Free Web NovelChapter 41: Chapter 41: What Your Majesty Loves Most Is...
That was a crude way to put it.
What should have been a display of skill sounded like some lewd, intimate affair.
Ji Qingwu instantly understood why someone as ethereal as Princess Hua Chang would repeatedly lose her composure around him.
As if oblivious to Ji Qingwu’s discomfort, Wei Chi Lianping continued, "His Majesty’s Xuanyuan Bow... Every soldier in the army dreams of drawing it just once, but the Emperor has never let anyone else so much as touch it. He treasures it more than his own wife."
He arched a brow with a grin. "And yet, he let *you* touch it. Do you know what that means?"
’What that means...’
The words were coarse, but the logic held.
Princess Hua Chang didn’t interrupt the brute.
She fell into thought. She hadn’t attended the palace banquet a few days prior, as she wasn’t one for crowds. Thus, she hadn’t seen the Emperor holding this young woman as he shot an arrow.
After all, Emperor Wu Su’s aversion to intimacy was even more severe than her own. He had hardly ever been seen holding his own son, the little prince.
Princess Hua Chang’s gaze darkened. She hadn’t realized this Fifth Miss Ji was so special.
At the time of the archery at the palace banquet, Ji Qingwu hadn’t thought anything of it.
But hearing the Prince Consort put it that way, a blush immediately crept up her cheeks, and she didn’t dare to respond.
Wei Chi Lianping continued with a knowing look, "It means the bow is no longer His Majesty’s most cherished treasure."
Ji Qingwu’s heart skipped a beat.
Princess Hua Chang was also inwardly surprised. ’Since when did this oaf become so perceptive?’
The few people in the room then heard the gruff Prince Consort’s voice ring out again.
Wei Chi Lianping excitedly slapped his thigh. "His Majesty must have found a new treasured sword or saber he likes even more! Men, you know. We always want the newest thing."
’A brute is still a brute.’
Only her impeccable upbringing kept Princess Hua Chang from rolling her eyes into the back of her head.
’So that’s what he meant.’ The explanation was actually quite logical. Ji Qingwu’s heart, which had been fluttering, settled as she subconsciously accepted it.
She said softly, "Please calm yourself, Prince Consort. I must ask you to be calm while I take your pulse."
Once Wei Chi Lianping settled down, she quickly came to a conclusion and removed her fingers from his wrist.
"Well? I’m fit as a fiddle, aren’t I?"
Ji Qingwu nodded. "The Prince Consort is indeed in robust health. Your vital essence is strong. There are no issues."
Wei Chi Lianping looked confused. "What vital essence?" Then it dawned on him. He asked the delicate young woman before him, "What exactly is your specialty?"
Ji Qingwu replied, "Infertility."
He shot to his feet, glaring at Hua Chang and roaring, "You think I’m the one who can’t have children?!"
Princess Hua Chang’s tone was placid. "And are you not?"
That nearly made Wei Chi Lianping jump out of his skin. His face turned livid, his fists clenched so tight it seemed he was about to fly into a rage.
But then the young woman’s gentle voice rang out, like a clear spring washing away his agitation.
"Prince Consort, both you and the Princess are perfectly healthy. There is nothing wrong with either of you."
Only then did Wei Chi Lianping sit back down, looking down his nose at the Princess across from him.
Seeing that the tension had eased, Ji Qingwu said carefully, "Then it must be due to other reasons. Would you both be willing to answer a few... rather personal questions?"
Because the Emperor held Ji Qingwu in high regard, Princess Hua Chang was willing to cooperate.
She said plainly, "Go on." frёewebηovel.cѳm
"When was the last time you were intimate?"
To be hit with such a difficult question right away, Princess Hua Chang frowned deeply.
Wei Chi Lianping answered, a hint of reminiscence in his voice, "Last night."
Ji Qingwu raised her eyebrows in surprise. The couple didn’t seem to get along, so she was surprised they were still so intimate. She continued her questioning.
