The General Was Pregnant with the Emperor's Child - Chapter 24

“Ye Mian, the Jing army has no grain. Let’s see how you last seven days!”

Luren’s parting threat was like a bucket of cold water, dousing the enthusiasm of the Ye Army’s victory. Ye Wuyou forced himself to sit up, his left arm protecting his belly trembling uncontrollably. The dull pain in his abdomen spread to his lower back. He staggered, nearly falling from his horse. Zhuifeng, being highly intuitive, lay down on the ground so Ye Wuyou could safely roll off.

The soldiers who heard Luren’s words looked grim. Their supply camp had been burned just two days ago… the grain snatched back from the barbarians was barely enough for a few meals for a grand army.

To win a battle alongside their General only to face the dead end of starvation…

“When has this General ever let you go hungry? Is our Emperor dead to you?!” Ye Wuyou’s roar snapped the soldiers out of their daze. “The new grain for June is about to be delivered, and the camp’s stores are sufficient!”

The East Camp that Luren burned had only contained old fodder; otherwise, it wouldn’t have burned so quickly. Once Ye Wuyou realized Luren’s intent to sabotage his supplies, he had already decentralized and moved all the actual grain.

The East Camp was merely a decoy.

How could Ye Wuyou lead troops and let them go without a full meal? Having crushed the enemy, Ye Wuyou gritted his teeth and grinned, swallowing a black pill given by the doctor. He tremblingly raised his red-tasseled spear and shouted:

“Those afraid of an empty stomach, follow me! This General will lead you to slaughter the barbarians’ cattle and sheep to go with our wine!”

The morale of the Ye Army surged again at his words. Zhuifeng stood up, carrying Ye Wuyou toward Luren’s camp, only to be blocked by a pack of wild wolves.

Ye Wuyou’s legs went weak instantly.

“Been acting like a wolf for too long have you actually defected?!” Ye Wuyou felt a chill on his back. He turned to see Yang Shen looking at him coldly, and he feigned surprise.

“Dismount. It’s just rustling sheep; why does a Great General need to lead the way? Let the captains lead the men. I’ll have the wolf pack guide them. You get back to camp.” Yang Shen saw the deathly paleness of Ye Mian’s face more clearly than anyone. Though he had swapped out the “induced fragrance” Luren held, Ye Mian had released a massive amount of pheromones to deceive the enemy, nearly draining his gland dry.

An Omega’s demand for pheromones during pregnancy is immense. Ye Mian had overexerted himself without a replenish from his Alpha; the child in his belly was likely suffering.

Regardless of Ye Wuyou’s protest, Yang Shen stood before him and issued orders: “The General’s serious injuries from before haven’t healed. To lower the enemy’s guard, he forced his broken body to act as bait today. Captains, manage your men. I will have the wolves guide you to capture the livestock. Return to camp immediately after securing the field! If the General delays and develops a permanent ailment, who will go before His Majesty to ask for our rewards? I’m taking the General back first!”

The exposure of Ye Wuyou’s Omega identity boosted the credibility of Yang Shen’s words by a thousand percent. After a moment of whispering, the soldiers began to shout in agreement.

“Having northern wolves guide us now that’s majestic!” “Aye, the General collapsed from that barbarian incense today. It wasn’t easy to hold out until now.” “The North is bitter and cold, yet the General always thinks of us first for meat and rewards. We should care for him!” “Support Vice-General Yang!”

Ye Wuyou finally got off the horse. After the grand army followed the wolves into the distance, he leaned against Zhuifeng, half-lying as he stripped off his armor. Guiding sheep with wolves… now that’s a rarity!

“If my men follow you for a few more days, the Ye Army is going to change its surname to Yang.” Ye Wuyou stared glumly at a wolf cub less than a meter away. “Get away from me. Don’t you know your ‘traitor’ status hasn’t been cleared yet?”

The soldiers, newly aware of his gender, were caught in a mix of awe for his power and an irrational maternal protectiveness for their “Omega General.” Yang Shen, however, knew Ye Wuyou’s true nature and left a wolf cub behind specifically to keep him in line.

