TAMW CH68 [IF]

“General? What brings you back so soon?”

A horse whinnied outside the gates of the Zhou estate as the reins were pulled taut. A burly figure dismounted, and an attendant rushed forward to take his heavy armor.

“Where is the Madame?” Zhou Xiao asked, striding past without bothering to answer the question.

It was his own home; he could return whenever he pleased without needing an excuse.

The servant hesitated. “Madame… Madame is in the inner courtyard. He rarely steps out. The physician was summoned quite a few times over the past couple of days, but beyond that, this humble servant knows little.”

Zhou Xiao was now a celebrated general of the Li Dynasty. Having fought on the battlefield since the age of fourteen, he had achieved illustrious military merit and risen to become a formidable young commander in his early twenties.

When Senior Grand Secretary Zhou passed away, Zhou Xiao rode to the capital for the mourning rites, only to discover his father had bequeathed him a male wife.

Knowing Zhou Xiao’s fierce temper, the servants had fully expected him to cast this man out of the estate at once. Yet, inexplicably, not only did he let him stay, but he went so far as to relocate the entire household to this frontier city, riding back from the garrison every few days just to check on him.

Border tensions were flaring. The Louzhou forces staged repeated provocations; with only an imperial edict and military provisions pending, an all-out war was imminent. At such a critical juncture of tactical deployment, Zhou Xiao had ridden back once again.

Baizhou was close to the garrison outpost, requiring roughly two hours on horseback. Seeing him return every other day left the servants scratching their heads.

In the past, Zhou Xiao had stayed away at his post for years on end without returning once, so that even his father never saw him on his deathbed. Yet ever since he moved the household to this safe city near the frontier, he returned constantly. If anyone asked what had changed in the family, the servants knew the answer full well: it was entirely because the estate now had a male wife.

Dawn was barely breaking. Zhou Xiao handed the pastries, goat milk, and camel milk he had brought to the servants, ordering them to warm the drinks and bring them directly to his wife’s courtyard.

Baizhou was a frontier city with modest resources, yet Yuqing’s daily comfort rivaled his days in the capital. All because someone took meticulous care of him.

Yuqing was not yet awake. Most of his face was nestled in silk bedding, his smooth skin wrapped in satin like drifting across a serene sea. Thus, before he even opened his eyes, the corner of the quilt was lifted, and he slid effortlessly into the man’s arms.

Keeping his eyes shut, his long lashes fluttered slightly. Feeling a familiar damp warmth against his throat, he tilted his head aside, baring his slender, pale neck to the man’s kisses with shallow breaths.

“My wife,” Zhou Xiao murmured in his ear.

Exhausted, Yuqing merely hummed softly in response to show he was listening.

His waist was impossibly slender. The general’s palms, calloused and broad from years of war, held him so firmly it felt as though his very soul were captive.

“My wife…” the man’s voice rasped, filled with longing and restraint. Zhou Xiao had not intended to wake him, yet he could not help calling out again and again. “My wife…”

Yuqing gave a helpless, fond smile. Reaching a pale arm from beneath the silk quilt to cradle his head, his voice carried the faint rasp of morning sickness and sweet languor. “General, Yuqing is here.”

Hearing his reply, the man grew noticeably more content. Peppering him with soft kisses, he asked, “You have worked hard, my wife. Did the child trouble you today?”

Yuqing shook his head. “Not yet today.”

Zhou Xiao had returned to the capital following Senior Grand Secretary Zhou’s death. Upon returning home, only Yuqing had been running the household, while the second and third uncles remained nowhere to be seen.

Zhou Xiao had never intended to marry. A life on the battlefield meant danger at every turn; if he died in combat, marrying anyone would only ruin their life. Yet back then, in order to remain with the Zhou family, Yuqing had fulfilled the marital duties of a wife.

Yuqing had told him he could stay in the capital to run the estate, allowing Zhou Xiao to fight at the front with peace of mind. Truth be told, once Zhou Xiao tasted that sweetness, he became hopelessly addicted. How could he bear to leave him behind?

Especially when Yuqing wept, pleading that he did not want to leave the Zhou family, melting Zhou Xiao’s heart entirely.

So he relocated the entire estate to a safe city near the border. Not far from the garrison, it made it convenient for him to ride back and soothe the ache of longing.

