After Being Reborn as the Chief Eunuch Chapter 69

Chapter 69

Li Zhan did not choose today to announce Ji Qingzhou’s pregnancy to the Ji siblings.

Ji Qingzhou understood that Li Zhan had thought everything through carefully. Only after all matters regarding the Ji family were properly settled could he wholeheartedly focus on planning their future together.

Though Li Zhan never said it outright, Ji Qingzhou could feel it—while the Ji family’s misfortune had nothing to do with Li Zhan, he had taken it upon himself to share some of the blame that rightfully belonged to the late emperor. In Li Zhan’s eyes, everything he did for the Ji family was a way to atone for the wrongs committed by the former sovereign.

To others, it might seem as though Li Zhan was shouldering burdens that weren’t his to bear.

But Ji Qingzhou knew that Li Zhan never saw it as a burden at all…

Just like how he cared for the young emperor—others always suspected him of harboring ambition, but he had always acted with openness and integrity.

Ji Qingzhou thought, maybe it was having lived one life already that allowed Li Zhan to see things more clearly. And because of that clarity, he had let go of many past obsessions. After all, people only had so much energy in a lifetime. If your mind was preoccupied with too many things, there wouldn’t be enough space left for the people you truly cared about.

Li Zhan understood that very well. That was why he never wasted even a bit of energy on things that didn’t matter.

Whatever he did take the time to do, it meant he believed it was worth doing—and he would do it regardless of the cost or consequences.

Now… aside from handling court affairs each day, nearly all of his attention was focused on Ji Qingzhou!

“You don’t have to come over every single day, do you?” Ji Qingzhou finally couldn’t hold it in after Li Zhan came to the Ji Residence three days in a row. “Yesterday my brother even asked me why you, with so many court matters to deal with, keep coming here every day…”

The renovation of the Ji family ancestral tomb was still ongoing—it would probably take a few more days before the reburial could take place.

Which meant the two of them would have to wait a few more days before officially announcing their relationship to Ji’s siblings.

Right now, Ji Qingzhou and Li Zhan’s relationship felt like some kind of secret affair, and yet Li Zhan showed up at the Ji Residence every day. Everyone in the residence had already taken notice. Ji Qingzhou, being thin-skinned, was terrified his brother or sister might catch them and start asking questions—he wished he could hide from them every single day.

“What did you tell him?” Li Zhan asked with a smile in his eyes.

“I said you had court matters… and wanted my opinion on them,” Ji Qingzhou replied.

Li Zhan chuckled and said, “That’s right—there’s something every day that I need to consult you about. And since you’re not coming to the palace, of course I have to come find you.”

“I’m not part of the Inner Attendant Department anymore. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to keep going to the palace,” Ji Qingzhou said.

“What’s inappropriate about it? Didn’t I give you my token?” Li Zhan replied. “You can come and go from Yinghui Pavilion as you please—who dares stop you?”

Ji Qingzhou quickly said, “That’s still not proper by the rules.”

“There’s nothing improper about it,” Li Zhan replied, then paused before suggesting, “Why don’t you move into Yinghui Pavilion for the next few days? Just like Qin Zheng—you can temporarily stay by my side under the title of a guest advisor to the Prince Residence.”

Ji Qingzhou hesitated at first, but after thinking about it—staying cooped up at home all the time was getting stifling, and having Li Zhan running back and forth every day wasn’t a long-term solution either. Now that he was an idle young master without official duties, if he went to serve as a guest advisor, no one would have much to say about it.

Seeing that Ji Qingzhou seemed convinced, Li Zhan immediately stood up and said, “I’ll go talk to Ji Qinghuai. Let’s return to the palace today.”

Before Ji Qingzhou could respond, Li Zhan had already strode out of the room to find Ji Qinghuai.

Ji Qinghuai was currently in the back corridor repairing an old zither. When he saw Li Zhan approach, he offered him a respectful salute.

Li Zhan got straight to the point and told him about Ji Qingzhou’s situation. Ji Qinghuai didn’t seem surprised by it.

“Qingzhou hasn’t even come of age yet. He still has a long road ahead,” Ji Qinghuai said. “Has Wang Ye asked what his plans are for the future?”

“No matter what he plans,” Li Zhan replied, “I will support him.”

Ji Qinghuai lowered his head and lightly plucked a string. The zither responded with a soft note.

“Wang Ye is a man of discernment. I’m sure you would’ve understood my meaning even if I hadn’t said it aloud,” Ji Qinghuai said. “But now that our father is gone, as his older brother, I still have to say a few nagging words.”

Li Zhan stood there, patiently listening.

