Despite being weak to the point where even breathing was feeble, the harsh words that came out of him were unexpectedly hard to fend off. Qin Yuanxi might have pretended to be tough, but at this moment, he genuinely felt uncomfortable. When he was unconscious, there wasn’t much sensation, but now that he was awake, the unhealed wounds on his body were really hurting. To ignore this pain, he had to find something to divert his attention.
The only person capable of diverting his attention now was Zhao Tuo.
Leaning on Zhao Tuo’s shoulder, Qin Yuanxi sighed, “I heard it.”
Zhao Tuo remained silent, as if he had suddenly turned mute. Qin Yuanxi was quite patient, “I heard you say you’d kill me while I was giving birth to our child in the room.”
“Zhao Tuo, you have a ruthless heart.”
Uttering these words with a faint and weak tone, it sounded more than just a simple expression of grievance. Even though it was a straightforward remark, hearing it seemed like driving a knife into Zhao Tuo’s heart.
The events that happened before were somewhat blurry in Zhao Tuo’s memory, and being reminded by Qin Yuanxi made it hard for him to accept. Yet, he couldn’t lower his head at this moment. He turned his face away from Qin Yuanxi, clenched his fists, and replied, “So what!”
His tone remained rigid, his attitude stubborn, and he still couldn’t bring himself to face Qin Yuanxi directly.
“How about it?” Qin Yuanxi chuckled softly, a very low laughter that made Zhao Tuo furrow his brows and clench his fists tighter.
“Do you have any conscience at all? I was in there giving birth to our child, almost losing my life, and what about you?” Qin Yuanxi intentionally wrapped his arms around Zhao Tuo, uttering words that could pierce into Zhao Tuo’s heart, “Were you cursing me to death outside? No, were you plotting to take my life? What happened? Did someone stop you and you couldn’t succeed? Are you feeling frustrated? Well, now you have the chance again. Look, it’s just the two of us here. If you want to kill me, it’s as easy as pie.”
As Qin Yuanxi spoke, he grabbed Zhao Tuo’s hand and placed it on his own neck, saying, “Like this, exert force, tighten it. As long as you apply a little force, you can directly strangle me right now.”
He held those large hands tightly, feeling Zhao Tuo’s trembling, but he continued to provoke him, “Why not do it? Put some strength into it. Just a little effort, and you can directly snap my throat. You can fulfill your wish to kill me. What a perfect opportunity.”
“Do it, go ahead, use force. As long as you exert force, you can strangle me right away.”
Qin Yuanxi’s voice was very low, like a devil’s voice from hell, seductive and tempting. He could feel Zhao Tuo’s hands shaking more and more violently. Just as he was about to push a bit further, Zhao Tuo suddenly broke free from his grasp, his face changing abruptly. Qin Yuanxi, quick-witted, seized Zhao Tuo’s collar and pulled him back.
Lowering his head, he bit onto Zhao Tuo’s lips and kissed him passionately.
His actions were hasty, fearing that he might miss the opportunity and let Zhao Tuo slip away. He almost used all his strength, inevitably pulling at the wounds on his body, causing a sharp, agonizing pain. Qin Yuanxi endured the pain, wholeheartedly focused on kissing Zhao Tuo.
With a kiss carrying a touch of warmth, initially, Zhao Tuo wasn’t very cooperative. Having been together for so long, Qin Yuanxi knew him well. As the kiss progressed, Zhao Tuo gradually became more involved, increasingly entwined. Until slowly, Zhao Tuo returned to the state of kissing him passionately as before, Qin Yuanxi knew that the first step was accomplished.
Hooking his hand around Zhao Tuo’s neck, breathing gently, the passionate kiss had to pause because Qin Yuanxi was too weak to sustain it.
He still looked half-dead, and such a passionate kiss at this level was quite energy-draining. Even this brief kiss left Zhao Tuo dizzy and seeing black spots.
The cost of a handsome man strategy was quite high.
