His Royal Highness can’t afford the ante.
Translation Checker: jellypeaches
Editor: jellypeaches, Special_K
Standing face to face and hearing Lin Bozhou’s apology, You Jin looked at him with astonishment. He seemed to doubt that the words came out of Lin Bozhou’s mouth, but he still bowed his head respectfully.
Meng Huan was at a loss for what to do.
He was soft hearted, being easily moved by people’s apologies. So, when he heard the word ‘sorry’, his first reaction was to remember his original intention to assassinate the man.
At that time, they were already wary of each other, so it seemed understandable that he was prohibited from leaving the compound, and he had only lived like that for a mere two months. Moreover, he also harbored malicious thoughts. Although he did not go through with the assassination, he felt a sense of indescribable shame when hearing Lin Bzohou being so honest to him.
Pinching his earlobe, Meng Huan fiddled in embarrassment. “It’s fine…”
Lin Bozhou said in a warm voice, “This husband is admitting his wrongdoings, Huan Huan just needs to accept the apology. There’s no need to be softhearted.”
Meng Huan continued to space out in place.
Perhaps because of his background as an orphan, he was the kind of person who would give his whole heart to anyone who showed him the slightest bit of kindness. Hearing Lin Bozhou’s sincere, almost guilty apology, his heart twisted.
After a while, he began, “I actually—”
—Did not have a great first impression of you.
But before he finished speaking, Chen An approached and called out to His Royal Highness. The attendant’s motions were meant to urge Lin Bozhou to start the discussion on political affairs. Thus, Meng Huan shut his mouth once more.
Lin Bozhou responded to Chen An, then he turned to Meng Huan with a smile and said, “Huan Huan, go out and have fun. Once you are done, come back and tell this husband about your day, alright?”
Meng Huan pursed his lips and nodded.
After Lin Bozhou took his leave with the attendants’ support, Meng Huan was left standing in the walkway.
Looking at Lin Bozhou’s departing back for a while, he saw the man walking carefully because of his blindness, his clothes brushing against the wooden threshold. This made Meng Huan wonder…this should be Lin Bozhou’s most vulnerable moment, right?
But the man was still willing to let him out of the compound.
Thinking how he had taken initiative last night, a surge of complex and mysterious emotions filled his heart. Did Lin Bozhou think that he would not leave him?
Lin Bozhou, an ever-suspicious individual, actually trusted him.
Next to him, You Jin inquired, “Royal Consort, do you want to go out of the compound for a stroll?”
After a moment of silence, Meng Huan looked up. “Yes.”
He went out of the compound through the side gate. No matter which official residence, there will always be the risk of someone watching the front door, gathering information on the comings and goings of the household. Therefore, when Meng Huan went out on ordinary days, he would dress like an ordinary young master and leave from the side door, which was much safer.
Because it was a hot and humid day, You Jin held an umbrella for him. The poor eunuch was so hot that he constantly had to pull out a handkerchief to wipe away his sweat, so much that there was one less layer of powder on his face.
“It’s this hot? Let’s take a break then.” Meng Huan was amused, so he was not in a rush to leave and went to a teahouse beside the road to rest and drink tea.
The atmosphere in the teahouse was pleasant. A storyteller holding clappers was speaking ceaselessly about a man who made a fortune by shipping freight over the sea.
Meng Huan felt drowsy from hearing the story when suddenly a crisp noise entered the room. It seemed that someone was performing face-changing from Sichuan opera. The performer entered with a fan in one hand, and he gently swirled in front of the table with light steps, changing his face in time with the sound of gongs and drums.
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.
After he finished his show, a young teenage faced was revealed.
Ktf mgbkv gbjgfv, “Cwjhlcu!”
“Xlnf er jcbatfg!”
Ktf sbecu wjc ybkfv jcv tfiv bea atf yjrlc. “Efdefralcu rbwf alqr ogbw atf jevlfcmf.”
Zfcu Lejc abbx bea rfnfgji mbqqfg mblcr. Qtfc atf sbecu wjc mjwf mibrf, tf abrrfv atf mblcr lc, atfc revvfcis, ecvfg atf yjrlc, rbwfatlcu kjgw qgfrrfv jujlcra tlr tjcv—
“……”
Without shifting his expression, Meng Huan remained calm. The young man respectfully said, “Many thanks for the young master’s reward. This one wishes for your peace, fortune, prosperity and progress.”
After the performer left, Meng Huan felt a very familiar feeling in his hand.
