Chapter 61 (2/2)

“Wife, sit on top.” Lu Piao Xiang commanded her, but his voice shook.

Ruan Zhu did not move, and instead, extended her hand to grip him, able to sense him hotly trembling in her hands……Little by little, her head lowered and enveloped him in her mouth……

“Ah……Nn……” At this moment, Lu Piao Xiang’s heart was trembling and his body was even hotter than from just a moment ago as his member that was being sucked swelled further.

This seductress! Lu Piao Xiang’s breathing became more and more rushed.

Ever since he had completely had her, she rarely did this sort of thing.

He had almost forgotten this sort of pleasure; seeing her lap at him with those back-and-forth movements……He felt so damned comfortable and his hands at her chest unconsciously increased their grip.

“Oh……” Ruan Zhu cried out.

Lu Piao Xiang hurriedly let go of her but was unexpectedly blocked by her: “No, just like that; so good.” Ever since she gave birth, she felt that her lust and expectations were stronger than before, and her body could now also handle multiple rounds of passion in one night.

Lu Piao Xiang continued to tease her in a rather rough manner. Seeing her face flushed from passion, it deeply aroused him. He grasped her body and turned her around, abruptly entering her from behind. The moment he felt her warmth, it was if his body had caught on fire and the speed of his thrusts also immediately sped up.

After both of them had peaked, Ruan Zhu panted for breath and was pulled into his arms when she suddenly thought of a matter: “Lord Husband, have you taken the oral contraceptive?”

“Why must I take that?” Lu Piao Xiang asked in astonishment: “I’ve never taken it in the past and you’ve also never brought it up before.”

“It’s not the same as before because menses doesn’t occur when breastfeeding. With the milk all dried up, it’ll come again. Tomorrow, I’ll have Nuan Chun go to the yamen and boil up a bowl of it for you to drink. It must be done; it’ll be troublesome if I become pregnant again.”

To prevent against fake drugs and to avoid confusion with bloodlines, the imperial court ordered that contraceptives must be provided by the yamen. No matter how tight each province’s finances were, they had to guarantee contraceptives were offered.

Lu Piao Xiang gently slapped his wife’s white derriere twice and faintly smiled: “Isn’t having children a good thing? My and Zhu’er‘s child; how wonderful is that? Let’s just plan for it then. Wife, this time, give me a son, all right!”

Normally, this next child would be Yun Shi Wei’s but he was currently not in the capital, which was convenient for Lu Piao Xiang. Lu Piao Xiang elatedly thought thus: his childhood was bitter and he had had little to eat, but the Heavens treated him quite generously in regards to his marriage.

“How could you bend the law for personal gain?”

“What’s wrong with that?” Lu Piao Xiang’s eyes were completely filled with a smile, “Let’s see if it’s possible to have twins. Your Father has always wanted an heir; we can give him the second child to adopt.”

“You’re so generous, but will your Father and Mother agree?” Ruan Zhu was very surprised.

She had seen that merchant couple once before their marriage, but then it was like they were a stone sinking in the sea.[b] She had also never heard him mention them again as if they had never existed at all.

“My Mother and Father cannot make decisions for me.” He did not have much affection towards his own family. Empress Mother had lots of children and did not pay special attention to him, and his biological father only thought all day long of how to please Empress Mother and was neither hot nor cold towards him. Emperor Father did not treat him badly, but when all was said and done, they were still separated by blood, and he could not feel the familial bond.

“If others were to give their son up for adoption to the Ruan clan, they would certainly be assumed as coveting the Ruan family’s assets. But I know you are not like that. Lord Husband, you are a mystery as you have formidable abilities and authority. Sometimes, I really suspect you are a prince that had met with misfortune and then one day you will suddenly become someone high up with ten thousand eyes focusing on you.”

Lu Piao Xiang laughed: “I think that you are the true mystery. I’ve always doubted what exactly your little brain is thinking o, as there are so many things in there that make one surprised. You still don’t know, right, the drawing you provided previously has been treated as the first priority? A group of talented craftsmen in the army base were able to create it not long after you gave me the design. Not only did they make a ratchet-type ballista, they were also able to create one based on gears. A large crowd of artisans and smiths are working around and against the clock to create and install these weapons. The first batch of fifty ballistas is already en route to the battlefield at Mount Cang Huang.”

“That is wonderful! If we are able to block the enemy, there will be no need to move the capital.”

“There is also your gunpowder formula. I have also found people to make it and the power is truly extraordinary and hard to imagine.” Excitement shone in Lu Piao Xiang’s eyes; even his voice became a little higher: “Based on what you said, the trebuchet’s leather sling has also been exchanged for a large metal spoon and the distance that the stone traveled was twice as far as before. For such a simple thing, why has no one ever thought of it before? And for you, a lady in her boudoir, to propose it?”

Ruan Zhu was a little tired and yawned: “As long as we are able to block the Red Eyebrow army, we can just live our days leisurely.”

There was no need to mention to her how deadly these improvements were and how many people would die. During war, her enemies dying would always be better than her herself dying. Even if all of the enemies were completely wiped out, as long as she and all of her family and close friends were alive, then all was well. Of course, it would be the best if no one died.

“Lord Husband, I forgot to remind you to not mention the matter of me improving these military weapons to anyone else. I would like to live my days in peace. That sort of being stared at wherever one goes is very uncomfortable.” But only Ruan Zhu understood that it was so the Ruan clan would not discover her secret. An occasional small-scale idea was fine, but being too excessive would make it hard for others to not suspect her.

“You can relax; I won’t randomly speak of it.” How could he carelessly speak of military secrets? If the enemy were to know of it, wouldn’t it just place her in danger? One had to know that there were hordes of enemy spies in the capital, hmm?

[a] 板报 is referring to the chalkboards in each classroom, I believe, where announcements/etc., are written and drawn. (Example image here) It is also the name of a Chinese social media aggregator app.

[b] 石沉大海, idiom meaning no response; disappeared; etc.