âHaha! Ruo Er, weâre going to have another baby!â After knowing his wife was one-month pregnant, Xue Li kept smiling.
âLi!â Feng Ruo Er looked at her husband, who was absolutely too excited now, with a complicated face. She couldnât help but pull his sleeve and quietly said, âPlease donât laugh that loud.â Almost all the villagers in Fan Hua Town knew sheâs pregnant.
âWhatâs the problem?â Xue Li shrugged in disapproval. Then, he carefully hugged Feng Ruo Er. âAlright, letâs go, go. Donât stand for a long time. That girl said our baby isnât stable. You need to rest well. Hmm, could it be because of the bumpy journey on the horse carriage here? If Iâve known this, I wouldnât have agreed with you to come to this rural area. Now, how can we go back to the palace? The tiresome trip will take at least a dozen days.â Xue Li couldnât help but furrow his brows thinking about the trip back home after the Mid-Autumn Festival.
âDarling!â Feng Ruo Er cast Xue Li a glance as she smiled. âJing Zhi only said that I just need to rest well for a couple days. She didnât mean my bodyâs too weak. Moreover, you shouldnât talk nonsense. If people hear that, they will laugh at my face.â
Perhaps it was because she was pregnant after more than twenty years, she felt somewhat tired these days. She had thought it was because of her long journey on the horse carriage. She didnât expect the real cause was her pregnancy.
As she was a forty-some woman, it would be embarrassing for others to find out she was pregnant again.
âWho dares!â Xue Liâs face darkened. âYouâre the Queen of Blood Union with a dragon baby. Who dares talk behind your back!â
âI just made an example. Why are you so mad?â Feng Ruo Er reluctantly threw him a glance. Annoyed, she swung his hand supporting her away, walking to their bedroom.
âIâm not mad at you⌠Alright, alright, Iâm just too happy. I canât believe I still have a chance to have another child. Be careful, youâre pregnant nowâŚâ
âChild! Child! If you wanted more children, why didnât you learn from your father and have more wivesâŚâ
âRuo Er!â Xue Li grunted, stopping Feng Ruo Erâs tongue-slipping. âWeâve been married for so many years. Are you not familiar with my character yet? You can joke about everything but not this.â
âIâm sorry! Li, I just lost my mind. I didnât mean thatâŚâ Seeing Xue Liâs serious face, Feng Ruo Er knew she had let her rage overwhelm her mind and said something that hurt Xue Li.
As Xue Li had said, they had been a married couple for so many years and had been through so many ups and downs. Of course, she knew he had made his fatherâs actions a warning to himself. The most direct aftermath of having more wives and concubines was to endanger the stability and well-being of the Blood Unionâs royals.
In addition, even though their son was kidnapped and they didnât have a clue about his whereabouts for more than twenty years, even though she had missed Zhan-er a lot she couldnât bear another child, for Xue Li, during a long course of time, he had never mentioned that he would marry more wives to lengthen the royal bloodline. It was because he was worried that one day, if his son was still alive, his other brothers from different mothers would kill each other for the throne. Just like he and Xue Ying. And it would rain blood over the imperial palace of Blood Union.
In other words, Xue Yingâs event had deprived Xue Liâs intention to expand his harem in Blood Union.
How could she not know how happy he was when he knew she got pregnant! How could she mock and stimulate him like that! How stupid of her!
âI know.â Xue Li couldnât scold her further when he saw her self-blaming face. He sighed, hugging Feng Ruo Er. âRuo Er, when we married, I told you that I needed only you for the rest of my life. I always meant what I said. The numbers of my fatherâs wives were as many as the fish in the river. I have never wished I could be like him one day. On the contrary, I just wanted to use a torch to burn down his entire harem. Listen to me!â Xue Li gently placed his hand on Feng Ruo Erâs mouth to stop her from giving him some comforting words. Slowly, he expressed his heart. âWhen Zhan-er was born that year, I already decided that you wouldnât bear more children. Itâs enough that we got Zhan-er since weâre not sure if we have more children, that they could live together in harmony. Our son was just one year old when Xue Yan kidnapped him. Even though twenty-four years passed by, I have never given up searching for him. But you know, the hope to see him again seems so vague to us. Thatâs why I ordered the imperial doctor to treat you in the hope that you could bear more children for the royal family. But⌠I know that you were so hurt you didnât even want to live anymore when Zhan-er remained missing. You insisted that it was your fault that Xue Yan got a chance to deploy her scheme. So, even after twenty-years, you havenât got rid of that shadow. Doctor Liang was right. It would be very hard for you to bear another child as long as the knot in your heart hasnât been untied. So I decided from then, that it was okay not to have a son of my own. At most, I would choose an excellent child in our extended family to inherit my throne. Since then, I havenât asked the doctor to treat you anymore. Everything should go with its natural flow. I havenât tried to force anything. But even so, Rou Er, I have never thought about marrying more wives. If Iâve ever lied to you, I will be struck by lightning to deathâŚâ Feng Ruo Er suddenly raised her hand to stop him from speaking the last four words. She smiled, her tears rolling, and the agony in her heart vanished.
âI understand. How could I not understand?â She said in a low voice. Because she understood, she felt more guilty.
âItâs good then. We had a frank talk today and it would save my sincerity from your doubt. Ruo Er, havenât you seen that? From my generation onward, the men of the Xue family are all very loyal.â Xue Li scanned the bamboo bushes not far from him. Under the quiet sunlight of the afternoon, the figure over there didnât hide or intervene with their conversation. Under the sun, he looked less resistant and more tolerant.
He should have heard, right? As he was the son and after listening to his fatherâs confession, no matter what, he should call his father âfatherâ and Feng Ruo Er âmotherâ once?
No matter what, they had never given up on him for the last twenty-four years. Not even for a moment.
Xue Li embraced his wife. He purposely sat on the wooden bench in front of their room in Bamboo Garden. He waited for a while before sneaking another glance. Heht? That blue figure was no longer there.