Chapter 70
Chu Yi lay on the bed for nearly half a month to recuperate. He only felt that his whole body was limp and weak.
But Sheng Qianheng carefully supported him and slowly got off the bed. The moment Chu Yi’s foot touched the ground, he felt comfortable all over.
He hadn’t gotten off the bed in a long time. These past few days, Sheng Qianheng had personally taken care of his daily life. At first, he had refused many times, but how could he win against Sheng Qianheng’s stubbornness?
The first two days, whenever Chu Yi wanted to go to the latrine, he was unwilling to tell Sheng Qianheng and would silently endure it for a long time.
But for some reason, Sheng Qianheng had seen through Chu Yi’s abnormality. He picked him up in his arms.
After a moment of daze, Chu Yi realized that Sheng Qianheng was actually carrying him toward the latrine.
He smiled faintly and asked, “Where are you taking me?”
Sheng Qianheng patted Chu Yi’s buttock. “To the latrine. We can’t let our A-Yi hold it in!”
Chu Yi averted his gaze. “I’m not going! Put me down!”
He twisted his body, trying to break free from Sheng Qianheng’s embrace.
Sheng Qianheng only felt that the person in his arms had only grown a belly these past few days, but his weight had not increased at all. He gently bounced Chu Yi and said with feigned anger, “If you move around again, you’ll fall with the child!”
Chu Yi could only wrap his arms tightly around Sheng Qianheng’s neck. Only after entering the latrine did Sheng Qianheng put him down.
Chu Yi had thought that Sheng Qianheng would turn and go out, but that person, as if shameless, actually undid his clothes directly.
Chu Yi pressed down on Sheng Qianheng’s hands and asked, “What are you doing?”
Sheng Qianheng pushed away Chu Yi’s palm and continued his actions. “Serving you in the latrine. Why, are you shy? Is there any part of you that I haven’t seen?”
Chu Yi held on tightly, his face flushed red, but he couldn’t utter a complete sentence.
Seeing that Chu Yi was already flushed and his neck was dyed red, Sheng Qianheng was suddenly filled with a wicked idea.
He slowly released his xìnxiāng. The moment Chu Yi’s body unconsciously went soft, he immediately reached out.
Chu Yi’s body tensed. Just as he was about to push Sheng Qianheng away, half of his body had already gone soft, and he could only rely on his embrace.
He stammered and begged for mercy, “A-Heng, let me go! I can do it myself!”
Sheng Qianheng blew lightly behind Chu Yi’s ear and deliberately pitched his voice high. “It’s fine. A-Yi can just relieve himself! No need to mind me.”
Even if Chu Yi was in a hurry, he couldn’t be so calm.
He pressed his lips together. When he looked back at Sheng Qianheng, his eyes were already filled with tears. He said with a wronged expression, “A-Heng, don’t fool around with me anymore! I can do it myself.”
“Your body is weak. How can you stand steadily without leaning on me?” Sheng Qianheng shook his head slightly and took a step back.
Chu Yi didn’t even have time to react before he fell straight into Sheng Qianheng’s embrace. But Sheng Qianheng’s hand never let go.
After a struggle, Chu Yi was still defeated in the end.
He finally buried his entire head in Sheng Qianheng’s neck and muttered, “Sheng Qianheng, you just wait!”
Sheng Qianheng chuckled softly. “Alright, I’ll wait!”
Sheng Qianheng supported Chu Yi and walked around the room for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before they finally sat down at the desk.
He supported his increasingly round belly, still pondering what name to give the child.
He had discussed it with Sheng Qianheng a lot but was not satisfied. However, the pet name had already been decided.
Both Chu Yi and Sheng Qianheng wished for the child to be safe and sound.
Chu Yi poked his belly with the pad of his thumb and said softly, “Shun’er, do you like the name Shun’er?”
Shun’er seemed to be able to understand his daddy’s words and happened to turn over, bumping against the pad of Chu Yi’s thumb.
Sheng Qianheng stood behind Chu Yi. Just as he handed him the prepared hand warmer, he saw a slight bulge on his belly.
Even though he had long known that fetal movement was a common occurrence, every time he saw it, his heart skipped a beat. He said to himself, “Does it really not hurt?”
Chu Yi simply shook his head.
