Title In Progress

Ch 74 - Ruthless Crown Prince x Foolish Prince: Eighteenth Birthday


Lin Sui hadn’t seen Yan Qin for a very long time, and although his spies had passed on some information about Yan Qin, in the end, he hadn’t actually seen him in person.

Even last time at the Buddhist temple, he’d been unconscious.

The age of fourteen or fifteen was that of growth, and Yan Qin was much taller than before he left the palace, with sword-shaped eyebrows and star-like eyes, looking like a handsome young man.

It was a pity that his feigned stupidity ruined that young man’s air. However, Lin Sui didn’t think so at all, he actually thought it was quite cute.

But even though he thought so on the inside, he still put on a scornful face when Yan Qin dashed towards him.

The puppy didn’t quite know what was good for him, and he didn’t realise he’d long since stopped being as adorably small as he was in the past and was totally unaware he was already about as tall as his big brother the Crown Prince, so he still insisted in burying his head into the arms of his big brother the Crown Prince.

Lin Sui was tightly embraced and subconsciously let out a light gasp. This sound fell on Yan Qin’s ears, and his hands tightened more and more.

“Let go.”

Yan Qin let go of his hands, then switched instead to taking Lin Sui’s hand in an especially intimate manner.

“Big brother Crown Prince, I missed you so much, did you miss me?”

The answer Yan Qin received was a cold glare, but he suddenly didn’t feel dejected, instead, he felt that was just like his big brother the Crown Prince.

He would find it very strange if Lin Sui got along with him all of a sudden.

They hadn’t seen each other for such a long time already, and his big brother the Crown Prince was not friendly with him before, so his cold reaction now was normal.

“Why did you suddenly come back to the palace?”

“Today is September first, it’s my sixteenth birthday. I told grandfather that I wanted to come back and see big brother Crown Prince, and grandfather helped intercede for me. Big brother Crown prince fulfilled my birthday wish last year, is it possible this year as well?”

Yan Qin pulled on Lin Sui’s sleeve with expectation on his face, Lin Sui’s image fully reflected in his eyes.

“This One didn’t see any gifts from you on this One’s birthday.”

Lin Sui shook Yan Qin’s hand away with a slight frown, pretending he didn’t know about that white falcon.

Yan Qin looked at that white falcon perched on a tree in the courtyard and spoke with a bit of annoyance: “I wanted to draw something for big brother, but the drawing was accidentally stained with dirty water that day, and I was ashamed to present it to big brother Crown Prince.”

Yan Qin wasn’t lying, he’d really spent a lot of effort making that drawing, but the white falcon’s talons were stained with black ink when it fluttered about, and the drawing was rendered completely unrecognisable.

It was already too late to make another drawing at that time, and Yan Qin didn’t want to offer Lin Sui a sloppy, imperfect drawing, so Yan Qin scrapped it.

He didn’t expect his big brother the Crown Prince to actually remember he didn’t send him a birthday gift, so it seemed like his big brother the Crown Prince still cared about him on the inside, Yan Qin thought sweetly.

“I definitely won’t run around and make you angry this time, big brother Crown Prince, is that fine?”

Yan Qin acted spoiled and hugged Lin Sui’s arm once again, intimately rubbing the tip of his nose against the side of Lin Sui’s neck.

“Haven’t you been weaned yet?”

Lin Sui pushed Yan Qin away in overreaction, the hostility between his brows intensifying.

This look was particularly frightening, anyone else would have already kept silent and not dared to move, but Yan Qin wasn’t afraid, and not only was he not afraid, he felt that Lin Sui was more beautiful like this.

His big brother the Crown Prince really could not allow people to touch him, with such a severe reaction, it was no wonder that he shivered so violently from just having his ankle grabbed that day and the back of his hand touched even in his sleep.

Yan Qin lowered his head aggrievedly: “I just wanted to get close to big brother Crown Prince.”

In a place where others couldn’t see, Yan Qin’s eyes flashed with a dark light.

It would naturally be great if his older brother was willing to offer his help to deal with his un-weaned ailment, but he could only think this inwardly. If he were to speak it out loud, based on Lin Sui’s temper, his blood might be spilled in the Eastern Palace.

