OL CH8

Having drunk several rounds past midnight, Chen Tian had consumed a bit too much and ended up lodging in the imperial palace. By the time he woke, it was already late in the morning.

After grabbing a simple bite to eat, his thoughts turned toward heading to the Marquis’s estate to invite his sweetheart out for an excursion.

Originally, he had debated whether he should take a more roundabout approach and wait a few more days. However, for one, he missed his lover terribly; for another, plenty of people had already witnessed him showing favor to Bai Su at yesterday’s Autumn Banquet anyway.

Furthermore, having already passed the hurdle of the old Emperor the night before, he actually had far fewer concerns to worry about.

Who would have thought that when Chen Tian arrived at the Marquis of Zhongyong’s estate in high spirits, Bai Heguang would offer all manner of excuses to prevent them from meeting? It wasn’t until Chen Tian’s expression turned utterly frosty that the man finally confessed Bai Su had committed a wrongdoing and was punished with three days of kneeling in the ancestral hall.

This instantly struck Chen Tian’s reverse scale. If, before he had tracked him down to this minor world, something had happened to his lover while he wasn’t yet here, he would have been powerless and left with only regret.

But now that he had arrived, how could he possibly let his partner suffer the slightest injustice? He immediately rushed over.

Fortunately, the current Marquis of Zhongyong was incompetent and cowardly to the extreme. Otherwise, even as King Ning, barging into a Marquis’s estate like this would have been enough to earn him several impeachments from court officials.

Anxiously having 009 guide the way, Chen Tian ran as fast as his legs could carry him, terrified that his lover would be mistreated. Yet he never expected that upon pushing open the doors of the ancestral hall, this would be the sight greeting his eyes.

At that moment, Bai Su was still maintaining the pose of his lips slightly pouted, licking the stray crumbs off the crook of his hand.

The moment he saw who had entered, he swiftly pulled his lips back. He unhurriedly wrapped the remaining half of the flatbread, tucked it into his robes, then rose to his feet and patted away the nonexistent dust on his clothes, acting as though nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred.

Were it not for catching sight of Bai Su’s crimson-flushed earlobes, Chen Tian might have genuinely believed the man was as nonchalant inside as he appeared on the surface.

Fortunately, it seemed his lover hadn’t blindly obeyed the Marquis to foolishly kneel and suffer, knowing enough to bring along dry rations. Only this allowed Chen Tian’s heart to settle slightly.

“Your Highness,” Bai Su coughed lightly, lowering his gaze and cupping his hands in a respectful bow.

Despite usually being a man unbothered by trivial formalities, the moment Bai Su realized he had lost face before King Ning, an indescribable annoyance welled up within him—alongside a deeply concealed embarrassment he deliberately chose to ignore.

Chen Tian nodded, a helpless smile tinging his eyes, while his heart had long since melted from how adorable his lover looked.

His partner was truly the most adorable being in this world!

Looking at Bai Su, who was clearly awkward and flustered yet forcing himself to stay calm, Chen Tian wished he could drag the man straight into his embrace and kiss those soft lips soundly to soothe the fiery craving in his chest.

With all traces of anger vanishing from his face, Chen Tian stepped closer to Bai Su and asked softly, “Has the Heir eaten breakfast?”

Bai Su nodded, finding it somewhat odd that King Ning would suddenly appear here. But just as he was about to ask, a clamor of noise sounded from behind. The Marquis of Zhongyong had rushed over with the manor’s servants in tow.

“Your Highness! Your Highness King Ning!”

The Marquis of Zhongyong called out breathlessly. Chen Tian had walked so quickly that even jogging, he hadn’t managed to keep pace.

Although Bai Heguang had been forced by the Old Marquis to practice martial arts in his youth, he had long neglected his training over the years, while the layer of fat on his belly only grew thicker. Hurrying over now, he was panting heavily for breath.

Snapped back to reality by Bai Heguang’s voice, Chen Tian’s expression turned frosty once again.