“Shut up, Ye Mian. Your fetal Qi is unstable. If you swing that spear a few more times, my godson is going to die.” Yang Shen had no medicine on him; his medical knowledge was only enough to see the problem.

“What?! Last time my heat was forcibly triggered and nothing happened. Why is it so serious just because it hurts a little this time?” Ye Wuyou didn’t dare move. He recalled his experience in the doctor’s tent where even getting out of bed risked a miscarriage.

“General Ye, pregnancy is no small matter…” Yang Shen rolled his eyes. He gave Ye Wuyou some water and waited for the pill to take effect before allowing him to mount his horse for the trip back.

Before Zhuifeng even entered the camp, the military doctor was already at the gate.

Having been scolded by Yang Shen the whole way back, Ye Wuyou avoided the doctor’s eyes out of guilt. His armor had been stripped off by Yang Shen. As he dismounted and followed the doctor, a prominent dark stain bloomed on his trousers.

“You’re all making a mountain out of a molehill. This General is perfectly fine.” Ye Wuyou covered his stomach. He was being “needled” by the doctor, cold sweat beading on his forehead not from pain, but from the tension of being stared at by the doctor and Yang Shen.

“The fetal pulse is not good. Even with the medicine, the Little General isn’t stable. The General must rest. Quietly. For at least a month.” The doctor showed no mercy after taking the pulse. The scar on Ye Wuyou’s shoulder had reopened, and his condition was worse than after the first incense attack. The doctor, shrouded in a dark mood, rummaged through the medicine jars sent by the Emperor.

“…I’d rather you just kill me.” Hearing “rest,” Ye Wuyou’s face fell.

“If you don’t want to rest, it’s simple. The bottle on your left contains the abortion decoction I prepared long ago. Drink it now, and you won’t have to wait until tomorrow you can start your ‘postpartum recovery month’ immediately.” The doctor didn’t even look up.

Ye Wuyou looked to Yang Shen for help: “Yang Shen! Don’t just stand there! Say something for your godson!”

Yang Shen turned and walked out of the tent without looking back. If Ye Wuyou has to rest, that means most of the military affairs fall on me. Same rank, different fates. I’ve followed two living ancestors.

Ye Wuyou bargained with the doctor until nightfall. Only after confessing that his own tent contained many items carrying the “Steamed Bun Alpha’s” pheromones did the doctor allow him to return to the commander’s tent to rest. Meanwhile, Yang Shen had handled the spoils of war with the returning soldiers and passed on the good news of the victory feast.

Ye Wuyou shared the news of Luren’s defeat with the doctor, who merely twitched his lip.

“The General’s diet must be strictly monitored from now on. The army is united and can help hide this from the Emperor, but the imperial chef is the Emperor’s man. He may have served many pregnant concubines. You’d best have a ‘chat’ with him,” the doctor said calmly.

“Ah…” Ye Wuyou hadn’t thought of that. Asking for the chef was just an excuse to get his hands on Xiao Yun’an’s clothes.

“Then… tomorrow I’ll go threaten—I mean, talk to him.”

Doctor: “…” I don’t think that’s what I meant.

When Ye Wuyou returned to his tent, an exhausted Yang Shen was waiting at the entrance.

Yang Shen: “The Emperor sent a decree.”

“When? A private letter or a formal decree?” Ye Wuyou quickened his pace.

Yang Shen: “A formal decree. It’s on your desk.”

The decree was sitting prominently in the main tent. Usually, when Ye Wuyou was away, decrees were delivered there.

“Come, come, let’s see what sweet words His Majesty wrote to me.” Ye Wuyou pulled Yang Shen to the desk.

“Zhen went on an incognito visit to the Peony Festival and was unfortunately robbed by a Flower Thief at a brothel…”

Ye Wuyou read it word by word. Yang Shen’s brain stalled after the first sentence.

