Chapter 108 Finale: Dedicating Everything to Her

Ever since discovering that Yue Guanyi started to like sweets, every time after court, she would bring back some candies from the market. Sometimes it was ordinary sweet fruits, sometimes just the most common osmanthus cakes.

Yue Guanyi always loved these simple sweet treats from the common people, finishing them all every time. Yet he wouldn’t touch the exquisite pastries made by the pastry chefs specially assigned from the palace, which only made her laugh and cry.

On the first snow of winter, a thin layer of white covered the world. After court, Qiu Shuzhi walked through the light snow underfoot. Passing by the market, she heard the calls of the tanghulu vendor. Round and red hawthorn fruits were strung together, wrapped in transparent syrup, glistening in the winter sunlight.

She casually bought a stick of tanghulu from the market vendor to bring back.

Yue Guanyi was sitting at the table, his needle and thread moving back and forth.

The main door was half open, fine winter snow drifting past the doorway, beautiful like a silhouette painting.

During this time, Yue Guanyi’s body had mostly recovered, his lower abdomen no longer frequently aching. In his leisure time, he had even started to play with needlework.

His thick, soft long hair was tied up with a white jade hairpin, a few strands of dark hair falling in front of his forehead. The hem of his deep blue robe was near a charcoal brazier at his feet, occasionally emitting crackling burning sounds. Beside his hand was an incense burner, the daily incense permeating his body with a lingering agarwood scent.

Qiu Shuzhi held the tanghulu in front of Yue Guanyi. His eyes suddenly lit up as he looked up at her: “Wife-master, you’re back!”

He happily brushed off the thin snow on her collar. At that moment, it seemed even the winter wind had been warmed.

Qiu Shuzhi took off her heavy cloak and put the tanghulu in his hand: “Try it. Haven’t you been loving sour-sweet fruits lately?”

Yue Guanyi put down his needlework and slightly opened his mouth to bite one, holding it in his mouth. His lips and teeth lightly touched, the sweet and slightly sour taste making him squint his eyes in satisfaction.

“Is it good?” she asked with a smile, watching him.

Yue Guanyi nodded, his eyes bright and shining. He held the candied hawthorn to her lips: “Wife-master, you try some too.”

Qiu Shuzhi took a bite and her face contorted from the sourness. She swallowed with difficulty and said: “This vendor actually used such sour hawthorn to cut corners. Even that much syrup can’t cover the sour taste. Next time we won’t buy from her.”

Yue Guanyi took another bite: “How can that be? It’s not sour at all.”

“Then perhaps the only tooth-achingly sour fruit was the one I ate,” Qiu Shuzhi didn’t pay it much mind.

Yue Guanyi stuck the tanghulu into a white porcelain vase with a slender neck nearby. He got up mysteriously and took out a piece of clothing he had already embroidered from the wardrobe.

“Wife-master, this is the winter clothing I made for you. Try it on and see if it fits,” Yue Guanyi said, as if seeking praise.

Qiu Shuzhi looked at the clothes in his hands. The stitching was dense and the embroidery patterns were exquisite: “No wonder you’ve been so secretive lately, and your hands always had needle marks. When I asked, you wouldn’t say. So you were secretly making clothes.”

She took Yue Guanyi’s hand and spread it open. That perfect porcelain-like hand was covered with tiny needle marks. She felt grateful yet pained: “There are embroiderers in the household to make clothes. You’re the eldest prince, why do these tiring things? Look at your hands… Don’t do this next time.”

Yue Guanyi bit his lip lightly, full of grievance and jealousy: “Does wife-master not like the clothes I made? That day I saw cousin sewing clothes for wife-master, and wife-master was so happy. I thought wife-master liked it. But of course, my needlework can’t compare to cousin’s.”

Qiu Shuzhi helplessly squeezed his palm: “Not at all. I think your craftsmanship is much better than cousin’s. These stitches and embroidery patterns are all to my liking.”

“Really?” Yue Guanyi’s eyes were hopeful.

Qiu Shuzhi nodded and took the initiative to put on the clothes he had made. With the charcoal fire burning in the room, the thick winter clothes wrapped around her body made her face show a slight flush. She praised: “Not bad, it fits well.”

Yue Guanyi smiled, pressing his lips together.

Qiu Shuzhi stroked his smooth long hair and teased: “…Look at you just now, the whole room filled with jealousy. How can you even be jealous of cousin?”

“……” Yue Guanyi lowered his head. He was indeed jealous.

He and Qiu Qiushuang were in the same manor, seeing each other all the time. Yet they both had their hearts set on this one woman.

