Chapter 56

Chapter 56

This was the first time Lu Yunqi had ever heard Murong Jie cry—across all ten of his lifetimes, the very first time!

So when he realized Murong Jie was crying, he froze on the spot, momentarily at a loss for how to react.

After a long pause, his throat constricted, he asked, "Murong Jie... you... what's wrong?"

But Murong Jie just shook his head without saying a word, burying his face in the crook of Lu Yunqi's neck. In a low voice, he said, "Lu Yunqi, I don't care what your purpose was in approaching me, or whether your words of love are true or false. Even if this life drags me straight to hell, I'll take it!"

Lu Yunqi was stunned. After a beat, he asked, "Why... why? Just because... I've got your kid in my belly?"

Murong Jie shook his head again. "It's more than that. In this life, aside from my late mother, no one has ever genuinely been good to me. The Emperor, my brothers—they all wished I'd drop dead sooner. You were just their excuse to move against me. There was a time when I couldn't figure it out—I was just a prince with foreign blood, why couldn't they stand to have me around? Until one day, hidden behind the Empress Dowager's Buddha statue, I found a secret they'd buried for over a decade."

"A secret?" Lu Yunqi was shocked. "What secret?"

He'd never heard of any secret about the male lead in any of his ten reincarnations. Guess his exploration of this world really was incomplete.

Murong Jie gritted his teeth. "A... decree from the Bureau of Astronomy, saying that even though I was born under the Purple Star, I'd drain the Murong clan's luck. From then on, the Murong dynasty would fall, the throne would change hands, and the entire Murong imperial family would be wiped out."

Lu Yunqi frowned. "That's just superstitious bullshit. What the hell could a decree like that even mean?"

Murong Jie laughed coldly. "This was the Empress's doing back then. My mother, though forced into the palace, was the Emperor's favorite. She got promoted multiple times, and after I was born, she was made a Noble Consort. Even though she deliberately kept her head down and tried not to stand out, she still drew the Empress's jealousy."

In an instant, Lu Yunqi got it—so that's why the Empress had cooked up that Bureau of Astronomy prophecy.

Murong Jie continued, "According to the palace servants, the Empress Dowager was pretty fond of me back then. She buried the whole thing and hid the decree behind her Buddha statue. She brought me into the Longevity Palace to raise me herself, just to keep me safe. But in the end, this matter became a thorn in the Emperor's side. And the Yuezhi's existence was another thorn that had always been stuck in his side. When the Yuezhi thing blew up and my mother hanged herself, that old affair slowly came to light. The Empress Dowager... gave her own life to protect me. The Emperor agreed to let me grow up in peace, just as a figurehead prince. Yeah... he wouldn't touch me himself, but... he wouldn't stop anyone else from doing it either. As long as someone offed me, it was his silent blessing. Back when you were putting on that act, wasn't I the perfect target?"

Lu Yunqi's heart jolted. He thought, that wasn't me putting on an act—the original owner really was just that terrible!

Murong Jie released him and said, "As a child, I also wondered if my existence was truly a mistake. It wasn't until Aunt Yanran—who'd faked madness for ten years at my mother's side—told me the truth that I finally started fighting back. Lu Yunqi, you were originally the first person I was meant to kill in my counterattack!"

Lu Yunqi: ...Well, my bad...

Murong Jie looked into his eyes and finally asked the question: "But why did you suddenly start being so good to me? So good that it made me feel like someone in this world was finally willing to... give me a home."

Lu Yunqi cleared his throat, thinking, would it be a dick move to lie right now?

So he settled on a middle ground and said, "I just... wanted to have your kid."

Murong Jie frowned. "So, you knew from the very beginning that you could bear children?"

Lu Yunqi hummed in agreement. "Yeah, I knew. I'm different from other people—I could feel it. I went out drinking and fooling around every day just to hide how different I was. But nature is something you can't just cover up. And besides, I realized I'd fallen for you, so blocking it was worse than letting it flow. Even if you and I ended up with nothing in the end, with this child in my belly, I'd never be alone in this life."

Murong Jie pulled him into his arms again and whispered by his ear, "You killed me three times. A hundred times over, I didn't want to forgive you. But everything you did afterward—even though my heart had long turned to ashes—from those ashes sprouted a tender shoot called hope. Lu Yunqi, if you betray me, I will kill you, and then kill myself. You gave me hope. If you plunge me into despair again, I will never forgive you!"

Lu Yunqi: ...Alright, alright, threatening me with death, are we?

He thought to himself, having provoked this living demon king, there was no way this life would be easy. So he chuckled and said, "How about you just kill me right now? Two lives for one—you'd come out ahead, wouldn't you?"

Murong Jie suddenly grabbed his neck, his breath brushing against Lu Yunqi's lips as he said, "Come out ahead? Do you even know how to count? You killed me three times—if not for my good luck, the grass on my grave would be three feet tall by now! If you and the child died, I wouldn't come out ahead at all—you'd still owe me one!"

Lu Yunqi: ...Fine, fine, so that's how we're counting, huh?

Lu Yunqi couldn't be bothered to argue the math with him. He just said, "So, with the beautiful scenery and the fine moment, are you really going to spend tonight agonizing over whether you got a good deal? How about we take advantage of the nice weather and... get in bed?"

Murong Jie was speechless. "You're over four months pregnant now, and you're still this enthusiastic about such things?"

Lu Yunqi said indignantly, "You have the nerve to ask me? You're the one who stoked the fire and then ran off—you started it but didn't finish it! You're so irresponsible!"

Murong Jie instinctively glanced downward and, sure enough, saw a telltale bulge beneath his robes, which made the tips of Murong Jie's ears turn red.

Lu Yunqi reached up and wrapped his arms around Murong Jie's neck, chuckling twice. "Come on, husband. We can talk about things slowly later. And that Nine-Death Survival Skill of yours—how about we try it again? Oh, stop dawdling, hurry up, hurry up..."

Murong Jie: ...!!!!!!

With a look of utter exasperation, he scooped Lu Yunqi up in his arms and said, "You tell me to be careful, but at a time like that, how could I be? I won't use it this time—your health matters most."

By now, Lu Yunqi was lost in a sea of desire. He clung to Murong Jie, whispering "husband" softly in his ear, until Murong Jie had no choice but to use the Nine-Death Survival Skill once more.

Fortunately, there was only slight external bleeding, which left Murong Jie shaken. He resolved that from now on, he absolutely could not let Lu Yunqi have his way like this.