Court Marriage - Chapter 22

Translator: Lisha

Editor: Dom 

In his heart, Qiao Yingze really didn’t want Gong Zhuoliang to go, but since he had already said so, there’s no way he’d go back on his words. And so he began to prepare everything for Gong Zhuoliang.

First, the horse must be young and docile with its ears would be covered so that it wouldn’t be frightened. Next were the suits, which came with the knee pads, shoulder pads and the elbow pads. Seeing his unpleasant appearance so bloated to the brim, Gong Zhuoliang couldn’t help but express his displeasure. He only endured wearing this to avoid Qiao Yingze’s worried look.

After that, a lot of servants followed him. Qiao Yingze sent almost all of the servants in the hotspring to follow Gong Zhuoliang. He told them that if Gong Zhuoliang ever bumped into something and got hurt, all of them would be punished.

The eldest Young Master rarely showed his face and mostly secluded himself within his courtyard ― he ignored the outside world, so when such an introverted person suddenly exhibited his power, everyone in the hotspring was shocked. The servants decided to be even more meticulous with their mission. 

Seeing Qiao Yingze worrying all over for him, Gong Zhuoliang felt somehow embarrassed. In the end, he’s also an adult at heart so soon enough he began to lose interest in it.

“How about I… won’t go tomorrow, ba?”

Gong Zhuoliang knew from the beginning that he had already troubled Qiao Yingze enough from the moment he told him that he wanted to go out wearing the men’s attire. And now he wanted to try horse riding this time, which was a little bit too much. Qiao Yingze hadn’t even slept properly for two nights because of his worrying.

As Qiao Yingze leaned on the bed, he deeply wondered whether there were still left to prepare, only when he suddenly heard Gong Zhuoliang’s words did he e back to his senses. He then saw the other frowning at the clothes that were prepared for him, and thought that Gong Zhuoliang found it ugly so he began to coax him.

“Is there something wrong? If you don’t like it, let’s have Han Shu alter the style and make another set of kneepads and such, and have them bind it outside.”

Gong Zhuoliang, who wore a nightgown, lifted his half-dry hair behind him then sat down on the bed beside Qiao Yingze. He gazed at his pallid face with an apologetic look.

“No I mean, I just thought this would trouble you further. I only followed you here because I wanted to help take care of your body, but when we arrived, you got so tired because you couldn’t stop fussing over me. Your health condition worsened.”

When Gong Zhuoliang took his real age into account, he was almost ten years older than Qiao Yingze. Although teasing and bullying him had been an enjoyment for Gong Zhuoliang, he never wanted to cause him trouble and make him worry for himself. 

When Qiao Yingze realized that this was just Gong Zhuoliang being concerned for him, he reached for the other’s hands and swayed it with his own hands as he smiled at him. Somehow, as Qiao Yingze held Gong Zhuoliang’s hands, his heart was immediately set at ease after a restless day.

“Although I was tired, I only ordered others around – the rest of the work was done by the servants. You’ve been terribly wronged these past few days so you need to go out and relax.”

Qiao Yingze knew that Gong Zhuoliang must’ve been really eager to try out horse riding and archery. When he saw his worried look, Qiao Yingzhe willingly wanted to concede to him. He felt so happy that he was even more unwilling to disappoint him.

Gong Zhuoliang saw the dazzling smile on Qiao Yingze’s face, although he still wanted to go out, he only hesitated a bit before he began to refuse once again. 

“Well yeah… but, let’s just forget about it, ba.”

Gong Zhuoliang already made up his mind. For instance, if Qiao Yingze had not allowed him to go, then he really wouldn’t go. But when did Qiao Yingze actually go against him, huh? But he really had no idea…. Because according to Gong Zhuoliang’s understanding, his knowledge about Qiao Yingze’s nature is only one out of ten.

Sure enough, when Gong Zhuoliang retreated, Qiao Yingze came forward instead and urged him once again. He suddenly leaned in to Gong Zhuoliang, and embraced him in his arms.

“It’s already been arranged so you really need to go. Besides, hadn’t you already agreed to second brother? How could you miss your appointment with him?” 

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“Then I’ll go. I promise you, I will be back early.”

As Gong Zhuoliang held Qiao Yingze’s waist, he looked up to him and smiled at him. In his heart, he had mentally gestured a peace sign for himself… 

“Alright, but listen to me first,” Qiao Yingze spoke in a stern tone. “You must be careful and you can’t be mischievous with your second brother. He has been learning martial arts for several years, and he’s also really good at horse riding and archery so you can’t be boastful to him. If I caught wind of you being mischievous, this will be the last time I will allow you to touch those things”

He knew that sometimes Gong Zhuoliang would just suddenly act all strange and mischievous out of nowhere. Qiao Yingze himself couldn’t even hold him back. So he really needed to make things clear with him or Gong Zhuoliang would really end up getting hurt.

“I understand. I will behave and will not make you worry.”

