Chapter 105 Prenatal Anxiety

Wei Li has been back for seven days. Those who were supposed to receive the news have already received it, and those who were supposed to send gifts have sent their congratulations.

Logically, he should have returned with the triumphant army to receive the cheers and reverence of the people, like a hero. But he had never liked such activities. The way people looked at him with scrutinizing and probing eyes made him feel like a monkey.

Fortunately, he was the most powerful man in Pingzhou, and no one could stop him from doing whatever he wanted.

Hua Shangle was filled with trepidation, unable to eat or sleep, fearing that Wei Li would take up arms and march on Ji Province.

But Wei Li was busy and had no time to pay attention to him.

Since Wei Li returned that night, he hasn't stepped out of the house even once. He seems to want to sew himself and Zhao Xiheng together with a needle, sticky and inseparable like a lump of paste. He doesn't even leave her side when she takes a bath or gets up at night.

Zhao Xiheng witnessed for the first time just how powerful the saying "absence makes the heart grow fonder" can be.

Her eyes were lifeless as she lay on the bed, her gaze fixed on the milky white gardenias on the curtains, letting Wei Li gnaw at her cheeks and neck like he was gnawing on a bone.

She has thin skin and tender flesh, and sometimes Wei Li can't control his strength. She'll slap him on the head, and he'll groan and soften his movements.

Wei Li now takes three naps a day: a nap after breakfast, a midday nap to recharge, and a full night's sleep. He calls it taking care of his health, but in reality, he uses the curtains to block out the outside world and take advantage of the situation to do illicit things. Of course, he spends most of his time sleeping. Zhao Xiheng has no idea where he gets so much sleep.

She didn't want to waste time in bed with him, but Wei Li was incredibly annoying. Whenever she went out, he would wail and call her name over and over again, making a racket that could be heard throughout the courtyard. Then he would pace back and forth in the room, causing the nanny and maids to chuckle.

He has no shame, but Zhao Xiheng still has her pride, so she has no choice but to accept her fate and associate with him.

But his misconduct was only superficial; he dared not continue beyond that.

He bit Zhao Xiheng's collarbone, his face already flushed red, his breathing heavy and labored, his eyes glistening with tears, and his whole body burning with heat.

Zhao Xiheng silently told herself she was a salted fish, then closed her eyes and let him be.

Her blouse was open, revealing a light purple undergarment that was partially concealed beneath, as well as her fair and delicate skin, which was covered with red marks and water stains.

Wei Li hugged her and rubbed against her, looking both uncomfortable and unable to stop.

Zhao Xiheng cursed him in her heart, saying he deserved it and that he brought it on himself.

Wei Li was not satisfied with her reaction, so he insisted on breathing into her ear until she blushed and her heart raced.

He put his arm around her shoulder and said, "Ah Dan, you're so soft."

Zhao Xiheng, “???”

She suddenly opened her eyes.

Wei Li lowered his head and nuzzled against her collarbone, whimpering like a puppy looking for milk.

Zhao Xiheng bit his ear and asked indistinctly, "Say it again?!"

"What software?"

Wei Li didn't know what he had done to anger her. He raised his dog head, his eyes bloodshot, and said recklessly, "It's soft everywhere."

Zhao Xiheng grabbed him by the neck and flipped him over, her eyes brimming with tears. "You son of a bitch!"

Wei Li's eyes widened in shock, as if he had been greatly frightened, but he dared not move, afraid that something might be wrong with him.

"Shut up, and don't say I'm fat again! I'm not fat! Even if I am, it's only temporary!" Zhao Xiheng said, grabbing his collar and frowning.

"Where did I say you were fat?" Why is this person being unreasonable now?

Wei Li wasn't afraid of her at all. He straightened up, ready to argue with her, but Zhao Xiheng pushed him back onto the bed. "You say I'm soft? So what if I have a lot of flesh? Only those with lots of flesh are soft! Don't think I can't understand what you're implying. Remember this: you're never allowed to say anything like that in front of me again, or I'll tear your mouth apart!"

After saying that, she loosened her grip on Wei Li's collar, sat up, put on her clothes, patted her chest, and got out of bed.

What Zhao Xiheng fears most right now is gaining weight.

Wei Li lay on the bed, his hair disheveled, clutching his clothes tightly to prevent his tattoos from being exposed. His gaze was vacant, like a virtuous young woman who had been humiliated. He had two questions in his mind.

1. When did he say Zhao Xiheng was fat? She's so unreasonable.

Second, how come she is so strong?

But he absolutely couldn't stay in bed, so Wei Li quickly got up and chased after Zhao Xiheng, saying, "Then I won't say anything more, let's sleep a little longer." He hadn't kissed enough today.

"Sleep my ass!" Zhao Xiheng couldn't help but recall his words the moment she saw his face.

"Ah Dan, you're so soft."

The moment she heard those words, she couldn't help but think about how she had gained weight, and a wave of sadness washed over her.

Wei Li reached for her hand, but she dodged it, saying, "I examine myself three times a day..."

"Am I not loyal in serving others? Am I not trustworthy in dealing with friends? Am I not practicing what I have been taught?" Wei Li quickly added, as he knew this passage from the Analects by heart.

"Have you copied the calligraphy samples? Have you read the books? Have you handled any government affairs?"

After hearing her words, Wei Li's face stiffened. He suddenly remembered that Zhao Xiheng had slipped the calligraphy scrolls into his luggage before he left, and he hadn't touched any of them.

