Chapter 64

Edited and Proofread by KitKat

After having dinner, the couple went for a stroll to digest the food before turning in.

It was already June and the weather was getting warmer. Although this heat was nowhere as strong as the summer’s, An Chang Qing was still incredibly uncomfortable with it. Wearing a light gown and covering himself with a thin quilt was not enough to alleviate his body heat. As such, Xiao Zhige was banned from hugging him at night due to his high body temperature. 

Feeling frustrated, Xiao Zhige ordered a set of silk short sleeves gown and pants to be made especially for An Chang Qing. With the light fabric and his skin exposed, An Chang Qing finally stopped complaining about the heat.

This night, after washing up, An Chang Qing was sitting by the bed, contemplating over how to improve the land legislation. When Xiao Zhige entered the room and saw him dressed in skimpy clothes, he felt a fire ignited from within.

He came forward and released the bed curtain, then kissed An Chang Qing lightly on the mouth. He nimbly pulled out a jar of ointment from the bedside cabinet and said, “Should we try this tonight? Hu Shifei said that it can enhance pleasure and also help your body…” 

An Chang Qing was not too eager as he had been feeling listless lately. On top of that, he was badly affected by the temperature. Simply lying down was enough to accumulate heat, not to mention doing it. However, Xiao Zhige’s scorching gaze caused his heart to tremble and several parts of his body to itch. 

After the times that they have bonded, Xiao Zhige was now familiar with all the pleasure points on his body. Before An Chang Qing was able to say no, a powerful palm was already pressing against his behind and a soft kiss was planted on his ear.

Xiao Zhige was always fond of kissing An Chang Qing’s white and soft earlobes but this time, he felt a peculiar sensation after kissing him for a while. He pulled back and lifted the curtain to get some light. Turning back to take a closer look, he saw that behind his ears was a red patch of what seemed to be fish scales. The area of redness was small and had around four pieces of scales glowing red, looking quite enchanting. 

Xiao Zhige gently rubbed the red spot but there was no change. If he weren’t kissing An Chang Qing this frequently, he would’ve thought it was a birthmark. 

An Chang Qing was a little itchy and aroused as Xiao Zhige touched his ear. He shyly looked at him with some anticipation. 

However, Xiao Zhige’s desires had died down. Instead, he was more concerned about the appearance of the strange spot. Seeing that An Chang Qing was unaware of this as well, he kept it to himself and decided to summon Hu Shifei early tomorrow.

An Chang Qing: “???”

An Chang Qing was coaxed to sleep with his head full of questions. He was a little disappointed but seeing that Xiao Zhige had no intention of continuing and him being too embarrassed to ask, he slumped back and let himself fall asleep.

On the other hand, Xiao Zhige was getting worried the more he thought about the appearance of the red mark and An Chang Qing’s incongruent mood of late. 

Before dawn the next day, Xiao Zhige left to find Hu Shifei without even having breakfast with An Chang Qing.

Hu Shifei was already practicing Wu Qin Xi (five-animals exercises). Yu Xiao whom An Chang Qing had brought back with him to Yanzhou had been following Hu Shifei around in the beginning as his helper. Now, he was studying under him as his student.

Xiao Zhige entered the yard and saw the pair of teacher and student. He looked at Yu Xiao briefly and said to Hu Shifei, “I need to talk to you in private. Let’s go somewhere else.”

Hu Shifei sensed the gloom in his tone and had to stop and immediately led him to the study. Yu Xiao brought them tea and sensibly retreated.

Xiao Zhige then told Hu Shifei his discovery and also of An Chang Qing’s abnormal mood in recent days.

Hu Shifei pondered over and confirmed, “But I checked Wangfei’s pulse just a few days ago. Wangfei’s health is perfectly fine and there’s definitely not underlying illness.”

“Then what about the red mark behind his ear?”

Hu Shifei touched his mustache and said after some thinking, “I can’t tell. I have to see it with my own eyes.”

“Then do it now,” Xiao Zhige said, but he added after, “I haven’t told him. If… if it’s really some strange illness, don’t tell him first.”

Hu Shifei had never seen Xiao Zhige with such a nervous and hesitant expression before. He shook his head and told Yu Xiao to come with them to the General’s Manor with his medicine case.

Recently, An Chang Qing had become accustomed to seeing Hu Shifei. He smiled helplessly as he saw the two people behind Xiao Zhige walk in. “Why did you invite Dr Hu here again? I told you I’m fine.”

Ever since the time he was losing sleep to vomiting after drinking some soup, Xiao Zhige had been asking Hu Shifei to give him a checkup every few days.

Before Xiao Zhige could respond, Hu Shifei helped him out by saying, “It’s no problem. I’m just checking your pulse.”

Yu Xiao stepped up to greet An Chang Qing before aptly opening the medicine box and placing it in a convenient position for Hu Shifei. He then stepped back for Hu Shifei to do his work.

First, Hu Shifei checked An Chang Qing’s pulse which was steady and spry without any abnormalities. He frowned and went on to check his eyes, tongue, and eventually behind his ears; there was indeed a small scarlet scale shaped mark.

Hu Shifei rubbed the mark with his fingers but it did not seem like it was a stain, more like a birthmark. Momentarily, he was not able to discern what it was. He withdrew his hand and reported, “There is nothing wrong with Wangfei’s health. Only a slight elevation in temperature which requires a light diet.”

An Chang Qing gave Xiao Zhige a ‘I told you so’ look at which Xiao Zhige could only return with a smile. He sent Hu Shifei out and took the opportunity to inquire further.

Hu Shifei really did not find anything out of the ordinary and could only reply, “Wangfei’s pulse is healthy. I cannot explain the mark behind his ear but I’ve also never heard of any illness with such symptoms. I’d have to do some more research but Wangfei is doing fine, Wangye does not have to worry.”

