Shen Lixue was both annoyed and amused. Dongfang Heng and the child in her womb were two completely different concepts: "You're even jealous of your own son?"
Dongfang Heng closed his eyes and remained silent. Before she was even born, he had already taken away most of Shen Lixue. If she were born, he would definitely take her away completely. If he had known this would happen, he would not have had a child so early.
After finishing the last stitch, Shen Lixue cut the thread, put away the basket, and placed it on the bedside table. The person beside her rested his chin on her shoulder, silent, as if sulking. She sighed helplessly, turned around, and hugged his neck.
"I've wanted to make clothes for you for a long time, but I was afraid my needlework was too bad to be presentable, so I practiced on baby clothes. Now I'm quite skilled, and I'll go choose the fabric tomorrow to make clothes for you."
"Really?" When Shen Lixue was making her first baby clothes, Dongfang Heng was watching from the side. The stitches were even and the movements were skillful, even better than the embroiderers in the silk shop. Those embroiderers were not even worthy of being called presentable.
"Of course it's true, why would I lie to you?" Shen Lixue didn't know anything about needlework, but the original owner did. She had the original owner's memories and was naturally good at needlework. The baby was her first child in both her lives, and she wanted to give him all her maternal love, so of course she would make clothes for him herself.
As for Dongfang Heng, she was always busy after they got married and couldn't find the time to make clothes. Later, when she had some free time, she also became pregnant and really neglected him. She made a piece of clothing as compensation.
That's more like it!
The jealousy in Dongfang Heng's eyes subsided, and his strong arms tightened around Shen Lixue's back, his sexy thin lips gently pressing against her cherry-red lips.
Shen Lixue blinked and looked into his deep eyes: "Heng, what have you been busy with lately, leaving early and returning late?" For the past two weeks, he hasn't returned home until after midnight, and tonight he's the first one back.
"It's still about the severe drought in western Hunan," Dongfang Heng said calmly, gently kissing her brow.
Shen Lixue's gaze sharpened: "The Fifth Prince has sent word."
"To be more precise, the news came from the accompanying ministers." A cold, gleaming light flashed in Dongfang Heng's deep eyes: "After the Fifth Prince arrived in Xiangxi, in addition to the usual distribution of porridge, silver, and disaster relief, he organized the disaster victims together, distributed tools, and had them dig waterways, build reservoirs, store water, and divert water from distant rivers for irrigation. The severe drought in Xiangxi was quickly brought under control. Those refugees and bandits driven to desperation by hunger were also impressed by the Fifth Prince's skillful methods, and voluntarily abandoned their weapons and surrendered, joining the ranks of those digging waterways..."
"The Fifth Prince is truly a rare talent." Shen Lixue's eyes lit up, and she sincerely praised him. In this backward ancient times, it was remarkable that he could think of digging waterways and diverting water for irrigation to solve the drought.
A rare talent? A hint of mockery flashed in Dongfang Heng's dark eyes: "He's using your flood control methods to control drought."
Six months ago, Shen Lixue devised a method to control floods: digging irrigation canals to divert water to the uninhabited Lingnan region, thus relieving the floods in Jiangnan. The Fifth Prince followed suit, digging waterways to bring water from afar for irrigation, thus alleviating the drought in Xiangxi.
"Then he is very clever. None of the ministers who went with him came up with this idea." The ministers were all more capable than the Fifth Prince in terms of age and seniority, yet they all lagged behind him. This shows that the Fifth Prince is a very insightful person. Of course, if it were the Prince of Zhan or the Crown Prince who went to Xiangxi for disaster relief, they should also have been able to think of this method.
"After this incident, the Fifth Prince's prestige must be at its zenith."
Dongfang Heng's sharp eyes narrowed: "Looking at the reports submitted by the ministers, the Fifth Prince was very impressive. When he left Xiangxi, the people lined the streets to see him off and admired him greatly."
Shen Lixue was taken aback: "The Fifth Prince is returning to the capital?"
"The drought in western Hunan has been greatly alleviated. Waterways have been dredged, parched fields have been irrigated, and seeds have been sown. The harvest will come soon. There are officials there to distribute porridge. The Fifth Prince has nothing to do in western Hunan, so he will naturally return to the capital to report. If nothing unexpected happens, he should be able to arrive in the capital in three days at most."
There will definitely be rewards for meritorious service, and he might even be granted the title of king ahead of schedule. The Qingyan Imperial Palace will no longer be a place where the Crown Prince and Zhan Wang are evenly matched, but rather a three-way power struggle between the Crown Prince, Zhan Wang, and the Fifth Prince.
"The Fifth Prince has been pretending for many years and has no experience in fighting enemies. His high-profile return to the capital, with his reputation at its zenith, will definitely cause trouble."
Shen Lixue doesn't concern herself with state affairs, but she knows that the Fifth Prince and the Crown Prince are brothers. No matter who becomes emperor, the interests of the Ye State Duke's Mansion will not be harmed. However, Dongfang Zhan is their adversary. For many years, he has fought fiercely with the Crown Prince. He will not allow another powerful opponent to emerge and compete with him for the throne, especially since this person is the Crown Prince's younger brother. If the brothers join forces, he will be at a complete disadvantage.
"Let them do whatever they want with their affairs. We shouldn't worry about it. It's late, let's rest." The struggle for the throne has been passed down through generations, and no one can change that. Their anxiety is futile.
