Chapter 72: Eight Months Pregnant
Sheng Qianheng slowly straightened his back, looked into Chu Yi’s eyes, and asked in a low voice, “Are you willing to go back to Da Mo with me?”
Chu Yi unconsciously averted his gaze. His answer had not changed, and Sheng Qianheng should have known. But these past few days, he seemed to have relied too much on Sheng Qianheng. Had it given him some misunderstanding?
Sheng Qianheng unconsciously lowered his head and chuckled. “Alright, I won’t make it difficult for our A-Yi. I’ll go back to Da Mo after you’ve given birth. There’s no hurry…”
Chu Yi touched his belly, thinking that it would be at least three months before he gave birth. Da Mo couldn’t be without a sovereign for so long.
“But it’s still a few months away.”
Sheng Qianheng’s palm covered the back of Chu Yi’s hand. “It’s fine. I’ve already arranged everything before I came.”
Chu Yi always felt a faint palpitation. He looked at the smile on Sheng Qianheng’s face and smiled back.
“Sheng Qianheng, you can’t neglect the affairs of the state for the sake of love.”
Sheng Qianheng’s expression froze. He closed his eyes and raised an eyebrow slightly, unwilling to argue with Chu Yi.
That day, Chu Yi had been drugged by Jiang Xinrui. The imperial physician had warned that this pregnancy had gone through many twists and turns, and he was afraid that it would not last the full nine months in his belly. Therefore, he should not be angered or worried anymore.
He slowly released his xìnxiāng, his gentle words lulling Chu Yi to lie down on the bed and fall into a light sleep. Only after he was comfortably asleep did he speak softly, “A-Yi, in my eyes, anything concerning you and Shun’er is a matter of utmost importance.”
Chu Yi could not persuade Sheng Qianheng to return to Da Mo in any way and eventually gave up the idea.
Jiang Xinrui had been unwilling to say what drug he had used. Suifeng had reported to Sheng Qianheng several times, “Young master, that Jiang Xinrui said he wants to see madam.”
Sheng Qianheng was drinking in a tavern a li away from the school. “He wants to see A-Yi? A fool’s dream…”
Suifeng crossed his arms and looked at Sheng Qianheng’s appearance, only feeling that it was better not to get too deeply involved in love!
“Young master, drinking hurts the body!”
Sheng Qianheng reached out and pulled Suifeng to sit with him, pushed a jar of wine to his hand, and asked, “Why do you think A-Yi is unwilling to go back with me?”
Suifeng had never touched alcohol. As a hidden guard, he had to be alert at all times when on a mission. Alcohol was something that wore down one’s will.
He poured himself a bowl of tea and replied, “Young master, have you ever thought about why madam left you?”
Sheng Qianheng glanced at Suifeng. “He thought I didn’t love him. He thought he had lost his memory!”
Suifeng didn’t see it that way. He shook his head and sighed, his words full of clarity. “Young master, can’t you see that madam loves you and also loves freedom? He hates those high walls and deep courtyards that confine him, but he is always worried that the young master will be in a difficult position. Besides, even if madam has lost his memory and forgotten the past, who would give birth to a child for someone they don’t love? It is because of deep love that he is willing to have this child; it is because of deep love that he thinks so thoroughly about the young master’s affairs. Right now, madam is only afraid that the young master will stay in Qianlin for a long time and ruin the foundation of many years.”
Sheng Qianheng lay on the table and snorted coldly. “I have already planned everything. Everything is under control.”
Suifeng sipped his tea and said slowly, “So what? How would madam know what the young master is planning? In madam’s eyes, the young master is a full seven years younger than him, a young and inexperienced sovereign who has no ability to take charge of the overall situation, only knowing how to chase after him to Qianlin with a single-minded courage, regardless of Da Mo’s foundation.”
Seeing Sheng Qianheng’s gloomy face and clenched fists, Suifeng quickly changed his words, “But madam naturally loves the young master. It’s just that madam has always placed the affairs of the state above love, while the young master is the exact opposite. This is the fundamental reason for their disputes. Suifeng has said all he has to say.”
Sheng Qianheng had never seen the layers of barriers between him and Chu Yi from this perspective. He always suspected whether Chu Yi truly loved him…
No matter how many times he tested him, he could not fully believe that Chu Yi was deeply in love with him.
He took another gulp of wine and whispered, “You don’t need to teach me how to do things.”
Suifeng raised an eyebrow, unconsciously laughing at these people who were deeply in love.