"And how many times a month, roughly?"
Just as Princess Hua Chang was about to answer, someone else cut in.
Wei Chi Lianping’s displeasure was written all over his face. He held up one thick finger.
"How many times? Just once a month."
Marrying a princess was not like taking an ordinary wife. They were husband and wife, but also subject and sovereign. The Eldest Princess had set numerous rules for him.
In the beginning, they were permitted to share a bed four times a month. As for why that had been reduced to once, it was all Wei Chi Lianping’s fault for being so coarse.
Princess Hua Chang simply couldn’t stand the thought of him, unwashed, lying in her magnificent, fragrant bedding. freēwebnovel.com
A foul man who used a single filthy rag to wipe his entire body had no right to share her bed.
Now, her willingness to perform this duty was solely for the sake of maintaining their title as husband and wife.
Thus, they would share a bed only this once per month. The rest of the time, they lived separately in the Princess Mansion and the General Mansion.
They only fulfilled their marital duties once a month.
Ji Qingwu did a quick calculation. Last night had perfectly avoided the Eldest Princess’s fertile window.
She asked, "Is it always on the same day each month?"
Princess Hua Chang gave a slight nod.
’No wonder,’ Ji Qingwu thought. ’That’s no different from deliberately practicing contraception. So that’s where the problem lies.’
Ji Qingwu brought out a brush and paper, sketching on the rice paper. "Princess, if you wish to conceive soon, you should avoid being intimate on that specific day. These other days," she marked them, "are the optimal time for conception."
Wei Chi Lianping, who had been peeking from the side, crossed his arms. "Who cares what day it is? Just do it every day..."
Princess Hua Chang grabbed the sweat-soaked cloth he had just tossed aside and stuffed it right into his mouth.
The stench was overpowering.
Wei Chi Lianping nearly gagged.
For a rare moment, he reflected inwardly. ’There’s a reason the pure and noble Princess finds me so disgusting.’
Ji Qingwu said gently, "Princess, Prince Consort, if you simply change the day you are intimate each month, that should be sufficient."
Wei Chi Lianping pulled the cloth from his mouth and tossed it away. "That’s all it takes?" he asked doubtfully, rubbing his jaw. "Wouldn’t the chances be better if we did it every day?"
Ji Qingwu’s gaze involuntarily fell upon the Prince Consort’s powerful arms, which were likely thicker than the Eldest Princess’s thighs. ’If he did that every day,’ she thought, ’forget conceiving—the poor beauty would be utterly spent.’
She said tactfully, "More is not always better. Just these few days will be perfect."
Princess Hua Chang breathed a sigh of relief, truly afraid the boorish man would lose his mind.
Ji Qingwu arranged her next appointment to take the Princess’s pulse and then departed from the mansion.
Princess Hua Chang saw Wei Chi Lianping still sitting in the side hall and shot him a sidelong glance. "Why haven’t you returned to the General Mansion?"
"I’m just following the doctor’s orders. Staying a few extra days to give you a hand."
Gazing at the Princess, who looked like a celestial fairy, Wei Chi Lianping’s eyes were glued to her.
Princess Hua Chang said coldly, "I don’t need your help."
"When it comes to having a child, you really can’t do it without my help."
After six years of marriage, she knew what kind of lewd thoughts he was having the moment his expression changed.
"Can’t you think about anything else? Stop pestering me."
As Zhao Tianhua was a princess, Wei Chi Lianping, her Prince Consort, was forbidden from taking concubines. That was frustrating enough, but he also had to restrain himself in the bedroom.
He scoffed. "Every man in the world thinks about this sort of thing, especially generals like us. Our needs in that department are naturally greater."
Hearing his shameless words, a vein throbbed in Princess Hua Chang’s temple.
"You’re just making excuses for your own lust. A true gentleman should be as refined as jade. His Majesty was once the Great General of the Northern Border, and he was never as... crude as you."
