After The Soft And Cute Beauty Marries The Wolf King - Chapter 26

“Mother always sighs all day long, afraid that you will suffer grievances on the grassland and have nowhere to complain.” Xie Zhifeng smiled, “Now it seems that she worries too much.”

 

Xie Zhiqing’s face was full of despair, lying on his back as if dead, pretending to be dead, with a “I won’t listen or answer” look.

 

Xie Zhifeng leaned against the head of the bed, poking his brother’s face with his index finger, and said, “That Wolf King isn’t as cruel as the legends say, he seems quite easygoing.”

 

“…” Xie Zhiqing turned over and faced away from him.

 

“Aren’t you embarrassed to be with me, Xiaoqing’er?” Xie Zhifeng propped himself up on the bed and slowly moved to Xie Zhiqing’s side, saying, “Let me see if Xiaoqing’er is blushing.”

 

“You’re so annoying!” Xie Zhiqing exclaimed angrily. He covered his head with the blanket, completely hiding under the covers.

 

Xie Zhifeng chuckled a few times and sat back slowly.

 

When teasing his younger brother, there was a bit of liveliness similar to Xie Zhiqing, but when serious, he was truly gentle as the wind. Xie Zhifeng furrowed his brows slightly, lost in thought.

 

After a while, he touched the lump of blanket again and asked in a low voice, “Xiaoqing’er, does he… does Lang Sa know?”

 

Xie Zhiqing, who had been rolling around in the blanket, stopped when he heard this question.

 

He crawled out of the blanket, his hair slightly messy, and a faint blush on his face. He got up slowly, sat next to his brother, and nodded, saying “Yes.”

 

Xie Zhifeng couldn’t figure out what this meant, so he asked again, “Did anything unpleasant happen because of this?”

 

“No…” Xie Zhiqing scratched his face, “I don’t know how to say it… he said he knew a long time ago.”

 

“A long time ago?” Xie Zhifeng exclaimed in surprise.

 

“Yes, a long time ago.” Xie Zhiqing pursed his lips, “So, he wasn’t surprised or shocked, he just accepted it calmly, as if it wasn’t a big deal at all.”

 

Xie Zhifeng touched his chin, thought for a while, and said, “Perhaps it wasn’t a big deal in the first place, you just cared too much.”

 

He shook his head, “It’s also possible that we’ve been caring too much all along. If you truly love someone, why would you care about these things?”

 

Xie Zhiqing rubbed the corner of the blanket, lowered his head and agreed.

 

It was really too late.

 

The oil lamp gradually dimmed, and only shadows could be vaguely seen in the room. However, the twins who hadn’t seen each other for a long time didn’t feel sleepy at all, still whispering secrets under the covers.

 

Xie Zhiqing asked about everyone else who was far away in Anyu, not even sparing the old maid who had a granddaughter.

 

“They’re all fine, all fine.” Xie Zhifeng knew he would keep asking endlessly, so he had already prepared before leaving the palace, “Mother rewarded some cloth and gave her a long vacation. The maid brought the baby over, and I saw her too, chubby and cute.”

 

“Really?” Xie Zhiqing said regretfully, “Newborn babies must be very cute! Their faces are soft and their hands and feet are short.”

 

Xie Zhifeng teased him, “If Xiaoqing’er likes it, you can also have one.”

 

“…” Xie Zhiqing turned over again and faced away from him, muttering, “Brother, you’re talking nonsense again!”

 

Xie Zhifeng said with a smile, “Alright, alright, if you don’t want to hear it, I won’t say it anymore.”

 

Xie Zhiqing angrily lay back under the covers, scolding, “You’re just talking nonsense!”

 

Xie Zhifeng said, “Alright, I won’t say it anymore. It’s too late, let’s rest.”

 

He smoothed out his younger brother’s blanket and closed his eyes, ready to sleep.

 

But Xie Zhiqing couldn’t sleep anymore.

 

Once his brother mentioned it, he remembered too. When he was five or six years old, he sneaked into the book depository with his brother. His eyes were sharp, and he caught sight of a row of medical books. He climbed on a chair unsteadily to reach them—his elder brother was often sickly, and he was also very interested in these medical books, always wanting to read them whenever he saw them.

 

That time they flipped through a medical book and surprisingly found many records about his brother’s condition!

 

Young Xie Zhiqing didn’t understand these things, but he instinctively felt that these were not things a child of his age could scrutinize. He hastily closed the book, only glancing over a few sentences.

 

“If both parties are in love and sincere…”

 

“Gather the essence of the sun and moon…”

 

A shallow memory from more than a decade ago became clear under Xie Zhifeng’s reminder.

 

Those two crucial sentences were easily connected. Essentially, they were saying that if both spouses were truly in love and their dwelling place gathered the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, even someone with his condition could potentially conceive life.

 

Xie Zhiqing’s heart pounded.

 

Late nights were prone to overthinking, and Xie Zhiqing’s thoughts unconsciously drifted away.