Sheng Qianheng, the high and mighty sovereign, had chased his husband a thousand miles for love, to no avail. The Empress, in pursuit of his supreme self, had to leave even if he was deeply in love with Sheng Qianheng.
In three years, he would be free. At that time, the sky would be high for the birds to fly. He would never be a person who was constrained by love.
Chu Yi sat in the school, his left hand supporting his lower back and his right hand holding a bamboo slip, teaching the students.
These days, Chu Yi was nearly eight months pregnant. His waist and abdomen had grown rapidly, and he could no longer stand for long. Every few steps, he would have to stop for a long time.
When school was over, Sheng Qianheng saw him slowly walk out of the school and strode forward, gently supporting his lower back.
Chu Yi looked at Sheng Qianheng’s furrowed brow and comforted him softly, “I’m just pregnant. It’s not like you have to watch over me in everything.”
Sheng Qianheng gently kneaded Chu Yi’s lower back, trying his best to relieve the discomfort in his waist. Watching the children around them laughing, playing, and running past, he couldn’t help but worry and said to himself in a low voice, “I really don’t know why A-Yi is so obsessed with teaching. These children are so noisy. It’s really worrying.”
Chu Yi looked back at Sheng Qianheng, who seemed to be very talkative today. He stood on his tiptoes slightly and leaned close to his lips. He actually smelled a faint scent of alcohol. “Have you been drinking?”
Sheng Qianheng immediately tilted his neck back, not daring to look into Chu Yi’s eyes, and laughed guiltily. “How could that be… You must have smelled wrong.”
Seeing Sheng Qianheng’s appearance, Chu Yi was already certain of his own guess. Just as he was about to turn and ask Suifeng on the side, he was bumped into by someone.
At some point, a person dressed in a plain black robe and wearing a veiled hat, with his head bowed, was walking quickly and bumped straight into Chu Yi.
Chu Yi was already in the late stages of his pregnancy, and his figure was becoming more and more clumsy, and his movements were also inconvenient. The person bumped into Chu Yi’s shoulder in a hurry, and Chu Yi suddenly felt his figure sway and instantly lost his balance. Fortunately, Sheng Qianheng was quick-witted and quickly reached out to support him.
The person lowered his head even more, lowered his voice, and said repeatedly, “Sorry, sorry!”
Sheng Qianheng stared at him coldly and questioned in a cold voice, “If anything happens to my wife, you will be the main culprit!”
The person hurriedly explained, “I am willing to compensate with all I have. I beg you two to forgive me! I was in a hurry, which is why I was so reckless.”
Chu Yi only felt a palpitation in his heart, and his chest was still pounding. After confirming that he was fine, he gently raised his hand, took Sheng Qianheng’s hand, and said softly, “It’s fine. If this gentleman has something urgent, please go ahead. I’m fine.”
The person immediately left and disappeared from Chu Yi’s and Sheng Qianheng’s sight.
Sheng Qianheng held Chu Yi’s hand tightly and asked, “Are you really alright?”
Chu Yi nodded. “I’m fine. Don’t make a fuss. That person didn’t mean it.”
Suifeng looked at the person’s figure and felt that it was familiar, but he had no clue for a moment. He hoped it was his imagination…
Just as Chu Yi was about to take Sheng Qianheng’s hand and walk toward the palace gate, the next second, he was picked up by Sheng Qianheng.
The moment his body was airborne, he unconsciously had to wrap his arms tightly around Sheng Qianheng’s neck. He asked anxiously, “What are you doing? It’s broad daylight, and there are people on the street! Hurry up and put me down!”
These past few days, Sheng Qianheng had wished he could lock Chu Yi in the palace. Shun’er was already eight months old. According to what the imperial physician had said before, it was difficult to ensure whether he could stay in Chu Yi’s belly for the full ten months…
He had been advising Chu Yi to rest every day, but Chu Yi couldn’t sit still at all.
He gently pinched the soft flesh on the side of Chu Yi’s waist and said, “What’s wrong with me holding my wife and child? Or is it that A-Yi is unwilling to admit that you and I are a married couple?”
In these two months, Chu Yi had become more and more rounded, and his body seemed to have gained a bit of weight. Chu Yi knew that Sheng Qianheng must be feeling heavy holding him now. And they still had to walk two li to get to the palace gate.
He was just worried that Sheng Qianheng would get tired, but it seemed that he and Sheng Qianheng were always on different wavelengths.
Chu Yi simply let Sheng Qianheng hold him and said, “I’m too lazy to argue with you. If you want to hold me, then hold me. It’s not me who’s getting tired.”
