Chapter 66

Edited and Proofread by KitKat

What Hu Shifei brought was a crumbling old book. It was unknown where he got it from but, its cover had long been torn off and the pages had turned yellow.

He pointed excitedly to one particular paragraph and read out loud, “Beyond the Southern sea, there lived a tribe of people of mermaid descent. They were not classified by genders and were all physically attractive. The ones who bore the red marks were fertile. Those people were also skilled in weaving mermaid silk. Mermaid silk is impenetrable by any weapons. One foot is worth a thousand gold.”

Physically attractive, red marks, fertility, these were all congruent with An Chang Qing’s current situation.

Xiao Zhige re-read the passage several times. “Southern Sea mermaid tribe? I have never heard of it?”

He had heard of mermaids in folk tales being passed down from ancient times but legend had it that these creatures had a fish tail and repulsive appearance. They were also violent creatures that fed on humans. Although the stories might have been distorted over thousands of years, there had never been a single mention of a tribe that carried mermaid blood. 

“I have never heard of it either,” Hu Shifei’s expression turned heavy, “Do you remember I once requested a portrait of Wangfei?”

At the time, An Chang Qing had gone to Hu Shifei’s clinic in search of a cure for his mother’s illness. Instead of monetary payment, Hu Shifei had demanded that he let him draw his portrait. Back then, he did not know that An Chang Qing was the Northern Warlord’s Wangfei.

“I remember.” Xiao Zhige nodded. He still had the portrait and was being properly stored.

Hu Shifei stroked his beard and said, “Actually, I wanted Wangfei’s portrait because a friend in Yu Ze had asked me to find a person in a painting. That person has at least six to seven points similar to Wangfei. I did not know Wangfei’s identity at that time and wanted to draw his portrait and send it to him.”

Hu Shifei did not expect that An Chang Qing was the Northern Warlord’s Wangfei and the portrait had also been taken away by Xiao Zhige. Furthermore, his friend was from the Yu Ze Empire, so it was highly inappropriate to send him the portrait of Da Ye Empire’s Wangfei. Afraid of courting death, he just ignored the matter like it had never happened. 

He had eventually forgotten all that but the recent events had reignited his curiosity about his friend’s painting. He dug out the painting and upon close examination, found that the person in the painting also had a fish scale mark on their forehead.

“This is the painting. Wangye, please have a look.” Hu Shifei took out the small scroll and laid it flat on the table.

The painting depicted a roughly sketched male figure with features very similar to An Chang Qing’s, down to the mole under his eye.

The only difference was the position of the red marking. It was on the man’s forehead which was partially covered by his hair while An Chang Qing’s was behind his ear.

Xiao Zhige and An Chang Qing exchanged glances. They both thought of the portrait that Xue Wuyi had ordered his men to deliver to them. The person in the painting had hair covering his forehead and most likely, it was hiding the red mark as well. 

The Xi Wei Empire, and now followed by the Yu Zer Empire, they all seemed to be searching for the person in the painting. Xiao Zhige’s eyes darkened, “This absolutely has to stay a secret. I’ll send more people to investigate.”

Hu Shifei saw Xiao Zhige’s gloominess and quickly agreed. He added, “Would you like me to inquire about the identity of the person in the painting? That friend of mine is a traveling doctor and loves to collect strange tales from around the world. Perhaps he might know more about the mermaid tribe.”

“Go ahead. But you must not disclose anything about Wangfei.”

Hu Shifei agreed. He then looked at An Chang Qing’s belly and asked, “So Wangfei… about the pregnancy…”

As soon as this was spoken, a long silence followed.

An Chang Qing looked at his belly, partly wanting to touch and partly afraid to do so. It took him some time to find his voice, “There’s really… a baby?” 

At this moment, he wasn’t sure what to feel. Of course there was joy as this was a child that bore his and Xiao Zhige’s blood but he just could not calm down thinking that a child was to be born from him. After all, that meant that not only was he a man who could give birth, it also indicated that he might not be human.

