Chapter 41: Hesitation
Chu Yi felt his eyelids were heavy, his body swaying. In a daze, he was forced to open his eyes by a sudden feeling of weightlessness.
His vision gradually cleared. He looked at Sheng Qianheng’s sweat-drenched face. He had wanted to raise his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, but the moment he propped himself up, a wave of tingling numbness surged through him.
His brows furrowed, his voice trembling slightly. “A-Heng, what time is it?”
Seeing the lotus-pink at the corners of Chu Yi’s eyes, Sheng Qianheng immediately stopped all his movements, caressed his cheek, and could only roughly estimate the time. “It’s probably the chǒu hour…”
Chu Yi couldn’t figure out what time the chǒu hour was for a moment. He only knew that he was exhausted, and even raising his hand took a great deal of effort.
He wanted to lift his leg to kick Sheng Qianheng but unexpectedly found that he had given him an opportunity.
In a moment, Chu Yi’s vision scattered. He gasped for air and said intermittently, “Sheng Qianheng, you… know when to stop…”
Sheng Qianheng leaned down and tasted Chu Yi’s lips, teasing, “Brother, don’t be too loud. I wonder if Lady Lu in the side hall will know what we’re doing.”
Although he knew that the side hall was far from the main hall and it would be difficult to notice him and Sheng Qianheng in the middle of the night, the moment it was mentioned, Chu Yi couldn’t help but worry. He shook his head slightly and cursed in a low voice, “Sheng Qianheng, you bastard!”
Sheng Qianheng chuckled softly, rubbing Chu Yi’s earlobe and coaxing in a low voice, “Brother, if you’re sleepy, then sleep. I’ll be done soon…”
Even though Chu Yi repeatedly told himself not to pay attention to Sheng Qianheng’s actions, with every breath, his nose was filled with Sheng Qianheng’s scent. How could he truly not care?
“Sheng Qianheng, don’t do these bastardly things anymore!”
They had already called for water several times. The bathwater had heated up and cooled down again…
After a long time, Sheng Qianheng finally picked up Chu Yi and got up to wash.
The next day at noon, Chu Yi finally woke up.
He lay on the bed for a long time before he could barely sit up. The hall was empty, not a single person in sight. Chu Yi couldn’t help but feel a sense of emptiness.
He recalled the events of last night and unconsciously raised a hand to gently caress his lower abdomen, thinking to himself, If I’m really pregnant, what should I do?
He thought of the Lu residence’s concubine who had given birth to four children and felt a faint fear…
Chu Yi called for Lianfang. The first thing he asked was about Sheng Qianheng. “Where is His Majesty?”
Lianfang helped Chu Yi change and said slowly, “His Majesty stayed until the moment before morning court before leaving. He told us to take good care of Your Ladyship.”
Chu Yi nodded. He knew that Sheng Qianheng was the emperor and had many state affairs to deal with, but he still hoped that he could stay by his side.
After washing up, Lady Lu sent a message that she wanted to see Consort Wan.
Chu Yi walked to the chaise lounge and sat down before letting Lady Lu enter the hall.
He unconsciously avoided looking at Lady Lu. Sheng Qianheng’s deliberate mention of the side hall last night was still fresh in his mind.
After paying her respects, Lady Lu said, “Your Ladyship, this subject’s wife has a favor to ask…”
Chu Yi raised his eyes slightly, looked at Lady Lu’s expression, and asked, “What is it?”
Lady Lu kowtowed directly to Chu Yi and continued, “Your Ladyship, this subject’s wife received a letter from the Lu residence today, urging me to return home soon… This subject’s wife begs Your Ladyship to help me…”
Chu Yi was naturally unwilling to see Lady Lu suffer such inhuman torment again. He pondered for a long time, trying to figure out how to politely refuse Lu Wenhan, and then said slowly, “This Palace will send someone to pick up your son and bring him to the palace later. I’ll say that this Palace has always been fond of children, and Lady Lu has mentioned your son several times. This Palace really wants to see him. And in a few days, it will be the Qixi Festival. This Palace trusts Lady Lu and has specially appointed you to assist with the Qixi Festival matters.”