He swept a look around the surroundings. Finding the ancestral hall gloomy and damp, without even a single prayer mat on the stone floor, it was blatantly intentional. Even if his lover wasn’t kneeling, with the autumn chill setting in, sitting or lying on the cold ground for three days would inevitably make him sick. A surge of fury instantly blazed in his heart.

Turning around, he sneered coldly at the Marquis, “This Prince had agreed to go on an excursion with the Heir today. Yet after taking leave of Imperial Brother and waiting outside for quite a while, I never saw the Heir appear. Little did I expect that he was actually detained in the manor by the Marquis!”

Hearing that Bai Su had made an appointment with King Ning early on, yet hadn’t said a word when punished to kneel in the ancestral hall, Bai Heguang felt all the more resentful. Wasn’t this deliberately enticing King Ning to come knocking at their door to back him up?

Yet no matter how displeased he was inwardly, he didn’t dare show it before Chen Tian, and could only offer an appeasing smile: “Your Highness, this child did not inform this subject that he had an engagement with Your Highness today. Had I known, I would not have chosen this time to punish him.”

“Then I wonder, what wrongdoing could the Heir have possibly committed to be punished in the ancestral hall?”

This was the Marquis’s estate after all; Chen Tian probing into his private family affairs was clearly an overt display of pulling rank over him.

Yet Bai Heguang was cowardly and timid by nature, not daring to leave it unanswered. He could only suppress his irritation and say, “Th-this rebellious son was disrespectful to his parents and unfraternal toward his brothers. That is why this subject had him reflect upon himself here.”

At these words, Chen Tian couldn’t help looking at Bai Su. Seeing the man’s calm expression, as though he had long anticipated the Marquis pinning arbitrary accusations onto him, Chen Tian felt an even deeper pang of heartache.

“Oh? Then do elaborate on how he was disrespectful to his parents, unfilial, and unfraternal.”

King Ning’s overwhelming aura left Bai Heguang momentarily choked for words. Although Bai Su was distant and cold toward him, the boy had committed no major transgressions. In truth, it was merely that he had listened to Madam Liu’s constant nagging about Bai Su being disrespectful and bullying his concubine-born brother.

Yet Madam Liu was merely a concubine. Even if he wished to elevate her to official wife, until it was accomplished, she remained nothing more than a concubine. If he used disrespecting a concubine as grounds against a legitimate heir, outsiders would truly laugh their heads off.

Therefore, Bai Su’s punishment today boiled down to Bai Heguang venting his anger over losing face before King Ning yesterday, compounded by Bai Su indirectly causing his beloved younger son to be beaten so wretchedly.

The crucial point was that he hadn’t even clarified what had actually transpired with Bai Feizhang—especially since rumor had it that the one who ordered the beating was King Ning himself. To have him claim King Ning was in the wrong? He lacked the courage entirely.

Seeing Bai Heguang stammering without being able to produce a coherent reason, Chen Tian scoffed. “Yesterday at the martial grounds, this Prince observed that members of the Marquis’s household were lacking in both virtue and talent, going so far as to abandon the Marquis of Zhongyong’s dignity just to fawn and curry favor.

“The Old Marquis’s noble achievements are still etched into the hearts of this Prince and Imperial Brother. Little did I imagine that the descendants of this Marquis estate…

“This Prince assumed it was merely because he was a concubine-born son who lacked proper discipline. Seeing this today, the Marquis truly governs his household with muddled incompetence. Can someone like this truly perform his duties well for His Majesty?”

As Chen Tian spoke, he swept a glance at Bai Feizhang, who kept his head lowered without uttering a word. Ignoring the Marquis’s attempts to explain, Chen Tian led Bai Su away on the spot.

Watching the carriage depart, Bai Heguang broke into a cold sweat as he recalled King Ning’s parting words. Muddled as he was, he would never do something that severed his own future prospects.

This generation of the Marquis of Zhongyong’s estate was coasting entirely on the foundation laid down by the Old Marquis. Thus, no matter how spineless he was, he knew what could and could not be done. If outsiders came to believe the Marquis’s estate could be trampled upon at will, the consequences would be catastrophic.

