Is My Wife Pregnant Today? [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 23.1

Fine, rapid breaths hit the crook of his neck. Zelan tried his best to stay calm, but under Yu Xianqing’s gaze, his ears still turned completely red.

What to do?

His beautiful blue eyes flickered with a nervous expression in his daze.

Yu Xianqing adjusted his posture, silently using his body to shield Zelan. He gathered the cloak to hide the suspicious wet patch and comforted him in a low voice: “It’s alright, Your Highness. Don’t be afraid now.”

As long as no one looked closely, they probably wouldn’t notice.

“It’s all my fault, I actually forgot about this.”

Yu Xianqing pulled a handkerchief from his robe and said in a voice only the two of them could hear: “I’ll help you now.”

The chain clinked softly. To outsiders, the Imperial Concubine seemed to snuggle into the Prince’s embrace out of fatigue.

A hand slithered inside like a snake. Zelan’s body stiffened slightly as he felt the absorbent handkerchief being stuffed in.

The handkerchief was made of micro-nano material with very strong absorption capabilities. Yu Xianqing manually adjusted the position; Zelan’s body trembled slightly, and he held him even tighter, burying his head in Yu Xianqing’s shoulder, his breath scalding: “Yu Xianqing…”

The slightly curled white hair tickled his neck. Yu Xianqing said tenderly: “Your Highness, not now. We’re in a meeting; we’ll talk about it when we get back.”

“…”

The natural friction of the handkerchief made Zelan very uncomfortable.

Zelan ground his fangs. He suspected the human was doing it on purpose, but he had no evidence.

The leopard ears drooped. Zelan thought self-destructively that since he had been tricked so many times anyway, being tricked once more didn’t matter.

“Zelan.” Air noticed a slight abnormality at this moment and called out, “Is there somewhere you are uncomfortable?”

The strategists on both sides were arguing fiercely. Albert, who was also involved, heard Air’s voice and was reminded of his notorious record. He instinctively turned around and, like a protective mother hen, said righteously:

“Prince Air, the Commander has said that you must speak with him through official channels. Do not have private conversations!”

Air: “…”

He gave the rabbit adjutant an extra look and said patiently, “Adjutant of the Stuart family, I merely wish to have a chat with my imperial brother.”

Albert was already worked up, forgetting the racial suppression of predators: “That won’t do either!”

Air fell silent for a moment, then looked at Zelan. “…Is this how you discipline your adjutants?”

Zelan seemed to just react, raising his eyes to look at him, his voice low and hoarse: “What?”

He had actually been distracted.

Air stared at him fixedly, then suddenly said with disappointment: “Zelan, I didn’t expect that after one trip out, you would not only learn to defy imperial edicts, but also engage in wanton play with the Imperial Concubine during such an important meeting, bringing bedroom matters into the open. No wonder Father was driven to confusion, you have simply disappointed me too much.”

As soon as these words were spoken, all the voices in the room instantly quieted down.

The clarity in Zelan’s eyes fully returned. He suddenly let out a cold laugh and lowered his gaze.

Yu Xianqing opened his eyes: “Prince Air, do you have any evidence for those words?”

Air: “Would I ever wrong my own brother?”

Yu Xianqing: “I didn’t say that. It’s just that I highly doubt whether you truly understand Prince Zelan.”

Air did not choose to answer directly. Instead, he looked at Zelan again, speaking with the majesty of an elder brother tempered with gentleness: “Is it this human who turned you into this?”

Zelan looked up: “Turned me into what? I was always like this. Or rather, does Imperial Brother actually not know me at all?”

It was the first time Zelan had spoken to him with such sharp, biting words, his expression piercing, devoid of any past warmth.

For a moment, Air truly realized—something had completely spiraled out of control.

The two sides did not negotiate a satisfactory condition, nor did Air and Zelan speak further.

However, Yu Xianqing’s private account received a message from a mysterious IP.

“There are matters to discuss. If there is a need, come to No. 1279, South District.”

