Chapter 68
When Lu Ze came back in a hurry, it was already two days later.
He rode his horse at full speed, and by the time he entered the city, the sky was already getting dark.
Outside the Lu mansion, the butler was pacing around anxiously, looking into the distance from time to time. When he saw the figure on horseback, he quickly came up to him and almost cried out, “Master—”
Lu Ze dismounted, his posture neat and clean. He threw the reins into the butler’s hand and was about to walk into the mansion, and asked, “Is the Marquis in the mansion?”
The butler quickly threw the reins to a young servant on the side and followed him with a small trot, his old face wrinkled, and he was almost about to cry. “Master, the Marquis… the Marquis has returned to the Marquis’s mansion!”
Lu Ze’s steps paused, and he looked back in surprise. “He’s returned to the Marquis’s mansion?”
The butler nodded and said, “After the old madam arrived, the Marquis had been carefully serving her, but yesterday, an imperial physician from the palace came and, as usual, took the Marquis’s pulse. I don’t know what happened, but after the imperial physician left, the Marquis immediately returned to the Marquis’s mansion.”
Lu Ze’s brows furrowed slightly, and he fell into deep thought.
The butler looked at him carefully and tentatively asked, “Master?”
After Lu Ze came back to his senses, he snatched the reins from the young servant’s hand, mounted the horse again, and just said, “I’ll go and find him.”
The butler hurriedly followed him with small steps and shouted, “Then what about the old madam—”
Lu Ze flicked the reins, and the horse immediately galloped away, and his voice also slowly faded away. “Don’t tell her I’m back for now.”
The Marquis of Weibei’s mansion was not far from the Lu mansion. Lu Ze arrived outside the Marquis’s mansion in a short while. Unlike the Lu mansion, the guards outside the Marquis of Weibei’s mansion were all burly soldiers, each with a solemn expression. When they heard the noise, they looked back and were a little surprised to see Lu Ze.
They hesitated for a moment, then still cupped their hands and bowed. “Master Lu.”
Lu Ze dismounted, strode forward, and asked, “Is the Marquis in the mansion?”
The two looked at each other and said, “He is.”
Hearing this, Lu Ze glanced at them, as if he had understood something, and asked, “May I go in?”
“This…” The two looked at each other, both a little hesitant.
If it were a normal time, it would naturally be fine, but now…
Thinking of the Marquis’s appearance when he came back yesterday, and the faint rumors recently, the guards were now also undecided.
“I’m afraid I’ll have to… inform the Marquis…” one of them said carefully.
Lu Ze took a deep breath, his heart becoming more and more apprehensive about how angry Lu’s mother had made Wei Yan. He rubbed his temples and said, “Then I’ll wait here.”
The guard was obviously relieved. Just as he was about to turn around, he saw Wei Yan’s personal servant, Chuntai, walk over and frown. “What are you doing?”
The guard explained the matter from beginning to end. Chuntai glanced at Lu Ze outside the door and scolded, “Nonsense, Master Lu is here. Why do you need to inform him?”
He said a few more words to him, then looked at Lu Ze with a complicated expression. After a moment, he opened his mouth and said, “Please follow me, master.”
Lu Ze handed the horse to a guard on the side and followed him in.
This was not the first time he had come to the Marquis’s mansion, but it was the first time he had come in such a situation. He asked Chuntai, “How is the Marquis now?”
Chuntai walked in front of him without looking sideways. Although he knew in his heart that he shouldn’t blame him, the words he said couldn’t help but be laced with thorns. “After returning to the Marquis’s mansion, everything is naturally fine.”
Lu Ze pursed his lips and didn’t say anything more.
Chuntai sent him to the outside of the main courtyard, looked back at him, and sighed secretly. “Please, master.”
Lu Ze nodded at him, strode in, passed through the courtyard, and walked to the door of the bedroom, and pushed the door open.
