Chapter 86: Extra 2 (Part 1)
Chu Yi was tormented until the middle of the night and only woke up when the sun was high in the sky.
He wanted to turn over but was woken up by a sharp pain from his lower back. He let out an unconscious groan.
Sheng Qianheng, who had been sitting at the desk reviewing memorials, caught this faint movement and immediately stood up and walked to the bed.
He reached out to touch Chu Yi’s forehead. Seeing that he didn’t have a fever, he finally said, “You’re awake? Are you still uncomfortable anywhere?”
The moment Chu Yi looked up, he only felt that his eyes were as heavy as a thousand pounds, as if they were a sponge that had absorbed enough water, and they were extremely sore.
He was about to get up, but Sheng Qianheng had already raised a hand to support him. He looked at Sheng Qianheng’s respectful and attentive appearance, which was completely different from the person last night…
He complained, “My back hurts. It’s sore and painful!”
Sheng Qianheng’s palm immediately pressed against Chu Yi’s lower back, carefully rubbing it for him. His gaze fell on the permanent mark on the back of Chu Yi’s neck, and the corners of his lips unconsciously turned up. He lowered his head and placed a kiss.
Chu Yi’s already sore and weak body immediately collapsed into Sheng Qianheng’s embrace. He said, “Have you taken the suppression pill?”
Sheng Qianheng: “I have. Our A-Yi worked hard last night.”
Chu Yi didn’t dare to think back. It was too crazy.
Last night should have been his first time accompanying Sheng Qianheng through his Passion Tide Period. He had naively thought that a Qianyuan’s Passion Tide Period should be comparable to his Rain and Dew Period.
But Sheng Qianheng seemed to have gone mad, not listening to a single word he said.
His body temperature seemed to be getting hotter and hotter, and every inch of it was unbearable…
He looked back and glared at Sheng Qianheng. His hoarse voice couldn’t hide his resentment. “You just stay in your Yangxin Hall for these few days. I don’t want to see you for the time being!”
Sheng Qianheng pressed his lips together, slowly released his xìnxiāng, and feigned a wronged expression. “But we’ve just formed a permanent mark. If we sleep in separate beds now, it’s definitely not a good thing for you or me!”
Chu Yi knew that he had pestered Sheng Qianheng for a permanent mark last night, and now he was blaming him for not knowing how to restrain himself. It was as if he were two different people.
But Sheng Qianheng had even deliberately fed him tea last night, and in the end, he had even wet the bedding!
He was almost thirty-five, yet he had been treated like that by Sheng Qianheng!
He smelled Sheng Qianheng’s xìnxiāng, and the discomfort in his body gradually subsided. By the time Chu Yi came back to his senses, he was already leaning against Sheng Qianheng’s embrace and was sleepy again.
After Chu Yi had completely woken up, Sheng Qianheng served him by dressing him and held him in his arms for the midday meal.
Chu Yi didn’t want to be so useless either, but these past few years, Sheng Qianheng had become more and more considerate. He was simply living a divine life where he could get clothes by stretching out his hands and food by opening his mouth.
After finishing the meal, Chu Yi knocked on the bowl of medicine that Lianfang had brought and asked, “What is this?”
Sheng Qianheng took the bowl, and only after blowing on it to cool it down did he look at Chu Yi and say, “This is a contraceptive soup… A-Yi, just in case, how about you drink a bowl?”
Although Chu Yi had had a difficult labor when he gave birth to Shun’er, in the end, it was the bad result of a combination of various accidents.
But seeing Sheng Qianheng’s worried look, he took the bowl and then said, “I’m a man. It’s not so easy to get pregnant. But I’ll drink it.”
Sheng Qianheng watched as Chu Yi drank it all in one go, then took his lips and tasted the faint bitterness before comforting him, “Brother, will you resent me?”
Chu Yi was puzzled. He supported Sheng Qianheng’s shoulder and asked, “Why do you say that?”
Sheng Qianheng pressed his forehead against Chu Yi’s and said, “A-Yi, I know that Shun’er is frail and sickly, and those old officials are pressuring you. But I don’t want you to take the risk again. Shun’er is very good. If his body is weak, we’ll just have to care for him!”
Chu Yi lightly patted Sheng Qianheng’s back. “The child is a matter between the two of us. It has nothing to do with others. Since our Nianqing doesn’t want another one, then we won’t. It’s fine.”
