172 Chapter 172
"Can you also have a child with me, to leave a successor for the Xie family?"
There was still thunder outside.
Amid the sound of raindrops, the bed curtains in the bedroom were swaying back and forth.
A cool breeze blew in from the window lattice, bringing with it moisture, lifting a corner of the curtains, revealing a bit of spring scenery inside.
Xie Qi lay on his side on the bed, pulling the curtain tightly with one hand and stroking the knees of the person in his arms with the other.
"Does it still hurt after all these years?"
Xu Qinghe shook his head.
So he picked her up and pressed his chest against her smooth back.
Today, Xu Qinghe no longer has the illusion of who the person behind him is because of this posture where he cannot see his face.
Because she knew that it had always been him.
Wei Che is him, and Xie Qi is also him.
The first night after their reunion, she was drunk and all her feelings were buried by the drunkenness. When she recalled it, there was only emptiness.
But today, she once again experienced the same feeling of pain she had five years ago.
What's more, after these years of fighting, the man behind her has become more brave and tireless than before, and he has defeated her in just a few breaths.
Her entire body was covered in sticky sweat, yet she could still feel the fabric of the person behind her on her smooth skin.
Xu Qinghe looked back and saw that they had both been to Paradise several times, but he was still dressed neatly.
Just as she was about to ask what was wrong with this person, how could he not be afraid of the heat, there was a shaking on the bed, which immediately shattered her newly formed thoughts.
He reached out and touched her jaw, turned her head over, and kissed her passionately again.
As the breath lingered, a few more fingerprints appeared in front of him.
At the last moment, Xie Qi hesitated and was about to speak, but then he remembered that they had just talked about treating Ping An as his own daughter. It was obviously inappropriate to bring up the matter again now.
He finally gave up and got out just in time.
After taking a bath, his body felt refreshed. Xie Qi had already changed the mattress as he had done five years ago.
Only after she lay comfortably on the bed did Xie Qi go to the bathroom to take a shower.
Xu Qinghe didn't think much about it. After all, it was the same thing five years ago. Although that person always wanted to take a bath together at that time, Xu Qinghe refused, and he had no choice but to give up.
Afterwards, after they had both washed themselves, they hugged each other and spoke some ordinary sweet words.
"Move aside, you're pressing on my hair."
Xu Qinghe said.
Xie Qi moved aside as he was told and reached out to push her black hair that was in the way to the other side.
Xu Qinghe took the opportunity to grab his hand and pulled down his sleeve to look at his wrist.
There was a scabbed scar there.
Before she could say anything, Xie Qi smiled and said, "Don't worry, it's almost healed."
Xu Qinghe gently touched the scar with her fair fingertips.
"Does it hurt when you bleed for medicinal purposes?"
Xie Qi lowered his head and kissed her brows which were about to frown.
"It hurts, but it's nowhere near as painful as it was then. Back then, you were always distant and cold to me, and you would always say things I didn't want to hear to irritate me. The pain in my heart was far greater than the pain in my hands."
Since Xu Qinghe did this, he would not feel guilty.
But he insisted on emphasizing this matter to gain her sympathy. She snorted and threw his hand away.
"You deserve this."
Xie Qi hugged her tightly and leaned over to suck her lips and tongue.
After a long time, the two separated, breathing heavily together.
After a moment, Xie Qi said helplessly, "Yes, it's what I deserve. It's all my fault. Otherwise, you wouldn't have married someone else, and your first child wouldn't have someone else's blood."
Xu Qinghe didn't say anything, but raised her head and bit his collarbone hard.
"Hiss...you murdered your husband."
Xu Qinghe snorted, "Don't yell, I'm not married yet."
Xie Qi nodded: "I understand, we are now having an affair without a matchmaker."
Xu Qinghe was furious and bit his shoulder again.
**
One morning three days later, after half an hour of passionate lovemaking, this man still seemed unsatisfied. Xu Qinghe could no longer tolerate this and kicked Xie Qi off the bed.
"From today on, you will sleep in the side room."
Xie Qi gathered up his collar, which was about to be rubbed open, and said with confusion and grievance: "Why? Why are you chasing me away again for no reason?"
Why? He still has the nerve to ask why?
