Chapter 71

Chapter 71

The room slowly filled with the scent of Lin Ze's pheromones, blending into a sweet, milky fragrance that was soothing.

Li Xiujin rolled his throat and pulled Lin Ze's feverish body into his embrace.

"Xiu Jin," Lin Ze frowned, "I don't feel so good..."

Li Xiujin's hand reached behind him, brushed aside the stray hairs at the nape of his neck, and gently massaged Lin Ze's gland.

Lin Ze went weak all over.

"Your heat has started."

The blush on Lin Ze's face deepened. So that's why he had been craving Xiu Jin's scent...

Afraid it would affect the child, Li Xiujin first carried the sleeping Li Chongyi out to a servant. When he returned, Lin Ze had buried his face in his jacket, rubbing and squirming against it.

Li Xiujin frowned and threw the jacket on the floor. Lin Ze seemed to realize how he'd just been lusting after his clothes and hid his face in shame.

"I'll go get an inhibitor..."

Li Xiujin's eyes darkened. "Don't you dare."

"I'll help you."

Li Xiujin slipped open his robe, his rough fingers rubbing with just the right pressure.

The tingling sensation made Lin Ze's breathing quicken. He clamped a hand over his mouth to keep from making a sound...

Only after working Lin Ze into a sweaty mess did Li Xiujin flip him over again, brush aside the hair at the nape of his neck to expose the swollen gland, open his mouth, and sucked, biting down on it.

Lin Ze began to tremble beneath him.

Then Li Xiujin filled him with his pheromones...

Lin Ze's body during his heat was even softer, clinging to him and refusing to let go...

They'd left the child with the servants, the curtains drawn. Unaware of how much time had passed, Lin Ze's body had gone completely soft in Li Xiujin's arms, his consciousness completely foggy. After Li Xiujin's phone rang for the tenth time that day, he finally answered. He listened, gave a noncommittal "hmm," hung up, and prepared to give Lin Ze some water to drink.

However, when Lin Ze sensed Li Xiujin was about to leave, he looked utterly distressed and insecure.

It was the first time Li Xiujin had seen him so dependent, and his Adam's apple bobbed with satisfaction. He gave Lin Ze some of his own pheromones to soothe him to sleep before shutting the door behind him.

Downstairs, a servant was holding the sobbing Li Chongyi.

Seeing him emerge, she looked as if she had seen a savior: "General, Chongyi won't stop crying. We can't calm him down."

With Lin Ze currently in heat, Li Xiujin couldn't possibly let him look after the baby. He initially intended to just let him cry, but after a moment's thought, he finally grabbed his bottle and brought him along to work.

The ten calls were from Fu Zhi, again because the Prime Minister wanted to see him.

Fu Zhi stood frozen in place at the entrance of the group's building when he saw Li Xiujin.

Li Xiujin, impeccably dressed in a suit, was holding a baby.

The child managed to turn his head, revealing Li Chongyi's adorable but tear-streaked face. Li Chongyi stared at Fu Zhi, his cries halting for a moment before starting up again louder than before.

"General, why did you bring Chongyi along?"

Li Xiujin answered casually before heading back to his office.

The Prime Minister was waiting in the office. Seeing him arrive with a child, he was slightly taken aback. Instead of getting straight to business, he began cheerfully playing with the child.

"My, oh my, hasn't Colonel Lin just had a miniature version of you? Look at these eyes, nose, and mouth—it's like they were carved from the same mold." The Prime Minister poked Li Chongyi's cheek with his finger.

"Come, let me hold him."

Li Chongyi stared at him, his tears stopping again. Then, he suddenly reached out to grab his beard.

After quite a struggle, the Prime Minister managed to rescue his beard from Li Chongyi's grasp.

The Prime Minister chuckled awkwardly. "This child certainly has a strong grip!"

Li Xiujin had no patience for small talk and asked directly, "Have you made a decision?"

"How do you plan to execute him?"

"Of course, by killing him."

"I can have him dismissed, barred from any military position for life, but killing him is out of the question," the Prime Minister stated.

"So, it's acceptable for him to kill me and Yang Yu, is that right?" Li Xiujin said coldly.

"I know he acted impulsively..."

"Impulsively?" Li Xiujin laughed.

"Can I at least meet Li Wei?" the Prime Minister asked, his tone almost pleading.

Finally, Li Xiujin sensed just how invested the Prime Minister was in Li Wei. He had actually sent Liu Cheng personally to capture him. After bringing him back, the Prime Minister's illness had improved significantly. He wasn't even busy with official duties, coming to block Li Xiujin's path every day, all for Li Wei. "Why are you so eager to see him?"

