Chapter 34- Imperial Palace of Wu Xi

A.N- The most awaited update is here! I A M S O S O R R Y !!

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After suffering from a terrible hangover and tiresome back-breaking carriage ride, Bai Yuan and his small troop finally reached their destination and stopped in front of the Crown Palace.

The Crown Palace was far more marvelous and captivating than Bai Yuan's Blue Sky Manor and Great General's huge mansion. So far, Bai Yuan thought ZunYi Inn had the best interior but his assumptions scattered all over the place as soon as they made their grand entrance into the Main Palace. Rows of palace maids bowed down to them as royal guards escorted them inside. There were huge stairs in front of them and they could see blurry silhouettes on top of the steps from a distance. When they got near they finally saw clear figures from the royalties of the Wu Xi empire of the North. Those people were dressed in gorgeous traditional attire with shiny jewelry all over their bodies. Bai Yuan propped his hand over his eyes and squinted, "Damn, what a shine!"

Yeye was in his arms, he also followed his mother and copied in the same tone, "Dang, what shine!"

Bai Yuan chuckled and ruffled his head for being so funny and playful. After nearing some more and climbing some steps, Bai Yuan finally spotted a beautiful princess in bright blue traditional hanfu. She had a large bulge on her belly.

"AH, so she's Princess Wang Mo-er?!"

Yiheng heard his surprised expression and replied in a calm tone, "Yes. It's such a matter of grief that you don't remember many things from the past."

"I know right? It's sad indeed. I really wanted to know if Yuan had feelings for you or not… " Bai Yuan was planning to say the last part softly in a low voice, but Yiheng still caught it and abruptly stopped in his steps. He looked frozen to the core, hurt and shaken.

Bai Yuan cursed himself for being dumb. He was thinking of a solution when suddenly he felt Yiheng's large hand on his hand.

"Wife….will you give me a chance to win your love for me? I promise I will give my everything."

Bai Yuan lost all connections with the orbiting Earth and stood there blankly, is he alright? Does my love actually matter to him?

He was pulled inside the Earth with a loud scream from upstairs, "BROTHER! SISTER-IN-LAW! HURRYYY UPPP!"

Bai Yuan looked at Yiheng first who was still holding his hand but was smiling at Mo-er and then looked at the lady on the top of the stairs. She was jumping and waving and a tall handsome man was holding her back from behind.

Bai Yuan took a deep breath inside and then slowly relaxed his body. He softly squeezed Yiheng's hand and took a big step ahead, tugging him along, "Let's go, partner. We need to put on a great show today."

Finally, after finishing all the stairs, they reached the top but Bai Yuan was really in a worrisome state. He was trying his best to stay still despite his tired, shaking legs and catch his breath. The audience came to them and Mo-er jumped to hug Bai Yuan first.

"Oh my God, finally I'm meeting you after so many years, Sister-in-law!"

"I'm glad to meet you too, Princess. Drop the titles, just call me whatever you are comfortable with." Looking closely, Yiheng and Mo-er didn't look alike but both of them had warm bottomless golden eyes in common. Nonetheless, her features were stunning. Long brown hair, cherry blossom eyes, sharp nose, and plump bright lips.

"Ok, Yuanyuan."

"Dang, That was quick…." Bai Yuan shrugged.

"Dang~~" Yeye chirped from behind and swayed inside Xu Ying's hold. Earlier, Bai Yuan got too exhausted from climbing the long staircase, so he transferred Yeye to Xu Ying instead. Mo-er gleamed with joy and excitement, "Isn't that our Lovely prince!"

"Lovely Prince~~" Yeye was swaying in rhythm. His cuteness was too overwhelming for Mo-er, she grabbed Bai Yuan's hand and moved carefully toward Yeye, "Yuanyuan, can I hold Yeye?"

"If you're not uncomfortable, go ahead, he's a free spirit!"

"Oh, I wish my children were so adorable like Yeye!"

Bai Yuan chuckled and carefully walked with Mo-er, intertwining their arms, "I'm excited to meet the princes as well."

On the other hand, two lonely husbands stood together, blankly watching their wives having fun together.

