ITF Chapter67

Bai Heting took a step backward unconsciously.

He seemed to see Luo Congye opening that poetry anthology, frowning as he crossed out two words in dissatisfaction, then waiting for the ink to dry. After that, he smoothed the sheet of paper that had once been crumpled into a ball, flattened it carefully, and tucked it back into the book.

He saw Luo Congye take a snowy-white, perfectly round pearl from his pocket and carefully place it into a crude but brand-new, clean cloth pouch.

He even seemed to hear a faint call like the wind itself, a rustling whisper that softly brushed past his ears.

“I love you.”

His lips still retained the touch of that kiss—that skin-deep kiss that carried a sense of finality.

Luo Congye had given him a kiss, but he had repaid Luo Congye with a stab.

Bai Heting’s figure suddenly swayed twice. Su Xingchuan hurriedly took a few steps forward and caught his arm just in time.

“Are you really alright?” Anxiety was already showing on the old steward’s face.

Bai Heting covered his mouth with one hand and waved his other hand at Su Xingchuan, “My stomach feels a bit uncomfortable, I probably ate something bad…”

Before he could finish speaking, a wave of nausea surged up from his stomach. He instinctively bent forward, lowering his head as if to vomit, but even after several forceful retches, tears clinging to his long eyelashes from the strain, nothing came at all. Su Xingchuan worriedly rubbed his back to soothe him, “You haven’t eaten anything these past few days, how could you have eaten something bad?” He then helped him sit down by the edge of the bed and said, “I’ll have someone fetch some warm food over.”

Hearing these words, another wave of nausea was triggered in Bai Heting’s chest. He dry-heaved a few more times, frowned, and stopped Su Xingchuan, saying, “I don’t want to eat.”

He leaned the back of his head against the wall, tilting it back and closing his eyes to rest for a moment. Only when the nausea eased slightly did he speak to Su Xingchuan, “Let me rest for a while.”

Su Xingchuan fell quiet along with him.

The room was so silent that only Bai Heting’s deliberately prolonged breathing could be heard.

After quite a while, Su Xingchuan suddenly asked, “When did this feeling of nausea start?”

Bai Heting recalled roughly and answered wearily, “About two or three days ago.”

Su Xingchuan threw out another seemingly completely unrelated question, “When was the last time you went into heat?”

Bai Heting abruptly opened his eyes.

He had almost forgotten about the matter of his heat period. The last heat period was precisely those few days before the Colosseum celebration, roughly two months ago.

It was still right here.

He opened his mouth, but no words came out for a long time. In the end, he lowered his gaze and said, “I’ve just been too tired lately.”

Su Xingchuan’s silence lasted even longer this time.

“Yes,” he said in a low voice, “Perhaps just as you said, you’ve been too tired lately, so your stomach is feeling a bit uncomfortable.”

Bai Heting also fell into silence.

Both of them know perfectly well that it was merely a word of comfort.

“Even if it’s true…” Su Xingchuan paused, swallowing the rest of his sentence.

He glanced toward the door cautiously and said in an even lower voice, “Once you undergo the mark-cleansing surgery, it will naturally be gone.”

An expression of shock instantly washed over Bai Heting’s face, “Why?”

But the dependable and reliable steward did not answer his question. Bai Heting raised a hand and pressed it against his lower abdomen, immediately understanding what Su Xingchuan meant.

If an Omega’s body lacked the pheromones of the fetus’s Alpha father, it was nearly impossible for the fetus to survive.

Although mark-cleansing was dangerous, the risk was still much lower than that of an abortion. Meeting his gaze as his eyes reddened again, Su Xingchuan went on, “His Majesty has already issued a nationwide bounty and arrest warrant. Whether he is dead or alive, you will never be able to see him again.” He advised patiently, “Do not reject the surgery His Majesty has arranged for you. Since he wishes to marry you, he will certainly find the most excellent physicians for you. Without an Alpha by your side, it is far too difficult for an Omega to carry a child alone, not to mention…”

He stopped his words right there, but Bai Heting completed the rest of the sentence in his heart.

Not to mention, this country could never tolerate a descendant of the Pei family.

Su Xingchuan said softly, “It is a very common thing for a child to miscarry in the womb. You are still young, and you will have many children in the future.”

His words gradually turned into a buzzing sound in Bai Heting’s ears. Bai Heting interrupted him, “Mister Su, I would like to rest for a while.”