Hearing Chu Yi’s words, Lady Lu’s eyes were already moist. She kowtowed several times, choking, “This subject’s wife can never repay Your Ladyship’s great kindness…”
Chu Yi had difficulty moving and had Lianfang help her up, handing her a silk handkerchief. “Miss Xu, don’t cry for a man who is not worth it anymore…”
Lady Lu was dazed for a moment by the address “Miss Xu.” Since she had gotten married, she had only been “Lady Lu.” The surname Xu seemed to have been buried and no longer existed.
“Your Ladyship is truly a great benefactor… This subject’s wife is willing to help Your Ladyship investigate the matter of the teahouse.”
Chu Yi nodded. The matter of the teahouse had already exceeded his expectations. He would naturally continue to investigate, but for now, his body was unwell, and he had to rest for a few days.
Sheng Qianheng had not wanted to go to morning court and only wanted to continue to be intimate with his Kunze. But Head Eunuch Liu Deshan had urged him three or four times from outside the bedchamber door. Fearing he would wake Chu Yi, he had no choice but to get up and change with light steps.
Before leaving, he reluctantly placed a kiss on Chu Yi’s forehead.
In Xuanzheng Hall, Sheng Qianheng closed his eyes and listened to the ministers’ reports.
Grand Marshal Zhao Wo stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, recently, Qianlin seems to be stirring. Previously, Qianlin had the intention of a marriage alliance. If Your Majesty is unwilling to form a marriage alliance, you must be prepared for a fierce battle with Qianlin.”
The pad of Sheng Qianheng’s thumb tapped lightly on the armrest of the dragon throne. He was naturally unwilling to form a marriage alliance.
But Qianlin had been biding its time for many years. According to the spies’ reports, Qianlin’s military strength was almost on par with his Da Mo.
But considering Chu Yi’s identity, it was not logical to go to war. Chu Yi would be in a difficult position whether he was by his side or on Qianlin’s side.
But if he didn’t go to war, he was naturally unwilling to form a marriage alliance, and Chu Yi wanted one person for a lifetime. If he accepted the marriage alliance, Chu Yi would probably be heartbroken…
He looked up at the Grand Marshal and asked, “How many troops does my Da Mo have now?”
Grand Marshal Zhao Wo replied, “This subject does not know the strength of General Wang’s troops. There are 200,000 troops stationed at each of the east, west, north, and south borders, and the number of troops in each prefecture and county varies. A conservative estimate is that 1 million troops can be deployed.”
Sheng Qianheng said coldly, “General Wang, if a battle with Qianlin is inevitable, are you confident if I send you to this battle?”
General Wang immediately kowtowed to the ground. “Since it is Your Majesty’s entrustment, this subject will not fail my mission!”
Sheng Qianheng sighed. “Vice Minister Jiang, what do you think of the marriage alliance?”
Jiang Xinrui stepped forward. “Your Majesty, in this subject’s opinion, a marriage alliance is indeed a good strategy. A marriage alliance can avoid a battle with Qianlin. Moreover, since ancient times, it is the common people who suffer in war. Your Majesty personally led the troops to conquer the Western Xia before, so you should know…”
Sheng Qianheng naturally knew that in war, the common people were often displaced. When the Western Xia had attacked before, he had had no choice but to lead the troops himself. But now, the matter of Qianlin had many difficulties…
The morning court discussed the matter of Qianlin for nearly four hours. The final conclusion was to accept the marriage alliance and to grant the woman of the marriage alliance a high rank.
Sheng Qianheng raised a hand to rub the bridge of his nose, feeling extremely irritable. “Do the ministers have nothing else to report besides this matter?”
All the officials were silent…
Sheng Qianheng looked up and saw Lu Wenhan, who seemed to be uncomfortable from standing for a long time. He remembered what Chu Yi had said last night and said fiercely, “Does the Imperial Censor have anything to report?”
Lu Wenhan was startled by the sudden call of his name and was stunned for a moment before replying, “To answer Your Majesty, this subject has nothing to report recently…”
Sheng Qianheng bit his back teeth slightly. “Recently, Lady Lu has been staying in the side hall of Yanxi Palace. My beloved consort mentioned to Zhen that she seemed to have seen many injuries on Lady Lu’s arms… Could it be that Lord Lu abuses his main wife?”
