After a few more winter snowfalls, it was New Year’s Day, and the next day was Zhao Yelan’s birthday.

This was Zhao Yelan and Yan Mingting’s second birthday together.

Since a month ago, Yan Mingting had been anxious about the gift.

Last year’s birthday had set the standard too high, which made it difficult to surpass this year. If the preparations were too simple, it could not be justified.

He began to observe whether Zhao Yelan had any new favorite things recently, and whenever Zhao Yelan was doing something, he quietly went over to take a look.

“What are you looking at?” Zhao Yelan turned to ask him.

“I’m looking at what you’re drawing.” Yan Mingting had just approached but was spotted by the other party, so he had to look up at the sky.

“Drawing a waterway map.” After the drought, Zhao Yelan always had the idea in mind to open a canal near Huaizhou and Zhizhou. He happened to be free recently, so he began to draw the terrain from memory. He pointed to one of the rivers and asked, “Do you remember what was by this river?”

“You’re asking the right person. I was very impressed with the situation at that time,” Yan Mingting said. “There was a peerless beauty beside this river with a frown, asking me when it would rain, and his appearance of worrying about the country and the people was truly beautiful.”

“…….” Zhao Yelan drove him out of the study.

Yan Mingting did not give up observing. This time, he went with him to the streets and followed secretly to see if there was anything he liked, preferably something he liked but was reluctant to buy.

However, he forgot that the other party was Zhao Yelan, ah, what could he be reluctant to buy?

He watched Zhao Yelan walk into Jinxuan, buy a bunch of things, and come out after a while. Then he turned around and went to the calligraphy shop, where he bought two expensive inkstones, and then went to the gold shop, where he spent a lot of money. Thousands of taels were tossed out in one afternoon.

At night, he looked through these things and inadvertently found a gold hairpin. He was so shocked that he rushed around the screen to ask the person who was bathing: “What is this? Which woman did you buy it for?”

“It’s for Yue’er, I heard she started talking recently,” Zhao Yelan replied.

Kan Xinyue was Kan Chuan’s daughter and Zhao Yelan’s goddaughter, and now that she was growing up, she was even cuter. It was only that she still loved to cry, and besides her mother, her favorite was Zhao Yelan. She would smile whenever she saw him, which once made Kan Chuan very jealous.

But Kan Chuan was not the only one who was jealous. Yan Mingting was even worse.

Thinking that every time he wanted Zhao Yelan to show him that kind of gentle and doting gaze, he had to spend a lot of effort, but the girl only had to smile at him for him to smile with that gentle expression, as if offering all his tenderness, Yan Minging really felt a little resentful.

Every time the two families met, Kan Chuan and Yan Mingting would huddle together to drink and pour out their grievances.

“Are you planning to take her the hairpin to coax her into calling you Godfather?” Yan Mingting asked.

“En, and clothes.”

Yan Mingting went to open the bag of clothes bought at Jinxuan. They were all children’s clothes, very small. They looked cute, and the material was also good, very expensive at first glance. He said: “She just started talking, and you’ve prepared so much. When she marries, how many boxes of dowry will you carry over there?”

“You’ve reminded me.” Zhao Yelan stood up with the sound of splashing water. “Let’s store away those accessories we don’t use when we have the time, she will grow up soon.”

“Be careful of catching a cold.” Yan Mingting immediately rushed in and wiped his body off with a towel, then carried him to bed and buried him up to his neck. He said with a groan, “I’m jealous.”

“You’re jealous of me catching a cold?” Zhao Yelan didn’t understand.

“No, of Yue’er.”

“What are you jealous of her for? Do you also want to be a woman in the next life?”

“…….” Yan Mingting laughed, raising his head and squeezing his nose. “You treat her so well, I’m jealous.”

“I don’t treat you well?” Zhao Yelan asked cooly.

Yan Mingting choked, saying after a moment: “It would be great if you could be more gentle to me.”

“I’m not gentle to you?” Zhao Yelan asked.

“……Put the knife down first before you speak,” Yan Mingting said in a cold sweat.

. . . . . .

After a few days of observation, Zhao Yelan didn’t seem to have any new hobbies recently, so Yan Mingting thought that it would be fine if he cultivated a few.

