CHAPTER 68: CHAPTER 67: FRATERNAL HARMONY

"Eldest Brother!" The young man approached Lu Qing, appearing both surprised and delighted to see him here. "I thought you wouldn’t come, I never expected to see you here!"

Lu Qing rose and smiled warmly at him, reaching out to gesture above the young man’s head. "It’s been a while, you’ve grown so much taller. In another year or so, you’ll probably surpass me."

"Please don’t tease me, Eldest Brother!" The young man laughed and waved his hand, his eyes especially bright. "I’ve already surpassed my coming-of-age ceremony; where is the reason to grow taller again? Eldest Brother always likes to make fun of me!"

Zhu Yu hadn’t figured out the identity of the newcomer, but fortunately her current role was just as a follower of Lu Qing, with no need to entertain anyone or speak, merely watching from the sidelines.

The man, who claimed to have passed his coming-of-age ceremony, was slightly taller than Zhu Yu by the height of a forehead, and did not have the broad shoulders and narrow waist of Lu Qing. His figure was rather slender, but his facial features were beautiful, with deep-set eyes and a high nose bridge, though his skin was somewhat darker than others.

His words amused Lu Qing as well.

"It’s true, blame me for being muddle-headed, I forgot you’ve grown so much already and thought of you as a child." Lu Qing corrected him with a smile, "I’ve told you many times, call me Brother, calling me Eldest Brother is incorrect!"

"Look! There is your Eldest Brother!"

As he spoke, he gestured with his chin towards the direction of the corridor.

The young man turned his head to look in the indicated direction, and Zhu Yu also glanced over.

A person emerged from outside, height comparable to Lu Qing, dressed in a moon-white robe and wearing a small white jade crown, exuding a very elegant aura.

As he moved forward, people around him hurriedly greeted him respectfully, but his phoenix eyes merely swept past indifferently, nodding with a cold air as if the joys and sorrows of the world were unrelated to him.

The young man speaking with Lu Qing shrank his neck and muttered softly to Lu Qing, "I don’t know why, every time I see Eldest Brother, I feel the same tension as when my teacher checks my homework!"

Lu Qing laughed and patted him: "Go, go say hello, otherwise being caught by ’the teacher’ will make you even more uneasy!"

The young man pouted slightly, nodded, and lifted a courteous smile as he approached, "Eldest Brother, you’ve come too!"

"It’s been a while." The man in white spoke without inflection, indistinguishable from relatives, addressing the young prince before glancing at Lu Qing behind him.

Lu Qing, with a casual demeanor, bowed with cupped hands to the man.

The man merely nodded slightly before heading elsewhere.

The young man relaxed as the man in white walked away, glancing behind Lu Qing: "Brother, the person behind you looks unfamiliar, is he from your household? I’ve never seen him before."

"He’s the Chief Historian from my household, seldom accompanies me outside." Lu Qing answered nonchalantly, adding to Zhu Yu, "Did you greet Prince Shu earlier?"

With this reminder, Zhu Yu finally pieced together the identity of the young man; unexpectedly, it was Prince Shu Lu Ze, Emperor Jin’s Seventh Prince, the sole offspring of the currently favored Princess Consort Duan, who among the already established royal sons, was the only one free to visit the harem to see his mother.

She promptly performed a formal greeting to Prince Shu Lu Ze, following the men’s etiquette.

Lu Ze seemed unconcerned with ceremony, casually waved his hand dismissively.

"Brother, why didn’t you bring your tall and mighty guard today?" He continued asking Lu Qing, "As I came, I thought about asking to borrow him from you for some time, so he could teach me some skills!

Every time I visit my mother, she laughs and calls me frail!"

"This matter should not be taken lightly." Lu Qing laughed and tapped Lu Ze’s head, "My guard is reckless, if he really injures you, Princess Consort Duan would surely be tearful.

If you truly wish to learn martial arts, it’s just as well that General Cao is celebrating his birthday today, why not formally request him as a teacher; that is the greatest honor, more treasured than any birthday gift!"

"Brother is just teasing me!" Lu Ze burst into laughter, "With my talent, if I asked General Cao to teach me, he’d likely cry from noon to midnight!"

They exchanged a few jokes, and suddenly the courtyard became lively as three people entered from outside, causing everyone present to gravitate towards the entrance, regardless of their previous activities.

This time, Lu Qing didn’t need to tell Zhu Yu in a roundabout way; Zhu Yu could identify the people herself.

Among the three, two were familiar faces, with Duke Yan Zhao Bi leading at the forefront, his demeanor still arrogant and brisk, despite being here to celebrate General Cao’s birthday, he looked like the main protagonist of the day.

Recently gaining much attention in and around the Capital was Second Prince, Prince Yi Lu Zhang following behind Duke Yan, immediately surrounded and conversing warmly with others.

Yet behind Duke Yan and Lu Zhang trailed a man in his twenties, also dressed lavishly, but while everyone eagerly befriended Duke Yan and Lu Zhang, he was left aside looking somewhat forlorn, maintaining his composure while surveying those around.

Lu Ze frowned slightly: "That Zhao Bocai seems like a leech, wherever Second Brother is, he must be nearby!"

"Your words are somewhat biased." Lu Qing chuckled, "Duke Yan is your Second Brother’s maternal grandfather, also Zhao Bocai’s grandfather. It’s normal for him to follow his grandfather."

Lu Ze sighed: "Brother, I should go greet Second Brother!"

Zhu Yu deduced from their prior conversation that the elegant man in white earlier was likely Prince Xu Lu Chao, Emperor Jin’s legitimate eldest son, born to Empress.

Not counting Lu Qing, Emperor Jin and the Empress, along with concubines, had seven sons, of which the Fifth and Sixth Princes died prematurely without reaching adulthood. Now aside from the Third and Fourth Princes stationed at the border, the remaining sons have arrived at Cao Tianbao Mansion.

From Zhu Yu’s perspective, the respect shown to Lu Qing was mostly superficial, while to Prince Xu Lu Chao it was due to the late Empress’ and legitimate heir’s standing, more form than substance.

The enthusiasm shown towards Lu Ze was primarily because of Princess Consort Duan’s current favor with Emperor Jin.

As for Lu Zhang and Duke Yan, the deference and flattery extended by everyone was genuine and pure, devoid of any ulterior motives.