really caught a little white tiger, why would he give it to him? He would rather give it to Wei Yang to please him. He had always cared more about Wei Yang. As long as it was Wei Yang’s request, he never disobeyed it until he died.

“But I didn’t say that.” It was just that white tigers were rare. The adult ones could only be kept in cages if they were caught. It was a bit difficult to find a little one, preferably the one that had not been weaned. You had to be lucky enough.

Jun Hua blinked, and a look of surprise flashed in his eyes. Did Yi Yin promise him?

Until Yi Yin got up to leave, Jun Hua felt like he was in a dream. He was afraid that the dream would end at some point and he would have nothing when he woke up.

His injured arm was almost healed, and Jun Hua returned to the palace to report. When he saw Yi Yin, he also saw Wei Yang, and Jun Hua’s good mood was immediately gone. He used to merely dislike Wei Yang but now he hated him to the bone.

It was just…

It was not difficult to deal with Wei Yang. Wang Lu had been waiting for an opportunity for all these years.

But if he attacked Wei Yang for no reason, Yi Yin would hate him to death, and he couldn’t explain why he did this. To say that Wei Yang would kill Yi Yin in the future? Yi Yin would definitely not believe it and would wonder if he was crazy. 

However, he couldn’t do nothing. Since he had a chance to start over, he couldn’t watch the past repeat itself.

Wei Yang had no real power and he didn’t like seeing people from the Shangguan family at court every day. Most of the time, he lived in Shanglin Park without taking the empress with him. On the contrary, Jun Hua and Yi Yin would accompany him back and forth.

Jun Hua had no good feelings about Shanglin Park. He had encountered everything from falling into the water to falling off a horse there, and he really didn’t like it. Therefore, when Wei Yang didn’t summon him, he often locked himself in Yunyang Palace, playing the qin and reading books by himself.

On that day, Jun Hua was looking through a travelogue in boredom when Yi Yin suddenly came over.

Jun Hua was a little surprised when he heard the announcement. Why would he come? Indeed, Jun Hua had thought about talking to Yi Yin, first convincing him and then dealing with Wei Yang, but it wasn’t easy to discuss it, and Jun Hua thought about it for several days without knowing how to start.

After all, the person Yi Yin was closer to had always been Wei Yang, and he would not believe Jun Hua easily. In the past, Jun Hua had warned him many times that Wei Yang was extremely suspicious and shouldn’t be trusted, but Yi Yin not only didn’t believe it, but also distanced himself from him.

Starting again, Jun Hua was actually not sure that he could convince Yi Yin. He was already prepared to deal with Wei Yang first, even if Yi Yin might hate him forever for it. In any case, he had to save Yi Yin’s life.

Yi Yin had not come alone, he also carried a little snow-white kitten meowing in his arms.

Somehow, Jun Hua suddenly thought of the twins and thought that he would never see them again.

Raising his hand to rub his eyes, Jun Hua hooked his lips and smiled: “Ah Yin, do you want to use a little white kitten to replace a little white tiger?” 

Yi Yin shook his head and said seriously: “Of course not. I haven’t found a little white tiger yet and I don’t know when I will find it. I see you almost don’t go out so I thought you must be bored. I decided to send you a kitten to relieve your boredom.”

Jun Hua smiled, gently picked up the kitten and tenderly stroked the fur on its back, “Thank you.” In the previous life, Yi Yin had never come to give him a kitten; it seemed that the talk about a little white tiger inspired him to do this.

Perhaps, he could be a little more demanding…

Little Monkey once said that his Brother Rong was like a walnut. If you smash it, it will move; if you don’t smash it, it will not move.

So he relied on Brother Rong since he was a child, seeking him out for everything he wanted, and Wei Chongrong not only was not annoyed, he was happy about it.

Jun Hua was totally unfamiliar with this trick of Little Monkey. He never troubled anyone with his own affairs, especially Yi Yin, for fear that Yi Yin would be annoyed with him. As a result, Yi Yin only regarded him as a kind of friend until he died, not giving them any chance for further development.

It was a complete coincidence that the little white tiger was mentioned that day, and Jun Hua didn’t dare to have too much hope. Who knew that Yi Yin would remember it and would temporarily replace it with a little kitten? Such a thing was simply impossible before.

“What’s there to thank me for? I didn’t raise this cat either, I just picked it up by chance.” There were no rare and exotic birds and beasts in Shanglin Park. A little kitten was nothing, it just took a short trip. Yi Yin didn’t take it to heart at all.

“Why wouldn’t I thank you? Except for you, no one ever thought about whether I was bored or not. Shanglin Park is big and it is not always convenient for me to go out by myself…” It would be great if he could have the qinggong of Little Monkey, but unfortunately this was impossible.

Yi Yin imagined himself in Jun Hua’s place, thought for a while and found that Jun Hua was quite pitiful. He couldn’t go out to ride horses and hunt in his spare time like him, so he asked, “How about me accompanying you to wander around now?”

“Really?” Jun Hua begged, eagerly seeking confirmation.

“Why would I lie to you about such a trivial matter? Let’s go.” Yi Yin turned around and walked away. He stopped just after two steps and then stood still, turning back and extending a hand, “It’s still early, we’re not in a hurry, where do you want to go?”

“Anywhere is fine, I don’t care.” As long as it is by your side, even if it is the ends of the earth or the Gobi desert, the sky is full of flowers.

1. The tradition to wash children on the third day after their birth and gather relatives to wish the children good luck
2. I think it’s probably a paraphrase of the expression “Good people don’t hide anything, and those who hide aren’t good”

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In the late spring of the 1st year of Wanchang, on the official road from Yujing south to Langya County, a simple and unpretentious carriage was moving smoothly.

The carriage looked unassuming, but a knowledgeable person would understand how precious it was. The two horses pulling the carriage alone were from Dayuan, not to mention that the coachman and the guards accompanying the carriage all were top martial arts experts.

The layout of the carriage was exquisite and elegant, and the things used in it were all of the highest quality. Wei Zhao sat by the window, raising the curtain from time to time and looking out. His expression was somewhat serious, but he remained silent, thinking about something.

Jun Qing sat opposite Wei Zhao, holding a tea cup in his hand, looking like he wanted to say something but hesitating. He waited for a long time, and when he saw that Wei Zhao really didn’t plan to speak, he said coldly, “You didn’t ask me to come to the carriage because you wanted me to stare at you, did you?”

Wei Zhao put down the curtain, turned his head to look at Jun Qing, and said calmly: “Of course not.”

“Oh.” Jun Qing responded meaningfully, “Then what is that for?” 

Last year, Wei Zhao passed the throne to Wei Chongrong despite the fierce opposition of the courtiers. At the beginning of the year, Wei Chongrong officially ascended the throne and changed the era’s name. Then Wei Zhao left the capital under the banner of “There are no two suns in the sky, and there are no two monarchs in the country”, saying that he was going to Taiping Palace to recuperate.

In fact, Wei Zhao had never been to Taiping Palace at all and planned to travel around the country in disguise.

Jun Qing has no objection to Wei Zhao’s travel plan. He was travelling in disguise, and there were many expert guards led by Huo Qingyang around him, so safety was not a problem. He had no objection to wherever Wei Zhao wanted to go.

If only Wei Zhao didn’t take him along when going out.

During Wei Zhao’s reign, Huo Qingyang was in charge of the Eastern Camp, while Ji Xin was in charge of the Western Camp. Now, Wei Zhao abducted Huo Qingyang and went to travel, and the affairs of the Eastern Camp were temporarily handed over to Tuoba Xianhan. If Ji Xin also ran away, there would be no one to hold the fort in the capital.

Jun Qing didn’t want to go out, but Wei Zhao told him that he was going to the Jun family, so Jun Qing couldn’t help but accompany him.

Although they had grown up together since they were children and were closer than brothers, Wei Zhao and Jun Qing had never known their origin before Wei Su’s death in the 52nd year of Yongjia.

When he was told that he was not born of Empress Ji and that he and Wei Ming were not brothers from the same mother, Wei Zhao’s first reaction was that the emperor was crazy, was talking nonsense and had no idea what he was saying.

How could he not be the son of his mother? She loved him as much as the Crown Prince. How could he not be the younger brother of Princess Yuankang and Wei Ming? They loved him from the bottom of their hearts without reservation.

It was Wei Su who was mistaken, it must be, Wei Zhao shook his head in disbelief.

He knew his father emperor, the man who valued power and martial arts far more than feelings. Empress Ji was born in Wang Changning’s residence. Her father, brother and nephew had outstanding military achievements. She had a stunning appearance that an ordinary woman couldn’t dream of, but her position in the heart of Wei Su was still limited. As for the men and women in Wei Su’s harem, they were fleeting like shooting stars, leaving no ripples.

It was hard for Wei Zhao to imagine: if he was not the son of Empress Ji, where did Wei Su’s love for him come from? Both Consort Xin and Concubine Yun had been favoured for a while, but after their early deaths, Wei Su didn’t pay much attention to Wei Xu and Wei Shi.

What kind of a person was his birth mother, whom he had never met, that Wei Su, who had always been stingy with his affection, could still remember her and love her son more than twenty years later?

Wei Zhao’s mood was very complicated. On the one hand, he didn’t want to believe what Wei Su said; on the other hand, he couldn’t stop himself from guessing who his birth mother was.

Finally, under Wei Zhao’s expectant eyes, Wei Su said the name that made him doubt his hearing.

Jun Lin?!

Hou Zhaoyang Huan Jun Lin?!

The eternally undefeated god of war of the Great Yan?!

Wei Zhao’s eyes widened, full of disbelief.

He stared at Wei Su, not even blinking.

This was impossible!

Absolutely impossible!

Wei Zhao suddenly remembered that many years ago, Wei Chongrong had asked him if Jun Qing could be the child born by Jun Lin himself.

He said with conviction that it was impossible because the timing wasn’t right.

How could Wei Zhao have imagined that not only Jun Qing, but also he himself, was born to Jun Lin himself?

Moreover, judging from the date of their birth and the itinerary of Jun Lin’s journey at the time, he had conceived them before the decisive battle in the north of the desert.

Because after the battle, Jun Lin went straight to Langya, and when he returned to Yujing, he was already with Jun Qing.

In addition to being shocked, Wei Zhao felt inexplicably fortunate. It turned out that he had also been on the battlefield in the north of the desert and survived unscathed. It was really not easy.

If Wei Su had said any other name, Wei Zhao might have taken a long time to adapt and accept this fact.

But with Jun Lin, this process could be omitted.

You had to know that in Wei Zhao’s life experience from childhood to adulthood, the name Jun Lin was unique.

Long before he had any definite knowledge of this world, Wei Su would often mention Jun Lin in front of him, intentionally or unintentionally.

Although Wei Zhao was only three years old when Jun Lin died and had no impression of his appearance, he remembered the song “Guarding each other forever” and the various events related to Jun Lin clearly.

It was just that…

The object of simple longing and admiration suddenly became the person who gave birth to him.

It was obvious how much Wei Zhao was affected.

He also wondered how two people like this got together.

It wasn’t surprising that Wei Su fell in love with Jun Lin; Jun Lin  was his type from his appearance to his personality to his martial arts skills.

But where did Jun Lin’s feelings for Wei Su come from? Wei Zhao just couldn’t figure it out. Jun Lin obviously could have chosen better.

The dead are the most respected, and besides, it was a decision made by Jun Lin himself, and Wei Zhao didn’t dwell on these issues for too long.

Besides, Wei Su chose to reveal the origin of his two sons at that time not to change anything. He just didn’t want Wei Zhao and Jun Qing to be ignorant about their origin, as they were the twins closest by blood.

After Wei Su’s death, all the relics left in the palace by Jun Lin were buried with him, leaving Wei Zhao speechless. Couldn’t Wei Su leave him at least something as a keepsake?

Later, Wei Zhao quietly asked Jun Qing if he had anything left by Jun Lin.

The answer was that if not to count Hou Zhaoyang’s residence itself, there was almost nothing. Jun Lin had lived in Wang Changning’s residence when he was young, and at the age of sixteen he had been made a Hou and had his own mansion, so there should have been many objects of his in these two places. But in fact, Jun Lin lived in the palace most of the time when he was not in the military camp or on the battlefield, so Wang Changning’s residence or Hou Zhaoyang’s residence were just places for him to stay, not a permanent residence at all.

Wei Zhao was even more frustrated when he heard this. With his identity as Jun Lin’s cousin and their positions of the monarch and the subject, he couldn’t do anything related to Jun Lin.

Over the past two decades, the tide had risen and fallen and the winds had changed. After the throne had been handed down to his son, Wei Zhao felt relieved and finally had time to do the things he wanted to do before but had no chance to do.

First of all, he wanted to go to the Jun family’s house to take a look; anyway, it was also the place where he was born. In the past, Wei Zhao wouldn’t dare to have such an idea. If for no reason, he went to visit the Jun family out of thin air, it would definitely make people suspicious. Even Wei Chongrong was more justified than him in going there.

Now that he had abdicated, he could be travelling again. There was no harm in going there, and he might even find something.

Wei Zhao was unfamiliar with the Jun family, and he was afraid that he would come to visit and the people would feel puzzled, so he called Jun Qing to accompany him. Although Jun Qing rarely returned to his hometown, he and the Jun family in Langya had long-term correspondence, so he had to know more about the situation of the Jun family.

Except for the unique case of Jun Lin, few people in the Jun family had achieved success in their career in the past. They were not considered a clan, but the heirloom of the Jun family was books. If you wanted to talk about family history, not to mention the Wei family, even the Shenchuan family of the previous dynasty didn’t have such a long history as the Jun family.

Wei Zhao never thought about who he wanted to see in the Jun family. He just wanted to see that place. Who was to blame that the Jun family rules were too strict, and the sons of the family were not allowed to take concubines easily, resulting in the descendants of the main branch being so few in numbers that from time to time they had to adopt the children of the side branch.

In the generation of Jun Lin’s father, Jun Ya, he was the only son of the main branch, and within two years of marrying Ji Yang, he was divorced, an unprecedented record for the Jun family. To make matters worse, Ji Yang agreed to give their son the surname Jun, but refused to give him back.

It wasn’t that the Jun family hadn’t thought of taking Jun Lin back, but after Jun Ya made a special trip to Yujing to see Jun Lin once, no one ever mentioned it again.

Jun Ya had two sons, one was Jun Lin and the other was Jun Feili. According to the family rules of the Jun family, the head of the family had to be the son of the main wife. If the current head of the family didn’t have a son from the main wife, he could only adopt an heir from the children of his brothers or even cousins, but he couldn’t let his own son from a concubine inherit.

Wei Zhao seriously suspected that Jun Ya asked Jun Lin to take Jun Feili away from the Jun family’s house because his identity was too embarrassing to stay.

Jun Lin had no intention of inheriting, Jun Feili was not eligible, and Jun Ya didn’t even have brothers and could only adopt his cousin’s eldest son as his heir. This was also one of the reasons why Jun Qing didn’t like to go back to the Jun family. All three of his uncles⁽¹⁾ were in Yujing, so it was really meaningless to go back to his hometown.

The carriage moved smoothly and slowly in the direction of Langya. Wei Zhao was silent for a long time before asking softly: “Do you think if we go there, we can find some traces of him?” There was nothing in the palace, nothing in Wang Changning’s residence, nothing in Hou Zhaoyang’s mansion. He could only count on the Jun family.