Even so, his heart ached for all the hardships Chu Yi had endured these past few months.
Chu Yi estimated that Sheng Qianheng had been in Qianlin for more than a month and asked casually, “When are you planning to go back to Da Mo?”
Sheng Qianheng froze on the spot and looked up at Chu Yi. “Are you trying to drive me away?”
Chu Yi was at a loss for words for a moment, feeling wronged in his heart. He was just worried that Sheng Qianheng had been away from Da Mo for a long time. If there was no sovereign in the city and a foreign enemy attacked, everyone would be like a group of dragons without a leader, with only the fate of being slaughtered.
He explained, “I’m just worried about Da Mo’s state affairs…”
Sheng Qianheng slowly lowered his head, his gaze falling on Chu Yi’s slightly swollen pregnant belly. In an instant, he suddenly felt that the snowflakes fluttering in the sky outside were falling on his heart, covering it with a thick layer of frost, so cold that it pierced his heart.
He ultimately couldn’t walk into Chu Yi’s heart. Now, even the permanent mark had disappeared. What could he use to keep Chu Yi?
Seeing Sheng Qianheng’s dejected look, Chu Yi didn’t know how to persuade him and could only temporarily change the subject.
“A-Heng, what on earth was the drug that Jiang Xinrui gave me?”
Sheng Qianheng took Chu Yi’s hand and explained the details he had gotten from Suifeng’s torture one by one.
Chu Yi’s anger instantly surged. It turned out that he had differentiated into a Kunze because of Jiang Xinrui! And he had even wanted him to submit to him. He was simply a beast!
Sheng Qianheng caressed Chu Yi’s heaving chest and said, “Don’t get angry over him and harm your body.”
Only after calming down did Chu Yi order Sheng Qianheng to bring a bronze mirror. He pulled open his collar and looked at the back of his neck. The permanent mark left by Sheng Qianheng had completely disappeared, as if it had never been there.
After his surprise, he caught a glimpse of Sheng Qianheng’s unenthusiastic expression and said, “The permanent mark between us…”
“It’s gone. That day, it was because the permanent mark was stripped that you were in unbearable pain.” Sheng Qianheng smiled back, trying his best to suppress his emotions. “But it’s fine now. You and Shun’er are both fine.”
Chu Yi nodded.
He hoped that Shun’er would be safe and sound for the rest of his life.
Chu Rui only received the news on the second day of Chu Yi’s accident. He immediately stood up and rushed out of the palace to his younger brother’s residence.
The moment he stepped into the courtyard, he was hit by the overwhelming scent of xìnxiāng, and the veins in his temples throbbed. He could only cover his nose and mouth with his sleeve.
Seeing the King of Qianlin’s visit, Suifeng immediately jumped down from the eaves, bowed, and said, “Greetings, King. His Highness is currently at my master’s residence.”
Chu Rui saw Suifeng for the first time. He gazed at his face and was in a daze for a moment. He raised a hand to rub his eyes, thinking to himself that he must be missing his late wife too much to have such a hallucination.
However, when he looked closely again, Suifeng’s appearance was ninety percent similar to his late wife’s. They were extremely similar!
At first glance, Chu Rui’s heart was filled with a mixture of feelings, but he had no time to delve into it. He only asked anxiously, “How is Yi’er’s condition now?”
Suifeng shook his head slightly, his tone tinged with helplessness. “That Jiang Xinrui refuses to reveal what drug he used. If this continues, the fetus in His Highness’s belly will be in grave danger. If there is no proper solution, I’m afraid it will be a case of one corpse, two lives.”
Hearing this, Chu Rui’s expression grew more and more solemn. He gestured for Suifeng to lead the way. When they arrived at the torture chamber, they saw that Jiang Xinrui was already tied to a wooden stake, his clothes already tattered and covered in blood from the severe torture.
Chu Rui stood before him and asked coldly, “You love my younger brother? But have you ever known that you used the wrong method?”
Jiang Xinrui’s lips were chapped. He looked up and, after a long time, finally replied, “I have known Chu Yi for twenty-five years. I love him. Is it wrong for me to want him? He has never looked back at me! Why does he like that brat!”
Chu Rui had also asked himself countless times what it was about Sheng Qianheng that Chu Yi liked. Although he didn’t know the reason, he knew that his younger brother would never love Jiang Xinrui. Such a vicious person did not deserve to be a human.
