Good Luck Wedding 041 - The Shameless Prince Yong'an

 

The night had been eventful; Ye Yunting didn't sleep well and woke early. The person beside him was still fast asleep, so Ye Yunting sat up with careful movements, preparing to get out of bed. His gaze swept over Li Fengqi's face, but his hand paused mid-reach.

Li Fengqi's sleeping expression seemed peaceful. His eyes, which always had a somewhat-cold look to them, were now closed, their lashes clearly defined as they lowered slightly, occasionally quivering with the movement of his eyelids. The corners of his lips curved faintly upward, perhaps dreaming of some pleasant sight. His entire presence felt gentle and soft.

This impression differed greatly from both his previous life and this one's first meeting—the aloof Prince Yong'an at the snowy mountaintop, or the elusive and violent emperor he never managed to meet in his last lifetime. This was Li Fengqi, flesh and blood, someone with whom he could truly interact.

He also recalled the sincerity with which this man had confessed his feelings yesterday. It would be dishonest to say that he was untouched at all by those words. After all, in the short span of twenty years before, he had never once considered spending his life with anyone, nor did his plans include another person's position.

Li Fengqi's words had disrupted all of Ye Yunting's future plans.

Ye Yunting stared blankly for a moment, his heart tangled like a ball of twine. Yet unexpectedly, Li Fengqi's eyes fluttered open, clear and bright with a faint smile. "Does the Young Master find this satisfactory?"

Caught off guard, Ye Yunting froze, then blushed red as he realized that Li Fengqi was awake.

"You're pretending to be asleep?" Ye Yunting scolded angrily.

"I was indeed asleep, but I come from a military family, so my eyesight is exceptionally sensitive. Seeing you stare at me so intently, Young Master, how could I remain asleep?" Li Fengqi propped himself up on one arm, the lapels of his robes opening slightly, and a few stray locks of hair swept across his half-chest, adding an air of carefree charm.

He brushed aside the loose strands obscuring his face with slender fingers, leisurely adjusting the collar, all while keeping his gaze fixed on Ye Yunting. His deliberately unhurried movements seemed to carry an ambiguous and seductive flavor. "I'm afraid the Young Master hasn't had enough, so I dare not open my eyes."

Li Fengqi was adept at turning the tables, and Ye Yunting was no match for him. In the end, Ye Yunting shot him an irate glare before hastily escaping from the bedchamber. Behind him came Li Fengqi's deep, delighted laughter.

After dressing and washing up, Ye Yunting still remembered his grievance of being teased from earlier and ignored Li Fengqi, taking Ji Lian to the front hall ahead of him.

The elder Wangfei was discussing banquet preparations with Zhu Lie in the main hall when she noticed their approach. She waved them over. "I was just telling Zhu Lie about how on the day of the banquet, you two will have to deal with those guests together. Even though it's a make-up banquet, we must at least dress appropriately for the occasion. I'll need to make some celebratory outfits for you."

She examined Ye Yunting once more before shaking her head. "It's too plain, and they don't seem to fit well. You cannot purchase clothes from a ready-made shop; I'll call a tailor to come measure you this afternoon."

Ye Yunting wore the robes that Li Fengqi had ordered Wu Geng to purchase back then, all in light and elegant colors, with blue and purple being the darkest hue among them. He lowered his head to examine himself but didn't notice anything ill-fitting. However, since the elder Wangfei brought it up, he nodded in agreement without protesting the notion.

Recalling that Yue Changgou also received an invitation, he added, "Yesterday, I went to visit my esteemed teacher and Shixiong, and invited them as well..."

Teacher and Yue-shixiong were both unconcerned with formalities and disliked interacting with officials even more. Ye Yunting had suggested they be seated separately to one side, so that they could enjoy some peace and quiet.

Yet as soon as he brought it up, the elder Wangfei said, "Since these are your esteemed mentor and Shixiong, please seat them at the main table."

Ye Yunting was momentarily taken aback but quickly felt moved by her words.

At any banquet hosted by Yong'an Palace, those seated at the main table were always of high rank and status. Although Teacher and Yue-shixiong held a special place in his heart, he never thought to rashly request they be placed at the head, to avoid causing the elder Wangfei and Li Fengqi undue trouble.

The elder Wangfei's decision showed she valued what he valued; she did not discriminate based on social standing or position when considering whom he cared for deeply.

"Thank you, Mother," Ye Yunting replied sincerely.

"I've already told you, there is no need for such courtesy." The old queen smiled gently. "Now that you have entered our household, you are my son, no different from Hanzhang."

Her gaze was extremely kind, filled with warmth as she looked toward Li Fengqi, who Wu Geng had just pushed in. She spoke meaningfully, "Besides, Hanzhang wishes to protect you, and as a mother, I will naturally not oppose his intentions."

