GNU sponsored chapters (1/7) by Amber Crosby, oxalice, and several anonymous sponsors at ko-fi. Thank you for your support!
This is the first part of today’s sponsored chapters.
Cheng Yujin didn’t give Zhai Yanlin face, but she was very obedient to Cheng Yuanjing. She took a step back, turned her wrist slowly, and gave a perfect curtsy: “It turns out to be Duke Cai. I’ve been rude.”
Zhai Yanlin watched Cheng Yujin saluting himself, and realized that he couldn’t even blink. The girl’s hands were white and slender, and her posture when curtsying was very graceful. Her pale-colored dress accentuated her beautiful figure. When she bent down slightly, the outline of her slender waist and legs became more prominent. Her movement was slow and distinct without even the slightest sway, so perfectly adhered to the book. However, even though Cheng Yujin’s every movement seemed to be measured by a ruler, she wasn’t as rigid as the palace mamas who taught etiquette to the court ladies. On the contrary, she was pleasing to the eyes.
As she saluted, Cheng Yujin’s jaw was slightly closed, and her eyebrows also drooped a bit, making her bowed face even more stunning. A greeting salutation obviously was the most basic and standard etiquette. As a Duke, Zhai Yanlin received such a greeting countless times every day, but he had never seen other people who did it as beautiful as Cheng Yujin.
Just now, Cheng Yumo imitated Cheng Yujin’s movement. At that time, Zhai Yanlin only felt that Cheng Yumo was cute, and was very dissatisfied with Cheng Yujin. A girl whose every word and movement adhered to the book like being carved out of a mold was nothing interesting and couldn’t be compared with her lively and pretty little sister.
But now Zhai Yanlin knew that he was wrong. Inward, he smiled bitterly. Cheng Yumo didn’t say a word about her sister’s stunning appearance, and how beautiful her demeanor actually was.
Cheng Yumo’s imitation was completely inferior. What she did was simply misleading.
Zhai Yanlin felt that vision eyes had been washed clear once. After receiving such a greeting, Zhai Yanlin really felt that he received a genuine blessing. If he could see it often, his lifespan might even get prolonged for several years.
Zhai Yanlin was deep in his own thought. Cheng Yujin waited for a while, but didn’t hear any reply. She was secretly annoyed by Zhai Yanlin’s rudeness. Who did he think he was? Cheng Yujin was angry and no longer cared about him. She straightened her back and turned to greet Cheng Yuanjing, this time more attentively: “Ninth Uncle.”
Even though Cheng Yuanjing saw Cheng Yujin’s greetings every day, it never ceased to please his eyes. He was a man after all, and naturally like beauty. Even if reason restrained Cheng Yuanjing, his eyes wouldn’t refuse to see beautiful things.
Cheng Yuanjing nodded and replied, “Get up. No need for too much politeness.” Cheng Yujin got up, and very naturally walked to Cheng Yuanjing’s side. When Zhai Yanlin finally recovered his mind, he found that Cheng Yujin hadn’t wait for his reply to her greeting, and directly walked to her uncle’s side.
Zhai Yanlin pressed his lips, smiled deliberately, and said: “You two have a good relationship.”
As soon as the words fell, the two turned back at the same time and stared at Zhai Yanlin. Seeing the look in their eyes, Zhai Yanlin was taken aback. He just joked casually. It wasn’t a bad thing for an uncle and niece to have a good relationship, so why was their reaction so big?
Cheng Yujin gave Zhai Yanlin a glare. She knew that Zhai Yanlin was unintentional, and his words didn’t have other meanings. However, Cheng Yujin knew very well that Cheng Yuanjing wasn’t her uncle. Was it so difficult to say a complete sentence? It was obviously: “You uncle and niece have a good relationship.” Zhai Yanlin just omitted a phrase, but it sounded like he talked about a married couple instead.
Cheng Yujin was a little embarrassed. She quietly glanced at Cheng Yuanjing and found that His Highness’s expression was still indifferent as usual. Cheng Yujin couldn’t tell whether he was displeased or not. But since Cheng Yuanjing didn’t open his mouth to reprimand, he shouldn’t be that angry.
That’s good—Cheng Yujin quietly sighed in relief.
Cheng Yuanjing noticed that Cheng Yujin was secretly glancing at him. He remained silent, and let Cheng Yujin peeked at him for a while before finally retracted her gaze in relief. In fact, he wasn’t angry at all. He was just surprised. Why did Zhai Yanlin say this?
This was also the case with the shop attendant at Yunyi Shop that day.
Cheng Yuanjing’s disposition was thoughtful by nature. He would notice many things that people didn’t care about or simply regard as normal occurrences. For example, that shop attendant didn’t know their identities and merely relied on years of experience to call them an engaged couple. Another example was Zhai Yanlin today, as well as many people in the Yichun Marquis manor. They often say that Cheng Yujin had a very good relationship with her Ninth Uncle.
However, they were not an uncle and niece.
Others didn’t know about this, but Cheng Yuanjing had always been very clear that he had nothing to do with the Cheng family, and this ‘uncle and niece’ relationship was even more nonsense.
For Cheng Yujin, he was no different from Xu Zhixian, Lin Qingyuan, or even Zhai Yanlin. They were all outsider males. Cheng Yujin’s ‘filial and caring’ behavior praised by people in the manor was actually given to an adult male without any blood or familial relationship. If the so-called ‘Ninth Uncle’ filter was removed, how would others see their relationship?
Presumably, they would be like the shop attendant that day, and thought that Cheng Yuanjing and Cheng Yujin were a young couple who had a marriage contract.
For the first time, Cheng Yuanjing contemplated upon this issue seriously.
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Thank you for updating!!!!
Thank you to everyone for sponsoring these chapters! And thank you koffean for the translations as always!!
I’m so so so glad ML is finally giving their relationship some serious thought!
Thanks to our translator-sama and sponsors for this surprise batch of 7 chapters 🤯🤩😍 my eyes were buggin’ when I saw the list on NU 😳😁
Finally he’s starting to think consciously and intentionally of her as a potential partner. Took him long enough. 🤭
Thanks for the sponsored chapters! ♥️
Finally he’s making progress! As much as I like them to progress faster, I can’t even complain about the pacing, though. Yujin has so many things to manage, so many insidious attacks to avert in her family. Yuanjiang as an up-and-coming bureaucrat and secret crown prince isn’t an idle gentleman either. It makes sense if they’re both too busy to really sit down and observe their relationship carefully.
Haha still ninth uncle you’ve fallen under Yujins spell without even knowing as well? Why is she so nice to you even if you aren’t her real uncle? You should know her personality well enough by now know she’s always currying favor and you being the crown prince …… Hahaha well when a beautiful and capable girl is good to you even a dragon becomes a common carp it seems.
What a creep. Why is this middle-aged man lusting after a fourteen year old girl?
Now that old madam Cheng and this leecher Zhai both seem to have her on their minds for various of reasons, it’s finally time for the crown prince to wake the hell up ToT