Chapter 77: C60. Desire.

Chapter 60

In the blink of an eye, it was already deep autumn, and the clothes gradually thickened.

The deer meat on the grill sizzled and sputtered with oil, emitting a tempting fragrance. Zhao Heng held a round hand warmer in one hand and just placed a chess piece on the board when she looked up to see Ning Wanzhi smiling brightly on the opposite side.

Her heart skipped a beat, feeling like she made a mistake, and sure enough, the next moment Ning Wanzhi casually picked up a chess piece and placed it on the board.

Zhao Heng lowered her head and stared at the chess piece for a while before smiling at Ning Wanzhi, "I lost."

Ning Wanzhi picked up a piece of roasted deer meat that a palace maid had sliced from the side of the chess table and ate a piece, "Aunt has made great progress; when you were learning chess half a year ago, you hadn't even finished memorizing a chess manual."

Zhao Heng took a sip of tea, shook her head, and said, "I still need to learn; I still can't beat you."

"It's okay, you're at least much better than Xiao Ba now." Ning Wanzhi pointed her finger at Li Nanxi, who was playing with beads on the side.

Li Nanxi raised her head blankly, then turned her head to look at Ning Wanzhi, pouting unhappily, "Xiao Ning is saying bad things about me again."

Zhao Heng smiled and took a sip of tea, "She didn't say anything bad about Xiao Ba, Xiao Ning said Xiao Ba is very smart."

The warm autumn sunlight streamed in through the carved windows of the pavilion, casting a golden glow on the ground, while the palace maids cut the roasted deer meat and fruits into small pieces and placed them next to the desk.

Li Nanxi's mouth was oily, with sesame seeds stuck at the corners, she licked them off with her tongue, giving Ning Wanzhi a displeased look.

Li Wenjian had just walked past the corridor and saw Zhao Heng pulling Xiao Ba into her arms, carefully wiping the oil stain at the corner of her lips with a handkerchief, smiling with joy.

Zhao Heng really liked children, and Xiao Ba was at the age when even dogs would find her annoying, but she had a lot of patience with her, unable to hide the tenderness and joy in her eyes.

She would definitely be a great mother in the future.

"Let's start again." Ning Wanzhi cleared the chess pieces, stored them in the chess box, and handed the white pieces to Zhao Heng.

Zhao Heng, with a half-eaten fragrant melon in hand, looked at the chessboard, frowned in contemplation, suddenly remembered something, and said to Ning Wanzhi, "Xiao Ning, can you teach me how to ride a horse another day?"

"Sure!" Ning Wanzhi agreed readily.

Li Wenjian smiled slightly, looked away, and walked up the stairs towards the study.

He sat in the study for a while before seeing Physician Xu lifting his robe and stepping up the steps. The window reflected the tree branches in the courtyard, and the palace attendant standing beside him greeted him.

Physician Xu entered the study and saluted him with respect, "Your Highness."

Li Wenjian blew away the steam from the edge of the teacup, took a sip of tea, and asked, "How has Father been recently?"

Physician Xu set down the medicine box hanging from his shoulder and replied, "His Majesty's pulse has been stable recently, and the toxins are temporarily under control."

"Good." Li Wenjian lifted his eyelids, finally showing a rare smile. He put down his pen, slowly rolled up his sleeves, and said, "Come."

"Apologies, Your Highness." Physician Xu took out a small blade with willow leaves from the medicine box, doused it from head to toe with strong alcohol, then heated it on the candle flame for a moment. Once the cool light faded from the blade, he made a cut on Li Wenjian's arm.

Fresh blood immediately gushed out, and he used a bamboo tube to catch it under his forearm, with the blood flowing smoothly into the tube. After taking about half the tube, Physician Xu tightly stuffed the bamboo tube, sprinkled hemostatic powder on his wound, and bandaged it up.

Physician Xu put the bamboo tube away in the medicine chest, gave instructions on how to care for Li Wenjian's wound, and was about to leave when he heard Li Wenjian call out to him, "Physician Xu."

Stopping in his tracks, Doctor Xu bowed and asked, "Is there anything else Your Highness would like to command?"

Li Wenjian took a sip of tea, his expression seeming to change. He thought for a moment and asked, "Will these medicines affect my offspring?"

Physician Xu glanced at the prince, who looked divine in the sunlight, then quickly lowered his head and pondered, "Some of the medicines Your Highness is taking have the effect of promoting blood circulation. In such a case, it may be easy to have an unstable pregnancy."

