“Jianqiu, how are you?! Are you severely hurt?! It"s all my fault, I shouldn"t have made you angry.”As soon as Situ walked into Feng Luodi"s courtyard, he could hear Gan Qingjia wailing and his eyebrows twitched uncontrollably.
Covert Guard Duo noticed that the situation didn"t seem right and quickly went back into hiding.
Qi Jianqiu was lying on Feng Luodi"s bed. The otherworldly Eldritch Physician, Xia Jingfeng, had just finished telling her about the things to take note of during her pregnancy and right after that, she heard her husband"s thunderous cry.
After recovering from her shock, Qi Jianqiu also felt a little embarra.s.sed and apologetic towards her husband.
She was being subjected to Feng Luodi"s teasing gaze when she saw Gan Qingjia running in frantically. He leapt to the bed and held her hand in his as he questioned her worriedly.
“Where do you feel unwell? How did you get hurt? Or did you get ill?”
His string of questions as well as the care and worry in his eyes made Qi Jianqiu feel a little guilty about what happened early that morning.
“Qingjia, I"m sorry for getting angry at you today.”
It would have been better if Qi Jianqiu didn"t speak. As soon as she uttered those words, Gan Qingjia panicked even more.
“Jianqiu, please don"t scare me…”
Gan Qingjia thought that Qi Jianqiu didn"t want to tell him about her condition. The moment he saw the Eldritch Physician who was standing at one side, he rushed to him and asked, “What"s wrong with Jianqiu?”
The Eldritch Physician knitted his eyebrows. He didn"t understand Gan Qingjia"s reaction. Could it be that his own wife"s pregnancy isn"t good news to him?
The Eldritch Physician who seldom interacted with people was puzzled and his gaze naturally landed on Feng Luodi who was beside him.
At the moment, Gan Qingjia"s palms were breaking out in a sweat and his breathing was rapid. His complexion was wreathed with worry and fear. Feng Luodi was used to seeing his frivolous smile but his current state caused her to be at a loss.
“Just tell him. This fellow didn"t finish listening to Duo before he ran all the way here,” Situ"s cold voice suddenly sounded.
Feng Luodi subconsciously smiled and stared at Situ who was unhurriedly walking in.
Although Situ"s countenance had a faint trace of jealousy, it disappeared the moment he saw that Feng Luodi was in a good mood. However, when his gaze slipped past the Eldritch Physician, a trace of displeasure flickered across his eyes. Any men who appear in Feng Luodi"s boudoir was inexcusable no matter the reason.
When his thoughts got to this point, Situ"s gaze was also dim when he looked towards Gan Qingjia.
Gan Qingjia was in no mood to bother about Situ"s gloominess at this moment. After he turned around, he stared at Qi Jianqiu and asked earnestly, “Jianqiu, tell me truthfully. What illness have you contracted?”
Gan Qingjia clenched his fists tightly. The worry that flowed into his heart made him unable to think for the first time. He didn"t even notice everyone"s teasing and congratulatory looks.
Qi Jianqiu looked at Gan Qingjia in shock. She stared blankly for a moment before she replied, “I, I am pregnant. But you don"t have to be this unhappy right?”
In the next instant, Gan Qingjia froze. But, as soon as he recovered, he grinned like a fool, and Qi Jianqiu was lucky enough to witness this priceless expression of his.
Situ felt indignant, so he turned to head outside and on his way out, his gaze settled on the Eldritch Physician for a brief moment.
Xia Jingfeng had seemingly caught on and told Feng Luodi that he would be taking his leave.
Only then did Feng Luodi recover from her shock about Qi Jianqiu being pregnant. She was very happy for her best friend who was about to become a mother. She smiled as she sent Xia Jingfeng out.
After Xia Jingfeng left, Feng Luodi turned her head and saw Situ sitting under the Princess Tree covered in purple and white. He bent his back slightly and propped his chin with his hand, looking extremely relaxed.
