The Amnesiac, Sickly Beauty Is Pregnant With My Dragon Cub - Chapter 18

Yu Xuanji had asked Cang Lan to make a small sleeping nest for the Ginseng Baby, but half an hour had passed and she still hadn’t returned. Soon, the sound of banging and thumping echoed from outside the cave. Yu Xuanji set down her needlework, draped an outer robe over her shoulders, and slowly walked to the entrance.

When she witnessed the terrifying scene before her, her vision went dark.

In the radish patch, only the head of the Ginseng Baby was visible above the ground, surrounded by freshly overturned soil. Cang Lan stood there with a shovel propped against her shoulder, huffing and puffing as she patted down the surrounding earth. Fearing it wasn’t tight enough, she even jumped up and stomped on it several times with her feet.

After packing the dirt firm, Cang Lan muttered incessantly, “You’ve got some nerve trying to compete with this King for favor. This is what you get.”

Having finished her work, Cang Lan turned her head and met Yu Xuanji’s stunned gaze. She waved at Yu Xuanji, transformed the hoe in her hand into a pitch-black profound iron spear, shrank it down, and tucked it into the hair bun at the back of her head. She then took off her outer coat and draped it over Yu Xuanji’s shoulders.

Cang Lan touched Yu Xuanji’s ice-cold palms and said, “Wife, it’s cold outside. Why did you come out?”

Yu Xuanji held Cang Lan’s hand, her gaze worriedly fixed on the poor Ginseng Baby. “Lan, didn’t I ask you to find her a hole? Why did you…”

Cang Lan grinned, fishing for a compliment. “A dirt hole is still a hole. Besides, isn’t she a ginseng? I dug a pit and buried her in the soil so she can receive the essence of heaven and earth and absorb the spiritual energy of the sun and moon; it even nourishes our radish patch in the process. If you’re worried, she’ll suffocate, I let her head stick out to breathe. See, Wife, how thoughtful I am?”

Meeting Yu Xuanji’s utterly helpless gaze, Cang Lan lowered her eyes. With a guilty expression, she pulled out her hair pin, turned it back into a hoe, and dug the Ginseng Baby out again.

Cang Lan grabbed the bright green sprout on the Ginseng Baby’s head. She met a pair of rounds, watery, large eyes. The baby patted the dirt off her body with her short little hands and let out a burp toward Cang Lan.

Cang Lan: “…”

The Ginseng Baby said with a smile, “Long-Long said that if I was planted in the ground, I would grow up very fast. Long-Long is good.”

Cang Lan pinched the Ginseng Baby’s chubby cheeks and said proudly, “See, Wife? I was right. she was willing; I didn’t force her.”

Yu Xuanji looked at the grimy, milky-white little dumpling, then at the gloating Cang Lan, and sighed, pressing her hand to her forehead in exasperation.

The Ginseng Baby’s nest was temporarily placed in the study. Yu Xuanji had originally wanted her to sleep in a small corner of the bedroom, but Cang Lan had refused adamantly, throwing a tantrum and wailing about kicking her out. In the end, Yu Xuanji had no choice but to carry the Ginseng Baby to the study.

Cang Lan reluctantly threw a soft tiger skin into the corner and, following Yu Xuanji’s instructions, provided a fluffy little blanket. She tossed a pillow to the fat radish and said fiercely, “Stay right here. You are not allowed to enter the bedroom of me and my wife, or else I’ll eat you!”

Clutching her little pillow, the Ginseng Baby pouted her lips at Cang Lan and said beamingly, “Long-Long is so good to me!”

Cang Lan gave a cold snort and turned to leave. Once she returned to the bedroom, however, her face transformed into a completely different expression.

Yu Xuanji was holding a white silk ribbon. Seeing Cang Lan return, she stood up with a smile.

Cang Lan returned the smile and moved to embrace Yu Xuanji, but was surprised when the other woman proactively wrapped her arms around her waist. Cang Lan was overjoyed, thinking she could snuggle with Yu Xuanji for a while, but a moment later, her waistband was undone by Yu Xuanji.

