Chapter 128

Chapter 128

Han Zhang was unaware of the Fifth Prince's schemes. After all, no matter how clever he was, he couldn't possibly foresee everything.

At this moment, he was counting the gold, silver, and jewels bestowed by the Crown Prince together with Shen Qinglan.

Well, to be precise, Shen Qinglan was doing the counting.

Han Zhang helped on the side while finding it amusing: "My love, I recall the gold and jewels in your dowry far exceed these, don't they? Look at you, acting like a little money fiend."

"It's different! My dowry is my dowry, but these gold and jewels are the honor you earned, husband, and they're bestowed by the Crown Prince himself. What does that mean? It means my husband is amazing!"

Shen Qinglan said happily, then suddenly thought of something, leaned in to wrap his arms around Han Zhang's neck, and demanded:

"What's this about money fiend? Husband, are you using my lack of book learning against me again, thinking I can't understand your words, and making fun of me for being a money-grubber?"

Han Zhang definitely wasn't going to admit to that!

He steadied the man clinging to him and raised his hands in mock surrender with a smile: "How dare I, how dare I! I was complimenting you on how well you run the household."

But Shen Qinglan wasn't having any of it: "I don't believe you. You're just humoring me. Who compliments someone by calling them a money-grubber?"

In this day and age, being linked to merchants or a love of money was anything but a compliment!

Ah, he'd forgotten the generational gap—today his flattery had backfired.

Han Zhang quickly pulled his husband closer, his eyes warm with affection as he soothed, "My love, I truly am praising you. I love money more than anything. Calling you a money-grubber is the biggest compliment I can give."

"I don't mind the smell of money. Everything in life—food, clothes, a roof over your head, getting around—costs money! Those scholars who look down on merchants for being all about money, once they get power and influence, who among them doesn't open shops to rake in the cash? Who doesn't take gifts and bribes to live the high life?"

"Being able to marry a money-maker like you is my greatest luck. Why would I ever make fun of you?"

"My love, you're my good luck charm. Since I married you, my career's been smooth sailing, my home's thriving, and even the Crown Prince looks at me differently... My husband's a real gem!"

With that, Han Zhang leaned down and planted a big kiss on Shen Qinglan's cheek.

Shen Qinglan finally cracked a smile and leaned in to peck the corner of Han Zhang's mouth back, then beamed: "Alright, since you're so good with words, I'll be the bigger person and believe you."

"My husband's really something..." Han Zhang smiled and gave a thumbs up, then picked up a jade hairpin carved with an auspicious cloud pattern and gently tucked it into his husband's hair. "Straight from the Eastern Palace—really top-notch. This hairpin's so clear and smooth—it looks great on you, my love."

"Of course! The best stuff in the world is all locked up in the private vaults of the Emperor and the Crown Prince. You handed the Crown Prince such a huge win this time—if he gave you a crappy reward, it'd make him look bad."

Shen Qinglan touched the hairpin in his bun, loving it, but couldn't help feeling a bit bummed:

"But no matter how fine these things are, they can't compare to your fertilizer, husband—the one that can increase crop yields by twenty to thirty percent. That alone should get you a few promotions, or even a title!"

Now all the credit went to the Crown Prince, and his husband just got some gold and jewels. What a rip-off.

Han Zhang knew he was upset for him, and his heart melted a little. He explained quietly:

"You can't just focus on the short-term payoff. The Crown Prince's got a lot of talented people working for him. Since I've thrown in with him, I need to make a name for myself fast."

"Giving up the fertilizer might look like a loss now, but the Crown Prince knows what he's doing. He won't shortchange me later."

He took Shen Qinglan's hand and said gently, "My love, the Crown Prince and the Emperor want me to help balance the power between the old families and the war heroes. I don't want to be a pawn, and I don't want you to suffer for decades with me before we get to enjoy any of the good stuff..."

"I originally planned to take a post outside the capital after the exams to stay out of the mess of the succession fight. But now that I'm in it, I'm going for the biggest credit for backing the Crown Prince..."

Han Zhang didn't hide his ambition. He laid out everything—his thoughts, his plans, and the political landscape at court.

He didn't want his husband to deal with the storms out there, but he also didn't want to keep him locked up like a bird in a cage.

Because once the gap between a couple gets too big, the one who's behind starts to feel insecure.

It didn't matter if his husband wasn't the sharpest—he could teach him bit by bit. And even if he couldn't learn, that was okay too.

This way, he could give his husband a sense of security, keep him happy, and stop him from turning into one of those bitter spouses stuck in the back courtyard, like most husbands and wives in this era...

Honestly.

Han Zhang had never imagined he'd ever care for someone this way.

He was a man, and he had the same base instincts as any man.

Before meeting Qinglan, he hadn't planned on being faithful, and he didn't plan on being some special exception in this era. He was ready to do what everyone else did—marry a wife, take concubines, the whole deal.

But after meeting Qinglan, he dropped all those scoundrel ideas. All he wanted now was to spend his life with his husband.

Han Zhang knew he'd never been a good man. He just happened to love his husband and only his husband.