Ye Wuyou’s mouth was faster than his brain. By the time he realized what he had read, it was too late. Yang Shen sat frozen, looking at Ye Wuyou as if he were a primordial monster.

Ye Wuyou: “…” Yang Shen: “…!!?”

“A… a coincidence. It must be a coincidence. I know who I tied up!” Ye Wuyou gritted his teeth and continued reading.

“Zhen has investigated for over a month. All evidence left by the Flower Thief points to Minister Ye…”

“…Definitely still a coincidence. See? His Majesty doesn’t even suspect me,” Ye Wuyou stammered.

“The Flower Thief carried the scent of Cold Plum. Minister Ye is clearly a Beta, so this must be a frame-up by the thief. Zhen fears instability in the North; I hope Minister Ye is careful in all things.”

What a decree… it was practically a private letter. Ye Wuyou blinked frantically, clutching his belly to hide his guilt.

“I get it. A coincidence,” Yang Shen answered for him, his face so stiff he couldn’t find words. He stood up, swaying.

“Are… are you okay, Yang Shen?” Seeing his vice-general looking like a ghost, Ye Wuyou was genuinely worried.

“I… I… Ye Mian, you are simply—pfft!” Angered and shocked, Yang Shen staggered back, clutched his chest, vomited a mouthful of dark blood, and fainted right in Ye Wuyou’s tent.

Ye Wuyou screamed: “Guards! Come quickly! Vice-General Yang scared himself to death!!!”

Yang Shen was rushed to the medical tent.

Ye Wuyou guiltily slunk along at the back. When the curtain was lifted, he saw a familiar expression on the doctor’s face.

Upon seeing Ye Wuyou, the doctor also closed his eyes and clutched his chest.

Ye Wuyou was shocked: Have doctors evolved to tell fortunes now? Did he figure out my ‘affair’ with the Emperor without even taking a pulse??

“Don’t… don’t faint yet. Look at Yang Shen.” Ye Wuyou dismissed the subordinates and poured a cup of tea for the doctor, his voice very quiet.

The doctor didn’t speak, but Ye Wuyou guessed that the decree had somehow reached his hands too.

“…His Majesty knows?” The doctor swallowed several gulps of cold tea to suppress the metallic taste in his throat, his finger trembling as he pointed at Yang Shen.

“He does not,” Ye Wuyou said with absolute, firm conviction.

The doctor stared for a long time before finally exhaling the breath that had been trapped in his chest for an hour.

“Then why did Vice-General Yang…” The doctor was still dazed. He forced himself to grab Yang Shen’s ankle.

“Wrong part, doctor. The hand is here.” Ye Wuyou handed over Yang Shen’s hand and whispered, “He ended up like this after reading the decree. Did he scare himself to death?”

“General, don’t say such terrifying things. I am thirty-four this year; I’m old, I can’t take a second shock like this!” The doctor’s hand trembled again at the mention of the decree.

What a sin! How could the ‘Steamed Bun Alpha’ the General pined for day and night be the Emperor!

That afternoon, while sorting the jars Ye Wuyou had brought, the doctor had found a small slip of paper in an inconspicuous red bottle. Curiosity had won over reason.

The paper contained elegant, small characters:

[General Ye, His Majesty is investigating the Flower Thief, and all evidence points to the General. His Majesty won’t let me speak of it, but I cannot close my eyes day or night thinking about it. Today I even brewed Biluochun as Longjing; I almost lost my head! Lately, His Majesty misses the General and worries about the North, so he is sending medicine. I used my position to tamper with the shipment. I dare to defy the decree to ask the General: is this true?]

The signature was Gao Su.

The doctor felt the world lose its color. He had sat in a daze until Ye Wuyou brought the “dead” Yang Shen in.

“General, look for yourself!” The doctor sneakily shoved the paper into Ye Wuyou’s hand and went to give Yang Shen emergency acupuncture.

In the matter of saving Yang Shen, the doctor was more dedicated than Ye Wuyou. As fellow victims of Ye Wuyou’s antics and the only two who knew of the pregnancy, they shared a profound bond. If Yang Shen died, the doctor felt he would lose ten years of his life carrying this secret alone.

