The Loyal Dead Soldier Did Not Plan to Run with a Bun (Pregnant) - Chapter 21

Wei Zheng and Wei San shared the same thought, but since the old Emperor’s oral decree had already been issued, Wei San would have to attend the palace banquet whether he liked it or not.

He twisted his fingertips and narrowed his eyes slightly, wondering what kind of game the old Emperor was playing. Regardless, he would accompany him and play along.

“Very well, I understand. You may return for now.”

He waved his hand at the court lady to dismiss her, still harboring resentment that she had ruined his alone time with Wei San.

The court lady also knew that she had come at an inopportune time, so she left once her message was delivered.

With the bothersome person gone, Wei Zheng boldly reached out to grab Wei San’s arm, pulling him along for a walk along the lakeshore.

Wei San subconsciously struggled at first, but then, thinking of something, he dutifully allowed himself to be held.

The morning sun rose from the mountain peaks, and thousands of beams of orange-red light completely broke through the clouds and mist, lifting the light veil covering the lake and refracting onto the water, flickering with fine, sparkling spots of light.

The death-sworn guard was overly obedient and disciplined; if Wei Zheng did not start a conversation, he would never utter a single word.

Wei Zheng loved his obedience and docility, yet he hated that he was wooden and unresponsive.

Counting it up, he hadn’t touched his death-sworn guard in over a month. Ever since he had tasted that sweetness, he had been left hanging able to look but not touch and his heart had long been itching with desire.

Wei Zheng was certainly no noble gentleman; he would use any means necessary to achieve what he wanted.

He hadn’t brought the man to this remote, quiet place early in the morning just to enjoy the flowers and scenery; he needed to create an opportunity to draw closer to the death-sworn guard.

He wasn’t in a hurry to do anything. Instead, he walked for a long time as if he were truly just taking a stroll, but the act of pulling the guard’s arm had long since changed to holding the guard’s hand in his own palm.

The death-sworn guard lowered his eyes and glanced at them several times, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he just frowned and allowed himself to be held.

Wei Zheng took the opportunity to explain: “You must accompany me to the banquet in the palace tomorrow. We must get used to skin-to-skin contact as soon as possible; otherwise, if we appear distant under the eyes of those old foxes of nobles and aristocrats, it will be hard not to arouse suspicion.”

“As you say, Master.” Wei San believed his reasoning without a shred of doubt, and even proactively held his hand back.

Wei Zheng loved this bit of initiative, so he proceeded to take a mile after being given an inch, without any psychological burden. His fingers interlocked with the guard’s, and then he tightened his grip.

Perhaps because he was unaccustomed to it, the guard’s fingertips clearly trembled, but after a moment of hesitation, he firmly curled his fingers, locking their hands together.

The death-sworn guard’s reaction was overly cute. Wei Zheng raised his eyebrows slightly, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

Since the death-sworn guard was so obedient, if he chose to strike directly and explicitly say that he was craving the man’s body, would the guard, without a second thought, obediently wash himself clean and deliver himself to his bed?

The thought only passed through his mind; he did not dwell on it, unaware that he had let a perfect opportunity slip through his fingers.

Merely holding hands could no longer satisfy Wei Zheng’s increasingly deep desire. He glanced nonchalantly at the downcast guard, a mischievous intent rising in his heart.

He stopped, frowned, and pondered for a moment before saying: “Right now, you are my male favorite to the outside world. Just holding hands is too simple; outsiders may not necessarily believe in our relationship.”

Wei San had been looking down, wondering how long his Master would keep holding his hand. He hadn’t reacted when he heard this, and looked up in slight confusion, saying “Hm?” “Master, what do you mean by that?”

The simple-minded death-sworn guard did not know that Wei Zheng was harboring bad intentions. His gaze, full of aggression, landed on Wei San’s rosy, moist, thin lips, then slowly drifted away to rest on his slightly flushed cheeks. He pointed at his own cheek with ill intent and smiled: “Little death-sworn guard, practice kissing me now to prepare. Get used to it well, so you don’t mess up the performance tomorrow.”

“Wh… what?”

Wei San thought he had misheard. When he met Wei Zheng’s extremely serious gaze—which looked nothing like a joke—a sudden wave of shyness struck his soul, making his scalp numb.

“Master, please do not joke. This subordinate… this subordinate dares not.”

Kiss his Master? How could that be? Wouldn’t that be tarnishing his Master’s purity?

He hurriedly shook off Wei Zheng’s hand, posturing to kneel and beg for forgiveness, but was grabbed by the arm by the quick-witted Wei Zheng, who firmly prevented it.

Wei Zheng knew it would be like this, but instead of being annoyed, he watched with interest as the death-sworn guard turned red from head to toe.

“What are you nervous about? It’s just lips touching a cheek; what big deal is it? Besides, we are both men; what is there to lose?”

His tone was extremely nonchalant, as if the request he had just made was an everyday, common occurrence. He looked just like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, coaxing his prey to deliver itself into his mouth.

Wei San was so panicked that he had nowhere to place his eyes; he dared not look him directly in the face.

“But…”

Wei San was used to being slow-witted and could not out-talk him, but he knew in his heart that this was very wrong.

“This kind of thing… isn’t that something only husbands and wives do? This is contrary to reason.”

His Master was someone who would marry in the future. He already carried the bad reputation of keeping a male favorite because of him; if this matter were not brought into the open, it could be treated as dinner table chatter, with its truth unknown. But if those pedantic civil officials really saw his Master dallying with a male favorite, they would likely report it to the Emperor, write a hundred or eighty articles of scolding, and spread it so that the whole capital knew, turning him into a laughingstock for no reason.