So he was willing to hold back his worse instincts for his husband, willing to change for him.

"My love, I'm going to make sure you live a life of endless glory."

Han Zhang rested his chin on Shen Qinglan's head, his voice quiet, but his eyes dead serious.

Shen Qinglan smiled, eyes crinkling, still leaning into his arms, and nodded firmly: "Mm, I trust you, husband!"

Whatever his husband said, he believed it, no questions asked.

Hearing the pure trust in his husband's voice, Han Zhang's face softened, and his eyes filled with warmth.

Meeting his husband in this life was his real luck.

...

The Crown Prince had been racking up wins left and right, and now he needed to lock in his rep.

As for Han Zhang, since he wasn't in court yet, they didn't need him for now.

But Han Zhang wasn't worried. The next steps didn't need him, and he was happy to kick back.

After all, he still had to prep for next year's autumn exams.

When that time came, all the sharp minds from everywhere would come flooding in like a school of fish. To get a good score, he had to grind hard.

And so, the students at the Imperial Academy were back to being pushed to the limit.

It wasn't like they wanted to compete—they really had no choice.

With Han Zhang as the standard—a guy who couldn't put down his books even while eating, and who turned in one essay a day when the teacher only asked for one every three days—everyone felt like taking a break was a crime!

Especially for Shen Huaizhi and his three buddies.

Han Zhang had already put a ton of work into them, and he wasn't about to let it go to waste. Every day after class, he dragged the four of them home for extra study sessions, no mercy.

He studied eight hours a day himself, and those four had to do at least six!

On top of that, Han Zhang also trained with Kang Zhanxun in archery, riding, and martial arts for two hours every day, no matter the weather.

Thanks to his supernatural ability to keep his body in top shape, he squeezed every last drop of time out of each day.

Shen Huaizhi and the other three: ...shaking in their boots.

Kang Zhanxun felt relieved: ...good thing he didn't have to sit for the exams.

Jiang Wencheng, who had never seen such a hardcore guy, watched with his heart pounding and couldn't help but pull Han Zhang aside for a heartfelt talk:

"Brother Han, with your current talent, a top-tier ranking in the imperial exams is already within your grasp. You don't have to drive yourself this hard. We're still in our prime—take care of your health!"

"Brother Jiang, you're absolutely right. Thank you for your concern, I understand."

Han Zhang nodded fast, but didn't change a thing. In fact, he wrote an extra policy essay that very night.

Jiang Wencheng: ...

Dude, you're really making me look like a total slacker.

Jiang Wencheng felt he couldn't just watch his brother run himself ragged like this—nope, it definitely wasn't because Han Zhang's grinding was stressing him out.

So, that evening, he went home and told An Ge'er about it.

And said with an air of noble righteousness: "Brother Han and I may not be sworn brothers, but we're kindred spirits. The way he doesn't take care of himself really worries me."

"We've tried to persuade him, but he won't listen. However, he might listen to Lan Ge'er a bit. Please go talk to Lan Ge'er and ask him to talk some sense into Brother Han. If this keeps up, Brother Han's body is going to give out..."

"Alright, husband, I'll go see Lan Ge'er tomorrow!"

An Ge'er panicked when he heard this.

If Big Brother Han keeps pushing himself like this and something goes wrong, what's Lan Ge'er supposed to do?

The next day, An Ge'er hurriedly found Shen Qinglan and told him about it.

Shen Qinglan listened with a confused look, tilting his head as he thought:

"Really? My husband does come home after classes and spends two more hours tutoring my second brother and the others, and he does wake up pretty early, but he's not studying like his life depends on it like you said."

"I've been trying to have a baby lately, so I've been pestering my husband every night, and we don't get to sleep until the middle of the night. If he were pushing himself that hard during the day, how would he have the energy to mess around with me at night?"

An Ge'er didn't get it: "You two stay up until late every night?"

He and his husband could also go at it until late, but doing it every single night seemed a bit tough.

"Yeah, I want to have a child with my husband soon, so... I've been a bit more... active."

Shen Qinglan quickly added, blushing: "But we're still careful about our health. These days, it's at most three or four times a night. When my husband and I first got married, we... we went at it the whole night."

Now that was really being moderate.

An Ge'er's eyes went wide: "Three or four times a night? And every single day?"

How can a body even handle that?!

Thanks to Han Zhang secretly keeping him in top shape, Shen Qinglan, who was in great health, nodded in confusion: "Yeah, what's wrong with that? My husband said all men are like this. Why else would men in this world take multiple wives and concubines? It must be because one isn't enough."

An Ge'er was dumbfounded: "..."

Oh, so normal men are all like this?

Then his husband wasn't like that—could there be something wrong with him?

Thoroughly misled, An Ge'er forgot all about his friend's husband and rushed home to fetch a doctor for his own husband.

If what Lan Ge'er said was true, then the one who needed to be careful about his health wasn't Lan Ge'er's husband at all.

It was obviously his own husband.

Jiang Wencheng, whose virility was being doubted when he got home that night: "..."

Wait, is Brother Han even human?!