With a “creak,” Wei Yan, who was sitting in the chair in the middle, looked up at him, his eyes complicated, but his expression was calm and waveless. “You’re here?”
Lu Ze took a deep breath, slowly came forward, and his tone was slightly dark. “I’m sorry, I’m late.”
“I didn’t expect my mother to arrive in the capital at this time. I didn’t make proper arrangements, and I’ve wronged you.”
Hearing his words, Wei Yan looked at him for a long time, but then he suddenly smiled. “What’s there to be wronged about? Anyway, no matter when she comes, there will always be such a thing.”
Lu Ze opened his mouth to say something. “A Yan, I—”
The family letters that Lu Ze had sent back were all addressed to “A Yan.” Wei Yan had been looking forward to his return and hearing him call him by this name, but when he really heard it at this moment, Wei Yan’s mood was complicated. Before he could finish, he interrupted, “Did the butler tell you everything?”
Lu Ze paused and nodded silently.
He naturally also knew about the matter of Lu’s mother wanting him to take a concubine.
Wei Yan tilted his head and looked at him. The distance between the two of them was very close, but for some reason, there was a feeling of being very far apart. He looked at him for a long time before he said, “Lu Ze, on our wedding night, I told you that I had given you a chance. If any messy women or gers come to our door in the future, I will definitely not spare you. Do you still remember?”
Lu Ze nodded. Wei Yan let out a light laugh. “Then now, what’s the meaning of this so-called childhood sweetheart, and mutually in love cousin?”
Lu Ze took a step forward and explained to him, “Xu Yun is my maternal cousin. My mother is very fond of her and liked to have her come to our house for a short stay since she was a child. Before, my mother did mention the idea of her marrying me, but I have no other feelings for her besides that of a brother and sister, and I have also told my mother about this. But I didn’t expect that on this trip to the capital, she would also bring Xu Yun.”
Wei Yan nodded. “Besides the feelings of a brother and sister, there is nothing else.”
He pondered for a while, then suddenly smiled and said softly, “Then tell me, what is this?”
He slowly took out something from his sleeve. When Lu Ze saw the familiar bottle, his expression changed slightly.
Wei Yan’s smile was almost mocking. He looked up and took a deep breath, his eyes unconsciously wet, and he said, word by word, “Contraceptive medicine.”
His chest was heaving violently, and he tried to control it, but his eyes still couldn’t help but turn red. “Lu Ze, you said you have no feelings for your cousin. I believe you. What about me?”
“Of the words you said, how many are true, and how many are false?”
When Lu’s mother first arrived in the capital, she had said that she wanted to take a concubine for Lu Ze. Wei Yan had only felt that it was absurd, but he didn’t believe that Lu Ze would have such a cousin that he was so fond of, so he had thought that it would only be two days anyway, and he would make a decision after he came back.
But Lu’s mother was clearly very dissatisfied with Wei Yan, this son-in-law. That night, she had told him to go and pay his respects the next morning. Wei Yan had gotten up early and gone, but he was told that Lu’s mother was still resting, and he had waited in the courtyard for more than half an hour.
After she got up, she even said that she had not drunk his mother-in-law’s tea, and used the excuse of serving tea to make him kneel and made things difficult for him for a long time. At breakfast, she even made him stand and serve, and let him eat their leftovers.
Although Wei Yan’s parents had died when he was young, he had always been competitive. Even if he was wronged, he could always find a way to get back. Especially in recent years, as his position and power had grown, no one had dared to make things difficult for him openly or secretly. He had been tormented like this, and he naturally did not like that old woman, but because she was Lu Ze’s mother, and thinking that Lu Ze would be back in a few days, and everything would be explained then, he was not willing to argue with her. So he used the excuse of being on duty and stayed outside for a day. When he came back at night, he was again told by Lu’s mother that he was showing his face outside and was not observing his wifely duties, and so on.
