After Scheming Against the Enemy Nation’s Emperor, I Got Pregnant Chapter 88

Jiang Huaichu’s face darkened beneath his veil at the words “if he ever has a son, it better not have a—”.

He stood there for two seconds, thinking he doesn’t know who I am, so he’s not at fault, then calmed down and stepped forward to unlock the cell.

Xiao Yun suppressed his eagerness, watching him without a flicker of expression.

The prison was dim, hard to see clearly. The visitor was draped from head to toe in a pure white veil, light but entirely opaque. The flowing hem of the skirt hung well, not clinging to the body, obscuring any details.

All Xiao Yun could tell was that the person’s height and body shape resembled Xie Caiqing’s.

Even if he couldn’t see clearly, he was sure it was him. Otherwise, why go through all this trouble to hide? It was the classic “covering your ears while stealing a bell.”

This was surely the same outfit he had worn when he tried to convince Zhang Kui to eat, and when he let him out of prison.

He was clearly afraid that Zhang Kui or Xiao Yun might recognize him.

Besides Xie Caiqing, who else in Yeming Pass could have both the authority and the position to release Zhang Kui—and be the emperor’s favorite?

Still, just to be sure, he needed to test it.

Jiang Huaichu frowned slightly.

Dong Lu seemed to be staring at him.

At a glance, the general had noticeably slimmed down. His once bulky and muscular frame now appeared somewhat lean and upright.

“Dong Lu” kept cursing Duan Wang, and his insults got nastier and nastier. Jiang Huaichu’s face turned colder as he stepped into the cell. “Dong Lu,” shackled, was squatting in the corner. Upon seeing him, the curses stopped, and he glanced at the food box in Jiang Huaichu’s hand with a sneer.

“I said I won’t eat! Take it away!”

Jiang Huaichu said calmly, “Eat, and I’ll let you reunite with Zhang Kui.”

As soon as he spoke, Xiao Yun paused—this voice was clearly not Xie Caiqing’s.

But then again, his own voice wasn’t really “Xiao Yun’s” either. In Jianghu, it was common to mimic voices. And if Xie Caiqing were truly a spy, wouldn’t he be an expert?

Xiao Yun snorted silently. Still pretending, huh?

The figure came closer, and for some reason, Xiao Yun’s heart started beating faster, an uncontrollable surge of restless emotion stirring within him—an urge to pounce and pin the person down.

He restrained himself, carefully observing the other.

The cell was dark, with only a small window overhead letting in a sliver of moonlight. The figure before him was spotless and ethereal. Through the white gauze skirt, Xiao Yun could faintly see a delicate chin and a sliver of pale skin at the neck.

Jiang Huaichu frowned again—he didn’t know why his heart was beating so fast, or why he felt… inexplicably nervous.

The prison was dark and gloomy, with uneven floors and walls, shrouded in deep shadows. “Dong Lu” squatted in an even darker corner, his eyes as black as ink—like a wolf lurking in the dead of night.

“Dong Lu” said, “See Zhang Kui? What did you do to him?!”

Jiang Huaichu’s voice was calm and gentle. “Eat, and I’ll tell you.”

Xiao Yun thought to himself, Like h*ll I have time to eat, but feigned urgency. “You tell me first, and then I’ll eat. I swear I will!”

Afraid Jiang Huaichu wouldn’t believe him, he added, “I swear to the heavens!”

Knowing Dong Lu to be a man of his word, Jiang Huaichu didn’t press him. “Wangye has settled him in. Once you finish eating, I’ll take you to see him.”

“Wangye?” Xiao Yun asked suspiciously. “You serve Duan Wang?”

Jiang Huaichu replied, “Yes.”

Hearing him admit it without hesitation, Xiao Yun immediately burned with anger. He clenched his fists in silence, held back his urge to question him, and sneered coldly. “You serve Duan Wang—then why should I believe a word you say? As if your Wangye would be so kind as to shelter a general from the enemy army? Don’t pretend to care. You’ll get nothing out of me. I would rather die than betray Great Ning.”

Jiang Huaichu disliked arguing to begin with, and ever since he became pregnant, he had forced himself to remain calm and composed. He replied blandly, “Believe it or not, that’s up to you. Whether you eat or starve is your own business. I’ve said what needs to be said. If you don’t want to see Zhang Kui, then stay here. I have no reason or obligation to force you.”

With that, he turned to leave.

Xiao Yun quickly said, “Don’t be angry. It’s not that I’m ungrateful. It’s just… you’re not related to me or Zhang Kui. I really can’t trust you. Who are you, and why are you helping us?”

Jiang Huaichu stopped and replied calmly, “Just a small favor. It’s not like releasing a tiger back into the mountains.”

“Dong Lu” remained wary. “We’re Great Ning people—enemy generals. Don’t you hate us? Aren’t you afraid that if we get out, we’ll contact those outside the city and betray Nanruo from within?”

Jiang Huaichu said, “You wouldn’t.”

Zhang Kui and Dong Lu indeed wouldn’t—but by all rights, this man shouldn’t know that. Xiao Yun’s smile deepened slightly, but he acted confused. “Why are you so sure? Do you know me and Zhang Kui?”

Jiang Huaichu’s brows knit together, a vague unease rising in his heart. He remained impassive. “Because I trust Wangye.”

Xiao Yun’s expression darkened instantly.

Jiang Huaichu continued, “Your every move is under his watch. Though the idea to release you was mine, it was he who approved it. Wangye is never wrong in his calculations.”

Xiao Yun’s fists clenched tighter.

Jiang Huaichu said coldly, “If you won’t eat, so be it. Don’t regret it.”

He turned to leave. Perhaps sensing danger, his pace quickened.