Barely two months after moving, Yuqing began throwing up his meals, even fainting once on the bed. When the physician was summoned, it turned out he was with child.

Only then did Zhou Xiao learn that Yuqing had accepted his late father’s dying wish to bear an heir for the Zhou lineage as repayment for saving his life.

Zhou Xiao chided him for being foolish. He had assumed that being a few years older, Yuqing would be far more shrewd and calculating, never expecting him to be so obedient and devoutly filial at his core.

Now nearly three months along, Zhou Xiao rode through the dead of night whenever duty permitted, arriving at dawn to share a meal before riding back to the post later in the day.

Yuqing had not even crossed the threshold with a formal wedding ceremony, and Zhou Xiao had yet to grant him an official title, yet this man was bearing his child. Zhou Xiao felt a profound debt in his heart. He resolved that once this military campaign ended, he would return to the capital and petition the emperor for an imperial marriage decree, granting his wife the honor and legitimacy he rightfully deserved.

Unaware of the general’s racing thoughts, Yuqing only felt the soft prickle of lingering kisses on his neck, letting out a breathy laugh. “General… be gentler.”

“Did I hurt you?” Zhou Xiao asked, fearful of his own brute strength. “I lack finesse. I am a rough soldier, do not hold it against me.”

Yuqing smiled. Opening his eyes slightly, he noticed the crimson flush on Zhou Xiao’s ears, reaching out to gently pinch his earlobe. “Yuqing does not hold it against you.”

“Nor does it hurt. It simply tickles, and I fear you might feel uncomfortable, as Yuqing cannot relieve your desires right now.”

Zhou Xiao’s ears burned hotter. He knew exactly what Yuqing meant.

Having battled his way through the ranks since fourteen, earning military honor in the saddle, he had grown as tall and imposing as any frontier warrior despite not being a native of the borderlands. Before sharing a bed with Yuqing, he had never tasted carnal pleasure.

As commander of the army and a paragon to his men, he could never frequent brothels. His days were consumed by war maps and tactical sand tables, leaving no room for stray thoughts. In his early twenties, while other men were already fathers to toddlers, this decorated general was only now experiencing the joys of intimacy.

He was not afraid of being mocked for it. It was just that Zhou Xiao was far too hopelessly obsessed, and Yuqing could barely endure it.

Yuqing was slender and frail, born premature and starving on the streets before Senior Grand Secretary Zhou took him in. Years of nursing had barely restored his vitality, leaving his waist as pliant as a water snake. When he squirmed beneath Zhou Xiao, trying to slip away, the sight was enough to bewitch any man’s soul.

When they first moved to Baizhou, Yuqing had assumed General Zhou disliked him, believing the man brought him along solely out of duty after taking his virginity.

Later, he realized duty had nothing to do with it. Zhou Xiao often arrived in the dead of night, taking wanton liberties while Yuqing was still fast asleep. On countless nights, Yuqing was jolted awake in a daze, unable to break free or escape, kept tangled together until subordinates arrived in the afternoon to summon the general back.

Before meeting Zhou Xiao, Yuqing had long heard of this young, famous general. Everyone said he was cold and ruthless, showing no mercy even to his trusted aides if they broke military law, subjecting them to heavy floggings without hesitation. He shared a childhood bond as a study companion to the reigning emperor, making him an exceptionally powerful minister despite his military rank.

Looking at him now, those outside rumors seemed like pure fiction. Yuqing had never witnessed a single trace of coldness from Zhou Xiao.

On their wedding night, the general had insisted it was inappropriate, yet blood was already dripping from his nose onto Yuqing’s waist, leaving Yuqing unable to walk properly for days.

Yuqing had assumed he was merely enamored with his body, expecting him to stop visiting once pregnancy put an end to intimacy. Yet Zhou Xiao visited Baizhou even more frequently now, bringing goat milk, camel milk, and tonics every time, refusing to leave until he watched Yuqing finish his meals.

Several times, seeing him agonizingly held back, Yuqing had lent him a hand. In these matters, Zhou Xiao seemed blessed with natural talent, learning swiftly and demanding boundless satisfaction.

The ache in Yuqing’s hand from the day before yesterday had not fully subsided, and he truly could not attend to him today, so he coaxed him gently.