Correct, it was another letter.
QWQ.
Why was there no end to this?
Now Meng Huan was terrified whenever he saw a letter. With nimble fingers, he gently stashed the letter in his sleeve and turned his head to see You Jin with his eyes looking down, taking out money for the performer. The eunuch shouldn’t have noticed the exchange of the letter.
Meng Huan looked around the teahouse as unobtrusively as possible, but failed to see any familiar figures. It seemed that this person was also afraid of being found out by Lin Bozhou and secretly passed the letter to him.
Now he was just dumbfounded.
…Another letter.
…What kind of mysterious plotline would this letter unravel?
…But he already lost most of his desire to progress with the plot.
He could only hide the letter in his pocket and read it once he was back in the compound with no one around.
The air was getting cooler, and the night vendors gradually appeared to set up their stalls. The streets were even more crowded, with the occasional cool breeze sweeping through them..
Meng Huan left the teahouse and walked around the streets until the sky grew darker.
You Jin beside him looked nervous and inquisitive. “When does the young master plan to return to the compound?”
Even as the sky turned dark, Meng Huan still refused to return. Instead, he looked around in the middle of the crowd, looking for something. It was not hard to think that he was looking for a friend to make an escape.
His Royal Highness told You Jin that Meng Huan could go anywhere, and he must not stop the youth, nor should he question it if he wanted to go further afield.
—Like this, the probability of the Royal Consort escaping was through the roof.
Looking distracted, Meng Huan murmured, “I saw some stewed goose here before. It smelled good, so I want to buy some to take back.”
“Young Master—” You Jin said before he was interrupted.
“Oh, it is across the bridge. Wait for me here, I will be right back.” Meng Huan ran over with big strides.
You Jin looked even more nervous, almost wanting to take a step forward to catch up, but he was afraid that his obvious worry would make Meng Huan feel uncomfortable.
He did not dare to take his eyes off of Meng Huan at all. He saw the youth queuing in the line for the stewed goose stall, buying half a goose, wrapping it in the lotus leaf and carrying it in his arms while slowly returning.
His tensed expression relaxed immensely.
“Young Master, shall we return to the compound?” He asked at last.
Meng Huan nodded. “Yes.”
With the stewed goose in the lotus leaf in his arms, he walked back to the compound. You Jin followed, full of joy.
—This was what their Royal Highness said tasted good the other day.
–
In the compound, Lin Bozhou had long since stopped dealing with political affairs. Because Meng Huan was out so late, he had already eaten dinner and was sitting in his study, listening to Shan Xing read to him.
Shan Xing was still on Annotation of Three Rites, which he had not finished before. It was obvious to him that Lin Bozhou, who had his fingers on the back of his chair, was in a rare absent-minded state, and did not seem to be listening to what was being read.
Shan Xing took a drink of his strong tea. “Royal Consort is still not back yet?”
Lin Bozhou replied, “He is too fond of play.”
“Haha, then the Royal Consort will definitely return as soon as he’s had his fun. Your Royal Highness doesn’t need to worry so much.” Shan Xing giggled, “Anyway, it was Your Royal Highness who allowed the Royal Consort to leave the compound. He will go out many more times after this. If Your Royal Highness is to worry everyday, won’t that mean there will be no end to it?”
Lin Bozhou rested his finger on his teacup, picked it up and took a sip. He leant his head against the back of the chair, the thin lines of his lips and nose looking like there was no trace of emotion on them.
He just learned against the support sullenly, not saying a word.
With his calmness and composure, he could instantly calm down in the face of the most serious incident, weighing the pros and cons to determine the direction of developments, whether the situation was still under control and whether it could be recovered.
But now, he found that no matter how he weighed the outcome, there was still an unstable and empty feeling in his heart.
He turned to the servant beside him. “Go and ask whether the Royal Consort has returned.”
“Understood.” The servant responded and left.
Shan Xing pointed out, “Your Royal Highness, this is already the eighth time you have given this order since the afternoon.”
This was meant to be humorous, but Lin Bozhou was not smiling at all, not even a little. There was something pent-up in his chest from a certain person being absent this afternoon. His long and slender fingers rested on the desk and the air around him felt faintly heavy.
Shan Xing stopped joking around and continued to read.
Brisk footsteps sounded at the door, and Lin Bozhou sat up slightly and turned towards the source of the sound.
“I am back!” Meng Huan entered with the lotus leaf bundle in his arms. “Someone just told me that His Royal Highness is looking for me?”
