Chapter 37

Ye Shu's consciousness was growing hazy. Yu Yan's voice seemed to come from very far away.

"I— I don't know exactly what happens." Yu Yan had never encountered a situation like this before, and said urgently: "The physician who prepared my medicine said that after a kun-sovereign becomes pregnant, they absolutely cannot use any pheromone-suppressing drugs. Otherwise it could cause the pheromone to spiral out of control, which would be harmful to the body."

"I'm never going to get pregnant — of course I didn't think to ask for that level of detail!"

He grabbed the teacup beside him and poured its entire contents into the incense burner. The burning incense was immediately doused.

But it was already too late.

The room had been saturated with breath-suppressing incense. Ye Shu had been inside for at least an hour — more than enough time for it to take effect.

Ye Shu was burning so hot he could barely breathe. His cheeks were scalding, flushed faintly red.

He slowly sank down in his chair at the table, his back curving, as though trying to fold himself inward.

Yu Yan started moving toward the window quickly — only to be seized by Ye Shu. "What are you doing?"

"Opening the window for air!" Yu Yan looked even more frantic than Ye Shu himself. "To let some of the incense disperse."

Ye Shu said firmly: "No."

A faint plum fragrance had begun spreading through the room. Ye Shu's voice was faint but clear. "If you open that window now, everyone in the Huitong Tower will notice something is wrong with me. Then what will you explain? Either you hid your kun-sovereign identity and ruined my reputation — or to protect my reputation, you reveal that you're a kun-sovereign yourself."

For the imperial consort to be found in this state in another man's room — even if nothing had actually happened, there would be no way to explain it.

Yu Yan quickly worked that out as well. He forced himself to calm down. "Then what do we do right now?"

Before Ye Shu could answer, a man's voice came from outside the door: "My lord — what's happening in there?"

With the keen hearing of a trained martial artist, Mu Yuǎn guī had been standing guard outside the door and sensed something unusual inside.

The door stirred slightly — it seemed Mu Yuǎn guī was about to push it open.

"Don't come in!" Yu Yan looked at Ye Shu, who had curled himself entirely into the chair, drew a deep breath, and said rapidly: "Go find the sovereign. Tell him the consort came to meet with me at the Huitong Tower and has suddenly fainted — ask him to come at once."

Mu Yuǎn guī hesitated a moment, then said: "Yes."

The footsteps outside receded. Yu Yan exhaled in relief and went over to help Ye Shu.

"What are you doing—"

"Don't be alarmed — I'm helping you to the bed to lie down." The kun-sovereign pheromone in the room was growing stronger by the moment. Even Yu Yan found it somewhat difficult to breathe. He averted his eyes and said quietly: "Jin Wang will be here soon. Hold on a little longer."

Ye Shu: "…Alright."

Yu Yan helped Ye Shu to the bed. The moment Ye Shu touched it, he drew his limbs tightly against himself.

An unspeakable burning heat surged from inside him, driving wave after wave of sweat from his body. In a short time he was as soaked as though pulled from water, even his lashes turned damp.

Ye Shu pressed his forehead into the soft bedding. His jaw was clenched tight.

He had never been as keenly aware as he was now of how different this body was from his past one.

Even that time in the forest when he had entered his first episode, it hadn't been this unbearable.

Back then he had only felt a physical discomfort and a need for someone to soothe it. But now, he understood with absolute clarity what he needed.

He needed…

Jin Wang.

Ye Shu's body trembled faintly, and at last he couldn't hold back a low sob. "Jin Wang…"

In the Imperial Study.

After seeing off the Dayan envoy, Jin Wang gathered the documents spread across the table and set them aside. Gaojin presented a wooden box.

Jin Wang paused, and glanced over at it. "All of them?"

"Yes." Gaojin said. "These are all the letters communicating with foreign enemies that were found in the Chancellor's estate. For Your Majesty's review."

Jin Wang opened the lid and took out the letters one by one.

