After the Crybaby Married the Disabled Villain - Chapter 27

At Sunset.

People began emerging from the entrance of the hunting grounds one after another.

“The one to take the top spot this time will surely be the Second Prince.”

“To put it bluntly, the good things in the palace would never fall into our hands anyway.”

“You can’t say that; today is only the first day. It will take another two days before the final result is known.”

“Quiet down, they’re coming out.”

The youths emerging from the hunting grounds were more or less disheveled, no longer possessing the tidy nobility of the morning. Some even had scratches on their arms and cheeks.

However, the youths all had one thing in common: they were clutching a handful of numbered tokens.

Those were the markers for prey in the hunting grounds. The more ferocious the prey, the higher the number on the token. The larger the total sum of the numbers, the more—and better—prey was hunted. The person with the highest total would be declared the winner of the Autumn Hunt.

The youths continually emerging from the hunting grounds all held tokens to varying degrees; some had only one or two, while others held dozens in their hands.

“Brother Gao, you certainly stole the spotlight today.”

The youth addressed as Brother Gao gave a shy smile: “Brother Chen flutters me. If we’re talking about the most formidable, it must be the Second Highness. Mine are all small numbers; the ones in His Highness’s hands are all fierce beasts.”

“Truly? I heard this year’s Autumn Hunt includes lions and tigers, all of which are very ferocious.”

“It’s certainly true. This year’s Autumn Hunt is much more interesting than in previous years. Whatever you hunt, you can catch it to eat.”

The youth shook the jangling tokens in his hand and said joyfully: “We can have a fine meal tonight; I hunted a prime deer.”

Young Master Chen immediately gave a meaningful smile: “No wonder Brother Gao is so happy; one must not fail to enjoy such a beautiful occasion.”

Young Master Gao’s face turned red as he stammered: “Brother Chen, do not talk nonsense.”

The officials in the viewing stands, seeing their sons and the princes finally emerge, stood up one after another to watch.

The Empress said with a smile: “Your Majesty, look, Young Master Gao is holding quite a few tokens.”

“Young and promising indeed.”

The Empress turned her head, and her smile grew wider upon seeing the person emerging from the hunting grounds.

“Just how much did the Second Prince hunt!”

“By the look of it, there must be forty or fifty; he is indeed worthy of being the Second Highness.”

Under the admiring gazes of the crowd, Lu Youqi walked toward the viewing stands with a composed air.

“Though the Second Prince is a dragon among men, he is still slightly inferior compared to the Crown Prince in his prime. Back then, at only thirteen years old, the Crown Prince took the top spot for the year, scoring a full thirty points more than the Second Highness.”

“Quiet down. So what if he was formidable? In the future, the court will still be the Second Highness’s domain.”

Lu Youqi heard the few whispers that contrasted with the numerous voices of praise. He gripped his bow tightly, and a cold smile curled on his lips as he held his tokens.

Formidable? So what? Now, he is merely a cripple.

When he looked up again, his eyes were full of smiles and his features were handsome, clearly possessing the grace of a nobleman who had just won a competition.

“Qi’er is back. Are you injured?”

The Empress had long noticed the thick stack of tokens in Lu Youqi’s hand, and her eyes held unabashed joy.

“In response to Mother, your son is fine.”

At this time, all the youths who participated in the Autumn Hunt gathered in the clearing as they had in the morning. Meng Hai dispatched several eunuchs to tally the results of the first day’s hunt.

“Second Prince, fifty-seven tokens, totaling one hundred twenty-one points; Fifth Prince, fifty-seven tokens, totaling eighty-four points; Young Master Gao, thirty-nine tokens, totaling seventy-eight points; Fourth Prince…”

Once the eunuch in charge of the counts finished announcing the scores of the youths.

Discussion broke out instantly.

“The Second Prince is indeed exceptionally gifted.”

“They were both raised by the Empress; how can the Fourth Prince be so far behind the Second Prince?”

“The Second Prince has not yet been titled a King; clearly, His Majesty intends to change the succession to the Second Prince.”

“Old Gao, your son performed well today.”

“Lord Shen flatters him; Young Master Shen simply didn’t put his heart into the hunt. Otherwise, how could a future Minister of the Court be surpassed by my son?”

“Hmph, I have no idea what he spends his days busying himself with. Whenever he’s free, he goes off to fool around with the Fourth Prince; at his age, he still isn’t married.”

“Lord Shen need not worry; the Fourth Prince and the Second Highness are of the direct line—how could they be anything but excellent?”

“Hmph.”

An Yu sat obediently beside Lu Shiyan, drinking tea and eating fruit. This year’s tangerines had arrived so early; with one bite, the juice instantly filled his mouth.

The two were sitting very close, to the point where the fur on An Yu’s cloak was poking Lu Shiyan’s face.

The cloak had been warmed by Lu Shiyan’s body, and An Yu was happy to lean closer. Lu Shiyan, feeling the youth draw nearer, felt the smile at the corners of his mouth grow wider.

Taking the fresh hand-warmer Mo Ying had brought from behind him, Lu Shiyan called out to the youth pressed against him.

“Xiao Yu.”

“What is it, Your Highness?”

Feeling the heat source on his lap, An Yu’s eyes lit up. He held half of the tangerine in his hand to the man’s mouth: “Your Highness, this is very sweet.”

Lu Shiyan opened his mouth and took a bite.

His lips brushed lightly against the youth’s fingers. It was indeed sweet.

“Father Emperor, your son desires that white tiger I hunted.”

The previously noisy viewing stands suddenly fell silent.

Emperor Hongchang gave a kind laugh and said: “Qi’er performed excellently today; I grant your request.”