“There is hardly anything, but people who knew him…” Jun Qing paused and said slowly: “There is one.” Jun Lin cherished ink like gold and did everything but writing. The only few letters and ink drawings were taken by Wei Su to be buried with him.

“Who is it?” Wei Zhao’s eyes suddenly lit up. Jun Lin had almost no friends, and the only one or two he had were long gone, at least by the time Wei Zhao learned of his origin. It was impossible for him to ask anyone about the past.

Jun Qing took a sip of tea and said softly: “My grandfather, actually… he is yours too.”

“Grandfather?” Wei Zhao was taken aback for a moment before muttering: “The old man is still alive? How old is he?” Both he and Jun Qing were at the age of knowing their destiny⁽²⁾. It was incredible that their grandfather was still alive.

“Ahem…” Jun Qing coughed lightly, as if choked by Wei Zhao’s words, then relaxed and said, “If you talk about the age, your grandfather is younger than… His Majesty.” Wei Zhao accepted Jun Lin easily, but Jun Qing’s name for Wei Su would always remain “His Majesty”.

Wei Zhao’s eyebrows twitched; he decided to ignore the messy accounts of the previous generation, and restarted the conversation: “You never told me that the old man is still alive…” Had he known that Jun Ya was still alive, he would have found a chance to go out of the palace some years ago.

Jun Qing said unexpectedly: “I thought… you wouldn’t be interested?” For example, he himself had never had any sense of belonging to the Wei family, and he never felt that Wei Zhao had robbed him of anything. Even now, Wei Zhao could only sneak around to pay respects to Jun Lin.

Wei Zhao pursed his lips and was silent. If it weren’t for Jun Ya’s prophecy back then, most likely his and Jun Qing’s places would have been reversed, so he was very interested in meeting the grandfather who could be said to have changed the trajectory of his destiny.

Wei Zhao’s trip to Langya was even more rewarding than he had imagined. That grandfather, whose talent was renowned, really lived up to his name, but more importantly, there were really quite a few objects left behind by Jun Lin in the Jun family, and they were related to them brothers.

For example, the handprints and footprints made when they were born, and the portraits Jun Lin drew of them when they slept together, so vividly painted that Wei Zhao and Jun Qing couldn’t help but think of the twins as they were ten years ago, sleeping in the same pose.

Jun Qing’s personality was not like Jun Lin’s. On the contrary, he was a bit similar to Jun Ya. He was cold to people and things, and rarely demonstrated his feelings. However, seeing the paintings and letters that he had never seen before, Jun Qing was rarely angry. He asked Jun Ya why he had never told him this, which made him think for many years that his father had left him nothing. And now that Wei Zhao came, he took out everything. Was there any difference between them?

Jun Ya smiled lightly, and then innocently said that this was Jun Lin’s wish. These things were left to the two brothers. Only when they returned to the Jun family’s house together could he take them out. As for why, they could only ask Jun Lin in the future.

Jun Qing was speechless, raising his eyebrows and unable to say anything. He would really like to ask Jun Lin, but could he? Moreover, when they were born, Jun Lin was only in his early twenties, so it was a bit weird why he was already arranging these things.

Wei Zhao obviously thought of this too. He frowned slightly and looked sideways at Jun Ya. Wei Su was more than ten years older than Jun Lin. Normally, Wei Su should have been the one who passed away first, but apart from Wei Su, was it possible for anyone else to tell them the truth?

Unless…

Jun Lin already knew at that time…

His life wouldn’t be long.

That was why he left those things. He was sure that Wei Su would tell the truth to the two children one day in the future and he didn’t want them to be too upset.

Wei Zhao hesitated for a long time, but finally said, “He… wasn’t he afraid that we wouldn’t come?” 

“If that was the case, I would only take these things with me.” When he first decided to send Wei Zhao back to the palace, Jun Lin hesitated. Although Jun Ya’s prophecy sounded a little unreliable, it seemed quite interesting if it came true.

Wei Zhao and Jun Qing looked at each other in silence, and there was a glimmer of joy in their eyes.

That night, Wei Zhao and Jun Ya talked by candlelight and had a good time, and Wei Zhao finally came up with an idea. Wei Zhao asked Jun Qing to tell Wei Chongrong when he returned to the capital to send the Crown Prince to the Jun family’s house to study with Jun Ya for two years.

The old man had been teaching and educating people all his life, and his disciples and their disciples were all over the court, but he still refused to go to the capital. Wei Zhao thought about it and came up with this compromise. If the mountain won’t come to him, he will come to the mountain.

Jun Qing had no objection to Wei Zhao’s arrangement. He thought for a while and asked in a low voice, “You seem to be very uneasy about the Crown Prince?” From a young age, Wei Qian was brought up by Wei Zhao and the teachers Wei Zhao arranged for him were all great scholars of the dynasty, and now he even thought of sending the child to the Jun family to study the documents of the long-dead generations.

“Tuantuan’s future situation…” Wei Zhao paused as he said that, and finished after a long time: “He and Rong’er are completely different. He has no way back. He must do his best.” Upon birth, he was named the Taisun, and with Wei Chongrong ascending the throne he became the Crown Prince. There was only one road ahead for Wei Qian.

“Are you worried about Yuanyuan and Quanquan?” Tuantuan and Yuanyuan had just turned ten years old, and Little Quanquan was only three years old. The brothers had always been loving and close to each other. Wei Zhao seemed to be thinking a little too far ahead.

Wei Zhao let out a low sigh and said softly, “It’s not a bad thing to take precautions before something happens.” He couldn’t tell Jun Qing that the one he was most worried about was actually Wei Chongrong, even though at the moment, he was just a silly father who spoiled his sons to no end.

But Wei Ming’s lessons from the past were right in front of him, and it was impossible for Wei Zhao not to think about it. At the end of the Yongjia era, Wei Su’s mentality towards Wei Ming was very complicated, Wei Zhao could see it clearly. But when Wei Ming was a child, Wei Su loved him no less than Wei Chongrong loved Wei Qian.

There was also Wei Lan’s example. In the imperial family it was difficult to avoid the rivalry among siblings. The most effective way to prevent the younger brothers from having unnecessary thoughts was for the Crown Prince himself to be strong enough not to give other princes any chance.

The twins entered the palace school at the age of six. Wei Zhao and Wei Chongrong kept an eye on Tuantuan’s studies, not giving him a chance to relax at all. There were various make-up classes at any time. The emperor and Crown Prince took turns on the stage, and scholars, officials and generals made various cameos.

In contrast, Yuanyuan’s life was very relaxed. If you like to learn, you can learn, and if you don’t like to learn, you can play, no one will say anything.

Jun Qing was silent and asked after a long time: “Have you asked Grandfather what he wanted? I remember that he stopped taking disciples a long time ago?” 

Wei Zhao shook his head: “What to ask, what should I do if the old man refuses? I can’t force him. But if I send the child over directly, I don’t believe he could drive my family out of the house.” After speaking, he glanced at Jun Qing triumphantly.

Jun Qing was completely speechless; Wei Zhao took preemptive measures, what else could he say.

After the trip to the Jun family, Wei Zhao and Huo Qingyang went north to Youzhou to visit Huo Qingyang’s hometown. Jun Qing returned directly to Yujing and conveyed Wei Zhao’s meaning to Wei Chongrong and Jun Hua.

Jun Hua was very puzzled when he heard this. No matter how talented his great-grandfather was, there was no need to send the Crown Prince to him to study.

Seeing that Jun Qing had no intention of explaining, Wei Chongrong looked thoughtful and didn’t ask anything.

When Jun Qing left the palace, Jun Hua asked, “Brother Rong, do you understand Father Emperor’s intentions?” 

Wei Chongrong nodded, but said nothing with a smile. Earlier, when Wei Zhao had suddenly gone to Langya to the Jun family’s house, he felt somewhat strange, vaguely guessing something, but unable to believe it.

This time, Wei Zhao wanted to send Tuantuan there, which was a complete confirmation of his guess.

Seeing Wei Chongrong’s hesitation to speak, Jun Hua anxiously urged him: “If you know, just say it, don’t be a tease, okay?”

Wei Chongrong lowered his head, pressed his lips to Jun Hua’s and said something in a voice that no third person would ever hear.

Gradually, Jun Hua’s expression froze; he opened his mouth as if to say something, but made no sound.

Wei Chongrong understood Jun Hua’s mood very well and squeezed his hand vigorously. He observed the situation for more than twenty years before and after rebirth, and compared the information he had obtained in the two lives before he dared to think that way. But till this day, he had never dared to ask Wei Zhao for verification.

Jun Hua had never heard of it before, and it was inevitable for him to be shocked.

After a long time, he heard Jun Hua murmur: “It turns out that I didn’t call Brother Rong wrong from the beginning…”

Wei Chongrong didn’t expect Jun Hua to think of this and was dumbfounded.

1. Jun Feili (from his grandfather’s side), Sun Shu and Sun Ye (from his grandmother’s side)
2. Hehe, an elegant way of the ancients to describe people who reached the age of fifty 🙂

Translator’s note: I feel sad for Jun Lin who knows he won’t live long… but he was also sure Wei Su would tell the truth to their children, so there was this kind of trust between them.

Ouch, Wei Zhao fearing that Wei Chongrong might become power-hungry some time in the future breaks my heart. Wei Zhao should know his son better 🙂 But this is the reality of the imperial family, and there are countless examples of it: power corrupts people. The alternative for the emperor is either to die young, while you’re still pure and idealistic, or… Of course, Wei Zhao hopes that his son will live a long, long life. But it also means that no one can say what happens thirty or forty years later. Will Wei Chongrong remain the same after holding absolute power for decades? This is what Wei Zhao is worried about.

But, thanks to the sequel, we know that it doesn’t happen. No one in Wei Chongrong’s family is a rotten apple, everyone is good and loving! 🙂

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Wei Chongrong hurriedly carried Jun Hua back to Yongfu Palace, too fast for others to catch up. Rushing into the bedroom all the way, Wei Chongrong suddenly remembered that he had not had time to summon the imperial doctor, and was about to turn around and go out, when Jun Hua grabbed his sleeve.

“Little Monkey, how’s it? Does it hurt badly? Don’t be afraid, I’ll go and summon the doctor right away, and I’ll be back soon, don’t be afraid…” Wei Chongrong said nervously as he returned and suddenly knelt down on the edge of the bed.

Jun Hua blinked, lowered his head embarrassedly, and whispered, “Brother Rong, it doesn’t hurt anymore…”

“Huh?!” Wei Chongrong didn’t know much about the details of childbirth, and he was a little at a loss. He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, he saw Wei Zhao dragging Sun Ye into the room, followed by Jun Qing and Ji Xin.

Sun Ye didn’t ask anything, walked straight to the bedside, checked the still-dazed Jun Hua’s pulse, then turned around and said, “It’s time to give birth.” Wei Zhao and Jun Qing glanced at each other when they heard these words, and worries flashed in their eyes. The first child was actually two children, which was really hard for Jun Hua.

Jun Hua didn’t think so much. He looked up at Sun Ye, who was calm and relaxed, and asked in surprise: “Time to give birth? But it doesn’t hurt anymore?” It didn’t hurt that much, at least not to the point of being unbearable.

Hearing Jun Hua’s question, Sun Ye raised his eyebrows and smiled, with the words “Young man, don’t be proud too early” clearly written on his face, and then said: “Your Highness, don’t worry, this is just the beginning. If the babies come out within two days, it will be fast.”

Wei Chongrong was stunned for a long time, then regained his senses and hurriedly asked, “What are we going to do now?” 

Without thinking, Sun Ye said casually, “Do whatever you want, lie down if you don’t want to move, get up and walk if you don’t want to lie down. It’s best to eat something to replenish your strength, the first baby is always very slow, try to eat more when it doesn’t hurt.”

At the festival banquet, Tuantuan and Yuanyuan had so much fun that Jun Hua had no appetite and couldn’t eat anything. At this time, his belly didn’t hurt anymore, and he felt hungry. When he heard that he could eat, he immediately became energetic and ordered seven or eight dishes in one go. Everyone was stunned when they heard that.

At this moment, Dr. Lu, panting, rushed over with two medicine boys. Sun Ye explained Jun Hua’s situation to him and was about to leave.

Wei Chongrong didn’t even think about it and immediately asked, “You’re not staying?” Dr. Lu specialised in obstetrics and had been taking care of Jun Hua’s body. It was enough to have him, but Sun Ye’s medical skills were so refined that it was obviously more reassuring to have him stay.

Sun Ye turned to look at Wei Zhao and smiled: “Your Majesty, you have so many people in the Imperial Hospital, you can’t let them receive their salaries without working.”

Wei Zhao was silent, but Jun Qing asked in a deep voice: “Wang Lu’s Lord Consort, what is the situation of the Crown Prince’s Lord Consort, will he be able to give birth successfully?”

Sun Ye’s smile became even more obvious; he curled his lips and said, “The pulse is strong and the foetal position is normal. It must be safe to give birth.” Not to mention Dr. Lu, anyone who had experience in delivering babies could deliver the little grandsons of the emperor smoothly. It really didn’t matter if it was him or not.

Jun Qing and Wei Zhao had both studied medicine with Sun Ye when they were young, and they immediately understood what he meant, so Wei Zhao nodded silently and signalled that Sun Ye could leave, and Dr. Lu would be solely responsible for the delivery of the babies.

Sun Ye said he was leaving, but in fact he just retreated outside and didn’t really leave.He had studied under the medical immortal Duanmu Hui, and had learned a great deal, so he could save people’s lives at critical moments. However, for such an ordinary thing as delivering a baby, his skills would not be better than those of Dr. Lu, who specialised in this subject. And if he was present, Dr. Lu would be restrained, so he walked out. It was just that the identity of the Crown Prince’s Lord Consort was precious, and it was impossible for him to really leave without waiting for the safe birth of the emperor’s little grandchildren.

Just as Sun Ye thought, after he left the bedroom, Dr. Lu became a lot more comfortable and was no longer as reserved as before.

The good Mid-Autumn Festival banquet was interrupted, and when the two little guys changed their minds and there was no movement, Jun Hua was so angry that he wanted to curse. It was just that he couldn’t make a sound, and his abdomen spasmed hard, causing him to turn pale instantly and gasp.

Jun Hua was originally the focus of everyone’s attention. With this change of his expression, not only did Wei Chongrong become nervous, but Wei Zhao and Ji Xin’s expressions also changed. On the contrary, Jun Qing seemed the most calm, his face as serene as ever.

Jun Hua took a few deep breaths and immediately acted as if nothing had happened again. Upon seeing this, Dr. Lu hurriedly said: “It is Lord Consort’s first child, it won’t be too fast. Please, Your Majesty…” Although Sun Ye was gone, His Majesty was still standing here, and Dr. Lu was still under a lot of pressure.

Wei Zhao and Jun Qing had been through that before, and knowing that it wasn’t the time yet, they consciously went outside, leaving the space to Jun Hua and Wei Chongrong.

Not long after, the imperial dining room delivered the dishes that Jun Hua had ordered. At this time, his pain wasn’t severe, and Wei Chongrong was rubbing his abdomen and massaging his legs diligently, and Jun Hua’s appetite remained undiminished.

Wei Chongrong’s massage technique was personally taught by Dr. Lu the other day. Jun Hua was pregnant with twins, and he was prone to cramps in the last two months of pregnancy. Wei Chongrong specially learned a few tricks to help him relieve the cramps at night.

