Chapter 78
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Watching the retreating figure, Fu Nian withdrew his hand and placed it over his heart.
His heartbeat was very regular, completely different from the sensation on Chu Zhaoyi’s body.
“This can’t be…” Fu Nian murmured while touching his own heartbeat, furrowing his brow.
As he contemplated, Fu Nian heard someone knocking on the door of the bedchamber.
Soon after, the familiar figure of Physician Xu appeared behind the screen, holding a medicine box in his hand and accompanied by a medicine child. Although his face showed no expression, it was clear that he didn’t want to see Fu Nian.
Fu Nian sat up a bit with his heavy body and chuckled awkwardly, “Physician Xu, we meet again.”
“We meet again,” Physician Xu responded dryly.
Afterward, he skillfully opened the medicine box and began to change the dressings on Fu Nian’s burns.
When he uncovered the gauze, Fu Nian realized that the injuries on his body were more severe than he had imagined. Especially on his back and sides, the abrasions from sharp and rough rocks, combined with burns, had resulted in large areas of raw, reddish skin without skin covering, which was truly shocking to see.
“Please don’t change the dressings on your own. The inner layer of gauze has been soaked with pain-relieving medicine. Otherwise, you might not be able to endure it for even a quarter of an hour. Fortunately, it’s cold now, so the risk of infection is low…”
Fu Nian listened to Physician Xu’s rambling while he changed the dressings.
After finishing the treatment, Fu Nian noticed that Physician Xu’s expression seemed hesitant, as if he had some doubts.
“What’s wrong?” Fu Nian couldn’t help but ask curiously.
Physician Xu didn’t speak but gestured for Fu Nian to extend his left hand for pulse diagnosis.
Fu Nian complied.
After feeling his pulse for a while, Physician Xu’s brows furrowed even tighter, and he whispered to the assistant beside him, “Lingshan, please wait outside.”
Watching the assistant leave, Fu Nian had a foreboding feeling.
After a long silence, Physician Xu finally spoke, “Lord Fu, there’s an issue with your pulse.”
Fu Nian waited for him to continue.
“I can be quite certain that you are a man, but there’s an extra yin pulse, along with signs of pregnancy.” Physician Xu continued to feel the pulse, and his face paled slightly as he whispered, “It appears to be around three months… but this shouldn’t be possible.”
Fu Nian’s heart skipped a beat.
Around three months.
The timing of his return to the palace matched, and it also coincided with the “nonsense” of that medical doctor he had encountered in the capital city.
“It shouldn’t be, it shouldn’t be…”
Seeing Physician Xu’s expression growing more rigid, Fu Nian quickly interrupted, “Physician Xu, during my trip to Shuzhou, I encountered that person who uses gu poisons again. Maybe… the yin pulse and pregnancy-like symptoms are due to other factors.”
After improvising this explanation, Fu Nian added, “But please rest assured, Physician Xu, I haven’t been poisoned this time. I won’t suddenly cough up blood and succumb to poison like last time. Please don’t inform His Majesty about the unusual pulse until you’ve thoroughly investigated my condition. His Majesty has many state affairs to attend to, and I don’t want him to worry about this.”
“I understand. I won’t report to His Majesty until I’ve confirmed your condition,” Physician Xu replied.
After a brief conversation with the physician, Fu Nian watched as Physician Xu left the room.
Standing up, Fu Nian remained rooted in place, deep in thought.
After standing there for a while, and with no one around in the bedchamber, Fu Nian hurriedly took off his clothes and stood in front of a bronze mirror.
Without the cover of clothing, the curve of his protruding abdomen was even more noticeable when viewed from the front, completely replacing the muscular area.
Fu Nian gazed at his reflection in the mirror.
It seemed like it had grown a bit larger compared to the last time he looked.
He stared at the mirror, lost in thought. For a moment, he couldn’t decide if he was feeling panicked or shocked, but he couldn’t tear his gaze away.