Sheng Qianheng was happy to hold Chu Yi. The two of them no longer had a permanent mark connection. He could only rely on these physical contacts to soothe the Qianyuan’s base instinct to form a permanent mark with Chu Yi again.
Chu Yi rested his head on Sheng Qianheng’s neck. The smell of alcohol on his collar was even stronger. He asked casually, “Why were you drinking?”
Perhaps because Chu Yi had completely relaxed, his xìnxiāng lingered at the tip of Sheng Qianheng’s nose. Sheng Qianheng only felt the faint breath of Chu Yi on the side of his neck, like a feather brushing past, constantly teasing his increasingly fragile willpower these days.
He bit his back teeth slightly, his voice already a few shades hoarser. “To drown my sorrows.”
Chu Yi closed his eyes and yawned slightly. “Why are you sad? Can’t you tell me?”
Sheng Qianheng: “I want to form a permanent mark with you, I want to possess you! But I can’t!”
Chu Yi suddenly looked up, raised a hand to cover Sheng Qianheng’s lips, looked at the side and saw that no one was paying attention to their conversation, and only then breathed a sigh of relief. “Don’t say such shameless things! We’re still on the street!”
Sheng Qianheng was unconcerned. He was an emperor and had never cared about what others thought.
Jiang Xinrui had been imprisoned in the Qianlin dungeon all this time.
He heard the increasingly clear footsteps and originally thought it was Sheng Qianheng coming to interrogate him again. He said, “If you want to ask me about the medicine, I have nothing to tell you.”
The person who came was not Sheng Qianheng. He was dressed in a black cloak and stood before Jiang Xinrui, asking, “I can take you away. Are you willing to help me take down Da Mo?”
Jiang Xinrui’s eyelids were all covered in blood scabs. He barely managed to look at the stranger before him and asked, “You’re still alive?”
Lu Wenhan had been biding his time for these few months and had finally found this god-sent opportunity. He took off his hat, undid the iron chains binding Jiang Xinrui, and asked, “You also know that Sheng Qianheng is in Qianlin now, and Da Mo is unguarded. If you help me, I’ll help you get your beloved back. Isn’t it just Chu Yi? After we conquer Da Mo, you can have as many people as you want!”
Jiang Xinrui had lost his restraints and almost knelt on the ground. He then asked in return, “You trust me, a punished body? But what’s your plan?”
Lu Wenhan supported Jiang Xinrui and left through the secret passage.
Chu Yi had been feeling that the fetal movement was a little frequent these past few days. Occasionally, Shun’er seemed to be doing a set of military boxing in his belly, and he had to rest for a long time.
He faintly felt that Shun’er seemed to be coming out early…
He supported Lianfang and strolled in the imperial garden. The imperial physician said that more walking would be beneficial for childbirth in the future.
Chu Yi’s right eyelid was twitching a lot. He never thought that he would see the guard of the dungeon run past in a hurry. He couldn’t help but have a puzzled expression. When he returned to the hall to rest, there was a note on the desk at some point.
He had originally thought it was left by Sheng Qianheng, but when he picked it up to look, he saw that it was actually Jiang Xinrui’s handwriting.
A-Yi, farewell for now. We will surely meet again in the future!
Sheng Qianheng had also just received the news of Jiang Xinrui’s escape. He was afraid that he would come to find Chu Yi and rushed to his hall.
He only breathed a sigh of relief after seeing that Chu Yi was fine.
Seeing Sheng Qianheng half-kneeling before him, his forehead drenched in sweat, Chu Yi was about to get up and wipe it away. Before he could reach out, his wrist was suddenly grabbed by Sheng Qianheng, and his fingers were interlocked. He couldn’t help but be puzzled, “What’s wrong?”
Sheng Qianheng said in a low voice, “Jiang Xinrui is missing… I’m afraid he’ll come to find you again.”
Chu Yi took the note and handed it to Sheng Qianheng. “Here, he’s already been here.”
After reading it, Sheng Qianheng immediately tore it to shreds and said fiercely, “Why is he so persistent!”
Chu Yi reached out and hooked Sheng Qianheng’s lapels, kissed his lips lightly, and said, “Then why are you so unwilling to listen to me?”
Sheng Qianheng’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he had already forgotten all the words he wanted to say. He stood up, picked up Chu Yi from the chair, and pushed him onto the desk.
Fearing that Chu Yi’s waist would be uncomfortable, he could only use his arm as a pillow to share the burden on his waist.
Their breathing filled the room and lingered for a long time…