“Do you want me to feed you?” The food was placed on the table next to the bed; Wei Chongrong asked that when he saw Jun Hua lying half-reclining, his movements a little awkward.

Unexpectedly, Jun Hua glanced at him and said softly: “No, Brother Rong, keep massaging, I find that you are getting more and more skillful.” After saying that, he added, “Are you hungry? Why don’t I feed you?” He wasn’t the only one who failed to eat at the banquet.

Wei Chongrong naturally didn’t object, and the two of them sweetly ate their late dinner. In the meantime, Jun Hua had two more pain waves, but they weren’t deep and didn’t last long, and didn’t disturb his enjoyment of the meal.

After eating and drinking, Jun Hua was so sleepy that he simply lay down. Wei Chongrong felt that the procedure wasn’t right, and raised his eyes to look at Dr. Lu. Was Little Monkey really about to give birth? Why were his actions completely different from what he imagined?

Dr. Lu respectfully walked over, first checked Jun Hua’s pulse, then checked his body under the watchful gaze of Wei Chongrong, and replied: “Your Highness, take advantage of the fact that the pain at this moment is not severe, let Lord Consort rest, he will still have to endure it later.”

Wei Chongrong recalled the scene when Jun Hua was born eighteen years ago with a distressed expression on his face. At that time, although he had not been able to enter the inner room, he could hear Jun Qing’s faint moans even while waiting in the courtyard, so obviously the feeling was really uncomfortable.

Seeing that Jun Hua was sleeping soundly and showed no signs of waking up for the time being, Wei Chongrong got up gently and went out.

Outside was much more lively than inside. Three families, eight people, sat around the table and ate mooncakes while enjoying the moon.

Huo Feifei’s position was facing the door of the room; she saw Wei Chongrong pushing the door at a glance and called in a loud voice, “Brother!”

When everyone heard the sound, they turned their heads, and Ji Xin asked anxiously, “How is Hua’er?” 

“He just had dinner and ate two mooncakes, and fell asleep.” Dr. Lu said that Jun Hua’s situation was very normal. It was common for the first child to be born for two or three days. If it hurt from the beginning to the end, who could bear it? It  was always easier at the beginning.

Except for Huo Feifei, who didn’t understand at all, everyone nodded in agreement.

Thinking that Tuantuan and Yuanyuan might not be born tomorrow, Wei Chongrong persuaded everyone to rest after the moon viewing was over. Of course, neither Wang Qing, nor Wang Changning or Wang Lu’s families left the palace, but directly rested in the palace.

Wei Chongrong returned to the bedroom and saw Jun Hua sleeping soundly. Dr. Lu was taking a nap outside. The two medicine boys took turns on duty, so he dragged the couch to the bed and lay down in his clothes. Since they had time tonight, they needed to nap for a while. Most of them would not be able to sleep tomorrow night.

The moonlight outside the window was bright, like silver frost falling all over the floor through the window panes.

Wei Chongrong lay down, but he couldn’t sleep at all. His gaze fell on Jun Hua round belly, and his mind was full of pictures of two identical little babies, inseparable like the shadow following the body.

After an unknown period of time, Wei Chongrong managed to get a little drowsy, but before he could fall asleep, he heard Jun Hua’s voice.

“Brother Rong, wake up…” Jun Hua’s voice was very soft, but Wei Chongrong’s eyes and ears were sensitive, and he immediately rolled over and got up.

“Little Monkey, I’m here, are you not feeling well?” Next thing, Wei Chongrong raised his voice and called for Dr. Lu.

Jun Hua’s face flushed, he opened his mouth but didn’t speak. After a while, he said, “Let the imperial doctor see it first…”

Wei Chongrong looked puzzled; it was really strange that there was something Jun Hua couldn’t say to him.

Dr. Lu was just taking a nap in his clothes, not daring to fall asleep fully. He came in as soon as he heard Wei Chongrong’s call. However, after seeing Jun Hua’s situation, Dr. Lu’s face changed a bit. It didn’t seem to be a good sign that His Highness’s Lord Consort broke water so early.

Wei Chongrong saw that Dr. Lu’s face changed, and his heart tightened. Was there something wrong?

Fortunately, after Dr. Lu gave Jun Hua a further examination, his expression eased. He thought that Jun Hua had slept steadily for almost a whole night, and his progress should be very slow. If the water broke at this time, there would be some trouble.

But the progress was much faster than he expected, and the orifice had already opened more than three fingers. Generally speaking, the first three fingers were the slowest, and some people couldn’t do it for a day and night. In this way, the emperor’s little grandchildren might be able to come out today.

“Um…” Suddenly there was another labour pain, and Jun Hua grasped Wei Chongrong’s hand.

Dr. Lu persuaded him: “Your Highness Lord Consort, don’t be nervous, don’t take a big breath, take small breaths, take your time…”

The labour pains gradually intensified, and Jun Hua refused to let Wei Chongrong rub his belly anymore. There wasn’t much Wei Chongrong could do, except to wipe Jun Hua’s sweat and provide him with his hand to hold it, or bite if necessary.

……

It was dawn when Wei Zhao and the others, who couldn’t sleep at all last night, hurried over.

In the bedroom, Dr. Lu instructed the two medicine boys to act in an orderly manner. Wei Chongrong sat leaning on the side of the bed and muttered: “Little Monkey, there is no one here. If the pain is severe, you can yell. No one will laugh at you…”

Jun Hua bit the corner of the quilt and gave him a sidelong glance. Between the two labour pains, he gasped lightly: “It won’t stop hurting if I yell…”

Dr. Lu, who was regarded as “no one” by His Highness the Crown Prince, took the risk and said: “Yelling is a waste of physical strength, His Highness Lord Consort is very good.”

The Crown Prince, who said the wrong thing, sighed speechlessly. He saw Jun Hua almost bite his lower lip until it bled, so he said, “Little Monkey, don’t bite yourself. Do you want me to lend you a hand? Bite it as much as you want. I promise I won’t make a sound.”

“It will be more uncomfortable if I want to bite harder and can’t, okay?” Jun Hua roared angrily.

Wei Chongrong said something wrong again, and suddenly didn’t dare to speak, so he had to pick up a handkerchief to help Jun Hua wipe his sweat.

……

As the sun rose in the east, a fleshy baby came to this world accompanied by Jun Hua’s scream.

A quarter of an hour later, another baby also let out a loud cry.

Wei Chongrong and Jun Hua only had time to take a look at their two sons before they were carried out. Outside, His Majesty the Emperor was waiting to name his grandsons.

Tuantuan was named Wei Qian and Yuanyuan was named Wei Cheng. A gentleman is modest and sincere, gentle as jade⁽¹⁾.

1. “Modest and sincere” is one word and is split into two names – Qian (modest) and Cheng (sincere). By the way, if you remember, every generation of the imperial family has a common radical. This time it is 讠(speech): 谆 (Zhun),谦 (Qian), 诚 (Cheng). 

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Wei Chongrong always felt that Tuantuan and Yuanyuan were very good at picking days; even for their birthday, they had to pick a lively one.

It is said that twins are prone to premature birth. Since the beginning of the eighth month, Wei Chongrong started getting nervous, especially at night. When he slept, he was particularly alert,  fearing that the two children in his family would suddenly jump out and catch him off guard.

Jun Hua was amused by Wei Chongrong’s antics but was thinking in his heart that if the children could really come out as easily as Wei Chongrong thought, he would thank God.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. Jun Hua had never given birth, but when he was taking Suyun Pill, Jun Qing told him plainly that those reactions to taking the medicine were nothing compared to the difficulty of giving birth later on.

Thinking of this, Jun Hua’s mood became very complicated. He was looking forward to the children being born soon, but also a little afraid of their arrival. It was really contradictory, and he couldn’t tell which emotion had the upper hand.

The imperial doctor estimated that it would happen in the beginning of the eighth month but seeing that the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching and Jun Hua still showed no signs of getting into labour, Wei Chongrong was anxious. What happened to these two naughty children who refused to come out? He never said anything to bully them, right?

Wei Zhao was also quite worried, and the pulse originally checked every three days changed to being checked every day. However, Dr. Lu, who specialised in obstetrics, said that it was normal to be a few days early or a few days late. If there was no response by the end of the month, it was not too late to take the medicine.

Jun Hua was in good health. Although he had suffered a bit on the southern border in the early stages of pregnancy, he was rescued in time and the babies didn’t get harmed. After returning to Yujing, he used a lot of good foetal medicine to raise his two children. They were fat and strong, and his belly was heavy.

It would be a lie to say that Jun Hua didn’t want to be relieved as soon as possible, but he didn’t have the determination to take the initiative to induce labour or anything, so he could only wait and see, as Dr. Lu said, and then use the medicine if it didn’t work.

On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Jun Hua woke up in the morning and felt that his belly seemed to be about to fall down, and he couldn’t stand at all without supporting himself.

When Wei Chongrong saw him swaying, he hurriedly reached out to hold him and asked, “Little Monkey, is there any movement?”

Jun Hua touched his belly and shook his head after a long time, “I don’t think so, I don’t feel any pain.”

Wei Chongrong sighed, helplessly squatted down and said to Jun Hua’s round belly: “Tuantuan, Yuanyuan, take it easy, come out when it’s time and move quickly. Your father hasn’t slept well for several nights…”

Jun Hua pursed his lips and smiled silently. The gender of the two children had not been completely determined; they only knew that one was a boy and the other was uncertain, but whether it was a dragon and phoenix or boy twins, their names would be given by Wei Zhao, and even Wei Chongrong couldn’t interfere, let alone him. So some time ago, they discussed it and gave the children nicknames first. The elder one would be called Tuantuan, and the younger one would be called Yuanyuan. It was simple and clear, and the meaning was also very good, and the names could be used for a boy or for a girl.

Suddenly, Jun Hua seemed to have thought of something. He hurriedly interrupted Wei Chongrong’s words and waved his hand: “Brother Rong, don’t say that. There is a family banquet tonight. I want to have a good talk with Father and Daddy. Don’t call Tuantuan and Yuanyuan out yet.”

Wei Chongrong stood up and frowned, confused: “Didn’t Father Emperor issued a decree a long time ago? Wang Changning and Hou Zhaoyang can enter the palace at any time. Why do you have to wait for the Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet to have a good talk with them?”

According to usual practice, when the Crown Prince’s Consort or Lord Consort was eight months pregnant, her or his mother could enter the palace to take care of them. However, Wei Zhao’s relationship with Jun Qing was extraordinary. Wei Zhao had long given Jun Qing permission to enter the palace to accompany Jun Hua at any time, that was why Wei Chongrong asked.

“So what if there is a special decree? Daddy doesn’t like to go to the palace!” Jun Hua said helplessly. Before Wei Chongrong came back, Jun Qing would occasionally go to the palace to visit, but after Wei Chongrong returned to Yujing, he wouldn’t come at all. Fortunately, the Mid-Autumn Festival was a family banquet, otherwise he wouldn’t come either.

Only then did Wei Chongrong remember that, except for his visit to Wang Changning’s residence not long ago, he hadn’t seen Jun Qing for a while.

Jun Hua held his belly with one hand and waved his other hand in front of Wei Chongrong: “Brother Rong, what are you thinking about? Let’s go out for a walk.” He had nourished the babies too well. Dr. Lu was afraid that it wouldn’t be easy to give birth, so he strictly regulated Jun Hua’s daily activities and never allowed the slightest slack.

Wei Chongrong came back to his senses, took Jun Hua’s hand and accompanied him to the imperial garden for a walk.

The deposition of the previous emperor had happened just a short while ago, and Wei Zhao wasn’t a person who liked the hustle and bustle, so the Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet was really just a family banquet.

Jun Feili claimed to be sick and didn’t come, and Wei Mao went to attend to his sickness, which was expected. Instead, Xie Xiang came with her four children, and the three young girls were all very well behaved. Wei Zhun expressed a keen interest in Jun Hua’s belly, which made everyone laugh.

Of Wei Zhao’s three elder brothers, only Wang Lu Wei Xiao was still alive, and there were also three younger brothers, but Wei Hao went to Yizhou to take over Wei Chongrong’s job and wasn’t in Yujing. As for Wang Dai Wei Shi, he accompanied the deposed emperor Wei Lan⁽¹⁾, so Wei Yang was the only one at the banquet.

When he was a child, Wei Chongrong would still get a bit upset when he saw Wei Yang, but now when he saw him, he felt nothing. This Wei Yang and the one who killed him really had nothing in common. After Wei Yang got a fief next year, the two of them were probably not likely to meet again.

Originally, Jun Hua didn’t know about the previous life and had some contact with Wei Yang, but when he found out later, he always felt strange when he saw Wei Yang, although he himself admitted that this quiet young man and the brooding and suspicious emperor really didn’t look like the same person.

Emperor Xingzu had many daughters, but the only one who was close to Wei Zhao was Princess Yuankang. After Wei Zhun lost the possibility of succeeding to the throne, Princess Yuankang put her hopes on her younger brother. In any case, she couldn’t watch her enemies go free.

In addition to members of the imperial family, the banquet was attended by Wang Yong’an, Wang Changning and Hou Wu’an. However, these few people had a deep relationship with the imperial family. Wang Yong’an was Princess Yuankang’s son-in-law, and Wang Changning was the emperor’s in-law. As for Hou Wu’an, his daughter was the emperor’s adopted daughter.

Even though it was a family banquet, the Crown Prince and his Lord Consort had to attend it wearing formal attire. Wei Chongrong saw that Jun Hua’s face didn’t look very good, so he said with concern: “Huaixi, if you aren’t feeling well, don’t go. I will let your father, daddy and Little Tiger come to see you.”

During the morning’s stroll in the garden, Wei Chongrong noticed that Jun Hua was obviously more strained than usual, and his whole body was in discomfort. He had even taken a long nap in the afternoon, but his spirits weren’t much better when he woke up. Wei Zhao would never say a word if he didn’t attend the family banquet.

Unexpectedly Jun Hua waved his hand and asked someone to help him change into his robe: “I’ve been sleeping all afternoon. I’m sluggish from sleeping. It’s more comfortable to walk around, and it’s too boring to stay alone. It’s better to go out and have some fun with you guys for a while.”

It was not a big deal in the end. As long as Jun Hua himself was happy, Wei Chongrong would never force him, so he took his hand and the two slowly went to the Zhengyi Hall.

Not long after arriving at the Zhengyi Hall, Jun Hua regretted it a little bit, because when Princess Yuankang saw him, she had endless things to say. Even though Jun Qing and Ji Xin were by his side, he didn’t have a chance to say a few words to them. 

There were no female elders in Wang Changning’s residence. Facing the enthusiastic Princess Yuankang, Jun Hua was a little overwhelmed. He tried to ask Wei Chongrong for help, but found that he was called away by Emperor Xingzu’s male concubine Yan Li, who was likely asking something about Wei Hao⁽²⁾.

Fortunately, the family banquet began soon, everyone returned to their places, and Jun Hua was able to return to Wei Chongrong’s side.

The hall was filled with singing and dancing, and Wei Chongrong lowered his voice and asked, “How are you? Can you still hold on?”

Jun Hua rubbed his forehead and smiled softly: “Actually, it’s just that… Eldest Aunt is very enthusiastic.”

Hearing Jun Hua say that, Wei Chongrong asked nervously, “Is it…” The words that were about to follow stuck in his throat.

Jun Hua frowned a little and whispered: “It’s fine, just the kids fighting.”