Wei Yan was not a good-tempered person to begin with. He had almost gotten into a fight with her at that time. Thinking that if he stayed with that old woman any longer, he would inevitably lose his temper, so he had the maids pack some things, and he planned to go back to the marquis’s mansion to live before Lu Ze came back.
But he didn’t expect that when the maid was packing, she suddenly found a small bottle under the bedding on the bed, with some small pills inside. Wei Yan didn’t know what it was, but he subconsciously put it away.
It just so happened that it was the end of the month, and Imperial Physician Xu from the palace came to take his pulse again. In the past, Wei Yan had always not had a good face for him, but this time, he was unusually easy to talk to and let him in. After Imperial Physician Xu had finished taking his pulse, he handed him the small medicine bottle and asked him what was inside.
Imperial Physician Xu sniffed it for a long time, frowned, and looked at him with a look of disapproval. “Although your body is not suitable for pregnancy now, Marquis, you can’t use this kind of contraceptive medicine. Although this medicine has a temporary effect, it is also a very heavy burden on your body.”
Wei Yan only felt a roar in his mind, and his mind was blank. He just asked again in a daze, “What did you say?”
He felt his throat was a little dry and said with difficulty, “What contraceptive medicine?”
Imperial Physician Xu was obviously very surprised. “Isn’t this the medicine you’ve been using, Marquis?”
He sniffed it again and said, “It does contain common contraceptive drugs such as huancao, purple eggplant flower, and ear alum… and some other herbs. Forgive me for not being able to smell them… Is this really not what you’ve been using, Marquis?”
Wei Yan licked his dry lips and was in a daze for a long time. He only heard himself seem to ask, “This medicine… if a man uses it… what will happen?”
Imperial Physician Xu seemed to be surprised for a moment and said, “I’ve never heard of a medicine that can prevent a man from getting pregnant, but if this medicine is used on a man… it seems that it’s not impossible…”
Wei Yan didn’t know how he had sent the imperial physician away. He only knew that when Chuntai asked him if he still wanted to go back to the marquis’s mansion, he had followed him in a daze.
After the old madam came, no matter what she said, Wei Yan didn’t care. He believed in Lu Ze, so he would be more tolerant of the old madam and was willing to wait for his personal explanation. But the imperial physician’s words about contraceptive medicine had completely shattered all the trust in his heart, making him feel that his actions, thoughts, and feelings were simply a joke!
The tearing pain in his heart could still be clearly felt. Wei Yan looked up, his voice slightly choked. “Being with me, does it make you so disgusted? So disgusted that you don’t even want to have a child?”
Wei Yan only felt his heart was heavy. Even the most serious injury he had suffered on the battlefield before was not as painful as now.
He frowned tightly and murmured, “Lu Ze, I’ve asked for your consent. I’ve never forced you…”
Then why did you treat me like this?
Lu Ze’s heart was pierced with pain. He quickly took two steps forward, held his hand, and half-knelt in front of him, and said in a deep voice, “Every word I’ve said to you is sincere. I’ve never lied to you in the slightest.”
Wei Yan looked down at him and shook his head slightly. “Sincere? Your sincerity is that you’ve been taking contraceptive medicine behind my back?”
Lu Ze only felt as if his heart was being pricked by a fine needle over and over again. His breathing was trembling slightly, but he held his hands tightly, and his Adam’s apple rolled up and down for a moment before he said, word by word, “I’ve studied a little medicine before, and I have some understanding of the properties of some herbs.”
Wei Yan looked at him, his expression unconsciously moving slightly.
Lu Ze continued, “Last time, when Imperial Physician Xu came to take your pulse, I saw the prescription he prescribed.”
Wei Yan’s gaze trembled.
Lu Ze pursed his lips and, after a moment of silence, looked up at him. “Did Imperial Physician Xu tell you that your body is not suitable for pregnancy?”