Although this was not the first time Gong Zhuoliang had seen Qiao Yingze’s stern approach today, it was a rare phenomenon in their Qiao Household. That is why Gong Zhuoliang became more pliant and immediately obeyed him. As the days passed, his family’s little husband became more and more imposing! It’s really great, truly great, ah! 

Qiao Yingze knew that once Gong Zhuoliang made a promise, he would never break it. So since he already said so, there’s nothing for him to worry about anymore.

“I believe in you.”

After Gong Zhuoliang finished reassuring Qiao Yingze, he turned to the mirror and looked at that unattractive attire again, then he looked back to Qiao Yingze and smiled brightly at him.

“So…. Husband? How about we remove this clothes now.” 

“…”

Qiao Yingze helplessly shook his head. He really didn’t know whether to laugh or get angry at him. He could only pull the rope to ring the bell, and then soon after that, Han Shu and Ruo Lan came in to help Gong Zhuoliang change his clothes.

For the past two days, Qiao Yingze had not been sleeping well. On top of that, his illness also kept recurring. As soon as Gong Zhuoliang saw the drowsiness on Qiao Yingze’s face while they were chatting, he didn’t mess around with him anymore and immediately laid down and slept together with him; holding him in his arms to act as his natural heater.

…… 

The next morning, after breakfast, Gong Zhuoliang immediately went to Qiao Yingxuan while wearing his attire that consisted of many pads and such. When the second Young Master Qiao saw his appearance, he laughed out loud for a while.

He’s been practicing horse riding, archery and martial arts for a while, but even if his monkey leather attire was already shredding from time to time, he never minded it; moreover, he never dressed as sumptuous as Gong Zhuoliang before.

However, Qiao Yingxuan’s schadenfreude only lasted for a while, only when he had finally managed to urge his elder brother to go back inside the inner courtyard. Seeing the vast number of servants standing outside Zhuangzi, Qiao Yingxuan became startled.

Yesterday, because Gong Zhuoliang was inside the inner courtyard and acpanying his sister, Qiao Yingxuan was quite idle for a while, that’s why he went to his horse, and rode around the city to meet a friend. By the time he returned back to Zhuangzi, it was already night, so he was unaware that while he was gone, Qiao Yingze had already caused quite an uproar that day. 

“You don’t need to do this, ba….”

Qiao Yingxuan helplessly looked at those dozens of servants, standing behind Gong Zhuoliang. He only wanted to run around and play with Gong Zhuoliang alone. With these people following them, how can they go have fun, ah?

“Brother-in-law is only worried about us.”

Gong Zhuoliang also indicated that he’s helpless about this situation, but whenever he recalled the appearance of Qiao Yingze worrying for him, he could only let him do as he pleased. Why did he have to be small and weak, ne? 

Gong Zhuoliang assumed that at this time, he would never be able to have fun, so he could only console himself that… at least he’s now here.

“This horse is also…”

When he saw the servant leading a small, tiny horse to Gong Zhuoliang, Qiao Yingxuan was thoroughly dumbfounded.

Isn’t his elder brother simply coaxing a child in this state? This kind of horse couldn’t even catch up to a human’s speed, so what’s the point of riding it, ah? 

“Brother-in-law noticed that I don’t know how to ride a horse so he chose a docile one for starters…”

Gong Zhuoliang looked at the small horse led to him by the servant, then to the tall and magnificent horse beside Qiao Yingxuan. Gong Zhuoliang did not say anything in his heart, but on the surface, he only kept a pure smile as a way of expressing how his family’s little husband is such a caring and loving person.

“I get it, Dage…”

Qiao Yingxuan only shook his head with a chuckle before he turned around again and gracefully hopped on his horse. After that, he turned to Gong Zhuoliang who’s currently listening to a servant’s instructions of how to ride a horse, and with a smirk, he immediately rode his horse towards Gong Zhuoliang and quickly grabbed his small body, before rushing out with a hearty laugh, leaving behind a panicked large crowd of servants. 

“Young Mada-…! Young Master Gong!”

Qiao Ming, who had been sent to serve Gong Zhuoliang, was so stunned and frightened that he almost called out the three words ‘Young Madam’ to them. Instantly, all of the servants began to jump about in panic while the horse riding henchmen immediately came to chase after them. Unfortunately, most of these henchmen were all rough servants who only looked after Zhuangzi, so there were only a few horsemen.

And they’re not even better than Qiao Yingxuan at all, so while they chased after them, Qiao Yingxuan was already so far away that their chances of catching up were basically slim.

However, there is an exception. Among these henchmen who were chasing after them; there was a tall, robust young man with a good appearance, who was nearly catching up to Qiao Yingxuan’s horse, and he had never been left behind by the rest. The thing is, Qiao Ming had no idea about this. He only thought there’s already no hope for them, so at the moment, he already reached the inner courtyard and is now tearfully reporting the situation. 

“Han Shu! Han Shu! Something just happened!”

As Qiao Ming rushed to the inner courtyard, he immediately looked for Han Shu, and only after he saw her and had made sure that there was no one around, did he drag her to the corridor and then he began to cry out the situation to her in a quiet voice.