“I thank Father Emperor.”

With Lu Youqi having started things off, Emperor Hongchang said: “There are still two days left of the Autumn Hunt. If any of you desire a specific prey, name it directly; I shall grant them all to you.”

“We thank Your Majesty!”

The sky gradually darkened. Having sat there all day, Emperor Hongchang was tired. After exchanging a few pleasantries with the officials present, he departed.

An Yu thought to himself that he had finally made it to the end; staying here all day was truly too boring.

“Let’s go.”

Mo Ying pushed the wheelchair behind Lu Shiyan, preparing to return to the bedchamber. Just as they turned around, they saw Lu Mufeng and Shen Heng hurrying toward them from not far away. Lu Mufeng was cradling a white object in his arms.

“Imperial Brother! Brother-in-law!”

Lu Mufeng dragged Shen Heng along as they hurried over.

Once the two were close, An Yu saw that what Lu Mufeng was holding was a white kitten, appearing to be only a few months old.

“Quick, look at my new pet.”

The white kitten was presented before the two, letting out a weak “meow.”

An Yu rubbed the kitten’s head and was affectionately licked by the small creature.

“Eh? Brother-in-law, it seems to really like you.”

An Yu said proudly: “Many small animals like me very much.”

As he spoke, he took the trembling kitten from Lu Mufeng’s arms. To their surprise, the kitten, which had been shivering, became lively once it reached An Yu’s embrace, nestling in the crook of his arm and looking around.

“See?”

This caused Lu Mufeng a moment of annoyance, before he finally declared: “So what? In the end, it is still my cat.”

Shen Heng said helplessly: “Crown Prince, Mufeng and I just found this in the hunting grounds. It has no token, so it must have wandered in on its own. This white kitten has many injuries; we thought Your Highness might have a physician following you, so we came to disturb you.”

Lu Mufeng added: “Did Brother bring a physician?”

Lu Shiyan nodded and took the two of them back to the bedchamber together.

Inside the Bedchamber.

Lu Mufeng let out a great sigh at the door: “To think Brother is only separated from me by a single wall; we live so close. It’s not like when I go to find Shen Heng and have to walk through more than half the traveling palace.”

Yun Liang had already treated the kitten’s wounds. Both front legs were wrapped in bandages, making the kitten wobble as it tried to walk.

Lu Mufeng hurried over and pulled his beloved “cat-son” into his arms: “From now on, you must call me ‘Daddy,’ do you hear me?”

This made Shen Heng laugh: “If it calls you ‘Daddy,’ will your future young heir have to call it ‘Big Brother’?”

“Future matters are for the future; it’s hard to say if I’ll even have a wife and children.”

“Mufeng, what are you saying?”

Lu Mufeng kissed the kitten’s head and said indifferently: “I don’t care.”

Yun Liang blinked; there’s a story here.

An Yu took a tangerine from the table and tossed it: “You haven’t given the kitten a name yet.”

“Right, right. Shen Heng, what do you think would be a good name?”

An Yu also blinked, and as he turned his head, he met Yun Liang’s eyes.

What are these two doing, making eyes at each other like that?

[They have a thing (gay romance).

An Yu’s eyes widened as he watched Shen Heng and Lu Mufeng sitting together; one was holding the cat while the other was in deep thought over a name.

“Call it Xiao Bai?”

“Doesn’t sound good; too common.”

“Bai Xue (White Snow)?”

“No, not noble enough.”

“Then what does Mufeng think would be a good name?”

“How about Mumu?”

“Why?”

“Because we found it under a tree (Mu).”

“Excellent.”

The discussion between the two, combined with the kitten nestled in their arms, gave off the unmistakable vibe of a family of three.

Right?

An Yu’s expression also became as gossipy as Yun Liang’s.

Right!

It happened to be dinner time, so Lu Shiyan invited them to stay and eat together. Afterward, everyone departed.

Since Emperor Hongchang had held the Autumn Hunt here for the past several years, the bedding in the traveling palace was extra thick. With both of them covered, much of the chill was dispelled.

An Yu turned toward Lu Shiyan with great excitement:

“Your Highness, do both the Fourth Prince and Shen Heng currently have no marriages or engagements?”

“Mhm.”

“Today I felt like the two of them were a bit—”

An Yu didn’t finish his sentence, but Lu Shiyan knew exactly what he meant from his expression.

He couldn’t help but chuckle: “Old Fourth has been playmates with Shen Heng since childhood. Before Shen Heng took his exams, he served as Old Fourth’s study companion for two years. Their relationship is very good.”

An Yu thought about it but still felt something was off: “But Physician Yun thinks so too, and the Fourth Prince even said he wouldn’t marry.”

“So, what else is there?”

An Yu lowered his head to think, then looked up a moment later with sparkling eyes: “Right! The Fourth Prince named the kitten Mumu, and Shen Heng’s name contains the character for ‘Mu’.”

Lu Shiyan looked at the youth’s shining eyes and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

An Yu was dissatisfied: “What is Your Highness laughing at?”

“I am laughing at Xiao Yu’s rich imagination.”

“Your Highness should believe me.”

“Mhm, I believe you. Old Fourth simply likes Lord Shen.”

An Yu was still unsatisfied, his tone displeased: “Your Highness is being so perfunctory.”

Lu Shiyan withdrew the smile from his face. Under the youth’s serious gaze, he straightened his expression, looking as solemn as if a major crisis had occurred.

“Xiao Yu is right. Today, Old Fourth’s manner of speaking with Lord Shen was very intimate. Even I, his brother, couldn’t compare.”

An Yu immediately broke into a smile: “Right, right, right!”