Because of the blood relationship between Qiu Qiushuang and his wife-master, he couldn’t do anything to Qiu Qiushuang.

Qiu Qiushuang also relied on this relationship, occasionally calling Qiu Shuzhi to his room to deliberately irritate Yue Guanyi. He was like a fly that couldn’t be killed, just annoying.

Men are just jealous, love to compete for favor, love to be envious.

Even if he had everything, as long as his wife-master’s gaze lingered on another man for a second, he felt like he had lost the whole world, surrounded by enemies, without any sense of security.

Which woman’s back courtyard in the Great Qi wasn’t a mess of infighting, openly and secretly?

On the surface, brothers were friendly, but it was all a facade. Everyone in their hearts just wanted to finish off the others. The primary husband wanted to ruin the looks of those young cheap hooves to gain the wife-master’s pity alone, while the small attendants racked their brains trying to drag the haughty primary husband down into the mud.

If it were before, when Yue Guanyi still held the position of Commander of the Jinyiwei, he might have found some underhanded methods to make that eyesore Qiu Qiushuang pass away without anyone knowing.

But since pacifying the Dian King’s rebellion, he had retracted his claws, shed his armor, and offered up everything he had to Qiu Shuzhi, becoming her stepping stone to climb to the peak of power. He himself contentedly entered the back courtyard, to be an ordinary man.

After all, women should handle external affairs while men internal ones. Men should stay away from the court and focus on bearing and raising children for their wife-masters. It wasn’t proper for a man from a good family to show his face outside.

But thinking of bearing and raising children, Yue Guanyi lowered his head dejectedly, his expression becoming dazed and lost. He had taken so much medicinal soup, yet his belly still showed no signs of movement.

He was now caught between wolves in front and tigers behind. In the back courtyard, Qiu Qiushuang occasionally teased Qiu Niang, while in the front court, that old man Qin Qing eyed him covetously. He was under attack from all sides. The only thing that could temporarily get him out of trouble and shift Qiu Niang’s attention to him was a child.

Alas, his belly was not cooperating.

Some time ago, he went to the palace to pay respects to Qin Qing, just for show.

Who knew that old man would bring up old matters again, continuing to stuff people into Qiu Niang’s back courtyard. Before, he had reasons to refuse, but now everyone in the palace knew his body was not well and it was difficult for him to get pregnant.

Qin Qing used the excuse of ‘having no heir is the greatest sin’, effectively shutting his mouth. It angered him so much he nearly ground his teeth to pieces.

“Oh right, tomorrow is the winter solstice. You should come to the palace with me,” Qiu Shuzhi suggested. The Yue family now only had this pair of siblings left, so they needed to socialize more when possible.

Yue Guanyi thought for a moment. After all, the winter solstice was just eating a reunion meal, so he didn’t refuse.

By this time, it had already grown dark. The bright moon had climbed up the night sky, its clear and pure light making the snow covering the world look like the Milky Way spilled across it.

With the end of the year approaching, all matters big and small in the court had to pass through Qiu Shuzhi’s hands. It was truly busy. Tomorrow she had to get up early to go to the Ministry of Revenue to review finances, so she took off her clothes and went to bed early to rest.

Yue Guanyi slowly removed his outer garments, getting into bed wearing only the thin white undergarments. The faint white was like a wisp of smoke, slipping into the blankets.

Yue Guanyi’s hands were always cold. He placed them on his chest, warming them with his own body heat for a moment. Only when his hands were no longer cold did he dare to embrace Qiu Shuzhi from behind, his hands resting on the small of her back.

The moment skin touched skin, he felt like his hands had fallen into thick, steaming soup. Countless warm sensations enveloped him tightly. His cold, slightly pale finger bones instantly melted like ice and snow, turning into a pale cherry blossom pink.

Yue Guanyi felt distressed about her exhaustion. He didn’t dare move too much, fearing to disturb her rest, but he was also reluctant to leave this warmth. So he gently hugged her lower back, his forehead lightly pressed against her back.

Unexpectedly, Qiu Shuzhi moved slightly, silently pulling his hand from her waist to her chest.

Yue Guanyi was startled, worried that his movement had disturbed her: “Wife-master, did I wake you?”

Breathing was shallow inside the red gauze curtains. Yue Guanyi’s low voice, mixed with the thick fragrance of winter plum blossoms, became somewhat ambiguous.

Qiu Shuzhi turned over to face him, stretching out her arms to embrace him as they lay down: “No, go to sleep.”