"Ah," Li Wenjian's expression was serene, he responded, then added, "You may go now, you have worked hard."

Physician Xu sensed the despondency in his tone and did not dare say more. He simply replied and quickly turned to leave the study.

*

In the evening, the Third Princess was returning to the palace to visit the Empress, who was hosting a banquet in the Inner Palace.

They took Li Nanxi to the Inner Palace to attend the banquet, and by the time they arrived, the Third Princess had already returned. She was speaking with the Empress, a smile on her lips, looking very pleased. The Emperor sat by the side holding a jade tablet, also smiling broadly.

Li Wenjian walked in and jokingly asked them, "What's the matter? You all seem so happy."

The Empress, her face full of joy, held the Third Princess's hand and said, "It's your youngest sister, she is with child."

Li Nanxi's eyes lit up, excitedly exclaiming, "I will become an aunt (Gugu) too!"

"Silly girl." The Empress glanced at her, "He should address you as 'Auntie' (Yiniang)."

Li Nanxi pondered for a moment, then raised her face and asked, "Shouldn't I call myself 'Aunt' to Ah Heng's child?"

The Empress nodded with a smile.

Li Nanxi then hugged Zhao Heng's waist and asked, "Sister Heng, when can I be an aunt?"

Li Wenjian turned his head to look at Zhao Heng, who inexplicably met his gaze. Their eyes locked for a moment before Zhao Heng quickly looked away.

"Xiao Ba, it's been a while since I asked about your studies. What have you been learning lately?" Li Wenjian lowered his gaze, looking at the bright-eyed young girl.

Li Nanxi blinked slowly, remembering what Xiao Ning had said about only males fault for not being able to bear children. She glanced at her elder brother, wondering if she had hit a sore spot with him. She stood beside him and gently tugged at Empress' sleeve, trying to appease him, "Mother,…"

The Empress looked at Zhao Heng, her gaze falling on the vine bracelet on her wrist, her expression momentarily stunned.

"Mother…" Li Nanxi tugged at her sleeve again.

"Tingyun has made some sweet cakes for you, go find her in the back." The Empress interrupted, diverting her attention and sending her away.

Li Nanxi made a face at Li Wenjian and ran off to the back hall.

"We haven't played chess in a long time, let's have a game, my son." The Emperor stood up, smoothing out the wrinkles on his robe.

The Empress arranged the chess table for them and left Zhao Heng and the Third Princess chatting inside.

“It's such good news that it happened so quickly. His Majesty and the Empress are both looking forward to holding a grandchild,” Zhao Heng smiled lightly.

The Third Princess smiled shyly and said, “It did happen quickly. It's only been a month since the wedding. Suddenly being so busy with motherhood, always having to watch your back wherever you go, it seems troublesome.”

In just over a month, she had gone from a carefree young girl to someone's wife, and now she was expecting a child.

Zhao Heng looked at her with a smile, “Why are you still feeling hesitant?”

“It's not hesitation, it's just reluctance,” she held onto Zhao Heng's arm, seeing no one around, she spoke freely, “I had also hoped to have some carefree days like you for a while longer, but unexpectedly, a child is on the way already.”

After speaking, she lowered her head and stroked her still-flat stomach, then pulled out a yellow talisman from her sleeve and handed it to her, “This is a talisman we obtained at Guangji Temple a while back. We got two, and this one is specifically for you.”

Zhao Heng blushed as she glanced at the characters on the talisman.

“It's very effective,” the Third Princess said.

*

In the inner chambers,

“The Imperial Guards have found out that Zhou Kuo had betrayed Wei Zhan's whereabouts back then,” the Emperor lounged on a soft couch, observing the man in front of him, “But you seem to have some doubts?”

“Zhou Kuo was Wei Zhan's personal attendant. How did he make contact with the Northern Di barbarians? And how did he gain their trust? How did he manage to do all this, in father's opinion?” Li Wenjian sat opposite him, his expression neutral.

The Emperor's eyes held a hint of a faint smile as he calmly said, “There is someone who is even better at gaining the trust of the Northern Di barbarians, pulling the strings behind the scenes.”

Pausing for a moment, he continued, “The former emperor's grandson.”

Li Wenjian spoke matter-of-factly, “The East Palace and the Zhanshi Mansion has their people, and who knows how many others are there elsewhere.”