Shen Haixiong was the first to react, " This is the reason why I don't invite you, my wife completely forgets me whenever you're near her. "

Yiheng folded his arms together and coldly replied, "Though I'm not at fault today, I will still say. Serves. You. Right."

Shen Haixiong helplessly rolled his eyes and replied, "We will see that. Let's go 'Your Majesty' my father, the Emperor is 'dying' to meet you after so long as well."

Yiheng smirked and patted Hao Xiang's shoulder before he started walking toward Bai Yuan, Yeye, Mo-er, and Xu Ying.

"Wife, the Emperor is waiting for us inside."

Bai Yuan was happily watching Mo-er and Yeye who were playing and giggling together. He tilted his head slightly and unknowingly flashed his famous bright smile while replying, "Sure, Let's go!"

Wang Yiheng found his heart pounding and got restless under the influence of that mesmerizing moment. His hand moved and stopped on his chest. Shen Haixionghad also come to stand beside him by then, he gave Yiheng a questioning look and asked in a low voice.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Yiheng emotionlessly replied, "I think I'm getting old. My chest feels suffocating after climbing stairs."

"How old are you this year?"

"28 maybe."

Shen Haixiong noticed Yiheng closely then followed his gaze and found Bai Yuan.

"You sure that it's not something else?"

"Maybe I need to see my physician."

Shen Haixiong facepalm-ed and tugged Yiheng forcefully to go inside the Imperial palace, "For now, let's go inside. The heat is killing me."

***

As expected from a well-established monarchy, the palace was screaming prosperity, and the ruler's exquisite taste in building and decorating it from the inside out. Bai Yuan was greatly enjoying every room he was entering or passing by. Yiheng couldn't help himself but ask in a loving tone, "Wife, do you like the palace?"

Yuan touched an antique gold vase and was terribly fascinated by the design it had. Since he had a passion for jewelry, anything that had gold and silver was his weakness. He gasped and excitedly replied while closely examining the vase, "This place is awesome! I didn't know ancient palaces were so cool!"

Yiheng thought he heard wrong, "Ancient?"

Bai Yuan quickly turned it around, "I mean the Ancient VASE!"

"Hn, I got it. Let's move forward."

While walking, suddenly something came to Yiheng's mind. He gestured to Xu Ying and whispered something in his ear. Xu Ying's expression became serious soon after Yiheng completed his message. He bowed and replied with a calm voice, "I'll be on it, master."

Yiheng just gave him a small nod in response and turned to Mo-er and Shen Haixiong who were busy entertaining small Yeye with all they had.

"Mo-er, now give Yeye to me."

Wang Mo-er and Shen Haixiong adjacently denied, "Not happening."

Yeye giggled and crossed his small arms, "Noth Happening~~"

Bai Yuan laughed from where he was and copied as well, "Not happening."

Yiheng was again at loss, he sighed. This small reunion was worth remembering when Yeye grows up.

***

The big wooden gates of the courtroom slowly started to open wide with loud creaking noises. Behind the door, a giant room full of official members who were eagerly waiting for Emperor Wang and his family. With them, the Imperial Family of Wuxi was also looking very much forward to the reunion after so long.

Bai Yuan's jaw dropped as soon as the scene unfolded before his eyes.

-So many people…

Wang Yiheng took Yeye in one of his arms and extended his other free hand toward the surprised Bai Yuan.

Bai Yuan was caught off guard, "what?"

Yiheng gave him a gentle smile and replied, " Shall we enter?"

Bai Yuan took a second to decipher what he meant and after realizing he quickly held his big, warm hand in his own, "Yep."

Mo-er gasped from behind, "Hey, honey. Am I seeing it right? I think I saw my brother taking permission from his wife."

Shen Haixiong faked a gasp, "Oh my God, I thought only I behaved like that!"

Hearing this, Mo-er gave him a hard pinch on his arm, "What?"

Shen Haixiong cried in pain, "Ouch ouch ouch! I LOVE MY WIFE THE MOST!"

Mo-er contentedly replied, "Good."

*******

Happy reading?