In fact, with Wei Chongrongâs status as Wang Qinâs Shizi, there werenât many people who dared to flood him with wine openly even at an occasion like a wedding banquet.
However, his grandfather emperor was too virile and gave him two young uncles when he was in his sixties. Wei Hao, who was young, had a high seniority and was afraid the world wouldnât be chaotic enough. He wouldnât let go of such a good opportunity and wouldnât rest until Wei Chongrong was cooked.
With Wei Hao leading, Wei Ruo and Wei Ying(1)Â were unlikely to show their soft side. If they swarmed up, Wei Chongrong was going to be out of luck. When he thought of his situation, Wei Chongrong couldnât help but frown. Little Monkey was going to pretend to be drunk, should he follow his example?
Sure enough, after worshipping heaven and earth, the wedding reception officially began, and Wei Hao took the lead in finding Wei Chongrong and asking him to drink three cups to honour him. Wei Hao was an elder. He gave Wei Chongrong a toast and Wei Chongrong had no way to refuse. He could only deal with whatever came.
What Wei Chongrong didnât expect was that after Wei Hao, the next person waiting to pour him wine turned out to be Wei Yang.
Wei Yang held the cup with both hands, raised it high and said softly, âRongrong, happy wedding, may you be together for a hundred years.â After saying this, he drank it all in one go. He had never been close to Wei Chongrong, and would come to his wedding banquet today half because of Jun Hua and half because of Wei Haoâs coercion.
Wei Chongrong was a bit dumbfounded. He didnât know what to say for a moment. Wei Yang called him âRongrongâ and congratulated him. It was amazing.
In the first years after his rebirth, Wei Chongrong had a strong grudge against Wei Yang and even thought about killing him, but he only thought about it and didnât put it into practice. Later, the witchcraft scourge didnât happen, Wei Mingâs Crown Prince position was safe, and Wei Yang, like Wei Hao, was an ordinary little prince, and not even as favoured as Wei Hao, so Wei Chongrong gradually left him behind. Now for Wei Yang, it was absolutely impossible to pose any threat to Wei Chongrong, the same way as it was impossible for Wei Chongrong to retaliate against a child who didnât know anything. It was better for everyone just to keep their distance.
Under Wei Chongrongâs deliberate avoidance, over the past ten years or so, he and Wei Yang had very few opportunities to meet, and the only times they did meet were during the palace banquets, where many imperial relatives gathered together. The number of times they came into contact with each other was zero, let alone having any kind of friendship.
On the contrary, Jun Hua, who had accompanied Wei Hao and Wei Yang to study for two years, was better acquainted with Wei Yang than Wei Chongrong.
After a tiny pause, Wei Chongrong thanked Wei Yang and raised his cup to finish his drink. Wei Yang smiled shyly and went to talk to Jun Hua. This nephewâs eyes were so serious that Wei Yang was a bit afraid of him and didnât dare to speak too loudly. It was better to avoid him.
On the contrary, Wei Hao, seeing that Wei Chongrong had only drunk one cup of wine, immediately stepped in and said that it was unfair and it should be three cups as well. Wei Chongrong didnât want to argue, and thinking that he only had two young uncles, he honestly drank two more cups to pacify Wei Hao.
After three rounds of drinking, Jun Hua felt bad and fell back on Wei Chongrong, holding his forehead. Wei Chongrong understood and immediately picked him up, saying that he would send Jun Hua to their bedroom to rest and would come back later to drink with everyone.
Everyone was surprised Jun Hua played such a trick so openly. Wei Hao muttered: âHis drinking canât be so bad.â Meanwhile, Wei Chongrong hugged Jun Hua and at a lightning speed disappeared from the main hall where the banquet was set.
In the bridal chamber, Jun Hua immediately opened his eyes, jumped out of Wei Chongrongâs arms and said repeatedly: âSo close, so close, fortunately, I reacted quickly enough, if I let them continue, I would have been really drunkâ¦â The number of the Wei familyâs relatives was too huge.
Wei Chongrong poured a cup of herbal tea and drank it down in one gulp, enviously saying, âLittle Monkey, youâve escaped a disaster. I still have to go back to deal with Ah Ruo, Ah Ying and the others.â It was a good thing that his cousins werenât yet married; he would always have the chance to retaliate in the future.
Jun Hua sat down on the bed carelessly, grabbed the dried fruit and nuts scattered on the brocade quilt and ate them. As he ate, he asked, âBrother Rong, you wonât have to be carried back, will you?â When his father and daddy got married, his father had to be carried into the bridal chamber.
Wei Chongrong laughed and said, âOf course not. Little Monkey, take it easy, donât finish all the snacks on the bed, they are to invite blessings. If youâre really hungry, Iâll tell the kitchen to make you something to eat and bring it to you right away.â
Jun Hua shook his legs and said uncaringly, âI know, isnât it just to âhave a baby earlyâ? If I eat everything, it might be more effective.â Whether it was hunger or what, but Jun Hua felt that the dried fruits today were extra sweet.
Seeing this, Wei Chongrong simply ignored Jun Hua and ordered someone to make him something to eat, then went back to the main hall.