After his experience of scooping out the gu alive and his visit to the Underworld, the officials in the Yama Hall had told him that in this lifetime, there would be subtle changes in his body.
… It couldn’t be.
Fu Nian quickly denied it to himself, hurriedly put on his clothes again.
He continued his daily training without fail, and he could even go on missions that pushed him to the brink of death. The books he had read described pregnant women as fragile and easily fatigued, needing half a day of rest for even a slight movement. But he wasn’t like that.
Once he had dressed himself, and with his legs still functional, he slipped out of Chengyuan Palace under the pretext of getting some fresh air.
“Big Brother Lian, what happened to you again? How did you get more injuries?”
As he met Rendong, Fu Nian hadn’t even spoken yet when he received this question.
“I had a fight with a stray cat on the roadside and got scratched,” Fu Nian casually fabricated. “The wrapping may have exaggerated the injury a bit; it’s not actually serious. By the way, did you manage the task I entrusted to you… outside the palace?”
“I bought the books, and I was planning to visit you yesterday. But when I went to Chengyuan Hall, my colleagues said they didn’t see you, and your room was empty. I thought you might be lying in the physician’s office again, so I didn’t dare to visit,” Rendong replied, slightly embarrassed. From his pocket, he retrieved two books wrapped in cloth and handed them over. “Speaking of it, Big Brother, do you think the high-ranking official you’re trying to please really likes these things?”
Fu Nian replied with certainty, “Yes.” He glanced at Rendong, who had a face that alternated between red and white, but said nothing more, silently collecting the books.
“Thank you for the help.” After hiding these “stolen goods,” Fu Nian finally said, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll go back to my duties.”
Rendong smiled hesitantly and said, “It’s no trouble at all. It’s my good fortune to be able to help you. If there’s nothing else, I’ll go back to work.”
Just as Fu Nian was about to agree, he suddenly remembered something.
“Wait.”
Rendong paused in his tracks.
Fu Nian first apologized with a “my apologies” and then suddenly reached out and slipped his hand into Rendong’s light armor, placing his palm over the location of his heart.
Though Rendong was of small stature, his muscles were far from lacking. After a few touches, Fu Nian finally located the position of the heart.
“You… what are you doing?” Rendong was so frightened that he unconsciously used the formal “you” when speaking. In an instant, blood rushed to his face, and he froze in place, not daring to move.
Rendong recalled the content of those books.
What should he do… Could it be that Big Brother Lian has been influenced by one of the important people at court? Should I find a physician for him?
With bated breath, Fu Nian felt Rendong’s heartbeat.
Uniform and strong, there was no sensation of crawling bugs, completely different from what was felt on Chu Zhaoyi’s body.
“I didn’t mean anything by it. Just wanted to feel your heartbeat,” Fu Nian hastily explained.
“You, you…” Rendong was on the verge of tears due to his panic but still didn’t dare to move.
Even though they often bathed together with their colleagues in the summer, splashing water on each other and checking each other’s muscle scars, they would never engage in such an ambiguous act as touching each other’s heartbeat for an extended period.
“There are no bugs…” After confirming multiple times, Fu Nian withdrew his hand and muttered to himself, lost in thought.
Rendong hurriedly adjusted the light armor, feeling increasingly puzzled.
What bugs?
But seeing the earnest and disappointed expression on Fu Nian’s face, it didn’t seem like the lascivious behavior described in the books, making him even more confused. He couldn’t figure out what Fu Nian was up to.
“Bugs?”
“I can’t sense the wriggling of bugs in your heartbeat. It’s strange because a certain person’s I can feel a sensation of bugs when I touch their heartbeat.” Fu Nian muttered to himself.
“It’s alright now, go back to your duties. It’s getting cold these days, and the charcoal in Chengyuan Hall is warm. I’ll have the eunuch send more to you later.”
After obtaining the prohibited books, Fu Nian made a trip to the Ministry of Punishments.