If his big brother the Crown Prince was his wet nurse… Yan Qin took a deep breath, forcing himself to stop thinking about these impossible things which were completely at odds with human relationships. He was fascinated by every inch of his big brother the Crown Prince’s body, not just that place.

He would light a fire if he thought about it again, and then he wouldn’t be able to maintain control here.

Lin Sui didn’t know the things the person at his side was thinking about, so he turned around and headed towards the inner hall: “Why, you’ve been outside the palace for so long and still feel like you haven’t seen enough?”

“My birthday wish this time isn’t going out of the palace, I want to sleep on the same bed as big brother Crown Prince.”

A deep blush spread across Yan Qin’s face as he spoke, making him look shy and bashful, as if he was flustered by his own words.

Lin Sui sneered inwardly, this was supposed to look shy? It was clearly badly-concealed excitement.

Fine, but if his wish at sixteen was to sleep together, would he want to hold him to sleep at seventeen, and go all the way at eighteen?

How wonderful.

“The corner of the bed at the Eastern Palace is not enough for you to sleep in.”

The previous Yan Qin could still squeeze himself into the corner by Lin Sui’s feet and sleep, but with his current height and size, it would be very hard to accommodate him.

The implication of his words was refusal, but Yan Qin was not disappointed, instead he spoke happily: “Then I’ll just sleep below big brother Crown Prince’s bed like before, and big brother can use me as a foot-warmer. The weather is a lot colder in Autumn, and my body is nice and warm.”

Lin Sui realised he’d been tricked. He was fully aware that Yan Qin was just pretending to be stupid, and in spite of this there were certain moments in which he thought Yan Qin was really a fool, but retreating for the sake of advancing had been a clever move.

He didn’t conceal his suspicion either, and revealed a look that made him seem like he wasn’t interested in wasting words arguing after he looked at Yan Qin.

That night, after taking a bath, Yan Qin walked into the inner hall and greeted Fu Shu.

He went to the wooden cupboard with a familiar ease and pulled out some bedding to spread out by the side of the bed, arranging himself a place to sleep.

Fu Shu’s hand stopped in midair, the maid beside her was new this year, so she was a little dumbstruck by seeing his attitude.

Fu Shu led the maid out and spoke in a low voice: “Get used to it, His Fifth Highness is spoiled and naïve, his favourite thing is being together with Master.”

The maid’s expression became increasingly horrified, His Fifth Highness’ appearance and physique had nothing to do with someone who was ‘spoiled and naïve’, she didn’t recognise those words at all.

Fu Shu: “It is what His Highness said at the time.”

Fu Shu thought with a complicated expression, His Fifth Highness’ behaviour and attitude actually matched someone who could be described with those words.

She felt that this was fine too, at the very least His Highness the Fifth Prince was not afraid of her Master’s cold face, Fu Shu didn’t want Lin Sui to really turn into a ‘solitary bachelor’, and wished his disagreeable temper would be softened somewhat by the brotherly affection.

It would be better if there was a considerate Consort that the Crown Prince could like, but unfortunately His Highness didn’t seem to have those plans yet. Fu Shu inwardly let out a sigh, the Crown Prince would very soon be eighteen and the Eastern Palace still didn’t have a Mistress.

She didn’t even know what the future Princess Consort would be like, Fu Shu thought to herself while she had that maid get ready, the two of them were on night-watch duty tonight.

The Autumn cold this year was a little more intense than last year. Lin Sui stepped on the soft and warm body, feeling Yan Qin’s clear change.

“It seems like the meals at Lord Pei’s house are pretty good.”

The impression wasn’t so clear when Yan Qin was wearing clothes, but after feeling it, it was different again.

“Grandfather said the horse stance^[1] is good for your body, and A-Qin practiced every day. Big brother Crown Prince can take a look if you don’t believe me.”

Yan Qin undid his inner clothes so fast Lin Sui had no time to react.

The young man’s body was well-proportioned, and there was strength contained under his skin.

“Indecent, uneducated.”

Lin Sui looked away indifferently, but frowned inwardly.

