CH 36

Going back in time to the previous night.

Lou Jing hugged the Crown Prince’s pillow, tossing and turning for a long time. He finally did manage to sleep, and he dreamed a very long dream. 

In this dream, he had returned to his childhood. He must’ve been around six or seven then? He couldn’t remember exactly which year it was, but there was a celebration that year, and many of the aristocratic families had been invited to bring their legitimate sons under the age of ten into the palace to greet the Empress.

The furens were all in the Fengyi Palace with the Empress and the Imperial concubines, and the children were left in the Imperial Gardens.

The children of the aristocracy that were around this age all recognised Lou Jing as their unofficial leader. There were one or two kids who didn’t agree with this initially, and Lou Jing had just fought with them until they finally agreed to recognise him as their leader. At that time, the Guanxi Hou had just returned to the Capital with his two sons, and the two boys didn’t know how things worked in the Capital. This gathering in the palace was the first time the two boys met Lou Jing.

“So you’re the Capital’s big bully?” the Guanxi Hou’s eldest son asked, raising his chin arrogantly as he spoke. He was a tall, fat boy who was one year older than Lou Jing. 

“You look so pretty, are you sure you’re not a girl?” the Guanxi Hou’s second son jeered, laughing unkindly. He reached out a dirty hand to touch Lou Jing’s face.

“Thwack!” Lou Jing hadn’t even moved before someone smacked that hand away for him.

“Oh, looky what we’ve got here! You’ve even got someone to help you beat others up. If you’ve got the guts, then come beat us yourself,” the Guanxi Hou’s second son sneered. He rubbed the back of his hand, which had turned red from the impact. “Surely you didn’t become the leader by being the best at bawling your eyes out?”

“Let’s have a duel. If I win, then I’ll be the new leader!” the Guanxi Hou’s first son said, brandishing a dark-skinned fist in the air. He had probably been spoiled rotten in the wild Northeastern Front, and thought himself a right little hero.

Obe Alcu ujnf tlw j rlvfkjsr uijcmf, atfc ibbxfv ifoa jcv gluta. Ktfgf kfgf bcis j ofk qjijmf rajoo jgbecv; atf Pwqfglji Xejgvr erejiis vlv cba fcafg atf Pwqfglji Xjgvfcr. Ljnlcu mbcolgwfv atja atfgf kbeiv yf cb bcf jgbecv ab rabq atfw, tf rwlifv lccbmfcais ja atf akb ybsr. “Po sbe kjca ab oluta, atfc sbe tjnf ab byfs atlr geif: sbe mjc’a mbwqijlc joafg sbe’nf yffc yfjafc eq,” tf rjlv.

“Hmph! Who do you think my brother and I are? Whoever complains will be called a nincompoop!” the two brothers said, agreeing immediately and baring their teeth at Lou Jing.

Lou Jing nodded. Before the two brothers could spout any battle taunts, he turned and kicked hard at the elder brother’s abdomen. The boy wasn’t ready, and he immediately fell backwards. His brother immediately tried to go and help, but got punched in the jaw by Lou Jing.

“Whack them!” Lou Jing instructed. After throwing that punch, he retreated lithely, and gestured to the children behind him to go forward. 

The group of little children rushed up immediately and started beating and punching the two brothers.

“Do the usual, make sure you hit places that can’t be seen,” Lou Jing said, standing with his hands behind his back on a small hillock. He raised his chin slightly, then saw that a few children had gathered not too far away. They were all wearing yellow robes, save the one at their head, who was wearing an apricot-coloured robe. The expression on that boy’s face was tightly controlled, and only his eyes gave away his curiosity.

Xiao Chengjun! That was his husband, the Crown Prince! Oh no, wait, they hadn’t been married yet, not at this time. At this, Lou Jing suddenly woke up. He felt a little cold as he ran a hand over the empty space next to him.

His eyes opened fully, taking in the cold, silver moonlight shining into the house. The autumn bugs were chirping incessantly outside the window, and he felt a little desolate without that warm, slender body clad in soft apricot-coloured inner robes next to him. 

Lou Jing sat up, gripping the pillow in his arms. He tossed the blankets to one side in a frustrated manner, then flipped off the bed and changed into a dark-coloured martial arts outfit.

All was still and quiet at midnight. The houses in the Capital had already extinguished their candles, and the only light came from the bright moon above.

Lou Jing ran out the side door. The guards standing watch there got a real shock, and Lou Jing immediately covered their mouths with his hand. “Don’t make a sound. I’m going out for a bit. Continue standing guard,” he whispered.

The guards finally saw that the person sneaking about in the dead of night was their master, and could only nod in bewilderment. 

After slipping out of Zhuque Hall, Lou Jing ran like the wind down an alley outside the Anguo Gong’s main residence. He reached the Min Wang’s residence in no time.

The walls of the residence were not very high. He kicked off lightly from the parapet and leapt onto the wall.

He had come to the Min Wang residence with Xiao Chengjun previously, when it was in the midst of renovations, so he knew exactly where Xiao Chengjun’s sleeping quarters were. The part of the residence before him now were the servant’s quarters. He sped quickly along the edge of the wall, leapt onto a roof, then moved lightly along the rooftops to get to Xiao Chengjun’s room.

There were guards patrolling the central part of the residence where Xiao Chengjun was. A few maids and eunuchs rostered to attend to Xiao Chengjun’s at night stood outside Xiao Chengjun’s room as well. 

Lou Jing frowned, then leapt off the roof. Before he could open the back window, a man suddenly walked over, and he hurriedly leapt back up onto the roof.

“Commander Lu, wasn’t there someone just now?” one of the guards on patrol asked in a low voice.

Lu Zhao raised a lantern in the direction of the rooftop. Lou Jing deliberately popped out his head a little for him to see and gestured for him to be quiet.

Commander Lu left the area with his guards, and a new batch of guards came forward to relieve him. He could finally sleep in peace tonight. 

Lou Jing raised his eyebrows, then flipped down, opened the back window and leapt into the house. The moment his feet hit the floor, he speedily turned around to catch the window before it slammed shut and closed it gently.

The house was filled with that familiar, woody scent, and the corners of Lou Jing’s mouth couldn’t help lifting into a smile. He padded softly to the bed, then slowly pushed the bedcurtains aside. The person sleeping on the bed was in his usual prim and proper position. It had only been a day since he had last seen him, but he felt like a lifetime had passed. He moved closer, and that person’s gently exhaled breath brushed against his face. It was a little ticklish, and Lou Jing couldn’t resist pecking that person’s lips gently.

He quickly pulled off the outer layers of his clothes, then carefully raised a corner of the blanket and inserted himself beneath the sheets.

“Nn…” Xiao Chengjun frowned and opened his eyes just a crack. It wasn’t clear whether he had seen the person next to him, but he went back to sleep peacefully. 

Lou Jing smiled to himself as he gathered the defenceless Min Wang into his arms. That long, slender body was soft and warm, and it was so comfortable that he couldn’t help nuzzling him a few more times.

In the haze of sleep, Xiao Chengjun felt that familiar warmth, and subconsciously snuggled toward that warm body.

As such, when Min Wang awoke the next morning and saw Lou Jing next to him, he couldn’t help but widen his eyes in shock. Since he was a little boy, he’d always been on guard, even in his sleep. Now, he hadn’t even realised anything when someone snuck into his own bed!