After much chaos, Yang Shen finally came to. But the moment he saw Ye Wuyou’s face leaning over him, he nearly fainted again from rage.

“General, it’s late. For the sake of the Little… Little Prince, please go back and rest!” The doctor felt that if Ye Wuyou stayed, he himself would drop dead from overwork by midnight.

A pregnant General with unstable fetal Qi! A Vice-General with a shocked heart! If either of them dropped in the next eight months, the camp was finished.

Ye Wuyou: “…Then I’m leaving?” He sounded almost aggrieved.

“Go, go!” the doctor barked, waving him away.

Ye Wuyou returned to his tent and sat at the desk, staring at the Emperor’s handwriting. When he wrote seriously, his script looked a bit like Xiao Yun’an’s he had been taught by the man, after all.

Earlier, with Yang Shen present, he had been deathly guilty. Now, re-reading the decree, every line spoke of the Emperor’s trust. Even when the evidence was set in stone, the Emperor was willing to call black white for him.

Ye Wuyou looked around to ensure he was alone, then foolishly pressed the decree to his nose. The bamboo scent hidden beneath the ink invaded his senses. He tumbled onto his bed, clutching the decree.

…

Morning came again. He woke up feeling a deep void in his heart he missed His Majesty. He sat at the desk and began to write a reply.

[Your Majesty, do not worry. This subject is perfectly fine.]

He paused. A sudden surge of “sourness” hit him, and he crossed out “perfectly fine.”

[This subject has not been well lately. The camp was attacked half a month ago, the grain was burned, and my Vice-General was captured… he was just rescued yesterday but has collapsed from exhaustion.]

He looked at the paper with satisfaction and added:

[But rest assured, the North is stable. I have beaten the new Khan Luren until his head bled. As long as Moise stays quiet, the autumn tribute will proceed smoothly. I am not injured, and the barbarians see me as a monster. I will guard the North for Your Majesty.]

He sent the letter out and headed back to the medical tent.

Yang Shen was sitting up, looking like a living human again. “Before I left, His Majesty gave me a secret order: If Ye Mian comes to harm, I am to be executed,” Yang Shen said flatly, staring at Ye Wuyou. “So that’s what it meant.”

Ye Wuyou suppressed his delight and feigned confusion: “His Majesty gave you such an order?”

“Did the General not know? I was a hidden guard under the Emperor for years, though I wasn’t called Yang Shen then.” Yang Shen came clean about his identity. He was on the same “pirate ship” now.

“You truly are a deep one…” Ye Wuyou looked at him. “Then the story you told me about being raised in a wolf den?”

“That was also true. I didn’t speak human tongue until I was eight.” Yang Shen’s eyes drifted to Ye Wuyou’s belly. He still couldn’t believe he had helped Ye Wuyou kidnap the Emperor. He had provided the acupuncture points, the muscle relaxants, and the incense…

“Ye Mian.” Thinking of the treason he had committed, Yang Shen gritted his teeth.

“His Majesty cherishes me so much…” Ye Wuyou said happily, but seeing Yang Shen’s icy stare, he changed his tune. “Poor Vice-General Yang. You can only be my man from now on.”

That was worse! Yang Shen felt his chest tighten again.

The doctor, listening to this messy triangle, covered his ears. Chaos! Such a mess! Royal secrets are far too messy!

Ye Wuyou headed to the imperial chef. The chef, seeing his “food and clothing benefactor,” smiled.

“What would the General like to eat?”

“Steamed buns and plum soup. Extra sour.”

The chef: “…?” What a strange combination. But as a good chef, he didn’t ask.

“General, are you unwell? An Omega’s tastes during pregnancy are just like this,” the chef teased.

“You’re right. I am pregnant. Over two months. It’s His Majesty’s.” Ye Wuyou chewed his bun.

The chef’s smile froze. He pressed his ears. “I think I’m hallucinating. What did you say?”

“I’m pregnant. Two months. It’s the Emperor’s.”