“Really?” Wei Chongrong was suspicious and quietly stretched out his hand to touch Jun Hua’s belly.

Sure enough, Tuantuan and Yuanyuan were making trouble, and Wei Chongrong soothed them for a long time before their movements became lighter.

Wei Chongrong sighed and said in distress: “These two baby monkeys, they never stop. If they are like this now, I don’t know how naughty they will be in the future.” He couldn’t be cruel to children but education was a big problem.

Jun Hua curled his lips indifferently: “It’s just a couple more days, let them be. Wait for them to be born, I’ll see how you teach them.” Before he finished his words, there was a rolling movement in his abdomen. Jun Hua’s expression suddenly froze, and Wei Chongrong was also taken aback.

This kick was so powerful that Jun Hua almost choked. When he recovered, he lowered his head and scolded: “The further it goes, the more vigorous you get, don’t you? Try another kick?” Whether they understood the threat or something, Tuantuan and Yuanyuan didn’t move again.

Jun Hua breathed a sigh of relief with a little proud smile on his face. Wanting to fight him, they were a bit too young for that.

Seeing Jun Hua’s childish expression, Wei Chongrong squeezed his hand and calmed down.

Unexpectedly, Jun Hua immediately squeezed his hand hard in reply and said in a trembling voice: “Brother Rong, something seems to be wrong…”

“Huh?” Wei Chongrong jerked up his head and looked straight at him, “What’s wrong?” 

“It’s Tuantuan and Yuanyuan…” Jun Hua held Wei Chongrong’s hand even tighter, “They’re probably going to…”

So, under the surprised gazes of everyone, His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince suddenly stood up and picked up his Lord Consort who was about to give birth, and without saying a word to anyone, went straight out of the hall.

Wei Zhao understood in an instant, and while raising his voice to summon the imperial doctor, he got up and led Sun Ye to Yongfu Palace. Ji Xin and Jun Qing followed him.

All those present were well-informed and wise and got up to bid farewell to Wei Xiao, who was left by Wei Zhao to take care of the guests temporarily, with the intention of waiting for the results before entering the palace to congratulate. The Crown Prince’s Lord Consort was pregnant with twins, and there was no telling what the emperor would do about it.

Only Huo Qingyang, under the banner of looking after his daughter, consciously stayed behind.

1. That’s a delicate way to say that Wei Shi was Wei Lan’s accomplice (or maybe more) and they were locked up somewhere together
2. Isn’t it cute that Yan Li (Wei Su’s male concubine, Wei Hao’s dad) is considered a family and is invited to the family banquet? 🙂 He’s probably really on good terms with Wei Zhao.

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Translator’s note: Another flash-forward extra about the twins, this time from Yuanyuan’s (the younger twin) point of view.

In the 4th year of Wanchang⁽¹⁾, Princess Hanshan married, and because she was the third princess to be married in four years, the people in the Ministry of the Imperial Household were able to organise the marriage with ease and didn’t need to bother Daddy. Anyway, there were old rules.

I have no elder sister, only one younger sister, Princess Qinghe Wei Nuo, but above Wei Nuo, there are three other princesses in the palace, namely Princess Huaiqing Wei Shi, Princess Ruyang Wei Ci, and then Princess Hanshan Wei Yu.

None of the three princesses are Father Emperor’s daughters. Their father was Prince Xiaoyi Wei Xuan, the eldest son of Emperor Renzong. If it weren’t for the assassination of Prince Xiaoyi, the throne of the supreme ruler probably would never belong to Grandfather Emperor and Father Emperor.

Father Emperor respected Prince Xiaoyi very much, and after he ascended the throne, he named all three of Wei Xuan’s daughters princesses. The Minister of the Imperial Clan didn’t express any objection to Father Emperor’s approach. With the example of Princess Leyi, it was really no big deal for the county lords to be upgraded to princesses.

Princess Huaiqing and Princess Ruyang married in the 1st and 2nd years of Wanchang, respectively. The marriages were carefully selected by Father Emperor and Daddy.

Like Emperor Renzong, Father Emperor also has the empty harem, with no one else there except for Daddy, the empress. Coincidentally, Empress Xiaoren was from the Jun family, and my Daddy is also surnamed Jun.

During the reign of Emperor Renzong, occasionally there were unscrupulous courtiers who would submit a memorial asking the emperor to accept concubines and spread branches and leaves. When it was Father Emperor’s turn, no one spoke out at all. Compared to Grandfather Emperor, who didn’t even have the empress, Father Emperor’s performance was already good enough.

Moreover, Grandfather Emperor has only one son, my father. At any rate, Father Emperor has my imperial brother and me, as well as Third Brother Wei Jin. No matter how you look at it, it’s enough. Who has nothing better to do than to try his luck with Father Emperor?

To be honest, not to mention that Father Emperor has three sons, even if there was only one brother, I think it would be enough.

Imperial Brother and I are identical twins, born from the same egg; except for the fact that we were born a quarter of an hour apart, everything else is exactly the same. I heard from my nanny that when Imperial Brother and I were just born and Father Emperor saw us, he quickly ordered someone to tie a small red rope to Imperial Brother’s ankle, saying that we looked so similar that he felt dizzy. If we were carried in the wrong way in the future, he was afraid he couldn’t tell us apart. It was safer to mark one of us.

If we weren’t the eldest son and second son of our father, if we were really mistaken, it wouldn’t matter. But our father is the Crown Prince. The issue of who was his eldest son and the Taisun of the Great Yan can’t be underestimated.

In the history of the Great Yan, there was only one precedent for being named a Taisun upon birth, that is, Wei Yi, the eldest grandson of Emperor Chengzong. My imperial brother was the second. I was the second son of the Crown Prince, so according to the law, I could only get the title of the wang after I was ten years old. However, Grandfather Emperor must have thought that since my imperial brother was a Taisun, it wouldn’t be good-looking for me to be just a plain grandson, so he also made an exception for me and named me Wang Linjiang.

Before I was three years old, I hardly felt the difference in identity with Imperial Brother. We ate together and slept together. It was no exaggeration to say that we were inseparable. The elders called Imperial Brother Tuantuan and called me Yuanyuan, and the palace people called us “Your Highness”. When they met us, they bowed down to us.

At the New Year’s Eve banquet in the 3rd year of Zhenghe, Daddy said that I was no longer an ignorant child, so I couldn’t be carried by my nanny to show my face in front of Grandfather Emperor like the previous two years. I had to go and pay respects by myself.

I nodded blankly and asked habitually, “Where’s my brother?” I was going to go by myself, and so was my brother, right?

I didn’t feel I was asking anything very profound, but who knew that Daddy would be frozen in his tracks and say after a long time, “Yuanyuan, you are going by yourself, not with Tuantuan.” But Daddy didn’t tell me why we weren’t together. It wasn’t like this before.

That night, my brother and my father sat on the right and on the left of Grandfather Emperor, and together with him, they accepted the greetings of hundreds of civil and military officials.

I didn’t quite understand why this was so, but I could vaguely feel the weight of the identity of the Taisun.

The days that followed weren’t much different from before, and Imperial Brother and I were still together all day long. Daddy was expecting a little sister, and we moved to Grandfather Emperor’s Zichen Palace together. Daddy gave birth to a little sister, and we moved back together again. We were never apart.

Our first separation happened when we were six years old. That year, Imperial Brother and I entered the palace school to study.

But before entering the palace school, Grandfather Emperor once again asked Imperial Brother to move to Zichen Palace. This time my brother was the only one. I couldn’t bear to be separated from him. I cried in front of my father and daddy for a long time, but it was useless. Imperial Brother still moved away.

At that time, I naively thought that Imperial Brother would only move away for a while and would come back soon.

Only when I grew up did I realise that it was a complete divergence in my life and my brother’s life paths, with no possibility of reuniting.

In the three centuries since the founding of the Great Yan, there had been countless imperial sons and grandsons, and my father’s life was the most legendary of all. During Emperor Xingzu’s reign, Grandfather Emperor fought for years with the Minister of the Imperial Clan to have my father’s name on the jade plate and to let him become the heir of Wang Qin.

Grandfather Emperor was the second son of Emperor Xingzu and the empress, and his relationship with his eldest brother, Emperor Renzong, had always been close. Therefore, for a long time, his greatest expectation for my father was to be a worthy son of the prince.

However, the deposed emperor went against the law of Heaven, murdered his elder brother and framed his younger brother. Grandfather Emperor held the last will of Emperor Renzong to depose the emperor and replace him. My father followed the rising tide and jumped from Wang Qin’s Shizi to the Crown Prince.

My father didn’t grow up receiving the education of the Crown Prince from an early age. In order to train him to govern, Grandfather Emperor had him to intern in all five ministries except the Ministry of War, and then started letting him learn to lead the court.

When it came to Imperial Brother, Grandfather Emperor’s training method returned to normal. He raised the Taisun the way the emperors raised the crown princes in the past. First theory and then practice, it was almost hand-in-hand teaching, with countless efforts devoted to it.

I also study at the palace school, but like other classmates, I only listen to the lectures of the teachers. Imperial Brother is different. He has separate courses that occupy all his spare time. As for what he has learned, I don’t know.

Occasionally, I envy Imperial Brother. I rarely have the opportunity to experience the feeling of being valued and anticipated.

But more often, I sympathise with him. Imperial Brother is so pitiful. He has endless things to learn every day and has no time to play. I don’t know if he regrets that he came to this world a moment earlier than me.

I once thought about what would happen if I were my brother. In the end, I felt fortunate that I was not.

I am lazy by nature, and I have to muddle through everything. I never treat myself with high demands. Obviously, Imperial Brother’s homework is much heavier than mine, but he can handle it with ease, while I procrastinate to the end. Occasionally, I can’t catch up, and I have to drag Imperial Brother to help.

I dread to think that if we were to swap identities, Grandfather Emperor and Father Emperor would be devastated.

In the year when we came of age, Grandfather Emperor abdicated and handed over the most complete empire since Emperor Shenwu of the Shenchuan Dynasty to our father.

Then our whole family moved collectively. Father Emperor moved to Zichen Palace, Daddy moved to Weiyang Palace, and my brother moved to the Eastern Palace. I and my younger brother and sister weren’t yet adults and lived in Weiyang Palace with Daddy.

When we used to live in Yongfu Palace, my father used the Eastern Palace as his office and never stayed there overnight. The same is true now. He goes to court, receives officials and reviews the memorials in Zichen Palace, but most of the time he rests at night in Weiyang Palace.

Only Imperial Brother, he lives alone in the Eastern Palace, separated from Zichen Palace and Weiyang Palace by the entire Six East Palaces.

At that time, I no longer cried like I did four years ago, because I knew that it was useless.

After moving to the Eastern Palace, Imperial Brother liked someone, although he never told anyone, even the one he liked.

As we get older, Imperial Brother and I can no longer find any similarities between us except for our looks. But our hearts are connected, it has never changed, so Imperial Brother’s little secret couldn’t be hidden from me, although I can’t say I was happy about it.

I always thought that as the Crown Prince of the empire, my brother could easily get everything he wanted. He didn’t reveal his feelings to the one he liked, probably because he thought the time wasn’t right yet. As a younger brother, I naturally wouldn’t do anything superfluous, otherwise my brother would be angry

But when Princess Hanshan’s marriage was settled, I was completely dumbfounded and couldn’t speak for a long time.

How could it be him?!

How could the future husband of Princess Hanshan be Ruan Meng?!

Was there a mistake somewhere?!

Ruan Meng is the younger brother of Ruan Ning, the king of Nanyue. His position as the Princess’s Consort is a bit forced. After all, Nanyue is a vassal state and the status of the vassal king is equivalent to that of the county wang, and Ruan Meng is only the younger brother of the vassal king. However, Ruan Meng has a plus point, that is, he is the nephew of Prince Xiaoyi, and he and Princess Hanshan are cousins, so they fit each other well. Prince Xiaoyi’s widow had no objection against Ruan Meng, so naturally, Father Emperor wouldn’t say anything and just bestow the marriage.

But Imperial Brother, why didn’t he even fight? He just let go of the person he liked.

I really couldn’t figure it out, so I simply ran to ask Imperial Brother. He obviously didn’t expect me to ask such a question and was a bit stunned.

“Brother, say something, why don’t you do anything?” When Imperial Brother was silent for a long time, I tugged at his sleeve and shook it.

He came back to his senses and looked straight at me, and after a long time sighed in a low voice: “What can I do?”

I became anxious and raised my voice, “You don’t even say anything, how do you know Ruan Meng doesn’t want to be the Crown Prince’s Lord Consort?”

Ruan Meng spent more than three years in the palace and was so close to Imperial Brother that I was jealous sometimes. But Princess Hanshan, the two of them had met only a handful of times, and if Imperial Brother had confessed earlier, she would definitely have no chance.

Imperial Brother hooked his lips and smiled suddenly, but his smile was cold and clear and didn’t reach his eyes.

I don’t like Imperial Brother smiling like that. I can see he doesn’t look happy at all. On the contrary, it is heartbreaking to watch him like this.

“Brother, don’t smile.” I sat cross-legged next to my brother, reached out and touched his face, “It’s not a good smile at all.” 

When Imperial Brother heard this, his smile froze on his face, and he paused before asking rhetorically: “How do you know I haven’t said anything?” 

I lay on his shoulder and said confidently: “I just know, you can’t hide it from me.”

Imperial Brother sighed and said with a wry smile: “He doesn’t even want to stay in Yujing for a long time, let alone live in the palace.”

Now it was my turn to be dumbfounded. I said after a long time: “Since he doesn’t want to stay, then why does he still want to be the Princess’s Consort?” The Minister of the Imperial Clan even repaired the residence of Princess Hanshan. Ruan Meng couldn’t be thinking of bringing Princess Hanshan back to Jing’an City, could he?

“The closeness of the relationship with the Great Yan is the most important reason why Nanyue can take the lead among the countries in the south. My aunt is already gone, but Ruan Ning doesn’t want this relationship to fade away. The best way is to get married. Wouldn’t it be great to marry a princess and go home?”

“If that’s the case…” I said hesitantly, “If you ask Father Emperor for a decree, Ruan Ning will definitely not object.” Anyway, it’s a marriage. Instead of marrying a princess who is not the emperor’s own daughter, it’s better to marry the Crown Prince. I secretly applauded my idea.

Imperial Brother chuckled, not knowing whether to laugh or to cry, “Of course I can ask Father Emperor for a decree to marry, but Brother Meng doesn’t want to be trapped in the palace. If I force him, most likely he will resent me in the future. Why bother? It’s better to let go, at least we can still be friends.”

I stared wide-eyed and looked at Imperial Brother in disbelief. Before coming to the Eastern Palace, I knew he liked Ruan Meng, but I didn’t expect that he liked him to the extent that he couldn’t bear to make his life difficult in the slightest way. Suddenly, I found that I hated Ruan Meng very much, hated him to death.

Not only because he made Imperial Brother sad, but because in Imperial Brother’s heart, he was so important.

Obviously, Imperial Brother and I were inseparable. How could Ruan Meng take my place? It was too much.

On the day of Princess Hanshan’s wedding, Imperial Brother personally congratulated the newlywed couple. His smile was impeccable, and no one but me could see anything unusual.

When we returned to the Eastern Palace in the evening, Imperial Brother, who had always had great self-control, dragged me along to get drunk together.

