Reborn To Be The Imperial Consort [BL]-Chapter 40: Blooming Pansy — III

Sui Yue. Li Xinyuan blinked, turning the name over and over again in his mind as he let out a soft hum.

It wasn’t a bad name. Sui Yue, the Distant Moon.

He nodded, it was a very good name, actually. But just because he liked it didn’t mean that the halberd would too. With that thought in mind, Li Xinyuan frowned and looked at his weapon, very intently waiting for a reaction.

Any reaction, really.

After some time passed, the halberd started shaking in Liu Mingyun’s hands and then called down, deathly stillness fell over them as they looked down at the weapon.

"So, is that a yes?" After sometime, Li Xinyuan asked, feeling a little awkward as he glanced at the Crown Prince.

Liu Mingyun let out a sigh of relief, a deep breath rolled off his lips as his shoulders trembled and dropped, relaxing.

"It seems so, Xin’er." Having said that, he swiftly handed the halberd, now Sui Yue, to him and smiled, gently. "Congratulations, Xin’er. Now your halberd has a name, nevermind that it’s in my expanse." He pointedly added as an afterthought.

Li Xinyuan coughed, refusing to meet his eyes as he nodded. "This lowly one thanks Your Highness for naming Sui Yue. It is a beautiful name."

As they made their way out of the Imperial Armoury, the Crown Prince glanced at the weapon and nodded. "It’s a name befitting both itself and..." he glanced at Li Xinyuan, his eyes raking over the surgeon’s body, handsome face and breathtaking golden eyes. "It’s master."

Upon hearing those words, Li Xinyuan stiffened for a moment. Was Liu Mingyun just commenting or was it some sort of flirtatious remark?

Or was Li Xinyuan simply thinking too much??

He didn’t know!

The surgeon ducked his head, trying to hide the blush that spread across his cheeks as he cleared his throat and replied. "This lowly one thanks Your Highness."

"No matter, Xin’er." A smile tugged at Liu Mingyun lips as he looked at Li Xinyuan’s bowed head and waved. "No matter."

...

"Your Highness wants this lowly servant to engrave ’Sui Yue’ on this halberd?" Asked the head blacksmith, keeping his voice even as he wiped off the sweat gathering in his brows.

Liu Mingyun stared at Sui Yue for a moment and nodded. "Indeed."

"It shall be done, Your Highness." Master Zuo nodded firmly. Li Xinyuan glanced around himself, strangely enough, the Imperial Smithy was quiet. Uncharacteristically quiet, very much unlike the first time he’d stepped into this place.

He then glanced at Liu Mingyun, a stark feeling of awe bubbled in his heart as it skipped a beat. So this was the power of the protagonist. And well, the Crown Prince.

A sweet warmth swirled in his chest the longer the surgeon entertained that thought. How sweet of the Crown Prince to quiet down the smithy long enough for Li Xinyuan to accompany him in engraving Sui Yue with its name.

It was almost giving him ideas. He let out a sigh. How good it was, to have a fiance like Liu Mingyun. He was rich — literally a Crown Prince — filthy rich. He was strong — canonically the second strongest — and powerful.

He was fit, extremely handsome. He had silver hair (silver hair!!). So when he grew older, even if he started having white hair, who would be able to tell? Not Li Xinyuan, at least.

He was taller than Li Xinyuan too! And his body was — for the lack of better words and if the surgeon were to phrase it the way internet people did — daddy material.

The only flaw in this entire arrangement was that Li Xinyuan was destined to have a love rival in the form of a female lead and maybe more women.

It filled Li Xinyuan with a strange feeling that bubbled and swelled in his heart. It was an unpleasant feeling. Though it was something Li Xinyuan couldn’t quite name just yet.

Maybe in the future he would find its name, in the future when the female lead would make her appearance and Liu Mingyun’s attention would be divided between Li Xinyuan and her.

Until that day, regardless of how hard it may seem, the surgeon had quite some time in gently nudging the story in his favour and changing the genre of the novel from Josei to Danmei.

There was plenty of time for him to do so, yet it wasn’t enough.

