Chapter 55: Shura Field (II)
Even though he had plugged his ears, the two people outside seemed to be intentionally competing to see whose voice was louder. Neither was willing to give in.
Chu Yi’s brows furrowed. He covered his ears with his hands but still couldn’t block out the noise.
He shot up and looked at the silhouettes of the two people reflected on the door frame, feeling a terrible headache…
He called for Lianfang, who was beside him, and had her open the door and persuade the two to quiet down.
After agreeing, Lianfang only pulled the door open enough for her to pass through and stepped outside.
She paid her respects to Sheng Qianheng and Chu Rui, then said, “Greetings, Your Majesty and Your Highness. Her Ladyship is very tired today and has just taken a nap~”
Fearing that he would upset Chu Yi’s pregnancy, Sheng Qianheng had to temporarily stop arguing with Chu Rui. He glanced at Chu Rui, then said to Lianfang, “Then when your master wakes up, tell him that Zhen will have the evening meal with him later.”
Lianfang: “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Chu Rui thought that he hadn’t seen his younger brother for many years. He was afraid that he had become estranged from him and that he had to take it slow. He couldn’t rush it for a moment, so he had to give up.
He stared blankly at the door and finally said, “May I ask Your Majesty, in which hall will Gu be resting?”
Sheng Qianheng turned around and looked at Chu Rui with a smile. “Zhen will lead the way for the King.”
Only after seeing the two of them leave did Lianfang return to the hall.
Chu Yi asked anxiously, “Are they gone?”
Lianfang nodded.
Only then did he feel that his ears were much quieter. He stood up, propped open the window, and stared blankly at the scenery in the courtyard.
Lianfang rarely saw her master so worried and taciturn. She asked in a low voice, “Your Ladyship, are you unwilling to leave the imperial palace?”
Chu Yi slowly looked back at Lianfang and gave a faint smile.
Right now, only he and Lianfang were in the room. These past few days, he had kept all his worries to himself, with no one to talk to. He felt that if he didn’t speak up soon, he might have an emotional breakdown, but he didn’t know where to start.
He supported himself on the window and said slowly, “I never thought that my older brother would come to Da Mo, nor did I ever think that Sheng Qianheng would hide so many things from me…”
Lianfang looked at Chu Yi’s gradually dimming eyes and felt a pang in her heart. “Your Ladyship, both His Majesty and the King truly love you. It’s just that emperors all act on their own accord. Both the King and His Majesty have their own considerations. It’s just that for Your Ladyship, there are many things where they failed to consider your feelings.”
Chu Yi walked slowly to the desk and sat down. After spreading out the paper, he picked up the brush on the brush rest and said, “I know all that. It’s just that today’s events have made me very upset.”
Lianfang ground the ink for Chu Yi and asked, “Your Ladyship, what are you worried about? Perhaps Lianfang can help you.”
Chu Yi shook his head slightly. No one could help him with his matters, and no one could understand him. He was just an outsider.
“It’s nothing. I’m just thinking about what choice to make. My older brother naturally understands that I have suffered a lot as a hostage for many years and wants to take me back to Qianlin. His Majesty, on the other hand, will never let me go. Both of them have their own persistence… I just don’t know whose side to stand on.”
Lianfang’s hand, which was holding the ink stick, paused. He looked at his master’s already reddened eyes and said slowly, “Your Ladyship, His Majesty’s and the King’s wishes cannot be imposed on you. You can do what you want in your heart.”
“How can it be so easy?” Only when Chu Yi stopped his brush did he realize that he had already written the character for “love” on the paper. He immediately blacked it out and continued, “Being in the imperial palace is already the biggest confinement.”
During the evening meal, Sheng Qianheng took his seat in Jingyang Palace as promised.
Chu Yi picked up food for Sheng Qianheng, his expression slightly dazed.
Sheng Qianheng pinched Chu Yi’s wrist. Seeing his absent-minded look, he asked, “A-Yi, your older brother wants to take you back to Qianlin today. What do you think?”