Forget about growing taller, why did he also grow in other places? Could it be that this is the standard for male protagonists? Even if he was the protagonist from a no CP novel and didn’t have the constitution he did in the cultivation world, he trained exhaustively every time.

“It’s even more nice and warm like this. Big brother Crown Prince, read a book and don’t worry about me.”

Yan Qin simply sat up, hugged Lin Sui’s feet to his chest, and gathered them under his clothes.

Lin Sui’s toes were touching Yan Qin’s skin, he grabbed a book in one hand and hung the other by his side, then took a deep breath to control his anger and got rid of those distracting thoughts as he began to read.

Yan Qin got away with his goal, he knew that, although Lin Sui seemed to have a bad temper on the outside, he really enjoyed when others kissed up to him.

He looked at the pair of feet hidden in his arms and smiled secretly, sooner or later there would be a day where he would hide all of his big brother Crown Prince into his arms.

Not long after, Fu Shu knocked on the door and announced from outside that the young officer Zhou had something urgent to report.

It was likely urgent, otherwise Zhou Yunfang wouldn’t have come into the palace so late at night.

“Report.”

When Zhou Yunfang pushed open the door and walked inside, he was startled by the strange scene.

Why was the Fifth Prince hugging the Crown Prince’s feet?

But that didn’t matter. Zhou Yunfang saluted and glanced at Lin Sui with some hesitation.

“Don’t worry, speak.”

Lin Sui raised his chin slightly and waited for Zhou Yunfang to open his mouth.

Zhou Yunfang gave an account of the matter Lin Sui had him keep an eye on, the abnormal changes related to King Qing. When everything was ready, King Qing would surely suffer a big hit.

Yan Qin pretended not to understand and looked like he was bored to death, but inwardly he was thinking about the stakes concealed behind this.

Zhou Yunfang completed his report, but didn’t leave. Instead, he swallowed and said another thing.

“This subject met the Lord Governor of State Affairs on his way back today, he told this subject to ask about any woman Your Highness may have taken a fancy to. Your Highness will soon be eighteen, and should have a Consort, so Lord Governor of State Affairs wanted to find one for You.”

The Governor of State Affairs had actually long since wanted Lin Sui to take a wife, but the Crown Prince’s behaviour had been too fickle before, and the Governor of Affairs was afraid that bringing in a Consort would break the balance, but now he found that Lin Sui could endure great responsibilities, and that things were different now, so he wanted to help Lin Sui consolidate his power.

In an instant, Yan Qin could no longer think about any schemes or stakes, he just lifted his head to see Lin Sui’s reaction.

He cannot agree, Yan Qin thought nervously as his hands clenched tighter and tighter.

“Why are you holding on so tightly?”

Lin Sui felt a little pain, and waited for Yan Qin to let go before kicking him lightly.

Yan Qin didn’t say anything for fear that Lin Sui would actually consider taking a wife if he asked him not to.

He could only suffer in silence and grievance, eyes wide open as he stared at Lin Sui.

“This One doesn’t owe you anything, stop acting like that, it’s annoying to look at.”

Lin Sui stepped on Yan Qin’s face, pushing him backwards.

His action was contemptuous and disdainful, clearly not regarding this person as a younger brother and even worse than a slave.

The arch of his foot was wet for an instant, Lin Sui looked at Yan Qin in bewilderment, but was only met with innocent eyes.

Lin Sui raised his eyebrows inwardly, Yan Qin had changed his outer appearance and somehow seemed a little more abnormal, so his previous situation shouldn’t have been that serious.

“A-Qin understands.”

Yan Qin propped himself up and, once Lin Sui had withdrawn his foot, he took Lin Sui’s feet back into his arms like nothing had happened, looking sweet and obedient.

Yan Qin was glad that the quilt on bed covered above his legs, otherwise not just Lin Sui, but also Zhou Yunfang next to him would have been able to see something.

Inwardly, he was disappointed. If it weren’t for Zhou Yunfang being in the way, his big brother the Crown Prince would probably have stepped on him a little longer.

Zhou Yunfang, who was waiting for a response off to the side, was feeling very awkward. He was trying very hard to keep a straight face but felt that the scene in front of his eyes was really strange. The Crown Prince’s actions were clearly insulting, and he wouldn’t want to endure something like this even from the honourable Crown Prince.