Ji Qinghuai continued, “He’s still young. His nature isn’t fully settled yet, and he doesn’t consider things as carefully as Wang Ye. If, in the future, his temperament changes—or if he grows distant from you—then I hope Wang Ye will be generous enough to let him go.”

His words were clear—he was trying to secure a way out for Ji Qingzhou.

Just in case his foolish younger brother acted rashly without thinking things through… at least there would be a safe retreat.

“Do you think I’m just playing games with him?” Li Zhan asked.

“I can’t figure out Wang Ye’s intentions,” Ji Qinghuai said with a sigh. “It’s just that my younger brother… has never been the most steady-minded since he was little. Our father used to spoil him quite a bit.”

Although this reunion had allowed Ji Qinghuai to sense that Ji Qingzhou had changed—he was more composed and gentle now, no longer so sharp and unrestrained—he still couldn’t be sure whether this was a temporary shift or the result of hardship over the past months that had led to real growth.

That was why he couldn’t help but speak these words to Li Zhan.

After all, he was the older brother and had keener eyes. On the day Li Zhan came to visit, he had already noticed something between the two. But since they hadn’t said anything directly, he didn’t bring it up either.

“I’ll remember what you’ve said today,” Li Zhan replied.

Upon hearing this, Ji Qinghuai offered him a salute. He knew Li Zhan was a smart man—there was no need to say more once things had been made this clear.

That same day, Li Zhan took Ji Qingzhou back to the palace.

Ji Qingzhou had been cooped up in the Ji residence for several days, so he was finally able to breathe freely. His mood along the way was noticeably good.

Li Zhan sat in the carriage, watching him for a moment before speaking. “Your brother already had an official post at court. Once he’s rested a few months and recovered, he can return to his former position.”

“That’s good, he’s full of knowledge and talent. It would be a shame if he couldn’t continue serving in office.” Ji Qingzhou said.

“What about you?” Li Zhan asked. “Have you made any plans?”

Li Zhan had asked him this question once before. At the time, Ji Qingzhou had said that if he were no longer an attendant, he would like to travel around and see the world. But back then, their feelings for each other hadn’t yet been clarified—so this time, the question carried a different meaning.

Ji Qingzhou looked over at him, catching a hint of nervousness in Li Zhan’s eyes.

He suddenly understood—Li Zhan was actually asking him for a kind of “commitment.” The answer to this question would determine whether Ji Qingzhou planned to include him in his future, and so it couldn’t be given lightly.

In the original story, Ji Qingzhou had never gotten the chance to take the imperial exams—trouble with the Ji family had come first. Given his status as a young master from the Ji household, his proper path would’ve been like Ji Qinghuai’s: taking the exams and entering court as an official.

But… Ji Qingzhou thought to himself, if he actually went to take the imperial exams, he’d probably bring shame to the entire Ji family.

“I don’t want to take the exams,” Ji Qingzhou said.

Li Zhan was momentarily stunned—he hadn’t expected that answer.

“But I also don’t really have any particular strengths to rely on…” Ji Qingzhou lifted his eyes to look at him. “Back when I used to grind ink for you, I actually thought that was a pretty good job. Twenty taels a month was enough to live comfortably.”

Li Zhan’s eyes immediately lit up, a smile creeping into them.

To him, Ji Qingzhou’s words were essentially a promise—that he intended to stay by his side.

“But I’m not going back to being an inner attendant,” Ji Qingzhou added.

Li Zhan was so amused by this that he burst out laughing. He leaned in close and whispered into Ji Qingzhou’s ear, “Even if you wanted to be one, I wouldn’t let you.” He still remembered how Ji Qingzhou’s medicine had once tormented him. Just waiting for its effects to wear off had taken days. No matter what, he would never let Ji Qingzhou take that kind of medicine again.

More importantly—he could give Ji Qingzhou a far better identity now…

As they chatted, they arrived at the palace. After several days away, Ji Qingzhou actually felt a strange sense of familiarity returning.

This had been the first place to shelter him after he came to this world. Who knew how long he’d stay here this time? Perhaps a short while… or maybe for many years? Ji Qingzhou glanced at Li Zhan and thought to himself—the length of his stay might just depend on him.

His return to Yinghui Pavilion didn’t cause much of a stir within the pavilion itself. Back when he was still an inner attendant, his status in others’ eyes had already been more like that of a guest than a servant. Everyone knew Li Zhan had never treated him like a regular eunuch. Now that he wasn’t an attendant anymore, he had officially become a guest retainer.

It was the court officials who were more surprised when they came to discuss matters and saw Ji Qingzhou there.