As soon as he was back at the compound, a servant came to the gate to ask about his whereabouts. After a chat, he found that it was Lin Bozhou who was looking for him. Although Meng Huan did not know the reason, he still ran over immediately.
“Your Royal Highness?” Meng Huan placed his hand on the man’s arm.
At the next moment, his hand was covered by Lin Bozhou’s.
His large palm was cold and the way he sought contact was very quick, as if he had been enduring for a long time.
Lin Bozhou, who had been looking gloomy and making the atmosphere heavy and scary in front of Shan Xing, made his voice soft and gentle, with a warm smile like a light spring breeze, “Huan Huan is back?”
On the other side, Shan Xing retreated in silence.
“…Yes.”
Somehow, Meng Huan found that the man’s smile was forced.
There was also an unmistakable sense of melancholy in the man’s expression.
“I had a nice stroll outside, ate dinner on the way, and I even bought you some stewed goose.” Meng Huan put down the lotus leaf bundle. “Would Your Royal Highness like to try some?”
Lin Bozhou moved his hand upward and held his hand. Instead of answering the question, he said, “I have been waiting for Huan Huan all afternoon.”
His tone was less calm, more like he was speaking to himself in a low voice after a long wait.
At that time in the restaurant when Meng Huan said he wanted to escape and sought out help from Xu Ruolin and Lu Nanxing, Lin Bozhou actually knew of it.
If a person had become his without feeling anything for him, their only option to get out of it was to run away.
Lin Bozhou was gambling, wagering on what Meng Huan would choose after obtaining the freedom to leave the compound. If there were feelings for him, the youth would stay; if there were no feelings for him, the youth would run away.
He waited for the outcome, but it was like falling from a height. Although he was unharmed, the heart-stopping feeling lingering in his heart made him never want to risk it again, not wanting to worry over the youth going out for a second time.
He became abnormally anxious because of Meng Huan’s late return.
Stooping down, Meng Huan gently scratched his large palm. “You waited for me all afternoon?”
Lin Bozhou answered stiffly, “You returned too late.”
Blinking, Meng Huan noted, “But Your Royal Highness said I can go out, but did not give me a time that I must return by. The sun has not set yet, but it is still too late?”
Lin Bozhou stayed silent.
Meng Huan teased, “Is it because Your Royal Highness can’t afford the ante…”
He was actually trying to lighten the mood.
But Lin Bozhou clenched the armrests with his fingers, outlining his joints clearly. Then something in his voice just broke, “Meng, Huan.”
The words were heavy with his powerlessness.
It was as if he could not lose the youth no matter what, and could only helplessly bear Meng Huan’s teasing.
Meng Huan was stunned and looked down.
In front of him, Lin Bozhou’s thin lips were pale, his eyes covered by white gauze, and there was an indescribable agitation in his eyes. Because of his blindness, he showed a kind of discomfort in wanting to grab onto what he could not.
This was Meng Huan’s first time seeing him like this.
Meng Huan’s heart calmed down, and he sat down beside Lin Bozhou, holding his hand gently.
Lin Bozhou spoke haltingly, as if he was gloomily being drenched by rain, “Yes.”
He admitted through his clenched teeth, “I could not afford the ante.”
His inner desire for control and his anxiety were screaming. He wanted desperately to drag Meng Huan back and lock him in the compound. He truly felt the fear of losing this person.
He admitted it, he was emotionally defeated.
But the next second after he said that.
Jiu~
His lips were softly touched.
Whoop… The relationship development is so lovely between these two
Thanks very much for the chapter
ଘ(੭ु ˊ꒳ˋ)੭ु .°♡
😍😍😍
ouuuuhhgououuhhhhhgouhhh (melting into the cracks in the floor) this is so soft…
Ah so cute!! Thank you for the chapter!
Thank You for the new chapter ( ˘ ³˘)♥
Aww, that’ was a bit sad, but still so wholesome. Lin Bozhou really cares for his Huan Huan.
Thanks for the chapter!
thank you for the chapter 🫶
Aww I see “Chu” the comics all the time. It’s a sweet kiss as opposed to the aggressive, wet, smacking -sound whole-face kisses.
The character growth here is so heartening ❤️.
Aww I see “Chu” the comics all the time. It’s a sweet kiss as opposed to the aggressive, wet, smacking -sound whole-face kisses.
The character growth here is so heartening ❤️.