He had already read these letters carefully before — he would not have been able to determine the man's guilt otherwise.

Yet Jin Wang was still patient, reading through them one by one, unhurried.

These letters contained not only communications from foreign enemies but also unfinished plans and deployments. Jin Wang lingered for a long time on the several letters written in Ye Shu's own hand. Gaojin stood to one side, unclear on what Jin Wang was looking for.

These letters had been read by His Majesty, and had been examined by the Ministry of Justice dozens of times over two months ago. What more was there to see?

The Imperial Study was silent. Only when Jin Wang finally set the letters down did Gaojin ask: "Did Your Majesty notice something?"

"Nothing." Jin Wang put them back in the box without hurry and said idly: "In these letters, every plan and deployment is spelled out in careful and detailed order, with no anomalous handwriting. The evidence is conclusive."

Gaojin was baffled. "Then you were…"

"I merely wanted to confirm something." Jin Wang tilted his head toward Gaojin and asked mildly: "In what circumstances would you, if it were you, keep letters communicating with foreign enemies this intact?"

Gaojin was so frightened he dropped to his knees. "This servant is terrified!"

"What are you nervous about — stand up." Jin Wang said. "Just speak freely. You are pardoned."

Gaojin stood up with great trepidation and thought for a moment. "This servant would not presume, but this servant also knows to destroy evidence after the fact. This servant genuinely cannot think of why Chancellor Ye would have done this."

"Indeed — why would he…"

Jin Wang placed the last letter back into the box and quietly closed it. "These letters lay out almost every piece of evidence of his conspiracy in full — seamless and comprehensive. No matter whose hands this evidence fell into, it would have been sufficient to condemn him to death."

"If it were anyone else, perhaps one could explain it away. But We once moved in and out together with him, and he still managed to correspond in secret with the Dayan prince for years. So why was he so careless when plotting with Xixia?"

"There is only one explanation."

Jin Wang's gaze turned toward the sky beyond the window. He didn't continue.

He had once believed hearts changed easily, and that the person's gradual transformation over those three years had made reaching that point feel unremarkable.

But lately he had come to realize that Ye Shu had not changed at all.

Two months ago he hadn't dared be certain of it — but now he could be sure. Ye Shu could not possibly have wanted to kill him.

"Return to the palace." Jin Wang stood after a moment. "We will ask him directly."

The negotiations with Dayan had concluded. The envoy would leave the capital in two days.

He needed to clear up the truth with his little consort, and ask what on earth had happened in those three years.

Jin Wang stepped out of the Imperial Study. At that very moment, an attendant came hurrying over. "Your Majesty — a message has been sent from the Huitong Tower. The consort has fainted at the Huitong Tower!"

Time passed drop by drop, stretched out unbearably long by the wait. Ye Shu's consciousness was drifting. The burning inside him was reaching a pitch that threatened to swallow every last shred of reason.

Yu Yan paced anxiously in the outer room.

Suddenly a commotion broke out at the door, followed by a guard's announcement: "His Majesty has arrived!"

Yu Yan's eyes lit up. He moved briskly toward the door. He was just about to pull it open when a thought occurred to him — and he shoved the door, which had only opened a crack, firmly shut again, bracing himself against it.

Jin Wang, who had been about to push it open: "…"

For the first time in his life, His Majesty the sovereign had been refused entry. He was instantly furious, his voice dropping to ice. "Open the door."

Yu Yan's voice came from behind it. "Please, Your Majesty, dismiss those present and come in alone."

Jin Wang gritted his teeth. "Yu. Yan!"

Yu Yan held firm. "Please, Your Majesty, dismiss those present!"

Jin Wang closed his eyes, drew a long breath, and ordered: "All of you, out."

The attendants behind him withdrew. Jin Wang said: "There is no one outside but Us. Open the door now — what in the world has happened to A Shu——"

The door flew open. A dense, almost viscous plum fragrance hit him in the face.

