Doomed to be Cannon Fodder

“How... How can I not run when you’re doing that with her?!” Bai Xiangxiu transfixed him with a hard glare. She wasn’t actually angry, but was simply going through the motions.

Long Heng gathered her into his arms, but didn’t dare use much of his strength. “Doing what? Do you really think that I would touch a woman like her?”

“Doing what?” Bai Xiangxiu suddenly imitated his tone of speech, still glaring at him. Yet, for all that energy, her glare didn’t contain even an ounce of lethality. In fact, it was surprisingly cute.

Long Heng was completely in the palm of her hand. He gave her cheeks a gentle pinch and said, “You... mischievous girl. You’re up to no good again.”

Bai Xiangxiu’s glare turned real as she retorted, “Who’s mischievous? Who’s up to no good?”

“Alright, alright. You’re not mischievous. Our child is the one who’s mischievous!” The saying that women and children are difficult is true after all. Especially women that are expecting.

Bai Xiangxiu had really gotten much thinner in recent days, and had now reached the point where it looked like a gust of wind would blow her over. However, her assets hadn’t shrunk one bit, which made her look even voluptuous than before. Long Heng was only able to hug her night after night, but wasn’t able to proceed any further than that. To him, it was a feeling worse than not being able to fight the enemy in front of him during a battle. He instinctively placed his hands on her stomach, but Bai Xiangxiu was having none of it. “Don’t touch me with the hand that touched that woman. There’s a stench.” She immediately dry heaved after she spoke. At least that part wasn’t an act. The fragrance from the powder on Yaya was genuinely too strong.

Without a choice, Long Heng could only respond with, “Men, escort Madame Xiu back to her residence.”

“What about you? Are you going to go back for her?” Bai Xiangxiu arched her brows, as if she was on the verge of throwing a tantrum.

“No. I am going to take a bath.” Feeling speechless, Long Heng patted her head. A pregnant lady’s temper is like the weather in June. They both change on a whim!

Looking at his speechless face, Bai Xiangxiu’s mood immediately took another turn as she burst out in laughter.

Long Heng smiled ruefully. Her mood really did change like the winds, and he hadn’t the slightest clue why. But Long Heng still tried to humor her to the best of his efforts. He began questioning Yaya after his bath. Surprisingly, she revealed everything she knew about Duan Yunying, including his secrets and background, without holding back.

Long Heng received quite a shock. He didn’t think that Duan Yunying would actually be a prince from an enemy state. Even though Duan Yunying wasn’t a favored prince or anything, he might be able to rise above his brothers to become the next emperor if he managed to kill Long Heng. Long Heng understood why Duan Yunying had gone to such roundabout lengths to try and kill him. Since Long Heng was immune to most poisons, and Duan Yunying was no match for Long Heng in terms of martial arts, he’d wanted to take control of the people around Long Heng so that he could murder him by proxy!

“You must be wary of that Bai Xiangxiu. She is your most doted upon concubine, but she is also that man’s target.” When she was done, Yaya began to trace circles on his shoulder and playfully said, “I am now your woman, so you can do whatever you want to me. You might even find that I’m better than that Bai Xiangxiu woman in bed...”

SLAP! Before she could react, Yaya was sent flying with a slap to her face. She looked at Long Heng, bewildered. She didn’t know where she’d spoken wrong.

“You are not fit to be compared with her. Since you have not done anything against me, I will allow you to leave. Do not set foot anywhere near my manor again.”

“Oh. It seems that Your Highness has something he is afraid of. Are you afraid that... Bai Xiangxiu will get mad at you?” She really was bold to have such thoughts in that situation. After all, why would a prince be afraid of his own concubine? But her instincts told her that this was the same case as her previous life. Back then, Long Heng had loved Lin Qianzi so singlemindedly, he hadn’t even dared to keep any other woman by his side, let along spend the night with them. The fact that Long Heng was such a good man was also why she had targeted him after her reincarnation in the first place. Unfortunately, another woman from the rear court had already gotten to him before her.

“Shut your mouth. This prince is more than willing to assist you if you wish for an early death.” Long Heng no longer wanted to keep this woman around once he’d extracted the information he was after. But on second thought, she might serve to as a useful pawn for him in the future. So he said, “This prince can arrange a place for you at the concealed guard camp. If you don’t like my arrangements, feel free to take your leave.”

Since Yaya had already revealed all of her master’s secrets, Duan Yunying would surely put her to death using the same methods she’d experienced in her previous life. It was why she had wanted to take advantage of her opportunity to defect to Long Heng’s side. There was no reason for her to decline his offered arrangements. Thus she stopped her clingy act and docilely followed his men to the concealed guard camp.

Unfortunately, Yaya never would’ve thought that she would succumb to the same exact fate that she had been met with in her previous life. She thought she could escape from Duan Yunying’s wrath by making such a decision, but she sadly didn’t share the same immunity to poison as Long Heng. On the contrary, she was very susceptible to it.

Roughly ten days after her escape, she began to feel itchy from head to toe. Over the course of a day, the itch gradually grew worse in intensity. When the men from the camp finally noticed that there was something amiss with her, she had already scratched herself into a tragic, bloody pulp. They wanted to take her to the doctor, but they all died upon touching her.

Noticing the activation of his Bloodlust Parasite, Duan Yunying only laughed coldly. Even if that naive woman wants to escape, she should at least know her capability. She must be in utter misery right now, and begging for death! He then forgot all about her as he turned his focus back to his research on another kind of lovesick parasite. This type was a mutated variety that could enter the body without the need for intercourse. However, spiking a meal with the parasite was a challenge in and of itself. The prince’s manor was too closely guarded. He needed to find a chance to plant the parasite into Bai Xiangxiu’s body.

It took him a long time to calibrate the new mutated lovesick parasite. He immediately ingested one of them. He could only control the other if he was infected by its twin parasite. This was the reason why intercourse was the best way to implant the parasite. It would receive the most nutrients when its hosts were in the height of passion. Its effect would become a little weaker through ingestion.

But he was left without a choice. It was impossible for him to enter the prince’s manor now and that other woman had already betrayed him. After waiting for a long time, he finally saw a chance to strike. He’d previously noticed that Song Jiaoyue was looking at Bai Xiangxiu a little strangely at Long Heng’s wedding ceremony. After some careful investigation, he finally understood why. Falling in love with a brother’s woman. Such insolence. Even though he hid his feelings quite well, it’s simply too easy for a man like me to see through his true intentions.

Song Jiaoyue’s personal maidservant had formed a habit of delivering pastries to Bai Xiangxiu and seemed genuinely disappointed by the return gifts every time. Song Jiaoyue seemed to share the same sentiments as his maidservant as well. Although Duan Yunying didn’t understand the meaning behind the pastries, it was definitely an opportunity that he could make use of.