Dongfang Heng knew the name of his partner, and Shen Lixue knew it too, but she didn't say it outright. Cooperating with the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang to steal their own country's cannons, what was that person trying to do? Was he trying to harm their own country? Or did he have some other scheme?
"Qin Junhao has lived in Qingyan for so long and has a wide network of connections. It's not surprising that he learned about the cannon more than ten days later."
Dongfang Heng lowered his head and lightly kissed Shen Lixue's forehead like a dragonfly skimming the water. Her fair skin was as delicate as porcelain, with a pearly luster. Looking at her, he felt a surge of emotion. Unconsciously, his kisses landed on her eyebrows, cheeks, and soft cherry lips, gradually deepening, becoming intense and entangled, reluctant to part.
Dongfang Xun's carrier pigeon messages were urgent. They had been traveling at breakneck speed for half a month, and Shen Lixue was exhausted and slept for very long. Dongfang Heng did not disturb her. In addition, when taking care of the Holy King and Holy Queen, the two of them were also busy. If you count carefully, it had been more than twenty days since they had been intimate.
Her soft, delicate body was incredibly comfortable to hold. Dongfang Heng couldn't resist savoring her scent. His jade-like fingers gently untied the ribbon of her nightgown and caressed her smooth, creamy skin.
Dongfang Heng's kiss was fierce and violent, leaving Shen Lixue breathless. Her face flushed crimson, her slender arms gently entwined around his neck, her body as soft as spring water. Her shallow breaths gradually turned into rapid gasps, and broken moans escaped her lips: "Heng... um... Heng... I... can't breathe..."
Her beautiful, dreamy eyes were filled with a thin layer of mist, making her look so endearing that it was hard to breathe.
"Xue'er!" Dongfang Heng sighed softly, releasing those two cherry lips that he couldn't resist, and kissed her neck with varying depths of kisses, instantly staining her fair skin with bright red blushes.
Her jade-like fingers deftly removed her silk nightgown, sliding down her smooth skin to her alabaster back, and gently untied the straps of her crimson bodice.
Shen Lixue's beautiful eyes were glazed over, and she felt a cool sensation on her chest. Before she could even gasp in surprise, a burning kiss landed on her skin, igniting flames all over her body. Her body went limp and weak, as if it no longer belonged to her and was completely out of her control: "Heng." The low call carried an indescribable ambiguity.
Dongfang Heng's body was burning hot as he gently bit Shen Lixue's earlobe and murmured, "Xue'er."
A wave of dizziness washed over Shen Lixue, and sleepiness suddenly overwhelmed her. Her mind was hazy when she suddenly remembered that she was nearly two months pregnant. Seeing that Dongfang Heng was about to become one with her, she abruptly opened her eyes and pushed Dongfang Heng away.
Caught off guard, Dongfang Heng was pushed aside. His confused and infatuated eyes instantly cleared, and he looked at her, who was wrapped tightly in the quilt, with a puzzled expression: "Li Xue, what's wrong with you?"
"The fetus is unstable within the first three months. Our baby is only two months old and hasn't passed the critical period of three months, so we can't have sex for now." Shen Lixue gently stroked her flat stomach. Fortunately, she woke up in time, otherwise, the baby might have been in danger.
Dongfang Heng's face instantly darkened: "Who said that?" The doctor at the clinic during the day clearly did not mention this matter.
"That's what it says in medical books." Shen Lixue was well-versed in medical books. The fact that a fetus is unstable in the first three months is common knowledge in modern times. Many people know this, and as a doctor, she naturally knew it too.
"Really?" Dongfang Heng's handsome face was so dark it could drip ink. There were so many taboos after a woman became pregnant. How come he had never heard of them before?
"Of course it's true, why would I lie to you?" Shen Lixue picked up the bellyband and robe that had fallen to the side, put them on one by one, and also picked up Dongfang Heng's white robe and draped it over him: "The child is still young and can't take any more stress, please be understanding."