Although he did allow her to enjoy the long-lost pleasure, it was really too exaggerated that she couldn't sleep well for three consecutive days.
"You're already this age, you should be more restrained."
“…”
Xie Qi sat on the ground and did a rough calculation, and found that he was indeed twenty-six years old now.
Did she think he was old? Not as strong as he used to be? But if she calculated carefully, he should have been there longer than he was five years ago.
In the next few days, Xie Qi slept obediently in the side room, whether he was thinking about something or busy with something, which allowed Xu Qinghe to finally get a few good night's sleep.
May 30th is the day for the school to have a ten-day holiday.
Ping'an slept in and didn't arrive at her mother's yard until noon.
"Mom, can you play with Ping An today?"
In order to prepare for his daughter's ten-day holiday, Xu Qinghe specially set aside one day.
She asked her daughter if she wanted to go to the bamboo forest outside the city. After receiving her daughter's affirmative answer, she called Xie Qi, took a few more people, and drove the carriage out of the city.
There was ice built into the spacious carriage, and Xu Qinghe ordered people to roll up the curtains. When the breeze blew outside the curtains, the cold air in the car was blown everywhere, dispelling the dryness on people's bodies.
Xie Qi looked at the lifted curtain, then looked at the little girl who was eating fruits and vegetables peacefully, and the little girl's mother who was peeling oranges quietly. Suddenly, he looked at her mother and let out an ambiguous laugh.
Xu Qinghe raised her eyelids and glanced at him, ignoring his obvious sarcasm.
Wasn't he just mocking her for not letting anyone lift the curtain last time because it was just her and him in the car? How stingy of her.
However, a moment later, two plump oranges with the white fluff picked out suddenly appeared in front of him.
Xie Qi handed the orange to her, and when she didn't take it, he simply stuffed it into her mouth.
He snatched the remaining orange from her hand and wiped her water-scallion-like fingers one by one with a wet handkerchief.
"Let me do this dirty work, but don't dirty our wife's hands."
Xu Qinghe glared at him.
Seeing this, Ping An silently turned the orange he had just peeled and stuffed it into his mouth tactfully, filling his cheeks with it.
When the carriage stopped, Ping'an was carried off by her father and found that the destination was a quiet and peaceful bamboo forest.
Xie Qi explained: "Uncle and aunt Fu like quietness, so they live here."
Ping'an nodded, and when she walked into the courtyard deep in the bamboo forest, she finally saw the uncle and aunt her father had mentioned.
They are a young couple who look very loving, just like her parents.
After the two parents exchanged greetings, Ping An walked up to Aunt Fu, looked up and asked, "Aunt, can Ping An touch it?"
The little girl was fair and clean, and very pretty, with a pair of black and bright eyes that could soften people's hearts when she stared at them.
Ruan Ling was going to be a mother, so she was more likely to be soft-hearted, so she nodded.
Ping'an put his little hand on it.
Suddenly I felt two beats in the palm of my hand.
She was startled and quickly retracted her hand, then ran into her mother's arms.
Xu Qinghe gently stroked the back of her daughter's head and explained, "Don't be afraid, it's fetal movement."
"What is fetal movement?" Ping'an asked, looking up.
Xu Qinghe thought about it and explained it to his daughter in simple terms.
Xie Qi stood aside, quietly watching the mother and daughter's questions and answers.
He knew nothing about the woman's pregnancy, but Xu Qinghe could accurately answer every tricky question from his daughter.
Simply because she had experienced it herself.
He had never seen Xu Qinghe when she was pregnant, and wondered if she was like Ruan Ling, as Fu Zongying had described her, often anxious and expectant. He didn't know if she also had a fear of childbirth, and he didn't know if she, like Ruan Ling, had ever said to her husband jokingly that it didn't matter whether it was a boy or a girl.
He had never experienced anything with her.
Because Ruan Ling's due date was approaching and the Bamboo Forest Villa was quite remote, Xu Qinghe took the opportunity of bringing Ping An out to play and sent medicinal supplements and several midwives that she had relied on to the couple who had no experience in childbirth.
That night, after a lot of coaxing and persuading, Xie Qi finally got the qualification to go to bed.
That night, no one knew what was wrong with this man. White light flashed before Xu Qinghe's eyes several times, but he still didn't end it.
