The Aloof Prime Minister is Pregnant with the Rival General’s Child - Chapter 18

“Have you ever considered giving birth to this child?”

He picked up another piece and finished it in two or three bites. When he reached out a fourth time, his hand met empty air. Shi Hanshang frowned. “Are there no more?”

Sheng Yuli was taken aback. “You like eating these?”

“Hiss.” Sheng Yuli suddenly felt a twinge of regret. “I did not know what you liked, so I only bought a little of everything.”

As he finished speaking, a flicker of disappointment crossed Shi Hanshang’s face. It was gone in an instant, replaced by an expressionless mask. “Oh, I see. Then do not trouble yourself.”

“How about you try something else first? I will buy more for you next time.” Sheng Yuli hurriedly opened all the other oil-paper packages on the table. His gaze swept quickly across the spread of delicacies before picking a peach juice cake that seemed similar in flavor. He held it out to Shi Hanshang and smiled. “This one is also delicious. Taste this.”

Shi Hanshang pondered for a moment before taking a piece and placing it in his mouth. The peach aroma was rich and sweet, and it was indeed tasty. However, it lacked the subtle sour-sweet notes of the plum, failing to leave that lingering aftertaste. He ate only one piece before stopping.

Seeing this, Sheng Yuli presented every snack on the table one by one.

Perhaps the plum cakes had truly piqued his appetite, for Shi Hanshang did not refuse this time. He tasted a bit of each variety. Since there was a wide selection, Shi Hanshang ended up eating until his belly was quite full.

Seeing Shi Hanshang eating happily, Sheng Yuli felt a bit more cheerful. A thought suddenly occurred to him, and he blurted out, “So you like plum cakes? My elder sister also loved them when she was pregnant with Ke Er! Perhaps the one in your belly is also a boy!”

Before the words had fully landed, both men froze simultaneously.

Prior to this, they had both tacitly accepted that this child would soon be gone. Consequently, they had never considered the child’s gender; they did not envision it, nor did they dare to.

If they thought too much, they feared they could never return to the way things were before everything happened.

Yet the fragile peace Shi Hanshang had been carefully maintaining was easily shattered by Sheng Yuli’s single sentence.

Shi Hanshang suddenly felt his emotions become complicated.

In truth, up until today, the matter of the pregnancy felt utterly ethereal to him. He never truly dared to believe that a fetus actually existed inside his belly.

But now, Sheng Yuli’s inadvertent mention forced the two bewildered men to truly face the reality of this child.

His heart in turmoil, Shi Hanshang lost his appetite completely. He set down the half-eaten pastry and spoke with feigned composure. “Whether it is a boy or a girl, what does it matter? In the end, it will just be a pool of blood. You will not be able to tell the gender anyway.”

Sheng Yuli had calmed down by now. Hearing this, he looked up and saw Shi Hanshang sipping his tea with his usual indifferent expression, perhaps deliberately avoiding his gaze. Sheng Yuli felt an indescribable pang of distress in his heart.

They remained silent for a long time. Just as Shi Hanshang thought they were about to part on bad terms again, Sheng Yuli suddenly spoke.

“Shi Hanshang,” he said seriously.

Shi Hanshang arched an eyebrow, somewhat surprised by Sheng Yuli’s gravity. His heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively asked, “What is it?”

Sheng Yuli opened his mouth, hesitating. “Have you ever considered… giving birth to this child?”

Give birth? Shi Hanshang was astonished.

“If that Blood-Leaf Orchid truly cannot be found, would you be willing to give birth to this child?” Sheng Yuli asked again.

Shi Hanshang’s pupils flickered before he looked down.

After a long pause, his voice grew several degrees colder as he asked word for word, “How could I give birth?”

Sheng Yuli was stunned.

Shi Hanshang looked up, meeting Sheng Yuli’s startled gaze. He took a deep breath and said, “Setting aside how a man like me would even go through labor, if all of Jinling were to find out that I, Shi Hanshang, a man of iron and blood, gave birth to a child like a woman, do you know how the world would view me as a monster? I would be pointed at by a thousand fingers and cursed by ten thousand people!”