Wei Yan’s pupils suddenly constricted. “You—”
“I didn’t eavesdrop.” Lu Ze smiled bitterly and said, “It’s just that most of the medicinal herbs in that prescription are nourishing and warming, and some are for treating hidden injuries.” He paused and said in a low voice, “I can understand it.”
Wei Yan only felt his throat was dry. After a moment, he slowly opened his mouth. “You… you know everything?”
Lu Ze pursed his lips and said, “Deputy General Sun said before that you have a lot of hidden injuries from fighting on the battlefield. The reason why the emperor sends an imperial physician to see you every month shows that your physical condition is not that good. In addition, I can guess some things from that prescription.”
On the surface, he was safe and sound, but inside, he was extremely fragile. The years of fighting had left many hidden injuries. If he was not careful, the consequences would be endless.
With such a body, how could he bear a child?
Wei Yan opened his mouth and said, “Since you know… why didn’t you tell me?”
Lu Ze’s eyelids lowered slightly, his voice low. “At that time, when the imperial physician was seeing you, you had to find an excuse to send me out. I thought you didn’t want me to know.”
He said, “But your body is there. It would be extremely dangerous to get pregnant rashly, and it’s even more impossible to use contraceptive soup. So I had someone develop a contraceptive medicine that men can use. When you’re willing to tell me or when your body has recovered, then we’ll stop.”
Hearing his words, and thinking of how he had indeed been celibate for a period of time after the imperial physician left, Wei Yan’s mind was in a mess, and he didn’t know what to say. He just said without a clue, “I-I-my body is actually not as bad as you think. I know in my heart. The people in the imperial hospital are just exaggerating. There are also some gers in my army who run around with the soldiers in the logistics, but after they get pregnant, they are all healthy, and the children they give birth to have no problems… They are just too nervous. I’m actually not as fragile as you think.”
“But there’s always a risk.” Lu Ze looked up at him, his expression firm and unyielding. “Have other gers been exposed to the elements and starved like you when they were young? Have other gers gone to the front line like you, and even stayed up for several days and nights without closing their eyes? Have other gers been ambushed in the ice and snow for a whole day and even fallen into an ice lake like you?”
“Having a child is not that simple. Even ordinary gers and women go through a life-and-death situation when they are pregnant, not to mention your body.” Lu Ze said, “Wei Yan, in this life, besides you, I will never have anyone else. Have you ever thought, what if something happens, what if, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to live alone with a child, and be a widower at a young age?”
He shook his head, his expression fragile, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible. “A Yan, are you trying to leave me all alone in this world?”
Wei Yan met his eyes and subconsciously shook his head. “I didn’t, I didn’t…” He held his hand back. “I’ve never thought that…”
Lu Ze was half-kneeling on the ground. He straightened up, hugged him, and murmured in his ear, “How can I not like your child? How can I not want our child?”
“But if I don’t have you, I really can’t guarantee that I can love him.”
He said in a gentle voice, “A Yan, if you like children, then when your body has recovered, can we have another child?”
Wei Yan hugged him back tightly. Hearing this, he blinked his somewhat sore eyes and opened his mouth. “Aren’t you worried… that my body will never recover in this life?”
“Don’t talk nonsense.” Lu Ze pulled away, touched his face, and looked at him seriously. “Your body will definitely recover.”
“But the imperial physician said that with my body, it’s extremely difficult to get pregnant…” Wei Yan gripped the clothes on Lu Ze’s shoulder and said softly, “The Lu family only has you left. What if we don’t have a child in this life…”
“My father has many brothers. If it really doesn’t work, we can just adopt a child from the clan.” Lu Ze brushed away the bangs on his face, looked up and kissed his forehead, and said in a low voice, “You have to remember, only if you are well, will there be a child.”
“A Yan, when we got married, we said that we would grow old together.”
Wei Yan leaned against the crook of his neck. Hearing this, he blinked, and after a long silence, he slowly nodded and said, “Okay.”
They would grow old together.
