Chapter 85: The Free and Easy Young Marquis (18)
When Huo Xian returned to the carriage bearing the mark of a slap, what he saw was Huo Yuan with a face as black as the bottom of a pot.
“What’s wrong?” Huo Xian asked, amused.
“I could hear her scolding you all the way from here,” Huo Yuan said.
Huo Xian’s eyelid twitched slightly. “What else did you hear?”
Huo Yuan looked at him quietly with profound eyes. After a long while, he spat out two words: “The slap.”
Huo Xian: “…”
It was inexplicably a little awkward.
Within half a day, the entire convoy knew that their Little Marquis Huo Xian wanted to marry a man as his wife. The Eldest Princess was furious, even threatening to sever their relationship to make the Little Marquis return to the capital and marry, but the Little Marquis refused, declaring he would marry no one but Huo Yuan. This directly made the Eldest Princess sick with anger, throwing the whole convoy into chaos like a pot of porridge.
Huo Xian went to check on her a few times, but was chased away by the maids every time.
“What kind of play are you acting out now?” Nearing the capital, Ning Chen really couldn’t hold back and asked.
Huo Xian cast a sideways glance at him, feigning incomprehension. “What are you referring to?”
Ning Chen rolled his eyes at him, glancing at Huo Yuan, who was sound asleep in his arms. “Are you planning to carry him into the city just like this?”
“Yuan Yuan can’t ride in a carriage,” Huo Xian said.
Ning Chen almost wanted to roll his eyes again. Remembering his persona as an elegant and graceful noble young master, he reined it in. “Are you planning to let the whole city know? Who knows how many noble ladies in the capital will cry their eyes blind.”
“What does that have to do with me?” Huo Xian raised an eyebrow.
“Cold. Heartless,” Ning Chen retorted.
In the eyes of the servants of the Princess Manor, the Little Marquis was clearly unwilling to compromise with the Eldest Princess, deliberately holding his little male favorite in his arms to show his stance. Another portion of the people focused on the little male favorite. Anyway, anyone who had seen the little male favorite was completely won over by his looks. After seeing him, a thought would universally pop up in their minds—No wonder.
Looking so beautiful, no wonder the Little Marquis was willing to talk back to the Eldest Princess for him.
Huo • Little Male Favorite • Yuan: “…”
[I think I’ve gotten really tan.] Huo Yuan communicated with Huo Xian.
[Hmm?] Huo Xian was momentarily stunned. He looked down at him. Although he had been wrapped quite tightly along the way, he had still been exposed to the cold, and the weather was dry, so his skin was a little dry. After examining him for a while, he said: [You haven’t gotten tan; you’re just a little dry. Let’s look into skincare products when we get back.]
Huo Yuan: […]
Chatting on completely different wavelengths, isn’t this?
[I’m talking about being a little, male, favorite.] Huo Yuan’s eyes were profound.
This… was indeed Huo Xian’s fault.
[You’ll have to suffer a little grievance for now.] Huo Xian said guiltily.
Huo Yuan pouted. [Alright.]
Only Huo Yuan, this fake human, lacked so many convoluted thoughts and didn’t care about reputation. Moreover, he also knew Huo Xian was doing this deliberately to show someone. Even the Eldest Princess cooperated, and Huo Xian had even taken a slap. He absolutely couldn’t hold them back.
As Huo Xian expected, the news that he had set his sights on a man and intended to stay together with him forever spread into the capital, and the entire city immediately boiled over.
Heartbreak wasn’t scary. What was scary was that their male god didn’t like women, but liked men!!!
In this dynasty, the southern wind was not prevalent. Those who occasionally had special preferences kept it secretive. In any case, letting people know was equivalent to ruining one’s reputation. Apart from being gossiped about, one would be completely unable to hold their head up high.
What Huo Xian was doing could not be described as anything but absurd. Even in the imperial court, imperial censors impeached Marquis Huo for failing to discipline his son.
Marquis Huo: “…”
Marquis Huo was truly innocent. He arrived in the capital even later than Huo Xian and his group. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to arrive sooner, but he was trapped outside the city by heavy snow on his way back. Because his return to the capital was later than expected, he had already been impeached once. He was the last person to find out his son had a male lover and was impeached yet again. Marquis Huo’s whole world turned gloomy.
Marquis Huo, who was bombarded in the imperial court, maintained a wooden face. After holding it in for a long time, he finally forced out a sentence: “The laws of Great Chang do not stipulate that people of the same sex cannot marry.”
The imperial censors were silent for a moment, then immediately launched the next round of bombardment. They bombarded him so much that Marquis Huo almost threw out the words: “With my family background, do I need you guys babbling nonsense? My son can marry whoever he wants if he’s happy. What does it have to do with you!”