Sheng Yuli said anxiously, “No! There must be a way to hide it! I can!”

“Or,” Shi Hanshang interrupted him coldly, “Or do you want my child to be illegitimate, born with the reputation of a bastard, having a father but no mother?”

“Who says they would have no mother? I am also their!”

“Father?” Shi Hanshang let out a cold laugh. “Who would believe it?”

Sheng Yuli felt a shock to his heart.

It was true. Even if he and Shi Hanshang were willing to acknowledge the child, how many people in this world would believe that this was the biological offspring of two men?

Not to mention they were both high-ranking court officials holding immense power.

During the autumn hunt, the imperial physician had already checked Shi Hanshang’s pulse and reported that he was fine. If the pregnancy were revealed now, it would be a case of deceiving the Emperor, which was a capital offense!

If the child were removed now, they could perhaps pretend nothing had happened. If they waited until the child was born, it would likely be impossible to keep it hidden!

In the years since Shi Hanshang and Sheng Yuli entered the court, their careers had skyrocketed. There were plenty of people in the court who disliked their flamboyant styles.

When that time came, those people would certainly not pass up such a golden opportunity to impeach them!

If the truth came out, even the Emperor would find it difficult to suppress the public outcry. Even if Li Yi wanted to protect them, he might be powerless to do so.

Furthermore, it was not just Shi Hanshang and Sheng Yuli; the entire Shi and Sheng households, including Shi Yunhe and Sheng Yuesheng, would likely be unable to escape the consequences!

Shi Hanshang saw through it clearly, and Sheng Yuli understood it as well. Yet, this was ultimately his first child; how could he not feel a stir of compassion?

The mockery on the man’s face, as cold as jade, stung Sheng Yuli’s heart.

He had held power since his youth, decisive in killing and sparing; life and death were usually within his grasp. In the past ten years, he had never experienced a moment of helplessness like today.

He could control the lives and deaths of many, yet he alone could not control the life or death of his own child.

“But,” Sheng Yuli wanted to say more, but Shi Hanshang cut him off.

“I know what you want to say,” Shi Hanshang said harshly. “If there is no Blood-Leaf Orchid, then use other medicinal ingredients as substitutes. If there are no substitutes, then use other methods to abort! Have you forgotten the signs of miscarriage from the last autumn hunt? There will always be a way!”

“Are you mad?!” Sheng Yuli stood up abruptly, shocked. “Using drugs to induce a flow is already harmful enough. If you use external force to terminate the pregnancy, do you no longer want your life?!”

“Then what do you want me to do?!” Shi Hanshang also stood up, slamming the table. Facing Sheng Yuli’s questioning gaze, he refused to back down. “Not aborting means death, and aborting also means death. I would rather take the gamble! Even if it costs me my life, it is better than implicating my elder brother, Song Qing, and the entire Shi family!”

“Oh, right, and your Sheng family too!” Shi Hanshang laughed coldly. “If I truly die from a miscarriage, your Sheng family can simply turn your backs and refuse to acknowledge anything to protect yourselves. Who would dare to question the Great General Sheng?”

“And what about me? After I die, the position of Chancellor will be vacant, and no one will compete with you anymore! Sheng Yuli, should you not be happy?!”

“Happy?!” Sheng Yuli said in disbelief. “You make a mistake, yet you push all the consequences onto others? After escaping the ordeal, I would secretly rejoice and even seize your power? Shi Hanshang, is that the kind of person I am in your eyes?!”

Shi Hanshang no longer wanted to argue with him. After such an intense outburst, he felt a faint, stinging pain in his lower abdomen again.

He turned his head irritably. “What if you are? What if you are not? After I die, even if you do not want to, the entire Sheng family will surely force you to act that way, will they not?”

“But I do not want you to die!” Sheng Yuli finally roared, his veins bulging as he grabbed Shi Hanshang’s shoulders, venting everything in his heart.

“What?” Shi Hanshang snapped his eyes open, utterly astonished.