I actually drank no less than Imperial Brother, but I wasn’t drunk. Was it what they call “wine doesn’t make people drunk”?⁽²⁾

While taking care of Imperial Brother, I cursed Ruan Meng in my heart. If it weren’t for him, my brother wouldn’t be so sad.

My brother is a good drinker. He sleeps quietly when he is drunk and won’t even say a drunken word, not difficult to serve at all.

I sat cross-legged beside him, my heart torn with worry and joy, indescribably tangled and complicated. I struggled for a long time, but when I saw that no one was around and that my brother had no intention of waking up for the moment, I bent down and kissed him gently on the cheek, in a quick and panicked movement.

I have asked myself many times since then why I did that, and the answer is always three words: I don’t know.

I really don’t know, it was an instinctive action that came from my body, I didn’t think about it.

After sitting up straight, I covered my face nervously and glanced around, but no one was there.

But Imperial Brother’s eyes suddenly opened, and he looked at me without blinking, confused and uncertain.

I was so stunned that I didn’t know what to do. Would Imperial Brother misunderstand me and think that I had some wrong thoughts about him? In fact, I didn’t think much about anything. I just thought he was sad. I wanted to hug him, kiss him, and comfort him. I didn’t mean anything else…

It’s just that if you say something like this, never mind Imperial Brother, even I wouldn’t believe it. I’m not an ignorant child who doesn’t understand anything. What kind of kissing is it? But if someone said that I had any thoughts about Imperial Brother that I shouldn’t have had… I would feel that I was quite wronged.

Just when I was ready to jump out of the bed anxiously and plead guilty, Imperial Brother closed his eyes again and went to sleep.

I breathed a long sigh of relief, and the big stone fell from my heart, but my mind was blank.

After a long time, I gradually came to my senses and thought back on my earlier actions, half scared to death by myself.

I didn’t dare stay long, so I ordered the servants at the Eastern Palace to take care of my brother and fled in a hurry.

The next day, when Imperial Brother saw me, he was exactly the same as usual. I don’t think he remembered what happened last night.

This was probably the best result, but I felt inexplicably disappointed in addition to rejoicing.

Two years later, Imperial Brother married Gu Qian, the eldest granddaughter of Gong Qi Gu Yu, as the Crown Prince’s wife.

That night, I drank alone under the moon in Yongfu Palace. The lonely wine was so bitter and astringent that it was hard to get drunk.

1. Great prosperity; a little reminder about the eras: Wei Su’s reign was called Yongjia. In the previous life, Wei Yang’s reign was called Taiping. In this life, Wei Ming’ reign was called Tai’an, Wei Lan’s reign was called Baofeng, Wei Zhao’s reign was called Zhenghe, and Wei Chongrong’s reign is called Wanchang 
2. The expression actually means that it is not the wine’s fault a person gets drunk, it depends on yourself whether you allow yourself to get drunk

Translator’s note: There is actually a reviewer on NU who complains about “incest” between the twins. For real, is it necessary to point fingers and label as “incest” a confused action of a teenage boy who is overwhelmed with emotions, idolises his brother and feels sorry for him, is jealous and is sad? The lack of empathy of some people…

Another thing, the twins don’t seem very happy, right? 🙂 Don’t worry, the author wrote a sequel/spin-off where someone was reborn, and everyone ends up happy. Tuantuan gets his Brother Meng, and Yuanyuan also finds his love 🙂 And not only them 🙂

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The Crown Prince?!

The Crown Prince of the Great Yan?!

Wei Chongrong was completely shocked by this unfamiliar identity, with the word “unbelievable” written all over his face.

He lived for two lifetimes, and most of the time he had no sense of belonging. Even when he was marching to war, it wasn’t with the idea of doing so for the sake of the Great Yan, but because someone wanted him to do so. In his previous life it was Wei Yang, and now it was Wei Zhao.

But now, suddenly, someone told him that the ten thousand li of the Great Yan’s mountains and rivers would belong to him sometime in the future.

There was no way he wouldn’t be shocked and dumbfounded.

Seeing Wei Chongrong looking at him blankly and not speaking for a long time, Wei Hao chuckled and said, “Rongrong, are you silly with joy?” 

Wei Chongrong came back to his senses and gave him a blank stare before asking, “Sixth Uncle, what is the situation in Yujing?” It was indeed unexpected that Wei Zhao had replaced Wei Lan without even informing him, instead of supporting Wei Mao or Wei Zhun to take the throne.

Wei Hao blinked but didn’t say anything, so Gu Chuan took over the conversation, “The breeze is gentle, the waves are quiet, everything is as usual.”

The emperor’s deposition was personally decreed by the Empress Dowager, and the reasons for it were clear. Jun Feili was Wei Lan’s biological parent. Even if someone suspected that the Empress Dowager was forced by Wei Zhao, the heads of the three departments and six ministries and the three hereditary wangs and five gongs collectively pretended to be deaf and dumb. There was no way someone else would jump out and say something they shouldn’t. You know, the military power in the hands of His Imperial Highness Wang Qin was not a decoration, not to mention that he had sufficient evidence. But even if he didn’t have sufficient evidence, who could tell him what to do? Who thought that his life was too long and didn’t want to live anymore?

Wei Chongrong breathed a sigh of relief. As soon as he had something to say, he heard Wei Hao ask with a smile: “Rongrong, do you want to know how Little Monkey is doing?” Speaking of Jun Hua, Wei Hao had a little smile on his face, and his voice couldn’t help but soar.

Wei Chongrong’s eyes suddenly lit up. They hadn’t seen each other for half a year. How could he not want to know how Jun Hua was doing, especially since he was pregnant, but Wei Hao’s smile was obviously teasing. Wei Chongrong gritted his teeth and held back his curiosity, making Wei Hao exclaim in regret.

After completing the handover with Gu Chuan and Wei Hao, Wei Chongrong hurried back to Yujing.

A year ago, when he and Jun Hua were still newlyweds, they had to leave for Yizhou for the war on the southern border, which was really an unwarranted disaster.

As a result, Jun Hua had an accident while rescuing Wei Kou and fell into the hands of Tuya. Then Tuoba Xianhan took Yisha City; Wei Chongrong had just found out Jun Hua’s whereabouts but had no chance to see him before Jun Hua was taken back to the capital by Jun Qing.

If it was a normal situation, it would be just fine. As long as Jun Hua was safe, Wei Chongrong had nothing else to ask for, and he could always see him in the future. But Jun Hua wrote a letter to Wei Chongrong before leaving, saying that he was pregnant. How could Wei Chongrong calm down when he saw the letter?

With Jun Hua and the baby as motivation, Wei Chongrong defeated Tuduo very quickly, so that he could return to the capital as soon as possible. 

If it hadn’t been for Wei Zhao to send someone to greet him at the gate of the city, Wei Chongrong would have gone directly to Wang Qin’s residence. After being reminded, he remembered that he should go to the palace. Wei Zhao and Jun Hua had already moved there.

After entering the palace, Wei Chongrong was startled again. Wei Zhao was definitely living in Zichen Palace, there was no doubt about this, but where was Jun Hua? The ceremony of being appointed the Crown Prince had not yet taken place, they should not be eligible to live in the Eastern Palace, right?

Without waiting for Wei Chongrong to ask, the eunuch said respectfully, “Your Highness, the ceremony of the appointment has not yet taken place. His Majesty has asked you and Lord Consort to temporarily live in Yongfu Palace.” Yongfu Palace was Wei Zhao’s original residence in the imperial palace. Wei Chongrong had lived there for many years. He was very familiar with the place and was very satisfied with this arrangement. The most important thing was that Yongfu Palace was much closer to Zichen Palace than the spacious Eastern Palace.

After figuring out where he lived, Wei Chongrong didn’t intend to go directly to Yongfu Palace. He had to see Wei Zhao to pay his respects first.

Unexpectedly, when the eunuch saw that he was going to go to Zichen Palace, he hurriedly reminded Wei Chongrong: “His Majesty ordered that Your Highness didn’t need to see His Majesty for the time being.” Wei Chongrong was taken aback, then curled his lips in a smile. His father was really considerate and didn’t delay him when he was anxious to see his wife and child.

After habitually arriving at Yongfu Palace, Wei Chongrong went straight to the bedchamber, and countless palace servants bowed to him along the way. At the same time, they all tacitly kept their voices very low, not making a sound.

Wei Chongrong immediately understood that Jun Hua must be resting, so he subconsciously lightened his steps as well. Sure enough, after entering the bedchamber, Wei Chongrong saw a couch under the window and Jun Hua lying on it, with a thin quilt covering him.

Wei Chongrong waved his hand gently, sending away all the palace servants, and walked to the couch alone.

In the past, no matter how light Wei Chongrong’s movements were, with Jun Hua’s skills, it was almost impossible for him not to be discovered. But today, Jun Hua slept soundly and didn’t notice Wei Chongrong’s arrival at all even when Wei Chongrong actually sat down on the couch.

Wei Chongrong looked down, and Jun Hua’s round abdomen was clearly visible. Without thinking, he directly reached out and touched it through the thin quilt.

Just as he put his hand over it, Wei Chongrong felt a surge of rolling, and the movement wasn’t small. Obviously the little one wasn’t asleep and was stretching his arms and moving his legs. Wei Chongrong was in a good mood, nudging the baby in Jun Hua’s belly, greeting him and having fun.

Perhaps because he felt that someone was playing with him, the unborn baby moved even more happily, not only amusing Wei Chongrong, but also waking up Jun Hua.

“Don’t move…” Jun Hua said vaguely with his eyes closed, and his hands habitually reached to his abdomen, trying to calm down the two restless children. But he touched Wei Chongrong’s hand and suddenly woke up, stuttering, “Brother, Brother Rong!…”

Seeing his sleepy face and his eyes so heavy-lidded that he almost couldn’t open them, Wei Chongrong was apologetic and wrapped his arms around Jun Hua while comforting him: “Little Monkey, did I wake you up? If you’re really sleepy, go back to sleep, don’t mind me.” It was good that he had the baby to play with.

Jun Hua was disturbed by the babies moving and surprised to see Wei Chongrong, how could he still sleep? He nestled in Wei Chongrong’s arms and said coquettishly: “Brother Rong, I was waiting for you. But you didn’t come back, and I fell asleep. It was not intentional…” After getting pregnant, he became very lethargic. If he didn’t sleep for half a shichen every afternoon, he would be out of energy. Fortunately, there was nothing he needed to do in the palace, so he could nurture his babies in peace.

After Jun Hua finished speaking, he lowered his head, put his hand on his belly and said solemnly: “No more fooling around, do you hear me?” He didn’t know who the two children took after, but they were very energetic. They caused trouble during the day and at night. There was no peace at all and he was miserable.

Although Wei Chongrong was happy to tease the child, he was concerned when he saw Jun Hua’s pale face: “What? Is the baby making you uncomfortable?”

Jun Hua nodded and said, aggrieved, “No kidding, they toss and turn, and I can’t sleep well at all.”

They?!

Wei Chongrong was startled, and said after a long time: “Little Monkey, you mean… you are pregnant with twins?”

“That’s right.” Jun Hua raised his head and said without hesitation: “Brother Rong, didn’t I write to you?” 

“What?!” Wei Chongrong was taken aback again, and then said, “I didn’t receive that letter.” He just thought that Jun Hua’s belly was a bit ridiculously big. Both Jun Hua and Feifei were extremely heavy babies when born, but Jun Qing and Wei Zhao’s bellies weren’t so big when they were in the same term. Wei Chongrong was worried earlier that Jun Hua nurtured the baby too well and was afraid that it wouldn’t be easy to give birth. Now he heard that it was twins and was relieved.

“No wonder, that’s why I received your letter later but you didn’t even mention it,” Jun Hua murmured in a low voice, holding his waist and planning to get up and walk around. After lying in the same position for too long, his waist was very uncomfortable and he urgently needed to move.

Seeing this, Wei Chongrong hurriedly stretched out his hand and helped Jun Hua get up from the couch. Walking slowly to the window, Jun Hua stared at Wei Chongrong intently and said quietly: “Brother Rong, I heard people say that boy twins are not allowed in the palace. What should we do if we have two sons?”

Wei Chongrong’s eyes widened suddenly when he heard this. Were there such rules in the palace, why hadn’t he heard of them before? He remained calm and said with certainty: “Little Monkey, don’t worry, they are our sons. If anyone dares to say that they are unlucky, I will cut him down.”

Jun Hua was so amused by him that he chuckled: “There is no need to cut people as long as Brother Rong doesn’t drive one of the children out of the palace.” Jun Hua asked the old men in the palace. For the boy twins of the imperial family, the one who was abandoned was lucky if he was just taken away; there had been those who had been simply drowned.

“How is it possible? No one dares to lay a finger on my sons!” Wei Chongrong never even considered obeying such crappy rules.

Seeing Wei Chongrong’s resolute attitude, Jun Hua smiled contentedly. He knew it would be like this.

Later in the evening, Wei Chongrong went to Zichen Palace to pay his respects to Wei Zhao. After briefly talking about the situation on the southern border, he asked Wei Zhao what he planned for his twin sons. Wei Zhao smiled back without answering, and asked, “Rong’er, what do you think?”

Wei Chongrong said with a serious expression: “As a father, wouldn’t it be outrageous if I couldn’t even keep my own children?” What was wrong with twins, that was his ability. Whoever dared to say it was unlucky, he would make this person regret coming to this world.

Wei Zhao chuckled and said, “You have an idea, why bother to ask me?” He knew that his son didn’t care about the rules, but if his grandsons were twins, it was indeed a troublesome matter for the future Crown Prince.

“I need to know if Daddy and I have the same idea.” Even though Wei Zhao had ascended the throne, when there were no outsiders present, Wei Chongrong still preferred to call him “Daddy” instead of the formal “Father Emperor”. He was not used to this name yet.

Seeing Wei Chongrong’s certainty, Wei Zhao deliberately said, “If our ideas were inconsistent, what would you do?”

Wei Chongrong didn’t think about it and said firmly: “If it were a matter of the state, Daddy and I might disagree. When it comes to my children, how could Daddy deliberately go against me? My sons are your grandsons, you wouldn’t joke about their future.”

What were the rules? If you really followed the rules of the ancestors of the Wei family, he shouldn’t have had the surname Wei at all. Even if he had the surname, he was a bastard without the right to inherit. But in fact, he would soon be the Crown Prince of the Great Yan. Was his daddy the kind of person who treated rules as guiding principles? Just because the two children looked similar and someone was afraid of accidents in the future, they had to kill one to end the trouble? Obviously, it was not their style.

Knowing that Wei Chongrong did it on purpose, Wei Zhao couldn’t help laughing, and said with a smile: “Cousin said one of the babies in Hua’er’s abdomen is definitely a boy, and about the other he is not sure yet. Let’s wait and see if it’s a dragon and a phoenix. Even if it’s not, it won’t be a big deal.”

Wei Zhao was obviously prepared for everything, so Wei Chongrong stopped asking. He never expected that when Tuantuan and Yuanyuan were born three months later, in the face of two identical children, Wei Zhao’s treatment would be so simple and straightforward.

In the 3rd year of Baofeng, Wang Qin Wei Zhao deposed Wei Lan and replaced him. The following year was the 1st year of Zhenghe⁽¹⁾.

On the 13th day of the fifth month, Wei Zhao made his son Wei Chongrong the Crown Prince. On the 16the day of the eight month, Wei Zhao made his eldest grandson Wei Qian the Taisun.

