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Empress Consort Shen Qingqiu was a man of great beauty and grace. Beneath his looks was a strength that had many citizens of the demon realm deciding against challenging Emperor Luo’s reign.
What they did not see was an exhausted Shen Yuan pacing his bedroom at 3 am, gently murmuring to his sick infant daughter, Feiyu. His son, Muyang, had fallen ill with a cold from his week away at the Northern Palace. Even though he quickly worked it off, his father and youngest sister weren’t as lucky.
“Mama, Papa is sick.” Shen Yuan looked up to find his only healthy child, Yingyue, hovering in front of the door to their bed chambers, a concerned frown on her face. Shen Yuan nodded, shifting Feiyu to his shoulder. His little one let out a quiet huff of protest, and she reached out to grab onto the collar of his outer robe. He winced as it dug into his throat, but he ignored that and focused on his other child.
“I know, A’Ying, I know. Please go back to bed, little love.” He said to his five-year-old. She frowned, opening her mouth to argue. “Catching this cold as well will not help the situation. Now go.” He ordered, tone implying that she would not win this argument. She shot him his own glare before turning and stomping away. He rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to Feiyu. He shifted her from his shoulder back into his arms. His daughter’s face scrunched up in displeasure at the movement, and he was worried that she was going to start screaming again. Thankfully she didn’t, and instead made a couple noises of complaint. He couldn’t help but smile as she opened her eyes to glare at him. She was truly Luo Binghe’s daughter.
Feiyu and Muyang resembled his husband the most, out of their three children. As Feiyu peered up at him with watery red eyes, his heart clenched with warm affection as his mind went to the one he was sure his husband was making at this moment.
“Shh, Yuyu. Mama is here.” He soothed. She sniffled, clinging to his robes. A couple more laps around the room and a final dose of medicine saw his infant snoring softly in his arms. As he laid her down in her bassinette, he was relieved to feel that her fever had gone down a bit. Shaking his head, he made his way to the bath chambers.
As expected, he found Binghe in a miserable state. Shaking his head, Shen Yuan settled next to him and carefully pulled his husband into his arms.
“A’Yuan, no, you’ll get sick too.” Binghe tried to protest, weakly pulling away.
“Hush, my love.” He said, tucking Binghe against his shoulder. As he rocked him gently, he reached down and felt the stitches on his abdomen.
His husband carried their last child. Before the pregnancy, it had been a huge fight between them. Shen Yuan felt that it put him in too much danger while Luo Binghe wanted to experience carrying one of their children, but in the end, Binghe fell pregnant and there wasn’t anything he could do about it.
Of course, the pregnancy had been fine for his husband. His protagonist halo helped him through it, there was no doubt. But even that wasn’t enough to make the birth an easy one, and it had taken a long time to get their daughter out of him. If Binghe wasn’t the protagonist, he surely would have died from the blood loss. Even 3 months later, he wasn’t back to his full strength.
“I’m going to be sick again.” Binghe mumbled before pulling out of his arms and leaning over the nearby bucket. Shen Yuan simply reached out and gathered up his curls, keeping them out of the way. His free hand ran soothing circles against his back, subtly pushing in a little of his qi to give Binghe extra strength.
“Sorry.” Binghe finally gasped out. When he pushed the bucket away, Shen Yuan grabbed one of the nearby talismans and cleared the mess. He then tucked Binghe back into his arms.
“Don’t be, Binghe. Do you want to go lay down?” He asked, resuming his rocking. His husband nodded, and so he helped him up. After assisting him in rinsing out his mouth, the two made the slow trek to their bed. Binghe frowned down at Feiyu’s flushed cheeks. “She’s fine. Her fever is starting to break. I’m sure that she’ll be right as rain in a day or two.” He assured him. Binghe nodded, reaching in to gently stroke her cheek. Once he pulled back his hand, Shen Yuan gave him a pointed push towards the bed.
He eased Binghe into their bed, tenderly arranging his pillows and blankets so his love was properly swaddled. Pleased with his work, Shen Yuan leaned in and pressed a kiss to his forehead before stepping away to grab a stronger version of the medicine he had given Feiyu.
“A’Yuan?” Binghe called out. “You are staying with us tonight, right?”
“Of course. Now drink this, love.” Shen Yuan said as he returned to the bed with the medicine and a glass of water. His husband obeyed, and then after he finished off the water, Shen Yuan placed it and the pitcher on his side of the bed before crawling in.
“Come here.” Shen Yuan said, patting his lap. Binghe’s eyes widened with surprise, and he shot him a pleased grin. It was a rare treat to get to rest his head on Shen Yuan’s lap. When he started to lean down, his husband stopped him. “Sorry, that was unclear. Sit on my lap, Binghe. We need to keep you upright to keep your airways clear.” He explained. Binghe eagerly nodded, climbing into his husband’s lap. Shen Yuan helped him sit in a way that wouldn’t cause him discomfort, and then tucked him under his chin. He then pulled over the pillow and blankets from Binghe’s side of the bed and arranged it around the two of them.
“A’Yuan?” Binghe murmured again, mind starting to get a little hazy as the medicine kicked in. Shen Yuan let out a little hum as he pressed a kiss to his forehead. To Binghe’s delight, he reached up and began to run his fingers through his hair as well. “Thank you for taking care of me.” Binghe said around a yawn. Shen Yuan pressed a kiss to his nose next before burying his face in the top of Binghe’s head.
“Always, Binghe. It’s this husband’s privilege to care for you.” Shen Yuan said. Binghe’s cheeks flushed at that, and he pressed a kiss against the mating scar on Shen Yuan’s shoulder. He was so lucky that this man chose to be his husband.