SWHCBB 57

Chapter 57: Little Husband Protects His Husband

As the gathering dispersed, Wen Jue couldn’t stop yawning. Jiang Chuang noticed his sleepiness and wanted to carry him out of the palace, but Wen Jue insisted on walking himself, so Jiang Chuang had no choice but to drop the idea.

Wen Jue let out a sigh of relief, walking hand in hand beside him along the palace path. If he had really been carried out like that, the whole palace would be gossiping about how deeply in love they were by the next day, and by the third, the common folk would’ve turned it into a ballad, absolutely terrifying!

They had just reached the palace gates when an irritating voice sounded behind them.

“General Jiang, Fifth Brother, please wait.”

Wen Jue halted, clearly impatient. He and Jiang Chuang turned together. Jiang Chuang nodded. “Third Prince, what business do you have?”

The Third Prince stood there with the Fourth Prince behind him, still maintaining his gentlemanly demeanor. He gave them both a look, smiled, and said, “Tonight, I barely had a chance to speak properly with Zhiyu, what a shame. You’re not still angry with your elder brother, are you, Zhiyu?”

Wen Jue smiled. “You’re already planning to gift me top-grade supplements. How could I possibly still be angry?”

The Fourth Prince let out a cold snort. The Third Prince didn’t react, he didn’t take this “loss” at heart.

“As long as you’re not,” the Third Prince said, glancing at Wen Jue and then at the guarded Jiang Chuang. He smiled again. “I heard that the First Princess has been sending supplements to the general’s residence like running water. It seems they’ve worked, Fifth Brother’s eyes are much better now.”

Wen Jue tightened his grip on Jiang Chuang’s hand. The night was dark, and to conceal the fact that his sight had returned, he rarely used his eyes, other than when watching the fireworks, and even then, the Third Prince had been standing in front of them.

If he still noticed… just how long had the Third Prince been watching them?

Wen Jue feigned surprise. “Why would you say that, Third Brother? I’ve been blind for so many years, how could I be better? I’ve simply learned to recognize positions by sound after being blind for so long.”

“Haha, I see!” The Third Prince laughed. “Then I was mistaken. I thought your eyesight had recovered and was happy for you. But you’re clever regardless, whether you can see or not, it doesn’t affect your ability to strategize.”

The Fourth Prince sneered, “Who knows if he’s really blind or just pretending? His mind is full of tricks, no matter how he acts, he still hasn’t won Father’s heart.”

The Third Prince pretended to scold him. “Brother Lang, how can you speak to your Fifth Brother like that?” Then he turned to Wen Jue with an apologetic smile. “Don’t mind him, Zhiyu. That’s just how he is.”

Jiang Chuang let out a cold laugh. “No need to mind a dog. If a dog bites, you beat it to death.”

The Fourth Prince’s gaze turned vicious. “General Jiang certainly speaks from experience. But even dogs know loyalty, who would’ve thought a general like you would grovel so easily for anyone with milk to offer?”

That was too much for Wen Jue. Insult him if they wanted, he was used to hearing the same barbs since childhood, but insulting his husband?

“Fourth Brother’s really funny. Yunchuan has always been loyal to Father. Where do you get ‘groveling around’ from?” Wen Jue’s smile turned icy. “I still admire Third Brother the most. Such skill, he knew dogs must be trained from young. No wonder Fourth Brother is so obedient, biting wherever you point. Isn’t that right?”

The Fourth Prince’s mother had been a palace maid who died after being granted the low rank of ‘Gui Ren’ upon giving birth to him. He never gained the Emperor’s favor. At age five, he’d been found starving and abused by servants. The Third Prince had taken him under his wing from then on, and no one dared bully him again. He became fiercely loyal, willing to die for the Third Prince.

“You–!” The Fourth Prince couldn’t act out at the palace gate, so he could only glare at Wen Jue. But Wen Jue was ‘blind.’ No matter how he glared, it was useless. So he turned his glare to Jiang Chuang instead.

The Third Prince frowned with displeasure. “Enough. You’re all brothers. Why bicker just over a few words?”

Jiang Chuang looked even more annoyed. “Does Your Highness still have something to say? You stopped us here for nothing but scolding. Even if you’re elder brothers, that’s no excuse.”

The Third Prince fell momentarily silent. Scolding? It wasn’t like they’d won any verbal victories, Wen Jue and Jiang Chuang had both hit back perfectly.

Still, he didn’t want to argue. “I was wrong. I just saw how affectionate you two were tonight and couldn’t help but reflect. Fate is truly wonderful. I suddenly realized… the old rumors were true!”

Wen Jue felt a chill. Jiang Chuang instinctively asked, “What rumors?”

The Third Prince smiled mysteriously. “Back when General Jiang returned triumphant, Father praised his achievements, saying no reward was enough. Soon after, Fifth Brother requested a private audience in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Not long after, the imperial marriage decree was issued.”

The Fourth Prince added sarcastically, “They say it was Fifth Brother himself who requested the marriage, willingly marrying a man. Tsk tsk. Shows how deeply he loved General Jiang.”

Jiang Chuang looked at Wen Jue and noticed the cold expression on his face, no reaction at all. That confirmed it: the marriage had truly been his idea.

But why would the Third Prince deliberately bring it up? Why was Wen Jue angry and defensive after it was exposed?

I don’t want to hear it.

He had promised Wen Jue, he would never learn about him from someone else’s mouth.

“I’m tired. I’ll be taking Zhiyu home now. Excuse us.” Jiang Chuang gripped Wen Jue’s hand and turned to leave, catching both princes off guard.

But the Third Prince wasn’t done. His voice followed behind them.

“Thinking back… didn’t you already have feelings for General Jiang three years ago during the winter hunt?”

The Fourth Prince added, “Who knows? If he hadn’t held General Jiang back that day, you would’ve rescued Third Brother in time. Then he wouldn’t have been injured so badly.”

Their voices faded with the distance. Jiang Chuang remained calm, he didn’t believe a word of theirs.

But Wen Jue, his face still expressionless, seemed lost in thought.