Dongfang Heng's jade-like fingers had somehow unfastened the jade buttons on Shen Lixue's nightgown, gently removing her silk nightgown. His sensual thin lips held her soft, fragrant cherry lips, sucking and licking them.
Shen Lixue's delicate body trembled slightly, her alabaster arms clinging tightly to his neck as she responded to his kiss. Dongfang Heng was in the prime of his life, and a month of abstinence was the limit. The danger period had passed, and as long as there were no overly strenuous movements, the child would be fine. Shen Lixue did not object to intimacy with him.
Encouraged, Dongfang Heng deepened the kiss, his nimble tongue deftly parting her pearly teeth, expanding its territory within her mouth. His strong chest grew increasingly hot, and his jade-like fingers traced her silky skin, moving down her back and gently untying the straps of her crimson bodice.
Dongfang Heng's kiss was as fierce as a storm, and Shen Lixue almost couldn't breathe. Her face turned red, and her shallow breaths gradually turned into rapid breaths. Her bodice fell to the ground, a scene of boundless spring, arousing one's thoughts.
Dongfang Heng's sharp eyes narrowed instantly, and a gentle kiss landed on her chest, leaving behind a trail of red plum blossoms.
The heartwarming and affectionate scene was reflected in the lattice window. Dongfang Zhan, standing on the roof, saw it all clearly. He clenched his fists tightly, and a flash of anger appeared in his sharp eyes. Was Dongfang Heng deliberately provoking him by asking Chen Lixue to appear in front of him?
Inside the room, spring was in full bloom. Shen Lixue's face was flushed like a sunset, and her dreamy eyes were veiled in mist, making her look hazy and endearing.
Dongfang Heng caught a glimpse of the lattice window out of the corner of his eye, his sharp pupils suddenly narrowed, and he waved his hand, knocking down the luminous pearl on the wall, plunging the bright room into darkness instantly.
Before Shen Lixue could even wonder, her lips were sealed, and her body tensed as Dongfang Heng's strong arms held her tightly in his embrace, pulling her down into an ever-deepening haze.
The darkness of night could not conceal the vibrant spring atmosphere filling the room. The sturdy, carved bed creaked and groaned, as if playing a joyful symphony.
Dongfang Zhan stood on the rooftop, looking at the dark window. His dark eyes grew deeper and deeper. He couldn't hear anything from a distance, but he knew that the two of them were doing the most intimate thing between husband and wife. A faint smile appeared on his lips, but it was tinged with an indescribable bitterness.
Bai Yu took out a small bamboo flute with her white fingers, put it to her lips and gently played it. The melodious flute music quickly spread in the quiet night.
The bamboo flute is entirely blue, its color very dull, clearly indicating that it has been around for some time. Yet, the flute's sound is melodious and pleasant to the ear, telling a poignant and beautiful story.
As Shen Lixue gradually regained consciousness, she listened intently to the beautiful flute music and secretly admired it. She wondered who this exceptional musician was…
A sudden pain shot through her lower body, nearly causing her delicate frame to collapse. She glared fiercely at the culprit on top of her, her beautiful eyes blazing with fury: "Dongfang Heng, couldn't you be a little gentler?"
"Who told you to daydream?" Dongfang Heng lowered his head and bit Shen Lixue's shoulder, giving her a small lesson for being distracted.
Shen Lixue groaned in pain, her body limp as he held her tightly in his arms, showering her with his love. She wanted to punch him a few times, but she was too weak to do so. She glared at him resentfully: "Don't you think the flute music is very beautiful and suitable for prenatal education?"
Of course, this is on the premise that the poignant music is replaced with relatively cheerful lyrics and famous songs.
"Prenatal education?" Dongfang Heng didn't understand her modern terminology.
"It's about educating the fetus," Shen Lixue explained simply. "It's said that if a fetus listens to a lot of beautiful music in the womb, it will be very intelligent after birth." This is a conclusion reached by modern experts, but Shen Lixue hasn't experimented with it yet and doesn't know if it's true or not.
"Then I'll play the flute for you and your daughter tomorrow, so you won't have to listen to this annoying flute music anymore." Shen Lixue didn't know who was listening to the flute music, but he knew that in the dead of night, instead of spending time with his principal wife and concubines, he came to play the flute outside his and Lixue's Maple Pine Courtyard. He really had the leisure to do so. Unfortunately, they had no interest in listening.
Dongfang Heng covered Shen Lixue's ears with his white jade hands, his sexy thin lips tightly sealing her slightly swollen cherry lips, while also increasing the speed and force.
Unable to resist his gentle advances, Shen Lixue gradually succumbed to his charms, abandoning the sounds of the flute outside and climbing peak after peak with him in Wushan until she exhausted her last bit of strength and fell asleep in his arms, completely worn out.
The Fifth Prince returned from disaster relief and made great contributions. The people of the capital praised him, and in a short time, the previously unknown Fifth Prince became a rising star among the princes, sharing the spotlight with the Crown Prince and Prince Zhan.
The welcoming banquet for the Fifth Prince was lively and bustling. Shen Lixue sat at the table and watched him holding a wine cup, moving among the civil and military officials. He was dressed in a long robe and had his hair tied up with a jade crown. Most of the childishness on his face had faded, replaced by a gentle and proper smile. His deep and sharp eyes were very similar to those of the Crown Prince and Prince Zhan.