Cang Lan was stunned for just a second before her outer robe was also stripped away by Yu Xuanji. She clutched her black inner garment and stared at Yu Xuanji warily. “Wife, what are you doing?”

Pointing to the pile of scrap fabric on the bed, Yu Xuanji took out the silk ribbon. One hand hooked onto the tie of Cang Lan’s inner garment as she explained, “I want to make you a few bodices. I never see you change them, so I figured you must not have any. Did I really never make a single piece of clothing for you before I lost my memory?”

At the words “lost my memory,” the Dragon’s body jolted. She forced a stiff, sweet smile at Yu Xuanji and lied without blinking, “No.”

Yu Xuanji sighed and stroked Cang Lan’s hair, blaming herself. “Then I have been a very incompetent wife. You work so hard to take care of me every day, yet I haven’t even made you a single garment.”

Hearing this, Cang Lan felt even more guilty. She forgot that Yu Xuanji had easily untied her garment with a single finger; by the time she realized it, it was already too late.

A crimson dudou (bodice) came into view, embroidered with golden dragon patterns. Following it was a glimpse of a snow-white waist and a full, heaving chest. This was the first time Yu Xuanji had seen Cang Lan almost “completely honest” with her.

Quick as a flash, seeing Yu Xuanji staring unblinkingly at her bodice, Cang Lan hurriedly covered her chest with both hands. “You… I… what are you doing! If you’re measuring for size, then measure. Why are you taking off my clothes?”

Yu Xuanji retracted her gaze and said innocently, “But how can I measure if I don’t take them off? If the measurements are wrong, you won’t be comfortable wearing it.”

Cang Lan clutched her chest awkwardly and said, “Then… then… then, just do it over the bodice. You can’t take the bodice off.”

Yu Xuanji tilted her head and asked in confusion, “Since we are already married, and you said before that we were affectionate after our wedding, what does it matter even if we stripped off every piece of clothing on our bodies?”

Cang Lan was suddenly speechless. She wanted to change the subject, but Yu Xuanji intended to get to the bottom of it. “Lan, before I lost my memory, did we have a physical relationship as husband and wife?”

Cang Lan stammered and hesitated, “We… we…”

Seeing Cang Lan’s eyes darting around, Yu Xuanji’s hand slowly left her waist. She lowered her eyes and said calmly, “I understand.”

Cang Lan froze. She watched as Yu Xuanji slowly turned around, walked to the bed, and sat down, appearing to be in silent sorrow. Cang Lan was startled; her usually clever brain seemed to have rusted, leaving her tongue-tied and unable to utter a word.

Yu Xuanji looked up, gave Cang Lan a deep look, and reached out her hand toward her. “Come here, I’ll help you put your clothes back on.”

Cang Lan obediently walked to Yu Xuanji and slowly squatted down. From Yu Xuanji’s position, she could see everything inside the bodice perfectly.

Cang Lan was completely unaware. She emboldened herself to grasp Yu Xuanji’s wrist and lied, “Xuanji, actually, I’m worried about your health. Your body has always been poor. The Old Phoenix told me that it’s not suitable to perform bedroom acts, and… and…”

Yu Xuanji’s hand rested lightly on the back of Cang Lan’s neck. Her fingertips pressed against the skin with neither too much nor too little force; this time, she didn’t feel the smooth scales. She asked, “And what else?”

Cang Lan looked up guiltily, stealing a glance at Yu Xuanji. Her cheeks were dyed crimson. She bit her lower lip and whispered, “The Old Phoenix also said… a dragon’s rut is too long. It happens once every three months, and each time…”

Yu Xuanji’s fingertips lingered on the skin of her neck. She smoothed her brow and asked with a smile, “How long is each time?”

Cang Lan covered her face tightly with both hands, so embarrassed that the entire dragon seemed to be cooked through. She wanted to dig a hole and hide inside. She choked out a voice as quiet as a mosquito’s hum: “A month at a time.”