Zhou Yunfang felt a little sympathy, it seemed like someone as stupid as the Fifth Highness had no sense of dignity or humiliation.

“Go tell grandfather not to trouble himself, I have my own plans regarding this matter."

“Yes.”

Zhou Yunfang cupped his hands and withdrew from the inner hall.

Before retreating, he subconsciously turned back and suddenly saw the Fifth Highness leaning his head against the Crown Prince’s calf, looking particularly affectionate.

Zhou Yunfang stepped out of the palace doors with a strange feeling still lingering in his heart, he couldn’t understand it, but perhaps the affections between brothers in the Imperial family were just that deep and unfathomable.

Yan Qin straightened up before Lin Sui could say anything, looking at the ground in a daze.

When Lin Sui spoke just now, he was secretly delighted upon hearing the first half, but became anxious with the last half.

Since his big brother the Crown Prince had his own plans, did that mean he already had a preferred candidate but it wasn’t time yet? Was it that the other person still young and not of marriable age, or still in filial mourning^[2] and couldn’t get married?

Yan Qin was kept awake for half the night by his own guesses and couldn’t sleep, so he immediately contacted Pei Xinian after he left the palace.

“Investigate noble girls in the Capital who are not yet of marriageable age or are in filial mourning?”

Pei Xinian muttered, deep in thought.

“Is this about the Crown Prince taking in a Consort? Speaking of, isn’t Commandant Guo’s daughter fourteen this year? She’s proficient in the four arts^[3] and is actually a very suitable choice. Governor Dong’s granddaughter just turned fifteen and she’s right in the middle of filial mourning for her father, and there’s also the Grand Commander’s…”

Yan Qin’s expression turned gloomier and gloomier as he heard this, he actually had so much competition?

Pei Xinian looked at his daughter’s son, who didn’t seem to be in a very good mood, and consoled him: “Your foundation is still shallow, and I haven’t been able to give you very good help, so don’t worry too much. The one being targeted by the Crown Prince the most is King Qing, next is the Seventh Prince. The Seventh Prince doesn’t have many prospects yet, so we can just watch them fight.”

Yan Qin nodded, not wanting to waste time explaining himself.

After all, if he explained to his grandfather that he didn’t actually want to marry those women, but rather the person those women were striving to wed, his grandfather might beat him on the spot, and it might even kill his fighting spirit.

This is a fan translation posted to title-in-progress.dreamwidth.org. Support the author if you can.

The weather gradually turned colder, and the number of travelling merchants gradually decreased, so Yan Qin decided to find Lin Sui’s birthday present in advance.

Inside the Eastern Palace, Lin Sui stroked the white falcon as he looked at the new information report that was sitting on his desk.

Yan Qin had suddenly moved against the people of the Protectorate, and the loss of power of Consort De’s faction in that place would surely affect the Seventh Prince. Lin Sui quite liked this type of confusing situation for his enemies, after all, where would be the fun in stirring trouble by himself? The Imperial Court was a tangled and complicated web, and there could be more than two parties holding the chess pieces.

Yan Qin’s movements had been very secretive, and Lin Sui may not have found out if he hadn’t assigned someone to keep an eye on him all this time, however, there was nothing in the world that could be kept secret forever. Although Yan Qin’s movements had been concealed, there was still a risk of exposure, so why would he make a move while he was still a fledgling?

Lin Sui found out the reason behind it when the second report was delivered.

It turned out that, when Yan Qin had disguised himself and gone out, he just so happened to overhear some presumptuous words from the guests at a table next to him, so Yan Qin had dispatched some people to investigate and did these things.

As for what those presumptuous words were, it was all written in a very gracefully implied manner in the report.

The translation meant that the person was a rich young master who swung both ways and would make vulgar jokes when drunk. Apparently, he said that the current Crown Prince had the grace of a dragon and the beauty of a phoenix, that his appearance was extraordinary, and that he would be able to die without regrets if he had the fortune of being able to sleep with the Crown Prince for one night, and so on and so forth.

