CH 33

Chapter 33 – Husband

Xuan Yuan Han Cheng pulled Lin Jia Bao into the main hall of the palace, and together they paid their respects to the empress.

The empress watched the crown prince holding Lin Jia Bao’s hand and gave pause, and then said casually, “Cheng Er, you two have come.”

“Mother Empress, er’chen has brought Jia Bao to come paid respects to you. Thank you for bestowing Jia Bao to er’chen. Er’chen likes him very much.” Xuan Yuan Han Cheng gave his sincere thanks.

“Jia Bao?” The empress looked at the crown prince questioningly.

“An Zhu’s real name is Lin Jia Bao. It sounds good. Jia Bao, Jia Bao, the treasure in the family*.” Xuan Yuan Han Cheng said proudly.

[*T/N: This sentence has a better cadence in Chinese: “Jia Bao, Jia Bao, jia li de bao.”]

The empress smiled when she heard it. “It’s a good name. Come closer and let me have a careful look.”

Lin Jia Bao looked at His Royal Highness and saw the crown prince giving him an encouraging smile, so he walked in front of the empress.

The empress saw that Lin Jia Bao was indeed someone with a pleasant appearance, and a clean and pure personality. His jade green outfit highlighted his flourishing youthfulness. Compared to how Lin Jia Bao looked when he was wearing the palace attendant uniform, he looked even better now.

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“Indeed, an agreeable child.” As the empress spoke, she took hold of Lin Jia Baos hand and abruptly rolled up his sleeve. She saw the dazzling red dot… Although the empress already knew what she would see, she still could not help feeling disappointed.

Xuan Yuan Han Cheng stepped forward to put Lin Jia Bao in his arms and smiled at the empress. “What are you doing, Mother Empress? Lin Jia Bao is still young…”

A little embarrassed, the empress said, “It’s my fault. Zhou momo.” The empress motioned to Zhou momo, who was standing to the side, to come forward and give a reward to Lin Jia Bao.

Then to Lin Jia Bao, she said, “This is a meeting gift* for you. No matter what, you have now entered the crown prince’s East Palace, been marked down on the royal family’s jade document, and now you are the crown prince’s person. From now on, you must serve the crown prince well. The crown prince dotes on you this much, you cannot rely on that favor and become spoiled, you have to follow the rules inflexibly, and you cannot cause the crown prince to lose face.”

[*T/N: 见面礼 jian mian li – gift given to somebody when meeting them for the first time. Obviously, it’s not their very first meeting, but it’s their first meeting after Lin Jia Bao’s status change.]

“Yes.” Lin Jia Bao accepted the reward properly, in accordance with customs.

The empress was very satisfied with Lin Jia Bao’s well-behaved manners.

“Cheng Er, it’s already noon. Eat lunch here with your mother.” The empress said to the crown prince.

“No thanks, Mother Empress. Er’chen has to drink medicinal soup first before eating, so I won’t be accompanying Mother Empress at lunch.” Xuan Yuan Han Cheng said to the empress.

“Then quickly go back and take the medicine. Don’t delay.” The empress believed him.

“Er’chen will withdraw now. In the future, er’chen will often bring Jia Bao over here to accompany you.” Xuan Yuan Han Cheng pulled Lin Jia Bao along with him to give salute and leave.

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Xuan Yuan Han Cheng and Lin Jia Bao sat together on the sedan chair. Lin Jia Bao looked at His Royal Highness, wanting to say something, but then hesitated.

“En… Darling, what do you want to say?” Xuan Yuan Han Cheng asked him.

“Your Royal Highness… you just said you had to take medicine. Are you sick?” Lin Jia Bao asked with concern.

“Yeah, I have an internal injury…” Xuan Yuan Han Cheng said while watching Lin Jia Bao’s reaction.

Lin Jia Bao’s eyes widened when he heard the crown prince’s answer. He asked anxiously, “What kind of internal injury? Is it a serious injury?”

“Ha ha, I lied to you, little fool! If we eat lunch at my Mother Empress’s place, you can only stand there and serve.” Xuan Yuan Han Cheng was very content with Lin Jia Bao’s anxiousness towards his injury.

“Your Royal Highness, you are so kind to me! Thank you, Your Royal Highness!”

So it was for his sake. When Lin Jia Bao heard this, he thought that the crown prince was being really good to him.

“Baby, how about you don’t address me as Your Royal Highness? It’s too unfamiliar*. Think about it, we’re so intimate already.” Xuan Yuan Han Cheng blew hot air against the side of Lin Jia Bao’s ear. He watched as Lin Jia Bao’s face gradually reddened. “How about you call me Han Cheng?”

[*T/N: 生疏 sheng shu – unfamiliar, as in their relationship does not feel close or intimate]

Lin Jia Bao avoided the hot air he blew towards him. “Directly calling the name of Your Royal Highness, this is not in line with the rules…”

Xuan Yuan Han Cheng refused to let him go. “Then how about you call me husband? Just when it’s the two of us, all right? Han Cheng or husband, you must choose one.”

Lin Jia Bao thought about it. He could not directly call the crown prince by his name, but the palace regulations did not say anything about not calling him husband, add on to that was a little bit of his own selfishness. Lin Jia Bao looked around and whispered in the ear of the crown prince, “Husband…”

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

Xuan Yuan Han Cheng was over the moon when he heard this and burst out into laughter. “My precious baby, say it a few more times.”

Lin Jia Bao was so shy he couldn’t speak, but after Xuan Yuan Han Cheng’s constant urging, he whispered ‘husband’ a few more times, making Xuan Yuan Han Cheng happy to the extreme.

This was Xuan Yuan Han Cheng’s precious baby. Just a bit of love and protection was enough to make him depend on you with his whole heart, and view you as the most important person.

Xuan Yuan Han Cheng did not know what kind of fortune he managed to accumulate in his two lifetimes, to make the heavens give him a second chance to properly cherish his darling. He vowed that in this lifetime he definitely would not turn his back on his treasure.

Laughter accompanied the crown prince and Lin xiaoshi all the way, and news of Lin Jia Bao fully experiencing the crown prince’s favor spread through the entire harem in a flash.