"He has repeatedly violated our nation's territory. Of course, I want to see him," the Prime Minister replied.

But Li Xiujin wasn't convinced.

"My demand is simple: let me personally execute Liu Cheng. He was the one colluding with Li Wei, and he was the one who set the mountain fire. Executing him wouldn't be unjust, would it?" Li Xiujin sneered. "If you agree, I'll hand the person over to you immediately."

In the end, the Prime Minister still did not give Li Xiujin a definitive answer.

After he left, Fu Zhi brought Yang Yu in.

Yang Yu had been recuperating in the hospital during this time. Although he still needed crutches to walk, his complexion had improved significantly.

"How is Li Wei?" Li Xiujin asked, placing Li Chongyi on his lap.

"He's doing quite well, just a bit too extravagant. He demands the most luxurious hotels and the most expensive meals."

"Accommodate him as much as possible within reason."

Yang Yu nodded but also seemed somewhat puzzled.

"We already know everything we need to know. Li Wei is of no further use to us. Why not just hand him over to the Prime Minister?"

"Have you ever seen the Prime Minister make such a fuss over any other criminal before? He's been to my office twice already."

"It does seem like an excessive amount of concern. Could there be some secret about this Li Wei that we're unaware of? But he's told us everything he knows. Aside from colluding with Liu Cheng, there's nothing else."

Li Xiujin scooped Li Chongyi, who was trying to gnaw on the desk, back into his arms. Having failed to chew the desk, Li Chongyi started crying again, hitting Li Xiujin with his little fists as he wailed. Li Xiujin tilted his head back to avoid the blows.

He had a feeling that Li Wei was not only important to them but also to the Prime Minister and Liu Cheng.

"Li Wei used to live back home. Go ask him if he remembers anything from that time."

Yang Yu acknowledged.

He'd been out with Li Chongyi for nearly half a day and was worried about how Lin Ze was doing at home. After giving Yang Yu his instructions, he was about to head home when Yang Yu said, "General, I almost forgot about Commander Su. He's still in prison, isn't he? Shouldn't we rescue him first?"

It was only then that Li Xiujin remembered Su Wang.

"I'll go see him this afternoon."

Then Li Xiujin took Li Chongyi home.

Back home, he passed off the crying Li Chongyi to the maid and went straight to his room. Probably worn out from last night, Lin Ze was sound asleep, his face buried in Li Xiujin's coat, his delicate brows slightly furrowed.

Li Xiujin cradled Lin Ze like a child, bit his nape, and let some pheromones seep into him. Lin Ze's brows relaxed, and his cheeks gradually flushed.

He had things to do that afternoon and had intended to wait until evening to be with him again. However, Lin Ze clung to him tightly, and when Li Xiujin noticed that Lin Ze had dampened the bedsheet, he had no choice but to pin the still-dazed Lin Ze and take him, until Lin Ze's flat belly was swollen like he was four months along before finally stopping...

That afternoon, he carried Li Chongyi and went out again.

He arrived at the detention facility where Su Wang was being held.

Having learned from Lin Ze that Su Wang had been imprisoned by Liu Cheng for arranging a helicopter for him, Li Xiujin couldn't just leave him there.

The guards watching Su Wang were all Liu Cheng's men. Upon seeing Li Xiujin, they said they'd inform someone. Soon after, Liu Cheng arrived.

Liu Cheng's gaze shifted from Li Xiujin's face to the infant Li Chongyi in his arms.

"Never thought I'd see General Li handling official business while holding a nursing baby," Liu Cheng chuckled. "Isn't Colonel Lin at home? How did you end up taking care of the child?"

Li Xiujin couldn't be bothered to waste words on him, but he suddenly remembered he hadn't changed Li Chongyi's diaper yet.

Indeed, everyone who saw the child couldn't resist wanting to tease or hold him.

When Liu Cheng reached out to hold Li Chongyi, the baby didn't refuse but instead urinated all over him.

Feeling the warmth, Liu Cheng looked down and saw a large wet patch on his military uniform.

Liu Cheng, who was a serious germaphobe, gritted his teeth. "General Li, children are truly amusing."

Li Xiujin laughed. "Sorry about that."

Then, without further ado, he said, "Release him."

Liu Cheng took off his jacket and found his shirt soaked as well. After tidying his hair, he coldly ordered, "Release Commander Su."