It was an abandoned building complex not far away.

Zelan was overwhelmed with work, and his supervision of Yu Xianqing was very loose. If he snuck out, he could go undetected for fifteen minutes.

But once it exceeded fifteen minutes, Zelan’s people would definitely arrive.

Yu Xianqing went in the end.

This was part of the plan, though it had been moved up significantly.

He arrived at the agreed-upon place.

A room, hidden and dark within the abandoned building, stood quietly. There was no door. He reached the destination; an old table held a pot of tea.

Air was brewing tea. Seeing him, he gestured for him to sit.

“Please.”

There was no one else around. The room was quiet, without even a breeze.

Yu Xianqing sat opposite him: “What did you want to see me about?”

Air did not answer immediately. He pushed a cup of tea toward him: “Would you like a taste?”

Yu Xianqing lowered his eyelashes, quietly watching the steam floating above the clear tea.

“Don’t worry, it isn’t poisoned.” Air smiled. “As soon as you came here, I’m afraid it won’t be long before everyone receives the news. If I were to strike now, wouldn’t I be handing a loaded gun to Zelan?”

Yu Xianqing laughed too. He picked up the teacup and suddenly drained it in one gulp.

“Good tea.”

Air matched him, picking up his cup and drinking the tea: “I have offended you much recently. It was my fault. I apologize to you.”

“No need.”

The cup landed on the edge of the table with a light clink.

“There’s no need for riddles. Please speak plainly,” Yu Xianqing said. “I am still quite busy.”

Air smiled slowly. “Good. Mr. Yu is a straightforward person. Since we’re being honest, are you interested in taking over the entire Planet Nightingale as its Lord, in place of Zelan?”

Yu Xianqing looked at him in surprise. Air intended to continue dangling the bait, but to his surprise, Yu Xianqing shrugged and said: “Not interested.”

Air’s voice dropped low: “As far as I know, Zelan has abused you. Don’t you want to take revenge on him?”

Yu Xianqing: “I don’t.”

Air froze for a moment. “Why?”

Yu Xianqing: “Do you know about Stockholm Syndrome? That’s me. You’re too gentle to me. I don’t like people like you, Eldest Prince.”

Air: “…”

This human really was mentally ill.

No matter how dull he was, he realized Yu Xianqing was playing with him.

“Mr. Yu, do not blame me for not warning you.”

Air sneered. “If Zelan could abuse you once, he can abuse you a second time. Since he was a child, he has lacked nothing. You are indeed very beautiful and smart, but do you think he actually cares about you? No, all he cares about is himself. If you become useless to him, I believe he wouldn’t mind changing to a different Imperial Concubine.”

Yu Xianqing looked at him pensively: “Is that so?”

Air said: “Born into a noble family, many things are destined from birth. Rather than following Zelan and enduring his tyranny, wouldn’t it be better to hold the power yourself and keep the right to choose in your own hands?”

“That makes sense.” Yu Xianqing nodded.

Just as Air thought he had persuaded him, Yu Xianqing spoke calmly.

“But as I thought, you don’t understand Zelan enough.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Zelan already knows everything you’ve done over the years.”

Yu Xianqing laid his cards on the table: “I once advised him to get rid of you as soon as possible, but he was unwilling. To him, even if you hurt him, the affection given over these years wasn’t fake. He can’t bring himself to harm his own brother, and he never thought about threatening your power.”

“Even Planet Nightingale—he only came because you told him to. You know this best yourself.”

Air seemed to have been hit by a pause button. He froze for a few seconds. His expression showed no fluctuation, but his features were steeped in a few shades of heartless chill:

“So what. Are you saying these things now because you want me to repent?”

“I don’t mean that.” Yu Xianqing said. “I won’t ask an ambitious man to give up his life’s pursuit, because I can’t do it.”

“I just want to tell you that you take Zelan’s feelings too lightly. You only see that he was born noble like you, but you don’t see how he was feared and alienated by others since he was young. You don’t see that he loves you because you were the only person who was somewhat decent to him since he was small.”