The chef collapsed.

Now, the medical tent held a second fainted victim. Yang Shen looked at the chef and felt a trace of schadenfreude. So this is how it feels to see others suffer.

The chef eventually came to. He was from a long line of imperial chefs; he had heard many palace secrets. His Majesty having a private affair with his General? No big deal! I must be strong!

It’s better than the Emperor who kept his uncle as a pig. It’s better than the one who killed someone every time he drank water. My Emperor is normal! He just slept with his General and got him pregnant! Alpha and Omega, mutual consent! Normal!

Ye Wuyou watched the chef laughing and crying. The doctor said calmly: “The General kidnapped the Emperor into a brothel, slept with him, and fled with the Prince. Anyone normal needs a moment to digest that.”

The chef’s face turned into a funeral mask. I have a new family secret to add to the books…

Ye Wuyou sat far away, chewing his bun. He waited for them to finish talking. When he clapped the crumbs from his hands, three pairs of “wolf-like” eyes turned toward him. He backed away, but the three victims lunged.

Yang Shen grabbed his legs. The doctor and chef knelt before him.

“What are you doing?!” Ye Wuyou broke into a cold sweat.

The three looked at each other and began to wail.

Yang Shen: “General! You must protect the Dragon Seed at all costs!!!” Doctor: “General! Whether we live or die depends on the Little Prince in your belly!!!” Chef: “General! You must give birth safely! I’ve been exiled to the North; I can’t be exiled any further!!!”

Ye Wuyou: “…”

Okay, okay! I’ll listen!

He managed to calm them down. He told the chef to handle his nutrition, told the doctor he would follow every order and rest, and then looked at Yang Shen.

“Vice-General Yang… the doctor says I must rest. The chef says I must eat well. So, the military affairs for the next few months… and the correspondence with His Majesty…”

Yang Shen backed away faster than the others. I knew it! Following Ye Wuyou brings nothing but trouble!

“Ye Mian, do you have a grudge against me?” Yang Shen wanted to desert on the spot.

“Aiyai, my stomach hurts,” Ye Wuyou said weakly, crouching down.

“…”

Damn it! They were counter-manipulated by Ye Mian!

Ye Wuyou was pampered in the camp. He occasionally “helped” Yang Shen with advice, which Yang Shen called “interference.”

In the capital, Xiao Yun’an was dealing with the mess. News of the victory arrived, but so did new rumors: Ye Mian is a sycophant.

“Your Majesty, you’ve stayed up for three days. Even I can’t take it…” Gao Su’s hand was shaking as he held the tea.

“Has Ye Mian replied?”

Gao Su froze. “It’s like he’s disappeared… I hope nothing happened.”

Xiao Yun’an’s grip on his brush tightened, then snap, he slammed it into the inkstone. “I am going to sleep. Undress me.” He was terrified something had happened to Ye Mian. He was going to a tryst he wasn’t sure would happen.

Ye Wuyou had a miraculous “morning sickness” acupuncture session, but it failed. He vomited again.

The doctor guessed: “The General hasn’t seen His Majesty for too long. The Little Prince lacks his father’s pheromones.”

“Then last time…” Ye Wuyou thought of the dreams and the bucket of robes and shut up.

“Why doesn’t the General ask for something else?”

Ye Wuyou was hesitant. His Majesty is too smart. If I ask for more ‘old things,’ my identity will be exposed.

The camp feasted. Ye Wuyou sat at the table with a cup of tea, feigning “injuries” to avoid wine and meat. Seeing the soldier Kang Jiang crying because his “poor, thin General” could only eat buns, Ye Wuyou felt moved and shed a few tears himself.

He went back to bed, clutching the decree. The bamboo scent was almost gone. He rubbed his belly. “I wonder how His Majesty is.”

Longing led the two into a dream once more. Ye Wuyou heard water. He looked down and found himself in the familiar White Jade Hot Spring, surrounded by sycamore trees.

And Xiao Yun’an was leaning against the edge of the spring, completely naked.