Imperial Husband Chapter 112

Chapter 112

Three years later.

"Hyah... hyah... Run faster, Taxue. We mustn't let A-Jin catch up this time." Seeing Li Jin about to overtake him from behind, Ying Yuan patted his beloved horse, urging it to go faster.

Neigh~

Taxue responded with a whinny and suddenly accelerated.

Seeing this, Li Jin withdrew his gaze from Ying Yuan and smiled at the horse he was riding. "Sanhua, put in more effort. If we win this one, we'll secure a triple victory."

Neigh~

Sanhua also let out a spirited whinny and instantly pulled alongside Taxue, which had been ahead just a moment before.

"A-Jin, I will definitely win."

"A-Yuan, it's still too early to say that."

As soon as their words fell, they simultaneously urged their horses to sprint again, trying to outpace each other. However, both horses were equally strong, making the contest intensely close.

"I can't catch up." Tao Yichu, chasing from behind, saw that Li Jin and the others were nearly at the finish line and straightforwardly gave up on the idea of catching them. "Heir Li and the Seventh Prince are truly formidable. Even though we all started together, they still steal the spotlight."

"If we can't get first or second, let's at least take third, Lord Tao. If you keep dawdling here, last place will undoubtedly be yours."

Ping'an, sitting behind Zhou Yunting, began to provoke Tao Yichu without any reservation.

Tao Yichu glared at Ping'an. "Ping'an, if you have the skill, get off Zhou Yunting's horse and race me on your own."

"It's precisely because I lack the skill that I'm riding behind Zhou Yunting."

Having said that, Ping'an stuck out his tongue at Tao Yichu.

The time spent together had changed him. After three years of living side by side in Zhuzhou, Ping'an had learned to be honest with Zhou Yunting. He no longer felt the need to act tough when he clearly couldn't manage.

"..."

"What? Are you going to bite me?"

"Ping'an, you're really asking for a beating."

"Is that so? But if you want to beat me, you'll have to get past Zhou Yunting first."

"Hahaha!" Right then, Lan Mingzhou overtook them on his horse. "Third place is as good as mine!"

"Oh no, how could I forget he was here too! Zhou Yunting, ride faster!" Seeing himself overtaken by Lan Mingzhou, Ping'an could no longer bother with taunting Tao Yichu and hastily urged Zhou Yunting to speed up and catch up.

"Alright."

Zhou Yunting cast an adoring glance at the anxious Ping'an and calmly increased his speed.

In the blink of an eye.

Just as everyone crossed the finish line, Sanhua, ridden by Li Jin, was a split second faster, taking first place. Ying Yuan, Zhou Yunting, and the others trailed closely behind.

"Zhou Yunting, well done! I knew you could catch up!"

Ping'an beamed with joy, vigorously patting Zhou Yunting's shoulder, completely forgetting the anxiety he had shown just moments before.

Meanwhile, the moment he dismounted, Li Jin sensed something was off with Ying Yuan.

"Why are you crying?"

Li Jin walked up to Ying Yuan and discreetly used his hand to wipe away Ying Yuan's tears.

Ying Yuan blushed and lowered his head. "A-Jin, Taxue and I practiced for a long time for today, but... we still lost."

In truth, Ying Yuan hadn't intended to cry, but by the time he realized it, tears had already unconsciously started to flow.

"You’ll win next time." A-Yuan, you're playing foul like this.

Li Jin sighed softly and gently brushed through Ying Yuan’s hair.

Heavens knew, the moment Li Jin saw Ying Yuan suddenly cry, his heart felt as if it had stopped—an extremely unpleasant sensation.

"But there's no next chance. I have to return to the capital the day after tomorrow." The thought of going back to the capital to face those people and matters made Ying Yuan's mood grow heavy.

If possible, Ying Yuan genuinely wished from the bottom of his heart that he could stay in Zhuzhou forever with Li Jin.

"I'll be going back with you."

"Mhm."

"Oh, right. Do you remember the agreement we made before the race?"

"I remember. But since I still lost, that agreement doesn't really stand anymore, does it?"

The true reason for Ying Yuan's dejection wasn't losing to Li Jin, but rather the loss of their agreement.

Li Jin smiled gently. "Losing is one thing; our agreement is another. So, A-Yuan, how about we stick to our prior arrangement and go for a horseback ride later?"

After three years of extensive reforms, Zhuzhou was a world apart compared to its past.

The severity of the drought had been fundamentally reduced. Furthermore, with the introduction of sweet potatoes and the construction of reservoirs, the threat of famine had been smoothly eliminated.

Naturally, this was inseparable from the efforts of Li Jin and the others.

As for Tao Yichu staying behind, firstly, it was due to Gu Rushuang's order to protect Li Jin and Ying Yuan; secondly, Tao Yichu had developed a keen interest in Li Jin's group and was very eager to see if their efforts would bear fruit, which led him to remain in Zhuzhou for a full three years.

Bai Yifei and his father initially wanted to stay in Zhuzhou as well. However, due to urgent letters from Li Shiyun, the Bai father and son reluctantly, albeit unwillingly, returned to the frontier.

As for Yan Zhongjin, ever since receiving the news from Li Jin about Wei Shiwan's demotion, he couldn't wait to leave overnight.

"Alright."

Ying Yuan agreed without a second thought.

