The General Was Pregnant with the Emperor's Child - Chapter 19

Several days passed, yet no new military intelligence arrived from the border. The enemy attack Ye Wuyou had described in his dream became a knot in Xiao Yun’an’s heart as the days dragged on. Not only did he lack new reports, but Ye Wuyou himself had also vanished since their last indulgence in the dream.

Even in defeat, there shouldn’t be such a total lack of news from the North. Before he ascended the throne, whenever Ye Wuyou had no military news to report, he would send a carrier pigeon back to the capital with sweet words every three days.

Hearing that Ye Wuyou had turned the Northern border into a “pigeon’s nest,” Xiao Yun’an had barked a reprimand in anger. Ye Wuyou, however, treated it as wind past his ears; he raised pigeons as he pleased and sent secret letters as he liked. Gradually, Xiao Yun’an found himself “cooked through” by Ye Wuyou’s “boiled frog in warm water” tactic; if he didn’t receive a private letter, his mind would start wandering.

The last military report from Ye Wuyou was from the previous month. After briefly mentioning the spies in the army, his Great General had actually mimicked the court officials by asking about his offspring.

Offspring

Xiao Yun’an irritably knocked a small stack of memorials off his desk. They were filled with suggestions from ministers about expanding the harem. Some urged him to consider his heirs, others advised him to win over the noble clans through marriage, and some even went so far as to reference the rumors of the “Flower Thief,” politely inquiring about his health before recommending several doctors skilled in treating “hidden ailments”…

War had broken out again in the North, and his Minister Ye’s life was uncertain on the front lines, yet these comfortable high officials in court only cared about the shift of power they were busy trying to stuff people into his harem!

These officials had even led his Ye Mian astray. Ye Wuyou was hardly the type to care about the Imperial line; with the harem empty, he would have preferred to fill the spot himself. He must have been caught by some official and bewitched by their talk during his stay in the capital.

Ye Mian, as a man and a Ze-dui (Beta), you cannot bear offspring. But General Ye, isn’t your heart toward Zhen a bit too generous?

Xiao Yun’an crushed a piece of bamboo in his hand.

Xiao Yun’an had it wrong; Ye Wuyou wasn’t generous. When it came to matters involving Xiao Yun’an, Ye Wuyou could be considered extremely petty; he had even secretly competed with the Emperor’s personal guard for three years.

After twelve-year-old Ye Wuyou successfully recommended himself to Xiao Yun’an, he almost lived and ate with him. Xiao Yun’an had his own tutor teach Ye Wuyou as well, but Ye Wuyou was a “mischievous monkey” by nature and couldn’t be pinned down.

After playing hide-and-seek with the tutor and Xiao Yun’an a few times, Xiao Yun’an realized he had underestimated the boy. This little beggar had only listened to him talk about military tactics for a few days, yet he could use the techniques from the books to run circles around the tutor and himself.

If he doesn’t go astray, he might become a great general.

Xiao Yun’an had a new idea. He no longer forced Ye Wuyou to sit peacefully at a desk but instead wagered his own red-tasseled spear as a prize for the boy.

Ye Wuyou was naturally ecstatic. Having won the spear, he practiced martial arts with such obsession that the Crown Prince’s Palace was actually peaceful for several months.

However, where there is peace for one, there is suffering for another.

Ye Wuyou keenly sensed that Xiao Yun’an was intentionally cultivating his martial skills. Being young, he hadn’t seen much of the world, and since he didn’t appear in public much after coming to Xiao Yun’an’s side, he believed that as a hidden guard, he could protect the Prince at all times. Thus, he set his sights on the position of “Zero-One,” wanting to replace him as the Prince’s personal guard.

Unfortunately, Ye Wuyou was indeed still young. At twelve, he challenged Zero-One every month and failed every month, continuing this cycle for two years.

Through this, Ye Wuyou unexpectedly developed a sharp eye for “catching shadows”; no matter where Zero-One hid, he couldn’t escape Ye Wuyou’s piercing gaze.

Xiao Yun’an grew to admire him even more.

But after Xiao Yun’an presented as a Qian-jun (Alpha), Ye Wuyou was neglected. During the Prince’s first rut after presenting, Ye Wuyou couldn’t bear to see him suffer; his failed attempt to confess his feelings led to him being thrown out of the palace gates, and subsequently, he was dumped by Zero-One at the entrance of a military camp.

He could no longer see Xiao Yun’an easily, but even that didn’t kill his resolve. He sneaked back to the Crown Prince’s Palace from the camp and beat the bewildered Zero-One into the ground.

“Your Highness! I can beat Zero-One now. Can I be your personal guard?” After defeating Zero-One, he ran to Xiao Yun’an to brag, and only then did Zero-One realize the brat wanted his job.

“Ye Mian, if you only want to be a hidden guard, then get the hell back to the alleys and beg for food!” Xiao Yun’an made his intention for Ye Mian to leave clear, scolding him for an entire day before stuffing a bag of sugar cubes into his hand and secretly tossing him back to the camp.

Later, having been pushed away intentionally or unintentionally by Xiao Yun’an too many times, Ye Wuyou who wasn’t very ambitious to begin with became afraid to dream.

Well, General Ye was only afraid to dream; he was perfectly willing to act recklessly.

What Xiao Yun’an didn’t allow or respond to, Ye Wuyou did it all in secret. At their first meeting, Ye Wuyou only managed to control his brain; his hands and feet had a mind of their own and lunged forward to hug the clean, fair Xiao Yun’an.

As expected, one must be a man of action to taste the Alpha they like. Ye Wuyou thought contentedly.

Having just finished his “tryst” with the Emperor and been fed a full meal by the doctor, Ye Wuyou returned to his tent, confident that his soldiers were training in an orderly fashion.

