The Loyal Dead Soldier Did Not Plan to Run with a Bun (Pregnant) - Chapter 10

The female official arrived punctually as always, bringing the maids to serve Wei Zheng in washing and dressing, but she arrived at the bedchamber to find it empty.

She stared at the empty bed, which clearly hadn’t been slept in all night, and fell into deep thought. After a long moment, she led the maids to the side hall, where, as expected, she found the Prince with the new male concubine.

The first thing she saw upon entering was the scholar, who was huddled at the edge of the bed clutching his collar, his neck covered in variegated marks, his face pale and eyes shimmering with tears looking exactly like a pure maiden who had been defiled and bullied by a tyrant.

And that “tyrant” was none other than her own Prince, looking refreshed and leisurely, pinching and playing with the scholar’s hair strands.

The female official closed her eyes, unable to bear the sight, thinking the scholar was truly pitiful.

Naturally, she wouldn’t blame the Virtuous Prince for the sake of a scholar; the slight pity in her heart was soon trampled underfoot.

With a beaming smile, she walked into the room. “Your Highness, it is time to wash and dress.”

Wei Zheng acted as if he had only just noticed her, glancing at her lazily: “Can’t you see I am in the middle of being intimate with my beauty? I am not getting up.”

As he spoke, he sat up and, ignoring the scholar’s resistance, reached out to wrap his arms around the scholar’s slender waist, looking very much like he was about to stage a “forcible assault” in front of everyone.

“P-Prince… please, have some self-respect.”

The scholar shrank away into the corner of the bed, having nowhere to escape. He was filled with panic, his long, curled eyelashes trembling as he shook off the teardrops clinging to them.

Weak and beautiful, he made one feel not only pity but also a desire to crush him ruthlessly.

How could a Virtuous Prince, already blinded by lust, resist such temptation? He said urgently to the female official: “All of you, withdraw! No one is allowed in without my command.”

Following this, the bed curtains were lowered. Before the scene inside was completely obscured, the maids only caught a glimpse of their Prince pinning the pitiful scholar beneath him.

The scholar let out a startled cry, after which he fell silent.

A moment later, the crisp sound of tearing fabric was heard, followed by broken, heart-pounding sobs that made one’s face flush and heart race.

The group of maids blushed, while the female official’s expression turned as gloomy as a pot bottom covered in ten years of soot.

She clutched her aching forehead and waved her hand at the maids; then, the group left the side hall in a grandiose procession.

On the bed, Wei San pushed against Wei Zheng’s chest with both hands, listening to the footsteps fading away outside. He whispered to Wei Zheng with his breath: “Master, they have left.”

So… was it time to let him get up? His undergarment sleeve had been torn; he needed to change into a new one.

Wei Zheng responded but did not move. Instead, he pulled Wei San with him as he rolled over, changing from being on top into an embrace, sleeping together.

He let out a lazy yawn: “I didn’t sleep well last night, and since I can’t leave for a while anyway, keep me company and sleep a little longer.”

Sleep… sleep again?

Wei San estimated the time; it was already the end of the Yin hour (around 5:00 AM). Usually, he would be practicing martial arts at the training grounds at this time, but…

His peripheral vision fell stealthily on Wei Zheng, who had his eyes closed in a light nap, and he silently swallowed the words about wanting to get up to practice.

It wasn’t until the sun was high in the sky that Wei Zheng finally released his grip, and the master and servant rose leisurely.

Wei San consciously took on the task of dressing him. He put the clothes on the Master piece by piece, meticulously tying the belt. While he was pinning up the Master’s hair, he heard the Master ask a seemingly casual question: “Wei San, what was your original name?”

Wei San was stunned. His original name? He couldn’t remember clearly.

He had long since forgotten most of his childhood memories. The most profound impression he had was that his former home was a dilapidated thatched hut with nothing in it. His nominal father was a degenerate gambler who had bet both him and his mother away.

He had fallen into the hands of human traffickers, and the passing Commander Duan had bought him back. As for where his mother had gone, he did not know.

He had been less than seven years old when he entered the dead soldier camp, the youngest in the camp at the time.

Children like them who entered the dead soldier camp were not allowed names. Back then, he had received the code name “Seventy-one”; that was his name.

Later, among over a hundred children, he had climbed out of the dead soldier camp by stepping over flesh and blood, becoming the third most powerful among the fifteen dead soldiers who remained.

The surviving batch of dead soldiers was bestowed with the Master’s surname, and thus he had received the name Wei San.

He was only lost in thought for a moment before he replied with a firm tone: “Master, Wei San is my name.”

As he spoke, he had already finished pinning up Wei Zheng’s hair, securing it with a white jade crown, and stepped back two paces.

Wei Zheng looked at the submissive dead soldier in the copper mirror and had a sudden impulse to embrace him.

He rubbed his fingertips and chuckled softly: “A male concubine of this Prince cannot continue using the name Wei San. If someone else hears it, how should I call you?”

“Since you are nameless, let’s call you Sui Yun in front of outsiders.”

The name “Sui Yun” carried no special significance; it was just that when he had the urge to rename Wei San, Wei Zheng thought of his mother’s favorite nickname for him in his childhood, “A-Yun,” and it had slipped out by some strange impulse.

Wei San had never expected that the Master would bestow a name upon him. His nose felt sour, filled with irrepressible joy and emotion. It was as if, with this name, he was no longer a rootless duckweed with no name, no past, and no future.