“It was a necessary compromise. At the beginning of the former emperor's reign, there were no capable officials in the court. In order to demonstrate benevolence to the realm and ensure the smooth operation of the government, any former officials who actively surrendered were retained,” the Emperor explained, “In three hundred years of the former dynasty, there were still a few loyal souls like Wang Zhao. It is unknown how many others are biding their time, waiting for the former emperor's grandson to make a move and change the course of the blade.”

“This is the tragedy of having no competent officials. We can only hope that the reforms initiated by Xing Yan will proceed smoothly this time, and by next year, a new batch of your direct officials will be selected in the imperial examinations. Raise them for five or ten years, and they will be the ministers of your six ministries. Raise them for twenty or thirty years, and they will be the provincial leaders. Then, the old Wei clan officials will no longer hang over the heads of the Li clan descendants like a sword,” the Emperor said.

Li Wenjian looked at the chessboard and was absent-minded for a moment.

“Apart from the Zhanshi Mansion, there are also the Imperial Guards, the Forbidden Army, and the Shenji Camp. It's likely their people have long been infiltrating the ranks. In recent years, General Ning in Meizhou and my second uncle in Jiangzhou have been cultivating a group of loyal and capable soldiers. I plan to start reorganizing the military.”

No matter the era, those in power always fear losing absolute control over the military.

Li Wenjian was the same.

"That's fine," the Emperor's expression turned serious. "But it might be very difficult."

"Difficult but necessary," Li Wenjian added with a hint of sarcasm in his eyes. "Losing control of the major camps means losing leverage."

"Shulang," the Emperor looked at the young man before him, his heart filled with mixed emotions. He rested his hand on his forehead, speechless for a moment, before speaking again, "If we hadn't started this rebellion, if I hadn't ascended to the throne, perhaps..."

Perhaps he wouldn't have to live so laboriously, being manipulated, targeted, constantly troubled in this complex court.

Li Wenjian chuckled lightly, his eyes filled with a smile. "Father, I'm not afraid."

"Then go ahead and do it," the Emperor stared at the boiling tea on the stove, his tone calm.

A sound of the pearl curtain swaying behind came, Li Wenjian turned around to see the Empress approaching with a cup of honeyed tea, handing it to the Emperor.

"Do you want a bowl?" she furrowed her brows, looking at Li Wenjian across from her.

Li Wenjian, with his hand propped under his chin, focused on the chess game and replied, "No, thank you."

"You gave her the Gold Lin Guard?" the Empress lifted her gaze, casting a glance at Li Wenjian.

Li Wenjian met her gaze, "Yes."

The Emperor covertly observed the Empress's expression, then quickly lowered his head.

The Empress turned to him, "You know too?"

"I don't," the Emperor lifted the tea cup and took a sip of the steaming honeyed tea, his features relaxed. "Giving the child sweets, it's his freedom to choose whom to give it to."

The Empress said, "You should know, it's your talisman. Without the Gold Lin Guard, your situation becomes even more perilous. Giving it to you initially was to ensure your safety. How could you easily give it to someone else?"

"Mother, she is not just someone else," on this late autumn night, with the night wind blowing unpredictably, fanning the flames in the room, he lifted his eyes to meet the Empress's gaze. "Mother, A Heng is my other half of life."

The Empress was momentarily speechless.

As the sky darkened, the banquet in the Imperial Palace had already begun, perhaps due to the Third Princess' pregnancy, the whole room was immersed in a joyful atmosphere.

Inspired by the joy, Zhao Heng had also had a small cup.

Li Wenjian gave her hand a squeeze under the table, signaling her not to drink anymore. Zhao Heng turned and glanced at him, her eyes already slightly clouded, not as clear as before.

Li Wenjian smiled, seeing she was somewhat intoxicated.

Upon returning to the East Palace, Lian Zhou brought a basin of water for her to wash. Perhaps not as drunk as before, she didn't talk as much tonight, and obediently lay down after washing up.

The lamp at the head of the bed had burned a long way down. She wanted to trim the wick, but couldn't remember where she had placed the scissors.

Remembering there was a hair-thin blade in the vine bracelet, she took it off, flicked out the blade, and trimmed the wick.

A sound of the crystal bead curtain behind her rang out, she turned her head in a tipsy state and saw a slender and graceful hand lifting the bead curtain, the beads colliding then quickly separating, making a clattering sound.

He had just finished bathing, wearing a loose snow-white robe that clung to his body, still damp with moisture. The front of his robe was slightly open, revealing a small patch of fair skin on his chest.

Water droplets kept falling from his thick black hair.

"A Heng."