1. Journey to harmony

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Jun Feili’s fingers trembled, and the battle report in his hand fell to the floor. He raised his eyes, looked at Wei Zhao coldly, and suddenly asked, “Ah Zhao, did you know about it a long time ago?” 

As early as at the beginning of Wei Ming’s ascension to the throne, Wei Lan began to make arrangements. It was just that he was cautious and moved carefully, so he hadn’t been noticed for many years. But Wei Zhao was still able to get this evidence, it was obviously not a matter of a few days. However, he kept it secret.

Wei Zhao nodded silently, not denying Jun Feili’s words. He had indeed suspected Wei Lan for a long time but had been suffering from the lack of evidence. It wasn’t until Tuoba Xianhan took Yisha City that he had real evidence to prove that Wei Lan had indeed done those unforgivable things.

“But you never said…” Until this moment, Jun Feili was still in an extreme state of shock and disbelief.

In his eyes, his and Wei Ming’s children, three brothers and a sister, grew up loving and respecting each other. At first, when Wei Zhao found out that Wei Xuan’s assassination was related to Wei Mao, it was the last thing Jun Feili wanted to believe. How could this be possible, how could his Mao’er do such a thing?

But Wei Ming believed the results of Wei Zhao’s investigation and had Wei Mao imprisoned. It was hard for Jun Feili to accept the result, but Wei Mao’s life was spared after all, and there was still room for recovery; he couldn’t argue any further.

Wei Ming was seriously ill, and during his illness, he revealed that he wanted to appoint a Taisun, although at that time, Xie Xiang’s child had not yet been born.

Among his children, Jun Feili loved Wei Mao the most and valued Wei Xuan the most. However, Wei Xuan was gone. Jun Feili would always take care of his three granddaughters, but for a newborn baby to become the emperor of the Great Yan… Jun Feili instinctively felt there was something wrong about it.

At that time, Wei Ming’s condition was already very serious, and it would be a great achievement for the Imperial Hospital if he managed to hold on till the birth of his little grandson. However, with such a young emperor to succeed to the throne, who would get the regency of the country? This was a big question.

Wei Lan was obviously not an option, although he was the most legitimate prince. If Wei Ming intended to let him take the regency, he might as well pass the throne directly to him. Wei Lan was certainly more qualified than the little emperor.

The remaining option was Wei Zhao. He would be the younger brother of the previous emperor and the great uncle of the little emperor, so it was not impossible for him to step in. Moreover, the little emperor was also the grandson of Princess Yuankang. Princess Yuankang and Wei Zhao had always been good friends, and it was estimated that her family would also be happy to see it happen.

It was at that time that Wei Lan hinted to Jun Feili that he believed that Wei Zhao confused Wei Ming and wanted to control the dynasty in the future. The little Taisun’s mother’s family was the Xie family of Gong Song. Among the Xie’s three siblings, which one was not friends with Wei Zhao? It was clear that they had ulterior motives.

Jun Feili’s feelings for Wei Zhao had always been very complicated. He did love him as much as he loved Jun Qing, but he also had a strong fear of Wei Zhao.

Wei Lan’s words touched the deepest string in Jun Feili’s heart. He thought for a long time, but after all, he gave Xie Xiang the medicine that expedited the childbirth.

Later, seeing Wei Zhun who was drinking medicine like eating, Jun Feili couldn’t help feeling distressed, but he repeatedly convinced himself that he had done it for the greater good.

But today, Wei Zhao’s words broke all the constructions he had built in his heart. Wei Lan’s crazy behaviour wasn’t something he could have imagined.

Wei Zhao looked at Jun Feili calmly and said quietly: “So what if I knew, would you have believed me before there was substantial evidence?” If someone told him that Wei Chongrong had done things that Heaven couldn’t bear, his first reaction would be to cut down that person.

Didn’t he know his own son? How could he let others speak ill of him? If he was like that, why would Jun Feili be different?

Hearing this, Jun Feili was silent. Indeed, Wei Ming once had warned him, but he never really understood his words.

Now, he finally understood Wei Ming’s intention, but it was too late.

Wei Xuan was dead, Wei Zhun was sickly, Wei Kou and her husband were dead, and Wei Mao was imprisoned for three full years…

And all this, even if Jun Feili didn’t do it himself, was also caused by his impetus. What face would he have to see the late emperor in the future?…

Seeing that Jun Feili was silent for a long time, Wei Zhao suddenly said, “Don’t you suspect that I forged the evidence?” 

Jun Feili glanced at him and shook his head gently: “Although I don’t want to admit it, I still have to say that the person I know better than Ah Lan is you.”

After the death of his elder brother, Jun Lin, there were only three people in the entire Yujing that Jun Feili held close to his heart. One was Wei Ming, and then there was Wei Zhao and Jun Qing.

It was true that Wei Lan was neither the eldest son who inherited the family business, nor the sickly young son who was doted on, let alone the only daughter, the pearl in their palm. Wei Lan had been neglected by Jun Feili and Wei Ming since he was a child and had grown up with his nanny most of the time.

In fact, Jun Feili really got to know Wei Lan only after he ascended the throne. After all, by this time, he already had only this son by his side.

In the position of the supreme ruler, Wei Lan would no longer deliberately conceal anything or pretend, and Jun Feili would naturally discover what his true character was like. The evidence given by Wei Zhao was too clear and explicit, and those things were precisely in line with Wei Lan’s behaviour and demeanour.

“In that case, I won’t say more nonsense. I will ask the Empress Dowager to issue the edict.” The right to depose the emperor belonged only to the Empress Dowager.

Jun Feili didn’t start writing, but asked, “What are you going to do with Ah Lan?” 

Wei Zhao said without thinking: “You are Brother Emperor’s Lord Consort. This is a fact that will never change. Your son is naturally yours to discipline.” Wei Xuan and Wei Kou both died because of Wei Lan, and Wei Mao suffered years of injustice because of him. It was impossible for Jun Feili to forgive Wei Lan.

Jun Feili still didn’t pick up the brush. He looked at Wei Zhao deeply and suddenly said, “Ah Zhao, do you know why you were the one who was sent to the palace back then?” 

As soon as he heard these words, Wei Zhao froze. He had never thought that Jun Feili knew about his origin.

Without waiting for Wei Zhao to speak, Jun Feili continued: “Because when you were born, my father saw the Emperor Star⁽¹⁾ appear in the sky. He said that as long as you can survive the tribulation of life and death, you will reach the position of the supreme ruler in the future.”

Wei Zhao was taken aback, and suddenly laughed: “This joke is not funny. In that case, you shouldn’t have had a chance to hear it.” He never knew that the old gentleman of the Jun family who was rumoured to know “everything on the earth and half of everything in the sky” had the potential to be a magician.

“Children are naughty, and it is not unusual to eavesdrop on the conversation between their father and elder brother.” Jun Feili didn’t intend to tell Wei Zhao that the reason why he could hear the conversation between Jun Ya and Jun Lin was because he made Wei Zhao, who was in his infancy, cry and was hiding under the bed for fear of being discovered.

Wei Zhao was noncommittal, and said calmly: “That’s not a reason either. Aren’t our horoscopes the same?” He and Jun Qing had exactly the same eight characters; they were obviously born one right after the other. Even if there was really a so-called “Emperor Star”, who could tell who it referred to.

Jun Feili smiled inexplicably and said coldly: “That’s Ah Qing’s horoscope, not yours. You are two shichen younger than him.” Wei Zhao’s eight characters were too special, it was impossible for them not to attract the attention of the imperial astrologer, so his horoscope was borrowed from Jun Qing.

Wei Su showed his favour for Wei Zhao from the beginning. Jun Feili initially didn’t care about it. Wei Zhao was his elder brother’s son, and of course he was qualified to get the best things in the world. But with the development of his relationship with Wei Ming, and then thinking of Jun Ya’s prediction for Wei Zhao, Jun Feili’s mood became complicated, especially after Wei Zhao returned from Fuyu. If Jun Feili guessed it correctly, it was the tribulation of life and death that Jun Ya had originally mentioned. Sure enough, Wei Zhao later restored Youzhou, established Lingzhou, and made immortal achievements. Wei Su’s eyes were so bright when he looked at him that it was frightening.

Fortunately, Wei Ming finally ascended the throne smoothly, and Wei Zhao didn’t show any attempt to claim the throne. Jun Feili was able to breathe a sigh of relief. This was the situation he had hoped to see.

If Wei Xuan didn’t die, or even if Wei Zhun could be born at full term, this balance could have been maintained.

But Wei Xuan died in the hands of his own brother, and his death also involved the innocent Wei Kou and Wei Mao.

Even more innocent was Wei Zhun. He could have been born healthy and strong, and then ascend the throne naturally, but now…

When he thought of that thin and pale child, Jun Feili’s hand couldn’t help trembling a little. It was his fault.

“Empress Dowager, please issue the edict. I can assure you that in my lifetime, I will never harm the descendents of Brother Emperor.” Wei Zhao didn’t believe in the so-called astrology, but it still surprised him to know that he and Jun Qing were born two shichen apart.

The world was impermanent, and fate had taken a turn and circled back to the path it had been predicted to take.

Jun Feili didn’t hesitate anymore, and personally wrote down the edict of deposing the emperor. He knew very well in his heart that even if he didn’t write it, Wei Zhao had the late emperor’s will in his hand, and he could depose Wei Lan, and in that case, he wouldn’t even have a chance to handle Wei Lan.

Wei Zhao took the edict and said nothing. He glanced at Jun Feili in silence, then turned and left.

When Wei Zhao’s figure completely disappeared from his sight, Jun Feili’s expression was no longer as calm as before, and he knelt down on both knees with a forlorn look on his face.

Thousands of li away on the southern border, Wei Chongrong’s head was about to explode as he looked at one chore after another piling up in front of him.

He originally thought that as long as he dealt with Tuduo, he would be done, but when he took over Jing’an City, he realised that this wasn’t the end, but a new beginning.

It was easy for the eight counties of Yizhou to be directly incorporated into the territory of the Great Yan and dealt with in accordance with the precedents of Youzhou and Lingzhou. The four counties of Qiongzhou were a problem. The people there helped drive away the Zhuxia people and turned around to take the land for themselves. It was really unreasonable and too ugly just to grab that land.

Of course, it would be impossible to return the land intact, even if the young prince who would soon succeed to the throne of Nanyue was Ruan Ning.

Wei Chongrong, who was good at war but not at trivial matters, was in distress and wrote to Wei Zhao for help. Moreover, Ruan Ning was taken to Yujing by Jun Qing and Jun Hua, while Ruan Meng had been sent to the capital even earlier. Ruan Ning needed to be sent back quickly, as the country couldn’t stay without a monarch for a day.

In reply to Wei Chongrong’s eager anticipation, Wei Zhao sent him saviours in the form of Gu Chuan, who was responsible for handling government affairs, and Wei Hao, who took over military power.

Wei Chongrong, on the other hand, had to return to the capital as soon as possible to complete the ceremony of being appointed the Crown Prince. This was something Wei Chongrong had never dreamed of.

1. The North Star

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According to Wei Chongrong’s intention, the situation in Honghe County was simple. Tuduo didn’t move and they didn’t move. If Tuduo tried to go back to help or there were other changes, they would use the opportunity to advance. It was enough to have Dongfang keep an eye on it. So, Wei Chongrong was going to go to Yisha City to see Tuya.

Unexpectedly, Jun Qing said that Tuduo acted strangely and never played cards according to common sense. If he came up with some more machinations, Dongfang wouldn’t be able to deal with it; he wasn’t capable of acting on his own. It was better for Jun Qing to go to Yisha City to meet Tuya and pick up Jun Hua.

Wei Chongrong couldn’t figure out whether Jun Qing didn’t trust him, but he was Jun Hua’s biological father and would never harm him. After thinking about it, he agreed to Jun Qing’s suggestion and begged again and again not to be fierce with Jun Hua when seeing him. It wasn’t Jun Hua’s fault to be captured.

Jun Qing raised his eyebrows in displeasure and said with a smile: “Did Hua’er complain to you that I was fierce with him?” 

Wei Chongrong was speechless, and hesitated for a moment before saying, “Actually, he didn’t complain, it’s just that Huaixi… he’s always been a little afraid of you.”

In Wang Changning’s residence, Ji Xin played the role of a loving father, doting on his two sons, giving them whatever they wanted and never scolding them. Jun Qing had a cold temperament, and he was afraid that his sons would be spoiled rotten by Ji Xin and become useless dudes when they grew up. Therefore, he had strict requirements for them since they were little. Whether studying or practising martial arts, they had to be up to high standards and couldn’t be negligent.

Jun Hua loved to run around since he was a child, and Jun Qing never objected, but if Jun Hua failed to do something well, he would definitely be scolded.

Although in Wei Chongrong’s opinion, Jun Qing wouldn’t be able to bear scolding the lost and found Jun Hua, but the possibility of Jun Hua being scolded still existed, so it was better to remind one more time.

Jun Qing was silent, thinking in his heart: if Hua’er wasn’t afraid of him, wouldn’t he act even more wildly?

Even though he was in the Valley of Ecstasy, completely isolated from the outside world and unable to send out the slightest information, Jun Hua still keenly felt the change in the atmosphere in the valley. The relaxed atmosphere of the past was gone, everyone had become nervous and solemn, with no trace of a smile in their eyes.

Was something big about to happen? Jun Hua subconsciously guessed.

But Tuya was Zhuxia’s holy maiden, she was the monarch’s sister, who could threaten her? Unless it was…

With a flash of inspiration, Jun Hua suddenly thought of a possibility, and a light smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Sure enough, within two days, Tuya sent someone to invite Jun Hua, saying that she wanted to meet him.

Because Tuya only wanted to see him alone, and Ruan Ning hadn’t been separated from Jun Hua since they came to the Valley of Ecstasy and had already formed a serious dependence on him, he kept throwing himself at Jun Hua, not letting him go.

“Youngest Uncle, don’t leave me alone, I’m afraid.” Ruan Ning clutched the corner of his clothes tightly and wouldn’t let go.

Jun Hua reached out to rub his head and said softly: “Little Ning’er, don’t be afraid, I’ll be back soon, I won’t leave you.”

Ruan Ning still didn’t let go, stubbornly saying: “I don’t care, I don’t care, I just won’t let you go.”

Jun Hua sighed helplessly, and his tone became more gentle: “Ning’er, be good, don’t make trouble, Youngest Uncle really won’t leave you. I will have a good talk with Princess Tuya today, and maybe we can go home. Will you stay alone for a while? Just for a short while.”

The word “home” in Jun Hua’s words touched Ruan Ning. He lowered his head and thought for a while, and said in a small voice: “Then just for a short while, you have to be back soon. Don’t lie to me, or I will never speak to you again.” 

“I won’t lie to you, I promise I won’t lie to you.” Jun Hua nodded again and again: “Why don’t we pinky swear?” 

“Okay, let’s pinky swear, no going back on your word for a hundred years, who goes back on his word is a puppy.” After Ruan Ning finished speaking, he stretched out his hand, hooked up his pinky with Jun Hua’s and shook their hands.

After appeasing Ruan Ning, Jun Hua followed the maid to see Tuya, still wondering what she was up to.

Before seeing Tuya, Jun Hua had no idea about her. Judging by Tuduo’s appearance, he just thought that she must be a beautiful and proud princess, but he didn’t expect Tuya to be completely different from Tuduo. Her appearance was barely pleasant but she couldn’t be said to be beautiful, let alone proud.