He took Zhao Yelan to the training grounds and waved his hand: “Choose any of the weapons here, and I will teach you.”

Zhao Yelan took a long time to choose, and picked out a whip.

Yan Mingting carefully taught him how to swing the whip for two days, but was unsuccessful. It was not until he almost hurt himself that Yan Mingting changed his methods and taught him how to bind people with the whip.

“If you learn from my technique, no one will be able to escape.”

“Really?”

“En!”

Zhao Yelan was physically weak, but his brain power was pretty good. After watching him demonstrate once, he understood the key points, found Xiao Gao, and tied him up.

Xiao Gao: “ ? ”

“Now break free,” Zhao Yelan said.

Xiao Gao struggled a few times, but couldn’t escape. He was obviously anxious: “My lord, are you going to sell me?”

Zhao Yelan was very satisfied, so he untied him. “Go on.”

Xiao Gao knelt down with a plop and hugged him, crying: “My lord, I was wrong. I will never steal the tanghulu you bought for the General again, or secretly tell Housekeeper Qin that you were bullied by the General in the middle of the night and cried.”

Zhao Yelan: “ ? ”

A moment later, Yan Mingting hugged Zhao Yelan’s waist from behind and carried him back to the room. Zhao Yelan kicked twice in the air: “You put me down, I want to sell him!”

Xiao Gao: “Wuwuwuwu.”

It was already dark out, and when Zhao Yelan was put on the bed, he said: “He stole your tanghulu and you’re still helping him?”

“It’s just a few tanghulu, let him eat as he pleases, and he won’t know the consequences until he has a toothache.” Yan Mingting laughed.

Zhao Yelan gritted his teeth and said: “No wonder Housekeeper Qin is always ordering the kitchen to cook chicken soup recently.”

“He’s just doing it for your own good,” Yan Mingting coaxed.

Zhao Yelan covered himself with the quilt, and when he felt his hand stretch in, he said: “You promised me just last night that we would rest tonight!”

“I’ll just touch and not do anything else,” Yan Mingting said in a natural tone.

After a while, Zhao Yelan said in a low voice: “What are you doing?”

“I’m just rubbing against you, nothing else.” Yan Mingting’s tone became unnatural.

Zhao Yelan promptly lifted the quilt and got out of bed.

“What are you doing?” Yan Mingting asked.

Zhao Yelan took out the whip without saying a word and tied his hands up as he had been taught. Yan Mingting struggled twice, but couldn’t break free. 

“Sleep, ba.” Zhao Yelan lay down and turned sideways, admiring Yan Mingting’s dissatisfied and aggrieved expression. He reached out, asking, “Shall I come over?”

Yan Mingting nodded fiercely, but Zhao Yelan didn’t move. Seeing his expression change from great joy to sorrow, he smiled and moved over slowly to kiss him little by little, like a fearless lord, and rolled onto him to dominate everything. The sense of conquest pleased him, and he enjoyed this fellow’s body language and emotions. No one else could make Yan Mingting surrender easily, but he could.

After a round of play, Zhao Yelan lay on top of him contentedly, and was about to move away when a pair of hands unexpectedly pressed down on his shoulders.

Zhao Yelan scoffed and looked down at the hands, wondering: “Didn’t you say that no one could escape?”

“If you want to be able to tie me up, you still need practice.” Yan Mingting hugged him and said, “But if you like this, you can come and tie me up any day.”

Zhao Yelan: “…….”

Half a month later, Yan Mingting still couldn’t think of what gift to give him, so he had to ask Zhao Xuan.

After court that day, he specially stayed behind, and Zhao Xuan took him to the side hall to ask what the matter was.

He asked: “What was the happiest time in Mengting’s life?”

Zhao Xuan said: “The day my father died.”

Yan Mingting: “……..”

Zhao Xuan smiled, and drank a bowl of medicine served by Eunuch Gao before saying: “Is that all you’re asking?”

“Then let me change the question. Was there anything he liked when he was a child?”

Zhao Xuan thought carefully for a moment, then said: “He used to enjoy buying candles very much.”

“Candles?” Yan Mingting asked in surprise.