"I just got back, can't you let me have a proper vacation and rest?" Despite feeling guilty, her tone was still quite forceful.

Even if you're trying to be gentle, you have to be firm, otherwise it'll make him seem scared.

The two faced each other in silence. Wei Li turned her head away and pouted, "Read, read, I'll go right now."

He put on his clothes, casually tied his hair into a ponytail, and couldn't help but say, "Why do you keep getting angry all the time? If any bastard dares to say you're fat, I'll kill him."

Wei Li now hates the person who said Zhao Xiheng was fat; he wishes he could skin them alive.

He leaned over and gave Zhao Xiheng a quick kiss on the cheek. "Where are you fat? You have to be skin and bones to look good?"

The doting tone in his voice was obvious. Zhao Xiheng fidgeted with her fingers, her tone less forceful than before, and complained softly, "But those young ladies are all slender."

“That’s called being skinny, not slim.” Wei Li said seriously, “Really, I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time that you used to be as skinny as a reed, but I was afraid you’d get angry so I didn’t say it. You’re still like this because of water retention. Once the water retention goes down, you won’t gain much weight.”

"You, you, you... don't come any closer..." Zhao Xiheng squinted at him, her back teeth clenched. Wei Li, seeing that things were not going well, quickly jumped and ran away.

After running out, he leaned against the window frame and said to her in the room, "All you ever do is get angry and think about hitting me. I'll take you hunting in two months."

Zhao Xiheng still had a long face. He clicked his tongue and said, "Don't be unhappy. Come on, smile!"

Zhao Xiheng was furious at his smug face. She grabbed an apple from the table and threw it away, yelling, "Get out!"

Wei Lizhen rolled away, but even after rolling a long way, you could still hear him instructing, "When they bring official documents, tell them to put them in the study. I want to see which blind fool will pile them up in front of you."

Zhao Xiheng rubbed her face, trying to suppress the smile on her face, but she couldn't stop laughing. She then rubbed her face, squeezing the flesh on her cheeks together.

Even though she's about to become a mother herself, why is she suddenly acting like a young girl in love?

Is Wei Li toxic? He's only said two sentences, and he's already laughing.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xiheng couldn't help but feel ashamed and annoyed, unable to laugh.

After Wei Li left the courtyard, the atmosphere around him changed from sunny to gloomy. The light in his eyes dimmed, he lowered his gaze slightly, his tongue swept over his canine teeth, and then he sighed, the suppressed melancholy rising between his brows and eyes.

This is so annoying...

He wanted to go back even though he had only been gone for less than 15 minutes.

I only held her for a few days, and now she's back to work!

Ugh, so annoying!

Zhao Xiheng was already eight and a half months pregnant, and generally speaking, she would give birth in another month and a half.

This month and a half can feel both short and long.

Wei Li clung to Zhao Xiheng the whole time he came back, partly because he missed her terribly after not seeing her for so long, and partly because he was afraid when he saw Zhao Xiheng's belly.

This pre-birth anxiety intensified over time, and he relieved it by touching his skin to the ground.

But he refused to tell Zhao Xiheng that he was anxious, fearing that he would pass on these feelings to her.

Thanks to the Prince of Tuozhenbei, the library connected to the study contained all kinds of books, from historical chronicles to folk remedies for gynecology.

Before the servants had brought the day's official documents, Wei Li went inside, picked out a few books, and then called over the physician, who sat down beside him.

To put it bluntly...

Wei Li killed many people, so he naturally understood the human body structure and meridians and acupoints. Therefore, his scribbling was quite fluent, much better than when he practiced calligraphy and memorized classical texts.

The physician lay sprawled on the couch, and Wei Li pointed to two rows of lines on his back with his pen. "Is this where you press?"

The doctor nodded hurriedly, "Yes, yes, yes."

Wei Li reached down and pushed up and down along both sides of his spine. "Like this?"

"A little lighter."

The physician was old, and with the massage, he snored contentedly. Wei Li kicked him in the shin, his face turning ashen. "You're asleep? Who told you to sleep like that?"

"Hmm, hmm?" The physician woke up groggily and saw Wei Li's expression, as if his tail had been set on fire.

He didn't continue kicking people, but instead paced restlessly around the room. The doctor had seen this behavior many times, mostly in pregnant women nearing delivery.

They felt inexplicably anxious and worried, which made them irritable, absent-minded, and moody.

If he's not mistaken, it's likely prenatal anxiety.

He asked, "Has there been any change in your daily routine lately, my lord? What about your diet? Has it changed? Do you often feel empty, bored, or angry...?"

If spending most of the day sleeping and worrying counts, then he admits the old man is right.

Wei Li looked at the physician with his dark eyes, his gaze subtly conveying, "How did you know?" The physician felt that his judgment was correct.

Since the lord has experienced "morning sickness," then "pregnancy anxiety" is not so surprising.

The imperial physician never expected that the woman about to give birth would only be upset about gaining weight and the sweltering weather, while the lord, who wasn't going to have children, was experiencing genuine prenatal anxiety…

"My lord, why don't you ask a Bodhisattva to pray to? I've heard that the Guanyin Bodhisattva in the temple in the north of the city is very efficacious. Praying to her before childbirth can protect both mother and child."

This kind of thing can't be solved with medicine; you can only find emotional support. Anyway, it's not the master who's having the baby, so his anxiety won't affect the child. Just hold on until the baby is born.

The physician stroked his beard, then became worried: "Will the lord suffer from postpartum depression after the child is born?"