The Loyal Dead Soldier Did Not Plan to Run with a Bun (Pregnant) - Chapter 1

The lamps were dim and flickering, and red silk ribbons fluttered in the breeze.

The lights in the Nan Zhi Pavilion had dimmed by half; it was already late into the night. The singers were hoarse from performing, yet the dancing girls in the main hall continued to spin, the bells on their ankles ringing crisply. Below the stage, the patrons leaned against the beautiful women, indulging themselves in pleasure.

I do not know which profligate wastrel poured an entire jar of ten-year-aged vintage wine over the top courtesan. Her clothes were soaked, revealing every curve of her body. She gave the man a shove, and amidst the lewd laughter of the patrons, she left the stage, looking both shy and indignant.

The pleasure house was filled with a mixture of scents: the pungent smell of burning incense, the rouge applied to the faces of the prostitutes, and the mellow aroma of wine after the jars were opened. All these chaotic smells melded together—decadent, messy, and sickeningly sweet to the point of nausea.

“Young Master, come over”

A beauty with a graceful figure stepped forward, her jade fingers curling to hook the man’s belt, pulling him backward. She had intended to entice this “wooden goose” into a private room, but to her surprise, her back hit something hard—the door had been latched from the inside!

The prostitute cursed under her breath, wondering which heartless little flirt was occupying a room so carelessly! Having no choice, she put on a fake smile, grabbed the man’s belt, and went off to find another room.

The sounds of decadent, lustful panting faded away with their footsteps. Inside the room, Wei San withdrew his gaze. His ten fingers suddenly tightened, the fine wire between his fingertips pulled taut to the extreme, instantly slicing into his flesh.

The middle-aged man pinned beneath his knees had eyes bulging out, his face a bruised purple. His mouth opened wide like a fish’s, but he could not emit even half a scream. Without a change in expression, Wei San wrapped the wire around another time and pulled with force. Hearing the faint sound of a cervical vertebra shifting out of place, the man went limp, his breath cut off completely.

Wei San let go, shook his numb fingers, and leaned down to fish a short blade from under the bed. Following the line left by the wire, he casually decapitated the middle-aged man. He wrapped the head in a spare outer robe. Blood seeped through the fabric, dripping steadily. Wei San wrapped it in two more layers and tossed the head onto the dressing table.

He wiped his hands and gathered his loose hair. The copper mirror reflected a face that could easily belong to either gender; with ink-black hair and porcelain skin, his pale face stained with blood gave him an eerie, alluring beauty.

“Is it done?” The window lattice of the outer room was tapped, and a hoarse, deep voice echoed from outside. It was Wei Jiu, who was on the mission with him, responsible for keeping a secret lookout.

Wei San paused, stuffed the robe containing the head into a box, and walked to the window to hand it out. “It is done,” he said, simple and crisp. “Zhang Xing has been executed.”

Wei Jiu did not even look at the box; he took it casually, his gaze fixed entirely on Wei San’s face.

For today’s mission, Wei San had disguised himself in women’s clothing. Though he was a man through and through, that exquisitely refined face was even more breathtaking than the most beautiful courtesan in the Nan Zhi Pavilion.

Wei Jiu’s scrutiny was too direct. Wei San glanced at him coldly. “Have you seen enough?”

Wei Jiu chuckled. “You acting as a dead soldier is, quite frankly, a waste of natural talent.”

Wei San did not comment; instead, he expressionlessly flicked several poison darts.

Wei Jiu’s pupils dilated in shock as he scrambled to dodge, muttering, “Third Brother, that’s not very kind. I only teased you a little; was it really necessary to kill me to silence me?”

His response was a sleeve-hidden sword thrust straight toward his face. Wei San’s strike was lightning-fast and entirely devoid of mercy he had truly intended to kill. Wei Jiu immediately arched backward and leaped from the window sill.

Like a monkey, he climbed to the window sill of another room. Amidst the dim, yellowish candlelight filtering through the window paper, he gestured to Wei San that he was leaving before melting into the darkness.

Wei San silently retracted his sleeve sword and swept his sleeve, causing the window to shut with a thud.

He turned and looked at the corpse on the bed, pondered for a moment, and took a token from his belt, tossing it under the bedstead. He then changed out of the female dress and back into the night-traveling clothes that exposed only his face.

