Accidentally Having a Baby with the Future Emperor - Chapter 36

“I’m fond of you.”

From childhood to now, Gu Rong had heard all sorts of things, but it was the first time anyone had told him they were fond of him. It was a phrase he’d never imagined would apply to himself.

He racked his brain, searched through all the poetry and literature he had ever read, and still couldn’t find any other explanation for those words.

He didn’t know when the black steed had stopped. The noble horse, descended from a renowned lineage, didn’t seem satisfied with the run just yet. It was still pawing eagerly at the soft mud and spring grass underfoot with its hooves.

The mountain breeze, laced with the scent of flowers, swept against their wide robes.

After that buzzing blankness in his mind, Gu Rong fell into silence.

By rights, he should’ve been shocked. Yet strangely, he wasn’t particularly surprised. Perhaps it was because of that confused night they spent together, which had made their relationship peculiar. Or maybe, deep down, he had already faintly realized it, that no stranger met by chance would go so far in meticulously tending to his daily needs and comforts, merely out of gratitude for saving his life.

It was just that he’d always been careless and unthinking and was used to dealing with everything in the simplest, roughest way. He didn’t like to think too deeply.

If it were the old him, he might’ve scoffed on the spot, made a few cutting remarks, and refused to stop until the other was left utterly humiliated. But now, he couldn’t laugh.

Because the other was truly, earnestly confessing to him.

Fond of him.

God, how could someone in the world be fond of him?

Those two words were far too heavy for him to bear. He had never been used to forging overly close relationships or forming deep bonds. It wasn’t that he disliked it; he simply didn’t know how.

In the full spectrum of his emotions, there really was no room for tenderness or delicacy.

His heart was, in truth, very hard. Too hard. Anyone who spent enough time with him would eventually find it unbearable. One of the main reasons he’d chosen to live up in the mountains was because he felt that someone like him was best matched with unfeeling rocks, grass, and trees.

At most, he’d add wine. Nothing more.

His given name, Rong, came from the saying ‘to be tolerant is to be great.’ But when his famously renowned master took him in as a disciple, he gave him the courtesy name Zhiwei; seeing the profound in the subtle. In the flowery words of scholars, it meant ‘to observe the small and grasp the great.’ Put simply, it meant to stop looking at people like a damn dog.

That should tell just how hopeless he’d once been.

Another gust of mountain wind snapped Gu Rong back to his senses.

“Brother.”

After some internal fortifying, he spoke with what he believed was calm, “Thank you for your deep affection, but— I really can’t accept it. I—”

Gu Rong never finished his sentence.

Because another burning kiss fell, this time at his ear. Like a tiger holding a rose gently between its fangs, it was tender and deliberate, yet greedy and intense, and it lingered.

“Really not even a little?”

The tiger had already crushed the petals between its teeth.

The voice behind him was low and deep.

Gu Rong’s neck and ear were enveloped in heat. His earlobe was being nibbled, slightly sore, and more ticklish still. Their bodies were pressed together and he could feel Xi Rong’s powerful chest rising and falling rapidly, feel the strong heartbeat and the fierce hope wrapped inside that repressed tone.

The arm around his waist was taut with muscle, as if carved from iron, clenching so tightly it felt as though it pressed against bone.

Gu Rong lowered his eyes and shook his head coldly, like steel. “Sorry, I…”

“No need to say more.”

The heat at his ear finally faded.

It seemed Xi Rong had been bracing for this moment for a long time.

His voice sounded calm, like a windless spring day in a mountain valley, or the surface of a lake; clear and still beneath the sun, untouched by a single breeze.

“I was the one who acted out of line.

“Just take it as a bit of nonsense you happened to hear.

“Please don’t let my forwardness burden your mind.”

He was so composed and so considerate that even in a moment like this, he was still thinking of Gu Rong’s feelings.

That made Gu Rong feel all the more guilty, even a little ashamed.

After rummaging around for the right words, he said with genuine sincerity, “Brother, you’re a truly good man. You’ll definitely meet someone truly worthy of your affection. I’m not worthy of your affection.”

Xi Rong merely smiled and said nothing.

Then he asked, “Shall we head back or do you want to keep riding for a bit?”