The teacup was gripped in Air’s hand, the rim nearly cracking. The smile on his face could no longer be maintained.

“Mr. Yu, I think there is no need for further nonsense.”

“Is it really nonsense?” Yu Xianqing suddenly stood up, leaned over the table, and walked toward Air. “Your Highness, I don’t care about any so-called power. Your ambition is very boring to me because your temptations hold no attraction. However, there is one thing I have been curious about for a long time.”

“Your mother and your father are closely related by blood. So, are you naturally sterile?”

Yu Xianqing reached out his hand toward him, only for it to be grabbed violently. Air’s tone was struggling to suppress a violent rage.

“Yu Xianqing, do you think I don’t dare to kill you?”

“You dare too much.”

Yu Xianqing burst into laughter. Amidst Air’s changing expression, blood slowly flowed from the corner of his mouth.

Air let go in shock, and Yu Xianqing fell to the floor as if he had no spine, grabbing Air’s pant leg.

“Your Highness… the tea is poisoned…”

“Impossible!” Air’s expression was about to shatter. He snatched Yu Xianqing’s cup and inspected it closely, suddenly seeing a trace of lipstick on it.

He lowered his head and pinched Yu Xianqing’s chin, finding a residue of red marks on his turning-blue lips.

“You swallowed the poison yourself…” Air shook his head in shock, finally realizing something. “You’re framing me?!”

“I don’t know what you mean.” Yu Xianqing wiped the blood from his mouth, but blood wouldn’t stop flowing, as if all the moisture in his body had turned to blood and was pouring out at this moment.

By the time Zelan personally led his troops to the scene, Yu Xianqing was being strangled by the collapsing Air, his whole body turning pale.

“Yu Xianqing!”

Zelan’s eyes were bloodshot as he witnessed this scene. Air’s soldiers also arrived instantly, blocking their path.

Zelan drew his star-sword. Every step splashed blood as his longsword pierced through an enemy’s heart. He didn’t even have time to pull it out, rushing frantically to the two of them. He kicked Air away and carefully pulled Yu Xianqing into his arms, roaring backward: “Qi Lin!!”

“It’s no use.” Yu Xianqing grabbed Zelan’s sleeve, with only enough breath left to exhale. He looked at Zelan’s belly: “I didn’t mean to die this early…”

“You won’t die!” Zelan held him tightly, causing pain even to the person about to lose consciousness. His tone was so disorganized it lost its melody. “Our cub hasn’t been born yet. Didn’t you like the cub? Don’t you want to see it? If you leave, what will happen to the cub? What will happen to me…”

Yu Xianqing’s dark pupils reflected his face, which was almost blank with grief. Zelan sobbed: “What will happen to me…”

Scalding tears fell onto his neck. Yu Xianqing felt a sudden, unexpected wave of sadness. He wanted to wipe away the tears, but he could no longer lift his hand.

He whispered, “I’m sorry, I have to go first.”

“Go? You’re not allowed to go! Where are you going? Where else are you going?” Zelan’s arrogant face was left with only the helplessness of intertwined anger and grief. “Where are you going? Tell me!”

Qi Lin reached them and looked at the scene in shock. Yu Xianqing gave him a look and slowly breathed his last in Zelan’s arms.

“Don’t go!” Zelan tried to wake Yu Xianqing, then turned his red eyes toward Qi Lin. “Hurry and look at him…”

Qi Lin half-knelt and checked, then shook his head: “It’s no use. The Imperial Concubine is dead. Please restrain your grief, Your Highness.”

“Dead? How could he be dead? He was fine yesterday!”

Zelan looked at him in disbelief, then looked at the human in his arms who had no breath left.

The human’s face was pale. The moment he closed his eyes, his body felt lighter, as if the soul had been pulled out in an instant.

“That is indeed the fact.” Qi Lin felt a strange complexity and calmness. Zelan, in his extreme grief, did not realize this.