Jin Wang's breath stopped dead.

Yu Yan hauled him inside and shut the door behind them.

The smell of the original incense in the room was gone entirely. The rich, heavy pheromone of a kun-sovereign now saturated the entire space.

Jin Wang's breathing grew heavier in an instant. He stepped toward where the scent was strongest, moved past the inner room's folding screen, and took in the scene.

Ye Shu was lying on the bed, his limbs drawn tightly against himself, trembling in fine, rapid tremors all over.

His hair was completely soaked through. His clothing was in a state of disarray. The exposed skin at his neck was suffused with a suggestive flush of pink.

Jin Wang narrowed his eyes and looked at Yu Yan.

Yu Yan immediately said: "I didn't touch him!"

"We can see that." Jin Wang's expression was flat as water. He strode forward.

As though sensing a familiar presence, Ye Shu's body shifted restlessly. The damp lashes trembled and, with great effort, he opened his eyes.

But he couldn't make out anything clearly. Through a blurred haze, he could only vaguely see a familiar silhouette approaching him.

Ye Shu reached out on instinct. In the next second, he was drawn into a familiar embrace.

"Mmph——!" The most sensitive spot behind his ear was suddenly touched. An unbearable mix of sharp sensation and tingling coursed through him, making Ye Shu involuntarily let out a low sound.

A long kiss. The qian-sovereign's pheromone flowed in slowly, and the scalding heat inside him — like fire burning through his body — gradually began to subside.

Jin Wang brushed the hair from his face and pressed a soothing kiss to the red corners of Ye Shu's eyes. "Better?"

"Jin… Jin Wang…" Ye Shu's consciousness surfaced a little. His voice was hoarse, and the moment he opened his mouth a sobbing quality came through. He asked with pure grievance: "What took you so long…"

Jin Wang said coolly: "Who told you to go wandering off everywhere?"

Jin Wang had not yet fully recovered his composure.

Heaven knew how alarmed he had been when he heard Ye Shu had fainted. The child in his belly was a secondary concern — if something happened to this person himself…

Jin Wang didn't dare think further.

He looked up at Yu Yan standing behind the folding screen and asked coldly: "What happened here? Would the Second Prince care to explain?"

As a qian-sovereign, Jin Wang could naturally see that the person in front of him was also a kun-sovereign.

Otherwise, given the intensity of the kun-sovereign pheromone in this room, the man should have lost all reason entirely by now.

Yu Yan looked at the two people in the inner room and hesitated a moment before honestly explaining about the breath-suppressing incense.

"I genuinely didn't know Ye Shu was pregnant. He didn't tell me beforehand. If I'd known, I would never have burned incense in the room——"

While Yu Yan was still explaining, Jin Wang was already stripping off his outer robe and wrapping the person in his arms thoroughly inside it, then picking him up.

Without another glance at Yu Yan, Jin Wang carried the person in his arms and walked out the door in long strides.

The door snapped shut in his face. Yu Yan fumed: "Of all the——"

He stopped mid-sentence. He frowned suddenly.

He seemed to be… also a bit warm?

Mu Yuǎn guī's voice came from outside the door: "My lord, this subordinate saw His Majesty take the consort away. Are you alright?"

When Yu Yan spoke, even his breathing had become slightly unsteady. "I'm— I'm fine. Don't come in!"

He quickly walked to the table and seized the teacup, downing a large mouthful of tea that had long gone cold. His fingers were trembling faintly.

…This couldn't be happening.

Jin Wang carried Ye Shu back to the bedchamber.

In just that short time, Ye Shu's body had become scalding hot again. Jin Wang set him on the bed and was about to pull back — only to have him latch on immediately with all four limbs.

Ye Shu gripped Jin Wang's sleeve tightly, his voice impossibly aggrieved. "Don't go…"

"I'm not going — stop——" Jin Wang's breathing hitched sharply. "Ye Shu — what are you touching! Let go of your hands!"