The officials there, seeing his blood-soaked bandages, “kindly” advised him to return. They informed him that the emperor had issued orders not to allow anyone to visit Fu Nineteen, who was detained, and the burned body. They also mentioned that there were sorcerers and doctors from Dian Nan present, and if Fu Nineteen woke up, they would notify him immediately.
Fu Nian could only return dejectedly.
Back in his sleeping palace, Fu Nian found a relatively comfortable position to lie down, trying not to touch the burned wounds, and took out the prohibited books from his robes.
He started by opening the medical book.
The medical book only recorded the actual accounts of men with hermaphroditic bodies conceiving life. There weren’t many examples, and the book wasn’t thick. Most of it was about medication precautions and the differences during childbirth compared to women. There were only a few illustrations showing the approximate internal structure of these hermaphroditic men.
It didn’t explain the process of conceiving life at all, and there was even a story about a pregnant monk.
Fu Nian set aside this absurd medical book and opened the other book with a more suggestive title.
It was just past noon, and the sunlight outside the window was perfect. Fu Nian lazily browsed the content of the book.
Almost all of the men who were pregnant in these stories had some kind of same-sex relationship. At the very least, they had a forced romantic encounter with a colleague, classmate, superior, or even their own siblings. A few had taken elixirs or miraculous drugs, and there were also cases of them conceiving on behalf of their sisters, older sisters, or wives.
“Why is this even more absurd than the medical book…” Fu Nian muttered softly.
As he continued reading, he heard the door to the sleeping palace open.
He thought it was a eunuch or palace maid entering, believing they wouldn’t recognize the characters in the books since they couldn’t read.
“What are you so engrossed in?”
Suddenly, a familiar and composed voice came from behind.
Fu Nian froze for a second, then quickly turned around and hid the book he was holding upside down under his body, bowing as he spoke, “I wasn’t looking at anything. Your Majesty…”
“No need to be so formal.”
Only then did Fu Nian relax a bit, and he discreetly tried to hide the book he was holding.
“Why did you come?”
“Just taking a break from my busy schedule to come see you,” Chu Zhaoyi said as he sat down on the edge of the bed, keeping a one-person’s width distance between himself and Fu Nian. He continued to gaze at Fu Nian.
The inner clothing was tailored to fit Fu Nian’s body shape, loose and comfortable, but it now seemed a bit tight.
“Shouldn’t these clothes be remade? Even though I’ve been looking at your face these days, you’ve still lost a bit of weight, so I didn’t expect you to gain two pounds,” Chu Zhaoyi commented while examining him. He reached out to touch Fu Nian’s collar.
Fu Nian instinctively moved aside.
However, Chu Zhaoyi didn’t actually intend to grab his clothes. He just made a feigned motion, and while Fu Nian was shifting, he swiftly snatched the “book” that was being concealed.
Fu Nian realized that he had been deceived by Chu Zhaoyi’s false move and immediately reached out to try to take it back.
“I got it.” Chu Zhaoyi stretched his hand further away, enjoying his victory. He smirked and said, “Let me see what has you so captivated, Ah Nian? Why are you unwilling to let others see?”
“…,” Fu Nian didn’t respond to his taunts and, disregarding his own dignity, crawled onto Chu Zhaoyi’s lap, attempting to snatch it back.
“I’m sorry; I’ll burn it right away.”
“Where did you get another prohibited book?” Chu Zhaoyi asked with a somewhat amused expression.
He teased Fu Nian while opening the first page of the book.
“What’s so indecent? Taking a glance won’t hurt you.”
Upon seeing the first illustration, Chu Zhaoyi’s smirk froze instantly.
Maintaining his curiosity, Chu Zhaoyi continued flipping through the pages. Suddenly, as if he had stumbled upon something extraordinary, he leaned back slightly, resembling a living statue that might crack open at any moment.
The author has something to say:
Chu Zhaoyi: What’s wrong with my Ah Nian? Why does he like to read this kind of stuff… That’s great! Jpeg
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