His face was even paler than the corpse. After the shouting and crying, he lost all the strength that supported him. He simply buried his head in Yu Xianqing’s chest, his shoulders shaking as he held the lifeless corpse, not letting go for a long, long time.

The news of Air murdering the Human Prince spread quickly. After a while, not just the fringe systems, but the entire Empire and even neighboring countries knew.

For a time, it reached the number one spot on the star-net’s trending search, the popularity remaining high and sparking public outrage.

“Does he still qualify to be the heir? He actually murdered his brother’s spouse for power!”

“The spouse isn’t the point. The point is that he’s a Human Prince! Ahhh, I haven’t seen a living pureblood human in my life… why!”

“Support the death penalty! A prince who breaks the law should be treated like a commoner!”

Under various heated discussions, the official website of the Imperial family was soon bombarded by angry beastmen, briefly falling into a state of paralysis.

Air’s army was also forcibly brought under control. Under punishment, the physicians confessed the secret of Air ordering the development of the virus and handed over the antidote, which caused another massive wave of outrage online.

Air was thrown into military prison, awaiting trial by the Supreme Court.

When the old Emperor heard this terrible news, his already failing body collapsed completely, and he became bedridden.

Following the agreement, Fran bowed his head and became a subject to Zelan, quickly occupying a position on Planet Nightingale.

With Air’s downfall, Zelan, the only remaining Imperial descendant, became the focus. Everyone sent invitations wanting to visit, but all were rejected without exception.

Even Zelan himself never appeared in public again after the Imperial Concubine’s death.

By an even greater coincidence, on the day after Yu Xianqing died, the Queen far away in the Imperial Capital also exhausted her last bit of strength and passed away.

Inside the vast, empty funeral hall, Zelan wore black mourning clothes, stroking Yu Xianqing’s face in the ice coffin, expressionless.

He no longer wore a cloak. Everyone present saw his belly, which was close to full term.

Not many people attended the funeral. Zelan allowed no unauthorized persons near Yu Xianqing’s body. The clothes for his burial and the makeup for the enshroudment were all handled by Zelan personally.

The jade hairpin symbolizing the Queen was tucked into Yu Xianqing’s hair bun. Zelan suddenly remembered what his mother had said when he was very young.

“When you find someone you like in the future, give this to them.” The Queen had stroked little Zelan’s ears and said, “As long as they wear the hairpin, they will forever be Zelan’s wife. You will never be separated, they will always be yours.”

That’s right. The human was his.

No one could touch him, and no one could look at him.

Even in death, it was the same.

Fran, who was still feeling regret over the human’s death, was shocked when he saw Zelan’s protruding belly. He grabbed Qi Lin and stammered, “Holy shit, what is that in Prince Zelan’s belly? A tumor or the human’s child?”

Qi Lin didn’t want to talk to him, letting Fran chatter in his ear about things like “Humans really are humans, he could even manage this, truly a hidden talent” and “This child will be the eldest Imperial Grandson from now on.”

His mind was still preoccupied with what Yu Xianqing had instructed him before.

“I might leave for a while. As for the method, don’t worry about it. When the time comes, please do me a favor.”

Qi Lin took a deep breath and stepped forward: “Your Highness, the Imperial Concubine’s body would best be cremated.”

“I don’t allow it.” Zelan’s voice was hoarse. “I said, he is mine even in death.”

Qi Lin emboldened himself, lowered his head, and said seriously: “The Imperial Concubine said he didn’t like being bound. Surely being trapped in this ice coffin is not what he wanted.”

Zelan looked up at him sharply, like a reactive cat. Qi Lin was startled but found that Zelan’s eyes were vacant.

“What did he want?” Zelan asked in confusion. “I never knew. What did he like? What was his purpose in the end?”

He supported his belly, leaning over with effort to get close to Yu Xianqing’s face. His knuckles brushed against the eyelids, then instantly retracted as if burned by the icy temperature.