“Yes, the second he had money, he loved to buy things like scented candles. I saw many candles in his room, of various kinds, often burning all night long.”

This was not something Yan Mingting had expected. The other party never showed any preference for candles after they married, although he did know about the incense.

In the blink of an eye, it was his birthday, and Zhao Yelan woke up as soon as the sky was bright. He didn’t want to admit that he couldn’t sleep due to being curious about how Yan Mingting would celebrate his birthday.

Xiao Gao came in to change his clothes, and chose a new set that Zhao Yelan had never seen before. After asking, he found out that Yan Mingting had specially prepared them for him. He was dressed in a green robe without complicated patterns, and the style was very simple, but Zhao Yelan felt that he had seen it somewhere before.

It wasn’t until he saw Yan Mingting’s clothing in the hallway that he remembered where this sense of familiarity came from.

Yan Mingting wore a set of white robes. He seldom wore white clothing, and had only done so when his parents died and when he returned to Beijing to recuperate.

This was the scene from when they met for the first time.

Yan Mingting turned around and smiled at him: “Is this the young master of the Zhao family?”

After a moment, Zhao Yelan smiled back: “Yes.”

“What is the young master doing in my General’s Mansion?”

“I heard that the young general is brave and invincible, with an admirable and heroic demeanor, so I wanted to come and see him.”

“I see that you are well-pleased too. Since we are in love, how about I go to the door to propose marriage someday?” Yan Mingting stretched out his hand.

Zhao Yelan laughed and took it: “Okay, ah, but my mother may not like a male daughter-in-law.”

“Young Master, don’t worry, I’m the best at coaxing older ladies. If I can’t coax her in one year, I’ll coax her for ten years.”

When the two came to the front hall, their friends were already sitting at the table and waiting to eat.

After Zhao Yelan sat down, the longevity noodles were served. The noodles were made by these friends, but this time they switched it up and insisted that Zhao Yelan guess who made the fire, who served the noodles, and who sprinkled the green onions.

After a lively breakfast, Kan Chuan and Ruan Xian’s families also came. Zuo Ran and Yin Pinglu also loved Kan Xingyue very much, so they followed Zhao Yelan to play with the child.

“Didn’t I say you should come later?” Yan Mingting stood aside and whispered to Kan Chuan.

“I couldn’t help it. As soon as the child heard she was going to see her godfather, she stared at me eagerly all morning,” Kan Chuan said.

Kan Xingyue had just learned to say simple addresses, and within a few days of calling for her parents, she called out to Zhao Yelan: “Yifu.”

Everyone laughed, including Zhao Yelan, and he carried her back to the bedroom to fetch the gold hairpin and new clothes. Feeling that it wasn’t enough, he carried her to go out and buy her something to eat, but was stopped by others.

“It’s a good thing you don’t have children. If you want to have a child, I’m afraid you will only be able to sleep in the study for the rest of your life,” Kan Chuan teased Yan Mingting, who laughed helplessly.

In the afternoon, the friends all had their own business to attend to. Just as the mansion was idle for a while, someone came again from the palace. It was Zhao Xuan and the Sun Muyun mother and son.

Sun Muyun had heard that Zhao Xuan planned to come to the General’s Mansion in person, and wanted to come along, saying that she was bored in the palace and wanted to come and have a look.

This frightened the servants in the General’s Mansion, and they hurriedly entertained them to the highest standards.

Several adults sat in the front hall chatting as Zhao Sui was learning to walk. Under the watchful eyes of the servants, he walked and stopped all the way until he hugged Zhao Yelan’s calf, trying to climb up.

Zhao Yelan was already an expert at holding babies, and picked him up, holding him skillfully in his arms. Zhao Sui immediately became happy.

Sun Muyun laughed loudly: “I heard that Zhao-daren has an affinity for children, but I didn’t expect it to be true.”

“Yes, ah,” Zhao Xuan said enviously. “Sui’er, come to Emperor Father.”

Zhao Sui glanced at him, then turned his head and continued to lay against Zhao Yelan, making everyone laugh.

The three of them didn’t stay very long, leaving some gifts before returning to the palace.