Even though the two of them had never done it inside on a daily basis, for some reason, they still got pregnant.
Chu Yi had been feeling dizzy and nauseous these past few days. He took his own pulse, and as expected, it was a pregnancy pulse.
He caressed his lower abdomen, recalling that bowl of contraceptive soup. He had still gotten pregnant?
But Sheng Qianheng didn’t seem to like children. Should he tell him?
He had been hesitating, and had dragged it on until the child in his belly was nearly four months old and he still couldn’t say it.
He lay on the bed, feeling worried.
Now, this fetus was growing too fast. Fortunately, it was winter, and the thick robes covered it up, so others couldn’t see anything strange.
Lianfang was tying the fox fur for Chu Yi and couldn’t help but worry, “Your Ladyship, are you really not going to tell His Majesty?”
Chu Yi regretted not telling Sheng Qianheng directly. Now, every time Sheng Qianheng caressed his lower abdomen and teased that he had fattened him up a bit, and casually mentioned that another royal wife had died in difficult labor, he dared not speak even more…
He sighed deeply. Today, he was going to take Chu Yanheng back to Qianlin to stay for a few days.
He hoped that when he came back, he could be direct and confess to Sheng Qianheng.
Sheng Qianheng saw Chu Yi and Chu Yanheng off at the palace gate and warned them for nearly an hour before he could let them get on the carriage
Chu Yi held Chu Yanheng’s hand and entered the Qianlin royal palace together.
After a palace maid had reported Chu Rui’s schedule to Chu Yi, he had no choice but to rest in the bedchamber first.
Chu Yanheng hadn’t been back in a long time and was running all over the hall.
After Chu Rui had finished with his state affairs, he hurried over.
The moment he entered the room, he saw his younger brother sitting on the chaise lounge with a swollen belly. His brows furrowed tightly. “Yi’er, you’re pregnant?”
Chu Yi immediately covered himself with his sleeve, then looked at his older brother and said, “It’s already been four months…”
Chu Rui unconsciously frowned. “Sheng Qianheng actually let you come back alone while you’re pregnant?”
Chu Yi immediately shook his head. “It’s not what older brother thinks. I haven’t told A-Heng that I’m pregnant yet.”
Chu Yanheng had just woken up from his nap. He dragged his chubby body off the bed and walked to Chu Yi’s side, pointing to his abdomen and saying to himself, “Daddy, younger brother and sister are also taking a nap!”
Chu Yi gently caressed his abdomen and asked Chu Yanheng, “What younger brother and sister?”
Chu Yanheng looked up at Chu Yi, pointed to his belly, and repeated, “Younger brother and sister are taking a nap~”
Seeing his younger brother’s naive expression, Chu Rui immediately summoned a physician to take his pulse.
After a moment, the physician congratulated him, “His Highness is carrying twins in his belly, for more than four months.”
Only then did Chu Yi understand that the reason his belly was swelling so quickly was because he was carrying twins!
He then asked the physician, “Can you tell if they are boys or girls?”
The physician shook his head. “This… please forgive this subject for my incompetence.”
But thinking of Chu Yanheng’s words just now, he couldn’t help but wonder if they were really a boy and a girl.
Chu Rui sighed. Just as he stood up, his lower back went weak. He placed one hand behind his back and rubbed it.
“Yi’er, with these twins, the degree of soothing from xìnxiāng is far greater than when you were pregnant with Shun’er. I’ll write a letter right away and have him come to Qianlin immediately.”
Chu Yi immediately pressed down on Chu Rui’s hand and said, “Older brother, Sheng Qianheng is afraid that I will have a difficult labor again and is unwilling for me to get pregnant. I even drank a contraceptive soup for this child and still couldn’t avoid it. Perhaps it is fate.”
Chu Rui raised an eyebrow and asked, “Contraceptive soup? He actually made you drink a contraceptive soup? How harmful to the body!”
“Ah… I just drank one bowl. I didn’t drink it at other times…” Chu Yi only felt his cheeks burn. It was always awkward to bring this up with his older brother.
He pinched Shun’er’s cheek and asked, “Besides, Shun’er also wants a younger brother and sister, right?”