Yue Guanyi responded softly and lay in Qiu Shuzhi’s arms, but the redness at the corners of his eyes deepened a layer, from light to dark, like freshly ground balsamine juice, pitiful.

Qiu Shuzhi pinched his chin and lifted it slightly, her thumb pad rubbing the faint red at the corner of his eye as she asked softly: “Why aren’t you happy?”

Yue Guanyi remained silent, a faint light like shallow water under moonlight flashing across his eyes, then hiding back into the thick night a moment later.

Qiu Shuzhi lay on her side, supporting her head with one hand: “Is it that you don’t want to enter the palace tomorrow?”

At the winter solstice banquet, besides the young emperor, there would naturally be the uncle-nephew pair of the Qin family. Qin Zhengya was alright, but Qin Qing and Yue Guanyi had always been at odds, incompatible as water and fire, kings who couldn’t see eye to eye. So Qiu Shuzhi thought Yue Guanyi was unhappy about this.

“If you don’t want to go, then you don’t have to. Don’t force yourself for my sake. We can stay home and celebrate on our own, which is just as good.”

Yue Guanyi shook his head. He wasn’t troubled about going to the palace… it was just… just…

His earlobes spread with a rouge-like redness. He bit his lip, a drop of blood-red seeping through his pale lip color. He suddenly leaned forward, his blushing lips brushing against Qiu Shuzhi’s mouth like a dragonfly skimming water.

He quietly lowered his head, his fingers nervously knotted together. It had been a long time since Qiu Niang had touched him.

He missed her so much.

But he had to be mindful of masculine propriety. Even if he wanted to tease, he couldn’t be too obvious, otherwise it would be frivolous and unbecoming of a primary husband. So he could only half-conceal, half-reveal, holding back the words in his mouth.

The candle was half-burnt, its light filtering through the red gauze curtains, casting a crimson glow over the entire room. The semi-transparent patterns woven into the gauze curtains hazily projected onto the side of his slender neck, like a budding flower blooming from his skin, waiting for her to pluck.

Qiu Shuzhi suddenly understood, the corners of her mouth slightly curling upwards, a trace of worry in her eyes turning into a light, joyful expression.

The night grew deeper, like a piece of black silk without a single star. The moonlight was shrouded and obscured by dark clouds, only faint grayish light seeping through the cracks in the cloud layer.

Yue Guanyi’s breathing was heavy, as if he had just been pulled out of water, his whole body dripping wet. Translucent beads of sweat condensed on his jade-like skin.

After being soaked for who knows how long, he tilted his head back slightly, the flower on his side changing from a bud to full bloom.

He lay back, looking at the red canopy rolling like ocean waves above him, feeling as if he were a drifting ship that had squeezed into her sea of tenderness.

The next day, when Yue Guanyi woke up, the bed was a mess, only the blanket covering his body was intact, with even the corners carefully tucked in.

Who else could have done this but Qiu Shuzhi?

Yue Guanyi felt both blessed and annoyed – annoyed at himself for being spoiled by Qiu Shuzhi to the point of not knowing propriety, actually not even knowing when his wife-master had woken up. But these days he always felt drowsy, sleeping more deeply than before. He didn’t want Qiu Shuzhi to wake him with even the slightest turn beside him like before.

He slowly changed his clothes, the dizziness from last night still making his head foggy today.

Such simple days always made him feel uneasy and insecure.

He was like a high tower suspended in the sky, always worried that all this happiness, too unreal, would collapse.

And the source of his unease was his inability to bear children for Qiu Shuzhi.

Yue Guanyi’s expression was somewhat heavy, feeling he shouldn’t continue to indulge like this. He needed to find a reputable doctor to prescribe some pregnancy medicine, so he could conceive soon.

He gave orders to Chang’an, who was quick and efficient. In less than half an hour, he had dragged the best doctor in the capital by the collar to Yue Guanyi.

Although Yue Guanyi was no longer in officialdom, his residual influence among the people remained.

The doctor was so frightened he knelt on the ground, not daring to raise his head.

Yue Guanyi half-reclined on the small leaf purple sandalwood by the bed, lifting his eyelids. His voice was calm but carried inherent royal authority: “The reason for inviting the doctor here, I presume Chang’an has already told you.”

The doctor hurriedly wiped his sweat and nodded: “Please allow this humble one to check Your Highness’s pulse, only then can I know how to prescribe pregnancy medicine according to your physical condition.”

Yue Guanyi extended his right hand, his jade-like wrist emerging from the snow-white sleeve as if soaked in ice water.