But they quickly adjusted and accepted his new role without much fuss.

Ji Qingzhou didn’t overthink it. When Li Zhan picked up his brush to write, Ji Qingzhou naturally stepped forward to grind the ink for him. This action immediately drew the attention of the court officials. Ji Qingzhou lifted his eyes to look at them, and they all promptly turned their gazes elsewhere. The atmosphere became quietly awkward.

Ji Qingzhou stood puzzled for a moment before suddenly realizing something.

When he used to grind ink for Li Zhan, it had been part of his duties as an inner attendant—perfectly appropriate. But now that he was a guest, continuing to do so seemed… a bit too intimate. The phrase “a slender hand grinding ink, red sleeves adding fragrance” had always been used to describe romantic scholars and their muses. Someone without a close relationship would never take the initiative to do such a thing.

After all, grinding ink meant standing very close to the person holding the brush. Standing beside Li Zhan, Ji Qingzhou only had to lower his head slightly to see exactly what he was writing.

Anyone else would have been more discreet.

Realizing this, Ji Qingzhou suddenly felt rather self-conscious.

Li Zhan noticed his unease and glanced at him.

Their eyes met briefly, and Ji Qingzhou quickly shifted his gaze, guilty like a thief caught red-handed.

Right in front of the court officials… it felt way too much like a secret office romance!

“How many more days will it take to complete the General’s Tomb?” Li Zhan asked casually, showing no change in expression as he directed the question to a court official from the Ministry of Works.

“Replying to Wang Ye, it should be completed by early spring next year,” the man answered.

Li Zhan nodded and asked again, “What about the workers sent to repair the Ji family’s ancestral tomb? How’s the timeline looking?”

“I just followed up on that today,” the man quickly replied. “Repairs on the Ji family’s tomb should be completed in seven days.”

“Mm, good to know,” Li Zhan responded. Then he turned to Ji Qingzhou and saw that he had stepped off to the side. With a flicker of emotion in his eyes, he said to him, “If you’re tired, you should go back and rest. There’s nothing pressing here anymore—once I’m finished, I’ll come find you.”

The atmosphere in the hall had already been slightly awkward, and the moment those words left Li Zhan’s mouth, it became downright peculiar.

Ji Qingzhou was startled, his heart giving a hard thump. He instinctively wanted to glance at the officials’ reactions, but he managed to restrain himself.

What Li Zhan said was just too ambiguous. Saying he was worried about him being tired was one thing, but what was with the “I’ll come find you” at the end?

Ji Qingzhou didn’t even know how he walked out. By the time he returned to Li Zhan’s bedchamber, he was still a little dazed.

His heart was racing, and he felt both bashful and faintly excited…

He knew that the relationship between him and Li Zhan was not something they could easily reveal. Even though Li Zhan held great power and stood above tens of thousands, this truth was difficult to change. If the court officials ever discovered their relationship—or the existence of this child—Ji Qingzhou didn’t even dare to imagine the trouble it would cause for Li Zhan.

And yet, he couldn’t deny that Li Zhan’s behavior today, right in front of all the ministers, made him secretly happy despite the tension. Maybe everyone in love felt like this: hiding, avoiding, terrified of discovery—as if it were some shameful thing—yet at the same time aching to tell the whole world, wishing everyone could know.

He had never understood this feeling before, but today he suddenly experienced the full force of that contradiction.

Ji Qingzhou wrestled with his thoughts for quite a while, then finally lay down on a short couch inside the bedchamber and dozed off.

His belly had grown heavier as the months progressed, and his body tired more easily.

Even back at home, he had needed to nap several times a day. Now that he was at Yinghui Pavilion, drowsiness naturally followed him there as well.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when he vaguely sensed someone pushing the door open. The person moved very lightly, but even so, Ji Qingzhou was still “disturbed” awake. Before he could even open his eyes, a hand slid around his waist. A warm sensation brushed his lips, and the familiar scent of Li Zhan’s woody fragrance filled his nose.

Li Zhan didn’t realize he was awake. He only left a soft, tentative kiss on his lips.

But as Ji Qingzhou opened his eyes and reflexively grabbed onto the front of Li Zhan’s robe, Li Zhan immediately dropped all pretense. He leaned in and embraced the youth, stealing another kiss. Not until Ji Qingzhou was left gasping and breathless did Li Zhan finally let him go—just a little.

“You…” Ji Qingzhou gave a light cough, his face tinged with red. He raised a hand to wipe the corner of his mouth, but Li Zhan was faster. He reached out and gently brushed the youth’s lips with his thumb. The slight calluses on his fingertip grazed Ji Qingzhou’s skin, sending an inexplicable tremble through his heart.

