Chapter 86
Even Huo Shu, a man of unshakable composure who would remain unfazed if Mount Tai (one of China's Five Sacred Daoist Mountains) collapsed before him, stiffened all over upon suddenly hearing this news.
His slender fingers seemed momentarily paralyzed, and the palm resting on Ji Taoyu’s belly grew scalding hot. His gaze drifted from Ji Taoyu’s face down to his stomach.
The two-month-old fetus was still too small to cause any visible changes. Moreover, ger like Ji Taoyu typically didn’t show as prominently as women, and Ji Taoyu had always been slender to begin with.
This was why last night, when Huo Shu had held him while sleeping, he'd detected no physical difference from two months ago.
The sole noticeable change was Ji Taoyu's sleeping posture - though he normally favored sleeping on his side, he'd apparently switched to lying flat on his back during Huo Shu's absence.
Huo Shu’s emotions were complicated.
He felt a mix of surprise and worry - surprise that Ji Taoyu had gotten pregnant despite precautions, and worry about Ji Taoyu's health during pregnancy.
Yet, beneath these concerns, he couldn't help but feel an overwhelming joy at the prospect of becoming a father.
This flood of emotions left him speechless, much like when he struggled to express his feelings in letters to Ji Taoyu. Just as he had then, he now found himself lost for words.
Though he had many things to say, once the brush was in his hand, the words escaped him. After much deliberation, he had ended up with only two short lines.
Ji Taoyu looked down at Huo Shu, noticing his silence and fixed stare at his belly.
Pouting, he said, “Even though it was confirmed while you were away, just count the days—there’s no doubt this is your child.”
“I didn’t mean it that way.”
Ji Taoyu frowned, his expression tightening. “Then why are you silent? Could it be... you're unhappy about this?”
Before Huo Shu could answer, Ji Taoyu suddenly moved his hand away, shielding his belly with his arm as he turned slightly. His tone turned stern:
“Grandfather has made it clear - we cannot give up this child. Doing so would cause even greater harm to my body. This child will be born whether you wish it or not.”
Seeing Ji Taoyu revert to his old fears about him not wanting children, Huo Shu quickly pulled him back into his arms.
Worried he might catch a chill from moving around in thin sleepwear, he tugged the blanket over him.
“This is our child. How could I not want or love it? It’s just that the news was so sudden—I wasn’t prepared.”
His beginnings had been ill-fated—not that he bore any resentment toward his parents for lacking noble status, but rather because he was born out of wedlock.
Perhaps because of his childhood experiences, he had never shared the common male aspiration—no youthful fantasies of taking a bride, no burning urge to propagate his lineage.
For more than two decades, such matters had scarcely crossed his mind...until he met Ji Taoyu, he finally began yearning for a settled life.
In quiet moments, startlingly vivid daydreams would come—images of building a home together, nurturing their children, guiding them to adulthood, witnessing their marriages. The cyclical rhythm of generations continuing.
Perhaps, in that moment, he had finally aligned with societal norms—or perhaps he had simply become ordinary.
But whether he was now normal or mundane didn’t matter.
What mattered was that he had Ji Taoyu.
Yet when he learned Ji Taoyu might not be suited for childbirth, though he couldn’t deny his disappointment, he immediately let go of those expectations.
The greater the hope, the deeper the disappointment if it failed. He refused to risk Ji Taoyu’s well-being.
But now, with a child arriving unannounced, those abandoned hopes had suddenly become reality. Huo Shu was caught off guard—but never for a moment had he considered giving up the child.
“If I’d known you were pregnant, I would never have left for Yuchang Prefecture at such a time.”
Huo Shu carefully cradled Ji Taoyu’s belly, his touch as gentle as if handling something fragile.
He had always been tender with Ji Taoyu, but now, with a little one inside, he dared not apply even the slightest pressure.
The thought that Ji Taoyu had carried their child alone for two months filled him with remorse. If only he had been here to care for him.
“As long as you’ve returned safely, that’s what matters.”
Reassured by Huo Shu’s explanation, Ji Taoyu’s heart settled. He placed his hand over Huo Shu’s.
“The baby’s been very well-behaved these two months. Maybe it knew you weren’t home and didn’t want to cause trouble.”
Huo Shu found this amusing—the child was far too young to be causing any fuss—but he humored Ji Taoyu. “It must be an obedient one.”
Even so, it still didn’t feel entirely real.
Of course, with two physicians in the family, there was no room for mistake.
After a pause, Huo Shu slipped his hand under Ji Taoyu’s clothes, touching his bare stomach.
Ji Taoyu’s skin was as smooth and soft as ever, no different from before.
Aside from being warmer than when felt through fabric, there seemed to be a little more flesh than two months ago—though he couldn’t tell if it was from festive feasting or the pregnancy.
Ji Taoyu pinched Huo Shu’s hand sharply. “You can’t do that.”
“Hm?”
“Not during the first two months,” Ji Taoyu warned sternly.
“I wasn’t planning to.”
Huo Shu met Ji Taoyu’s eyes. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you. Can’t I even touch your belly?”
Ji Taoyu pressed his lips together but didn’t refuse. Instead, he guided Huo Shu’s large palm slightly higher.
Huo Shu had initially harbored no improper thoughts, but the gesture changed that. He gave Ji Taoyu a light squeeze.
“You know it’s not allowed, yet you tease me like this. Are you torturing me or yourself?”
Ji Taoyu retorted, “You’re the one who said it’s been so long. Unlike some people, who only sent one letter in all that time—and just two measly lines at that. Who were you trying to fool?”
Huo Shu rested his forehead against Ji Taoyu’s smooth skin. “It won’t happen again.”
They lingered in bed for a long while. After discussing the baby, Ji Taoyu nestled against Huo Shu’s arm and asked about his time in Yuchang Prefecture.
It wasn’t until Ji Taoyu’s stomach growled that they finally got up.
Now that he was carrying a child, Ji Taoyu was diligent about his meals. Whatever was deemed beneficial for his health and the baby’s, he ate—even if it was something he normally disliked, he would force down a few extra bites.
Thank you for the update!!!
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