Chu Yi’s gaze fell on the hand that was holding his, and he then said faintly, “My older brother doesn’t know that I’m pregnant yet.”
Before the words had even fallen, Sheng Qianheng caressed Chu Yi’s lower abdomen and asked, “It’s almost three months, right?”
The skin on Chu Yi’s lower abdomen felt the warmth of Sheng Qianheng’s palm and unconsciously shrank. He then looked up at his face and said, “Mm, it’s almost three months.”
Sheng Qianheng leaned down and took Chu Yi’s lips. He was in a state of turmoil today and faintly felt palpitations. He was afraid that Chu Yi would really go back to Qianlin with his older brother.
Apart from the child in Chu Yi’s belly, he seemed to have nothing to keep him.
He wanted to ask the question he had asked countless times before, but he was afraid that the answer he would get this time would be different from before.
—A-Yi, will you leave me?
Chu Yi gently pushed away Sheng Qianheng’s hand. At this moment, he remembered that Ruotao was also pregnant. He couldn’t help but let out a low laugh. Even if he believed Sheng Qianheng, if Chu Rui found out about this, the two of them would probably have a big fight again.
Sheng Qianheng looked at the stiff smile on Chu Yi’s face and couldn’t help but ask, “What are you smiling about?”
Chu Yi shook his head slightly, continued to eat, and said softly, “It’s nothing. I’m just thinking that I’m a Zhongyong, yet I can get pregnant with this child. It’s truly a fortunate thing.”
He glanced at Sheng Qianheng out of the corner of his eye, secretly hoping that he would confess to him that he was already a Kunze.
But Sheng Qianheng only raised a hand to pull him into his embrace, patted his back, and said, “Children are all a gift from heaven, a fate between you and me.”
Chu Yi hummed lightly.
The two of them took a long time to finish their evening meal, but Chu Yi didn’t eat much.
The night was as dark as ink. The King of Qianlin, Chu Rui, was new to Da Mo and had trouble sleeping, tossing and turning on the bed. He closed his eyes and thought, recalling all the interactions between his younger brother, Chu Yi, and the Da Mo emperor, Sheng Qianheng, during the day.
That Da Mo emperor, Sheng Qianheng, seemed to be very considerate and protective of his younger brother, his eyes full of tenderness. Although he hadn’t seen if there was a permanent mark on his younger brother’s neck, the two of them should have already formed a bond.
At the banquet, Chu Yi seemed to have covered his lower abdomen several times. Could it be that his younger brother was already pregnant with this Da Mo emperor’s bastard? Weren’t male Kunze difficult to get pregnant? Was his younger brother already pregnant?
He sat up, wanting to overturn his own guess, but in repeated deductions, he verified this conclusion again and again.
No wonder his own younger brother was so distant from him. It turned out that he was confined by the child!
The next day, although Chu Yi had Moshu find out where Chu Rui was staying, he had no intention of visiting.
He didn’t know how to interact with him. In his memory, he had been in this Da Mo imperial palace since he was six or seven, with no memory of being a hostage at all. Could it be that this book had a bug? Or was he a bug?
He paced in the courtyard of Jingyang Palace for nearly two hours, making Moshu, who was standing on the side as a guard, dizzy. “Your Ladyship, is something on your mind?”
Only then did Chu Yi stop his steps and smile faintly. “I’m tired. Let’s go back to the hall.”
Chu Rui stood outside the hall of Jingyang Palace, looking at Chu Yi’s face, and coughed.
Only then did Chu Yi realize that Chu Rui was actually standing at the entrance of his Jingyang Palace. He licked his lips, his every move showing his awkwardness.
Moshu and Lianfang had told him a lot about him and Chu Rui, but he was still very nervous when he faced him.
He swallowed and then said, “Older brother, would you like to come in and sit?”
Chu Rui naturally agreed.
After the two of them were seated, Chu Yi poured a cup of tea and handed it to Chu Rui. “Older brother, have some tea.”