Zhou Xiao’s ears flushed red as he mumbled, “Do you truly see me as nothing more than a lecher?”

“Mm…” Yuqing smiled, pressing a soft kiss to his brow to appease him. “Do not be angry, General. Yuqing only worries about failing his duties as a wife and disappointing you.”

“I was simply worried about you. I wanted…” Zhou Xiao choked up slightly. “I just wanted to see you.”

His deep, masculine voice brushed against Yuqing’s ear. Releasing a helpless sigh, he pulled him close. “I don’t know why, but after being away for a few days, I missed you terribly.”

“Do you miss Yuqing, or do you miss how tight Yuqing is?”

“My wife!” Zhou Xiao’s heart skipped a beat against his abdomen, his face burning hot. “Do not provoke me.”

Yuqing giggled softly. “I only dare provoke you while the general is unable to do anything. Otherwise, Yuqing would never be allowed out of bed.”

Zhou Xiao buried his face into his chest, nipping lightly through his thin inner robes. Yuqing let out a soft gasp. “Hiss…”

“Why is my wife so wicked?”

Yuqing tried to push him away. Yet the disparity in their builds was vast; how could he match Zhou Xiao’s raw strength? Before he could push him off, Zhou Xiao pinned both of his wrists above his head with a single hand, leaning in to nip at his Adam’s apple.

Zhou Xiao knew every sensitive spot on his body by heart. He loved every trace of Yuqing’s scent, a fragrance that did not belong to this barren frontier, like a sweet, crystalline spring in the middle of a parched desert.

“General, no, please do not fool around.” Yuqing’s calves shifted in protest. It looked like resistance, yet as his legs brushed against Zhou Xiao’s, it felt more like an enticing plea.

Completely disarmed by his every gesture, Zhou Xiao surrendered with a groan. “My wife, I only want to hold you. The physician told me male childbirth is fraught with peril, and I am sick with worry.”

Not having him under his watchful eye was sheer torment. Yet Zhou Xiao could never bear to bring Yuqing to the military camp. That place consisted only of crude tents and harsh desert winds; his water-delicate wife could never endure such bitter hardship.

Yuqing said, “Bearing a child for the general is my duty as your wife.”

Zhou Xiao replied, “How could I be worth you risking your life? You are barely three months along, yet the morning sickness exhausts you so. When your belly swells later on, it will be even more agonizing.”

As he spoke, he gently rubbed Yuqing’s lower abdomen. “Did the little one stir today?”

“It is far too small; you cannot feel anything yet.”

Yuqing took his broad hand and pressed it against his lower belly, letting him feel. His waist was slender, with faint lines contouring his flat stomach.

Lifting the hem of the inner garment, the skin beneath his navel was delicate. A faint, barely discernible swell rose from within, subtle and almost imperceptible. Zhou Xiao barely dared apply pressure, terrified of harming the tiny life inside.

Before he could inspect further, a servant knocked softly on the door. “General, breakfast is served.”

“Do you want to sleep a little longer, or eat something first?”

Woken by his fussing, Yuqing could not fall back asleep and agreed to rise.

Noticing the faint shadow of fatigue in his eyes, Zhou Xiao felt a pang of guilt. “Do not get out of bed. I will feed you.”

He ordered the servants to bring the trays inside. “My wife is enduring hardship with this pregnancy; your husband will serve you.”

Supporting his lower abdomen, Yuqing sat up and did not refuse. “Then I shall trouble the general.”

Zhou Xiao said, “I hear camel milk is nourishing. Drink more of it. You are far too thin, and you seem rather low on energy today.”

“News arrived from Second Uncle in the capital. He says I am forbidden from managing the shops there, yet he sent the ledgers by fast courier, demanding I balance them. I stayed up late reviewing the accounts yesterday.”

Zhou Xiao’s brow furrowed.

He rarely interacted with his uncles. They refused to acknowledge Yuqing’s status and seized the family shops in the capital, yet shamelessly demanded Yuqing manage their accounting books, cloaking their greed under the guise of filial piety toward his late father.

Demanding labor while withholding silver, no such logic existed under heaven.

Zhou Xiao noted the grievance. Before riding back to camp, he gave a quiet order to his adjutant to ride straight to the capital: “Teach him a lesson. If he refuses to listen, send him down to join the ancestors.”