Seventeen in total
“Lian Shi, that’s where you’re wrong.”
After hearing why Yi Shen had kicked Lin Kuo out, Yi Wo smiled and glanced at his younger brother, saying, "What did our Weichong say? He didn't say anything, so why are you laughing at him like that? All Weichong said was, 'Thank you for your blessing.'"
The repetition and the teasing from her own brother made everyone laugh again. Song Lingshu rarely saw Yi Shen joking, so she smiled slightly and patted Yi Wo lightly, "What kind of brother are you? Quickly apologize to Weichong."
Yi Wo smiled and said, "I'm sorry, Weichong, brother was wrong."
Lin Kuo also took the opportunity to say to Yi Wo, "I'm sorry, Weichong, I was wrong."
Yi Shen picked up his teacup, glanced at the two of them quietly, and said, "It's nothing."
"Of course it's alright. Our Yi Shen is so magnanimous, how could he possibly hold a grudge against the two of you?" Wu Qi pretended to be serious. "But the two of you shouldn't gang up on our Yi Shen anymore."
Seeing Wu Qi speak up for Yi Shen, Lin Kuo grumbled and leaned on Song Yinxing's shoulder. Song Yinxing glanced at him and said helplessly, "In the future..." As she spoke, she remembered the scene of Lin Kuo laughing so hard that he was sprawled on the ground. Her eyes curved into a smile, and she leaned closer to Lin Kuo and whispered, "Don't be so obvious."
Lin Kuo chuckled and agreed, "Okay, I'll do as you say."
Many people in Cizige were like them, having found someone they admired. The lucky ones won the favor of their admirers, and their families didn't interfere too much after they found out. After all, they couldn't find anyone more prestigious, wealthy, and promising than the students of Cizige. The slightly unlucky ones, like He Qi, had their admirers already paired with others, and they could only suffer in silence.
He finished his drink, looked around at everyone in the room, and finally, his gaze fell on Wu Qi.
He still couldn't help but look at her.
Realizing this, he poured himself another glass of wine and drank it all in one gulp.
Yi Wo gently massaged Song Lingshu's waist, then casually shifted his gaze from He Qi to Song Lingshu's protruding belly. She was slender, and Yi Wo's original intention in opening Langyue Tower was to encourage her to eat more. She had finally gained some weight, but then she became pregnant, and not only did she lose weight, but she was also suffering greatly from the unborn child in her womb.
The doctor said I'm thin and frail, and I'm afraid I'll suffer a lot.
It was already a blessing that she was willing to give birth to a child. He already felt somewhat guilty towards her, so how could he be willing to let her suffer any more? Therefore, he put a lot of effort into developing delicious and nutritious dishes.
The doctor said everything is fine today.
Yi Wo gently touched Song Lingshu's cheek, his eyes filled with tenderness as he waited for her to look up at him. "Are you tired? Do you want to go back to the manor?"
Song Lingshu shook her head and said, "I'm not tired, they're very interesting."
"Then let's watch for a while longer."
The students of Gezhong were extremely noisy when they were together. If one person said one sentence, it would be a total of twenty sentences. Not to mention that some people would not only say one sentence, but probably five or ten sentences. However, their conversation was very interesting, and Song Lingshu kept laughing.
After finishing the meal, Song Lingshu was still a little reluctant to leave.
Before leaving, Yi Wo said, "I'll get them all together again next time."
Song Lingshu said, "If you say that, then people become the ones who amuse themselves?"
"It's alright, sister. We're happy to make you happy too." There were plenty of sweet-talkers among the students of Gezhong Middle School. "There aren't many people in the world who can make Sister Ruisheng happy."
Song Lingshu was amused and said with a smile, "Thank you."
"You're welcome, you're welcome. Goodbye, Sister Ruisheng!"
These past few days, they've been sleeping at the Moonfall Camp. Now that they have some free time, they naturally want to return to their respective residences to let their parents know they're safe. Yi Shen, of course, also wants to return to the Yi residence. A few days ago, Qi Kong and Wu Shanyun wrote to Wu Qi saying they were on their way back to the capital and that he didn't need to worry about them.
Today, with his parents not at the Wu residence, and fearing that Wen Ru would worry about him, Wu Qi simply followed Yi Shen into Yi Wo's carriage and returned to the Yi residence together.
The carriage was smooth with minimal bumps.
Even so, Yi Wo weakly protected Song Lingshu, completely disregarding the fact that Yi Shen and Wu Qi were also inside the car. Song Lingshu looked helplessly at Yi Wo and comforted him, "You're too nervous, it's alright."
Yi Wo said, "I just want to hug you."
As the months progressed, Yi Wu grew increasingly anxious. He had already invited a doctor into the mansion, consulted his elder brother on how to care for his pregnant wife, and sought out his mother, hoping she could spend more time talking to Rui Sheng, fearing that Rui Sheng might be feeling depressed and unhappy.
Wenru gave him a disdainful look and said, "Does she need you to remind her of my daughter-in-law?"
Knowing that Yi Wo was anxious, Song Lingshu smiled apologetically at Yi Shen and Wu Qi, took Yi Wo's hand, and gently comforted him, "You have thought it through, so don't worry, I will be fine."
Yi Wu said, "Hmm."
He would never let Song Lingshu get into trouble at this time. Putting aside whether the fetus could be saved, the baby was already so far along in the pregnancy. If something happened now, could Song Lingshu's thin body withstand it?
She so eagerly awaited the arrival of her unborn child, always gently stroking her belly and smiling at herself. If something were to happen to the baby, how would she feel, how would she cope?
Yi Wo dared not think about it, and could only be extremely careful and protective.