Feng Luodi smiled lightly. He must be happy for Gan Qingjia who is about to become a father soon.
She only noticed the billowing complicated look in the recesses of Situ"s eyes when she walked closer.
She blinked her eyes. She felt a little uncomfortable with Situ gazing fixedly at her like that, his gaze ardent and searing with expectations.
Her cheeks started to become scalding hot. However, tremendous waves of emotions surged from the surface of the lake and created ripples in her heart. It was just like the feathery feeling when one was drunk.
Just when Feng Luodi couldn"t endure his gaze any longer, Situ finally spoke up while staring at her intently. “They"re becoming parents, they even have a child now.”
Feng Luodi was taken aback for a moment, but then, she nodded and smiled wholeheartedly.
“I"m really happy for them. They weren"t married for that long, yet they are already antic.i.p.ating their first child.”
“That"s right.” Situ"s voice was as light as a feather, giving Feng Luodi an illusory feeling that Situ was very far away from her.
“They"re married and are expecting a child now.”
Feng Luodi blinked her eyes. Why did it feel like Situ"s manner of speech was a bit weird today?
“I"m older than Qingjia by two years…”
Hearing this, Feng Luodi instantly understood Situ"s unfinished words. Yet, he still hadn"t gotten married nor did he have a child.
“Cough, cough.”
Feng Luodi dry coughed while looking left and right, no longer looking at Situ.
Situ"s gaze gradually deepened and he called out in a voice filled with affection.
“Luodi.”
“Look, the two of them are done, they have come out.” Feng Luodi abruptly stood up and greeted Qi Jianqiu and Gan Qingjia who were walking side by side and laughing as they conversed happily.
“Finally made up?”
Feng Luodi smilingly peered at Qi Jianqiu and Gan Qingjia who were in extremely high spirits as she tried her best to ignore that burning hot gaze behind her.
The only wish she couldn"t grant Situ was becoming his wife.
Qi Jianqiu looked bashful but her hands were placed at her abdomen and the look in her eyes was gentle.
Feng Luodi sighed almost inaudibly. Time really flies. Jianqiu was already married. Jianqiu was already pregnant. Even now, she could still recall Qi Jianqiu"s aggrieved expression whenever she mentioned Gan Qingjia back then. The once quarrelsome but loving couple was now a doting married couple. Life is unpredictable and you never know what is coming next…
“Congratulations.”
Situ"s slightly deep and low voice suddenly rang from behind.
Feng Luodi instantly stiffened. When she felt Situ"s hand on her shoulder, she didn"t dare to look back and witness Situ"s current expression.
Gan Qingjia, on the other hand, wasn"t afraid of death as he provoked Situ. He poked fun at him with a teasing smile, mischief apparent in his tone.
“If you"re really envious, then you two should also quickly get married. We can even arrange a betrothal between our babies.”
Qi Jianqiu snuggled up to him and she also smiled as she approved, “This is a good idea. When do you two plan to get married?”
OMG! They are going to cause my demise!
Feng Luodi howled in grief inwardly. These two must be Situ"s minions!
“That depends on her.”
Situ"s voice sounded beside her. She felt his hand tapping lightly on her shoulder, sending a electric sensation to her heart.
As such, Gan Qingjia and Qi Jianqiu turned to look at Feng Luodi instead, seemingly waiting for an answer.
Someone, save me!
Feng Luodi knew that her current expression must look very funny.
When Situ felt the woman in front of him trembling slightly, he understood that she was struggling inside her heart. As such, the bitterness he was feeling slowly started to dissipate.
He ultimately couldn"t bear to pressure her for an answer.
This was different from killing enemies on the battlefield. There, he would pressure the enemies into desperate straits and not leave them any leeway, securing an overall victory.
Love was different, and he ultimately understood this fact.
However, the one who rescued Feng Luodi from her predicament wasn"t Situ but Covert Guard Two, who appeared in front of them.