Lu Wenhan’s hair stood on end. That Xu Xunyun had actually told Consort Wan these things!
“It’s all a misunderstanding, Your Majesty. My wife was bitten by a vicious dog when she was a child, and recently she has been weak and often falls. It’s a common occurrence…”
Sheng Qianheng snorted coldly. “I see that Lord Lu has been very idle recently. Then go to the border with Grand Marshal Zhao Wo and inspect the troops.”
Lu Wenhan was covered in a cold sweat. “This subject accepts the decree.”
Zhao Wo: “This subject accepts the decree.”
Seeing that it was almost noon, Chu Yi ordered someone to serve the meal.
He had thought that Sheng Qianheng should still be busy with state affairs, but he had just picked up his chopsticks when Sheng Qianheng had already arrived at Yanxi Palace.
Chu Yi was about to get up, but he heard Sheng Qianheng say, “It’s fine. Don’t bother with the formalities. There’s no need to be so particular between us.”
Chu Yi looked back and signaled for Lianfang to withdraw. In an instant, only he and Sheng Qianheng were left in the bedchamber.
When he spoke, his voice was a few shades hoarser than yesterday. “But there are still others around. Besides, I wanted to pay my respects, but my… body… is… not… well~”
Sheng Qianheng walked to Chu Yi’s side. Seeing that there was no soft cushion on his seat, he thought for a moment, sat down, and then picked up Chu Yi to sit on his lap.
Chu Yi was about to complain about his discomfort, as if his whole body was falling apart. But when he realized that sitting on Sheng Qianheng’s lap was not as uncomfortable as sitting on that hard chair, he raised an eyebrow slightly and continued to eat.
Seeing his cheeks stuffed full, Sheng Qianheng found him extremely cute. In an instant, all the worries from Xuanzheng Hall were swept away. He raised a hand to rub his lower back.
He wondered why Chu Yi was giving him the feeling that no matter how much he doted on him, it was never enough.
Chu Yi felt the soreness in his lower back ease a lot and unconsciously hummed a few times.
Sheng Qianheng’s scalp tingled. He unconsciously rested his forehead on Chu Yi’s shoulder and whispered, “A-Yi…”
Chu Yi was very hungry and only cared about stuffing food into his mouth. He seemed to vaguely hear Sheng Qianheng’s whisper by his ear and replied, “What’s wrong?”
Sheng Qianheng didn’t know how to bring up the matter of Qianlin with Chu Yi…
No matter how he handled it, Chu Yi would be in a difficult position.
What choice should he make…
Chu Yi turned slightly to the side, raised a hand to rub the back of Sheng Qianheng’s head, and asked, “What’s wrong? You can tell me whatever is on your mind…”
Sheng Qianheng sighed and said silently, “A-Yi, I have to apologize to you first…”
Chu Yi was puzzled. Could it still be because of yesterday’s matter… It had already been done, and he had indeed been shot inside a lot. He had also apologized yesterday. What was this today?
“There’s no need to apologize to me again for last night’s matter…”
Sheng Qianheng’s heart skipped a beat. Chu Yi thought it was about the matter of the womb last night.
He looked up into Chu Yi’s eyes and asked, “But what if you really get pregnant?”
Chu Yi shook his head, the corners of his lips twitching slightly. “I don’t know either… Let’s just let nature take its course. What else can be done at this point?”
He could only pray that he was not the fertile type and wouldn’t get pregnant so easily.
Sheng Qianheng held Chu Yi’s waist tightly, closed his eyes, and prayed that Chu Yi would not blame him for his decision.
“Brother, will you leave me?”
Chu Yi seemed to have heard this sentence from Sheng Qianheng’s mouth several times.
Leave? In the past, he had wanted to leave…
But what about now? If he really got pregnant? Could he really still leave?
Chu Yi couldn’t see his own heart clearly for a moment. Could it be that he had fallen in love with Sheng Qianheng…
Translator’s Notes
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Chǒu hour : This is the period from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. in the traditional Chinese timekeeping system.
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Qixi Festival : Also known as the Double Seventh Festival, it’s a traditional Chinese festival celebrating the annual meeting of the cowherd and weaver girl in mythology. It’s often considered the Chinese Valentine’s Day.