Although the Great Yu Dynasty was open-minded, being a “cut-sleeve” was not mainstream. If the label of being a cut-sleeve were truly pinned on his Master, what daughter of a noble family would dare marry the Prince in the future?

He opened his mouth, trying to persuade Wei Zheng, but Wei Zheng smiled and said: “But you are my male favorite now, are you not? In the eyes of outsiders, that is no different from being a husband and wife; hugging and kissing are normal.”

He was full of distorted logic, spinning Wei San until his head couldn’t turn; he was led around by the nose, feeling dizzy.

“But Master…”

Wei San’s rationality was still online, and he tried to struggle.

Wei Zheng placed his palm against Wei San’s face, tempting him step by step: “Wei San, you are my most obedient death-sworn guard, are you not? Do you want those people to discover that you are not my male favorite, thereby letting them peel back the layers to discover more secrets and cause me disadvantage?”

“Or is it that you are unwilling? Do you mind being too close to me?”

As he spoke, his tone shifted, becoming a bit gentler, yet he could not hide his disappointment.

The person in his palm shrank back. Perhaps it was because the words were too heavy, the loyal death-sworn guard became anxious at once: “This subordinate has never thought to ruin Master’s plans; it is only for fear of insulting Master’s reputation, not that I am unwilling.”

The death-sworn guard’s inner disclosure stunned Wei Zheng. He knew the guard was single-minded and viewed him as more important than himself, but he hadn’t expected him to be so concerned that he would even consider his reputation for him.

He couldn’t help but knead and rub the guard’s face; the silk-like, soft texture felt excellent, making him love it all the more and unable to keep his hands off.

He hummed a laugh and teased: “Little death-sworn guard, you are the one doing the dirty work that brings condemnation, yet you care more about such useless things as reputation than I do.”

Wei Zheng never cared about reputation; such things were merely shackles added by others or himself. One had to be cautious in every movement, which was truly unpleasant. He did not consider himself a good person, much less a noble gentleman. What he cared about was how to obtain what he wanted using the methods most favorable to himself.

Just as right now, he only wanted to demand a kiss from Wei San; as long as it was what he wanted, he would obtain it no matter what.

He pointed to his cheek again, turned his head slightly, and gave a very clear hint: “Since you are not unwilling, then hurry and kiss me.”

He sighed with feigned distress: “There is still a hard battle to fight tomorrow. I don’t know what methods Father will come up with to make things difficult for me.”

Wei San’s heart tightened as he listened. He had followed Wei Zheng for so long, and although he had never appeared in the open, he knew that the old Emperor’s doting on his Master was only because his Master was a fool with no threat. But now that his Master was no longer a fool, even with the unseemly hobby of being a cut-sleeve as a shield, the old Emperor was likely still very wary of him.

Since his Master was already so distressed, how could he let his Master have a difficult time?

Wei San hesitated for a moment, finally putting aside the rules he had always strictly observed. He climbed onto Wei Zheng’s arm, leaned over, stood on his tiptoes, and quickly pecked his cheek like a dragonfly skimming the water, after which he retreated several steps back as if his eyebrows had been burned.

It was his first time proactively doing such a dissolute thing, and the object was the Master he revered and respected.

Thinking of what he had done, Wei San could no longer hold back; he lowered his head, covered his burning face, and wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into and disappear on the spot.

“Little death-sworn guard, your kiss is much too perfunctory; I felt nothing at all. This won’t do; you must do it again.”

The soft, warm touch of lips had come and gone in an instant. Wei Zheng had only felt it once and it was gone before he could even savor it. While secretly happy inside, he was even more unsatisfied. He was just about to grab the man back to tease him properly when he saw two people wrapped tightly in night-traveling clothes darting out from far away.

It was Duan Lin and Wei Er, who had been missing for a long time.

As soon as Wei San saw Duan Lin, he immediately became like a mouse seeing a cat. He forced himself to calm his emotions, stood straight with military posture, and did not dare to show even a trace of transgression or negligence.

The amorous atmosphere that had been so hard to build was destroyed just like that. Wei Zheng gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, trying his best to suppress the urge to tell these two death-sworn guards who had no sense of reading the room to get lost.

He glanced sideways at Wei San, who had already put all his attention on the two, and felt that he hadn’t checked the almanac before going out today; otherwise, why would one person after another keep breaking in and ruining his good deeds?

In the few moments it took him to suppress his anger, Duan Lin and Wei Er had already arrived before him. Removing their masks, they knelt on one knee.

“Greetings, Master.”

“Get up.” Wei Zheng waved his hand irritably and asked: “What is the matter that is so urgent?”

Although he was annoyed that the two had ruined a good thing, Wei Zheng was not truly angry.

Duan Lin would not come suddenly without reason, and Wei Er, after following the Grand Tutor into the imperial palace, had been disguised and lurking there. Unless it was a major event, he would not have taken the risk of being discovered to return privately.

Since both of them came to find him at the same time, it could only mean something major had happened.

Wei Er and Duan Lin exchanged a look, and under Duan Lin’s signal, Wei Er whispered a few words into his ear.

Wei Zheng abruptly raised his eyes, a sharp, cold light flashing in them.

He asked Wei Er: “How much certainty is there that what you said is true?”

Wei Er replied: “Sixty percent certainty.”

Wei Zheng’s expression darkened, as gloomy as ink. He pondered in silence for a moment, then suddenly sneered.

“Whether it is true or false, this is help delivered to my door; why would I have any reason not to use it?”