Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 1085: Strike While the Iron Is Hot

“Huh?” If there were a mirror, Song Qingshu knew his expression would be one of utter bewilderment. He truly hadn’t expected this.

“I know this request puts you in a difficult position, young master, but I have no other choice.” Lu Guanying’s eyes glistened with tears. “Even when she was healthy, I couldn’t get her pregn@nt, and now… now it’s even more impossible.”

Song Qingshu remained silent, listening as he continued, “My wife and I aren’t young anymore. In previous years, we could easily find excuses, but now? If we don’t have an heir, we’ll be gossiped about by the family. And for a family like ours, not having an heir is a terrible thing. Then, neither family resources nor assistance will be provided to a lineage destined for extinction, and my wife and I might not be able to maintain our standing in the family.”

“Why don’t you just find someone to adopt a son?” Song Qingshu said, frowning.

“But such a child has nothing to do with us. If you, young master, are willing… then at least it would still be Yaojia’s child.” Seeing Song Qingshu’s brows furrowing deeper, Lu Guanying quickly added, “To be honest, if I hadn’t encountered this situation, I wouldn’t have been so lowly as to let my wife…”

“Yaojia has sacrificed enough for me. I can’t be so selfish. After thinking it over, the only way to repay her kindness is to let her bear her own child.” Lu Guanying said with deep affection, seemingly radiating a holy light.

However, there were some things he didn’t say. He made this decision partly to cover his tracks. After all, his physical defect was too embarrassing for a man. Many in the family were already gossiping about them. If the injury were exposed, what would happen? Having a child would silence the gossip and completely bring his wife to his side. Although Cheng Yaojia hadn’t shown any disgust yet, people’s hearts change. What if, in a few years, she couldn’t bear this life anymore? Having a child would perfectly solve all his problems.

Secondly, he wanted to curry favor with Song Qingshu. The man had saved their lives and promised to pass on the coveted Evil Exterminating Sword Manual to him. It all seemed too good to be true, and Lu Guanying was always uneasy, afraid he’d wake up to find it all a dream. If he could help Song Qingshu and his wife get together, he’d feel much more confident.

Thirdly, he wanted to save Han Dingxiao. But Song Qingshu had already treated him so well; he had nothing to repay him with, how could he ask for a favor? If Song Qingshu and his wife had that kind of relationship, they’d be family, making it much easier to ask.

As the saying goes, every beginning is difficult. If he hadn’t given Cheng Yaojia to Tang Kuo Bian, Lu Guanying probably wouldn’t have made this decision. He was like a gambler blinded by greed; having lost so much, he had to seize every opportunity to win back his losses.

Fourthly, it was for the sake of his future family status. After all, he had gone to great lengths, even sacrificing his wife’s chastity, to ensure Han Dingxiao’s survival. He hoped Han Dingxiao would repay his kindness, but if his lack of an heir led to other family members benefiting from this, he absolutely could not accept it.

Of course, there was also gratitude towards Song Qingshu and a desire to make amends for his guilt towards his wife. All these factors combined led Lu Guanying to make this “shocking” decision.

Seeing Lu Guanying’s eager eyes, Song Qingshu was immediately at a loss: “How can you expect me to agree to something like this!” 

Although he had already won Cheng Yaojia’s heart and soul, Lu Guanying’s request still felt strange.

Lu Guanying smiled wryly, “I know this is a difficult situation for you, young master, but I hope you can understand our predicament. We really have no other choice but to resort to this.”

“We?” Song Qingshu looked puzzled. “Your wife agreed?”

Lu Guanying stammered, “At first… at first she didn’t agree, but after I explained the pros and cons to her, she agreed.”

“She agreed?” Song Qingshu wasn’t too suspicious; after all, the two had already been intimate, so Cheng Yaojia’s agreement wasn’t surprising. 

Seeing Song Qingshu’s continued hesitation, Lu Guanying had no choice but to add more pressure: “Young Master, you can rest assured, this matter is between heaven and earth, and no outsiders will know. From now on, Yaojia and I will only pretend to be husband and wife in front of others. In private, you can see her anytime. Even after Yaojia becomes pregn@nt and gives birth, if you don’t mind, you can still see her, and I will not say a word.”

“Is that really okay?” Song Qingshu’s eyes widened. To be honest, these conditions were far too generous. He didn’t have to fulfill any obligations; he only enjoyed rights…the only obligation being to get Cheng Yaojia pregn@nt, if that could be considered an obligation.

Lu Guanying sighed, “Young Master, we can never repay your great kindness to my wife and me in our lifetime, so I wanted to use this opportunity to repay you in some way…”

Song Qingshu’s expression turned serious, and he quickly interrupted him, saying, “I helped you only out of a sense of chivalry, without any ulterior motives, and we certainly don’t need this…this kind of repayment.”

Lu Guanying hurriedly explained, “I know you are a man of high moral character, Young Master. My wife and I urgently need your help, not for repayment…”

Song Qingshu looked troubled, and after a long silence, he said in a hoarse voice, “Very well then, I only hope that Young Master Lu will not resent me in the future.”

His agreement wasn’t due to lu$t, after all, he already had Cheng Yaojia. His agreement was more about the Hangzhou Bay landing plan; to control the Lu family, this was a golden opportunity.

Seeing that the other party had finally agreed, Lu Guanying was overjoyed: “Young master, you’ve overthought it. I’m more than grateful for your help; how could I possibly resent you? This way, please…”

“Ah?” Song Qingshu was taken aback. “Please for what?”

Lu Guanying’s expression was also somewhat embarrassed: “My wife is waiting for you in the room.”

“Starting tonight?” Song Qingshu gasped. This husband was certainly quite eager. 

“We probably won’t have much time left in Yangzhou, so we must hurry,” Lu Guanying chuckled awkwardly, then said, “Young Master, Yaojia is a bit shy and reserved, and this kind of thing is too embarrassing. When we get to her room, she might be too embarrassed to answer you. Don’t worry about that, just… just…”

He couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence. The thought of pushing his wife into another m@n’s arms again sent a pang of pain through Lu Guanying’s heart. However, his eyes quickly hardened. For him now, romantic love meant nothing; only martial arts and power held meaning for the rest of his life!