Translator – Xiao He Lian
Chapter 100
He looked so fierce that Zhan Zhen didn’t dare to look at him. He lowered his head subconsciously and said depressedly, “Why are you cursing?”
Xian Sheng lay down.
He felt that Zhan Zhen’s words were very disrespectful. How can he say ‘lay’ eggs? He is not a chicken.
Zhan Zhen looked at him, this time he really couldn’t fall asleep. When he woke up, he felt that the dream was a bit funny but somehow, in the dream, he felt extremely fearful and scared.
Xian Sheng’s temperament came and went quickly and he really couldn’t figure out what Xian Sheng was thinking. Zhan Zhen held his cheeks and looked at him for a while, pulling the quilt for him. When it was almost dawn, he got out of bed and went to practice with the swords.
During this period of time, he looked at the pregnancy records and found that the probability of dystocia was very high and there was still a lot of bleeding. Some births took seven days and seven nights, which sounds strange and frightening.
But he didn’t dare to show those books to Xian Sheng for fear of putting too much pressure on him. So whenever he saw Xian Sheng eating, drinking and sleeping, he had very mixed feelings.
He felt like they have to cherish the good times that the two of them have now.
Xian Sheng suddenly felt a little greedy for the soup dumplings from Duan Restaurant. He is in an abnormal mood during pregnancy and he has to eat whatever he wants to eat right away. If he doesn’t want to eat the takeaway, he has to go out and eat the fresh one.
Zhan Zhen had to tidy up and take him out. Xian Sheng became obedient again after his temper went down, “Let’s walk over and let the carriage follow us slowly from the back, so that when we return we can go back in it.”
Zhan Zhen was more than happy to comply.
In the past, Xian Sheng was so lazy that he had to coax him for a long time before he was willing to go out for a walk, but now it seems that he didn’t need to coax him.
After walking for a while, he finally arrived at the restaurant. Zhan Zhen took him directly to the private room, took a sip of water and said, “It’s almost autumn but it’s still so hot. It’s really a pain to go out to eat.”
This private room gives a panoramic view of the river and there is a faint wind blowing in from the window. Xian Sheng propped up his body and stood up. Zhan Zhen stared at him clumsily moving towards the window and said, “The steamed bun will be here in a while, you can relax until then.”
Xian Sheng came to the window, leaned on the window sill to look out and said, “Someone is singing.”
Zhan Zhen heard it too. He got up and walked over to take a look and said, “It seems to be coming from King An’s pleasure boat. Do you want to go there and play? I can also go and greet him.”
“I’ll just take a look. I’m afraid I’ll faint when I get on board.”
Zhan Zhen looked around, brought a stool to him and said, “Just sit and watch then.”
Xian Sheng sat down but pricked up his ears again. This time, he stared not at the boat but at the back and said strangely, “I seem to hear A’Yin’s voice.”
As soon as he finished speaking, there was movement at the door. A head poked in through the door and said “I was saying, who would book a private room to eat dumplings, it turns out to be brother.”
Zhan Zhen frowned, his eyes passed by her and fell on the man behind her. Qiu Wu Lun hurriedly saluted: “Your Royal Highness.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to eat steamed buns.” Zhan Yin smiled and looked outside at Xian Sheng who was behind him and shouted, “Sister-in-law is also here. My brother won’t let me into the Crown Prince’s Mansion anymore. I didn’t expect to meet you here.”
Xian Sheng smiled and nodded.
When the steamed bun arrived, Zhan Yin took them without hesitation and nimbly took a seat on the table, saying, “We don’t have to find another seat, let’s eat here together, sister-in-law shouldn’t mind, right?”
Xian Sheng shook his head, walked slowly back from the window, glanced at Qiu Wu Lun who was fidgeting and said to Zhan Yin, “If there is anything else you want to eat, let the waiter bring it up.”
Zhan Yin nodded hurriedly, called the waiter to ask for a few dishes. Her eyes glowed with excitement as she quietly whispered to Qiu Wu Lun, “Isn’t my sister-in-law particularly gentle and beautiful.”
Qiu Wu Lun nodded and said, “It’s not an exaggeration to say that she is like a goddess descended to earth.”
Zhan Yin was very happy.