Gu Rong replied, “Let’s go back. If we stay away too long, your subordinates might worry.”

The black steed turned around and began galloping through the valley once more. The mountain breeze, which had only just calmed, gathered again in gusts, showering them with another round of wildflower rain, even more intense than before.

By all logic, having resolved a troublesome matter, he should have felt relieved.

However, Gu Rong suddenly felt empty inside, so much so that he couldn’t even be bothered by the flower petals slapping against his face and slipping down his collar.

It felt like he had let down someone’s wholehearted devotion, like a heartless scoundrel straight out of a storybook.

But then he thought again, better a clean break than lingering pain. Since he knew himself to be unfeeling, if not now, then eventually, wasn’t it kinder to wake the other up early, before they sank even deeper or became more enamored with the superficial shell of his?

With that thought, Gu Rong’s mood suddenly lifted.

Back in the forest, Jiang Cheng and the guards had already returned with a fine haul of game. They were at the streamside, preparing the wild meat for lunch, while Song Yang and Zhou Wenhe were building a fire.

It looked like they would be roasting game on the spot for lunch.

When Xi Rong and Gu Rong returned, the two immediately got up to greet them.

“Master and young master, where have you been? We were searching high and low.”

“We found a scenic spot and went for a little ride,” Gu Rong answered from horseback.

Once the black steed came to a stop, Xi Rong dismounted first.

Gu Rong saw that he remained standing nearby, clearly intending to carry him down as before, and quickly said, “No need to trouble yourself, brother. I can manage.” Then he neatly stepped into the stirrup and dismounted by himself.

Song Yang looked surprised. “So, young master knows how to ride?”

Gu Rong modestly replied, “Just a little bit, that’s all.”

Jiang Cheng walked over carrying cleaned hare, pheasant, and half a roe deer. He skewered them on wooden sticks and placed them over the fire to roast, then pulled some seasonings from a pouch and sprinkled them on the meat. The aroma of roasted meat soon filled the forest air.

Finding it interesting, Gu Rong came over and sat beside him to help turn the skewers.

“Brother, you’ve really got a knack for roasting game,” Gu Rong complimented.

Jiang Cheng said proudly, “If you’d like to learn, young master, I can teach you a few tricks.”

And so the two of them seriously began discussing methods for roasting wild game.

Xi Rong handed his horse over to his personal attendant and didn’t immediately join the fire. Instead, he stood nearby with his hands behind his back, gaze unwaveringly fixed on the figure in blue robes seated on the ground behind the fire.

The other guards had started another fire nearby. Zhou Wenhe also joined the grilling team.

Only Song Yang remained by Xi Rong’s side.

Xi Rong had been gone for nearly an hour and Song Yang was quite curious about what exactly his master had done with that young man for so long.

However, such private matters weren’t something he dared to pry into.

“I confessed my feelings to him,” Xi Rong said suddenly.

Song Yang froze.

To be precise, he was startled.

Was that something he was even supposed to hear?

Although he’d already suspected as much before, hearing it confirmed directly from his master’s mouth still made his heart pound with unease.

He could only ask anxiously, “And the young master…”

“He rejected me,” Xi Rong said calmly, though his lips were pressed tight.

Song Yang: “…”

Song Yang froze again. He hadn’t expected the worst-case scenario to come true so quickly.

“Don’t worry, sir. I’m fine,” Xi Rong said. “Being rejected, that’s what I’m most used to.”

As if he had seen into his thoughts, Xi Rong spoke expressionlessly, “I’m just… a little surprised. And a little sad.”

He gave a bitter smile.

There was no emotion visible on his handsome face, but in his dark, icy eyes, there was a faint trace of loneliness.

“Your Highness…” Now, even Song Yang felt sorrow rise in his chest.

He never expected his usually reticent and indifferent liege to show such vulnerability in front of him and say something like that aloud.

The prince must truly have needed to confide in someone and had no one else to speak to, so he came to him.

“Could it be that Your Highness was a bit too hasty and startled the young man? Perhaps if you go about it slowly, there may still be a chance,” he suggested cautiously.

Xi Rong shook his head.

“Liking is liking. Not liking is not liking. I have no chance. Today, he replied very firmly. I could tell that it wasn’t a lie.”

