Chapter 72

Edited and Proofread by KitKat

There weren’t many servants in the manor and the few that were there had been hired by An Chang Qing after his arrival. As such, the pair did not see many people on their way back to the main room. 

An Chang Qing laid on Xiao Zhige’s back, feeling the man’s powerful pulse as his cheek touched his neck. It was calm and powerful, just like the man himself. An Chang Qing shifted his face and the long eyelashes swept over Xiao Zhige’s neck which caused his heart to itch like feathers brushing by. Before he could react, he felt a soft kiss touching the side of his neck.

Xiao Zhige lost his breath and almost stumbled. After stabilizing his footing, he reprimanded, “Stay still.” Although it was a scolding, there was no anger in his tone. 

An Chang Qing giggled, seemingly unafraid of him. Instead, his hands around his neck tightened as he rubbed his cheek against his neck. The warm sensation of his touch was addictive and gave Xiao Zhige a strange sense of peacefulness.

Seeing that Xiao Zhige had calmed down, An Chang Qing nestled on his shoulder and whispered lightly in his ears, “Don’t be afraid. I’m not going to die.”

Xiao Zhige’s footsteps came to a stop. This time, he was truly upset. “Don’t speak nonsense.”

An Chang Qing smiled and told him to put him down. The two happened to stop right at the garden in front of the main room. The surroundings were quiet with occasional chirpings coming from the trees. 

Xiao Zhige used the hem of his robe to wipe a stool and gently put An Chang Qing on it. 

An Chang Qing looked at him and found that he still angry with vivid “川” lines on his forehead. But even so, the man was still attentive to wipe the stool before letting him sit on it. In fact, the stools were always cleaned by the servants everyday, it couldn’t possibly have been dusty. An Chang Qing knew that this was all Xiao Zhige’s thoughtfulness towards him. He knew that as long as it was related to him, Xiao Zhige would always show his care in his own quiet ways and he finally understood his stand on the matter.

They had once made a pact to be together till death. Xiao Zhige had unceasingly kept his promise but as for An Chang Qing, he had wanted more when the baby came into existence. 

The pact that had only included the two of them was now shaken because he was willing to put his life at risk for the baby without considering that if something were to go wrong, he would’ve left Xiao Zhige all by himself.

Looking at the man staying silent, An Chang Qing finally made a choice. He stood up and held Xiao Zhige’s hand, speaking softly, “I haven’t forgotten the wish I made the night of the Lantern Festival.”

An Chang Qing looked into Xiao Zhige’s eyes and said wholeheartedly, “I can’t bear to part with this child but I promise you, as long as Dr. Hu ascertaines that my life is in danger in keeping him, we will give him up. I will not put my life at risk. Please believe me.”

Xiao Zhige’s throat rolled several times as he looked at An Chang Qing. Only after a while did he respond by hugging An Chang Qing and said in a hoarse voice, “Alright, I believe you.”

An Chang Qing smiled as he wrapped his arms around Xiao Zhige’s waist to reciprocate.

Afterwards, the two walked back to their room hand in hand. Xiao Zhige then called for Hu Shifei again to ask about the operation. Although Hu Shifei has a quirky personality, when it comes to medicine, he was highly reliable. He had reread the notes several times and had even gone to Lady Guo to get more information. By now, he already had a good grasp of the procedure and was affirmative to succeed. 

These details he had explained to Xiao Zhige but he was so intimidated by the words “cutting open to retrieve the baby” that he refused to listen any further. Now that Hu Shifei could explain to him the whole process again, there was some relief in his eyes though, his expression remained gloomy. But, at least, he did not object to the procedure.

After pacifying Xiao Zhige’s worries, he went on to check An Chang Qing’s pulse. Seeing that everything was fine, he spoke with them in detail about the things to pay attention to before leaving the manor.

An Chang Qing was now over four months pregnant and although it was not physically obvious, his symptoms were. He had a huge appetite and was often drowsy. His belly wasn’t showing but the once boney cheeks were now more bouncy.

“Dr. Hu said that it’s not a dangerous operation. Only, after the delivery, the cut will be quite large and has to be treated carefully for a while. Wangye can stop worrying.” An Chang Qing leaned in and pinched Xiao Zhige’s cheeks, forcing his lips to curl into a smile.

Because there was no one else in the room, An Chang Qing had taken off his coat, shoes and socks and was wearing a thin silk robe. His long hair spreaded over his back and at this point, he was kneeling over Xiao Zhige on the bed, giving off an alluring charm that he was not even aware of.

Xiao Zhige gave a smile in accordance with An Chang Qing’s wishes and quickly closed up his loosened collar. He straightened up his tone and said, “I’ll go get some fish bladder from Hu Shifei another day.” (TN: Correct me if I’m wrong but, based on context, I think fish bladder can be used as a condom)

An Chang Qing was fuddled at his sudden remark. His cheeks turned red and he immediately let go of Xiao Zhige’s face. “Do what you want, why’re you telling me?” An Chang Qing said in a feeble voice before putting on his shoes and went to read a book by the window.

Xiao Zhige’s eyes followed his figure through the curtain and his expression only got gentler.