Downstairs, the storyteller suddenly started speaking and it was about none other than Xian Sheng—
“Last time, we said that the Crown Princess sacrificed to the sky to ask for rain and the severe drought in the north was eased. This time I will tell you how the Crown princess went to the temple sometime ago to worship gods and prayed for the safety of the unborn baby. But unexpectedly got lost in the forest outside the temple and accidentally encountered a fierce tiger eating people. With a soft shout from the princess, the tiger fell to the ground and knelt down, saving a family of three from the tiger’s mouth…”
Xian Sheng was baffled but Zhan Yin applauded: “Good!!”
Zhan Zhen frowned: “Where did this news come from?”
Xian Sheng does go to the temple to offer incense at the beginning of every month. But no one bothered to think that, with Zhan Zhen, how will he dare let Xian Sheng get lost in the forest all by himself.
“You don’t understand.” Zhan Yin said solemnly, “This is called a story. It doesn’t matter if it’s true or false. The more mysterious it is, the more people will applaud.”
“Who made up this story?”
Xian Sheng lifted the steamed bun with the tip of his finger and held it to his lips, blowing it lightly, then took a small bite, sucking out the soup inside. He swept the corner of his eyes to Qiu Wu Lun, who was silently bowing his head, as if trying his best to reduce his sense of existence.
Zhan Yin didn’t feel anything, she reached out and patted Qiu Wu Lun’s shoulder and said, “He made it up. I think this is a good story to praise my sister-in-law. Now, everyone knows that my sister-in-law is an immortal.”
Zhan Zhen went to see Qiu Wu Lun, who hastily smiled and said, “I am aware of my sin, Your Highness. Have a steamed bun.”
He gave the chopsticks to Zhan Zhen. Zhan Zhen’s eyes were gloomy. Zhan Yin looked at them both inexplicably, Xian Sheng gently tugged at Zhan Zhen and said: “What sin, I think it’s pretty good. Look how happy A’Yin is.”
“It’s not just me who is happy!” Zhan Yin said hurriedly: “Everybody who is listening downstairs, love it too.”
Zhan Zhen said, “Go to the kitchen and see why the order is so slow.”
Zhan Yin’s expression instantly became very unhappy but she didn’t dare to disobey her brother, so she left reluctantly. As soon as she left, Zhan Zhen’s eyes fell on Qiu Wu Lun, “Did A’Yin force you to make this up?”
“No…” Qiu Wu Lun didn’t dare to face him and said, “I saw that Princess Yin admires Her Highness the Crown Princess very much. Two days ago, there were rumors that the Crown Princess was a man and she almost got into a fight with someone. I just thought, to make up a few more popular stories to avoid strange rumors that ruin the reputation of the Crown Princess.”
“Are you doing it for the reputation of the Crown Princess or to make her happy?”
“…”
Zhan Zhen was very surprised: “I didn’t think that the Eldest Master Qiu is very good at catering to the preferences of others?”
Qiu Wu Lun took a bite out of the steamed bun very carefully and Zhan Zhen said, “Still eating? Get out.”
Qiu Wu Lun quickly stuffed the buns into his mouth and hurriedly stepped out.
When Zhan Yin came upstairs and saw him she frowned and said, “Why did you come out?”
Qiu Wu Lun hurriedly swallowed the bun, choking on it and finally swallowing it with difficulty. He said, “I have something to do at home, so I’ll go back first.”
“Was it my imperial brother who was mean to you?”
“No, no.” Qiu Wu Lun waved his hands again, hesitated for a while and said, “But he said that it is better to not implicate the Crown Princess.”
“How can he be like that?” Zhan Yin said, “You can tell him that you also particularly admire my sister-in-law, ah, we are like-minded.”
Qiu Wulun explained softly: “It’s better not to say that I admire the Crown Princess. I’m afraid he will be even more angry.”
“That’s true…” Zhan Yin patted him on the shoulder and said, “I’ve wronged you. You can go back first.”
“Okay.” Qiu Wu Lun nodded. Zhan Yin went upstairs and suddenly heard him shout, “Princess Yin.”
“Huh?” Zhan Yin turned back. Her pretty face was very youthful, Qiu Wu Lun was in a trance and she asked curiously, “What’s wrong?”
“I’ve written another biography about the Crown Princess. It’s about her fighting the python alone with her frail body, are you interested?”
“Yes, yes!” Zhan Yin said, “I’ll meet you at the usual place tomorrow!”
“I’ll leave now.”
Zhan Yin watched him leave and ran up happily. She noticed that her brother’s eyes were cold. She put away her excited thoughts and saw her sister-in-law patted the chair gently: “Sit down and eat the buns first.”