Sheng Yuli’s eyes were bloodshot as he growled at Shi Hanshang. “Shi Hanshang, yes, I do not like you! But no matter how much we clash, I have never wanted to watch you die! I especially never wanted to watch you die because of my child!”

Shi Hanshang was stunned for a long time. Once he regained his senses, he silently pushed Sheng Yuli’s hands away. He took a few steps back and leaned against the corner of the table, closing his eyes. “Just pretend this child does not exist. In the future, you will marry and have children, with countless beautiful wives and concubines. By then, when you are surrounded by children and grandchildren, you probably will not even remember this child.”

“Shi Hanshang!” Sheng Yuli was enraged. “Why do you always insist on pushing me away like this?! You did it before, and you are doing it now!”

“This child is clearly mine! Why do you repeatedly deny it?! Why do you always want to bear all the consequences alone?! If I had not happened to be in the tent that day and heard Song Qing say you were pregnant with my own ears, would you even have told me?!”

“I am clearly the father of the child! Shi Hanshang, you are being too unfair to me!”

“Enough!” The volume of Sheng Yuli’s voice made the veins in Shi Hanshang’s forehead throb. At this moment, he felt somewhat lucky that he had once ordered all servants not to approach this room so he could focus on his studies. Because of that, even such a loud commotion had not attracted anyone else.

“I do not want to argue this with you!” Shi Hanshang’s head throbbed with waves of pain, and his lower abdomen followed suit with cramping stings. He had to support himself against the table to stay upright.

Yet he was unwilling to let his guard down. He spoke coldly. “Sheng Yuli! If you came here today just to fight with me, then please leave now! Do not force me to call someone to sweep you out the door in front of everyone!”

“You are threatening me?!” Sheng Yuli said in shock.

He was not a cowardly man. He immediately strode over and sat down heavily on the soft couch!

“Humph! If we do not make this matter clear today, I simply will not leave!”

“You!” Shi Hanshang was overcome with anger, his finger pointing at Sheng Yuli as his temple throbbed. The child in his belly, perhaps sensing the father’s agitation, suddenly became restless as well!

His lower abdomen suddenly constricted. Shi Hanshang was caught off guard and actually stumbled forward. His legs gave way and his body tilted; it looked like he was about to slam his belly against the corner of the table!

“Watch out!”

Fortunately, Sheng Yuli was quick. He reached out and caught Shi Hanshang by the waist!

The world spun, and both men were startled!

Shi Hanshang was similar in stature to Sheng Yuli, though slightly thinner, but he was still an adult man. As Sheng Yuli caught him, he was pulled along and looked as if he were about to crash to the floor.

Sheng Yuli instinctively protected Shi Hanshang’s belly and turned his body. He ended up serving as a human cushion, falling to the ground. He let out a muffled groan as Shi Hanshang’s shoulder blade struck him, and his head throbbed with dull pain. He saw stars instantly!

Shi Hanshang was also dazed by the fall. He sat there stunned for a good while until the groan of the man beneath him jolted him awake. He hurriedly sat up and asked, “Are you alright?!”

He would not have killed him just by sitting on him, would he?

Sheng Yuli clutched his arm, which felt nearly broken, his expression contorted. After a long while, sweating profusely, he managed to recover. His face was pale as he spat out two words through gritted teeth: “I am fine.”

Shi Hanshang did not stand up. Instead, he grabbed Sheng Yuli’s wrist and examined it carefully. He frowned. “Is it broken?”

Sheng Yuli shook his head. “No.”

Shi Hanshang finally breathed a sigh of relief. He let go of Sheng Yuli and stood up, casually dropping two words: “Serves you right.”

“?!” Sheng Yuli temporarily forgot his pain and looked up in disbelief. “Shi Hanshang, do you have a conscience?”

The other man ignored him, leaving him with only a cold back.

“Hey, hey, Shi Hanshang, wait a moment! At least give me a hand! Hey, Shi Hanshang?!” Sheng Yuli said unwillingly.

Shi Hanshang gave him a roll of the eyes and coldly dropped three words: “Get up yourself!”

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