A hundred blooming flowers, each breathtakingly dazzling, competed for who was the most radiant.
Because of their vibrant and beautiful colors, the little dumplings were very fond of them. Waving his arms, Little Rice Cake copied the adults and, with his babyish voice, called out, “Fwa, fwa~.”
Wen Mingyu then walked towards a patch of blooming flowers, smiling with his eyes bent into crescents.
Mu Zhan stood a short distance away, watching this scene. Wen Mingyu was bathed in a gentle halo of light as the warm, golden sunlight poured over him. With the flowers blooming behind him, he looked like a person in a painting, so beautiful it felt surreal.
He was lost in thought for a moment.
It wasn’t until Little Chilli stretched out her chubby hand and tugged on his hair that the slight pain snapped him out of it. Only then did he realize Wen Mingyu was calling him. He was grinning broadly, saying, “Come over and look.”
Mu Zhan paused, then walked over in large strides. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Wen Mingyu, becoming part of the painting as well, and they looked extremely intimate.
He cast a glance at the sea of blooming flowers but quickly returned his attention to Wen Mingyu’s face. The corners of his mouth unconsciously curved up a bit, and his eyes softened to an unbelievable degree.
After they admired the flowers, they went to a hexagonal pavilion to sit and rest.
The pavilion was built right on the surface of the lake. If you lean against the carved wooden benches, you could look down and see vibrant schools of fish gathered in the lake.
Little Chilli and Little Rice Cake were fascinated by everything. The colorful ornamental fish in the lake quickly caught their attention.
They plopped down on the benches and looked down excitedly, their little hands slapping the railing as they yelled, “Ah ah ah!”
After Wen Mingyu told them that this was a fish, they quickly leaned and exclaimed, “Pwish Pwish!”
The palace servants brought out a small pouch of fish pellets and handed it to the dumplings. The two let them feed the fist bit by bit. As a result, halfway through feeding, they actually started staring at the fish pellets. Suddenly struck by hunger, they curiously stuffed it into their mouth. Wen Mingyu hurriedly stopped them and let out a sigh of relief.
He reclined back languidly, and as the sunlight outside the pavilion leaked onto the back of his seat, he looked like a sunbathing salted fish.
Mu Zhan reached over and held his hand. Wen Mingyu remained motionless, but his fingers curled up a little and playfully tickled his palm. Mu Zhan subconsciously shrank back as he felt ticklish, though only for a moment. He quickly regained control and twisted his hand, gripping Wen Mingyu’s, then his fingers threaded between his, and he forcefully interlocked their fingers.
Wen Mingyu didn’t resist. On the contrary, he liked his position where their hands were completely clasped together. He shook the interlocked fingers and couldn’t help smiling. He was happy, the atmosphere around him brighter than the sun itself.
Taking in the view before him, then tilting his head to glance at Mu Zhan and the two little dumplings, Wen Mingyu couldn’t help but lament, “What a pity. It would be nice to collect all these moments so that I can look back on them from time to time in the future.
He had always pitied that there were no cameras in this era.
The growth of the two little dumplings were meaningful moments, yet there was no way to record them.
So many expressions and moments from Mu Zhan that he loved to preserve couldn’t be kept either. He could only rely on saving it into his brain, but memories fade and shift with time.
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Wen Mingyu felt a bit helpless and amused, but he agreed anyway, thinking that when the susceptibility period passed, Mu Zhan definitely wouldn’t settle for just one painting. After all, he could see that Mu Zhan also loved these two little bundles of joy very much.
Before they knew it, the Mid-Autumn Festival had arrived.
Such traditional festivals naturally call for proper celebrations, always accompanied by performances and delicious food.
A grand Mid-Autumn banquet was held in the Imperial Palace.
Music and phoenix dances filled the air, a scene of splendid festivity and splendor.
The emperor and empress showed up for the first time on a formal occasion with the little prince and princess. The courtiers respectfully praised them and offered their blessings.
The banquet was lively, but Wen Mingyu and the others preferred the private family dinner that followed.
In the courtyard, the table was set with several fine wines and gourmet dishes.