Li Fengqi nodded in agreement upon entering the room, "Mother is right."

Ye Yunting turned his head at her words and met Li Fengqi's gaze.

Li Fengqi raised an eyebrow, slightly disgruntled. "Why didn't you wait for me today before coming to pay respects to Mother?"

Are you honestly unaware of why I didn't wait for you?

Ye Yunting internally scoffed but, mindful of the elder Wangfei's presence, he could only plaster on a polite smile. "I thought Wangye wished to rest."

"Without Yunting here, how can I possibly sleep soundly?" Li Fengqi was completely shameless, paying no mind whatsoever to their audience with his elder present. "Remember to wait for me next time."

Ye Yunting: "..." He shot a guilty glance at the elder Wangfei, who remained unperturbed as she held her teacup, as if nothing had happened.

In contrast, Zhu Lie stared wide-eyed from the side, clearly bewildered by this scene unfolding before him.

"...Mn." Ye Yunting's smile slowly stiffened.

Fortunately, after that, Li Fengqi finally stopped saying anything that might lead to such fanciful speculations, becoming much more proper and dignified.

Once the elder Wangfei finished verifying the schedule of the banquet with Zhu Lie, the group ate breakfast together before separating once again.

Ye Yunting and Li Fengqi went to the side courtyard to see the wolf king.

After being brought back to the palace, the wolf king's injuries had been properly tended to, so he was kept in the side courtyard for recovery under the care of specially-assigned servants. In recent days, his external wounds had mostly healed, and with three meals a day consisting of live chickens, his emaciated body had grown stronger; he was noticeably bulkier than when they first met.

As soon as Ye Yunting arrived, he heard the wolf's howl from afar. Before taking another step forward, they heard the falcon's cry along with the crisp sounds of something colliding against metal bars.

Ye Yunting sped up, witnessing the wolf king and the falcon locked in a fierce battle that showered feathers across the ground. The falcon, its nature fierce, continuously struck at the cage with its wings while occasionally poking out its sharp beak to peck at the wolf king through the iron bars. The wolf did not yield either, taking advantage of moments when the falcon landed on the cage to leap high and attack it with its claws.

Ye Yunting's expression was complicated as he called the falcon over, ending the fight after a few calls.

He turned to ask the servant hiding behind, afraid to approach, "What happened here?"

The wolf king and the falcon were clearly housed separately in two different courtyards—how could they still end up fighting?

As soon as the servant saw the falcon calmly land on Ye Yunting's arm, they let out their held breath and explained the situation. It turned out that today, the falcon had refused to eat his rabbit, instead chasing them around for entertainment. When the rabbit escaped wildly into the wolf king's cage, it was promptly captured and eaten by the wolf king. The falcon flew into a rage, fighting with the wolf king across the cage bars.

Ye Yunting's lips twitched at these words. He glanced toward the falcon. "I'll give you another rabbit later."

The falcon seemed to understand, stretching its head out to let out a piercing cry toward the wolf king.

At this sound, the wolf king immediately bellowed back, causing the cage to rattle loudly.

Headache plaguing him, Ye Yunting shifted the falcon onto Li Fengqi's arm and took closer inspection of the wolf king. After living in captivity for some time, the wolf had grown fat and strong, aside from the patch of missing fur near its wounds, which were now fully healed. It had regained its imposing aura.

It eyed Ye Yunting cautiously but did not growl when the man approached, instead extending its long snout through the bars of its cage, its black nose quivering slightly as if smelling something nearby.

Li Fengqi stroked the back feathers of the falcon. "Wolves are intelligent creatures—they remember your kindness."

Ye Yunting still couldn't believe that he had once witnessed this same wolf king struggling to survive and rescued it out of pity. He hadn't expected such wild animals to remember who their benefactors were the way humans did.

After observing the wolf for some time, Ye Yunting confirmed that its injuries had healed well enough. "Why not find a mountain with little human activity and set it free?" Since the creature originally hailed from the mountains, the mountains would be its most suitable home.

Seeing that Ye Yunting had no intention of keeping the wolf, Li Fengqi didn't press further and simply said, "I'll have Wu Geng take care of it."

Then, remembering the white tiger pelt they'd brought back together with the wolf, he added, "That white tiger skin has been taken care of as well. It's cold today, so the finest parts of the fur can be made into a soft scarf for you, and the rest can be used as a cushion."

He smiled at Ye Yunting, leaving no room for refusal, and said, "Li Zong is sure to attend the banquet. You can wear it to make him angry."

At first, Ye Yunting wanted to decline, but when he imagined Li Zong's frustrated yet powerless expression, he gladly accepted the offer instead.

===Author's Notes===

Tingting: Hope your heart has a bit more sense! 

77: Wife, stick close =3=

===Translator's Notes===

Best mother-in-law, y/y? :D

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