Translator – Xiao He Lian

Thursday Updates –> Chapter 3/12

Chapter 143.1

Although Eunuch Zhu rarely loses his temper in front of Wen Chi, his ability to climb up to this position indicates that he is not a person with no temper. His grip on Xiao Shuanzi’s ear is so strong that he almost pulls his ear off and at the same time, he lifted his foot to kick Xiao Shuanzi’s butt.

Every time Eunuch Zhu kicked, Xiao Shuanzi jumped up in pain.

“Your Royal Highness, Young Master Wen, this servant has realized his mistake. I dare not talk nonsense anymore…” Xiao Shuanzi was in so much pain that tears soared out of his eyes. His legs went limp, he directly knelt down to the ground and repeatedly kowtowed in the direction of Shi Ye, “Your Royal Highness, considering the fact that this servant is still a first-time offender, I beg Your Highness to spare this servant.”

“You still have the nerve to ask His Royal Highness for forgiveness? Do you even realize what a stupid things you just said!”

The furious Eunuch Zhu kicked Xiao Shuanzi on the butt again.

Xiao Shuanzi was in great pain, but he didn’t dare to move, his body was shaking so badly that he wanted to bury his head in the ground.

Wen Chi couldn’t stand it anymore and quickly explained: “Eunuch Zhu, we were just chatting. Xiao Shuanzi said these things unintentionally. Besides, he is doing it for my own good, so don’t make it difficult for him.”

Hearing this, Eunuch Zhu stopped kicking the Xiao Shuanzi and looked up at Shi Ye.

Shi Ye said calmly: “You may leave.”

Eunuch Zhu quickly agreed, then took Xiao Shuanzi and ran away without looking back.

For a moment, Wen Chi and Shi Ye were the only two people left outside the study.

Wen Chi was about to walk towards Shi Ye when Shi Ye walked towards him, took his hand and asked, “You have been outside for several hours, are you tired?”

Wen Chi held Shi Ye’s hand and shook his head: “I usually sit at home and I was sitting in the restaurant, there is no difference. By the way, I also brought some pastries back, do you want to try them?”

Shi Ye smiled and said yes.

From the study to the hall, you need to pass through a path and an arch bridge. Under the arch bridge is a pond. It was said that lotus roots are planted in the pond and whenever summer comes, the red and white lotus flowers in the pond will be in full boom and the green lotus leaves complement each other – it is truly as the saying lotus leaves touching the sky are infinitely green and the lotus flowers reflecting the sun are uniquely red1(These two lines of poetry come from “Walking off to Lin Zifang at Dawn from Jingci Temple” by Yang Wanli, a poet of the Southern Song Dynasty .   The literal meaning is: the dense layers of lotus leaves spread out, connecting with the blue sky, an endless expanse of verdant green; the graceful lotus buds are in full bloom, looking particularly bright and delicate red under the sunlight.   Brief analysis: These two poems specifically describe the scenery of West Lake in summer: the lotus leaves stretching to the end along the lake surface merge with the blue sky, creating an “infinite” artistic space, painting with endless blue color ; On this green background, the lotus flowers illuminated by the sun are highlighted, so delicate and bright red. The “infinitely blue” lotus leaves stretching across the sky and the “uniquely red” lotus flowers reflecting the sun are not only unseen in spring, autumn and winter, but also can only be seen in summer when the lotus flowers are at their peak in mid-June. The poet captured the unique scenery in midsummer, summarized and appropriate).

But it was not the beginning of summer yet and the small lotus were only showing the tip of the corner. When he lowered his head, he could clearly see a group of small fish swimming quickly under the lotus sprouts.

Wen Chi couldn’t help but stop. He had lived here for some days but he had never taken a moment to observe these beautiful scenes.

He seemed to be trapped in a cage called anxiety. It was only now that he remembered to poke his head out of the cage and take a look outside.

Shi Ye felt Wen Chi’s movement and stopped. He turned around and saw Wen Chi staring blankly at the pond. He walked over and said, “What are you looking at?”

Wen Chi came back to his senses and tilted his head to meet Shi Ye’s gaze. He raised the corner of his mouth and turned his gaze to the pond in front of him: “The snow has been very heavy this winter. I have always thought that winter is very difficult to endure and even thought that I won’t be able to endure it several times. But I didn’t expect that in the blink of an eye, summer would be here soon.”

Shi Ye silently held Wen Chi’s hand, as if trying hard to grab something.

Wen Chi was vaguely aware of Shi Ye’s emotions, so he simply broke away from Shi Ye’s hand and then took advantage when Shi Ye was in a daze to interlock his fingers with him.