“Then, what does Your Highness plan to do?” Song Yang finally asked the question weighing heaviest on his mind.

Xi Rong fell silent for a long time and then said, “Maybe this is for the best. Perhaps it’s heaven’s will, so he won’t be burdened by me.”

Song Yang could not hide his surprise.

His Highness had not, as he feared, been provoked into darkness or twisted intentions and had not taken any rash or forceful action.

That, at least, was a small mercy.

***

The wild game was soon roasted.

Xi Rong and Song Yang joined the others around the fire.

Normally, when they dined in the courtyard, Gu Rong would sit beside Xi Rong. But today, having become absorbed in discussing the art of roasting game with Jiang Cheng, Gu Rong sat next to him instead, with Zhou Wenhe on his other side.

Directly across from him sat Xi Rong.

Which was fine. It spared them any awkwardness.

Xi Rong was clearly well-versed in eating game. He took out the dagger he carried with him, wiped it with a cloth, and began carving the meat.

Only when he moved did the others dare to start eating as well.

Jiang Cheng stood up to slice some roe deer meat. Gu Rong was staring at the roasted pheasant closest to him, debating whether to go for the wing or the leg, when suddenly a perfectly roasted, fragrant rabbit leg appeared in front of him.

Startled, he looked up and saw Xi Rong, who had come over without his noticing.

“I added some extra seasoning. Try it and tell me what you think,” Xi Rong said.

Gu Rong was still a bit dazed and didn’t take it immediately.

Xi Rong seemed to sense his thoughts. “What, do you think I’m the sort of petty man who might turn on you at any moment?”

Gu Rong’s eyes curved and only then did he smile and take the rabbit leg. He said, “Brother, your generosity is as vast as the sea.”

That, indeed, had the flavor of a smile dissolving all past grievances.

They had caught enough wild game that morning. After a hearty meal in the mountains, the group brought the rest of the meat back to the courtyard.

Today was the day to feed the four Gu insects with medicinal herbs, so Gu Rong spent the entire afternoon tending to that. After dinner, he returned to the stone cave and found Xi Rong making the bed. When he saw Gu Rong enter, he said, “I’ve already boiled the water and mixed the bath for you. Go wash up first.”

Resources were limited in the mountains, so they didn’t bathe daily. But since they had gone out that day and were dusty from travel, bathing was a must. Even on days without baths, Xi Rong would always heat water for him to soak his feet.

Things that once felt routine now made Gu Rong feel a bit guilty.

He said, “Brother, from now on, you don’t have to do these things for me. I can handle them myself. And in the mornings too, you don’t need to prepare my face-washing water anymore. And the bed…”

Xi Rong paused what he was doing and said, “Rongrong, I didn’t do these things because I had ulterior motives. I just wanted to treat you well, within what I could do, to repay you. Nothing more. After all, with so many of us staying here, we’ve already brought you a great deal of trouble.”

Gu Rong was persuaded once again and obediently took a towel and clean robes to bathe in the wooden hut outside.

He slept dreamlessly through the night. The next morning, as usual, water had been prepared and placed in the wooden hut, but it had likely been left for quite some time, as it was already turning cold.

After washing his face, Gu Rong stepped into the courtyard. Breakfast had been prepared, but only Song Yang, Zhou Wenhe, and Jiang Cheng were there. There was no sign of Xi Rong.

Moreover, the expressions on all three of their faces seemed rather grim; heavy, even.

Gu Rong glanced around and asked, “Where is your master?”

Jiang Cheng looked up, one fist clenched at his side, and said with difficulty, “Our master had another attack.”

Gu Rong was surprised. “Didn’t he just have one not long ago?”

“That’s right,” Song Yang sighed.

“Lately, the master’s episodes have been coming more and more frequently. Based on the timing of the poisoning, this year is a major calamity for our master.”

Gu Rong thought of something else. “Then where did he go? Why didn’t he take the ice bath?”

Song Yang replied, “This time the illness was too severe. A regular ice bath wouldn’t do much anymore. The master went to the ice pool at the back.”

The author has something to say:

Today, Xi the Dog is heartbroken.
Actually, our King Rongrong is super soft-hearted~
Thank you all, enjoy reading! They’ll be on the same page emotionally soon~