Chapter 69

WARNING: Dog food. 😅

One early morning, under a tall peach tree, Li Yan was sitting on the grass. His head was lowered as carefully sew a little cloth with a needle. His face had a gentle expression. He would occasionally raise his hand to push away or blow away the silky strands of white hair that fell onto his beautiful face in the breeze.

So when Shen Nuo slowly arrived with a wooden basket with meals, Li Yan raised his head. His thin lips stretched into a smile. "Nuo Nuo."

Shen Nuo narrowed his eyes. "I'm here after Zhangsun complaint me. He said you hadn't eaten for three days? Are you trying to die? I was wondering why you didn't come to spend the night at Mingyue Palace."

Li Yan glared at the handsome wall flower in black who stood beside him too quietly. Then he turned back to Shen Nuo with a smile and cleared his throat. "I had so much memorials to read. It's normal. Why are you running around, eh?"

"I bought you meals." Shen Nuo said. "What are you doing? What is this - huh?"

His eyes widened in amusement. "You..."

Li Yan stretched out the piece of white silken cloth and showed it to Shen Nuo. "Beautiful?"

That piece of cloth appeared to be a beautifully sewn dress for a new born baby. Shen Nuo felt his heart tighten. "You know how to sew?"

"Of course!" Li Yan said proudly. "I know everything!"

Shen Nuo smiled. He raked his fingers through Li Yan's white hair slowly. "Do you have time for this?"

"Umm, yeah, you can say so. I -"

"Consort Shen, His Majesty worked for three days continually without eating or sleeping just to buy few hours free time for this." Zhangsun spoke quickly and unceremoniously threw a swift glance at the Emperor who was stunned, before quickly lowering his head.

Li Yan narrowed his eyes. "You really seem to have a big mouth, don't you? Quickly get lost!"

And Zhangsun quickly got lost.

Li Yan switched back to his usual casual pleasant self and smiled. "Nuo Nuo..." He said starting to sew back the final layer of the baby dress. "Wait for me. After the dress is over, I'll give it to you. I want you to sew something on it too."

Shen Nuo smiled extra pleasantly. "A dog."

Li Yan: "..."

"Or maybe a puppy." Shen Nuo added narrowing his eyes.

Li Yan pulled a sad face and pouted his lips. "Nuo Nuo, still you can't stop the bad habit of calling me a dog, right? Look!" He pulled Shen Nuo's palm and pressed it against his warm chest. "It hurts here."

Shen Nuo was speechless. "Throwing tantrums?" He raised his brows. "Am I the one or are you the one who is pregnant?"

"..."

Shen Nuo placed the basket down and slowly stretched out his arms around, nonchalantly.

"Tsk!" Li Yan sucked in a cold breath, sucking his bleeding fingertip that got stung by the needle his carelessness. Shen Nuo frowned, pulling away the fingertip from Li Yan's mouth. He examined the fingertip that was callused and slightly wet with Li Yan's sucking. It was still slightly bleeding.

Shen Nuo sighed. How can the dog be this careless? And this isn't normally something for Li Yan to fuss about when at other times the wounds he receive are slashes and stabs from daggers and swords.

But...

Shen Nuo still brought the fingertip to his lips and sucked it gently to relieve the pain. It felt so warm in his cozy little mouth. Li Yan's eyes widened. Then slowly his eyes turned red and his smile disappeared, his breath drawing heavy. His pulled away his finger slowly. "I'm fine."

Shen Nuo looked at Li Yan. "You are distracted lately. What is the matter with you?"

Li Yan sighed. "I'm still baffled at Shendu's matter."

Shen Nuo pursed his thin lips. "Still no tidings of his whereabouts?"

Li Yan shook his head helplessly. "He had disappeared without trace. All the skilled people I sent to track him returned empty handed.

Shen Nuo was thoughtful for a moment. "I know someone whom you can trust in this matter." He said in concern.

Li Yan furrowed his brows. "Who?"

"Jinyu." Shen Nuo said genuinely.

Li Yan creased his brows. "Your crazy bodyguard who screams in excitement whenever he sees a frog or something?"

"I know he's a bit out of what is expected from a bodyguard. But don't underestimate his skills in tracking and assassination. To tell the truth, he's a hundred times better than Zhangsun. It's just, he doesn't show it." He sighed. "After all, he was once personally trained by third brother Shendu. If someone can track Shendu, it's no one but Jinyu..."

Li Yan slowly nodded. "Then ask him to join Zhangsun. By the way, you come here!"

Shen Nuo closed the already close distance between them. "What is it?" He couldn't help but narrow his eyes when he saw the familiar evil grin return to Li Yan's lips.

Though Li Yan was seated, he was still very tall. After mastering phoenix scroll, he gained excessive weight and height. In this seated position, still he could easily reach Shen Nuo's stomach.

He slowly wrapped his arms around Shen Nuo's waist and pressed his ear gently against Shen Nuo's slightly bulging belly, grinning.

Shen Nuo pushed away Li Yan's head, blushing. "What are you doing!!?"

"Why? I want to feel and hear my son!"

Shen Nuo raised his brows. "How do you know it's a son?"

Li Yan raised his brows even higher. He leaned his face closer to Shen Nuo with a mischievous smile and looked at him meaningfully. "I really don't think it can be a girl, you know? After all, that day, you and I, I mean we..." He broadly grinned.