That wasn’t all; Qin Yuanxi felt a warm sensation at the wound, possibly because the movement while pulling Zhao Tuo earlier was too vigorous, causing the wound to tear.
Fortunately, there was still a half-pulled blanket covering him. Qin Yuanxi pulled it up a bit more, just in case the wound really tore open, providing a bit of protection.
“Say something.”
Having finished the kiss, Qin Yuanxi was genuinely exhausted. Seeing Zhao Tuo still unresponsive, he felt a bit annoyed, “You don’t actually want to kill me. You’re so infatuated with me, probably wanting to hold me in the palm of your hand, yet you talk about killing me. Even borrowing courage from Liang Jing Ru1Liang Jing Ru is a Chinese singer known for her famous song ‘Courage’. won’t work.”
“Liang Jing Ru, who’s that?”
“Haha,” Qin Yuanxi laughed and went on in a pretended serious tone, “She, well, she’s a formidable person, extremely courageous. Anyone lacking courage seeks her out to borrow some. She’s the Courage Messenger.”
“Why haven’t I heard of her?”
“Of course, you haven’t heard of her,” Qin Yuanxi leaned on Zhao Tuo’s shoulder, “It’s a secret of our royal family, known only to the direct royal lineage. You’ll find out later.”
Then came silence.
“Heh,” Qin Yuanxi grew a bit impatient, took Zhao Tuo’s hand, and bit into the fleshy part of his hand. It was quite a forceful bite, and after releasing, a clear tooth mark remained. After biting, he felt sorry, massaging it a couple of times with dissatisfaction, “You’re just a chatterbox. Sooner or later, you’ll annoy me to death, and you’ll be satisfied, right?”
“Say what you want. If you don’t, forget it. I don’t have time to chat with you.” Qin Yuanxi, losing interest, pushed Zhao Tuo away a bit, turned over, and was about to lie back down, “You go, I’m tired, I need to rest.”
He said it out of frustration, but who knew that when Zhao Tuo actually stood up to leave, Qin Yuanxi became both angry and anxious, “Stop, you bastard!”
In his urgency, he didn’t even care about the blanket covering him. When Zhao Tuo turned to look, he noticed tiny traces of blood on Qin Yuanxi’s clean nightclothes, around the stomach area. Seeing Qin Yuanxi’s pale face, he immediately rushed forward, “What’s going on? Why is there blood? Why?”
“Look at what you’ve done!” Qin Yuanxi instinctively tried to dodge, then realizing it was too late, he shifted the blame onto Zhao Tuo, “Go, leave! You’ve angered me. What does it have to do with you? Whether I bleed or not is my business. Just let me bleed to death here. Maybe that’s exactly what you want, and you won’t have any responsibility to bear. There’s no such good deal in this world, right?”
Zhao Tuo pursed his lips, his face turning pale, not uttering a word.
When Yan Shaoning was hurriedly summoned, the atmosphere on the scene became incredibly tense. The look in Zhao Tuo’s eyes carried a sharpness as if he had daggers hidden. If it weren’t for the fact that he still had some use, he might have already used his eyes to execute a cruel punishment.
Setting down the medical kit steadily, Yan Shaoning took one look and understood the situation. Trying not to show any fear in front of Zhao Tuo, he said, “Um, you should step outside. I need to attend to His Majesty’s wounds.”
Instead of responding, Zhao Tuo’s gaze became even more cutting.
When Yan Shaoning was about to say more, Zhao Tuo spoke with clear impatience, “If you can’t treat it, get lost. Don’t waste time here.”
From the tone, it was evident that ‘get lost’ wasn’t just as simple as leaving. There was a high probability that if Yan Shaoning uttered one more word, the Grand General might lose control of his temper. Then, who knows what unpleasant things might happen. On the bed, Qin Yuanxi, still lying down, exchanged a helpless glance with Yan Shaoning. He reached out and pulled the bed curtain down, hoping it would provide some cover.