…..

In his return, Zhou He Lan’s group did not travel straight to Yanzhou. He passed through Qing Zhou’s Guan Yang City, Yu Zhou’s Ding An City, and then Suzhou before finally arriving back at Yanzhou. Apart from the sweet potatoes, he had also bought many curious looking gadgets and some exquisite jewelry, rouge, etc. along the way. By buying and reselling, he was able to earn a copious amount of silver. On top of that, he had also brought back many souvenirs and gifts for An Chang Qing and the others.

At the moment, Zhou He Lan had brought in the troves of trinkets he had brought back, allowing An Chang Qing to have the first pick. 

An Chang Qing had never been to the South and was intrigued by every little thing. He was now studying a small little wooden bird which was able to fly a short distance. At the same time, Zhou He Lan held up a small wooden box and said, “These are women’s perfumes and makeup, all of which were bought from the largest stores in the South. I’ve specially left them aside as gifts for Lady Yu and the young miss.” He pointed to a large trove and continued, “Those are fabrics that are in trend in the south, also for the misses.”

An Chang Qing was touched. He put aside the wooden bird he was playing with and said, “That is very thoughtful of you. Your mother’s health was still weak and unsuitable for this long-distance journey, that was why we couldn’t bring her to Yanzhou this time.”

Zhou He Lan nodded, “I understand. Mother mentioned it in her letter.”

“Did she also mention your marriage?” An Chang Qing said with a smile, “When mother came to Yanzhou, your mother asked her to send you a message that if there’s a girl that you fancy, you can ask Lady Yu to propose to her in her (Zhou He Lan’s mother) place.”

“There’s none.” Zhou He Lan lowered his head and said, “A man should thrive in his career before starting a family. I haven’t accomplished anything yet, how can I think about getting married? Even if she doesn’t mind, I still do not want to be unworthy.”

An Chang Qing couldn’t tell much from his expression. Assuming that he had misread something, he did not probe further and simply said, “In the future, if you like someone and your mother is not in Yanzhou, you can ask Lady Yu for help with the marriage proposal.”

Zhou He Lan thanked him before proceeding to report to Xiao Zhige on the operation of the jade mine. An Chang Qing decided to excuse himself and went to visit Lady Yu with the troves of gifts carried by the servants.

Lady Yu and An Xian Yu lived in the same courtyard. During their freetime, they would take a walk outside accompanied by guards but most of their time was spent indoors reading or doing needle crafts.

When An Chang Qing arrived, the ladies tracing the outline of a flower.

An Xian Yu quickly put away her needle and thread when she saw. She went over and relieved the wooden box in his hand, “You can’t afford to wear yourself out at this point.”

An Chang Qing patted her on the head and said, “It’s not heavy.” He then instructed the servants to carry the items into their rooms before sitting down to speak with his mother and sister.

“He Lan brought back a lot of textiles and makeup to Yanzhou especially for you and Xian Yu. I had nothing else to do so I brought them over for you.” An Chang Qing pointed to the wooden chests being placed inside.

Lady Yu opened one of the chests to have a look. Inside were various high grade porcelain jars containing expensive rouge and fragrances. From looking alone, she could tell they had been carefully selected.

An Xian Yu was excited seeing the assortment of make up she had never seen before. She took a whiff of a bottle of perfume and seemed happy with it. An Chang Qing saw her cheerful appearance and had a sudden thought, “Yu’er already old enough. Should we discuss marriage for her?”

Lady Yu looked at her daughter and sighed, “There were people back in Yejing who had come to propose marriage but they were vying for the support they can get from you and Wangye, I have rejected them all. But for a truly noble family, I’m afraid they might find my background unworthy.”

An Chang Qing on the other hand did not want An Xian Yu to marry into any prestigious family. In their previous life, An Xian Yu was married into what everyone had considered a prestigious family and suffered tragically. This time, he only hoped to find her someone who could love and protect her for a lifetime. 

“Actually it doesn’t have to be someone from Yejing,” An Chang Qing said, “The Vice General Qi who had visited the manor previously is quite decent…”

Lady Yu remembered Qi Wei. After some thought, she nodded, “He’s quite handsome. His words and actions are steady, quite appropriate as a candidate.”

An Chang Qing turned to An Xian Yu and asked, “ What does Yu’er think?”

An Xian Yu lowered her eyes and looked at the rouge in her hand. She then muttered, “He was just pretending.” During dinner that day, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. Clearly, he was not a gentleman.

She hesitated before picking up her courage and said, “I don’t want to marry this early. The other day on the street, I saw an official announcement stating that they are establishing a girls’ school. I want to become a teacher there.”

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TN: We’re finally back! And sorry for the long break. You see, I’ve just adopted these two below a few months back. One is still a kitten Bengal and she was riddled with illnesses when I brought her back. She’s healthy now and incredibly mischievous. The ragdoll is the total opposite, super lazy and chill.
So yea, just wanted to introduce my two new family members and use them as an excuse for the delayed chapters 😏.

PS
We have a new translator who will be working with us so hopefully this’ll help us get back on track and we can dish out more chapters per week for you guys. 😉