As a last resort, she reached under the waist of the person behind her in the sticky, humid and hot air.
Xie Qi surrendered unexpectedly, leaving everything inside her.
He was stunned for a moment, and realized that the girl's behavior was actually a bit of a coup, which was exactly what he wanted.
He rubbed against her several times and caressed Xu Qinghe's flat belly.
"Looking at Ping An's appearance today, she might also want a little brother or sister."
Xu Qinghe didn't respond.
Xie Qi nuzzled her neck and said flatteringly, "Qinghe, I'm the only one in the Xie family now. Can you ask me for a child and leave a successor for the Xie family?"
Xu Qinghe turned around and looked at him.
After a moment, she lowered her eyes and said, "But Xie Qi, giving birth is very painful."
She came quickly because she was afraid of pain.
Xie Qi paused what he was doing, pursed his lips, and said nothing more.
**
"I later asked her if she could endure the pain for me, but she said no without even thinking about it."
Still sitting on the recliner in the Bamboo Forest Villa, Xie Qi looked at the azure sky above his head and complained to Fu Zongying who was still making a wooden horse for his unborn child.
He didn't care whether Fu Zongying listened or not, and continued to talk to himself: "She can endure the pain of childbirth for other men, but not for me. I thought that our childhood affection would make her treat me differently from others, but now I know that in her heart, I am nothing."
"Also, I just found out this morning that she's been having contraceptive soup prepared in the kitchen the entire time. Not to mention the time she was drunk, but the few times since then, she's been sober and clearly knows I wasn't involved, yet she still drank that harmful contraceptive soup. Does she really not trust me?"
"After so many years, I've become irrelevant to her. No matter what I say or do, I can't be trusted."
“…”
Fu Zongying embedded the last horse head into the horse body, and finally made a sturdy and beautiful little wooden horse for his future child.
He also lay down on another recliner, fanning himself, and said frankly, "Brother, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but you were the one who pushed her away back then. Why are you complaining now that she doesn't care about you? If I were you, it's a relief that she's willing to accept you. If it were Ruan Ling, she'd be so eager to poke holes in me with her sword that she wouldn't even forgive me."
"Besides, do you think it's that easy for a woman to get pregnant? That she can just carry a baby for ten months and give birth to a child? Ever since Ruan Ling became pregnant, her temper has been getting worse day by day. Why? Because she's feeling unwell. She has morning sickness, and she throws up everything she eats. She can't even take medicine. In the first few months, such a beautiful girl became skinny and bony. I was so heartbroken, and I couldn't bear to suffer for her."
"Later, her morning sickness was gone, but her feet started swelling and her legs started cramping again, and she couldn't sleep every night. I pretended to complain and wanted to get up to massage her legs, but I knew she was clearly feeling worse. Even lying there was uncomfortable, let alone sleeping. She couldn't wear any of the embroidered shoes she used to love, and even sitting up was a struggle. But for the sake of the baby in her belly and a smooth delivery, she had to get up and walk around more."
"I can say all of this openly. There are also some private things, but she wants to save face, so I can't tell you. In short, it's just one sentence. Brother, you haven't seen the difficulties my sister-in-law went through when she was pregnant, so naturally you think it's nothing. But I've seen the suffering my Ruan Ling has endured, and I've decided that no matter whether this baby is a boy or a girl, we will never have children again. I've already got medicine from my father specifically for men to ensure that I will never get pregnant. Contraceptive soup is harmful to the body after all, and I don't want my daughter to drink too much."
After saying this, he stood up, dusted himself off, and ran back into the house to take care of his wife.
“…”
Xie Qi lay alone on the recliner, still gazing at the sky. His lips were tightly pursed, and his eyes were gloomy.
He hid here with Fu Zongying for a whole day. As the sun set, he finally decided to leave.
However, at this moment, Ruan Ling in the room suddenly screamed.
She is about to give birth.
The midwives and doctors who lived in the side rooms of the courtyard immediately got busy.
Later, Ruan Ling's screams in the house became louder and louder, and basins of blood were brought out.
Everyone was busy and Xie Qi couldn't help much, so he could only wait in the yard with Fu Zongying who was pacing back and forth.
