Chapter 173: Actually, Two Per Pregnancy
That familiar voice brought Wei Wanlan’s memories flooding back. Suddenly, he saw the doctor they had visited when he and the Regent were stranded in Yichuan Village, Luoyang—the descendant of the National Medical Sage.
“Hao Da.”
“A rustic, humble name, not worth mentioning. It was because the Hao clan was in hiding back then that my father had to pick such a sloppy name to muddle through. Now that the Son of Heaven has exonerated the Su family and the matter of creating the Hundred Sorrow Cure is public and clear, I am no longer called Hao Da.”
Wei Wanlan was preoccupied with the matter of being pregnant with cubs, absent-minded, but he still politely waited for the other to finish. “May I ask your honored name?”
“Hao Hongju. The ‘Hong’ from ‘Hongtu’ (Grand Plan), the ‘Ju’ from ‘Juren’ (Giant). This represents the firm confidence of my Hao family’s re-emergence.”
…But isn’t that still ‘Big’? Wei Wanlan retorted internally.
Since they were acquaintances, Hao Da completely restrained his erratic, mad scholar demeanor here. “When I last saw Mrs. Su, the Prince was still ill. A few months have passed, and the Regent has not only returned to health but also pacified the various nations, conquering a good territory for the Imperial Court. It is truly inspiring!”
“I just didn’t expect the Prince to be so busy, yet still find time to add to the Su family population. Why is Mrs. Su asking for a diagnosis alone on the street?”
Hao Da looked at Wei Wanlan with confusion again. “And this attire of Mrs. Su’s?”
Suddenly, an official’s shout exploded in the West Market:
“—Attention everyone! According to citizen reports, there is a young girl in an apricot-colored dress, with bangs and a melon-seed face, hiding in the West Market crowd. Anyone who reports clues leading to this female will be rewarded three thousand taels of silver.”
“Folks and elders, does anyone have the whereabouts of this little woman?”
The officials on duty naturally didn’t know the palace had lost the Emperor again. The consecutive orders from above to find this girl were so massive in momentum that they couldn’t help but harbor wild suspicions.
The commoners were also suspicious. Some bold ones asked, “Dare we ask the officer, searching day and night recently, what is it for after all?”
The officer waved his hand. He knew his limits; official assessments were strict nowadays, and he dared not speak recklessly.
“Folks need not worry too much, just looking for a person. This person poses no danger to Chang’an.”
“Oh, that’s good then. We thought some demoness had sneaked in. Officer, I seemed to have seen this person when grabbing medicine at Huichun Hall…”
“I saw her too passing by Xinglin Yuan just now! It’s a little girl with especially big eyes, right? She was carrying a lot of medicine!”
The officer’s brow twitched slightly, and he cupped his hands. “Quickly, separate and follow these citizens. If the information is valuable, rewards will be given at discretion. Chase!”
Hearing there were rewards even if they didn’t find the person, the commoners jumped for joy, their sense of participation instantly maxed out. Even citizens who hadn’t seen the girl followed the search teams. Crowds bustled, conducting a carpet search of the entire West Market.
However, under Wei Wanlan’s plea, Hao Da hurriedly packed up his stall. The medicine chest went inside his cloak, revealing a snow-white cotton robe underneath. Wei Wanlan pulled out his hairpin to adjust his hair; the loose hair was all pressed into the hairpin. The apricot-clad maiden turned into a young white-robed wife.
Hao Da was dumbfounded. “This…”
While he was stunned, the medical banner in his hand was snatched by Wei Wanlan. Mrs. Su perfectly blended into the crowd. At this moment, even the shape of the face and eyes had changed—a small round face, narrow eyes. The material used was the small amount of gypsum and turmeric from Hao Da’s medicine chest.
Hao Da focused his eyes, deeply believing this to be a supernatural art. Incredible.
He already admired Mrs. Su immensely, feeling he was a heroine matching any man, with love for the Regent as deep as the sea. Now seeing Wei Wanlan’s makeup skills, Hao Da’s respect for Wei Wanlan ascended to an even higher level.
At this time, citizens in the crowd were discussing: “I heard inside news that this time, it’s the Regent looking for a girl.”
Hao Da frowned slightly, following the crowd.
“The Regent returned home in glory after fighting the war; he should be considering the matter of continuing his lineage, right? The girl being searched for is probably not that simple; is she the future Princess Regent?”
The people were still speculating on the reason for the Regent’s search.