Shen Lixue smiled, but her expression was serious, showing no sign of joking. Dongfang Heng felt a surge of anger in his chest. His jade-like fingers gently stroked Shen Lixue's flat stomach through her bathrobe as he gritted his teeth and said, "This little rascal, he really came at the worst possible time." If he had known there were so many taboos for pregnant women, he would have waited eight or ten years before having a child.
Uh! Shen Lixue was taken aback, her cheeks flushed with a rosy hue: "Didn't you say that Grandpa wanted to hold his great-grandson and that we should work harder?" When he learned that she was pregnant, Heng's joy radiated from his heart, and he really liked the child. Why is he saying he doesn't like him (her) now?
He wanted to spend more time with his wife, so he used his grandfather's words to put her in her place. He also wanted to use the child to keep her tied down and prevent other men from getting between them.
Who would have thought that having a child would bring so many taboos? Li Xue always puts the child first, and for the sake of the child, she wants him to abstain from sex and stop having intimate contact with her every night. She doesn't need anyone else to interfere; he should just step aside: "Grandpa is still in good health. It's the same if he holds his great-grandchild again in a few years."
"Li Xue, when we were in Xiliang, we didn't know you were pregnant. We were together many times. Now, if we have sex again, it shouldn't have much of an impact on the baby, right?" Dongfang Heng hugged Shen Li Xue tightly, gently kissing his wife's eyebrows and eyes, subtly influencing her.
At the Xiliang Villa, the two were intimate every night, and the child was not affected in the slightest. Now, Li Xue's pregnancy has not become apparent. Just like when they were intimate without knowing it, it should not have a big impact.
“I was only one month pregnant at the time, and the baby was still very small, so intercourse didn’t have much of an impact. Now I’m two months pregnant, and the baby is growing up. If there’s any more intense activity, it will definitely affect him.”
Shen Lixue didn't know she was pregnant at the time, and that's why she let Dongfang Heng lead her on such a wild spree. Now that she knows she's pregnant, she has to be even more careful. Dongfang Heng doesn't know anything about medicine, but she does. She has to carefully persuade him to give up the idea of having sex for the sake of the child's health.
“He’s only two months old now, and he still has seven or eight months to grow up. Then, you’ll have to go through postpartum confinement. I’ll have to endure at least eight months of this.” Dongfang Heng bit Shen Lixue’s earlobe tightly, his sharp eyes flashing with anger. Eight months, more than two hundred days and nights, every night he would hold his beloved wife as they fell asleep, but he could only look at her and not touch her. How was he supposed to endure that kind of pain?
"The medical books say that after three months, when the fetus is stable, intercourse can be appropriate. You don't need to wait that long; one month is enough." Shen Lixue buried her face in Dongfang Heng's arms, her slender arms tightly hugging his chest. Listening to his strong heartbeat, she gently closed her eyes, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned, a warm happiness surrounding her.
Dongfang Heng sighed heavily, burying his face in Shen Lixue's fragrant neck, greedily inhaling her unique scent: a month, thirty days, felt like an eternity to him.
That little rascal, couldn't he have waited a few years before coming back? The two of them had only been married for a few months, and hadn't even had a few days of happiness and sweetness before he (or she) came to ruin things, disrupting all the loving moments between husband and wife.
The soft, fragrant body in his arms made Dongfang Heng's mind wander. He tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. Turning his head, he saw that Shen Lixue was already asleep. Her beautiful face was fair with a rosy glow, her long eyelashes were curled, and her cherry-red lips were slightly pursed and swollen. Her peaceful and serene sleeping face was so beautiful that one couldn't bear to defile it.
The collar of the bathrobe was slightly open, revealing a long, slender neck covered with light, faint kiss marks—Dongfang Heng's handiwork.
In the past, Dongfang Heng would always smile when he saw these marks, because it meant that Li Xue belonged to him, and only he could leave these marks on her.