“General.” Covert Guard Two"s expression was panic-stricken, unlike his usual nonchalant self. This made everyone realise that something bad had happened.
“I just received news that Gentleman Xue met with an a.s.sa.s.sination attempt when he was patrolling the northern streets. The other party is a well-trained a.s.sa.s.sin from an organisation.”
At the mention of this, everyone"s expression instantly changed.
“How is Yiqi"s current condition?” Situ asked with an icy tone.
“According to the messenger, Gentleman Xue was stabbed in the shoulder. His injury isn"t very serious as a woman dressed in red had rushed over to help him.”
“A woman dressed in red?” Situ turned to look at Feng Luodi.
“Shangguan Yan.” Feng Luodi immediately uttered.
As the saying goes, "The rising wind forebodes the coming storm". It was a bad omen of things to come.
When Xue Yiqi took a team of twenty troops to patrol the northern streets, he had already sensed that something was amiss.
Due to the expansion and reformation of the northern streets, there were much fewer people and shops there compared to other bustling streets.
In fact, there were only people and shops scattered here and there.
However, it was different today. Not only were there many people travelling to and fro, but there were also many more interim shops opened on the northern streets.
Xue Yiqi immediately waved his hand for the twenty people behind him to halt and narrowed his eyes as he looked at the surrounding crowd. Three days ago, he had also come to patrol the street. However, it wasn"t that crowded back then, which meant that these new stores were opened in the past three days. The person behind this certainly is extremely capable and resourceful.
Now that he was more used to his new position as the Imperial Army Commander, Xue Yiqi had also started to concentrate on the bigger picture and a.s.sess the overall situation.
He beckoned two quick-witted soldiers from behind and instructed them in a low voice.
“Later, when the few of us return by the way we came, the two of you will take advantage of the chaos to escape. One of you will go to the Imperial Army and bring the main forces over while another will go to the Duke of Anping"s Residence and bring people to besiege the northern streets.”
The two soldiers nodded.
Xue Yiqi was in the middle of commanding the troops to return after their patrol was completed when they were encircled by the crowd on the streets.
The whole street was filled with people from the other faction. Such an impressive battle array.
He didn"t know why but he suddenly felt his blood boil with excitement. He bet Situ had faced this kind of situation many times. His Elder Brother had always surmounted many ordeals and walked until the end a step at a time. He had always looked up to Situ. He strived to become like him, a general everyone could trust wholeheartedly and be proud of.
His family clan had been guarding the stable western frontier for generations, causing their combat skills to grow rustier by the day. Unlike them, Situ was in charge of guarding and protecting the unstable northern frontier.
At this moment, Xue Yiqi thought that he could become someone like Situ.
He thought that he could control the Imperial Army with full authority and believed that his strategic decision was correct.
However, contrary to his expectations, those people who beleaguered them turned out to be a.s.sa.s.sins. Not only did they beleaguer them, they even dragged the nearby commoners out to threaten him.
Only when the eighteen people beside him had fallen did Xue Yiqi wipe the blood that had splattered onto his face, and sneered at himself. He needed to bear the ramifications of the outcome he had brought about due to his mistake.
As the sword pierced into his shoulder, blood surged out and inflicted tremendous pain. However, Xue Yiqi held the sword as he stood there unmoving, not cowering in the least.
And, just as he thought that he was about to die in this familiar northern street, a woman dressed in red appeared out of the blue.
Red could represent blood but it could also represent beauty.
This was the first time he"d witnessed someone turn a gory scene with bloodshed into a dance performance.
The red cloth that permeated the sky was like a sharp blade. It wound around the sword at her waist and every move was meant to seize a person"s life.
He had never seen someone smiling so charismatically in the face of so many enemies.
Nonetheless, he had seen this person"s sorrowful expression before. He suddenly recalled that he"d hurt her just recently; he couldn"t forget the tinge of sadness that flickered across her eyes then.