“What’s the matter with you?” Zhao Yelan noticed that Yan Minting had been staring sulkily at the gifts for a long time.

“He gave you so many good things, it’s hard for me to take out my gift,” Yan Mingting said.

“Oh?” Zhao Yelan leaned over and asked, “So what is your gift?” 

Yan Mingting led him to a deserted place on the outskirts of the city. Looking in this direction, he seemed to know where they were going. The closer they got, the slower Zhao Yelan walked, until they came to a small courtyard and Zhao Yelan touched the courtyard door with wet eyes: “When was it repaired? Who is living in it?”

“Don’t you know? It’s the Zhao family, ah.”

As soon as Yan Mingting finished speaking, tears fell from Zhao Yelan’s eyes.

This used to be the home of their family of three, but it was burned down by the fire, and everything was reduced to ashes. As a criminal, he couldn’t return, and later on, he didn’t want to. In any case, his family was gone, and there was no meaning here.

“Go in and have a look.” Yan Mingting pushed open the courtyard door. There was a vegetable field surrounded by a fence. “You said that your mother planted some vegetables in the courtyard.”

Zhao Yelan gazed at it for a while, then turned his head to look at the plum blossom and peach trees inside the courtyard wall.

“Didn’t your mother want to plant flowers in the courtyard? Right now only the plum blossoms can be seen, but we can see peach blossoms in the spring and look at them together,” Yan Mingting said.

Zhao Yelan walked into the house, and the furnishings inside were exactly the same as what he revealed in his occasional words. Everywhere he looked, he seemed to be able to see the shadow of his childhood self running around this humble house.

“Since I want to propose marriage, of course I must come to the Zhao residence.” Yan Mingting raised his hand and wiped his tears away before pulling him into his arms. “Is Young Master Zhao willing to spend the rest of his life with me?”

Zhao Yelan nodded, clutching his sleeves with both hands, and cried quietly.

They ate dinner there. Yan Mingting had not only restored the furnishings at that time, but made it directly liveable.

Yan Mingting opened the cupboard, took out the flour, and began kneading dough. He said: “It seems you still must come to light the fire.”

Zhao Yelan sat in front of the stove, and it was as if he had returned to his childhood, sitting there holding the poker and reading a book while lighting the fire. Because he was so invested in reading, he had almost burned the book.

He told Yan Mingting these interesting things, and Yan Mingting said with a smile: “Aiya, I really regret that I didn’t know you earlier. You must have been cute when you were little.”

The birthday dinner was just simple steamed buns, but Yan Mingting’s skills could be said to have advanced by leaps and bounds. According to him, he specially went to learn from the shopkeeper of Mingji and practiced for five days.

After dinner, Zhao Yelan was taken aback when the other took out some blankets to make the bed, saying: “When did you prepare these?”

In fact, it had been almost a year since he prepared them. He had planned to bring him here for his birthday last year, but the time was tight, and he was too late.

“Come here and see if it’s warm,” Yan Mingting said while touching the thick quilt.

Zhao Yelan walked over and carefully touched the quilt, then suddenly noticed his vision brighten, then become brighter and brighter. He turned around suspiciously and saw red candles burning all over the room, tall and short, thick and thin.

“This is……” Zhao Yelan was stunned.

“Don’t you like candles?” Yan Mingting stepped forward to hold his hand, smiling. “These are wedding candles. Let’s have another wedding night here.”

Zhao Yelan raised his head, his eyes tinged with red: “You really are……”

Before he could finish speaking, he choked up and kissed him.

Under the moonlight, beside the wedding candles, blue silk became entangled.

Married as husband and wife, there was no doubt about their love.

“Actually, I never liked candles.” Lying in his arms, Zhao Yelan looked at the burning candles and said, “I was just afraid of dark places and loved the light they brought me.”

The closer a person was to hell, the greedier they would be for light.

“Then do you like them now?” Yan Mingting asked.

Zhao Yelan’s expression changed slightly, and he looked at him intently: “They are just candles to me now, because……I haven’t been afraid of the dark since we married. That is to say, I found a new light, and he is brighter and more eternal.”

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Chapter Ninety-Two <<Table of Contents >> Extra 2: Relatives