At this moment, he stood outside the door with his hands behind his back, listening to the painful screams from inside the house, as if he had crossed time and saw Xu Qinghe of that year.
Did she also feel the same pain and discomfort at that time, and was unable to give birth to the child successfully for such a long time?
Was her husband at that time also like Fu Zongying today, running around anxiously outside at first, but finally, after hearing his wife's scream, he rushed in regardless of anything and became her strongest support?
However, Xie Qi knew nothing about all this.
…
The morning sun shines through the bamboo forest, casting swaying shadows of leaves on the ground.
Finally, the clear cry of a baby was heard from inside the house.
Fu Zongying comforted his wife who had just experienced unbearable pain, and was about to ask his brother in the yard to come in and see his little niece, but he could only see his lonely back as he left from the window.
A few hours later, Ruan Ling woke up from his sleep.
She had been cleaned up and now felt clean and comfortable.
The midwife brought in a bowl of nourishing soup, and Fu Zongying fed her spoonful by spoonful.
These supplements were sent by Xu Qinghe that day. Ruan Ling naturally thought of Xie Qi who seemed to be still in the yard when she started yesterday.
"After seeing that you gave birth safely, my third brother went back. He stayed here all night yesterday and probably didn't tell my sister-in-law in advance, so he had to go back quickly."
After saying this, he told Ruan Ling about Xie Qi's complaints to him yesterday as if they were gossip.
Ruan Ling said, "When my third sister-in-law was pregnant, my third brother was not around, so it's no wonder he didn't know the difficulties a woman faces when she's pregnant."
Fu Zongying sighed, "Third brother's two older brothers are gone, and he's the only one left in the Xie family. It's fine for him to want a child of his own. It's a pity that his sister-in-law has already given birth to a child with someone else and has experienced the pain, so she naturally doesn't want to go through it a second time. Unless third brother finds another one, there's no hope for him to have a child."
Ruan Ling suddenly looked over coldly: "I don't think it's Third Brother who wants to find another one, is it you who wants to?"
Fu Zongying frowned: "What are you talking about, you little bitch! Third brother can't look for it, and neither can I! Do you think you'll be satisfied only if I rip my heart out?"
Ruan Ling snorted, "Who wants your heart? You can't eat it or sell it. Also, don't you think Ping'an's eyes look familiar?"
Fu Zongying recalled and shook his head: "It looks good, but I don't think it looks familiar."
Ruan Ling gave him a look of disdain.
"Do you remember what Third Brother was like when he first came to our Yufeng Pavilion?"
Xie Qi was rescued by Fu Zongying's parents eleven years ago. At that time, Fu Zongying was only a little over ten years old, and Xie Qi quickly changed his appearance using disguise techniques. Therefore, he had no impression of him in his mind.
Although Ruan Ling was only nine years old at the time, she had studied medicine since she was young and had a very good memory.
"Before Third Brother changed his appearance, his eyes were like Ping An's. Actually, they didn't change much afterwards, otherwise Third Sister-in-law wouldn't have thought he looked familiar."
She raised her chin slightly, feeling proud that she had discovered this clue.
Fu Zongying was stunned for a moment, and it took him a long time to react: "You...you mean, Ping An is actually the third brother's child?"
It was just that his third brother's appearance had changed over time, and he had forgotten what his original facial features looked like. Therefore, he had never noticed that the little girl's eyes actually reflected his own reflection.
Ruan Ling nodded slowly. Looking at her beloved's shocked expression, she warned him, "But this is a family matter between Third Brother and his wife. Don't go to Third Brother and make a fuss without his permission. You might as well disturb his feelings."
"I know, I know. I wouldn't dare say anything without you reminding me."
Fu Zongying came back to his senses from the shock. He climbed onto the bed and hugged his wife who had just experienced a life-and-death ordeal.
The two of them snuggled together, talked about some private things between husband and wife, and soon fell asleep again.
In Lanzhou City, Xu Qinghe had just finished his work and was returning home in the warm light of dusk.
As soon as I entered the door, I saw the man who had not returned home all night sitting at the table. He looked up when he heard the noise.
She snorted coldly: "You still remember to come back? I thought the Marquis..."
Before he could finish his words, he was hugged by the man who suddenly stood up.
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