But now he sees those hickeys no longer as a mark of victory, but as a little mockery of him. He can't leave those marks on her for a month, and whether he can after a month depends on the condition of the baby in her womb.
It's truly frustrating that his actions, as the mighty Azure Flame War God, are being controlled by a little guy who hasn't even been born yet.
With his soft, fragrant body in his arms, Dongfang Heng was wide awake, yet unable to be intimate with his beloved wife, he suppressed his surging desire and looked out at the dark night: Qin Junhao had conspired with someone to steal the cannon, but was forced to hand it over by Mu Zhengnan. The cooked duck had flown away, and he must be extremely frustrated. When he got back, he would definitely be furious...
As Dongfang Heng had expected, Qin Junhao forced Mu Zhengnan to his death. With a gloomy expression, he left the Ministry of Justice hall and returned to the inn. He angrily kicked open the door.
Inside the room, a tall, slender figure in a deep blue robe stood by the window, his back to him. Hearing the loud noise, he didn't turn around, but coldly said, "You're back."
Qin Junhao was taken aback, then slammed the door shut and frowned at the figure in azure: "Why are you here?"
"Let's see why you've been secretly plotting against me." The azure figure turned around, revealing a handsome face, refined demeanor, and eyes that were gentle yet chilling—it was none other than Dongfang Zhan: "Do you still remember what we agreed on back then?"
Qin Junhao raised an eyebrow: "Our plan is to steal the cannon, frame Dongfang Xun for dereliction of duty, then bombard a sparsely populated town with the cannon to exacerbate Dongfang Xun's guilt and force him to commit suicide. After that, Prince Zhan will lead his troops to retrieve the cannon, achieve great merit, and gain the emperor's trust..."
"It's truly remarkable that Crown Prince Qin still remembers my plan." Dongfang Zhan's gaze was icy, filled with sarcasm and mockery.
"I have always remembered what Prince Zhan instructed me to do." Qin Junhao smiled faintly, mysterious and eerie, like the golden vines embroidered on his white brocade robe.
"Is that so? According to the plan, the cannons would be placed in Taiyuan before attacking the town. What do you mean by secretly ordering them to be moved to Jingzhou?" Since the cannons were lost in Taiyuan, everyone assumed that the person who stole them would be rushing to their destination.
Dongfang Zhan then did the opposite, hiding the cannons in Taiyuan, waiting to choose a town to bombard and kill Dongfang Xun. However, in the morning, his men in Taiyuan sent a message by carrier pigeon that the cannons had been secretly taken away by Qin Junhao's men.
"I have already identified a small town and am preparing to bombard it, so I have brought the cannons there." Qin Junhao smiled slightly, answering fluently and unhurriedly, while inwardly cursing, "What a bunch of useless people, they can't even handle such a small matter."
"Why didn't you consult me before taking action after finding a good town? This is my Qingyan, not your Southern Frontier. It's not your place to give orders and make decisions arbitrarily. Or are you trying to secretly transport the cannons out of Qingyan and bring them back to your Southern Frontier?"
With the last sentence, Dongfang Zhan suddenly raised his voice, his gentle eyes reflecting a cold glint as he looked directly into Qin Junhao's eyes.
How could he forget that Qin Junhao was from the Southern Frontier and harbored ambitions to unify the world? With such a powerful weapon as a cannon, Qin Junhao would surely be tempted to take it for himself. Fortunately, he took extra precautions; otherwise, the cannon would have been taken to the Southern Frontier, and its muzzle would no longer have been aimed at Qingyan Town, but at Qingyan Capital.
“Your Highness Zhan, Dongfang Xun is the heir apparent of the Holy King. My conspiracy with you to scheme against him carries a great risk. If the truth comes out one day, I will also be implicated. Exchanging one of your cannons for him is not unreasonable.” Smart people don’t need to beat around the bush. Dongfang Zhan had already guessed what had happened, so there was no need for him to hide it anymore. He argued with Dongfang Zhan frankly.