This action signaled compromise, and Yan Shaoning didn’t say anything more. The person involved had already compromised, and he was just a physician—treating and saving lives was the key. As for whether the patient’s family would have any adverse reactions, he couldn’t control that. Moreover, if the patient’s family insisted strongly, what could he do?
The wound was bleeding again, requiring re-treatment. Yan Shaoning was quite professional. All his senses focused on Qin Yuanxi’s wound as he cleaned and treated it. Due to the medication, Qin Yuanxi sweated profusely from the pain. He instinctively averted his gaze. Then, he noticed that at some point, Zhao Tuo had lifted the curtain. The curtain seemed quite sturdy, as if it might be torn apart by him at any moment.
Looking at Zhao Tuo’s expression, Qin Yuanxi felt like the wound wasn’t as painful anymore.
The towering figure stood by the bed, his brows furrowed. Judging by his expression, one might think he was the injured one. Watching the reluctance and concern hidden in Zhao Tuo’s eyes, Qin Yuanxi forgot all his previous grievances. After all, no matter what, the concern couldn’t be hidden.
Similarly, love couldn’t be concealed either.
Yan Shaoning focused on treating the wound, reapplying medicine and bandaging it. After everything was taken care of, he expected to face some questioning or something. However, unexpectedly, there was nothing. After asking a few precautionary questions with a cold expression, Zhao Tuo let him go.
The feeling was like a narrow escape from death. Before leaving, Yan Shaoning glanced back and saw Zhao Tuo kneeling half in front of the bed, reaching out cautiously as if wanting to touch the person on the bed. However, he was afraid of causing harm and refrained from doing so.
“It’s okay; it will heal quickly.” Qin Yuanxi couldn’t bear to see that expression on Zhao Tuo’s face.
A quick glance was fine; knowing that Zhao Tuo cared about him and felt pain for him, but enduring a long test, Qin Yuanxi’s heart softened. He feared that Zhao Tuo would be upset.
“Alright, given the hardship I’ve endured, can you finally speak your mind to me?” Qin Yuanxi held Zhao Tuo’s hand, gently pressing his thumb against the fleshy part. There was a hint of melancholy in the corners of his eyes, “I like you so much. With the way you’re treating me, there has to be an explanation, right? Or is it that my deep affection is just a mistake, and you’ve never had me in your heart? You’ve never liked me, only deceiving and using me?”
“Ah Tuo.” Qin Yuanxi held Zhao Tuo’s hand and gently placed it on his stomach, where the bandage could be felt, underneath which was the menacing wound.
“The wound hurts, but I don’t feel the pain. Do you know why? Because I’m willingly enduring it. From the moment I fell in love with you, I willingly stayed with you. I’m willing to keep this child, willingly cut open such a big wound in my belly to give birth to this child. I don’t feel the pain.”
It was a bloody wound that Zhao Tuo had witnessed—a long cut right on his stomach. If the wound had been a bit longer or deeper, could he have endured it?
“But!” Qin Yuanxi’s tone became serious. He held Zhao Tuo’s hand and placed it over his heart, “If you tell me that everything was just you using me, that you’ve never had the slightest love for me, that would be like stabbing a knife into my heart. It would be much heavier than the wound on my belly, tearing my heart apart, riddling it with holes, and it would cost me my life.”
“Do you understand?”
Zhao Tuo remained silent, and suddenly an indescribable sense of exhaustion overwhelmed Qin Yuanxi. His eyes drooped slightly, and he released Zhao Tuo’s hand, “Forget it, go back. I’m really tired.”
Not only physically exhausted but also mentally drained. Giving birth to a child is like sacrificing half of one’s life, and he hadn’t even fully recovered mentally. Facing such a significant challenge, Qin Yuanxi felt that he might have the will but lacked the strength. Zhao Tuo, this tough nut to crack, he couldn’t overcome in one go.
Life, for him, seemed to be full of twists and turns. While others enjoyed sweet and affectionate love, even a simple love affair felt like it could cost him his life.
It’s really too difficult.
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