The imperial court became like a public street, with everyone arguing heatedly.
Arguing to the end, Marquis Huo still brought out “The laws of Great Chang do not stipulate that people of the same sex cannot marry,” and then asked the Emperor to make a decision.
On the dragon throne, Emperor Haoyuan seemed to be lacking in energy. His face was sallow, with dark circles under his eyes, and his eyes were murky. He looked as if he hadn’t slept for a long time, his whole person appearing somewhat absent-minded.
When everyone looked at him expectantly, asking him to make a conclusion, he forcefully suppressed the urge to yawn, waved his hand, and said, “Since Yi’er is pleased with that man, We shall bestow a marriage upon them. Huang Yu, draft the decree.”
Marquis Huo: “…”
Everyone: “…???” Your Majesty, what is wrong with you? Your Majesty, wake up quickly!
However, Emperor Haoyuan, who had attended the morning court assembly as if sleepwalking, seemed not to hear. After having Huang Yu draft the decree, he announced the court assembly dismissed. That day, after the court assembly, Marquis Huo conveniently brought back an imperial decree bestowing the marriage.
The Princess Manor was thrown into chaos once again.
A large part of the reason the Eldest Princess was angry with Huo Xian later on was to cooperate with his acting. Compared to her son liking men, she cared more about the safety of her family. But this didn’t mean she could accept Huo Xian and Huo Yuan. She had even thought about shoving someone into Huo Xian’s room, using whatever means necessary.
And the result? An imperial decree! Bestowing! Marriage!
Letting Huo Xian marry a man would sever Marquis Huo’s family line!
Not to mention the Eldest Princess, even Huo Xian found it very unbelievable. At the same time, he couldn’t help but wonder: What kind of crazy fit was Emperor Haoyuan having?
However, Emperor Haoyuan had long intended to strengthen the ties with the Eldest Princess Manor through marriage. The First Princess had married three years ago, and the Second Princess was just sixteen. She had admired the original host since childhood, and Emperor Haoyuan had also intended to match them up. But now?
The Eldest Princess took the imperial decree and hurried to the palace in a flurry, but she couldn’t see Emperor Haoyuan… Emperor Haoyuan had suddenly fainted while reviewing memorials after court. The imperial physicians were still taking his pulse, but he showed no signs of waking up.
With Emperor Haoyuan collapsing, the palace also became lively. However, the most important thing was that with the Emperor ill, no one was handling state affairs.
The sickly Crown Prince was temporarily pushed to the forefront. The Crown Prince did want to do his part, but unfortunately, his physical foundation was truly too weak—so weak that he felt powerless before finishing a single memorial, collapsing just like his imperial father.
The Second Prince?
The Second Prince, whose intelligence was only that of a few-year-old child, was good at playing. Having him review memorials and handle state affairs was tantamount to a fantasy, and he was directly passed over by the courtiers.
The Third Prince…
None of the courtiers felt at ease with the identity of this Third Prince, as if everyone had tacitly agreed to skip him.
But what use was skipping him? The Fourth Prince was blind; surely they couldn’t have the Fourth Prince handle state affairs, right?
Just as the courtiers could only hold their noses and prepare to invite the Third Prince to take over, and Xiao Jinli had long been ready to take charge, Emperor Haoyuan, who had lain there for a full five days, briefly woke up. After waking up, he gave instructions on two matters—
First, the Fourth Prince would handle state affairs on his behalf. Second, for his nephew Huo Xian’s marriage, the Empress should prepare a grand gift.
These two matters rendered the courtiers speechless once again. If Emperor Haoyuan were still awake, the mass of officials would definitely angrily criticize him as “absurd.” Letting the blind Fourth Prince handle state affairs—fine, if he couldn’t see, he could have someone read to him. But preparing a grand gift for his nephew? What the hell was that? There was no shortage of people who felt that Emperor Haoyuan, finally waking up, specifically mentioning the “Qilin son” Huo Xian showed that Huo Xian was favored by the Emperor. However, the person in question felt that this matter was fraught with weirdness from beginning to end.
Emperor Haoyuan seemed as if he had been possessed by something evil.
As the Emperor’s biological nephew, the “Qilin son” from the golden mouth, if Huo Xian didn’t go take a look at Emperor Haoyuan, it wouldn’t be justifiable just from the perspective of filial piety. Therefore, he invited the Medical Immortal Du Hanxu and entered the palace to visit.
However, he was stopped by the Commander of the Imperial Guards.
The Commander of the Imperial Guards was surnamed Wen. He was the brother-in-law of Prince Ji, meaning he was the uncle of Xiao Jingming, who had conflicts with the original host. Because of the conflict between the two, whenever the original host entered the palace and encountered this man, he would always receive one or two disdainful looks.