Reading this, Lin Sui was not surprised at all that Yan Qin had acted, since Yan Qin was a very jealous person. The person speaking rudely was the son of an official from the Capital, that official belonged to the Protectorate, and the Protectorate’s young master was a scoundrel, both men were scum.

Lin Sui guessed that Yan Qin should have combined that day with the trap he set for King Qing, so he was planning on muddying the waters on Consort De’s side.

Lin Sui burned the report, feeling rather carefree.

How should he reward the puppy?

Lin Sui hadn’t figured out the answer to this question, it was already good to prepare a big gift for King Qing, but Yan Qin had taken preemptive action before him.

This matter began causing a commotion on Consort De’s side, and the people from the Censorate advised for the impeachment of the Grand Protectorate.

The average person only paid attention to those things, but Lin Sui knew that the person who had caused everything had already been sent to the Imperial Court of Judicial Review, that person’s crimes didn’t stop at just getting drunk and saying impertinent words.

Consort De’s people naturally wanted to cover their backs, and King Qing’s party enjoyed the show, but soon enough their own backyard also caught fire.

Lin Sui’s plan was very meticulous, he’d begun setting the trap ever since he received that account of the drought in the middle of the year.

Xue Dingchun had an upright character, but he wouldn’t use his power rashly and only act for something major, which was why he just watched the shameless actions of Consort De’s faction from the sidelines, but the matter of King Qing catching fire wasn’t ordinary.

Great Yan had eleven provinces, and each province had countless county governments. Xue Dingchun was well aware that he couldn’t take care of all the abuse and corruption in them, but he still planned on bringing peace and prosperity to Great Yan to the best of his capabilities.

The Emperor became dissatisfied with King Qing because of this, he was even indifferent to the Imperial Noble Consort’s pleas for leniency, and went as far as going to Consort Yue’s palace on the day the Imperial Noble Consort was set to serve him.

The Imperial Noble Consort was very unhappy, and she once again set her sights on Lin Sui.

She roughly guessed that everything had been set in motion by the Crown Prince’s party, but even if it hadn’t, it wouldn’t matter. After all, the Crown Prince was a thorn on her side which she definitely had to remove.

This is a fan translation posted to title-in-progress.dreamwidth.org. Support the author if you can.

After midwinter passed, the first flowerbuds began appearing on the branches.

The Imperial Noble Consort began making preparations for a banquet after the new year.

For the Crown Prince’s eighteenth birthday, the Imperial Noble Consort invited young ladies and young men of age into the palace; she didn’t make herself out to be planning the Crown Prince’s marriage, but simply said that it was a very lively and exciting day.

Lin Sui didn’t stop her, and waited to see what kind of tricks she would play.

However, Lin Sui didn’t expect that the Imperial Noble Consort would still be playing the same cheap tricks, the only difference was that the candidate last time had been Concubine Yu, who was serving as First Attendant, and now it was the granddaughter of an old general.

General Mao was a famous general appointed by the previous late Emperor whose words carried some weight in court, he was on the neutral side, and didn’t favour anyone over another.

His beloved third son had died in the battlefield, leaving behind a single daughter. The old general doted on his granddaughter very much, he wasn’t planning on marrying her off, but rather marrying someone into the family for her^[4] so she could live a happy life.

But now, the young lady of the general’s family was laying unconscious on the bed of the Eastern Palace, showing faint signs of waking up.

Lin Sui had just been offered a lot of wine at the banquet, and now the alcohol had gone to his head a bit.

There was nothing wrong with the wine, but Lin Sui could guess based on his body’s reaction that the wine had probably been brewed using deer blood^[5].

Mao Guqing opened her eyes and almost cried out in surprise when she saw and elegant young man with a face flushed deep red.

Lin Sui looked at Zhao Yun fang, who had been led here by the white falcon, and pointed at the young lady on the bed: “Someone brought her in, take her out of here and put her wherever, but don’t alert anyone or someone will lose their reputation.”

Lin Sui massaged his aching temples, the heat had made his neck turn red.

The Imperial Noble Consort had planned on using poison this time, but it wasn’t to “catch them in the act” and play as matchmaker, but rather to make others think that the Crown Prince was driven by lust, and had forcefully captured Young Lady Mao and taken her into the Eastern Palace with the intent of disrespecting her.