Su Jingzhi and Wei Wanlan’s engagement was known to the army and the court officials, but the common people outside did not know yet. The people all thought the Emperor had grand strategies; who would dare gossip about the Little Emperor in public for no reason?
So, harboring this worry, Hao Da followed Wei Wanlan back to the rented house.
Wei Wanlan quickly explained to the landlord that he had been unwell recently, so his elder brother had hired a doctor for him. He showed the old lady the medical banner and asked the landlady where he could hire a capable maidservant.
The old lady had a strictly upright family tradition. Feeling this was credible, she said, “In Chongren Ward, there are a few residences with many maids and older female servants. If the Little Lady is interested, this old body is willing to make introductions.”
Wei Wanlan hurriedly thanked her, took Hao Da into the room, and closed the door. Finally, he decided to reveal half his hand to Hao Da:
“If Doctor confirms I am pregnant, the cubs are indeed the Regent’s. But, I am a boy.”
Saying this, he pulled out the fake chest cotton pads.
Scared, Hao Da quickly turned his head away. How could he dare look at Su Jingzhi’s woman? Only when there was no movement in front of him did he slowly turn back, seeing Wei Wanlan’s chest was flat.
In that instant, Hao Da was filled with bewilderment. “This…”
Impossible, right?
If a man could get pregnant… if the one who never left, accompanying the Regent to cure the poison from beginning to end, was not Mrs. Su but a little youth… if the Regent possessed this little youth, and the two even had children, then—
Hao Da cried out involuntarily, “You planted the Twin Life Gu mother gu on yourself!?”
“What Twin Life Gu mother gu?”
Zhen just dragged it out of the system in a moment of desperation.
This blank, ignorant expression hit Divine Doctor Hao hard. Hao Da scolded with heartache, “Back then I warned the Little Young Master, the side effects of the Twin Life Gu are unknown. You absolutely must not test the Gu with your own body. Why did you just not listen???”
Wei Wanlan: “He was dying then. I had no one else beside me.”
Said so naturally, as if the Regent’s life was his own life.
Hao Da couldn’t help but remember how this Little Young Master dressed as a woman, supporting the Regent, caring for the Regent. He felt even more distressed. How could there be such a little fool?
Being treated with such wholehearted devotion by such a person, why on earth did the Regent fail to cherish him? Letting Wei Little Young Master wander outside? And then the Regent was actually in the busy market, looking everywhere for a beautiful seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl. Could he be—a heartless man?
In that instant, Hao Da took a deep breath.
Observing Wei Wanlan for a few more moments, he took the Little Young Master’s wrist again to diagnose carefully. He was certain: it was a pregnancy.
—Wei Little Young Master was male, and because of discord with the future Princess Regent, he was driven away.
It must be so.
In the depths of Hao Da’s heart, a certain magnificent image quietly collapsed in a corner. He gazed at Wei Wanlan with pity. This youth should have been treated kindly.
“Wei Little Young Master, the children are not doing very well right now. But if we abort them, it might severely damage your body. Do you still want these twins?”
“Twins?” Wei Wanlan’s eyes flickered slightly. “Two?”
“Correct. Very rare twins, only we cannot tell if they are boys or girls for now,” Hao Da said.
A flavor rose in his heart—very strange, and with an expectation that was growing larger and larger. Wei Wanlan was silent for a moment.
Hao Da was a doctor after all. Accustomed to seeing patients hesitate, he felt Wei Wanlan was even more pitiful. He softened his voice and asked, “Then, Wei Little Young Master, is there anyone else in your family? Who else can make decisions for you?”
Wei Wanlan shook his head. “No one.” Accidentally became the Nine-Five Supreme; who can make decisions for Zhen?
Hao Da felt even more pained.
Wei Wanlan’s fingertips lightly tapped his own belly, asking hesitantly, “Are you sure, it’s not five?”
Hao Da was stunned. “Of course I’m sure.”
How could anyone carry five in one litter?
Wei Wanlan secretly sighed in relief. “Doctor, then help me regulate my health. Is it possible… to let me keep these two cubs?”
They are little friends who accompanied Zhen through the Turkic war and came to this world very unexpectedly. They have already suffered a lot with Zhen.
Zhen doesn’t want to give them up…
Hao Da only felt even more shocked. Wei Little Young Master was already wandering outside, yet still thinking of keeping the children in his belly.
“How about writing a letter to the Regent’s Manor? After all, the children are related to the Su family. You are currently wandering outside, and the Regent has no heirs yet; he won’t refuse to acknowledge them.” Even if he marries a Princess later, he has to acknowledge them.
