Lu Bohuan’s sharp reprimand left Qin Yuanxi a bit stunned, but it also helped him vaguely understand where his problem lay.
His intentions weren’t wrong. He wanted to give his child a happy education and ensure Xiao Bao had a carefree and happy childhood. But this wasn’t his era, not the prosperous and peaceful times he had lived in.
Here, his protection and indulgence towards Xiao Bao actually weakened his competitiveness. Lu Bohuan was right. While he could take Xiao Bao out to play and relax, those potential competitors wouldn’t. His thoughts were too naive; this wasn’t a fair world.
Today, he could shield Xiao Bao, and Lu Bohuan could too, but what about the future? Being the crown prince was his innate identity; he had no other choice but to accept it, and he couldn’t just refuse to do things like Qin Yuanxi had thought.
It wasn’t possible.
Realizing this, Qin Yuanxi felt deeply disheartened. The sense of loss overwhelmed him, suffocating him, making it hard to breathe.
He had been protected too much, to the point of arrogance, forgetting that lurking crises still abounded.
With hesitation, Qin Yuanxi moved closer, tugging at Lu Bohuan’s sleeve as he whispered an apology, “I never thought about it this way before, I just… never considered…”
“Your intentions weren’t wrong.” Lu Bohuan patted his head, pulling him into an embrace. “If we were commoners, you weren’t an emperor, and I wasn’t under the court’s authority, just local gentry or businessmen, Xiao Bao would surely be our precious treasure, and I would love and cherish him just as much as you do.”
“He’s our child after all. You’ve suffered so much for him. Even for his sake, I can’t bear to see you suffer,” Lu Bohuan sighed. “But alas, we are both bound by circumstances. Xiao Bao has responsibilities he must shoulder. As fathers, we can’t help him directly, so all we can do is to train and nurture him in advance, imparting our experiences and skills to him, so he can handle these challenges on his own when they arise in the future.”
“If we keep spoiling him, keeping him sheltered from any storms, how could he ever learn to spread his wings and fly?”
“This isn’t your place. Here, dangers lurk everywhere. Xiao Bao bears the identity of the crown prince. A single misstep could lead to assassination attempts, a hundred times more treacherous than you can imagine.”
Qin Yuanxi clutched Lu Bohuan’s sleeve tightly, his lips trembling, unable to utter a word.
“Alright.” Lu Bohuan hugged him closer, gently brushing his lips against Qin Yuanxi’s. “It’s okay. I know what I’m doing.”
“I’m sorry.” Qin Yuanxi hugged Lu Bohuan’s waist tightly, his voice muffled.
He hadn’t understood Lu Bohuan’s painstaking efforts, nor had he considered things from his perspective. Instead, he unrealistically tried to impose his own ideas on Lu Bohuan, ignoring the vast difference between reality and idealism.
“What’s there to be sorry for?” Lu Bohuan held Qin Yuanxi’s hand, smiling as he said, “As long as you don’t think I’m stubborn, it’s fine. If you keep apologizing, I won’t be able to handle it.”
“Why not? I say you’re blessed, so you’re blessed, with lots of blessings.” Qin Yuanxi hugged him even tighter. “Besides, I’m not apologizing for that.”
“I shouldn’t have spoken to you that way.” Qin Yuanxi had wanted to apologize for a while but never had the chance or courage. He had previously said Lu Bohuan was a warning example, that he didn’t want Xiao Bao to end up like him. As soon as he said it, he regretted it.
“It’s okay. I don’t even remember what you said.” Lu Bohuan chuckled. “You talk so much; how could I keep track of every word? By the time I understand one thing, you’re already onto the next. The information overload is too much for me.”
“So I don’t take it to heart,” Lu Bohuan said, patting Qin Yuanxi’s head. “You shouldn’t either.”
“But it’s still my fault.” Qin Yuanxi buried his face in Lu Bohuan’s chest, his voice even more muffled. “I should apologize. They say words can be careless, but I think that’s wrong. I still care about the hardships you faced as a child. It hurts me, and I feel sorry for you. Instinctively, I don’t want Xiao Bao to go through the same. I’m afraid he’ll suffer like you did.”
“I can’t change your past. If I could, if I had that power, I would go back and pull you out of that environment, regardless of which way the sun rises tomorrow. All I want is for you to have a happy and joyful childhood.” Qin Yuanxi tightened his embrace around Lu Bohuan. “Just the thought of it makes me feel awful. That’s why, when I look at Xiao Bao, I try my best to avoid it. I don’t want him to face such immense pressure.”
Qin Yuanxi confessed his intentions, looking up at Lu Bohuan with pleading eyes. “But now I understand. I can’t fully empathize with you. The education I received growing up is different from yours. I shouldn’t impose my ideas on this matter because our environments are different.”
Lu Bohuan wanted to comfort Qin Yuanxi, but he hadn’t figured out how to do it without making Qin Yuanxi feel worse. Before he could speak, Qin Yuanxi continued, “Actually, I understand now.”
“Understand what?”