As he put on his mask, Wei San caught the scent of the sickly-sweet rouge lingering on his body and frowned instinctively. He did not like this scent, but this was no place to linger, so he had to endure it.

He quickly cleaned up the traces in the room and vaulted out the window.

Wei San’s lightness skill was the best in the dead soldier camp, and he vanished into the dark within a few movements.

Not long after he left, the horizon turned the color of a fish’s belly (dawn). Early-rising scholars and commoners began their day, while the flower street reached the end of its revelry.

After seeing off their patrons, the prostitutes returned to their rooms to rest, and the procuresses went from door to door, notifying the guests who had stayed the night that it was closing time.

“Master Zhang, Master Zhang? Are you awake? It is now time for us to close; you should return home.”

The procuress called out several times, but no one answered. He found it strange—he had shouted so loudly that even a god of sleep should have been startled awake. Why was there no movement from Master Zhang? Could it be that last night’s courtesan was too unbridled, and they had been at it all night long?

His thoughts were lewd, but he dared not open the door to see for himself. These high-ranking officials could decide his life or death with a single word; he dared not offend them.

The procuress had no choice but to resign himself to his fate and wait patiently by the door. It wasn’t until full daylight that servants from Master Zhang’s estate came looking for him that he dared to push the door open.

It would have been better if he hadn’t. Once opened, a major disaster was revealed.

Master Zhang, who should have been lost in a bed of pleasure, had been decapitated. He had been dead all night without anyone noticing.

Within less than a cup of tea’s time, the entire capital of Liang knew that a high-ranking official had been killed in the Nan Zhi Pavilion overnight.

Because the official’s background was deeply entangled, the capital’s yamen dared not interfere. The case was directly transferred to the Supreme Court. In less than an hour, the Nan Zhi Pavilion was surrounded by soldiers.

News that an imperial official had been assassinated under the Emperor’s feet—and that he was a trusted aide to the Crown Prince—had already reached the ears of various factions. No one could fathom who would be bold enough to kill someone under the Crown Prince’s nose, effectively slapping the Prince in the face.

If a dignified Crown Prince couldn’t even protect his own confidant, who else would dare to defect to his side?

Inside the Eastern Palace:

“A bunch of useless trash!”

Crown Prince Wei Heng threw his white jade teacup. A group of people knelt before him in a flurry.

He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Go and investigate, all of you!”

“If you can’t find the culprit, bring me your heads!”

At the same time, the Fifth Prince, Wei Yan, was busy kicking someone while they were down.

“Wei Heng, oh Wei Heng, look who finally has his day.”

He summoned his secret guard. “Go, stir the waters of the capital even further.”

The secret guard acknowledged the order, bowed, and retreated silently.

While hidden tides surged throughout the capital, the mastermind behind it all, Wei San, was currently lost in thought while hiding in a tree outside the room of the Virtuous Prince (Xian Wang).

It was his turn to be on duty today. Even though he had finished a mission last night, he could not use that as an excuse to take a leave.

Perhaps it was because he hadn’t slept all night, but Wei San felt waves of dizziness. His mind was unclear, and a persistent, unbearable wave of heat kept surging within his body.

Summer had only just begun, yet the cicadas began chirping early in the morning, making one feel restless and agitated.

Wei San fired a few silver needles, precisely pinning the cicadas to the tree trunk, silencing their annoying noise.

He had expected that peace would end his restlessness, but as time passed, the heat within his body intensified, burning him until his mind felt muddled.

The midday sun was fierce. Wei San loosened his collar to dissipate the heat, vaguely wondering if he should find someone to replace him on duty. However, he remembered that he was the only one on duty today, and the Prince could not be left without someone watching over him, so he had to dismiss the thought.

He shook his head, trying hard to stay awake, but unexpectedly, he felt even dizzier, his body softening to the point of losing all strength.

This was highly abnormal. Lack of sleep alone could not cause this; it felt more like he had been poisoned.

Wei San had been trained as a dead soldier since childhood, crawling his way out of the dead soldier camp. He had tried thousands of types of poison, and he subconsciously assumed he was immune to them. He never imagined he would fall victim to one now.

