No One Knew the Marquis Was a Woman - Chapter 2

“Find a way to get him out of the estate,” Ah Jiu said. “Just knowing he’s here makes my skin crawl.”

“That’s difficult. You’re carrying his child, and a man of his sterling character will take responsibility for you to the bitter end.”

“…”

I tried again. “He was wounded in battle. I heard he injured… that part. It’s hard for him to have children. Now that you’re pregnant with his, he’ll never let you go.”

“Then tell him you’re hopelessly in love with me. He’s your best brother, isn’t he? He wouldn’t steal your woman.”

“He wouldn’t steal you,” I said, troubled. “He’d be happy to share, though. Like Ehuang and Nüying, the legendary sisters who shared a husband.”

Ah Jiu stared. “Are all you Ning people this wild?”

“…”

“Nothing works with you! Why don’t we just kill him?”

I stood to calm him, but my leg suddenly cramped. I pitched toward him. My hand landed on his smooth chest, and I couldn’t resist giving it another stroke.

Lu Xing appeared out of nowhere. “What are you two doing?”

My heart jolted. Ever since I’d been gravely wounded on the battlefield three years ago, most of my skills had deserted me. Now I couldn’t even sense someone nearby.

By the time I turned back, Ah Jiu had pulled his clothes into place. His alluring face wore an expression of defiant innocence, and his voice was as cold and pure as a fairy sullied by the mortal world.

“My lord, give up. My body and heart belong to the general alone now.”

“…”

Fuck. How did he change faces so fast?

Lu Xing looked devastated. “Ah Kun, a real man shouldn’t force himself on a woman.”

I tried to explain.

He set his jaw. “But if you insist, you should warn me first. I’ll stand guard at the door.”

“…”

His eyes lit up. “Looks like you’re having trouble. Want me to hold her down for you?”

“…”

I really needed to stop expecting anything of the men in this world.

Lu Xing followed me back to my room. “Do you actually like that woman?”

“She is the mother of my first child,” I answered vaguely.

He leaned toward me. “There’s something wrong with her.”

He had beautiful features. When he looked serious, his eyes were so deep I felt they might draw out my soul.

“W-what makes you say that?”

“One look tells me she’s an expert at playing with people’s hearts. She falls for everyone she meets. You’re too innocent to suffer that sort of love, Ah Kun. Leave it to me!”

I slapped a hand over his face. “Go back to your own room!”

Grinning, he hooked an arm around my neck and pulled me down onto the bed with him.

“No. Let’s sleep together.”

“Get out!”

“I have to watch you. Can’t have you sneaking off to that little temptress again tonight.”

“Out, out, out!”

“You’re so good, Ah Kun. Only the best person in the world deserves you. She doesn’t.”

I wanted to ask who he thought did.

“Ah Kun, have you been secretly working on your pecs?”

I kicked him off the bed.

Ah Jiu and I moved our meetings to daytime. He hated it. Proper spies, he insisted, exchanged intelligence at night. Doing it this way felt terribly unprofessional.

“Bear with it,” I told him. “Lu Xing has been watching me closely. I can only visit when he’s gone out.”

Wait. Why did that sound like a husband sneaking off to see his mistress while his wife was away?

“Has he noticed anything?” Ah Jiu asked.

“No, no. He just called you a temptress.”

Ah Jiu flew into a rage. “Hah! He’s the temptress!”

“Come to my room tonight,” Ah Jiu said.

“I’m sleeping with you tonight,” Lu Xing said.

Caught between them, I couldn’t take it anymore. In defiance of fate, I cried, “If neither of you will give way, why don’t we all sleep together?”

They both stared at me.

I threw caution aside. “I’d be heartbroken if I lost either of you. Children choose. I want you both.”

I truly was stuck between two men.

Apparently Ning people really were that wild. Word spread, and everyone praised the strength of Lu Xing’s and my brotherly bond. Even the emperor had to remark, “Have you two completely given up on behaving like human beings?”

Lu Xing had never slept neatly. Though I lay in the middle, whenever I woke during the night, I found he’d wriggled his way into my spot.

Ah Jiu was better behaved. He lay with his hands folded over his chest, as peaceful as a living corpse.

Half asleep, I felt someone creep toward me. I looked in the moonlight.

Oh? Where had this little temptress come from?

I’d almost forgotten I had a son.

The little boy was curled up beside me, a small bundle with one hand clutching the hem of my clothes. I considered this, then pulled the cloth free.

He grabbed it again. I pulled it away again.

…

When he caught it yet another time, I tore the hem right off.

He puffed out his cheeks, clenched his little fists, and rolled over with his back to me.