Seeing the surprise on Jun Hua’s face, Tuya smiled and said, “Do you think that I don’t look like the younger sister of Second Brother?” 

Jun Hua nodded subconsciously, and then asked, “What exactly is the matter that made Princess call for me today?” 

In the past, except for the lack of personal freedom, Tuya was very kind to him. She arranged his food, clothing and housing properly, and took good care of his health. If it weren’t for the foetal medicine prescribed by Tuya, he would be tortured to death by morning sickness.

What Jun Hua couldn’t figure out was why Tuya did this, and whether it was too much to treat a hostage so favourably.

Tuya curbed her smile and said with a serious expression: “I know you are the eldest son of Wang Changning and the Lord Consort of Wang Qin’s son, so I want to discuss something with you. If you agree, I will be able to let you go right away, and the little prince of Nanyue can go too, otherwise…”

“Otherwise what?” Jun Hua’s expression was calm;  he guessed that Tuya would say something like this.

Tuya paused and continued: “The Great Yan is rich and strong, with a powerful army. It is beyond Zhuxia’s ability… Second Brother was not self-aware but it was his personal choice, not the will of all Zhuxia’s people. I hope that Wang Qin’s Shizi’s Lord Consort will be kind and will not hurt innocent people…”

Jun Hua was stunned, feeling that his mind was a little unable to keep up with Tuya’s words. He thought about it for a while and guessed: “Are you defeated?” Although the speed of change in the war situation was a bit overwhelming, apart from this, he couldn’t think of any reason for Tuya to ask for that.

Tuya nodded silently. Tuduo took Zhuxia’s elite soldiers to attack Nanyue, causing the rear to be empty. Yisha City was now under the control of the Great Yan’s army, and the Valley of Ecstasy was temporarily safe due to its special situation, but it was not a long-term solution. She had no choice.

“Why do you trust me?” Jun Hua suddenly laughed as he figured out the ins and outs. No matter what he promised Tuya, as long as Brother Rong really had Yisha City under control, when he was released, he could deny everything. What could Tuya do to him?

Tuya wasn’t surprised that Jun Hua would ask such a question, and said calmly, “I can’t guarantee whether releasing you will make Wang Qin’s Shizi treat the people of Zhuxia differently or not. But I believe that if I kill you, he will slaughter all of Yisha City to vent his anger.” In order to prevent the worst from happening, she used the antidote to get Jun Hua out of Li Jing’s hands, just to not give Tuduo the chance to completely anger Wei Chongrong.

“Just this condition?” Jun Hua couldn’t believe it. He thought that what Tuya wanted from him had to be a particularly difficult thing. Unexpectedly, it was just like this. They weren’t the savage nomads of the north, they had never had the habit of slaughtering cities.

On the southern border, the Great Yan had only one goal, which was to recover the lost land and completely restore Yizhou and Qiongzhou. As for the Zhuxia people and Nanyue people living there, most of them would be dealt with according to the precedent after the restoration of Youzhou and the development of Lingzhou, that is, they could leave or stay according to their own choice.

It was never their style to do such a bloody thing as slaughtering a city. Even if Tuduo had taken his life, Brother Rong would only slaughter the royal family of Zhuxia at most. How could he let the entire people of Zhuxia to be buried with him? Jun Hua deeply felt that Tuya’s worries were unfounded.

Tuya was silent, and then nodded earnestly: “This is it. I want you to swear by your unborn child that you will treat Zhuxia’s innocent people well no matter what the circumstances.” After she said these words, she handed Jun Hua a pill.

Jun Hua bit his lip and fell into contemplation. After a long time, he raised his head, swore according to Tuya’s request, and swallowed the pill.

“I’m sorry, I can’t help but do this. I must ensure that I can live to see if you have fulfilled your promise.” Tuya was very satisfied with Jun Hua’s actions and at the same time apologised for her behaviour. Words weren’t enough, she had to leave some protection for herself.

Jun Hua waved his hand indifferently. If it were him, he wouldn’t let the opponent go so easily. Suddenly, he thought of a very important question and hurriedly asked: “The thing you made me eat is not harmful to my child, is it?” 

Tuya shook her head gently and said: “No, don’t worry, Lord Consort. You can leave the valley now.”

That’s it? As Jun Hua said that to himself, he took two steps and stopped again, turned around and said, “Your Royal Highness, do the good deeds to the end. I don’t know the way.” When he returned, he was going to work hard to study Qimen Dunjia and the use of the traps.

Jun Qing came to Yisha City as promised, thinking all the way about what conditions Tuya would propose to him, and even had the draft ready.

He didn’t expect to be told by Tuoba Xianhan that Tuya had released Jun Hua and Ruan Ning, and the two were currently resting in the city.

Hearing this, Jun Qing’s usually indifferent expression cracked; he had the feeling of punching the cotton.

Without thinking, he went straight to the house where Jun Hua was temporarily staying. Jun Hua was telling Ruan Ning a story, and when he heard that Jun Qing was coming, he stood up quickly. Did he hear it right? His daddy actually came to Zhuxia. Shouldn’t he be in the capital? Was he angry with him?

When Jun Hua thought of this, how could he sit still? He immediately ran out of the courtyard.

“Daddy!” As soon as Jun Qing stepped into the courtyard, he collided with the oncoming Jun Hua.

Jun Qing frowned in displeasure and said, “How old are you, still so fidgety…”

Jun Hua puffed out his cheeks in defiance and complained: “Daddy, don’t be so fierce! Your son and grandson just escaped death and are in a state of shock. Instead of comforting me, you come to lecture me. No fun at all.”

In fact, Jun Hua didn’t think much of it, he was just afraid of being scolded by Jun Qing, so he used the baby as a shield.

Unexpectedly, when Jun Qing heard his words, his face changed, and he immediately reached out and took his left hand to check his pulse.

Previously, Jun Qing had discussed with Wei Chongrong what could have happened to Jun Hua that made him stay in Nanyue and not return. Now he seemed to have the answer. As soon as Jun Qing thought of his son doing something risky even though he was pregnant, he couldn’t calm down.

Fortunately, Jun Hua’s pulse was stable, and the development of the foetus was normal, which made Jun Qing feel a little relieved.

He took a deep breath and asked solemnly, “When did you know about it?” 

Jun Hua took a peek at Jun Qing’s face, and seeing that he had no plans to lecture him, carefully said: “I didn’t know originally. It was only when I took Little Ning’er that day and was chased by Li Jing. As a result…” As a result, the foetus was in danger, and then he was warned by his other self.

“You didn’t know that before?” In the past, Jun Qing had made a similar mistake, so before Jun Hua left Yujing, he repeatedly reminded him to pay attention. He never thought that Jun Hua would make the same mistake; fortunately, it didn’t lead to an accident, which was a blessing among misfortunes.

Jun Hua shook his head and said, aggrieved: “I really didn’t know, there were no signs before.”

Jun Qing counted the time. When Jun Hua and Wei Chongrong sneaked into Nanyue to save people, Jun Hua was only a little more than a month pregnant. It was normal not to know, so he didn’t ask anything else about it. Instead, he took Jun Hua’s hand and entered the house, asking about what happened later on the way.

He wasn’t aware that Jun Hua was glad that he had escaped the scolding. After all, it was his negligence. If his other self could notice, why couldn’t he notice?  Fortunately, the little guy was lucky and survived until now, otherwise he would have died of guilt.

As soon as he arrived in Yisha City, Jun Hua understood why Tuya made such a request. Tuduo was trapped in Jing’an City by Wei Chongrong and couldn’t come back. Tuoba Xianhan completely controlled Yisha City from the inside out. If Tuya didn’t let him go, it would only make the situation worse.

Jun Hua has no intention of staying in Yisha City for a long time. He wanted to rush to Dongshan Town. He wanted to see Wei Chongrong as soon as possible and tell him about the child. But Tuoba Xianhan told him that Jun Qing was already in Yisha City, so he had to stay and wait for his father. Although Jun Hua was worried that he would be scolded when he saw Jun Qing, the incident was really his fault.

If he had noticed his physical condition earlier and stayed in Dongshan Town, allowing Wei Chongrong and Dongfang to sneak into Jing’an City, the two little ones, Ruan Ning and Ruan Meng, would have been rescued a long time ago and wouldn’t have been a cause for worry for so long. If he had fallen into the hands of Tuduo and been used by him to threaten Wei Chongrong, no matter what the outcome would have been, it would be unimaginable.

Unexpectedly Jun Qing didn’t even ask much, and when he heard Jun Hua say that he didn’t know, he really stopped asking questions, leaving Jun Hua giggling with joy.

However, after Jun Hua said that he was going to Dongshan Town, Jun Qing opposed him, saying that he wasn’t allowed to go and asked him to return to Yujing with him.

“Daddy, why? Brother Rong doesn’t know about the baby yet, won’t you let us meet?” It was too sad if he couldn’t tell Wei Chongrong in person about such an important matter, so Jun Hua was very reluctant and tried to reach an agreement with Jun Qing.

Jun Qing was resolute and said categorically, “No, you must come back with me.”

“I won’t! I’m going to Dongshan Town! Daddy, please?” Jun Hua continued to be coquettish.

Jun Qing shook his head; his tone became a little softer, but his attitude remained the same: “Rong’er is going to launch an attack on Nanyue soon. It will be a difficult battle, and you can’t help if you stay, so why bother to burden him? Hua’er, be obedient, don’t mess around anymore.”

The resistance was futile. Jun Hua had to follow Jun Qing back to Yujing, and at the same time entrusted Tuoba Xianhan to take a letter to Wei Chongrong.

When Wei Chongrong received the letter, he couldn’t believe it at first and when he made sure that the contents of the letter were true, his whole being suddenly was dumbfounded.

Did he read it right?…

Little Monkey had a baby monkey…

He was going to be a father…

After a long time, Wei Chongrong let out a yell, frightening the soldiers inside and outside the camp.

Relying on his familiarity with him, Dongfang boldly peeked inside the tent and asked in a low voice, “Master Shizi, what happened?” 

Wei Chongrong rushed over excitedly, hugged Dongfang and bellowed: “I’m going to be a father! I’m going to be a father!”

Dongfang tried his best to get free from Wei Chongrong’s hug just to be able to take a breath. His Master Shizi was excited, it was understandable, but he was squeezing his neck, ah. Not to mention that Dognfang hadn’t lived enough yet, he didn’t want to meet the King of Hell right now and be reincarnated as Master Shizi’s little kid.

Finally, Wei Chongrong regained a trace of sanity and let go of Dongfang before he could choke.

Dongfang rubbed his neck and retreated far away, while Wei Chongrong started counting on his fingers when the baby would be born.

It was also his inexperience and carelessness that prevented him from noticing Little Monkey’s insatiable appetite and sleepiness during that time. If they had known about the existence of the baby earlier, they wouldn’t have had so many twists and turns. Fortunately, Little Monkey and the baby were both blessed and the worst thing hadn’t happened.

No, he had to end the war in the south as soon as possible, he couldn’t drag it on anymore, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to go back to the capital in time for the baby monkey to be born.

At this moment, Wei Chongrong would never have imagined that by the day of his triumph, his status would no longer be that of Wang Qin’s Shizi.

After taking over Yisha City, Tuoba Xianghan went through the palace of Zhuxia like a plough and found a lot of useful evidence.

Princess Tuya also admitted that she was the one who kidnapped Wei Mao from Dongshan Town to the Valley of Ecstasy that year, and the reason was quite complicated.

It turned out that in Zhuxia, the princess who served as a holy maiden had to remain chaste for life. But Tuya violated this prohibition and fell in love with a young doctor. Because they didn’t make a big mistake, the elders of the Valley of Ecstasy didn’t revoke Tuya’s status as a holy maiden, but they were going to execute the doctor by fire.

Zhuxia’s former monarch had many children, and Tuya and Tuduo had never been familiar with each other, but Tuduo approached Tuya at that time. He asked her to do one thing for him, and he would help her save the doctor. Tuya had no choice but to follow Tuduo’s instructions.

Of course, Tuya didn’t know what kind of purpose Tuduo was trying to achieve when she caught Wei Mao.

When Wei Zhao saw the letter brought back by Jun Qing, his expression remained unperturbed. Originally, what he wanted was to depose Wei Lan and put Wei Mao onto the throne instead.

But Jiang Che’s words reminded him of how the new emperor would look at him and Wei Chongrong in the future if he did the act of deposing the emperor. Especially if Tuduo took the initiative to attack, Wei Chongrong might be able to get the eight counties of Yizhou and the four counties of Qiongzhou back. That would be a feat of gaining the territory.

To be honest, if it weren’t for Wei Lan’s promise to Tuduo that let him make such a risky move, the Great Yan would not have such a chance.

Now that the opportunity was present, Wei Zhao naturally didn’t want to miss it. But in the past, when he restored Youzhou and gained Lingzhou as the emperor’s son, he had caused a lot of controversy in the court. It was only thanks to Emperor Xingzu’s suppression and Wei Ming’s unquestioning trust in him that Wei Zhao hadn’t suffered any harm.

At this moment, his identity changed from the emperor’s son to the emperor’s uncle, and it was impossible for the emperor to be indifferent to the military power in his hands. Coupled with Wei Chongrong’s military achievements, Wei Zhao had to admit that if he were in Wei Mao’s place, he wouldn’t be able to tolerate the existence of such an uncle.

Who knew if such an uncle would have a whim one day and dethrone him? Although this was not very likely, could the emperor tolerate the existence that carried such a threat to him? This was almost the case of “the merit is so great that it threatens the monarch”.

“How is Hua’er’s condition? Should we ask the imperial doctor to come and take a look?” Wei Zhao asked Jun Qing, who had just entered the study.

Jun Qing waved his hand and signalled that they didn’t need to: “Hua’er is alright, it’s just that the journey was tiring, he’ll be fine after two days of rest.”

“That’s good.” Wei Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, paused and suddenly asked, “Ah Qing, have you ever regretted it?” 

Jun Qing was at a loss, somewhat unsure of what Wei Zhao meant. He never did anything that made him regret it.

“I mean…” Wei Zhao pondered: “Do you regret that you weren’t the one who was taken away?” 

Before the death of Emperor Xingzu, Wei Zhao finally learned of his origin and who played that tune on the qin that he heard as a child. In addition to being surprised, he was more curious about how his father made a choice between him and Jun Qing.

There was no way for him not to think about the fact that his father’s single thought had decided the fate of them two.

Jun Qing laughed when he heard his words, causing Wei Zhao to look puzzled, before he said calmly, “That was not something I could decide, so why should I regret it? Besides, my surname is Jun, and I can inherit his surname and title, what’s wrong with it?”

So it was Wei Zhao’s turn to be dumbfounded. Yes, Jun Qing’s surname was Jun and he was the only son of Hou Zhaoyang Huan.

And his surname was Wei. He was the second son of Emperor Xingzu and Empress Xiaochun, and he couldn’t even kneel in front of his father’s tomb in person⁽¹⁾.

Seeing Wei Zhao silent, Jun Qing said softly: “Have you come across something you can’t decide?” He and Wei Zhao had grown up together since they were three years old, and they were really too familiar with each other. Wei Zhao had never been an indecisive person.

However, this time, Wei Zhao didn’t deny Jun Qing’s words, but nodded lightly.

Jun Qing didn’t ask Wei Zhao what was bothering him, but simply said: “Since you can’t make up your mind, just follow your heart.”