"I feel terrible…"

Ye Shu could no longer make out what Jin Wang was saying. A certain craving inside him was gradually winning out over everything else. He followed his body's instincts and pressed closer to the person beside him, wanting to get nearer, nearer still…

Jin Wang struggled to hold him still. In the unchecked kun-sovereign pheromone pouring off of him, Jin Wang was close to losing all reason.

"A Shu, don't do this…" He tried to soothe him in a steady voice. "Something is wrong with you. We've already summoned the physician — once he comes, then…"

"What are you still waiting for?" Ye Shu, denied what he needed, shouted at him in frustration. "It's because of the little creature in my belly, isn't it — you just see if I don't get rid of it!"

Jin Wang froze.

Ye Shu had the air of someone who had suffered a profound injustice, tears spilling continuously. "You're the one who made me like this, and you're still just leaving me here… miserable dog emperor…"

Jin Wang was a long moment in finding his voice. He scrambled to pull the person into his arms. "You… when did you know…"

Ye Shu was too busy ranting to answer.

A short while later, the physician arrived.

Jin Wang pulled the blanket over them, dropped the gauze curtains, and concealed Ye Shu entirely within, extending one hand for the physician to take his pulse.

Ye Shu couldn't stay still and kept shifting restlessly.

Imperial Physician Feng quickly took the pulse. Jin Wang then explained what had happened with the breath-suppressing incense.

"Young Master's condition is indeed caused by the breath-suppressing incense." Imperial Physician Feng said. "After a kun-sovereign becomes pregnant, their needs become very great, and they require the qian-sovereign's calming presence. If the body's natural instincts are suppressed using pheromone-inhibiting drugs, it does not produce control — on the contrary, it triggers a powerful rebound effect."

"Young Master previously took breath-suppressing pills, which had already placed some strain on the body and made the pheromone prone to slipping out of control. Having accidentally been exposed to the breath-suppressing incense today on top of that… I'm afraid…"

Imperial Physician Feng's measured delivery was too slow for Jin Wang. He cut him off impatiently. "What will happen?"

"During pregnancy, a kun-sovereign would ordinarily not enter an arousal cycle. However, in this case the pheromone has been abnormally triggered and cannot be suppressed. If this continues, it may force the kun-sovereign into… an involuntary arousal cycle."

Jin Wang looked down. The person in his arms was furrowing their brow tight. The sweet, dense pheromone scent seemed almost tangible at his side, calling out and yearning for a qian-sovereign's comfort.

It was indeed like the arousal cycle described in the texts about kun-sovereigns.

Ye Shu could not take any suppressant medication. Once he entered the cycle, there was no solution other than being with his qian-sovereign.

Jin Wang felt his reason burning away to almost nothing. He drew a deep breath, forcing his voice steady. "He is not yet three months along — can We be intimate with him?"

Jin Wang asked the question plainly. Imperial Physician Feng gave a small cough, and explained: "This servant just examined him — the embryo is essentially stable now and… careful intimacy is permissible."

A subtle darkness passed through Jin Wang's eyes.

But he didn't rush. Instead, he asked the physician a careful sequence of questions about precautions, going through everything one by one, leaving nothing out. Imperial Physician Feng answered each one, and by the end was so thoroughly red-faced he could barely look at them — only then did he receive permission to leave.

The attendants had long since withdrawn from the bedchamber. The entire vast hall held only Jin Wang and Ye Shu.

Jin Wang threw back the blanket and pressed over him.

"Did you hear everything the physician just said?" Jin Wang looked down at the person in his arms, his voice rough beyond belief.

Ye Shu's eyes were brimming with unshed tears. Whether it was anxiety or anticipation, his whole body was trembling. "I… I don't know…"

"Fool."

Jin Wang let out a sigh and gently began to remove Ye Shu's disheveled clothing.

"I remember." Jin Wang said. "I will show you."