In this way, Shen An stayed at King An’s mansion as the prince’s companion.
Maybe because he had the blood of General Weiyuan flowing through his veins, Shen An had been fond of practicing martial arts since he was a child. When King An found out about this, he specially invited his master to teach them martial arts.
But Yan Chun didn’t like wielding swords and weapons.
He was the only son of King An, and he grew up spoiled as a child. He didn’t even want to walk long distances, so after just two days of horse riding practice, he gave up.
Finally having told that he was tired, he threw himself back on the bed and wrapped himself in a quilt, leaving behind a bulging back.
After lying there for a while, he noticed there was no sound behind him. His small body hesitated for a moment, then slowly shifted and pulled down the quilt a little, revealing a pair of watery eyes.
Seeing Shen An still waiting by his bed, Yan Chun sighed and said softly, “Brother Shen An, I really don’t like practicing martial arts. You go ahead, and don’t call me.”
Although he saw that the little child had made up his mind, Shen An couldn’t help but persuade, “But if you don’t practice martial arts, what should you do if you encounter danger in the future? What should you do if someone hurts you?”
Yan Chun knew that he had a soft spot, so he tugged at his sleeves, shook him back and forth, and said with a playful tone, “I’m not afraid, I have my brother to protect me.”
Shen An was amused by his childish words, and asked, “Can I protect you for the rest of my life?”
When Yan Chun heard this, he kicked off the quilt, sat up, and threw himself into his arms.
He didn’t know where his confidence came from, but he said loudly, “Yes! Brother will naturally protect me for the rest of his life.”
Shen An was stiff for a moment and did not dare move. The little man in his arms was so soft, like tofu, that he was afraid of breaking him accidentally.
It took a long time before he found his voice, and replied stumblingly, “Okay…I will protect you…for the rest of my life.”
Since then, no one in the mansion had mentioned the young prince’s martial arts practice. However, Shen An had become more diligent in practicing martial arts. It seemed as if he had shouldered Yan Chun’s share too.
Time flew, and day after day passed.
The boy grew up to be a young man.
In the spring of the twentieth year of Qianyuan, the whole Yanling was bustling with one topic.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
The youngest son of King An participated in this year’s Spring Festival and won the title of Tanhua Lang in high school.
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But it wasn’t much of a curious subject. After all, Prince An was born into a noble family. He was thoroughly talented and gifted. He didn’t rely on feng yin to gain his fame. At merely eighteen years old, he won the title of Tanhua Lang. Anyone who spoke of this young prince claimed that he was more handsome than Pan An, that his appearance was like that of an immortal. Who could resist gossiping about this?
Although no proposals had been voiced, such a charming young man had inevitably already captured the hearts of many high-ranking ladies.
It’s just that King An had always asked the prince to focus on his studies and had never regarded these matters. However, now that he had achieved fame and his official career path seemed to be paved smoothly, some families with unmarried maidens had started considering it.
Yan Chun, who was the center of public opinion, was in the library, taking a nap on the floor beside a basin of ice.
As soon as Shen An entered, he was greeted with the sight of the noble young prince lying on the ground, sleeping soundly with a faint blush on his cheeks.
Shen An walked over and carefully picked him up.
Yan Chun seemed to be really sensitive. As Shen An touched him, he woke up, but without bothering to open his eyes, he found a comfortable angle and nestled in his arms, speaking lazily, “Brother, don’t move, let me sleep a little longer.”
“Aren’t you afraid of catching a cold?” Shen An stopped moving, tightening his arms and hugging him.
“It’s not cold,” Yan Chun’s voice was soft, slurred like a lazy cat, “There is a blanket on the ground.”
“You can’t sleep on the ground right next to a basin of ice. It’s not even early summer yet…”
“I’m hot.” Yan Chun whispered back, his tone laced with a sense of grievance.
Shen An looked down at the person sleeping peacefully in his arms, and suddenly became speechless.
Over the years, he really hadn’t seemed to have changed, remaining the same.
As long as his voice sounded soft and aggrieved, Shen An would have nothing to say.
The library quieted down, with only rows of wooden bookshelves standing behind him, exuding the long scent of sandalwood, guarding ancient secrets.
Shen An sighed, sat down with his back against the bookshelf, and embraced the person in his arms tightly. He hesitated for a moment before moving the ice basin farther away.
“Go to sleep.” Shen An said softly.
Yan Chun seemed to have fallen asleep, but still responded in a daze, “Yes…”
Shen An looked at him, the corners of his lips rising unconsciously.
He looked somewhat like someone who had been awarded with the title of Tanhua Lang.
Sunlight filtered in through the windows, illuminating the quiet room in a soft golden hue.
Everything had become so silent and tranquil that even Shen An relaxed his vigilance, and therefore failed to notice King An had appeared for a moment before leaving quickly.
In the evening, a servant came to call them for dinner.
Yan Chun stretched out, rubbed his eyes and woke up.
Realizing he was still lying in Shen An’s arms, he quickly stood up, rubbing Shen An’s arms as he worried, “Brother, are your arms sore?”
Shen An’s arms felt like they weighed a thousand pounds, but he dismissed it. He merely stood up and said calmly, “They’re alright.”
Yan Chun felt relieved after hearing this, “I was exhausted. Why didn’t you put me on the bed? It would have been alright.”
“It’s alright.” Shen An replied.
“Really?” The smile on Yan Chun’s face suddenly shifted to a sly one, “Since I got done with the examinations, I have determined to make up for all the hardships I have suffered over the years. I either eat or sleep the entire day, and have gained quite some weight. Four pounds, and you still don’t think it’s wrong, which means I’m not too fat.”
Shen An smiled and agreed, “It’s not much.”
“That’s good, let’s go eat.” Yan Chun said, holding his hand and walking towards the door.
Shen An looked down at their interlocked hands. Although he knew it was inappropriate, he still let him hold his hand till they arrived at the library door before calmly letting go.
Although many days had passed since the announcement of the results, and those who wanted to celebrate had already finished celebrating, the entire Mansion was still filled with joy.
Especially King An and Queen An.
As soon as they entered, Queen An beckoned to Yan Chun, “Chun’er, come here quickly and sit next to the concubine. Where were you today?”
“I went to the Library Pavilion.” Yan Chun replied.
Queen An was very pleased to hear this, “My son has really grown up. He works hard, but he also needs to rest. Don’t tire yourself out.”
Yan Chun, “…yes.”
When Shen An saw this, a smile flashed in his eyes.
King An didn’t say much today. His eyes shifted between the two of them for a long time. He suddenly put down the ivory chopsticks in his hands and said with emotion, “An’er has already reached the crown age this year.”
Seeing that he was mentioned, Shen An also put down his chopsticks and responded, “Yes.”
Then he heard King An continue, “It’s time to discuss marriage.”
This is going to end so painfully, isn’t it.
Thank you for the update.
Oh just wait….
Haha I’m in danger 🫣
I already feel bad for Yan Chun and the worst hasn’t even happened yet.
Thank you for the chapter!
I have come here to reread and the root of the arc was the bastard king an all along! yes, they were cuddling, I mean sleeping intimately perhaps, so what to do? remove all chances of bromance from there lives by arranging a marriage proposal! of course, classically they will start to have actual feelings after this!