“Are you done with the meeting?” Ji Qingzhou still wasn’t used to this kind of intimacy between them. Every time Li Zhan did something like this, he would reflexively try to change the subject, as if that could hide his own embarrassment.

Li Zhan understood exactly what he was thinking. With a smile in his eyes, he said, “From now on, when you come to the study, there’s no need to serve me like before. Just find a place to sit—listen if you want, leave if you don’t. No need to be restrained, and don’t worry about what they think.”

Ji Qingzhou thought to himself, Isn’t that just completely improper?

“It’s fine… I get bored doing nothing,” Ji Qingzhou said.

“If you really want to serve me, then do it here in the bedchamber.” Li Zhan said.

What he meant was ink-grinding and writing assistance, but putting “serve” together with “bedchamber” made it impossible not to think of something else entirely. Especially with Ji Qingzhou, who always maintained a composed exterior but had a mind full of unspoken thoughts. So the moment Li Zhan said that, his face instantly flushed red.

Watching the youth’s face go crimson, Li Zhan felt a surge of affection and couldn’t help teasing, “If you don’t want to serve me… I could serve you instead.”

If there was no double meaning in his last sentence, this one was all innuendo.

Ji Qingzhou was thoroughly flustered. He didn’t even try to argue back—but he couldn’t stop his heart from racing wildly.

He was a little embarrassed to admit it, but he actually liked it when Li Zhan occasionally said such improper things, or did things that weren’t entirely appropriate. Because he himself was too shy to initiate anything, even though deep down… he really did want to be close to Li Zhan.

Anyway, as long as it didn’t go that far, Ji Qingzhou felt he probably wouldn’t refuse anything Li Zhan wanted to do with him.

“Wang Ye…” came Dong Dong’s voice from outside the hall, “Doctor Tang has arrived.”

Upon hearing this, Li Zhan immediately reined in his thoughts and said, “These past two days you’ve been staying at the Ji residence, so I didn’t send Tang Shu to check your pulse. Now that the months are progressing, we must be a little more cautious.”

“Mm.” Ji Qingzhou nodded.

His belly had grown noticeably larger, and truthfully, he was starting to feel nervous about it too.

As they spoke, Tang Shu came in carrying his medicine box.

Following his usual routine, he first reached out and felt Ji Qingzhou’s abdomen, then pulled out a pulse pillow and took his pulse.

“Five and a half months… almost six now, isn’t it?” Tang Shu said. “Shouldn’t be long now, I’d guess.”

Ji Qingzhou was startled. “Isn’t it supposed to take over nine months?” he asked quickly.

Tang Shu looked up at him and said, “It does take nine months for women, but not for you.”

Ji Qingzhou froze and instinctively looked toward Li Zhan, a trace of confusion and apprehension in his eyes.

What exactly did Tang Shu… mean by that?

“I didn’t mention it before because I didn’t want you overthinking it—that wouldn’t have been good for the baby,” Tang Shu said. “But now that the pregnancy has stabilized and you’re further along, it’s time I told you the truth.”

His words startled not just Ji Qingzhou but even Li Zhan.

“Young Master Ji is still young and likely hasn’t heard much, but Wang Ye should know a bit already,” Tang Shu said, glancing at Li Zhan before continuing, “In our Dayu dynasty, men getting pregnant isn’t unheard of. Yet most of the stories circulating are tragic—either both father and child die, or only the child is saved. Do you know why that is?”

Ji Qingzhou thought for a moment. Qin Zheng had once told him about this. Back then, Qin Zheng said… many viewed male pregnancies as shameful and unlucky, so they weren’t taken seriously, which naturally led to many tragedies.

“Because they’re ashamed, and don’t want to consult a doctor,” Ji Qingzhou said.

“People are flesh and blood—when a child is already on the way, even the coldest heart wouldn’t deliberately wish death upon someone,” Tang Shu said. “More often, it’s not that the family didn’t care, but even when they did consult doctors, it didn’t guarantee survival.”

Li Zhan frowned and asked, “What do you mean?”

“Men’s bodies simply aren’t made for pregnancy,” Tang Shu explained. “Even if they manage to conceive, most can’t safely carry to term. Childbirth itself is a gamble with one’s life—and for a man, it goes against the natural order, disturbs yin and yang, and defies Heaven.”

Ji Qingzhou’s mind whirled, and suddenly, things clicked.

Was this… the bug in the book he’d transmigrated into?