The thought of marrying Liu Mingyun was acceptable if not rather heartening, but when he thought of the female lead’s inevitable appearance in the story, in this timeline, it filled him with a sense of dread.

He didn’t know why he dreaded the thought of her appearance or why it filled him with unease to his very core.

But whatever the reason may be, he knew when to trust his instincts. Which was, well, most of the time.

Was it because he knew that if things were to go according to the original story, Liu Mingyun’s affection would completely be directed towards the female lead.

Li Xinyuan pursed his lips together, the pink flesh pressing into a thin line as he fell a step behind Liu Mingyun who walked in front of him.

His thoughts were in a peculiar whirlwind. One moment he was thinking about the protagonist’s attractive features and the next, he was lamenting the time when the female lead would make her appearance.

"Xinyuan," Liu Mingyun’s deep voice, calling out to him in an even tone, snapped the surgeon out of his conflicting thoughts as he snapped his head up to look at the former’s strong back. "You seem deep in thought. Is something bothering you?" The Crown Prince murmured.

Li Xinyuan’s eyes widened a fraction as he shook his head, pursing his lips tightly as he clasped his hands in front of himself, a deep sigh rolling off his lips.

"No, Your Highness. This lowly one is completely fine."

Liu Mingyun’s voice carried a candid frown that Li Xinyuan couldn’t see from where he was walking. "Is that so?" The Crown Prince murmured, seemingly mulling over the surgeon’s words.

"Yes. Yes, Your Highness." Li Xinyuan nodded, assuring the Crown Prince in a gentle voice as he strode after him.

As they walked through the palace, the servants bowed their heads as the protagonist passed by them. Their eyes cast down as Liu Mingyun strode away with his head held high and back ramrod straight.

The only person whom he had his eyes on was Li Xinyuan, and for some reason, the latter seemed to be troubled by something.

Liu Mingyun was curious to know but at the same time, it was not his place to inquire or worse, force an answer out of him.

At best they were friends, and at worst nothing more than two males betrothed to one another, though in his eyes, their relationship was deeper than that.

With a slight shake of his head and a shallow sigh hanging on his lips, Liu Mingyun slowed his steps, falling back to match the surgeon’s pace as he patiently walked by his side, hands folded behind his back.

"Will Xinyuan go back to Jianghu or will he stay back for some time?" After a few moments of silence, Liu Mingyun couldn’t help but ask.

On the outside, his expressions suggested they Li Xinyuan’s answer didn’t affect him all that much. Secretly, however, the Crown Prince couldn’t help but hope that Li Xinyuan would choose to stay back, at least until Sui Yue was complete and engraved with its name.

He hoped. With a swift glance from the corner of his eyes, the Crown Prince observed his betrothed’s reaction, taking in the sight of any minute changes in his expression as the latter contemplated.

Li Xinyuan wanted to stay back. At least until Sui Yue was complete. But apart from his halberd, he also wanted to spend some time with Liu Mingyun—alone and away from prying eyes.

He wanted to spend some time with the protagonist before their marriage could change the dynamic — if it even existed — between them.

Adopting a contemplative look on his face, Li Xinyuan bowed his head, eyelids fluttering as he blinked and then looked up. With a gentle smile on his face, the surgeon turned to look at the side of Liu Mingyun’s handsome face and spoke, lips parting ever so slightly.

"Would Your Highness find this lowly one’s company disagreeable should he choose to stay for a few hours?" He asked, eyebrows furrowed slightly.

He hoped Liu Mingyun didn’t. He wanted to stay for some time.

As soon as his words fell and the two cultivators turned a corner, walking through a more secluded corridor, Liu Mingyun’s breathtaking crimson eyes lit up for a moment, giving his face a beautiful shine.

"Why would This Prince mind?" He looked down at Li Xinyuan’s shorter form, firm eyes raking up and down his body as he canted his head a little. "Xinyuan should stay at least until the engraving is complete." He added after a moment. "This Prince would like to speak to you before we part ways and meet as two different people. This Prince wishes to converse with you as... Friends."

At his words, Li Xinyuan stilled, pausing in his tracks as he opened his mouth to say something. But for a moment, no voice left his throat, no words left his lips.

He could only turn to stare at Liu Mingyun for a moment longer.