Zhan Yin hurriedly sat down beside him and Xian Sheng asked, “How did you and Master Qiu meet?”
“I’ve known him for a long time, isn’t he Prime Minister Qiu’s son?”
“How did you get acquainted?”
“Because last month, didn’t I jump over the wall of the Crown Prince’s Mansion… I met him when I was kicked out. I was ashamed but he didn’t care about it at all and said that I was brave… … and then we met a few more times. He also admires sister-in-law very much, so we became acquainted.”
Xian Sheng glanced at Zhan Zhen and said to Zhan Yin, “Do you want to see me?”
“Well…but my brother doesn’t allow it and neither does my mother.” Zhan Yin felt aggrieved. Everyone could go to see Xian Sheng but she couldn’t. Xian Sheng vaguely understood in his heart that although he was still a woman in the eyes of outsiders, the Jin Emperor and the Empress had already determined that he is a man, and they would not let Zhan Yin approach him, probably to avoid any taboos. He said, “If you want to play with me in the future, you can talk to your brother and he will agree.”
He looked at Zhan Zhen, who could only nod his head and said coldly, “Hmm.”
*
When they returned, Xian Sheng sat in the carriage and suddenly kicked him. Zhan Zhen was baffled and moved his feet to the side, only to have him kick him again. He was displeased and said, “What are you kicking me for?”
“Do you think Qiu Wu Lun likes A’Yin?”
“It’s useless even if he likes her. A’Yin has to like him too.”
“Your sister is also a strange one. Even if she’s interested in me, how can outsiders just make up a few stories to deceive her?”
“He is not exactly deceiving right? Qiu Wu Lun is also a talented person and the stories he made up are still very good. The people downstairs stood up and applauded at the end”
“…I still think your sister is a little weird.”
“Aren’t you a little weird?” Zhan Zhen said displeased, “How can you say that about her in front of me?”
“I don’t mean anything else.” Xian Sheng thought about it and suddenly felt amused: “If these two become a couple, then am I the matchmaker?”
“What do you mean? Qiu Wu Lun is not worthy of my sister.”
“Why do you always keep changing your words? One moment you say he’s talented, the next you say he’s not worthy.”
“Talented, yes, otherwise how can he be an assistant minister at such a young age but if he wants to marry Zhan Yin, he is still a little short of …… Why are you laughing again?”
“I think it’s very funny.” Xian Sheng couldn’t help laughing and said, “No matter what angle you look at, Qiu Wu Lun is in a tricky point”
“I still blame Zhan Yin for being stupid.” Zhan Zhen was a little angry: “Whoever likes what she likes, she calls them friends and who doesn’t is an enemy. Qiu Wu Lun has a good literary talent, so he will praise you for sure. It’s not easy to deceive her”
Xian Sheng still thought it was funny, his eyes were curved into a smile. Zhan Zhen who was unsettled for a while was stunned when he saw his smile. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Qiu Bulun was actually pretty good.
“By the way, is he married?”
“No, he proposed to Xue Xiu with Qi Ziyou before but he never tried to snatch her from the Qi family… But A’Yin’s identity is much higher than Xue Xiu’s. Isn’t this because the Qiu and Qi family are competing each other again?”
“If he uses A’Yin to compete with the Qi family, you don’t need to take action. His Majesty will have to talk to Prime Minister Qiu, so don’t worry about it.”
“I don’t have time to take care of her.” Zhan Zhen’s eyes fell on his stomach again and he was still thinking about the egg he dreamed about last night. He reached out and pressed it. Yes, it couldn’t really be an egg, when he suddenly felt someone kick him from the inside.
He was stunned for a moment then immediately collected himself and said, “Did it move?”
Xian Sheng felt embarrassed. In fact, the fetal movement had been there for a few days. But he felt a little scared and strange in his heart, so he never told Zhan Zhen.
Xian Sheng grabbed the cloak to wrap it around himself and kicked Zhan Zhen away with his feet, saying with a stern face, “Don’t touch me.”
“Why did he move?” Zhan Zhen squatted at his feet, looking dazed: “…It’s really alive ah.”
Translator – Hey guys, looks like I made a tinny tiny mistake and posted Chapter 101 before releasing Chapter 100. Opps! I got the two chapters mixed up. So for peeps who read Chap 101 first, I’m sorry.