“Many thanks to the Master for the name. This subordinate swears on my life that I will never let down the Master’s trust!” He performed a grand salute to Wei Zheng, his voice choked with emotion.

Wei Zheng watched the dead soldier, who was so moved he was about to cry, feeling quite distressed.

It seems that, by accident, the little dead soldier is now even more loyal. But he wanted more than just this; he also wanted the little dead soldier’s heart.

After that day, everyone in the Virtuous Prince’s estate knew that Master Sui Yun in the side hall was deeply favored. Although he had no formal status, everyone in their hearts knew clearly that apart from the Prince, Master Sui Yun was the second master.

Yet, Master Sui Yun, who was considered deeply favored in the eyes of others, was not very happy. He had been trapped in the estate for several days; Wei San, who had never been idle for more than a day, felt as if his bones were about to rust.

Locked up in the estate for these days, Wei San admired the Master even more.

The estate was filled with eyes everywhere; every move was watched, making it impossible to do as one pleased.

If it were like this for him, the acting-foolish Master must be having an even harder time. And this life, the Master had endured for nearly ten years.

If it were him, he would have been driven mad long ago.

“Third Brother, the food here is too good!”

Wei Jiu crouched behind the bookshelf, holding a plate of snowflake crisps, rustling like a little mouse stealing food.

Wei San, who was distracted while wiping his sleeve-hidden sword with a silk cloth, came back to his senses and slowly put down the silk cloth: “If you like it, you can come every day.”

“Really?”

Wei Jiu’s eyes lit up instantly. Wei San nodded, and he immediately added flatteringly: “As expected, Third Brother is the best.”

He swallowed the last piece of snowflake crisp whole, peering out from behind the bookshelf to confirm there was no one outside the room, walked openly to Wei San’s side, and sat down.

He crossed his legs in a slouching manner. Wei San’s gaze swept toward his legs, and he immediately sat up straight.

“Has anything happened lately?”

Wei San put away his sleeve-hidden sword. During these days he had been locked in the side hall acting as a male concubine, he was completely cut off from the outside world; he not only didn’t know how the camp was doing, but he didn’t even know the recent news in the capital.

This made him feel very uneasy, feeling as if this were a dereliction of his duty as a dead soldier.

That Wei Jiu could come today was entirely thanks to the Prince leaving the estate and taking the attendant female official and maids with him.

Wei Jiu was someone who couldn’t sit still; making him sit properly was no different from handcuffing and binding him.

He was listless, as if he had no bones. He poured himself a cup of tea, leaned back against the chair, stretched out his legs, and pondered the events that had occurred recently, one by one.

There were only two major events in the capital recently. Apart from the scandalous news of the Virtuous Prince taking a fancy to a scholar and snatching him to be a male concubine, there was a new breakthrough in the case of the high-ranking official who had been killed a few days ago.

The Supreme Court had somehow gathered clues, applied for a search warrant with soldiers, and found a skull reduced to white bone in the dog house at the home of Censor-in-Chief Yan Zheng.

The Censor-in-Chief didn’t even have time to cry injustice before he was arrested on the spot and taken to prison.

The skull was brought back to the Supreme Court, and the coroner compared it with Zhang Xing’s corpse, confirming that it was Zhang Xing’s head.

Subsequently, evidence of buying assassins to assassinate Zhang Xing was found in Yan Zheng’s study, one after another. With the white paper and black ink, and the flow of money, Yan Zheng’s guilt was completely established.

The case concluded in just three days; Yan Zheng was stripped of his official rank and sentenced to be beheaded after autumn, while all his family relatives were sent into exile.

“Speaking of which, both of these things are related to you, Third Brother.”

Wei Jiu finished drinking the cold tea in one gulp after saying this, bringing it up as if it were a joke.

Wei San didn’t respond to his tease, lost in his own thoughts: “This Censor-in-Chief and Zhang Xing were never on good terms, and he was a man of the Fifth Prince. It’s not a surprise the Crown Prince chose him.”

He didn’t know about Wei Zheng’s secret decision, but his brain wasn’t slow; after thinking about it just a little, he guessed the key to it all.

Zhang Xing’s death was a foregone conclusion. The murderer behind it was hidden too deeply to be dug out in a short time. It wasn’t surprising the Crown Prince would use Zhang Xing’s death to drag the Fifth Prince into the water.

Since he had lost one of his right-hand men, why not use this to maximize his interests and chop off one of the Fifth Prince’s arms as well?

With this, both the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince had lost a fierce warrior, while the hidden Wei Zheng had sat back and reaped the benefits.

Of all people, the Fifth Prince was the unluckiest; fishing in troubled waters not only failed to catch a fish but also tripped and took a tumble. Other than being furiously incompetent, he couldn’t make any counterattacks.

After all, that token of the Fifth Prince’s secret guard found under the bed was still held in the Crown Prince’s hand; falling out with the Crown Prince at this time would certainly not lead to any good.

Wei Jiu didn’t stay long before leaving, leaving only Wei San in the side hall.

Since he couldn’t practice martial arts or boxing while alone, he could only take out the poison needles on his body and quench them with poison, again and again.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when he heard a series of footsteps outside the room. Wei San’s heart was filled with joy, thinking the Master had returned, but after listening carefully with both ears, he immediately put away the smile on his face, with a grave expression.