He had always found it odd. The novel he’d landed in wasn’t a typical “male pregnancy” story—so why had this happened to him? Now that Tang Shu had explained, it seemed likely the author had casually tossed in a line like “in this world, men can get pregnant” but never fleshed out the rules properly, and so the world had glitched trying to make that logic work.

There was no one to complain to about it now!

And yet, of all people, this fatal bug had to land on him!

“Then… how can we avoid the worst-case scenario?” Li Zhan asked.

“Don’t wait too long, once we’re sure the child is viable, we’ll have to perform a cesarean to take the baby out.” Tang Shu replied.

Li Zhan’s face instantly darkened. “Are you joking?”

“Wang Ye, this is a matter of life and death—I would never joke about that,” Tang Shu said seriously.

Li Zhan’s gaze turned sharp and cold, the restrained menace in his eyes difficult to conceal.

In his view, a cesarean meant sacrificing the parent to save the child. Wasn’t that no different from sentencing Ji Qingzhou to death?

But Ji Qingzhou’s thoughts were entirely different.

In the modern world, cesarean sections were common practice. Did Tang Shu really know how to perform one?

But… this wasn’t a sterile environment. Rushing into a C-section here would likely be extremely risky…

“I won’t allow it,” Li Zhan said coldly.

“But that’s the safest option,” Tang Shu insisted. “If you refuse, that’s what will get him killed!”

Li Zhan’s expression turned steely, clearly on the verge of erupting.

Ji Qingzhou pressed a hand lightly over the back of his, sending him a reassuring look. Then he turned to Tang Shu and asked, “Have you performed this kind of procedure before?”

“Of course I have,” Tang Shu replied. “I’ve done it dozens of times. Not just on men, but also women with breech births.”

Ji Qingzhou asked again, “And how many survived?”

“Not a single one died,” Tang Shu answered. “Only one baby was born too weak, so we managed to save the mother but not the child.”

When Ji Qingzhou heard that, he finally let out a breath of relief and silently thanked this world—for, despite the absurd “men can get pregnant” bug, it had also managed to produce a doctor like Tang Shu.

Tang Shu’s calm and confident manner greatly eased the panic in Ji Qingzhou’s heart.

A doctor who knew exactly what he was doing could always give his patient extraordinary courage.

But Li Zhan didn’t take it so well. He simply couldn’t comprehend the concept of “cesarean delivery” that Tang Shu had proposed.

To him, this method equaled certain death for Ji Qingzhou…

Yet if what Tang Shu said was true, even without surgery, Ji Qingzhou would still face grave danger.

The blow was too much for him…

After Tang Shu left, Li Zhan remained deeply shaken.

All the joy this child had brought him over the past few months now paled in comparison to the fear surging through him in that moment.

He could live without the child—but he couldn’t imagine losing Ji Qingzhou.

“Wang Ye…” Ji Qingzhou knew Li Zhan was likely having a hard time accepting it, so he gently tried to comfort him. “Doctor Tang is skilled and confident—it’ll be fine. Look, the baby’s in my belly and I’m not scared, so why are you?”

Li Zhan’s voice was hoarse. “I’d rather the baby were in my belly…”

Ji Qingzhou: …

He pictured that scenario in his head for a split second—then quickly shut it down.

Let the baby stay in his belly, thank you very much. No need to swap.

“What baby?” Suddenly, the hall doors were pushed open, and the young emperor came running in, panting and confused. “Whose belly has a baby in it?”

Ji Qingzhou and Li Zhan both froze. Clearly, neither had expected the young emperor to show up out of the blue.

And of all things to overhear, that line had to be the one he caught.

“Zhouzhou…” The young emperor ran up to Ji Qingzhou, his face glowing with excitement. “It’s you, isn’t it? I saw Imperial Uncle secretly touching your belly!”

Ji Qingzhou: …

“You’re going to be a mommy?” the young emperor asked innocently.

“Not a mommy…” Ji Qingzhou corrected quickly.

The young emperor rushed to say, “Then you’re gonna be… a daddy?”

Ji Qingzhou glanced at Li Zhan. He figured it wasn’t something they could hide forever anyway—might as well take this chance to tell the young emperor the truth.

Seeing that Li Zhan didn’t try to stop him, Ji Qingzhou gave a slight nod.

The young emperor was instantly overjoyed. He reached out, wanting to touch Ji Qingzhou’s belly, but hesitated halfway, finally just staring at it with curiosity. “So you’re gonna be a daddy—then who’s the baby’s mommy?”

Ji Qingzhou was stunned by the question. He looked up at Li Zhan instinctively.

The young emperor followed his gaze toward Li Zhan—and his face turned into one of utter disbelief.

Li Zhan: …

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