"You all head back first; we'd like to ride a while longer." Leaving these words behind, Li Jin mounted Taxue and extended a hand to Ying Yuan. "Come up, I'll take you."

"Mhm."

Taking Li Jin's hand, Ying Yuan also mounted Taxue.

"A-Yuan, hold on tight." Seeing that Ying Yuan was settled, Li Jin immediately urged Taxue to gallop to the left, instantly leaving Zhou Yunting and the others, who had stopped to rest, far behind.

Sanhua, the horse Li Jin had been riding earlier, also followed closely behind as Taxue raced away.

Watching the figures of Li Jin and Ying Yuan gradually disappear into the distance, Ping'an said with concern, "Zhou Yunting, should we follow them to check? After all, there have been assassination attempts on His Highness all these years. I'm afraid something might happen to him."

Zhou Yunting grasped Ping'an's hand, signaling him not to go.

"The Seventh Prince is with him. His Highness will be fine."

"Indeed." Tao Yichu nodded in agreement. "If it really came to a fight, I'm no match for the Seventh Prince at all. But then again, the Seventh Prince is clearly quite a bit younger than me—why is he so formidable in combat?"

If not for the consideration that Ying Yuan was a prince, Tao Yichu would have barely restrained himself from uttering the words 'monster' and 'strange person' about him.

......

As Taxue galloped along the road, Ying Yuan instinctively tightened his arms around Li Jin's waist.

In order to freely control the power of the gunpowder and avoid unnecessary trouble, for the past three years, both Li Jin and Ying Yuan had devoted all their time to it, often researching late into the night, leaving them no opportunity to go out.

The horse race was something Li Jin had insisted upon.

After a while, Li Jin said, "A-Yuan, I remember there's a small stream ahead. How about we stop there for a while?"

Ying Yuan gave an almost imperceptible nod. "Alright."

Soon after, the two of them arrived at the streamside to rest.

"A-Yuan, you can request a different agreement as well..."

"This is enough." Ying Yuan shook his head, interrupting. "A-Jin, you're already exhausted from the gunpowder research. I don't want you to force yourself."

Before the horse race began, the original purpose of Ying Yuan's agreement with Li Jin was precisely to ensure that Li Jin could take some time to rest amidst his overwhelming busyness.

To put it plainly, although the research on gunpowder was entrusted to both Li Jin and Ying Yuan, with Li Jin taking the leading role, Ying Yuan was more like an assistant, only able to help with simple tasks. Important adjustments still required Li Jin's personal involvement.

This also explains why it took Li Jin three years. The truth was, his knowledge of gunpowder came from memories of a past life. Having now lived through two lifetimes, the details had long been forgotten, making the research process far more challenging.

Fortunately, the outcome was positive.

"A-Yuan, would you like to soak your feet?" While Ying Yuan was lost in thought, Li Jin had already taken off his shoes and socks and immersed his feet in the stream.

It was currently the end of heat solar term in Zhuzhou, the tail end of summer. Soaking in the water at this time was still quite refreshing.

"Mhm, I'll join too." Ying Yuan hurriedly sat opposite Li Jin and, following his example, took off his shoes and socks, placing his feet in the water. "A-Jin, the water feels so nice."

Li Jin responded with a smile. "A-Yuan, you've worked hard these past three years."

Ying Yuan shook his head. "I haven't worked hard. Actually, you did all the important work, A-Jin. I couldn't be of much help at all. Those words are what I should be saying to you."

"That's not true." Li Jin shook his head gently and said softly, "I could have completed it alone, but the time required would certainly have been more than three years."

Li Jin had never forgotten the effort Ying Yuan had put in, even going sleepless for days on several occasions just to make things a little easier for him.

Ying Yuan smiled without responding.

However, judging by the look in his eyes, it was clear his opinion hadn't changed.

Knowing Ying Yuan's temperament and understanding that he didn't wish to continue this topic, Li Jin subtly shifted the conversation. "A-Yuan, this return to the capital will likely be a difficult battle for us. Are you afraid?"

Ying Yuan met Li Jin's gaze and replied, word by word, as if taking a vow, "With A-Jin by my side, no matter how difficult it gets, I will not retreat."

"Good."

Li Jin exclaimed 'good' and couldn't help but stand up, walking over to Ying Yuan and once again ruffling his hair.

"A-Jin, I've already grown up."

Ying Yuan knew he should stop this intimate gesture from Li Jin, but he simply couldn't bring himself to, so he only offered this mild, half-hearted remark.

Li Jin smiled and said, "I know. But no matter how much you grow, in my heart, you'll always be like a child."

"..." I am not a child.

Ying Yuan fell silent.

For some reason, hearing Li Jin's words left a dull, heavy feeling in Ying Yuan's heart.

As if suddenly remembering something, Li Jin's expression turned serious. "A-Yuan, this return to the capital might bring us even more challenges. So, I truly hope you can do as you said."

In his past life, the day when the princes formally began vying for the throne was the very day Li Jin and the others returned to the capital, which also marked the beginning of the entire ordeal.

Therefore, Li Jin did not want Ying Yuan to be afraid.

Because once fear takes root, it becomes easy to turn into a pawn for the other princes—a stepping stone to their ambitions, with little hope of recovery.

"A-Jin, I can."

These seemingly simple words, 'I can,' actually encompassed Ying Yuan's unwavering resolve.