Compared to the complicated and troublesome socializing at the palace banquet, this was the true moment of a relaxing and pleasurable holiday.
The two dumplings also had their own seats, with soft cushions under their bottoms. They held toys unique to the Mid-Autumn Festival in their hands: clay rabbits bought from local vendors, which almost every child in a family had.
White rabbits were made from yellow sand and decorated with colorful paint in a thousand creative shapes, gathered under the moonlight on the bustling streets in the capital for sale.
The jade rabbit had a pale, powder-white face and blushed cheeks. Some held a mortar in their left hand and a pestle in their right, as if grinding medicine, with a charmingly innocent expression. Others wore golden helmets and armor, and carried banners or umbrellas on their backs, resembling majestic warriors with tigers as their mounts. Some had movable rabbit mouths, where you could pull the string behind its head and its lips would tremble continuously, emitting a rhythmic “da-da-da” sound.
The clay rabbits have a rich variety of expressions and movements and were easily a children’s favorite.
Wen Mingyu bought a few back, and the two dumplings refused to let go of them, hating that they couldn’t stick to the jade rabbits forever. Not only did the children like them, but Wen Mingyu also thought it was interesting. Hand feeling itchy, he pulled the string behind the rabbit’s head and watched its mouth tremble with a “da-da-da” sound and strangely found it fun.
After playing for a bit, he turned his head and met Mu Zhan’s eyes filled with mirth.
Wen Mingyu: “…”
He immediately felt guilty and retracted his hand sheepishly behind his back, pretending he hadn’t done anything and that Mu Zhan had just seen things wrong.
Mu Zhan chuckled and teased, “This toy isn’t for them. It’s for you to play with, right?”
Wen Mingyu put his fist against his mouth and coughed discreetly, then said in a solemn manner, “Of course not. I’m just a little curious, so I’m playing along with them. Aren’t you curious?”
Just after saying that, Wen Mingyu recalled that Mu Zhan grew up here, so he must have naturally played with these before. This excuse was not really convincing.
Mu Zhan seemed to have read his mind and said calmly, “I haven’t played with it before.”
Wen Mingyu froze for a moment, then remembered his past. His body responded more quickly than his brain, and he immediately thrust the jade rabbit toy into his hands, saying, “Then play with it now, together!”
He regretted his thoughtless words and also was distressed for Mu Zhan, so he threw his arms around him to hug him.
Mu Zhan now held a cute little “pounding medicine” rabbit in his hand and a human-shaped rabbit with floppy ears in his arms. He pinched Wen Mingyu’s cheeks and said with amusement, “Which rabbit do you want me to play with?”
Wen Mingyu blinked, then casually revealed his rabbit ears and said generously, “Whatever you want, go ahead and play with them.”
Saying that, he took Mu Zhan’s hand and placed it on his rabbit ears, letting him rub them.
From their seats at the side, the two little dumplings saw the rabbit ears on their daddy’s head, and their small mouths dropped open in disbelief. Little Chilli even subconsciously touched the position of her own ears, though they weren’t visible at the moment.
Little Rice Cake, on the other hand, felt a bit disappointed. Why did daddy and his sister have them, but he didn’t?
But when Mu Zhan’s dragon horns appeared too, he stared at them for a long moment. After realizing how much they resembled his own little horns, he grinned contentedly again.
The two dumplings squealed and stuck out their hands, wanting to be held. Wen Mingyu instinctively wanted to go over, but the hands wrapped around his waist tightened. Mu Zhan wouldn’t let him go.
Wen Mingyu glanced at Mu Zhan, then looked at the dumplings. He finally hugged Mu Zhan, deciding that this one clearly needed comfort first.
The little dumplings didn’t get a hug, but they didn’t cry either. After all, their daddy and father emperor were still around, so they just lowered their heads and resumed playing with their clay rabbits.
Mu Zhan hugged Wen Mingyu and stroked the rabbit’s ears and tail for a long time before finally letting go grudgingly.
The Mid-Autumn Festival naturally wouldn’t be complete without mooncakes.