Chu Yanheng was jumping up and down and almost bumped into Chu Yi. Fortunately, Chu Rui immediately picked him up, then looked at his younger brother and sighed. “You, could it be that the old officials of Da Mo are making things difficult for you and want you to have more heirs for Sheng Qianheng?”
Although Chu Yi had been pressured by the ministers, the child was a matter between him and Sheng Qianheng. Others could not interfere.
It was just that this child had come suddenly, and he was not yet prepared.
“Older brother, I just haven’t thought of how to tell A-Heng. No one is forcing me…”
Chu Rui: “Then have you had a Da Mo imperial physician take a look?”
Chu Yi shook his head.
Chu Rui frowned. “Nonsense!”
The physician, who had not yet withdrawn, immediately took his pulse carefully again and wrote a prescription for a high-quality pregnancy-protecting medicine.
After the physician had withdrawn, Chu Rui continued to reprimand, “It’s already been four months and you haven’t taken any pregnancy-protecting medicine. What is the meaning of this?”
Chu Yi caressed his belly and muttered in a low voice, “I have no discomfort…”
Chu Rui naturally couldn’t interfere in his younger brother’s and his lover’s affairs. He was afraid that Chu Yanheng would hurt Yi’er without knowing the severity and picked him up. “Shun’er, do you want to go and find your older sister Zhao’er and older brother An’er?”
Chu Yanheng immediately nodded and raised his chubby little hands in a cheer. “Shun’er misses older brother and sister so much!”
Chu Yi wanted to get up and see them off but saw Chu Rui raise a hand to stop him. “You just sit still. You should be resting and recuperating now! I’ll have someone send a letter to Sheng Qianheng today. If he doesn’t come, then he’ll never come again!”
Chu Yi was silent, not daring to defy his older brother in the slightest. But he looked at his older brother’s small action of supporting his waist and couldn’t help but wonder, his older brother had never had a back injury.
Suifeng was waiting outside the hall. Seeing Chu Rui push the door open, he immediately stepped forward to take Shun’er and asked, “Are you still angry with me?”
Chu Rui simply treated him as air, endured the discomfort, and strode toward Chonghua Palace.
Suifeng immediately chased after him. Shun’er didn’t understand why Uncle Suifeng and his uncle were acting so strange. “Uncle Suifeng, why is uncle angry?”
Suifeng pressed his lips together. “Children shouldn’t ask too many questions!”
Sheng Qianheng was originally in Yangxin Hall discussing matters when he never expected that the already retired hidden guard, Suifeng, would request an audience.
Sheng Qianheng dismissed everyone and then summoned Suifeng.
After Suifeng was summoned into the hall, Sheng Qianheng looked him up and down. His clothes were no longer the same as before.
He tapped the desk lightly with his fingertips, his tone teasing. “Suifeng, it’s been a long time. I think you’re already the Royal Consort of Qianlin.”
Suifeng smiled faintly. After bowing, he finally replied, “Greetings, Your Majesty. This is a letter that the King ordered me to bring.”
Sheng Qianheng took the letter, opened the seal lightly, and his brush slid quickly before his eyes. At first, he had thought that the writer was Chu Yi, but he never expected to see Chu Rui’s characters.
The paper was full of reprimands. Although he was not surprised, when he reached the last sentence, he was greatly shocked, his eyes widening slightly—Chu Yi was actually pregnant?
He looked up at Suifeng and asked in a low voice, “Is A-Yi really pregnant?”
Suifeng lowered his head and said, “Yes. His Highness has been pregnant for four months. The King specifically instructed this subject to inform Your Majesty: if you do not go to Qianlin today, you will never see His Highness again in this lifetime…”
Sheng Qianheng immediately set off, only feeling his right eyelid twitching.
He had originally thought that he had finally fattened Chu Yi up a bit and had never suspected that he was pregnant.
Now that it had been four months, he hadn’t mentioned a single word to him!
When he stood in the royal palace, he saw Chu Yi leaning against the bed and taking a nap. In an instant, all his anger dissipated.
Sheng Qianheng squatted down, rubbing Chu Yi’s brow, which was still furrowed even in his sleep. He then looked down at his already swollen abdomen and reached out to gently touch it.
Chu Yi woke up. He had never thought that in just a short nap, Sheng Qianheng would be in front of him. He smiled faintly and asked, “Am I dreaming?”
Sheng Qianheng kissed his forehead and asked, “Why didn’t you tell me about the pregnancy?”