Su Wang had been imprisoned for several days, eating and sleeping poorly, and had lost a lot of weight. When he was brought out and saw Li Xiujin putting a diaper on his son, it was like seeing a savior.

Li Xiujin told him to get in the car, planning to drop him off at Zhou Dingshan's place before heading home.

However, upon arrival, Su Wang looked grave and stopped him.

"I have something important to tell you."

Hearing it was important, Li Xiujin paused as he reached for the car door and followed him into the villa.

The three of them, plus a nursing baby, sat in the tea room.

Su Wang began cautiously.

"During the time you were missing, Liu Cheng had Lin Ze under house arrest. To get Lin Ze out, I went to see the Prime Minister, who was still ill at the time, and secretly used his seal in his room."

Li Xiujin frowned.

Zhou Dingshan was puzzled. "Old Su, what are you trying to say?"

Su Wang took a sip of water and continued, "While taking the seal, I also found a document."

"It was a paternity test."

Zhou Dingshan asked, "A paternity test? In the Prime Minister's room?"

"Yes."

"Who was the other party?"

"Li Wei."

Li Xiujin, who had been silent all along, felt his breath hitch slightly. After the initial shock, everything began to make sense.

No wonder Liu Cheng was merely dismissed after being accused of helping Li Wei escape. No wonder Liu Cheng was so eager to see Li Wei.

Zhou Dingshan recalled some past events: "I remember before the Prime Minister came to power, he was married. At the time, the Prime Minister's ex-wife and her sister became pregnant one after another. Later, for some reason, they divorced before the child was even a month old. The child eventually went overseas with the mother and has been missing ever since."

"Could Li Wei be that child?"

"Very likely," Su Wang said.

"Logically speaking, if he found his son, shouldn't he make it public? But it seems the Prime Minister doesn't intend to let anyone know," Zhou Dingshan remarked.

"Li Wei is now the leader of an overseas gang. If it were made public, wouldn't it cause even more trouble?" Su Wang argued.

This reasoning didn't convince Zhou Dingshan: "If Li Wei hadn't been caught, that might be the reason. But now that Li Wei has been captured, this matter can't be hidden. It would be better to come clean sooner... I feel there must be an even bigger scandal behind this that the Prime Minister doesn't want others to know."

Su Wang nodded. "You have a point."

"General Li, is Li Wei in your custody now?" Su Wang asked.

Li Xiujin nodded.

"That's good. The Prime Minister hasn't taken action against Liu Cheng, and I suspect it's because of this secret. We must keep a close eye on Li Wei."

After discussing how to investigate the Prime Minister's past before he came to power, Li Xiujin glanced at his watch and realized it was already 9 p.m. He hurriedly took Li Chongyi and rushed home.

*

Meanwhile, Lin Ze, who had been asleep all day, opened his eyes.

The room was empty—no Li Xiujin, no Li Chongyi. Perhaps because he was in heat, Lin Ze felt a sense of abandonment and melancholy...

Enduring the soreness and damp heat in his body, he put on his clothes and went downstairs. There was no one there either, until he accidentally fell to the floor. A maid hurriedly ran out and helped him up.

Learning that Li Xiujin had taken Li Chongyi to work, the feeling of abandonment eased slightly.

He returned to his room and buried his face in Li Xiujin's coat again, but his body was still unbearably hot and restless, craving Li Xiujin's embrace, to have his glands and reproductive cavity filled with that sense of fullness.

His previous heats had never been so shameless. Lin Ze felt deeply embarrassed and thought about looking for suppressants. Then he remembered that since marrying Li Xiujin, his heats hadn't occurred, so he hadn't bought any suppressants.

Lin Ze turned to look out the window. It was already dark. Xiu Jin should be back soon...

He buried his face in the coat Xiu Jin had left for him, then opened the bedside drawer and felt for the gun Li Xiujin often used.

After removing the bullet, he moistened it with his tongue and shamefully opened himself.

The cold metallic texture made Lin Ze's cheeks flush red as he trembled. Biting the back of his hand, he imagined it as his husband's finger, slowly rubbing himself with it and breathlessly moaning, "Xiu Jin..."

Li Xiujin hurried back and, upon learning that Lin Ze had woken up and accidentally fallen while looking for him and their child, was instantly overwhelmed with heartache and regret.

He handed Li Chongyi to the servant and strode upstairs. Opening the bedroom door, he was first struck by the strong, milky scent of pheromones, then saw Lin Ze holding his coat and grasping his gun...

caressing it and calling out his name...