“Prescribe something for Wangfei first. We’ll deal with the rest once we have more information on the mermaid tribe. If it’s dangerous to Wangfei’s health…” 

He did not have to finish his sentence for Hu Shifei to understand.

Since Xiao Zhige had decided to marry An Chang Qing, he had resolved that he would not have children of his own. Hearing that An Chang Qing might be pregnant, his first reaction was not of joy but deep concern. 

A man giving birth was unprecedented since times unknown. Moreover, childbirth had always been a matter of life and death even for women, not to mention someone with a weak constitution like An Chang Qing. 

And on top of that, the person in the painting was connected to both the Xi Wei and Yu Ze empires. He could not be sure if An Chang Qing’s similarity to him was a blessing or simply a curse.

Seeing Xiao Zhige’s concerns leaking from his expression, An Chang Qing grabbed his hand and comforted, “It’s no use worrying at this point. Let’s have nature take its course.”

After the initial shock and anxiety had passed, An Chang Qing was actually at ease. The child was already brought into existence by them, they would not give him up so easily. And since this child will carry Xiao Zhige’s bloodline, it’s actually a blessing.

In his previous life, Xiao Zhige did not take in a concubine. Later, to make him Empress, he had gone against the courtiers and until his death, he did not have an heir to carry his bloodline. In this life, Xiao Zhige will undoubtedly ascend to the throne once again. Although he could adopt a child from within the royal bloodline, having a child of his own would lessen the friction from his courtiers.

An Chang Qing subconsciously touched his belly which was still flat. It was quite hard to believe that it was nurturing a small life inside. In hindsight, An Chang Qing concluded that this was a godsend. He grabbed Xiao Zhige’s hand and placed it over his lower abdomen and said, “The arrival of a child is a joyous event, why is Wangye unhappy? What you said just now, don’t say it anymore in the future. If the baby were to hear it, he might get upset.”

Xiao Zhige broke into a smile at his words. “He’s at most three months old, what can he possibly understand?”

Seeing that they had reconciled with this matter, Hu Shifei cleared his throat and said, “Then I’ll first prescribe maternity pills for Wangfei and also note down foods to avoid, please tell the kitchen to pay attention,” he then added sternly, “Other than that… Please refrain from bedroom activities that are too intense.”

An Chang Qing: “…”

An Chang Qing blushed instantly. He withdrew his hand from Xiao Zhige’s and nodded. 

After writing the prescription, Hu Shifei called for Yu Xiao. Yu Xiao had been learning from him for some time and was now able to recognize and decoct commonly used medicinal herbs. And since he said that his father had been pregnant before, it would be best if he looked after An Chang Qing at this point.

The next morning, Yu Xiao happily brought the medicine to An Chang Qing. He greeted him then stared at his belly with twinkling eyes.

Remembering that last time he had wanted to say hello to the baby, An Chang Qing told him to come closer and asked curiously, “You can really feel the child inside?”

“Yes!” Yu Xiao nodded and tried to describe the sensation to him, “It’s like a tiny fish swimming in your belly!”

An Chang Qing was stunned, “A fish?”

Yu Xiao tilted his head and contemplated, “Not entirely. Just a little similar. It’s small and very lively.” It was a mystical feeling he couldn’t fully describe with words.

Hearing that it was not a fish, An Chang Qing was quite relieved. He may have accepted that he might be from a non-human race that’s capable of giving birth but telling him that he’s carrying a fish in his tummy was simply too inconceivable.

Yu Xiao seemed really fond of his baby. He chirped away happily and after getting An Chang Qing’s approval, gently touched his stomach. 

An Chang Qing couldn’t help but smile as he watched him move with excitement. 

When Yu Xiao was done, An Chang Qing sat him by his side and asked about his parents in detail.