The assassin’s corpse had already been cleared out by Yang Shen. Using his “pregnant dog nose,” Ye Wuyou sniffed around and found no lingering scent of blood in the tent.

Ignoring the doctor’s orders to “rest more and worry less,” he immediately sent for Yang Shen to review their plans. He intended to go straight to the sand table, but his peripheral vision inevitably caught sight of the messy bedding.

The bedding was completely dry, but the crumpled, plain inner robes were covered in many curved, light-colored fluid stains. Recalling the chaotic events of his heat, Ye Wuyou’s face instantly turned scarlet.

That night, to suppress his disordered pheromones, he had used the robes carrying the Green Bamboo scent to do many unspeakable things. Not a single robe on the bed was fit to be seen; the wrinkled clothes were spread out, covered in dried stains… the robes he had used had almost no bamboo scent left, but were instead covered in a dense, pure Cold Plum fragrance.

A fully awake Ye Wuyou took a sharp breath and hurriedly brought a wooden bucket into the tent, tossing all the messy clothes and sheets inside.

“General, I suspect…” Yang Shen, having just lifted the tent flap, paused and stared at the bucket with a look of deep meaning. “Oh~”

Ye Wuyou said fiercely: “Turn around! Don’t look!”

While the Ye Army was still recovering, Ye Wuyou had just finished discussing the strategy for the campaign against the barbarians with Yang Shen. Right as he distributed the assignments, the Emperor’s rewards arrived again.

Ye Wuyou searched through them but found no letter only clothes, medicinal herbs, and a large pile of jars that smelled like wound medicine.

“He sent all these things… but His Majesty doesn’t even know to leave me a word.” “Why is there no pheromone scent on the clothes…” “And what is this? Ginseng?”

Among the newly received imperial gifts, Ye Wuyou recognized the ginseng and the clothes, but he only recognized a few jars of the golden sore ointment as ones the Emperor had used on him before.

When he first started practicing swordplay, fearing Xiao Yun’an wouldn’t want him, his hands were covered in blisters within the first month. Ye Wuyou didn’t cry out in pain, but Xiao Yun’an would take the ointment from the red jar and apply it to his hands.

When he was still the Crown Prince, His Majesty had treated him exceptionally well.

And so, Ye Wuyou was gradually spoiled into the “mischievous monkey” who irritated everyone in the Prince’s Palace.

Ahem… I’m reminiscing too much.

Ye Wuyou sniffed the clothes sent by Xiao Yun’an over and over for a long time, finally confirming that this batch of clothes was brand new and odorless, without a trace of Green Bamboo pheromones. His interest waned, and he could only reluctantly put them on to wear against his skin.

That evening, the doctor, with a complex expression, welcomed Ye Wuyou who was holding several century-old ginseng roots into his tent. Ye Wuyou walked quickly to the doctor’s side, clutching a bundle of gifted wound medicine.

“Strange. I just got injured and His Majesty sent wound medicine, as if we were connected at the soul.” Ye Wuyou bragged melancholically.

“You dare say such things, but I don’t dare listen.” How could a subject think of being “connected at the soul” with their Sovereign… the General was truly something, always speaking without restraint just because the Emperor doted on him.

The doctor told Ye Wuyou to stand further away while he opened the golden sore ointments one by one to sniff them.

“His Majesty is a wise ruler; he won’t care about a small quirk like mine. Quick, see if there are any I cannot use!” The imperial gifts from the palace surely had better blood-stanching effects than their Northern powders. While chatting with Gao Su, Ye Wuyou had even heard that there was a type of ointment in the palace specifically formulated to remove scars, provided only to the harem concubines; he wondered if it was among these.

Recalling the shudder he felt when Xiao Yun’an’s hand brushed his smooth forearm in the dream last night, Ye Wuyou was eager to try.

“Ten to one the General cannot use most of these. The blood-stanching formulas have all sorts of messy things added that are harmful to a fetus.” The doctor instinctively sorted the medicine; only three jars were placed before Ye Wuyou.

Upon hearing this, Ye Wuyou visibly wilted. He sat right down on the ground, looking like an eggplant hit by frost.

“How annoying. His Majesty was kind enough to send them, but I can’t use them because of this ‘little tag-along.'”

The “little tag-along” resentfully caused a sharp twinge in Ye Wuyou’s lower abdomen.

“He’s even acting up now.” Ye Wuyou covered his stomach, looking even more aggrieved.

The doctor didn’t argue with the unreasonable pregnant man. Ignoring Ye Wuyou’s slightly exaggerated acting, he held the precious ginseng and said happily: “Put the ointment aside for now. These ginseng roots His Majesty sent are life-saving treasures. I will slice a few pieces for you to keep in a silk pouch; in a critical moment, holding them under your tongue can protect your heart’s meridians.”

Ye Wuyou’s eyes lit up: “Can it protect the little tag-along too?”

The doctor shook his head helplessly: “General, by the time we reach the stage of needing to ‘protect the heart’s meridians,’ whether the Little General can be saved depends on fate.”

“Then he truly is a precious little thing.” Ye Wuyou placed his hand over his abdomen, his expression turning solemn.

Poor thing. Just like His Majesty, he’s of ‘gold and jade’ lineage, yet he has to suffer for months with his daddy.

“He’s just reached two months; the term is short. If the General dislikes him, I can prepare a bowl of decoction at any time,” the doctor teased with a stern face.

“He’s only two months old! He can’t hear talk of killing!” Ye Wuyou hurriedly covered both sides of his lower abdomen while waving the doctor away in disgust, his body honestly stepping several feet away from the physician.

The doctor was speechless: …So he can hear talk of ‘killing,’ but he’s fine with seeing the blood and gore of a battlefield?

He wouldn’t argue with a pregnant man just recovering from a serious injury.