The doctor took out a prepared silk handkerchief to cover his wrist, placing two fingers on his pulse. Suddenly, his expression became somewhat strange.

Yue Guanyi’s face tightened: “What’s wrong?”

His heart suddenly clenched, looking uneasily at the doctor.

The doctor’s pulse-checking fingers tightened, as if carefully confirming something. Then, kneeling, he retreated two steps and kowtowed, shouting: “Congratulations to Your Highness, felicitations to Your Highness, this is a pregnancy pulse!”

Yue Guanyi was caught off guard by these words, his whole body stiffening. Even Chang’an’s congratulations beside him became distant and vague. His heart was pounding chaotically. After a brief daze, wild joy spread through him.

“Hurry, go to the palace, tell Qiu Niang!” Yue Guanyi clutched Chang’an’s collar, his voice trembling.

Chang’an ran out joyfully, almost tripping over the threshold.

Yue Guanyi lowered his head, carefully cradling his belly, cherishing the unborn child within beyond measure.

This was Qiu Niang’s flesh and blood, carrying half of Qiu Niang’s blood, in his belly.

Plop–

A hot teardrop fell on the back of his hand, splashing into a flower of tears.

Upon learning the good news, Qiu Shuzhi set aside all palace matters and rushed back urgently.

As soon as she entered, she saw Yue Guanyi lying on the bed, his palm tightly pressed against his lower abdomen. His exquisite beauty was matched only by a white garment, his eyes loving and gentle.

“Yue’er-” Qiu Shuzhi slowly approached.

Yue Guanyi laughed softly, taking her hand and placing it on his belly. His voice was as soft as willow catkins: “Qiu Niang, this is our child. We have a child now.”

Qiu Shuzhi caressed his belly, unable to describe the exact feeling. She only felt an indescribable, intangible joy, like the continuous fine rain of the plum rain season. Uncatchable, unceasing, it fell all over her in tiny droplets, leaving no part untouched, seeping into her heart.

She leaned forward, supporting herself with one hand on the pillar behind him, kissing him continuously.

The long kiss was like the endless plum rain. After one kiss, Yue Guanyi nestled in her embrace.

“It’s a pity it’s a boy.” This was the only imperfection in Yue Guanyi’s moment of happiness.

When the doctor diagnosed it was a male child, he felt as if half the flame burning in his heart had been suddenly extinguished, half of his infinite joy cut away.

But at least he could conceive. If he could carry one child, he could carry a second. He was determined to bear an intelligent and obedient daughter for his wife-master. In the future, all of Great Qi’s rivers and mountains would be hers.

Qiu Shuzhi gently patted his lower abdomen, very softly, like dusting off thin dust from a treasure.

“A boy is also very good, there’s nothing to regret. As soon as he’s born, I’ll request Her Majesty to bestow him the title of County Princess, ensuring him a smooth and worry-free life.” They were all her children; she didn’t want her son to suffer the same grievances as other boys in this world.

Moreover, in this world, it was men who bore children, men who had to walk the line between life and death. How could she have the right to be picky?

Yue Guanyi buried his head in her bosom, giving a moist “mm” in response.

He pulled Qiu Shuzhi’s sleeve, pressing it tightly against his heart. Tears kept rolling down. He felt increasingly guilty that he wasn’t carrying a girl, more grateful for Qiu Shuzhi’s protection and tolerance, and more determined to bear ten or eight children, definitely to give Qiu Niang many, many daughters to strengthen the family.

With Yue Guanyi finally pregnant, the entire manor became extremely careful, fearing any misstep in serving him. Even Qiu Shuzhi didn’t dare let him get out of bed casually, only daring to move him after his pregnancy was further along.

At night, Qiu Shuzhi gently stroked the scarred wound on Yue Guanyi’s flat lower abdomen, which remained fierce even after so long.

“Wife-master, do you think this might be our child coming back to us?”

Yue Guanyi didn’t dare look at the wound on his abdomen. The knife was driven in by himself; he remembered it to the bone. His guilt towards the unborn child pierced his heart even more deeply, but he couldn’t bring himself to mention it to Qiu Shuzhi. After all, it was all his fault.

“It will be, it will be.” Qiu Shuzhi’s eyes were full of tenderness.

A dreamy, misty light flickered in Yue Guanyi’s phoenix eyes. As if coquettishly seeking favor, he rested his chin in the crook of her neck, his arms tightly encircling her waist, his pale lips brushing against her collarbone.

The candlelight’s red shadow reflected in his eyes, revealing his deeply hidden violent emotions and boiling hot passion. He had finally dedicated his all to her.