Shen Nuo did not understand at first. Then blood rushed into his face. He swatted Li Yan's face away, blushing furiously. He couldn't help but shiver reminding the memories at Jingshan.

Li Yan laughed getting to his legs. He brushed his dragon robe clean and tried to poke Shen Nuo's chubby cheeks. Yes, Shen Nuo had gained weight recently due to pregnancy. He looked cute and fluffier than the original baby white tiger from several months ago, who was always ready to rear his baby teeth and slash his sharpening claws at Li Yan.

But Shen Nuo pushed his annoying hands away. "Give rest to my cheeks, ok? Can't you leave them a day without squeezing?" He started throwing a tantrum early in the morning but Li Yan gently grasped those hands by the pale white wrists and bit Shen Nuo's ear softly.

Shen Nuo's fake fierceness was blown away by the wind it seems. He went weak in an instant. Li Yan leaned Shen Nuo against the tall peach trunk and looked at him for a moment with gentle eyes. "I have heard that when they are pregnant, they will often come to mood swings and tend to have strange liking in eating nasty tasted things. Why don't I see you like them?"

Shen Nuo raised his brows. "Do you want me to eat shit?"

"..."

"Fine! I was recently thinking of eating garlic. Husband, go and bring me a dish!"

"..."

Li Yan was a bit speechless with a blank face and confused eyes. Shen Nuo thought it looked very cute. He couldn't help but gently rub Li Yan's pale cheek. That ancestor actually blushed.

Li  Yan couldn't contain the abuse from this seductive lotus anymore. He grasped from Shen Nuo's trouble searching wrists again and gently clamped them against the trunk above his head without hurting him. "Wife..."

Shen Nuo pouted his pale pink lips. "Hubby, I want a kiss. You hadn't kissed me since the day you got to know I'm pregnant."

Li Yan smiled. "You would anxiously stop breathing everytime I kiss you. You know, it's not good for the baby."

Shen Nuo narrowed his eyes. "Now you only seems to remember about the baby, right? What happened to me?" He asked with sudden resent.

Li Yan laughed gently. "Ok ok, we can do that everyday after the baby is born, ok?" His voice was a bit hoarse as he said this and he particularly avoided Shen Nuo's eyes.

"Hmph!" Shen Nuo looked away furiously, pouting his lips even higher. "I'm angry!"

Li Yan's hands that were gently clamping Shen Nuo's wrists against the peach tree, subconsciously tightened. "Nuo Nuo, look at me."

Shen Nuo was obedient. But the moment he turned to face Li Yan, his lips were firmly locked by Li Yan. The touch was deep but also wasn't deep. But it was definitely thirsty and longing.

Amid wet kisses, Li Yan thirstily licked Shen Nuo's lips several times and tried to slip his tongue in but again slowly withdrew back his tongue as if being held back by something.

He didn't indulge himself in kissing for a long time as he usually did. He was afraid it won't be good for Shen Nuo's weak health in this state. So he regretfully parted his lips from Shen Nuo's slightly swollen lips with red eyes and looked at Shen Nuo's dazed expression.

"Don't ask for more." He said brushing his nose tip against Shen Nuo's. "I won't be able to hold back anymore, ok?"

Shen Nuo wrapped his arms around Li Yan's waist and rested his chin upon Li Yan's shoulder closing his eyes sleepily. Li Yan stroked Shen Nuo's fluffy hair, raking his long and pale slender fingers through them intimately as he raised his slightly moist eyes to look at the gloomy sky. No one knew what he was thinking.

But all these was seen by a third person from faraway. Zhanhua hid back behind the tree with a beating heart. He came to meet Li Yan knowing he was here. But Zhanhua didn't expect to witness this.

His heart was in a mess. He slowly turned back and came to his own room. Every emotion seemed to be mixed in his heart. The moment he got to know Shen Nuo got pregnant, his heart died. He knew he shouldn't be feeling so. But still it broke his heart.

He tried to ignore the scorching tears that burned down his cheeks by tightly creasing his furrowed brows and tightly closing his eyes. But still the evil fire rushed out. He raised his leg and kicked the jade desk in front of him. The desk overturned with every single precious jade item on the desk crashing onto the floor tiles amid a deafening din. The jade went in pieces.

The servants who heard the sound were terrified and poured in to see what the ruckus was and suddenly met with the sight of their master kneeling on the floor.

His head was lowered and he was breathing hard. The loosened strands of his slightly disheveled hair were hanging down his forehead. His hands were grasping onto the sharp shards of jade that were ruining the floor and blood gushed out, staining the tiles.

The servants were terrified. "Master- !!!"

Zhanhua raised his frightening face suppressing his urge and his eyes were bloodshot in the attempt. But his shuddering voice was calm as he spoke. "I need to be alone for a while. Get out!"

The servants could do nothing but reluctantly withdraw. Zhanhua smiled to himself bitterly. He did not fathom out the feeling that was slowly devouring his heart. It felt so painful...

He slowly stood back and looked at the bleeding palms that were deeply cut with an empty blank look.

Li Yan was busy with court matters again, and couldn't accompany Shen Nuo at Mingyue Palace to spend the night. So that night just as when Shen Nuo was to lie down wearily, Zhanhua appeared, startling him.

"..." Shen Nuo was stunned.

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