Albert stepped forward angrily and pushed Qi Lin away, his eyes red. Other than Zelan, he was the one most saddened by the human’s departure: “If you don’t know how to speak, don’t speak!”

“Albert.” Zelan suddenly called his name. “You don’t need to speak either.”

“I want to be alone with him for a while. All of you, leave.”

“Yes…” Albert wiped his tears. Before turning to leave, he suddenly remembered something and stuffed a terminal into Zelan’s hand, whispering: “This is something the Imperial Concubine left behind. He must have loved you very much.”

“Back when you collapsed and were unconscious, it was always the Imperial Concubine who personally fed you. When you woke up, he told us not to tell you anything.”

Zelan snapped his gaze toward him.

His fingers tightened, pinching his palm until it bled.

…Is that so.

No wonder he always felt a comfortable voice and a comfortable scent surrounding him. Zelan had only thought it was a dream.

Even though he had locked Yu Xianqing in the dungeon, said he would break his legs, and said so many excessive, crude, and angry words.

Yu Xianqing had never blamed him.

Zelan covered his eyes, moist tears flowing through his fingers.

He was such a bastard.

He was the stupidest, most unforgivable bastard in the world.

But Yu Xianqing wasn’t. Yu Xianqing was so wonderful, he should have survived.

The one who should have died was himself.

Zelan had never realized more clearly than now that he needed Yu Xianqing’s existence. Even if he had no energy like when he first woke up, at least he would be alive, able to laugh, tease, and gently rub his ears.

If Yu Xianqing could come back, Zelan would be willing to die in his place.

But he was no longer here.

Zelan’s belly started to hurt again.

He crouched down, clutching his abdomen. The cub, having lost a father, didn’t realize what had happened; it only instinctively felt the parent’s grief, rolling around inside, desperately hoping for the attention of its two fathers.

“Stop moving.” Zelan’s tears suddenly fell heavily. He gritted his teeth, enduring the pain. “From now on, it’s just the two of us. You have to be obedient.”

Both his mother and the Imperial Concubine were gone.

Only he and the cub were left to depend on each other.

When he first realized this, Zelan nearly went insane. He locked himself in his room, sleeping while holding Yu Xianqing’s corpse.

When the beastman’s lust flared up, Zelan would take the human’s cold hands and lead him to comfort himself.

“Look at me.”

Zelan sat on his waist, thinking of Yu Xianqing’s tone and temperature, thinking of his hands moving freely and gently. He grabbed the human’s hand, pretending it was him moving over his body, while biting his own tail to muffle his gasps.

“Yu Xianqing…”

The furry tail was soaked with tears and saliva, the tip drooping pitifully like a small animal that had lost its owner.

“So good…”

“So powerful…”

“A little more…”

Yu Xianqing liked to lunge in when he wasn’t paying attention. Zelan imagined his strength and expression at those times, tilting his head back and crying as he reached the peak.

Yu Xianqing’s eyes were tightly closed, showing no reaction.

He was so quiet.

Zelan approached him with red eyes, uncontrollably licking his face. He crawled into the human’s embrace, using his own scalding temperature to try and warm the human’s cold skin.

“I miss you so much…”

Only at such moments could Zelan, in a daze, hear the honest words he had deliberately avoided in the past.

But such cold temperatures could not quench the burning heat.

What to do?

He was broken.

“005.”

In a place Zelan couldn’t see, Yu Xianqing was floating in mid-air, having witnessed the entire process of Zelan missing him through action.

“I suddenly discovered something.” Yu Xianqing said in a subtle tone. “It turns out even a soul can get hard.”

“You’re too filthy.” 005 was a warm ball of light with a pair of wings and two round feet. It spat at him with a mechanical voice in a very human-like way. “A soul can’t get hard.”

“Oh…” Yu Xianqing smiled. “You’re a system without a physical body, do you even know what ‘in’ means? You certainly are widely read and have a strong memory.”

This sarcastic tone was not inferior to Zelan’s at all.