Chapter 88 Shameless Days
Ye Xunyang felt a surge of heat rush to the top of his head. The word "husband" rolled between his lips, but he was too shy to utter it.
Although they have been married for a long time, have been through life and death together, and understand each other perfectly, this intimate way of addressing each other...
"I..." He opened his mouth, his eyes darting around, "This...this is against the rules..."
"Rules?" Lou Jin raised an eyebrow, his fingertip brushing against the man's burning earlobe, and chuckled softly, "Here, I am the rule. Or perhaps, the Princess Consort prefers to fulfill the previous bet?"
His hand pressed lightly on Ye Xunyang's waist in a suggestive gesture.
Ye Xunyang's body trembled, and he immediately shook his head: "No...no..."
"Then let's call him over and listen?" Lou Jin coaxed patiently.
Ye Xunyang was held tightly in his arms, with nowhere to escape. Looking into his smiling eyes so close to hers, she could clearly see her own embarrassed state reflected in them.
He took a deep breath, as if he had made a tremendous decision:
"Husband... my husband..."
Though the sound was soft, it brushed against Lou Jin's heart like a feather.
Lou Jin's eyes instantly lit up with a smile, like ripples spreading across a lake after a stone has been thrown in.
He replied contentedly, "Yes, I'm here."
The response was deep and magnetic, filled with endless affection.
Lou Jin chuckled softly, no longer pressuring him, but simply holding him tighter, his chin gently resting on the top of his head, feeling the slightly quickened heartbeat and the gradually relaxing body of the person in his arms.
"Would you like to call me that from now on?" he asked softly.
Ye Xunyang nodded gently in his arms and gave a muffled "hmm".
"Good boy." Lou Jin kissed the crown of his head as a reward.
The two embraced and stayed quietly in the warm pavilion for a while, until the afternoon sun became increasingly languid.
"Tired?" Lou Jin noticed that Ye Xunyang seemed a little tired and asked in a low voice.
"A little," Ye Xunyang answered honestly. He did indeed go to bed a little late yesterday.
"Shall we go and rest for a while?" Lou Jin suggested.
Ye Xunyang shook his head, looked up at him, his eyes sparkling: "You just said that if I didn't accept the bet in the chess game, we would do something simpler instead. Now that I... I've made the bet, does that mean I've won the game?"
Lou Jin was taken aback, then chuckled, not expecting him to be waiting for him here.
"Is the Princess going to renege on her debt?" He deliberately put on a stern face.
"It was clearly His Highness himself who stated the replacement conditions," Ye Xunyang said confidently, with a hint of smugness. "Does His Highness intend to go back on his word?"
Seeing this rare display of cunning and cleverness in him, Lou Jin was filled with affection and no longer cared about winning or losing. He sighed with feigned helplessness, but his eyes were full of indulgence: "Alright, as you wish. You win this round. What do you want as a prize?"
Ye Xunyang's eyes darted around, and he smiled, "I haven't thought of anything yet, I'll owe you for now."
"Okay, whatever you say." Lou Jin affectionately pinched the tip of his nose.
In the following days, the Jinwang Mansion remained peaceful and harmonious.
Although Ye Xunyang's husband still called out to her somewhat hesitantly and shyly when no one was around, he eventually got used to it.
Lou Jin was extremely pleased with this. Whenever he heard it, he couldn't hide the smile in his eyes, and even when dealing with those unavoidable official documents, his expression softened considerably.
The two would either sip tea and play chess, or practice on the training ground, or take a nap in each other's arms. Their days were filled with sweetness and affection, truly living up to the saying "shameless".
The servants were used to the two masters being inseparable and dared not disturb them easily.
It was a day of rest and the weather was fine.
Lou Jin and Ye Xunyang had just finished a set of martial arts moves in the courtyard and were sitting at the stone table drinking chilled plum juice to cool off. They were still slightly sweaty and the atmosphere was relaxed and comfortable.
Ye Xunyang had just picked up a cloth to wipe Lou Jin's sweat as usual when he heard footsteps coming from the front yard, accompanied by Liu An's somewhat embarrassed announcement.
"Your Highness, Your Highness, His Highness Prince Yan has arrived and has come straight to the inner courtyard."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Lou Yan, dressed in a black casual suit, appeared at the moon gate.