Turning around to see Bai Feizhang glaring at the distant carriage with venomous malice, Bai Heguang flew into a towering rage for the first time. He slapped him across the face and roared, “You worthless wretch! What in the world happened yesterday at the martial grounds? Tell me everything right now, down to the last detail!”

Leaving the Marquis’s estate to descend into chaos, Chen Tian and his sweetheart sat inside a plush, comfortably cushioned carriage, enjoying utmost ease.

He knew that after today’s reprimand, Bai Heguang at least wouldn’t dare make things difficult for Bai Su so easily.

The primary signal he had just delivered was clear. Bai Su was under his, Chen Tian’s, protection.

As for that transmigrator Bai Feizhang, a drama queen like him would inevitably come rushing back to invite more abuse before long. He was in no hurry.

Finally able to enjoy a world for two up close with his beloved, Chen Tian felt bubbles of pure joy rising in his chest.

Seeing that the other man’s black robes were somewhat thin, Chen Tian worried he might be cold and hastily pulled out a blanket to drape over him.

Remembering how he had caught Bai Su eating dry rations to stave off hunger in the ancestral hall, he thoughtfully retrieved pastries prepared by his attendants from the carriage cabinet. Handing them to Bai Su, he said gently, “Heir, have some pastries to line your stomach first. How about we go have lunch at Shuxiang Pavilion in a little while?”

Bai Su nodded upon hearing this. He had always favored spicy delicacies; the food and wine at Shuxiang Pavilion were exquisite, but the prices were steep. Not being one for extravagance, he had only visited once by chance.

He had secretly craved their sliced beef in chili sauce and five-willow fish ever since, never expecting King Ning would actually take him there for lunch.

Even the delicate pastries in his hands were all flavors he liked. Bai Su looked at Chen Tian with an intricate gaze. Today, this man had helped him once more—and had even made a special trip to the Marquis’s estate on his account.

The claim that they had arranged an outing beforehand was naturally a lie. Although he didn’t know why the man had come, it didn’t prevent Bai Su from feeling deeply grateful.

“Thank you, Your Highness. Today is all thanks to Your Highness’s helping hand; this humble one is immensely grateful. However, I wonder if there is anything I might do to assist Your Highness in return?”

In this world, goodwill never came without reason. Bai Su decided to ask directly. He didn’t think there was anything wrong with King Ning having motives; the hustle and bustle of the world was driven by gain. A fair exchange of mutual favors was fine, so long as his conscience remained clear.

Chen Tian understood Bai Su’s thoughts. It was just that he couldn’t very well say: My purpose is to become your husband again, so I can hug you, kiss you to my heart’s content, and sleep with you every single day for the rest of our lives…

He was afraid that if he said that, Bai Su would think he was stark raving mad and beat him to a pulp.

Of course, getting beaten by his wife was no big deal—striking is affection, scolding is love. Xiao Bai was so gentle, he wouldn’t truly hit hard anyway. But if he scared the man away, that would be disastrous!

Thus, Chen Tian could only assume the facade of a refined gentleman, smiling as he said, “The Heir need not overthink it. Old Marquis Bai has always been a true hero in this Prince’s eyes. Though I am naturally fond of leisure and pleasure, the ones I admire most in my heart are true heroes like you who defend our home and protect the country.

“This Prince has long wished to befriend the Heir, but in past years you were always by the Old Marquis’s side at the frontier. Meanwhile, I spent these years roaming the mountains and rivers of Xiling, away from the capital. Now that I have returned, I thought I finally had the chance to get to know you.

“I only wonder if the Heir is willing to have me as an additional friend?”

Chen Tian spoke with genuine sincerity. Bai Su was stunned for a moment; whether he believed it or not, a faint smile graced his lips.

“To gain Your Highness as a friend is this humble one’s great fortune!”

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Author’s Note:

Chen Tian: Xiao Bai Bai, want to be friends? The kind with kisses, hugs, lifted high in the air, and sleeping together every single day!