Now, he brazenly stopped him, using the most legitimate reason, “His Majesty is gravely ill, outsiders are not allowed to visit,” to refuse his entry into the palace.
To this, Huo Xian couldn’t even be bothered to say much. He directly tossed out a golden medallion. This was the only death-exemption golden medallion in the dynasty. Seeing the golden medallion was like seeing His Majesty in person. Therefore, before Commander Wen had time to make sarcastic remarks, he had to first offer his knees, and then obediently lead the person to the bedchamber.
And outside the bedchamber, Huo Xian had the fortune to meet the Noble Consort Wang Yunjie, whose experiences were legendary.
To be honest, the Noble Consort’s appearance was somewhat different from what he had imagined. She was a delicate woman, like a weak willow supporting the wind. Wearing plain clothes and light makeup, it still couldn’t hide the haggardness and signs of aging on her face. At an age that should have been similar to the Eldest Princess, she looked over forty. She didn’t possess the sharp edge and sharpness of someone in a high position. Instead, she was like a smooth piece of jade, with a calm, worldly detachment in her placid eyes, as if she had seen through the vanity of the world.
If this was an act, Huo Xian could only say her acting skills were brilliant.
The Noble Consort had come to “switch shifts” with the Empress. She respectfully performed a concubine’s bow to the Empress, but the Empress didn’t give her a single glance from beginning to end, walking straight towards Huo Xian. A faint smile appeared on her exhausted face. “Yi’er, what brings you to the palace today?”
Because the original host had a close relationship with the Crown Prince and they were cousins, the Empress’s attitude towards him was also quite good.
Huo Xian then confessed about inviting the Medical Immortal Du to diagnose and treat Emperor Haoyuan. “It’s not that I don’t trust the imperial physicians in the palace, but I thought that having one more person diagnose would bring one more shred of hope. I ask Your Highness the Empress not to blame me.”
The more than twenty imperial physicians in the palace’s Imperial Academy of Medicine had yet to diagnose what illness Emperor Haoyuan was suffering from, and naturally had no way to prescribe the right medicine. The old imperial physicians were so anxious that their beards were falling out in handfuls, and the Empress was also burning with anxiety. Now that Huo Xian had brought over the world-renowned Medical Immortal Du, who had previously treated the Fourth Prince, the Empress naturally couldn’t ask for anything better.
Upon entering the bedchamber, the Empress’s gaze swept across Huo Yuan’s face. She was momentarily stunned by his beauty, then remembered something. Her expression turned somewhat strange, and she gave Huo Xian a look, seemingly asking a question.
Huo Xian didn’t hide it either. Since he had openly brought Huo Yuan to his side, he naturally wasn’t afraid of being looked at or gossiped about.
He therefore gave the Empress a slight nod, and the two could be considered to have had a brief exchange.
Before the bedchamber door closed, Huo Xian noticed that the Noble Consort hadn’t come in, and she was still maintaining her curtseying posture. He tentatively reminded the Empress, “Your Highness, Her Highness the Noble Consort…”
The trace of a smile originally on the Empress’s face vanished without a trace, and her whole person looked much colder. she said indifferently, “Ignore her.”
It was evident that the relationship between the imperial concubines was not very harmonious.
It was Du Hanxu’s second time entering the palace, but his first time meeting the most exalted couple in the world. His calves couldn’t help but tremble slightly, but when he saw the patient, the doctor’s professional qualities allowed him to quickly enter his zone.
At the same time, Huo Yuan also quickly scanned Emperor Haoyuan’s body.
[Beep, deducting 100 points. Currently, employee [Yuan] has an accumulated point total of -2000. When accumulated points reach -3000, the number of mission worlds will be additionally increased. Please use your abilities cautiously and follow the laws of the world. This is a reminder.] The manager, which hadn’t issued a prompt in a long time, sent a reminder.
Huo Xian was stunned: [-2000?]
Huo Yuan felt very guilty: [Uh…]
As a result, he heard Huo Xian breathe a slight sigh of relief and say: [I asked you to help so many times before that I didn’t even dare to check the points. Fortunately, it hasn’t reached -3000 yet.] An increase in mission worlds was a minor issue, but transmigrating through an extra world consuming the lifespan of Huo Yuan’s consciousness body was a very serious problem.
Huo Yuan: ???
[Yuan Yuan, try to keep it within -3000.] Huo Xian said.
Huo Yuan: [Oh, okay… Right, Huo Xian, Emperor Haoyuan has been poisoned.]
At the same time, Du Hanxu’s brows also furrowed tightly. Stroking his beard, he said softly, “His Majesty… seems to be poisoned.”
Translator’s Note: Southern wind: A euphemism for male homosexuality in ancient China. Qilin son: A term of praise for an exceptionally gifted or promising child.
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