“Don’t write.” Wei Wanlan was very firm.
Zhen is afraid of choking to death.
He was about to survive this punishment period. If he let the Regent take him back to the palace, seeing him die along with two other lives, Su Jingzhi would definitely collapse.
Zhen needs to hide a while longer.
Hao Da was moved to the point where he wanted to go to the Regent’s Manor and jump up and down cursing the heartless man. If not for having Wei Little Young Master waiting to be cared for, he would have made a scene until everyone knew, making it impossible for the Regent to live happily ever after even if he found the girl.
“Don’t worry! I will definitely save the children.”
Hao Da secretly staked all his medical skills on this.
On the night he learned he was carrying cubs, after drinking the fetus-soothing medicine, Wei Wanlan tossed and turned on the bed, actually unable to sleep much.
He rubbed his belly with his fingertips, not daring to use too much force. Only now did he realize with hindsight that inside that layer of soft meat on his tummy lay two weak little lives.
He actually didn’t like to think about things too much.
But now he knew he had just made a decision that could even change the fate of the Great Wei nation. In this book he had transmigrated into, he was going to quietly carry two cubs.
By the moonlight, his eyes locked onto the date recording board he placed in the bedroom. Only a few days left until the punishment period ended.
Wei Wanlan sighed shallowly. He wanted to talk to the system in his dream. If he was pregnant, would the bad system let them off? This bad system talked about “Labor Law”; did it talk about “Minor Protection Law”?
Little friends are innocent…
The big friend carrying the little friends is also innocent.
If you guys hadn’t pulled me to transmigate, how would Zhen be pregnant with cubs QAQ.
Wei Wanlan lay on the bed letting his thoughts run wild. He was pregnant, and by this time he finally understood why he was sleepy. From now on, he would lie down obediently, not rushing to get up when the sky turned bright the next day.
Hao Da, on the other hand, got up before dawn to brew medicine.
The newly hired little maid, Cai Yue, cooked for Wei Wanlan very diligently.
In recent days, outside the bamboo fence, squads of government troops running back and forth could always be heard:
“—People inside! Look at the portrait, does your family have a maiden of seventeen or eighteen, with bangs and deer-like eyes?”
“No! Our Madam is already married!”
The maiden was never found in this small hut in Chongren Ward.
Because the maiden had turned into a young wife, and Wei Wanlan had changed his attire. Moreover, Hao Da and Cai Yue, including the landlady and her grandson, knew he was pregnant recently and believed even more that he was a young wife. These misunderstandings, intentionally or unintentionally, helped cover for Wei Wanlan.
…
Imperial Palace, Purple Tuan Hall.
Su Jingzhi went through another long cycle of state affairs. At night, he changed into plain clothes and led Tang Tuan and a few knowledgeable confidants to search every household along the wards of Chang’an.
But after all, the target was a young girl. Men and women should maintain distance; he had self-respect, and government troops couldn’t barge in recklessly and ruin a girl’s reputation.
The cold night was bleak. Sometimes, Su Jingzhi would get angry while searching, angry at Wei Wanlan’s absurdity and nonsense, and angry that he hid things in his heart and didn’t trust him.
But usually, as he fumed, it turned into softness. The weather was so cold; Little Wan was afraid of the cold. Where are you, Little Wan?
Wanwan.
“Boss, we cross-checked according to the household count of the one hundred and eight wards. Information might have omissions, but we’ve searched all the girls we could find. Your Majesty doesn’t exist.”
Tang Tuan actually always had a fear in his heart. Usually, the Little Emperor was very clingy. If he hadn’t appeared for so long, something big must have happened. But he dared not make a sound, fearing if he said a few more words, the Boss’s heart fire would be extinguished.
The Regent handed the household registry book back to Tang Tuan, standing with hands clasped behind his back in the cold wind, arranging again:
“He might have changed his attire. He can also disguise himself as a young wife; he knows how to play that too. Search again.”
Tang Tuan: “Yes!”
Finding a Little Emperor who knows disguise is really so hard.
“Wait,” Su Jingzhi said, suddenly remembering some clues. “Before he left, where did he go, whom did he see? These people might all know something. Go pass the order to An Ruyi, let him recall quickly. This Prince will go personally to visit now.”
An Ruyi was also leading a squad searching for the Little Emperor in the night. Receiving the news, he hurried to report:
“Reporting to Your Highness, Your Majesty was very busy for those few days before disappearing. He went to quite a few places. This slave will list them for you one by one… Look.”
The first name on the paper was the Imperial Medical Office.
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