When Shi Ye reacted, the gentleness in his eyes instantly covered his surprise and he held Wen Chi’s hand tighter.

Wen Chi looked into Shi Ye’s eyes and asked, “Winter has already passed, hasn’t it?”

Shi Ye fell silent and after a while, instead of answering Wen Chi’s question, he suddenly changed the topic, “That spirit stone, is it still with you?”

Wen Chi didn’t know why Shi Ye suddenly mentioned the spirit stone. He was stunned for a moment and nodded: “I was afraid that it would fall off if I had it with me, so I put it in the cabinet in the bedroom.  I kept it deep inside so no one could find it.”

Shi Ye glanced at Wen Chi’s serious expression and hooked the corners of his mouth, his face and eyes were full of smiles. The evening glow fell on him, making him look very gentle. He said : “No one dares to think about the spirit stone now. You should always carry the spirit stone with you in case you need it.”

Hearing him say this, Wen Chi was instantly curious, tugging at Shi Ye’s arm to make the other party face him: “Why are you suddenly saying these things to me? Are you planning something again?”

Shi Ye lowered his head and placed a kiss on Wen Chi’s forehead: “You will know soon.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Wen Chi really hated this feeling of being kept in the dark. He was already trapped in a cloud of fog but now when Shi Ye said these inexplicable words, it made the uneasiness in his heart boil to the extreme.

However, Shi Ye had no intention of explaining and just touched Wen Chi’s hair comfortingly.

“Shi Ye, what on earth are you talking about?” Wen Chi refused to give up and the fingers that gripped Shi Ye’s clothes gradually tightened. He felt like a child asking his parents for sweets, “Will you tell me your plan? I don’t like the feeling of being kept in the dark, what exactly is that spirit stone used for? Why do I have to carry it with me at all times? Could it be related to the poison in your body ……”

Wen Chi finally worked up the courage to mention this matter but then he saw Shi Ye’s eyes darken as he opened his mouth to interrupt him, “Wen Chi.”

Shi Ye rarely called out his name and by doing so, he caused Wen Chi to stop talking immediately. 

Wen Chi’s face was filled with impatience and uneasiness, he was much shorter than Shi Ye and when he tilted his head in the sunlight and looked at Shi Ye, the vulnerability under his eyes was all exposed.

Shi Ye paused and his heart suddenly felt soft. He couldn’t help but put his arms around Wen Chi. Since Wen Chi was still pregnant, he didn’t dare to hold him too tightly and just gave him a weak hug.

But Wen Chi was unwilling and hugged back Shi Ye tightly.

Shi Ye felt Wen Chi’s big belly pressing against him and wanted to take Wen Chi’s hand away but felt reluctant. Finally, he smiled and patted Wen Chi on the back, like a parent who was calming down a disobedient child: “Because I’m not sure yet, so I can’t tell you for the time being, just wait for me to come back, okay? I’ll tell you when I come back.”

When Wen Chi heard this he asked: “Where are you going?”

Shi Ye smiled: “Just going out for a bit.”

Wen Chi felt uncomfortable, as if there were cat’s claws scratching at his heart. He wanted to ask again but suddenly he heard Eunuch Zhu’s voice coming from behind him:, “Your Highness the Crown Prince, Young Master Wen, the evening meal has already been prepared.”

Shi Ye sighed: “It’s getting dark, let’s go.”

Wen Chi was a little annoyed, but he could only swallow his words and was led away by Shi Ye unhappily.

However, his displeasure did not last long. After dinner, he asked Ruo Fang to bring over the jujube paste pastry he had made in the afternoon.

Ruo Fang carefully arranged the jujube paste pastry in oil paper on the delicate plate. The jujube paste pastry that Wen Chi brought back happened to have four small pieces that came together in the shape of flower petals.

These four small pieces of date cake were specially made by Wen Chi for Shi Ye. He knew that Shi Ye liked sweets, so he put a lot of sugar in them.

Shi Ye picked up a piece of jujube paste pastry and out of the corner of his eye saw Wen Chi placing his palms on the edge of the table, staring at him without blinking, with nervousness and expectation all written on his face and he couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

Wen Chi hadn’t shown off his skills in front of Shi Ye for a long time and his heart was pounding with anxiety.

He waited nervously for Shi Ye’s comment but he didn’t expect that Shi Ye would laugh out loud before even eating it, so he suddenly became unhappy again.

“Why are you laughing?” Wen Chi said, “Do I look funny to you?”

Shi Ye knew that he had made Wen Chi angry again and it would take a long time to coax him back. So, he did not dare to delay any longer and quickly took a bite out of the jujube paste pastry.