“What’s wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?”

Han Shu was so frightened by him that she quickly pressed on his shoulder and grabbed the handkerchief beside her to cover Qiao Ming’s lips, motioning to him in a hushed voice that the Young Master is currently in the next room. 

“Young Madam was snatched away by the second Young Master!”

Qiao Ming whispered back as he pointed to the direction of the door, obviously in a real hurry. The second Young Master’s actions were just so abnormal. If something wrong happened to their Young Madam, Young Master might do something scary, ah!

“What did you say? Young Madam is…. Just what on earth is going on?”

When Han Shu heard about this, she still couldn’t understand what was happening. Hadn’t she already arranged tons of people to take care of Young Madam? What does he mean by ‘snatched’, ah? 

“When this servant was assisting the Young Madam to ride on the horse, the Second Young Master suddenly dragged the Young Madam’s waist, then he rode away! When the big guys chased them off, they couldn’t catch up at all! Now, I don’t know where they went!”

Qiao Ming’s brain is in a total mess. He already knew that their Young Master’s treasured wife is a boy, and now that the second Young Master is here, they’re supposed to be brother and sister-in-law, ah! The second Young Master may not know about this, but doing this is really inappropriate! Totally…. Inappropriate!

Han Shu covered her mouth with her handkerchief as she whispered. “Good Heavens! We better not let the Young Master catch wind of this! Inform the remaining servants outside to not be so loud about it! But how can we hide this? What should we do, ah?”

The first thing she thought of was Qiao Yingze. He still hasn’t recovered from his sickness, so when he learned about this, he would be very worried and anxious and that would not be very good for his body! What to do, ah? 

“…. It’s too late.”

From the corner of her eyes, Han Shu suddenly caught a figure wearing light blue robes not that far behind her. Qiao Ming groaned and weakly knelt down on his knees.

He had really made a big mistake today.

…………. 

The moment Gong Zhuoliang got grabbed by his waist and placed onto the horse, he was thoroughly stunned stupid. Not until he noticed the horse beneath him and felt someone firmly hugging him in a warm embrace did he finally recover in his senses. But then as soon as he opened his mouth, he began to swallow a lot of air, causing him to choke and cough so he could only shrink himself into Qiao Yingxuan’s arms to use the other’s body as the shield from the wind, only then he could finally breathe again.

“This time, I’m not worried about those people ing to bother us anymore.”

Qiao Yingxuan laughed heartily, and his tone of speaking sounded somewhat pleased. He skillfully pulled the reins of the horse in one hand so it could gallop again, while his other arms naturally shifted Gong Zhuoliang’s body in his embrace in a more fortable position.

“Why the hell are you making trouble?!” 

As soon as Gong Zhuoliang finally recovered, he grabbed Qiao Yingxuan’s arms with his other hand for support while his other arms were stretched out right in front of his eyes to shield himself from the wind. The first thing that came to his mind was the reaction of Qiao Yingze once he learned about this matter. Would he get frightened, worried, anxious….? No, he should be angry. But he’s not even at fault here.

Imagining Qiao Yingze getting angry, Gong Zhuoliang gritted his teeth and now he’s a little mad at Qiao Yingxuan.

“Since we’re going to play, aren’t we supposed to have fun? Everything would only get boring if they had to follow us all the time. Don’t worry, since this Er-ge dared to take you out with him, he can guarantee you that you’ll surely won’t get hurt a bit”

Qiao Yingxuan tightened his embrace on Gong Zhuoliang and there was a bold smile on his face. When he noticed that there was a horse chasing behind them, Qiao Yingxuan’s petitive heart sped up, and he urged his horse to gallop more wildly. 

Behind them, there was a young man in ordinary bodyguard apparel chasing after them that noticed the sudden speed of Qiao Yingxuan. His stern face instantly showed displeasure. As his eyebrows scrunched slightly, the guard immediately reduced the pace of his horse, for fear that the second Young Master might accelerate his speed even more which would put Gong Zhuoliang more at risk.

When Qiao Yingxuan noticed that the people chasing after them couldn’t catch up to them any longer, he began to ignore them and instead focused on the young boy in his arms.

“Don’t be nervous, Zhuoliang. Just relax your body, and enjoy the wonderful feeling of the wind brushing against you.”

He noticed how the other’s pretty little face did not even show any fear during this situation. Instead, the squinting of his eyes, his braveness somehow made him look more graceful and really attractive. For some reason, Qiao Yingxuan couldn’t help but stare at Gong Zhuoliang’s face, unable to look away. 

“…Hey, watch out for the way!”

Since things already happened, there’s no point for Gong Zhuoliang to get angry any longer. He could only narrow his eyes slightly and enjoy the wonderful yet bumpy ride of the Mercedes-Benz. Suddenly, he saw Qiao Yingxuan’s face closely sticking to his own face, and Gong Zhuoliang subconsciously glared back at him ferociously. He thought to himself― This stinky brat doesn’t even know how to look on the road. If an accident happened, who would he settle his accounts with, ah?