Wei Zhao suddenly looked up, raised his eyebrows and said, “Are you not afraid that I will drag you and Ah Xin down?” Brothers could kill each other for the throne; was Jun Qing’s trust in him a little too high? He was simply flattered.

Jun Qing smiled indifferently, leaned to Wei Zhao’s ear and said, “If it is a private matter, as long as you are happy, I have no right to interfere. If it is… a matter of great importance to the court, you and I have been long regarded as one, can we still be separated?”

Wei Zhao didn’t say anything else, but the hesitation in his eyes disappeared.

Since Jun Hua returned to Wang Qin’s residence, he had spent his days eating and sleeping. Apart from caring about when Wei Chongrong would come back, he had nothing to worry about. As a result, the foetus in his abdomen naturally developed very well, and his belly, which had not been visible before, was soon bulging.

Although Wei Zhao was busy all day long, Jun Hua was pregnant with his eldest grandchild, how could he not be concerned? Then Wei Zhao discovered that Jun Hua’s belly seemed to be a bit too big for his term.

You know, whether it was Wei Chongrong or Jun Hua, the size of the baby at birth was far beyond that of an ordinary baby. It cost Wei Zhao and Jun Qing half of their lives to give birth to these kids. If this baby gathered the characteristics of both parents, it was not good news.

In particular, Wei Zhao also learned that Jun Hua didn’t just rest in the house without moving, but wandered around all the time.

He thought for a while and asked Sun Ye to come to check. The answer he got was, “With twins, it’s not unusual to have a bigger belly.”

Jun Hua heard that he was pregnant with twins and was so excited that he rushed back to his room to write to Wei Chongrong. Wei Zhao frowned slightly. If both of them were boys, it wouldn’t be a good thing in the imperial family. 

In the Great Yan’s imperial family, the birth of a dragon and a phoenix was certainly considered auspicious, just like Prince Xiaozhen and Princess Guchang back then. The two princesses couldn’t be said to be an auspicious sign but it was not a bad thing either. Anyway, it didn’t matter if there were more girls in the palace, one more one less was all the same.

The two princes were a different story, especially the eldest son and the second son, which was simply terrible. If they didn’t look alike, like him and Jun Qing, it would be easier. But if the two looked exactly the same, as a rule, the weaker one wouldn’t be allowed to stay.

Later in the evening, Huo Qingyang came to Wang Qin’s residence, saw Wei Zhao’s uneasy expression and thought that something big had happened at court.

But when Wei Zhao said that Sun Ye diagnosed Jun Hua, and Jun Hua was pregnant with twins, Huo Qingyang was even more puzzled. Was there anything wrong with twins? Wei Zhao had only one son, Wei Chongrong. If Jun Hua gave him one more grandson or granddaughter at a time, what was he unhappy about?

Then Wei Zhao explained the rule of the imperial family that didn’t allow twin princes to exist, and by the way, mentioned the reason why.

Huo Qingyang was shocked and said after a long time: “It’s no wonder that there have never been twin princes born in any generation of the dynasty.”

Wei Zhao sighed: “It’s not that they have never been born. But one of them has been dealt with.” But Rong’er’s sons, no one was going to harm them.

“What are Your Highness’s plans?” Huo Qingyang didn’t think that Wei Zhao would be stumped by such a thing.

“We’ll see, it’s not necessarily two boys.” Wei Zhao had long disliked the old guys from the office of the Minister of the Imperial Clan, but it would be very troublesome to confront them now.

In the middle of the third month, a battle report was sent from the southern border. Wei Chongrong, the son of Wang Qin, captured Jing’an City. After Yizhou, Qiongzhou was also regained.

Wei Zhao read the war report and his expression became quite solemn. After a while, he took the war report and went to Qing’en Palace alone.

Jun Feili was a little surprised by Wei Zhao’s sudden visit but still invited him into the palace. Wei Zhao respectfully greeted the Empress Dowager and then gave him the latest battle report. After Jun Feili had seen it, his whole face completely changed.

It took a long time before he said in a low voice: “Kou’er…” On the day the city was broken, Tuduo threatened Wei Chongrong with Wei Kou as a hostage. But Wei Kou broke free from the guards holding her and jumped from the city tower. Tuduo had no one to rely on and was captured.

1. The author is trying hard to be as subtle (or as incomprehensible) with this previous passage as possible. But have you figured it out? Jun Lin is also Wei Zhao’s father. He and Jun Qing are non-identical twins. So, remember the moment when Jun Lin comes to the palace and Wei Ming shows him Wei Zhao, and Jun Lin has a complicated look in his eyes. It is not because he looks at the child of his lover from another woman, he is looking at his own child. Jun Lin was also the one who played the tune Wei Zhao was obsessed with. And… Jun Lin is the one who made the choice which one of the twins would stay with him and which would be sent to the palace. Why was it Wei Zhao? You’ll know soon.

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Wei Chongrong was far away on the southern border and was not aware of what was happening in the capital. Right now, he was planning his final attack on Zhuxia as well as constantly ordering people to find out the whereabouts of Jun Hua and Ruan Ning. But while the former was going smoothly, there was no clue regarding the latter.

Although Wei Chongrong didn’t show it on his face, Dongfang, who had followed him for many years, could see his anxiety. He said comfortingly, “Master Shizi, don’t worry too much, it is better that there is no news of Lord Consort, it means that he hasn’t fallen into Tuduo’s hands.”

Wei Chongrong was silent. If he were Tuduo, even if he captured Jun Hua, he wouldn’t make a big deal of it. He would save it till the critical moment when it came in handy. If Jun Hua hadn’t been captured, with his qinggong, he would have been able to return to Honghe County a long time ago. How could he rest assured?

Besides, Zhuxia had not invaded the Great Yan yet, and it was impossible for him to take the initiative to attack the foreign country without obtaining the emperor’s decree.

Wei Chongrong took a deep breath and sighed quietly: “I hope it is as you said.”

Outside Yisha City, in the Diancang Mountains, the Valley of Ecstasy

It had been a month since Jun Hua arrived here, but he had never met Princess Tuya, the owner of the Valley of Ecstasy.

Back then, he took Ruan Ning to the place where he had agreed to meet with Wei Chongrong. Because he missed the hour, he didn’t see Wei Chongrong and Ruan Meng.

Just when Jun Hua found traces of Wei Chongrong’s arrival and was about to catch up, Li Jing, who had been lurking for a long time, appeared.

In fact, Li Jing had seen Wei Chongrong and Ruan Meng, but he was quite self-aware. Knowing that he wasn’t Wei Chongrong’s match, he hid and waited for Jun Hua to appear. As expected, less than a shichen after Wei Chongrong left, Jun Hua got into the trap.

Naturally, Jun Hua was unwilling to get caught and resisted desperately but he fainted after the foetus was disturbed.

Ruan Ning was stunned, hugging him and crying loudly, choking as he cried.

In a half-unconscious state, Jun Hua heard Li Jing and Tuya arguing, and then he and Ruan Ning were brought to the Valley of Ecstasy by Tuya.

It was also thanks to Tuya’s superb medical skills that the foetus in Jun Hua’s abdomen could be saved.

Jun Hua still remembered that when Wei Mao was tricked into the Valley of Ecstasy, Tuya used the gu to control him and made him stab Wei Chongrong with a dagger.

It was evident that Tuya and Tuduo were on the same side. Unexpectedly, when Li Jing wanted to take him back to Jing’an City, Tuya opposed him, and Li Jing was helpless.

If he had a chance, Jun Hua would love to ask Tuya why she did this. It was a pity that on the way from Muyun Mountain to the Diancang Mountains, he was drugged by Tuya and slept most of the time. He had no chance to talk to her at all, spending all the time just eating and sleeping.

After returning to the Valley of Ecstasy, Tuya took good care of him and Ruan Ning, but she never showed up once.

Although Jun Hua didn’t understand her reasons, he didn’t look deeper into the matter as Tuya had no intention to harm him for the time being. While recuperating, he waited for the opportunity to escape. It was just that the Valley of Ecstasy was full of traps, he was pregnant, and he had Ruan Ning with him, so he couldn’t succeed for a while.

On this day, after breakfast, Jun Hua wandered around the courtyard, trying to find out how to break the traps.

The maids in the valley treated him with courtesy and didn’t try to stop him. It seemed to be Tuya’s order. 

Unfortunately, Jun Hua was not Dongfang and wasn’t as skilled in Qimen Dunjia. After looking at the traps for a month, he still couldn’t crack them.

Ruan Ning followed Jun Hua, his eyes full of curiosity, and from time to time he asked some strange questions. If it was something Jun Hua knew, he would answer seriously, but if there was something he didn’t know, he could only make up some nonsense. But as the little one was still young, Jun Hua was able to fool him.

“Youngest Uncle, how long are we going to stay here?” What Ruan Ning wanted to know the most was the answer to this question.

Jun Hua took him to sit down on the swing in the yard and sighed: “It depends on when your Fourth Uncle finds us.”

He failed to return to Honghe County on time. Wei Chongrong would most likely think that he was still in Nanyue and would be looking for him in that direction, never imagining that he had been taken to the Valley of Ecstasy by Princess Tuya. It was hard to say when he would find them.

Besides, Tuya’s attitude was also a bit mystifying. She was Tuduo’s sister. Under normal circumstances, she must have been helping her brother. It was hard to say what she kept Jun Hua and Ruan Ning for, but, after all, she had no reason to betray Tuduo.

There was really no way to crack those traps. Jun Hua could only hope that Wei Chongrong’s men would be more powerful. If it dragged on like this, he might give birth to his child in the Valley of Ecstasy. If that was the case, he would be a laughing stock for the rest of his life.

“I miss my mother and brother.” Ruan Ning finished quietly, burying his head in Jun Hua’s lap.

Jun Hua reached out and rubbed his head, saying softly: “Little Ning’er, don’t be afraid, we will definitely have a chance to escape.”

Just as Jun Hua feared, Wei Chongrong’s inquiries about him were always within the scope of Nanyue. Therefore, by the time Jun Qing arrived in Dongshan Town, Wei Chongrong still found nothing. His emotions were suppressed to the extreme, threatening to explode at any moment.

Suddenly seeing Jun Qing, Wei Chongrong almost thought he was hallucinating, and after hesitating for a moment, he called out, “Hou Zhaoyang?”

Jun Qing nodded slightly and asked directly: “There is still no news from Hua’er, and no one is looking for you to negotiate terms, right?”

Wei Chongrong nodded helplessly. It didn’t make sense, but Tuduo was quiet. He neither attacked Yizhou nor used Jun Hua as a bargaining chip, making Wei Chongrong feel extremely passive and desperate.

Jun Qing frowned slightly, and then said, “Before I left Yujing, Wang Qin asked me to tell you that as long as you are well prepared, you can attack Zhuxia at any time without worrying about the consequences.” What it meant was that it didn’t matter if there was no decree from the emperor; Wei Lan wouldn’t be sitting on the throne for a long time.

Noting that Jun Qing was talking about Zhuxia instead of Nanyue, Wei Chongrong raised his eyebrows. Earlier, Wei Lan’s had given him the decree to send troops to Nanyue to relieve the siege of Jing’an. But Wei Zhao was telling him that if he wanted to attack Zhuxia, he could just do it.

Wei Chongrong mused aloud: “Tuduo invaded Nanyue and took away Zhuxia’s most elite troops. The rear is empty. If we send troops now, the timing is just right, but I’m worried…”

It was not easy to attack Nanyue from the direction of the Great Yan, as Jing’an City was in dangerous terrain and heavily guarded.

However, Zhuxia was empty, and if he adopted the strategy of besieging Wei to save Zhao⁽¹⁾, he would definitely force Tuduo into a dilemma. After all, according to the agreement between Wei Lan and Tuduo, the Great Yan’s army wouldn’t take half a step out of Yizhou, and Tuduo wouldn’t expect that Wei Chongrong could disobey the emperor’s orders.

If Wei Chongrong had any scruples, it would be Jun Hua. If Tuduo blackmailed him with Jun Hua, how should he respond?

“Speed is a crucial asset in war, how can you waste a good opportunity?” Jun Qing glanced at Wei Chongrong faintly, “Even if Hua’er is really in Tuduo’s hands, if you take Yisha City and force him to lose his way to retreat, he will have to come forward to negotiate with us.”

Wei Chongrong bit his lower lip and said worriedly: “Then what if a cornered dog jumps over the wall⁽²⁾?” Not to mention whether it was possible for him to agree to the conditions proposed by Tuduo, in case Tuduo decided to take Jun Hua and get buried with him… Wei Chongrong simply couldn’t think about it.

He raised his head, saw Jun Qing’s cold face and heard his solemn voice: “As a descendant of the Ji family and the Jun family, Hua’er should have been aware of this long ago.” The title of Wang Changning had been passed down to this day, and how many generations of the Ji family died on the battlefield, so why did his son have to be an exception?

But…

If something really happened to Jun Hua…

He would make everyone who had anything to do with this matter regret being born into this world.

Wei Chongrong was completely stunned and said after a long time: “I understand.”

Instead of waiting endlessly, it was better to take the initiative to attack. Perhaps if Tuduo couldn’t hold back any longer, Jun Hua’s whereabouts would be revealed.

Tuduo received a report that Wei Chongrong, who was stationed in Honghe County, remained motionless, but Tuoba Xianhan, who was stationed in Yi’an County, attacked his lair, Yisha City, in disregard of the emperor’s orders. In anger, Tuduo smashed the teacup in his hand. How could this be happening? It was impossible.

Wei Lan had promised him that the defenders of Yizhou would never act rashly, so how could they have done this?

The document that ceded to him the six counties of Yizhou was still in his hands. It was written by Wei Lan himself. If it was made public, the Wei family would never tolerate Wei Lan as the emperor. That was why Tuduo had done whatever it took to help Wei Lan get rid of the elder brother who stood in the way.

With the evidence in hand, Tuduo wasn’t afraid that Wei Lan would betray him, unless he was tired of living and wanted to taste the taste of being deposed.

Of course, what Wei Lan promised was to cede, but the actual operation wouldn’t be so simple and crude. If that were the case, Wei Lan wouldn’t be able to keep his throne. When Wei Chongrong was transferred, Wei Lan deliberately created an opportunity for Tuduo to take over Nanyue in one fell swoop.

After integrating the four northern counties of Nanyue, as long as Wei Lan threw a game moderately, it would not be difficult for Tuduo to get the six counties of Yizhou.

What Tuduo didn’t expect was that the defenders of Yizhou had such courage that they dared to send troops without an imperial edict. Didn’t they want their lives?

To make matters worse, Wei Chongrong led his people to guard Dongshan Town and the Honghe River, and Tuduo didn’t even have a chance to send his troops to the rescue.

“Someone, send for the general to come and answer to me!” Tuduo roared. It was all Li Jing’s fault. Had he managed to bring Jun Hua back, he would have had a useful bargaining chip when facing Wei Chongrong. Now there was no such opportunity.

At the same time, Wei Chongrong received Tuoba Xianhan’s pigeon with a note saying that there was news from Jun Hua.

“Hou Zhaoyang, I received a letter from Xianhan. He said that Princess Tuya wanted to see me. She attached Huaixi’s jade pendant.” No matter what Tuya’s intentions were, Wei Chongrong was still overjoyed to finally know the whereabouts of Jun Hua.

1. An idiom originating from the Warring States period, meaning to relieve a besieged ally by attacking the home base of the besiegers
2. Act in desperation

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