Young Lady Mao had been knocked out, so when she woke up and saw the Crown Prince’s strange reaction, she would no doubt be frightened and think that she had been assaulted.

General Mao cared about his granddaughter so much that if his granddaughter suffered such a major grievance, he would no doubt do everything he could for her. When that time came, as a neutral party, he would not only have an inclination to favour others, he would definitely not favour the Crown Prince, which was something the Emperor would be happy about, so he would definitely not prevent it.

Lin Sui had to admit that this plan was pretty good, unfortunately, the Imperial Noble Consort had misjudged him. He had no sexual interest towards anyone other than Yan Qin, and he wouldn’t be dazed enough after a couple of drinks to reach out for another person.

Zhou Yunfang immediately helped Young Lady Mao up, worriedly looking at Lin Sui as he spoke: “Your Highness, are you alright?”

“Don’t worry, go, quick,” Lin Sui looked at Mao Guqing and said, “Young Lady Mao has always been clever, you should know that you lost your way, and never appeared inside the Eastern Palace.”

Mao Guqing was still in a panic, so she blinked and nodded.

In the banquet at the Imperial Flower Garden, the Imperial Noble Consort scanned the area with her eyes, and spoke with some suspicion: “Where is the young lady of the Mao family? I just saw that the girl is quite talented, so I wanted to chat with her a bit more.”

The Imperial Noble Consort opened her mouth, and everyone’s eyes were drawn around.

Mao Guqing’s older cousin, sat on the side for male guests, also found it strange, so he got up and walked around without caring for the etiquette between men and women.

“Speaking of, why has His Highness the Crown Prince also disappeared?”

The Imperial Noble Consort spoke deliberately unintentionally. In fact, no one had found it strange that the two people were missing individually, but after suddenly being lumped together, people’s thoughts began running wild.

The Imperial Noble Consort waved at one of the palace maids standing off to the side, saying: “Go fetch His Highness the Crown Prince, he’s the host of this birthday banquet, how could other people steal his spot?”

A person from King Qing’s faction opened his mouth: “This humble servant found a treasure the day before yesterday and would like to invite His Highness the Crown Prince to see it for a bit.”

Just as Mao Guqing’s cousin was about to ask a palace maid to go look for her, he saw his younger cousin walking over from a small path.

“Why is everyone staring at me? I was charmed by a beautiful butterfly just now and unintentionally wandered off.”

Embarrassed, Mao Guqing admitted this as if she were confessing a crime, looking quite bashful.

Everyone poked fun at her for a bit, but the Imperial Noble Consort’s eyes sank before quickly returning to normal.

A few minutes later, Fu Shu rushed over and saluted the Imperial Noble Consort.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please be understanding, His Highness has been feeling a little chilled recently, so he returned to the palace to rest after drinking a few cups of wine.”

Some young ladies who wanted to become the Princess Consort were rather disappointed, but the others didn’t actually think anything of it.

The Imperial Noble Consort almost tore her handkerchief apart, but her face remained smiling.

In the Eastern Palace, the doors to the inner chamber were tightly shut.

Yan Qin had just heard the news. He’d originally been planning to go to the Imperial Flower Garden, but headed straight to the Eastern Palace instead.

The palace maids who were familiar with him didn’t stop him, they just saluted and watched as the doors to the inner chamber closed once again.

It was only when the doors closed that one of the maids smacked her head: “Oh no, Sister Fu Shu said no one could go inside.”

They were used to not having to announce the Fifth Prince’s arrival, so they didn’t react for a while.

The maid beside her hesitated a little guiltily before speaking: “His Fifth Highness doesn’t understand anything, so it shouldn’t matter, right?”

“I’m afraid that is how it must be, let’s wait for Sister Fu Shu to return and receive punishment.”

His Highness the Crown Prince was drunk, so they did not dare to go inside and bring the Fifth Prince out.

On the spacious bed of the Eastern Palace, Lin Sui lowered his eyes, his skin flushed red and moist with sweat.

He felt a little stuffy, he raised his head and stretched his neck, and his abdomen rose and fell with his breaths.

The curtains draped down, his figure indistinct.