The thin, flaky crust encased a filling of walnut kernels, salted egg yolks, lotus seeds, white sugar, and lard, resulting in a taste that was not overly sweet but rather fragrant, fluffy, and smooth. Not all of them were spherical: some were diamond, plum blossom, or lotus-shaped varieties, and were carved with designs of jade rabbits pounding medicine, landscapes, floral motifs, and auspicious characters on top of them. Each mooncake was more exquisite than the last.
Wen Mingyu and Mu Zhan sliced a few different flavors of mooncakes, chatting casually and enjoying the moon as they savored the treats. Every now and then they would take a sip of the mellow wine. The experience was utterly cozy and delightful.
The two little dumplings weren’t old enough to eat mooncakes, so the imperial kitchen had prepared something they could eat instead. They even took the trouble to make it look like a mooncake, but a smaller and cute version, which looked just as good as a real mooncake. When placed together, the big and small mooncakes looked like a family of mooncakes.
Little Chilli and Little Rice Cake clasped them in their chubby hands and ate happily, their eyes squinting with delight. Later on, they grew tired from playing, their heads hanging down like they were fishing. Therefore, Mu Zhan had the palace servants first carry them back to sleep.
Wen Mingyu had two cups of fruit wine and soon felt tipsy, his consciousness growing hazy.
He lay on the table. At first, he was still saying how full the moon was, looking like a big, mouthwatering meat pie, and how he wished he could take a bite. But after a while, for some reason, his eyes suddenly reddened, and he looked like he was on the verge of crying.
Mu Zhan froze, the smile on his lips fading. He reached out to gently stroke his face, asking softly, “Why are you crying?”
Wen Mingyu was not crying at first, but when he was asked like that, he couldn’t hold back anymore. Tears welled up in his eyes and trickled down his cheeks as he sobbed. “Because you used to… Why wasn’t I there? If only I could have been with you.”
Mu Zhan stiffened for a moment, then he relaxed again. He picked him up and set him on his lap, wiping the corner of his eyes with his fingertip before tilting his head back and kissing his tears away. And whispered, “I’m doing well now.”
Wen Mingyu hesitated for a moment. “Really?”
Mu Zhan nodded and looked at him closely, as if to say that he was well because of him.
Wen Mingyu sighed in relief and smiled a little. But then, as if remembering something, he complained, “That’s not enough. You should have been doing well before too. You’re so good, you should have been happier and more carefree.”
Due to his drunken state, his speech slurred and halted here and there as he muttered, “I’m going to help you beat them up, beat them to death, and I’ll hide you away. Once you’re hidden away, you’ll be mine, and no one else will be able to touch you…”
Wen Mingyu clung to Mu Zhan’s neck tightly and leaned on his shoulder, grumbling angrily while his tears fell, wetting Mu Zhan’s clothes.
In the middle of his grumbling, Mu Zhan fed him a mooncake. He took a bite, swallowing even his own tears along with it, and commented it was salty. Then he said, “Don’t interrupt me,” and continued to grumble angrily.
Mu Zhan didn’t like seeing him sad and crying, but when he was crying out of heartache for him, an indescribable feeling welled up in his heart, and he found himself somewhat enjoying seeing him cry.
Wen Mingyu eventually cried himself exhausted, closing his eyes and unconsciously resting his head on Mu Zhan’s chest. His tear-wet lashes, dampened by tears, trembled slightly.
In the night sky, the full moon hung like a silver disc, its moonlight as pure as milk, cascading down to drape all things in a misty veil, as if the world had fallen into a dream.
Mu Zhan held the person in his arms, his lips barely moving as his deep voice flowed into the quiet night.
“You were already there before.”
The Author has something to say:
From the second chapter, I have been sneakily planting little clues here and there, and finally they have been revealed!. That’s right, they were very young when they met. Although you may have forgotten the earlier hints, that’s fine. Just think of it as finding hidden Easter eggs ~ OvO
PS: The lines describing the clay rabbits were from “The Emperor’s Capital: A Chronicle of the Years and Times – August”
ChiFu: liar ! you like seeing him cry even before xd if you remember, there was a passage where rabbit mentioned meeting a boy before in his past life and wondering if he was doing well.
Thank you everyone for waiting! Hope you enjoy it!~