Lu Bohuan found it somewhat amusing, looking at Qin Yuanxi’s aggrieved expression, feeling both a pang of tenderness and a bit of a secret, unspoken desire.
He wanted to see Qin Yuanxi’s eyes redden, just a bit more, with tears welling up.
“Tell me about it.”
Although he said he wanted to hear it, his actions seemed to suggest otherwise. His hand slid down Qin Yuanxi’s waist, unfastening his belt with one hand and pulling him closer.
“Stop it, don’t mess around. I’m trying to be serious here, okay?” Qin Yuanxi wriggled in Lu Bohuan’s arms, hastily retying his belt. “Behave yourself!”
Lu Bohuan looked innocent. “I am behaving. I’m not messing around.”
He indeed wasn’t. After Qin Yuanxi told him to stop, Lu Bohuan’s hand stayed obediently in place, not moving an inch. He was very well-behaved, except for the fact that the position of his hand wasn’t exactly proper.
Qin Yuanxi nodded and whispered, “Actually, when you mentioned it, I understood. Whether it’s you or Xiao Bao, only by striving to become better can one have the right to control their own life. So, no matter how much hardship you endured in your childhood, or how troubled you felt later on, you never actually blamed those past events or the people from the Lu family, right?”
Lu Bohuan leaned against Qin Yuanxi’s forehead, lightly tapping it before speaking, “Yes, I never blamed anyone. If it weren’t for the hope and support from the Lu family back then, I wouldn’t have had the power to sway things in court later on. Although I wasn’t happy during that time, I still managed to accomplish many things I wanted to do.”
“Even my maternal grandfather, if it weren’t for his strict discipline when I was young, I wouldn’t have had the valor to sweep through enemy forces on the battlefield. I might have died long ago.”
“And I wouldn’t have had the chance to meet you.”
Lu Bohuan’s tone was earnest. “I understand that efforts yield rewards. The same goes for Xiao Bao. You don’t need to worry about him. He’s very clever; he can handle it.”
“Yeah.” Qin Yuanxi nodded. “Then let’s try to spend more time with Xiao Bao, so his life isn’t just about those things, okay? When he has classes, we’ll go and accompany him whenever we have time. And when he’s training in martial arts, I can join him too, to keep him from feeling lonely, okay?”
“Of course, that’s a good idea.” Lu Bohuan teased, poking Qin Yuanxi’s nose. “But didn’t you say it’s not advisable to exercise and that you should focus on resting? Are you sure you can keep up with Xiao Bao’s training?”
Qin Yuanxi blushed.
That excuse he used with Lu Bohuan was just a way to slack off. He wasn’t that delicate.
“Xiao Bao’s training intensity isn’t too high. Can’t I keep up with him?” Qin Yuanxi tried to salvage his pride.
He refused to believe he was even inferior to a little kid!
“Is the serious talk over?” Lu Bohuan’s hand moved slightly, and warm breath brushed against Qin Yuanxi’s neck. “Can we talk about something less serious now?”
In the past few days, due to Xiao Bao’s matters, both of them had been quite restrained. Even lying together on the same bed at night, they were remarkably well-behaved. But now, the atmosphere was thick with tension, sparks igniting gradually. There wasn’t any overt action, just a meeting of their gazes, yet both felt their blood boiling.
Qin Yuanxi took the initiative to kiss Lu Bohuan, a kiss full of passion, igniting endless desire and longing. But right at the crucial moment, Qin Yuanxi stopped himself.
“No, it’s not right. Public display of affection during the day is something only a tyrant would do. I’m a wise ruler; I can’t engage in such absurd behavior during daylight.”
Lu Bohuan paid no heed to his nonsensical rambling. He embraced Qin Yuanxi, pushing and pulling until he had him pinned on the soft bed. Qin Yuanxi took advantage, hooking his arms around Lu Bohuan’s neck and kissing him fiercely, stirring up flames of desire. His eyes were tinged with red, his lips glistening, tempting anyone to ravish him.
Ravish thoroughly.
“No, the reports haven’t been reviewed yet; we can’t do this. The memorials are important.”
While saying the reports were important, Qin Yuanxi was already reaching for Lu Bohuan’s belt. He pulled a bit too hard, causing Lu Bohuan’s shirt to come undone, revealing a large expanse of skin on his chest.
Qin Yuanxi couldn’t help but stare, leaning in to kiss him again.
“Ah Tuo, will you help me review those reports?”
Lu Bohuan unfastened Qin Yuanxi’s waistband and pressed him down, biting his earlobe with a husky voice filled with restraint. “Good boy, say it louder.”
Outside the great hall, the eunuchs strolled around casually, but there were no secrets in the deep palace, especially between the emperor and empress. While these two were entangled in their passionate embrace, the astute old foxes already knew the emperor and empress had reconciled, and were deeply in love again. It was a signal that it was time to submit those reports. Tomorrow’s court session would surely go smoothly, perhaps even the proposals that were previously rejected could be brought up again, and they would likely be approved.
It was indeed another happy and blissful day.
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