Because Yu Xiao’s fathers had passed away when he was only six, much of his memories had become foggy. According to him, his family had lived in the mountains. His big daddy was a hunter while his small daddy taught in a small village at the foot of the mountain. They were a family of three and despite being impoverished, they were happy.

It’s just that his small daddy had a weak body and after being pregnant, his health deteriorated. During that time, the family was always in a dreary mood. Later, when his small daddy was in labor, he was not allowed to see it. After that, he could only remember his big daddy coming out of the room and telling him that neither his small daddy or the baby could make it.

Since then, the father and son could only rely on each other to live on but two years later, his big daddy was suddenly afflicted with a fatal illness. Before his death, he told Yu Xiao to take all the silver and leave the mountain to seek refuge with an old acquaintance. Sadly, on his way to find this person, Yu Xiao was abducted and sold off.

“That’s all I remember.” Talking about the past had dampened Yu Xiao’s spirit but as children’s emotions come and go quickly, he was cheerful again in no time. He said to An Chang Qing, “The baby in Wangfei’s tummy is very powerful, I can feel it!”

An Chang Qing was appreciative of his praise. He touched his head and smiled. Speaking of which, Yu Xiao and his small daddy are probably the same race as him, that would explain how Yu Xiao was able to sense the child inside him.

He then thought of his own mother. From youth, Lady Yu had never mentioned anything of this sort. He wasn’t sure if she was unaware of it or she had known but was keeping it from him.

An Chang Qing considered for a moment before asking Anfu to bring him a brush and ink, he had decided to write a letter to Yejing to enquire.

By the time An Chang Qing was done with the letter, Xiao Zhige had returned. In his hand was An Chang Qing’s favorite pastry. Yu Xiao was still a little frightened by him. He excused himself under the pretext of preparing medicine and quickly ran away.

An Chang Qing saw that and teased Xiao Zhige, “If you keep having that black face, our child is going to be frightened by it.”

Xiao Zhige felt helpless and couldn’t argue with him. He unwrapped the paper bag and placed the pastry on the table. “How are you today? Do you feel discomfort anywhere?”

Xiao Zhige had been like this ever since Hu Shifei left yesterday. He was more anxious than An Chang Qing and had been asking about his body over twenty times a day.

An Chang Qing was tired of answering his questions and simply nodded. He quickly shifted the topic, “Did Wangye send the letter to Xi Wei?”

After their trip to Liangzhou, Xiao Zhige and Xue Wuyi had reached a tacit understanding. Xiao Zhige needed his help escorting the two leaders of the Common Men’s Army to Liangzhou and had been in touch with him ever since. Furthermore, since the portrait was originally from Xi Wei, Xiao Zhige had sent another letter trying to find out if Xue Wuyi knew anything about the mermaid tribe. At the same time, Xiao Zhige had also sent out his scouts to conduct a covert investigation in Yu Ze.

“I already had someone deliver the letter. It’ll probably take a few days to get a response.” Xiao Zhige replied, “I’ve also sent a letter back to Yejing to have someone look through the books in the palace. Let’s see if we can find any records related to the mermaids.”

If the person in the painting, together with Yu Xiao’s father and An Chang Qing, were really descendents of the mermaid tribe, it was improbable that after all these years, there was no information of their existence. Unless they never came into contact with outsiders, it was impossible for them to stay undiscovered.

Moreover, with the looks of the person in the painting and the involvement of Yu Ze and Xi Wei, he couldn’t possibly be an ordinary person. Such an eye-catching person with such an incredible connection, yet there were no records after centuries… 

There could only be one possibility – the relevant records had been deliberately destroyed.

What was certain for now was that the person in the painting was connected to Xi Wei’s founding Emperor, Xue Chang. Long ago, Xue Chang and Huai Shu An had decided to break off with Da Ye at the same time. Xiao Zhige had always thought that that was because the two were ambitious and had wanted to be kings with their own territories, but seeing how this portrait had nothing to do with Da Ye, Xiao Zhige couldn’t help but ponder if there was another connection.