He walked towards her, his gaze landing on the vine knife she used to trim the wick. "Did you use it to trim the wick?"

"Is it not allowed?" Zhao Heng, clearly still a bit dazed from the drunkenness, responded.

The vine bracelet could command the elite Gold Lin Guard, but she used it to trim a wick, prompting a wry smile from Li Wenjian.

In the next moment, he walked up to her, took the vine bracelet from her hand, manipulated the vine knot, retracted the blade into the bracelet, and then held her delicate hand in his. "You can, but you have to promise me, never to lose it."

“Why?” Zhao Heng's eyes were slightly reddened.

"Because this is the first gift I gave you," Li Wenjian looked at her earnestly.

"You have given me many things," Zhao Heng ticked them off on her fingers. "My status, a manor, lots and lots of new clothes and jewelry, lots and lots of books, dignity, respect, care..."

As she counted, she couldn't help but laugh, reaching out to embrace him. "I have nothing, Your Highness, yet you have been so good to me, giving me so many precious things."

He lifted his head, his gaze shifting from her eyebrows to her eyes, lingering on her face, then to the delicate fluff of her earlobe, and finally to her slightly flushed lips.

"How can you say you have nothing?"

Zhao Heng met his scrutinizing gaze, her cheeks slightly warm, not knowing what to say. After a while, she stammered, "Yes, I have nothing."

Zhao Heng was dressed in a soft watermelon-red nightgown, embroidered with large patches of pale pink peach blossoms on the hem. The light and airy long skirt made her look like peach blossoms being blown in the wind in March. Her jet-black, silky hair cascaded down, her slightly tipsy face carrying a hint of alcohol, alluring.

Suddenly, Li Wenjian bent down, embraced her waist, and lifted her to sit on the edge of the bed.

His hair still dripping water, as he moved, droplets swayed and fell from his hair, landing on her neck.

Her eyelashes gently trembled as she heard his voice, whispering softly, "A Heng has a sharp mind, a firm resolve, a kind nature...How can you be considered as having nothing?"

Zhao Heng lifted her gaze, the cool and faint scent emanating from him, his breath so close, his voice like gently rippling warm water.

In the warm glow of the palace lamp, his features seemed somewhat mysterious.

She stared at him blankly, then suddenly reached up to hug his neck, planting a gentle kiss on his lips.

Lightly, she pulled back a bit, smiling up at him with raised eyes. "I really like your lips, they speak so beautifully."

But in the next moment, he reached out, grasped her chin, one hand bracing on the edge of the bed, and kissed her lips, their breaths becoming erratic. His long, feathery eyelashes lightly brushed her eyelids, a slight tingling sensation, as if feathers were grazing her soles.

The gentle and slow kiss gradually became intense and impassioned. Li Wenjian felt as if he were engulfed in scorching lava, rolling and tormented, with the molten magma flowing in his heart. He was torn between savoring the sweetness in his mouth and maintaining his composure. Teetering on the edge of losing control, he finally released Zhao Heng.

But her slender arms were entwined around his neck, keeping him trapped within the circle of her embrace.

"Do you not want me, Your Highness?" Zhao Heng's robe slipped down to her elbows, revealing her snow-white arms, her eyes slightly reddened as she gazed at him.

Li Wenjian raised his gaze, looking at his small reflection in her watery eyes, he was tempted and kissed her eyes, then her face, and finally whispered by her ear. The warm breath slowly filled her ear, causing her body to involuntarily tense.

"I do." His voice was hoarse, his throat rolling as he whispered softly by her ear, "A Heng, I am on medication."

The moist kisses on her body lingered like sparks igniting a prairie fire.

Zhao Heng's eyelashes trembled, looking at Li Wenjian. He leaned down with a peculiar red hue in his eyes, his slightly pulsating throat, and heavy breaths, all indicating his restrained patience.

The intoxication of the alcohol had clouded her judgment completely. Her fingertips hooked onto his collar, and the suppressed emotions flooded her reason at that moment.

She willingly surrendered herself to his tenderness.

The wind blew through the window lattice, causing the shadows on the curtains to sway gently.

———

Author's Note:

Li Wenjian: According to Physician Xu's guidelines for optimal reproduction, we are not suitable for sharing a bed at the moment.

A Heng: It's okay, let's practice something else first...

———

TNote:

[1] 姑姑 (Gūgū): Father's Side; Refers to your father's sister, your paternal aunt.

[2] 姨娘 (Yíniáng): Mother's Side; Refers to your mother's sister, your maternal aunt.