His expression remained stern, but a lingering weariness and... resentment seemed to hang between his brows.
His gaze swept over the still-steaming plum juice on the stone table, then over the cloth in Ye Xunyang's hand that he hadn't had time to put down, and finally settled on Lou Jin's obviously rosy and healthy face.
Lou Jin put down the white porcelain bowl in his hand, stood up, and asked with just the right amount of surprise, "Brother? What brings you here today?"
Ye Xunyang also quickly stood up and bowed: "Your Highness Prince Yan."
Lou Yan snorted coldly, sat down on an empty stone bench without any politeness, picked up a clean cup, poured himself a glass of plum juice, and drank it all in one gulp.
The cool liquid seemed to slightly quell his anger, but his tone was still far from pleasant:
"Me, free? Of course I'm not free!" He glanced at Lou Jin. "If it weren't for the fact that some people are too injured to see guests and have pushed all the trivial matters to others, why would I be unable to have a moment's rest even on my days off?"
Lou Jin touched his nose, his expression calm: "The imperial physician did indeed advise that I need to rest. My brother also knows that I was poisoned before, which damaged my foundation..."
"Foundation?" Lou Yan interrupted him, his sharp gaze sweeping back and forth between him and Ye Xunyang. "I see your foundation is in excellent condition, your complexion is rosy, and you're in high spirits. You even have the leisure to spar here?"
He emphasized the last four words, with a clear hint of mockery.
Ye Xunyang's ears felt slightly hot, and he subconsciously moved further away from Lou Jin.
Lou Jin, however, did not care at all. He even raised his hand to signal the maid standing in the distance to bring more plum juice, and said slowly, "Your Majesty has worked hard. The capable should do more work. Father trusts Your Majesty, which is also a sign of his respect."
Lou Yan was taken aback by his nonchalant remark and said irritably, "Don't give me that. I'm here today to see how well you've taken care of me."
He paused, then turned his gaze to Ye Xunyang, his tone softening slightly, "Secondly, Beichen heard that General Ye's old injury is causing occasional discomfort, so he specially prepared some muscle-relaxing and blood-activating medicated oil and asked me to bring it."
As he spoke, he took out a small white jade porcelain bottle from his sleeve and placed it on the stone table.
Ye Xunyang was grateful and quickly said, "Thank you, Your Highness, and thank you for your trouble, Mr. Yu."
Lou Jin also said solemnly, "Please thank Mr. Yu on my behalf."
Lou Yan waved his hand, indicating that there was no need to be polite. He looked at Lou Jin, then at Ye Xunyang, who clearly looked much better after being recuperated, and suddenly asked, "How long do you plan to recover from your injuries?"
Lou Jin pondered for a moment and then smiled and said, "We have to wait until the storm has passed and those who want to scheme have quieted down before we talk about it."
Lou Yan naturally understood his meaning. The various forces in the capital were deeply intertwined, and Lou Jin was currently in the limelight too much. It was indeed a wise move to temporarily avoid the limelight.
He nodded, which was a sign of approval.
"Very well." Lou Yan stood up. "The things have been delivered and the person has been seen, so I won't stay any longer."
He paused, looked at Lou Jin, and added meaningfully, "Third brother, while rest is good, you also need to... know when to stop and take care of your health."
The sarcasm in those words made Ye Xunyang's face, which had just returned to normal, flush again.
Lou Jin remained unfazed, cupped his hands, and said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I will remember it."
After seeing Lou Yan off, who arrived full of resentment and left with a sense of helplessness, the courtyard returned to tranquility.
Ye Xunyang picked up the bottle of medicated oil, its surface warm to the touch: "Mr. Yu, you're very kind."
Lou Jin walked over, put his arm around his waist, rested his chin on his shoulder, looked at the medicine bottle, and chuckled, "Brother, you're just envious."
"Um?"
"I envy us for being able to steal half a day of leisure." Lou Jin turned his head and kissed Ye Xunyang's neck. "However, his reminder is correct."
"What reminder?"
"Take care of yourself." Lou Jin tightened his grip on her arm, his voice laced with laughter and a hint of ambiguity. "So, for the sake of the long term, shall we... rest early today?"
Ye Xunyang: "..."
He always felt that Lou Jin's understanding of "taking care of your health" and what Lou Yan said were probably not the same thing.
However, the protests were ineffective.
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