“You are still young and I am still strong. We will soon have sons. I just can’t bear to see you look so depressed.” In his life, he only enjoyed two things. The first was eating and the second was his wife.
“He who gives no thought to far-flung problems soon finds suffering nearby. Now I only have two things on my mind. The first is to bear you a son and the second is Chumu; he makes me worry incessantly--”
Before she could finish her sentence, their attendant announced that Sheng Chumu had returned.
Consort Han was pleasantly surprised. However, she did not expect her brother, who had gone missing for some time, would be vomiting and smelling of alcohol as soon as he returned.
“What’s wrong with this family? Is alcoholism infectious? Everyone's the same.” She glared at Prince Han.
Prince Han hurried to find a scapegoat. “That’s right, Chumu. If you can’t drink then don’t drink. What if you get ill from this? You are disappointing. You went missing for no reason. Did you know how worried your sister was? You are a general and cannot leave your position as you wish. If Sheng Chuling did not personally come to beg me and I went to apply leave for you, I am afraid that your position would have…”
“That’s enough. Can’t you see that he is drunk? How can he understand you? Hurry and help him into the guest room.” In the end, her heart ached for her younger brother. She did not know what he had suffered outside.
When Sheng Chumu was settled, Consort Han went to make a hangover soup. Prince Han wanted to follow her but was held back by Sheng Chumu.
“Don’t go, you are not allowed to leave!” Sheng Chumu’s eyes were hazy and he could not see who was in front of him. “I gave up everything for you. Why do you still want to leave? That day, the bun that I bought for you was still hot but you stepped over my heart. Touch it…”
Prince Han’s eyes jutted out as he struggled to pull back his hand. “I am not touching!”
“Why do you always let me down? If you don’t care about me, why would you give me hope. Why did you make me think that you were willing to grow old with me?” He was determined not to let go.
“You are worse than me when I am drunk!” Prince Han wanted to laugh and cry.
“I can’t believe your smooth hand would crush my heart.” He rubbed his cheek on Prince Han’s plump hand. “When I wake up, I won’t be so stupid anymore. With this last kiss, let’s end the feelings we have for each other.”
Prince Han did not have time to react before Sheng Chumu planted a kiss on the back of his hand. Of all things, Consort Han caught sight of this.
Consort Han was shocked. “What is going on?”
“Consort, don’t misunderstand.” No wonder Sheng Chumu managed to go through all the pretty women in Chang’an. He was skilled in this. Prince Han pulled his hand back and wiped the back of his hand. He was so cheesy. “He is too drunk and cannot recognise anybody. He said a bunch of things and then...did that.”
“He is drunk but you are not drunk. You let him do his nonsense.” Consort Han thought it was hilarious.
“Who asked for him to be your dear brother. I have no choice but to give in to him.” Prince Han lowered his voice, “From what I see, he must have gotten his heart broken by some women. Okay, who cares about his nonsense. Now that he is back, everything will be much easier.”
“That’s right. As long as he has returned safely.” As Consort Han spoke, she suddenly saw Sheng Xiaojing poke his head through the door. “Aiyo, father. You should make a sound. You scared me. Why are you here?”
“I received the news that you sent. How can I not come?” Sheng Xiaojing looked at his eldest son who was in deep sleep. He breathed a sigh of relief. “Stupid brat, when he wakes up tomorrow, I am going to break his legs!”
“Okay, you can scold and hit him all you want as long as you wait for Chumu to leave my Han Mansion.” Consort Han was a filial eldest daughter as well as a protective sister.
Sheng Chuling and Sheng Chujun accompanied their father and could tell that he did not mean what he said and they laughed secretly.
Sheng Xiaojing suddenly turned around. “What are you laughing at? Brats, remember to tell your mother that Chumu has returned from his travels. No one is allowed to let your mother know that there was no news of Chumu for a period of time. If not, she will cry out for the heavens and earth to hear. Sigh, a kind mother begets many failures of sons.”
Prince Han looked at this family and laughed foolishly.
There was a new courtesan at Swallow House. This news attracted a pack of wolves and Grand Prince Liang headed the pack. The beauty went on stage with a white muslin cloth covering her face. Her figure was enchanting and she danced like a fairy. She attracted everyone’s souls. The pack of wolves hooted and clapped. When it was time to win the beauty over, she walked in front of Grand Prince Liang and kneeled.
“I am here to seek forgiveness from Your Highness.” The beauty had glorious and brilliant eyes. “I was fortunate to meet Your Highness on Chang’an’s streets before. Your Highness was confident and at ease, making me admire you. When I got home, I mentioned to my elder brother that I coincidentally bumped into a hero on the streets. However, I was shy and did not mention your identity. Unexpectedly, just because my elder brother heard what I said, he believed that my heart was with the hero and rejected all marriage requests for me.”
“It was right to reject the marriages.” Grand Prince Liang has had an uncountable number of affairs and could not remember who this lady was. However, his eyes lit up. “Since I intend to take in a concubine, you will be happiest with me.”
“However, the person that got rejected is angry. I am thinking of a way to appease him. That’s why I came to Swallow House to show my talents and make him smile.” The beauty removed her muslin cloth and exposed an extraordinary beauty. It was Lu Yingying. “That person is Your Highness.”
“It is you!” Grand Prince Liang’s smile turned cold. “Lu Qi dotes on you and looks down on me as a brother-in-law.”
“That day when my brother came back, he told me that he rejected your kind intentions. I was anxious and did not know what to do. I didn’t explain myself to you and was afraid that you would misunderstand me and my brother. I wanted to find you but could not go without a reason. Today, I am here to seek forgiveness.” She was left with no choice but to head into the lion’s den.
“No wonder Lu Qi did not give me face that day. He had done it because you already had a man in your heart. But you actually liked me.” So Lu Yingying had actually set her eyes on him. Grand Prince Liang became proud. “Haha, what a misunderstanding! Lu Yingying, do you really like me or are you trying to use your beauty to seduce me to save your father and brother?”
“I do not dare to lie. Both are my reasons.” She knew the consequence of lying.
Grand Prince Liang was not annoyed. “What a great two reasons.”
“Although I admire Your Highness, I cannot give up my duty to my parents and kinship with my brother. As long as Your Highness graces us with kindness and saves my father and brother, I will be willing to be your servant and serve Your Highness.”
“For a daughter of a Duke to be my servant, it is a pity. I wanted to raise your status and make you my consort. Unfortunately, you don’t have the blessing.” Grand Prince Liang held Lu Yingying’s chin as he looked lecherously at her appearance. “With your beauty, you can be my concubine. If you treat me well, I will not neglect you.” As he said this, he reached out for her waist and led her away.
Lu Yingying pulled herself away and spoke nicely, “Your Highness, even if I am just a concubine. My father and brother should be the ones to send me off.”
“...I understand.” She made it clear that she was sacrificing her beauty for him to save her family. She was not willing to go without benefitting first. “Okay. On the day that your father and brother return home, you will become my concubine.”