Chu Rui looked at Chu Yi’s face, which was so similar to their mother’s, and felt his eyes sting.
He carefully looked at the younger brother he hadn’t seen in years and choked, “Gu still remembers what you looked like when you were in swaddling clothes. Now, Yi’er is already so big…”
Chu Yi drank his tea and said incoherently, “Older brother hasn’t seen you in years, but your style is not diminished from back then…”
Only now did Chu Rui see the permanent mark on his own younger brother’s neck. He said bluntly, “Yi’er, how many months pregnant are you?”
Chu Yi froze on the spot. How could he know that he was pregnant? Clearly, no one in the palace knew!
He looked into Chu Rui’s eyes, panicked, and retorted, “What nonsense is older brother talking about? Haha~”
Chu Rui sighed. Seeing Chu Yi’s expression, he already knew the answer. “No need to hide it anymore. Is it because of this child that you’re unwilling to go back to Qianlin with me?”
Chu Yi had been troubled by the matter of whether to go back to Qianlin or not these past two days. He closed his eyes and supported his forehead, his head aching. He replied, “Older brother, what if I say it’s not because of the child?”
Chu Rui pressed, “You’ve fallen in love with this Da Mo emperor?”
Chu Yi didn’t answer.
“This brat is only twenty-three. What can he promise you? Promise to only love you? He can’t even make you the Empress! I heard that there’s a Daying in this harem who is also pregnant~ He still favors others. How can I be at ease leaving you in Da Mo? Could it be that you don’t think you’ve suffered enough grievances?”
Chu Yi stared blankly at Chu Rui’s angry face, not knowing how to refute him.
In Chu Rui’s eyes, the child in Ruotao’s belly was Sheng Qianheng’s, and Sheng Qianheng couldn’t dote on him alone.
Chu Rui snorted coldly and said in a deep voice, “Gu has also heard that that Daying even wanted to harm your child! This harem is just a place of right and wrong, where you have to compete with those women for a man’s favor all day. What’s there to be attached to? In Gu’s opinion, why don’t you go back to Qianlin with me? It wouldn’t hurt to marry a man or woman you like!”
Sheng Qianheng had, at some point, rushed into Jingyang Palace and was cursing at Chu Rui, “King, don’t speak so wildly. A-Yi naturally knows how Zhen treats him!”
Chu Rui stood up and walked in front of Sheng Qianheng, poking his chest. “How did the child in that Daying’s belly come to be? Don’t even think about fooling Gu!”
The two of them were at odds again, with no intention of backing down. It was like two heroes facing off, like two fierce wolves fighting, as if they were about to start a battle for territory, to determine the winner.
Sheng Qianheng slapped away Chu Rui’s hand and unconsciously released his xìnxiāng to suppress his arrogance. “I have never touched anyone else. I am still investigating the matter of that Daying! As for Princess Zhaoning, after you take her back and I deal with that Daying, A-Yi will be the only one in the palace!”
Chu Rui snorted several times. Seeing that Sheng Qianheng dared to use his xìnxiāng to suppress him, he immediately used his own to fight back. “Your Majesty, how long have you been investigating? Our Yi’er has been swallowing his anger. I am not so easy to fool. You can’t even make our Yi’er the Empress. You’d better not speak so wildly here…”
Sheng Qianheng clenched his fists tightly. “The edict is already…”
The mixed scents in the air made Chu Yi feel a surge of discomfort. He tried to get up but almost couldn’t stand.
After Lianfang had steadied him, he raised a hand and slapped the table. “Stop arguing!”
Sheng Qianheng looked at Chu Yi and noticed his pale face. He immediately stepped forward and asked, “Are you uncomfortable? Why is your face so pale?”
Chu Yi was about to speak but his vision went black and he almost fell backward. Sheng Qianheng immediately scooped him up by the knees and placed him on the bed. “Quickly summon Imperial Physician Wang!”