He carefully recalled everything that had happened last night, finally remembering the sickly-sweet scent of rouge he had smelled before leaving.

The only poisons found on pleasure boats were those meant to enhance a patron’s pleasure. Common aphrodisiacs were not lethal. Reacting this severely likely meant he had been hit with a potent aphrodisiac called “Spring Banquet,” often used in brothels to force compliance from courtesans who refused to sell themselves.

He did carry antidote pills, but for a volatile poison like “Spring Banquet,” the pills were useless; the only way to resolve it was to… do that deed.

Wei San pinched his thigh hard, using the pain to wake himself up and prevent his mind from wandering.

Though the aphrodisiac was potent, Wei San’s willpower was beyond that of ordinary men, having crawled out of the dead soldier camp as he did.

There were only two hours left until his shift ended. He gritted his teeth and decided to endure it.

Wei San held on until the shift change. When he left, his mind was no longer clear, but he displayed no abnormalities on the surface. After nodding to Wei Er, who was taking over his shift, he hurried away.

Wei Er and Wei Liu watched him disappear in the blink of an eye, looking at each other in confusion.

Wei Er rubbed his chin and smacked his lips. “Why does it feel like Wei San is a bit strange today?”

However, what did that have to do with him?

The two of them instantly cast the anomaly to the back of their minds, standing perfectly still like invisible statues until their master was escorted out of the courtyard by the maids, at which point they moved to follow.

Wei San returned to his quarters, grabbed a change of clothes, and went straight out the door. Just as he stepped over the threshold, he collided head-on with Wei Jiu, who had just returned from a mission.

“Is Third Brother heading to wash up?”

Wei Jiu, having already forgotten the pain of his injury, grinned and leaned in toward Wei San. Wei San immediately retreated a step as if facing a great enemy.

Wei Jiu was hurt by his reaction, but he didn’t think much of it, assuming Wei San was still angry about his teasing last night.

He curled his lip and answered himself: “The bathhouse is packed with those beasts. If you go now, Third Brother, you’ll likely have to wait a good long while.”

The “beasts” he referred to were, of course, the other dead soldiers and secret guards.

Wei San nodded a thank you, but he didn’t listen to Wei Jiu’s advice to turn back. Instead, he took his basin and headed toward the back mountain of the dead soldier camp.

There was a small pond in the back mountain, one he had stumbled upon by accident. It was very secluded and perfect for avoiding prying eyes.

On the other side, Wei Zheng was escorted by maids to the back garden.

He was incredibly handsome, with sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, his facial structure sharp as if carved by a knife. Even the most vibrant flowers seemed dull and faded in his presence.

Yet, despite this highly aggressive appearance, he possessed eyes that revealed a sense of innocence and silliness.

After curiously examining a hydrangea, he reached out to pluck a peony. He only sniffed its fragrance before tossing the flower away, feeling bored.

The maids behind him watched him fuss about. Seeing the sky darken with no sign of him stopping, the leading female official advised, “Your Highness, it is getting late; you should return for your meal.”

Wei Zheng had just torn off a petal of a hollyhock. Hearing this, he turned around, dissatisfied. “I haven’t played enough yet; I am not going back.”

“Your Highness, it will be the same if you play tomorrow,” the female official said, sounding as helpless as if she were coaxing a child.

“I want to play now!” Wei Zheng lifted his chin and huffed. Before the official could speak, he suddenly cheered up and said self-indulgently, “All of you, get out! I want to play by myself.”

“But His Majesty ordered this servant…”

The female official was in a dilemma, but Wei Zheng immediately flared up. “Do you dare to disobey me? Who is the master here?”

“When I see Father later, I will tell him about this and have all your heads chopped off!”

The female official closed her mouth, daring not to question him further. She could only watch as he ran away like a bird released from a cage.

The moment Wei Zheng ran out of the garden archway, his expression changed instantly; there was no longer a trace of that innocence, childishness, or silliness.

He walked quickly away. When he reached a secluded courtyard and confirmed that no one was around, he stopped and addressed the empty air. “Come out.”

Wei Er and Wei Liu, who were in the shadows, knelt before him.

“What are your orders, Master?”

Wei Zheng scanned them from a superior height, finally fixing his gaze on Wei Liu, who was about the same height as himself. “Take off your clothes.”