Without a word, Xiao Yun stood up, throwing aside the shackles he had long since picked open with a bit of wire. In three quick steps, he rushed forward and grabbed Jiang Huaichu’s waist from behind.

In the pitch dark, Jiang Huaichu’s breath caught. His eyes widened. Countless memories he thought he’d long forgotten surged up violently, blanking his mind and sending his heart racing into his throat.

A strange face. A familiar gesture that only one person ever made. A scent he knew by heart.

Xiao Yun.

The name burst from the confusion in his mind.

Jiang Huaichu’s legs gave out, his chest trembling violently. Panic seized him. He had never wanted to escape more than at that moment.

A horrible realization struck him. He looked stiffly down—at the arm wrapped around the curve of his belly. His face went deathly pale in an instant.

The body behind him pressed closer. Long arms locked over his shoulder blades, cinched tight around his waist, leaving no room to move. Like a snake tightening around its prey—squeezing out air, squeezing out space to live.

Jiang Huaichu had frozen from the moment Xiao Yun grabbed him. Tension rippled through his frame. Xiao Yun, sensing the reaction, only tightened his grip, a smile creeping unconsciously onto his lips.

His heart pounded with unprecedented speed. Emotions tangled and erupted, swelling until they filled his chest. For a moment, he was completely lost. He didn’t have time to think—he just followed instinct and held the man even tighter, as if that would keep him from ever running again.

The dark hair before him carried a faint cold scent. It wasn’t quite the same as before, but deep in its essence, it was hauntingly familiar.

Xiao Yun had never felt so fulfilled—as if the world was moving and alive again. Just as he was about to whisper wickedly into his ear, to call him by name and relish his flustered panic—he suddenly noticed something was very wrong with the sensation under his arm.

The smile on Xiao Yun’s face froze. He hesitantly touched the area again.

Jiang Huaichu stared down at the hand groping across his belly, his face flushing and paling in turns—equal parts anger and fear. His heart pounded erratically, his body trembling.

This was the most helpless moment of his eighteen years. He couldn’t find even a trace of the persona he’d carefully constructed and trained to protect himself over the years. Nothing to help him stay calm or face the situation with grace.

Xiao Yun knew.

That thought echoed in his mind, simple yet devastating.

Xiao Yun knew he was pregnant.

The very thing he feared most had happened—without warning.

Jiang Huaichu shook uncontrollably.

The touch under his hand was firm, taut—clearly hidden beneath loose clothing, yet unmistakably prominent in shape. Smooth, round. Not the sag of excess flesh.

It was the kind of curve your fingers had to bend around to fit.

Lower than the stomach—his lower abdomen.

Xiao Yun realized exactly what it was. His face drained of color. His hands trembled violently. He instantly let go and stumbled backward several steps, nearly falling. He only stayed upright by grabbing onto the cell bars.

In a trembling voice, he said, “Miss, I’m sorry—so sorry! I’m really sorry!”

Xiao Yun wanted to slap himself. “I… I’m sorry. I mistook you for someone else!”

Thinking of how he had just groped her, he was mortified. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry—I wasn’t trying to take advantage! I’m really sorry. I should die…”

“May you soon have a noble son! May you soon have a noble son!” he shouted while retreating as if to distance himself from responsibility. His back hit the iron bars, but he still tried to inch farther away, maintaining a boundary like the Chu River and Han Border between them.

“……” Jiang Huaichu remained silent for a long time. The pallor on his face finally faded a little before he bolted out the door.

Someone quickly came by to lock the prison cell again.

Xiao Yun gasped for breath, his dark eyes filled with fear and lingering panic. He had always kept a calm face—he was the one who teased others into blushing and going weak in the knees. Now, it was his own face that turned uncontrollably red, a flush that spread like wildfire.

In his twenty-four years of life, he had never encountered such an embarrassing and horrifying situation.

His dignity was utterly ruined.

What the h*ll is wrong with you?! You can’t even tell if someone’s pregnant?! Xie Caiqing, Xie Caiqing—d*mn Xie Caiqing! Have you gone crazy thinking about him all the time?!

And you were so sure it was Xie Caiqing. Sure, my *ss. That person is a woman! A pregnant woman! Her belly was so big!

She disguised herself like that clearly to avoid being recognized. She’s another man’s wife, noble in status, pregnant, meeting a strange man in the enemy’s territory—without covering her face or figure—does she want her name ruined?

And you touched her. What the h*ll were you touching?! Are you sick in the head?!

Xiao Yun slapped his left arm with his right, then tried to slap the right with the left. He paused mid-motion, realizing how ridiculous he was, his face flushing red and pale in turns.

All because of Xie Caiqing, he had molested a pregnant woman.

No. Absolutely not. Xie Caiqing must never know about this. That clean freak little b*stard would be so disgusted he’d never treat him as his world or be devoted again.

His arm suddenly felt filthy and uncomfortable. Xiao Yun wished he could chop it off. He rubbed it frantically against the prison bars for a long time—self-deceiving and desperate. Knowing it was useless made him even more irritable. He wanted to explode, but comforted himself: Xie Caiqing won’t know.

Then the reality hit him.

That person wasn’t Xie Caiqing, so naturally she wouldn’t recognize him as Xiao Yun. To her, it must’ve been an act of kindness—offering mercy for the child’s sake—and in return, a lecherous enemy officer named Dong Lu molested her…

He had to get the guard away and leave—fast. That woman might have a kind heart, but this was still a matter of ruined honor. If she turned her humiliation into fury and sought revenge, she had the status and means to do it.

The touch still lingered on his fingertips, and Xiao Yun’s heart inexplicably began to race. He scrubbed his fingers furiously against his robes until he nearly set himself on fire.

“Ugh… utterly humiliating…”

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