A young boy, originally dozing while tending sheep on the meadow, was startled awake by the thunderous sound of hooves. He looked up to see a line of brightly armored knights escorting a central rider galloping eastward. 

Following close behind were several large carts piled high with game like wolves and antelopes, clearly a hunting party returning home. The shepherd boy couldn't help but click his tongue in admiration, "What a grand procession! I wonder which nobleman that is."

The lead rider was a child of six or seven years old, galloping ahead of the others. He only dismounted when he was a bowshot away from the golden tent. With practiced ease, he tossed his whip to a waiting male servant, brushed the dust from the hem of his robe, and then gracefully lifted the curtain and entered the tent.

Inside, a warm underfloor heating system was already active. Although winter hadn't yet arrived, the grasslands had begun to cool. Everyone in the You Jin Tribe knew that the Great Khatun was a princess from the Empire, raised in the humid south, and therefore particularly sensitive to the cold. So, every autumn, the underfloor heating was activated in the golden tent, and thick wool carpets were laid down to ensure the Great Khatun wouldn't catch a chill.

As soon as the boy entered, a wave of heat washed over him. Having just returned from riding, he was still sweating. He quickly unfastened his outer robe, seeking a moment of relief. Just then, a round, roly-poly little figure wobbled from the inner chamber, tiny hands clutching at the hem of his robe, "Brother, bunny... bunny..."

"You little rascal! I just got back, haven't even had a moment to rest, and all you can think about is your bunny." Despite his young age, the boy effortlessly scooped up the little dumpling, teasingly pinching his younger brother's small nose. "Don't I usually dote on you?"

The wet nurse and maids attending the toddler finally caught up and hurriedly bowed, "Your Highness, Crown Prince."

This boy was none other than the eldest son of Zong Jun and Yao Ji, the current Crown Prince Hu Dun of the You Jin Tribe, also given the Han name Chunyu Zi You. The little dumpling was his younger brother, the two-year-old Xi Yin, whose Han name was Chunyu Zi Xiu.

Hu Dun excused the servants and asked, "Where are Father and Mother?"

"In response to Your Highness, the Great Khan and the Great Khatun are playing chess in the inner chamber."

Yao Ji, inside the inner chamber, had already heard her son's voice and called out, "Hu Dun, come in quickly."

Hu Dun carried his brother inside. He saw his father reclining on a low couch. A chessboard sat between them, the pieces scattered haphazardly. His mother, who should have been sitting on the other side of the board, was nestled in his father's arms, her small form enveloped by his embrace, his large hand resting on her waist. Her hair was slightly disheveled, and her cheeks flushed.

"Back already?" Zong Jun spoke in a low voice before his wife could say anything. "Xi Yin has been waiting for you for a long time. Now that you're back, take him to play."

For some reason, his voice was a bit hoarse. Hu Dun, seeing his father like this, knew he was being dismissed, deemed a disturbance to his parents' private time. He inwardly scoffed but replied respectfully, "Yes, Father. I'll take my brother down now."

Yao Ji, however, intervened, "Hu Dun just got back! It's his first solo hunt. You haven't even asked him how it went." She beckoned to Hu Dun, "Come let Mother see you."

Hu Dun obediently went forward, allowing Yao Ji to examine him from head to toe, touching and pinching him to make sure he was unharmed. Only then did she sigh in relief.

Zong Jun watched with a tinge of jealousy and drawled, "He's not a child anymore. Now that you've seen him, let him go rest." He thought to himself that he was having a tender moment with Yao Yao, and this brat had to come and interrupt.

Ignoring him, Yao Ji looked tenderly at her son, "Are you hungry?"

Zong Jun frantically signaled to Hu Dun, but Hu Dun, touching his stomach, replied with a shy smile, "Actually, I am a little hungry."

Upon hearing this, Yao Ji immediately ordered the servants to prepare a meal. She held her younger son in her arms and bustled about, getting water for her elder son to wash his face, completely ignoring Zong Jun.

Hu Dun felt a surge of triumph and couldn't help but smile. Looking up, he met Zong Jun's icy gaze and involuntarily shuddered. You little brat, Zong Jun thought, daring to play these tricks in front of me. He resolved to teach this disobedient little barbarian a lesson. 

After the family of four finished their meal, Yao Ji had already ordered hot water for bathing. Since Xi Yin was still young, Yao Ji intended to bathe him herself, but Zong Jun said, "Leave that to me."

Since he usually took care of these tasks, Yao Ji nodded and let Zong Jun carry their younger son, and then, in one smooth motion, scooped up their elder son as well and carried them both into the bathing room.

Steam filled the room. Zong Jun first stripped Xi Yin of his clothes and placed the soft, white dumpling into a specially made small wooden tub, allowing him to splash around with his short arms and legs. 

He then looked at Hu Dun, who had taken off his clothes, revealing a lean but still slender frame, and couldn't help but look at him with disapproval.

Hu Dun, at the age where a young boy's pride is easily wounded, blushed. "Father, what's with that look?"

Zong Jun curled his lip. "I thought you were grown up now, but looking at you…" The implication was clear.

Hu Dun felt indignant, but looking at his father, whose height alone was intimidating, with his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and strong, well-defined muscles, he wondered how long it would take him to achieve such a physique. He dejectedly hung his head, thinking that wanting to compete with his father for his mother's attention was truly overestimating himself.

His son's reaction pleased Zong Jun. He walked over and encouragingly patted Hu Dun's shoulder. "Don't be too discouraged. In ten or eight years, you'll be just like me."

Hu Dun, still a child after all, his eyes lit up. "Really?" Seeing Zong Jun nod, his gaze fell upon his father's impressive manhood. "Then, will my little willy be as big as Father's?"

"Father's isn't a little willy, it's a big willy," Zong Jun corrected him seriously, glancing at his son's small "elephant trunk." "Don't worry, even if your little willy isn't as big as Father's, it won't be small."

Yao Ji, entering to bring Zong Jun his clothes, overheard this absurd conversation. Her face flushed crimson, and she playfully scolded Zong Jun, "You're a grown man, yet you speak such nonsense to a child. So improper!"

"How is it improper? He asked me first," Zong Jun quickly covered Yao Ji's eyes. "He's naked. You're not allowed to look at other men's bodies, only mine. Let his future wife look at his."

Yao Ji was both exasperated and amused. "I've seen him naked when he was a baby."

"He's not a baby anymore," Zong Jun said, signaling to Hu Dun to take his brother and leave. Once they were gone, he released his hand. "Finally, they're gone."

"That's your son," Yao Ji couldn't help but push Zong Jun.

"So what if he's my son?" Zong Jun grabbed her small hand and kneaded it in his palm. He was still a brat competing with him for his wife's affection.

He was already completely naked. The steam from the bath swirled around them, making Yao Ji's thin gauze dress cling to her, almost transparent. Zong Jun recalled their earlier intimacy by the chessboard and the desire he had barely suppressed surged back. He embraced his wife's slender waist. "Yao Yao, it's been a while since we've had a bath together..."