Xiao Zhige did not want to worry too much but when it came to An Chang Qing, he simply could not afford to be careless.

Inside, Yu Xiao had finished packing up the medicinal box when he was held back by An Chang Qing to ask about his tutelage with Hu Shifei.

After he brought Yu Xiao back from Liangzhou, due to his small age, An Chang Qing did not give him any work. Later, when Hu Shifei happened to be short of a medicine boy, seeing how bright Yu Xiao was and how he could learn something from Hu Shifei, An Chang Qing had sent him over.

Since then, Yu Xiao had grown quite a bit. Previously, due to the lack of food and clothes, he had been like a malnourished little girl. Now that he had a stable life and Hu Shifei had taught him a few exercise routines, he was now showing a lot more flesh. Although the birthmark on his face was still prominent, his appearance had become sturdy and he was no longer mistaken for a girl.

Other than his teacher, Hu Shifei, the person Yu Xiao trusted the most was An Chang Qing. He smiled and zealously talked about his studies and life with Hu Shifei. An Chang Qing happily chatted with him for a while before ordering Anfu to share with Yu Xiao some pine nut candies and snacks that Xiao Zhige had bought for him.

Yu Xiao received the snacks with glee. Upon leaving, he glanced back at An Chang Qing’s stomach. After some hesitation, approached and asked softly, “Can I touch the baby in your tummy?”

An Chang Qing’s smile was frozen on his face. He asked as though he could not ask the question, “What?”

Yu Xiao noticed the change in his expression. He thought he was unwilling and whispered timidly, “I, I just want to say hello to the baby… Before, I almost had a baby brother or sister.”

After speaking, Yu Xiao seemed to realize something and his face turned pale with anxiety.

An Chang Qing clearly heard his words this time. He was befuddled as he asked in a daze, “Where’s the baby?”

As Yu Xiao was still a child, he did not understand the complicated affairs of the adults. He innocently answered, “Inside Wangfei’s belly. I can feel it.”

“It was the same for father…” Yu Xiao remembered something and did not continue. His flustered face turned to look at An Chang Qing.

Before, his father had always taught him not to tell anyone. If the wrong people knew about this, it would bring disaster to the family. Yu Xiao looked at An Chang Qing and felt that he was not a bad person. He was also someone close to him so it should be alright to tell him…

An Chang Qing was still confused with what he heard. He looked at his belly and then back at Yu Xiao but could only conclude that it was just a silly misunderstanding of a child. He smiled and said, “I’m a man, I can’t have a baby. If you let Dr. Hu hear this, he’s going to laugh at you.”

Yu Xiao bit his lips. He was sure that what he felt was a baby inside Wangfei’s belly. Back when his father was pregnant, he could also sense it. He had hoped to see his brother or sister, but then…

His eyes turned gloomy as he persisted, “It’s really there.”

An Chang Qing saw his dejected look and couldn’t bear to upset a child. He coaxed him and agreed, “Alright, alright, I have a baby.”

Yu Xiao really thought that An Chang Qing had believed him and was happy again. His eyes lit up and he asked again, “So can I touch it?”

Xiao Zhige sent Hu Shifei out but after the two had finished speaking, they waited and did not see Yu Xiao coming out. They returned to find him and as soon as they reached the door, Xiao Zhige could hear An Chang Qing say something about a baby. He casually asked, “What baby?”

Hu Shifei was there so An Chang Qing did not want to reveal what Yu Xiao had said to spare him from embarrassment but who knew the jolly child naively spilled everything, “We’re talking about the baby inside of Wangfei.”

An Chang Qing: “…”

Xiao Zhige: “…”

Hu Shifei: “Hm?”

An Chang Qing and Xiao Zhige were at a loss but Hu Shifei had turned pensive. He was lost in thought for a long time before facing Yu Xiao and asked, “Why would you say so?”

Yu Xiao retold everything that he had said to An Chang Qing. He really liked the baby inside of Wangfei.

Hu Shifei contemplated even longer. He shook his head but still turned to An Chang Qing and said, “Let me check Wangfei’s pulse again.”

An Chang Qing was all the more baffled. He thought that it was just some childish words of a kid but who knew Hu Shifei would follow up with his claim. Even so, he did not object and put his hand on the table once again.

Hu Shifei closed his eyes and carefully felt his pulse. 

“Wangfei’s pulse is slippery, like beads on a jade plate.”

This type of pulse usually means the body is having excess heat and water retention. An Chang Qing was recently exposed to a different climate so Hu Shifei had assumed that that was the case. However, just now, Yu Xiao’s words reminded him of another possibility.

This pulse is also associated with pregnancy. Combined with the appearance of the red mark…

Hu Shifei’s face went through many changes in expression. He scanned An Chang Qing up and down, shocked to learn that a man can be pregnant. He was unsure and also at a loss.

Xiao Zhige on the other hand was getting impatient. He urged Hu Shifei to explain, “Just tell us what you learned!”

An Chang Qing had some knowledge in medicine and knew about the slippery pulse. It did not necessarily point to pregnancy but after hearing what Yu Xiao said, he also had some doubts.

His eyes were particularly tense as he looked at Hu Shifei.

Hu Shifei was still in disbelief and did not report his guess. “Wangfei is afflicted by the heat and simply needs to take more cooling foods.” After a pause, he added, “Please restrict the bedroom activities as much as possible.”

For now, things’ll have to wait till he does more research.

An Chang Qing sighed with relief. He was also a bit embarrassed and laughed at himself for taking Yu Xiao’s childish talk seriously.

In the end, Yu Xiao was not able to touch the baby and was dragged away by Hu Shifei.