Upon arriving at the Yi residence, Yi Shen was the first to alight from the carriage. Yi Wo said to Wu Qi, "Xiao Qi, if you have the chance, go and take a look at Weichong's arm."
Wu Qi asked, "Are you injured?"
Yi Wo smiled faintly and shook his head, saying, "Don't worry, he's not injured. If his arm were really injured, he would definitely make me swear not to tell you."
Song Lingshu smiled silently, not saying much, but just looking at Wu Qi.
After a long pause, Wu Qi finally replied, "Okay, I will go and see."
Yi Wo laughed and said, "Alright, but don't tell Weichong about this, or he'll be angry with me again and won't say a word when he sees me, pretending he can't see me."
Wu Qi laughed and said, "Alright. I won't tell him about this."
The group got out of the car and went to see Wenru first. Wenru had already fallen asleep, but when she heard that Wu Qi and Song Lingshu had arrived, she struggled to get up. She was so sleepy that she could barely keep her eyes open. She held Wu Qi's hand in one hand and Song Lingshu's hand in the other, asking her about her well-being. She would turn to Song Lingshu and ask if she was tired or if she felt unwell. She would also ask Wu Qi if he had encountered any trouble and to make sure he didn't keep it to himself.
She now knows that the students of Cizige need to operate the cannons to fight the enemy. To be honest, she doesn't want Yi Shen and Wu Qi to fight the enemy. Swords have no eyes, and cannons attack. What if they get hurt? But she has no choice but to watch these children go to the battlefield.
Wen Ru asked, "Has General Wei left the capital?"
Wu Qi replied, "We've left the capital."
Wen Ru said, "Then you will all be leaving the capital soon."
The atmosphere became somewhat somber for a moment, but Song Lingshu said at the right time, "Xiao Qi and Weichong won't be able to make it in time for Zhenzhen's birth. However, on the day you return to the capital, I will bring Zhenzhen to greet you."
Zhenzhen was the nickname Song Lingshu gave to her unborn child. She didn't let the physician say whether the child was a boy or a girl, wanting to keep the surprise until she met her child. However, she still gave her child a nickname—Zhenzhen.
It can be used by both men and women.
Upon hearing Zhenzhen's name, Wen Ruyi felt sorry for Song Lingshu again and said, "Ruisheng, if you feel unwell, you must call the family physician. If you feel unhappy, you must express it. You are a child I have watched grow up, so please don't let yourself suffer."
"Yes, I will, don't worry."
It was late at night, and the others, not wanting Wenru to stay up any longer, took their leave. Wu Qi didn't plan to return to his own courtyard that night, and followed Yi Shen into his room.
As soon as the door closed, Wu Qi said to Yi Shen, "Young Master Yi, take off your clothes."
Yi Shen remained silent, staring intently at Wu Qi. After a moment, he removed the jade pendant and belt from his waist and asked, "What did you hear?"
Wu Qi teased him, "I didn't hear anything, I just wanted to see Yi Shen take off his clothes."
Yi Shen took off his outer garment, leaving only his inner shirt. Fortunately, the room was warm, so he didn't catch a cold. He said, "We'll see later. Tonight, let's see something else."
As he spoke, he sighed softly, rolled up his sleeve, and revealed his left arm.
The room was bright and warm, and Wu Qi saw Yi Shen's left arm.
There was no way to avoid it; it was crystal clear.
That was a peach blossom.
It must be the peak blooming season, with many peach blossoms on the branches.
Wu Qi couldn't count how many peach blossoms were painted on Yi Shen's left arm, but he knew that the peach blossoms in Yi Shen's painting were truly beautiful. One after another, they bloomed delicately on Yi Shen's left arm, making no attempt to conceal the artist's skill in painting more than a dozen peach blossoms on his left arm.
Wu Qi gazed quietly at the peach blossom on Yi Shen's left arm for a long time before finally asking, "When was it painted?"
Yi Shen replied, "The night I was punished."
Wu Qi asked again, "Was it drawn while kneeling in the Disciplinary Tower?"
"Um."
Each of the five great families has a building called the "Discipline and Punishment Building." This building is used for family members who have violated the family's rules and regulations to kneel and be punished, such as copying books or being confined to their quarters. When Yi Shen first stepped into the Discipline and Punishment Building, he knelt down and used the Eternal Ink to draw an entire peach blossom on his left arm.
Wu Qi asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"
Yi Shen replied, "I didn't intend to hide it from you. At first, I planned to tell you after the ink dried, but then I kept putting it off because of everyone learning how to make the cannon unicorn. Until today, brother, I'm telling you."
Wu Qi held Yi Shen's left arm and counted; there were seventeen peach blossoms in total.
She asked, "Why are there seventeen peach blossoms?"
Yi Shen suddenly smiled, his eyes filled with a gentle smile.
"Because you were seventeen. And because when we were seventeen, we fell in love and secretly pledged our lives to each other."
Yi Shen thought for a long time before deciding to paint seventeen peach blossoms blooming simultaneously on his left arm. That night, he knelt on the ground, holding his paintbrush and painting all night long, finally managing to paint seventeen peach blossoms on his left arm. He had also wondered what Wu Qi's expression would be when he saw this scene—would he be surprised and astonished, or would he hold up his left arm and praise him for his painting?
Unexpectedly, none of these occurred.
Wu Qi looked at the peach blossoms, remaining silent. Yi Shen was at a loss for what to do. He stretched out his long arm and pulled Wu Qi into his arms, about to comfort her and tell her not to be unhappy, when Wu Qi suddenly looked up, staring blankly at him, and then said, "Yi Shen."
Yi Shen replied, "I am here."
Wu Qi promised, "I swear—I will love you for life, only you, and I will never break my promise."
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