Seeing that Chu Rui was about to turn and leave, Jiang Xinrui said again, “Chu Yi can only be mine! He can only be mine! The child in his belly should also be my child! All of you should die! All of you should die! You’ve ruined my plans time and time again. All of you should die!”
Chu Rui looked at Suifeng and said slowly, “Continue the interrogation until he tells you the antidote…”
After welcoming Chu Mingzhao and Chu Anze back to the palace, Chu Rui sat alone in the hall. The image of Suifeng seemed to still be flickering before his eyes.
How could there be two such similar people in this world? His appearance was exactly the same as his late wife’s, but his eyes had the resolute and awe-inspiring temperament of a man, as if they were two completely different charms, making him a little dazed for a moment.
He slowly closed his eyes, trying to calm the chaos in his heart, and murmured, “Could it be that I’ve gone mad…”
Only after Chu Yi could go in and out on his own did Chu Rui step into Sheng Qianheng’s residence.
He looked at Chu Yi’s slightly rounded cheeks and felt much more at ease. He rubbed his younger brother’s head and asked, “Are you uncomfortable anywhere? How about staying in the palace? There are imperial physicians who can be on call at all times.”
Chu Yi subtly glanced at Sheng Qianheng. He could go to the palace, but what about Sheng Qianheng?
The emperor of Da Mo couldn’t stay in the Qianlin royal palace for long.
Chu Rui could naturally see his younger brother’s thoughts. He looked up at Sheng Qianheng, who was standing behind Chu Yi, and said abruptly, “You, go to the palace with Yi’er.”
Sheng Qianheng crossed his arms and asked, “Zhen only wants to live with A-Yi. I’m not at ease if I’m not by his side.”
Chu Rui snorted coldly. “The ground you’re standing on is my Qianlin’s royal land. Don’t push your luck.”
Seeing that the two of them seemed to be at odds again, Chu Yi could only raise a hand to stop them.
“Brother, I’ll go back to the palace.” He turned to look at Sheng Qianheng and continued, “The child needs your xìnxiāng. You can stay in the side hall next to my hall, okay?”
Sheng Qianheng naturally listened to his own Empress.
The three of them returned to the royal palace together.
Just as Chu Yi sat down in the hall, Sheng Qianheng led Chu Mingzhao into the room.
Chu Mingzhao ran forward, hugged Chu Yi, and asked, “Royal Uncle, I miss you so much. Are you well?”
Chu Yi rubbed Chu Mingzhao’s head and replied with a smile, “Royal Uncle is fine. How has our Zhao’er been these past few days?”
Sheng Qianheng saw that the uncle and niece seemed to have endless things to say. He could only stand on the side in silence.
Chu Mingzhao looked back at the silent Sheng Qianheng and asked, “Royal Aunt, are you tired? Why aren’t you talking?”
Sheng Qianheng was dazed for a moment. Royal Aunt? He was Royal Aunt?
The corners of his lips were stiff. He looked at Chu Yi and asked, “Am I Royal Aunt?”
Chu Yi nodded. If he wasn’t Royal Aunt, who else could it be? Could it be Jiang Xinrui?
Sheng Qianheng squatted in front of Chu Mingzhao and replied, “Zhao’er, tell your Royal Aunt, in the two months that your Royal Aunt was not here, did your Royal Uncle suffer any grievances?”
Chu Yi wanted to stop him, but Zhao’er had already blurted it out.
“It’s all because Royal Aunt wasn’t by his side, and Royal Uncle was pregnant. It’s all Royal Aunt’s fault!”
Sheng Qianheng pouted. “It’s my fault, it’s my fault!”
The two of them played with Chu Mingzhao for a long time before Chu Yi finally held her and took a nap together.
Sheng Qianheng tucked them in, squatted by the bed, and looked at their sleeping faces, lost in thought.
He had never seen Chu Yi laugh so happily before.
Only now did he understand why Chu Yi had repeatedly tried to run away.
He should have lived so brightly, but he had been confined in that small harem. He had clearly been raised with the concept of one husband, one wife, but he had been forced to accept his Da Mo’s three palaces and six courtyards.
In the end, he owed Chu Yi too much.