 

He and Lang Sa, were they truly in love…

 

It seemed that Lang Sa truly loved him, he…

 

Xie Zhiqing blinked his eyes. He was willing to spend his life with Lang Sa too.

 

That would fulfill the first requirement… but what about the second requirement…?

 

What kind of place could be considered to “gather the essence of the sun and moon”?

 

Xie Zhiqing couldn’t figure it out. Regarding that medical book, all he remembered were those two sentences.

 

Xie Zhiqing sighed and pushed away those thoughts from his mind.

 

Forget it, he thought. Whether the claims in that medical book were true or false, whether there was any basis for them, it was better not to dwell on these matters.

 

He lay flat, closed his eyes, and prepared to sleep.

 

However…

 

“What are you thinking, Xiaoqing’er?” Xie Zhifeng said leisurely.

 

“Ah—!” Xie Zhiqing screamed in fright, “Don’t suddenly speak like that!!”

 

“I just asked why you haven’t slept yet, you’ve been sighing all along, but you ignored me.”

 

Xie Zhiqing couldn’t see his face, but he could hear the teasing tone in his voice. Feeling guilty, he said, “No, you didn’t talk to me.”

 

Xie Zhifeng said, “If you say so—let me guess what you’re thinking and why you’re distracted?”

 

“I’m not!” Xie Zhiqing exclaimed in frustration.

 

“Ah—I know.” Xie Zhifeng continued, “You must be wondering whether your future baby will resemble you more or the Wolf King, right?”

 

“I’m not!!”

 

“If it’s like you, it will definitely be a beautiful and cute baby. If it’s like the Wolf King, it will definitely be a strong baby…”

 

Xie Zhiqing was going crazy. “Stop talking, brother!”

 

Xie Zhifeng laughed heartily and said repeatedly, “Alright, I won’t say it anymore,” and finally fell silent.

 

Xie Zhiqing turned away, sulking, emitting an aura of “brother, come and coax me or I won’t forgive you.”

 

His face was burning, but he wasn’t really angry—just embarrassed.

 

Xie Zhifeng finally stopped laughing, patted his shoulder, and said, “Xiaoqing’er? Are you really angry?”

 

Xie Zhiqing snorted heavily.

 

“Oh, don’t be angry with your brother,” Xie Zhifeng cleared his throat and said, “According to that medical book, to conceive a baby, sincere love is needed.”

 

Xie Zhiqing raised an eyebrow, turning to him, “You remember that too?”

 

“I do. But… those claims may not necessarily be true, Xiaoqing’er, don’t take it too much to heart. Anyway, as long as the Wolf King treats you sincerely, as long as you’re happy here, nothing else matters.”

 

Xie Zhiqing thought, Lang Sa seemed to have said something similar. He said he hoped Xie Zhiqing could be as happy and fulfilled on the grassland as he was in Anyu.

 

So, was he truly happy and fulfilled now?

 

Xie Zhiqing picked at the pillow with his fingers and said softly, “Before, when I agreed to marry into the grassland, I really wasn’t happy in my heart, but I didn’t want to say it. I thought, since I had decided to make a small contribution to the country and the Emperor, I shouldn’t complain. But after truly coming here, Lang Sa indeed… treated me very well.”

 

Xie Zhiqing paused, shaking his head with a smile, “It feels like it’s been a long time, but when I think about it carefully, it’s only been three months.”

 

“As long as you’re doing well, we’ll be relieved.” Xie Zhifeng said, “Being away from home, all we hope for is your health, safety, and happiness.”

 

Xie Zhiqing’s eyes warmed, “Brother, you don’t have to worry too much about me. Xiaoqing’er is fine, and hasn’t suffered any grievances.”

 

After a long while, Xie Zhifeng sighed lightly, “That’s good, that’s good.”

 

*

 

They chatted late into the night, and Xie Zhiqing didn’t wake up the next morning. By the time he groggily woke up, the sun was already high in the sky outside.

 

He rubbed his eyes and instinctively looked for Fufu—

 

Fufu was not there.

 

It then occurred to him that he had slept in his brother’s room last night. He turned his head to look—

 

His brother was sitting by the bed, looking utterly shocked.

 

Xie Zhiqing: “…”

 

He felt embarrassed. “I overslept.”

 

“Isn’t it too late?” Xie Zhifeng asked.

 

“Well, um,” Xie Zhiqing forced a lie, “There’s a time difference between the grassland and the Central Plains. This is the normal time to wake up on the grassland.”

 

“But look outside, the sun has already risen,” Xie Zhifeng pointed outside.

 

“Alright, alright, let’s not talk about this.” Xie Zhiqing pressed down his brother’s finger and hurriedly got up to wash up, pushing his brother out the door along the way.

 

Once outside, Xie Zhiqing felt even more embarrassed.

 

Lang Xiaoxiao was playing with his younger sister not far away, and Lang Sa was sitting cross-legged on the ground with a sleepy expression.

 

Oh my, even Lang Sa was up earlier than him!