It was probably during his absence that Wei Zhao had a talk with the people. Anyway, when Wei Ruo, Wei Ying and others saw Wei Chongrong again, their momentum was obviously not as strong as before. Wei Hao and Wei Yang were simply called to Wei Zhaoâs side, unable to attack Wei Chongrong again.
Wei Chongrong was lucky to escape, and quickly cast a grateful glance at Wei Zhao. It seemed that he didnât have to pretend to be drunk anymore.
Half a shichen later, Wei Chongrong returned to the bridal chamber, his pace steady and his eyes clear. Jun Hua had finished off the red dates, peanuts and other things on the bed and was sitting at the table drinking porridge. When he saw Wei Chongrong enter, he raised her eyes and smiled at him, âBrother Rong!â
Wei Chongrong walked over to the table and sat down, saying, âLittle Monkey, Iâm hungry too.â The wedding banquet was extremely rich, but he hadnât eaten a single bite of food from the beginning to the end because he had been caught up in all the drinking. He was so hungry his belly stuck to his back.
Jun Hua generously pushed the bowl of porridge in front of him over and smiled: âBrother Rong, here you are.â
Wei Chongrong didnât move his hand but only gestured to Jun Hua with his eyes. Jun Hua had no choice but to pick up the spoon and feed him, while muttering, âDo you have to be so lazy? Weâve just worshipped heaven and earth, and youâve started to order me around.â But while he said that, the movements of his hands were gentle.
Wei Chongrong smiled without saying a word and ate with gusto. It was strange that he and Jun Hua had grown up together, but their tastes were very different. Jun Hua was addicted to sweet and spicy, and Wei Chongrong didnât like either. Every time they ate together, they basically ate their own food.
The osmanthus porridge that Jun Hua was eating was made with extra sugar at Wei Chongrongâs request. Normally, Wei Chongrong wouldnât even taste it. But today was different. Wei Chongrong was in a good mood. It didnât matter what he ate, as long as he could have enough water.
After Wei Chongrong drank half a bowl of porridge, Jun Hua knew that he hadnât had enough, so he stood up and said, âBrother Rong, what else do you want to eat, I will ask the kitchen to make it for you.â The porridge was so sweet, it was hard for Wei Chongrong to eat it, but he had eaten it all.
Wei Chongrong shook his head and said seriously, âI donât want to eat anything, I just want to eat you.â
Jun Hua froze in place, with a dumbfounded expression on his face. After a moment, he reacted and a blush coloured his face: âBrother Rong, itâs not dark yetâ¦â Jun Hua lowered his head in embarrassment before he finished his sentence, feeling that his words sounded a bit passive.
âWho said we must wait for darkness, Little Monkey? Donât you know that a moment of spring is worth a thousand gold?â
Before Jun Hua could look up, he felt his body being lifted up in the air. He smiled, reached out, wrapped his arms around Wei Chongrongâs neck and whispered, âI know.â He couldnât help but feel nervous when he thought of what was going to happen next.
Wei Chongrong carried Jun Hua to the bed and leaned down to kiss him on the lips, while reaching out to pull down the bed curtain to hide the spring scenery inside.
â¦â¦
The next day, at dawn, Wei Chongrong opened his eyes and looked at Jun Hua curled up in a ball beside him. The corners of his lips curved upwards in a gentle arc. It seemed that he had been a bit unrestrained last night, exhausting his Little Monkey to such an extent that he refused to hug him in his sleep.
Wei Chongrong leaned down and kissed the corner of Jun Huaâs lips before getting up and going to the washing room to freshen up. He hummed a little tune happily as he washed. Little Monkey was so interesting, obviously shy, yet very active; he couldnât help but love it.
Wei Chongrong had not yet finished freshening up when he heard Jun Huaâs alarmed cry from outside. He didnât know what had happened and rushed out quickly, asking repeatedly, âLittle Monkey, whatâs wrong with you?â What could have happened in their bedroom all of a sudden?
He saw Jun Hua sitting on the bed, looking down at the purple marks on his naked body, his eyes full of confusion.
Wei Chongrong thought Jun Hua was being shy and teased, âLittle Monkey, we are all family now, what is there to be embarrassed aboutâ¦â
Jun Hua raised his head abruptly, but the movement was too violent and obviously involved a certain place, so he couldnât help but frown. Then he said in surprise, âAh Yin, this isâ¦â The change came too suddenly and was too bizarre. His mind was in a mess and he simply didnât know what to say.
Ah Yinâ¦
Wei Chongrong thought of the dream he had the night before and his face changed. Could it be thatâ¦
â¦it was more than just a dream?
âAh Yin?â Seeing Wei Chongrongâs hesitation, Jun Hua called him softly again.
Wei Chongrong forced himself to calm down and said in a deep voice, âYou are Huaixi, arenât you? Tell me, what year is it?â
ââ¦The 19th year of Taiping.â Although Wei Ruo had replaced Wei Yang, the change of the era had to wait until next year.
In a flash, Jun Hua also understood what was wrong. Yi Yin was already dead, he died in the 16th year of Taiping, how could he see him?
âIâm dreaming, arenât I?â The same dream he had had many times, but this time it was the most real.
Wei Chongrong shivered, an indescribable chill sweeping through his body. He had understood everything.
This person was also Jun Hua, the Jun Hua who had given so much for him in his previous life. But where was Little Monkey, where did his Little Monkey go?â¦