His face was pale, making the redness of his eyes and the tip of his nose even more pronounced. Su Xingchuan stopped speaking, took a few steps back, and said, “I will be guarding right outside the door. If you need anything, call me at any time.”

Bai Heting nodded as he watched him leave the room.

The spot beneath his hand felt no different from before, but a new life might have already been born there.

This was evidence that that dream-like morning had once existed.

Propping himself up on the thin mattress, he lay down on the narrow, rough bed, then drew his legs up, bending his knees as he curled his body into a tight ball.

Parting was a commonplace occurrence in life. Everything in life would come and go; it was nothing more than a matter of sooner or later.

Bai Heting raised his other hand, muffling his sobs into his palm.

For the first time, he wanted to know exactly what kind of emotions Luo Wanyin had harbored back then, when he raised him all by himself.

*

On the afternoon of the following day, when Bai Jiashu walked into the council chamber, Bai Heting had already arrived early and was kneeling perfectly upright before the high throne.

Bai Jiashu did not step up to the high platform, but instead sat down in an armchair within the hall and asked Bai Heting, “What are you doing this for?”

“That criminal broke out of custody from within my mansion.” Bai Heting remained in the same posture as before. “It is only right that I be punished.”

“Get up quickly.” Bai Jiashu waved his sleeve indifferently. “No matter if he runs to the ends of the earth, I will capture him and bring him back. I didn’t call you here today to discuss this.”

Bai Heting stood up, subtly observing Bai Jiashu’s expression. The crown seemed to possess some kind of magic; Bai Jiashu’s words and mannerisms were growing more and more like Bai Yi’s.

Bai Jiashu smiled at him slightly while gesturing for him to come and sit over, “I have been busy with Royal Father’s funeral for some time, and later there were some state affairs to handle. I have finally found the free time to see you.” His voice paused as he added, “Now, the matter of mark-cleansing should be placed on the agenda.”

Bai Heting obediently sat down in a chair beside him, offering no opinion.

“I have found a very excellent physician. This physician is quite young, but highly renowned in medical school. I have met him, and he looks very steady,” Bai Jiashu said. “Don’t worry, he will certainly give it his utmost effort. If anything goes wrong with the surgery, he’ll lose his head.”

Bai Heting remained silent throughout. Bai Jiashu’s eyes darkened slightly, “Why aren’t you speaking?”

“Your Majesty,” Bai Heting said sincerely, “I have been feeling quite unwell lately. As for the surgery, it may need to be postponed for a few days.”

With the Alpha who marked him not by his side, feeling unwell was only to be expected, and Bai Jiashu’s expression grew increasingly cold. “You will be fine once the mark is washed away.” Having said that, he shifted the topic, “If your body is unwell, rest properly at your mansion. I will make arrangements in a moment to send a team of physicians over.”

He was going to dispatch people to his mansion again. Bai Heting could not help but remind him, “Your Majesty, when the prisoner was broken out, all my subordinates were under confinement and being investigated. By now, their suspicions should have been cleared, shouldn’t they?”

Bai Jiashu said, “Once the surgery is completed, I will release them.”

“They are all pillars of talent. Being unable to serve the country is not only my loss,” Bai Heting said solemnly, “but more so, a loss to this country.”

Bai Jiashu nodded in agreement, “Therefore, I hope you will not let them become a loss.”

There was a hint of a threat in his words, and Bai Heting immediately silenced himself.

Bai Jiashu frowned in dissatisfaction, “Why must you chat with me about these mood-killing matters?”

He let out a sigh and ordered an attendant nearby, “Bring me a pot of wine.”

Having received the command, the person left in a hurry, and when he returned, he held a set of wine vessels in his hands. Another attendant came forward and poured wine for both of them. Bai Jiashu downed his own cup in one go, then squinted over, his tone laced with a clear edge of provocation, “What, afraid I’ll drug you?”

Bai Heting had not touched the wine from beginning to end.

“How could Your Majesty do such a vile thing?” He tactfully declined, “It is just that I truly feel physically unwell today…”

Bai Jiashu suddenly lowered his head and let out a laugh, his shoulders shaking softly with it. When he looked up again, his eyes had already returned to calm stillness.

“General Bai can even refuse wine bestowed by the King.” He snatched the cup in front of Bai Heting in one swift motion, drank it, and then threw it forcefully to the ground, “If word of this gets out, I will be ridiculed by others.”

The silver cup rolled a long way with a clinking and clattering din. The attendant pouring the wine was so terrified his legs shook, and he hurriedly brought out a new cup, filling it to the brim with wine for Bai Heting once more.

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