when sleeping with fairies...
Chang Heng/Dongfang Qingcang/Xiao Lan Hua · M-PREG · preg!dfqc | CH 1 - CH 2 - CH 3
Changheng’s life, since he had started sleeping with Xiao Lanhua and Dongfang Qingcang, had taken a much calmer turn than he could have ever imagined. His routine at the Moon Palace, his duties as a former god of war, and his relationship with both the Moon Supreme and the goddess Xi Yun had been the happiest - and most peaceful - phase of his long life. Everything changed, however, that morning when the Moon Supreme overslept.
CHAPTER 3 | Read on ao3
For the next few days, the palace routine returned to its own pace. Aside from Xiao Lanhua's absence, it was as if nothing was out of place. Even Dongfang Xunfeng's nagging had returned to its normal level. His pettiness only increased after the fairy Danyin, now in the role of Goddess of War, was invited for a diplomatic visit to the Moon Palace. The two tribes were committed to maintaining the hard-won peace times, and everyone needed to collaborate. Xungfeng was in charge of negotiations with her, but it was Changheng who she spent most of her time with.
Both fairies built over time a very strong friendship, so Changheng knew of his friend's growing interest in his brother-in-law.
It was in the morning of the fifth day after Xiao Lanhua's departure, and while the Moon Tribe men discussed updating the terms between the two tribes, Changheng and Danyin practiced together in the palace gardens.
Sword strikes were delivered by both, between screams and quick movements. Changheng had just dodged a setback from the other fairy, falling to his knees on the ground and balancing on one hand, when Jie Li came running towards them, as pale as the Moon.
“Lord Changheng!” – she approached them, and bowed briefly to her sister. “Dongfang Qingcang is not well, Shang Que asked me to come get you” – she said bluntly to Changheng.
Before she could continue, the man was on his way to where he knew his husband would be accompanied by his dragon servant.
The two women looked at each other and followed a few paces behind in silence.
Upon entering the room, Changheng found Dongfang Qingcang sitting on the bed, one hand resting on the mattress while trying to push Sang Que – who was leaning over him subtly – away with the other.
In seconds he was already on his knees at his husband's feet, both hands resting on his thighs, staring at him in silence as if looking for some answer written on the face of the Moon Supreme, who kept his eyes closed as if he expected everyone around him to disappear if he wished hard enough.
“He fainted” – Shang Que said, breaking the aura of silence that enveloped them. Changheng glanced at him briefly, then looked back at his husband.
“I brought him here and asked Jie Li to fetch you, my lord” – the dragon continued, but before he could say anything more, a noise coming from outside the room caught their attention.
Dongfang Xunfeng's voice could be heard, and he didn't seem to be in a good mood. Danyin and Jie Li audibly tried to stop him from entering the room as Xunfeng's voice grew more irritated.
Dongfang Qingcang took a deep breath and opened his eyes. He faced Changheng and made an orderly request.
“Go outside and try to control them” – adding a silent please with his eyes. “Tell Xunfeng I'm fine and I'll see him later. I don't want to talk to anyone else right now."
Changheng didn't question, he just got up and looked at his husband and headed to the outside of the room, where he went to add to the already excited voices.
Shang Que remained beside his master, restless and trying to find the courage to say what was going through his mind. Dongfang Qingcang, however, was out of patience.
“If you have something to say, say it soon or stop that noise your head makes when you try to think that loud” – said the Moon Supreme, rubbing his face with the hand he had previously used to push the dragon away.
“Well, my lord…” Shang Que started and stopped for a few seconds, but upon his master's impatient gaze, he continued, after clearing his throat. “My lord has fainted” – another pause, in which Dongfang Qingcang began to breathe heavily, causing the other man to continue. “And you have been sleeping more these days, getting up later, and there was that incident the day Xiao Lanhua left…”
“Cut to the point, Shang Que, if there is one.” Qingcang already had his eyes lowered, with no interest in the direction this conversation seemed to be taking.
“These are pregnancy symptoms.”
After a few seconds of silence between the two of them, the dragon really seemed to have concluded his argument and Dongfang Qingcang couldn't help but stare at him with an arched eyebrow, making it clear that what he had said made no sense at all.
“These are symptoms of pregnancy, sir.” – Shang Que repeated, as if to make himself clearer. Qingcang took another deep breath and prepared to get up from the bed and put Shang Que out of the room, right in the middle of the argument between Changheng and his brother, which was still going on outside, but before he could complete the move, the dragon continued. “You could be pregnant”.
Dongfang Qingcang was so taken aback by these words that a slight tremor made him sit down on the bed again.
“Have you completely lost your mind, Shang Que?” – it was the first thing he thought and he didn't worry about any filter at that moment.
Shang Que approached the bed again, cautiously, almost like someone trying to get close to a wild animal or a skittish creature, and placed a hand on his master's shoulder.
"I know it's not an ordinary thing, but you're not an ordinary man either."
Before Qingcang could retort, the sound of someone being pushed against a wall outside startled the two men. Changheng and Xunfeng's voices were already high-pitched screams now.
Dongfang Qingcang decided that this was the cue to try to end this all at once.
“Go out there and end this fight before I do it myself” – he said in an imperative tone.
Shang Que immediately stepped back and bowed to his master, preparing to go out and carry out his orders. But first, Qingcang warned him:
“And don’t repeat that nonsense to anyone else, understand?” – he didn't have the courage to face his friend, but he knew that Shang Que would obey.
Alone in the room, at least for the time being, Dongfang Qingcang strangely replayed the dragon's words in his mind, trying to convince himself of their sheer absurdity. The knowledge that it was rare but possible for men to get pregnant was something so far removed from his interests that it had been buried in the depths of his mind, in his sea of oblivion. Suddenly, all the – little – information he had on the subject was hammering in his head relentlessly and all at the same time.
“Rare cases”.
"Use of a large amount of spiritual energy."
"Both parents must have spiritual energy at a high level, and even then there is no guarantee that it will work."
“It is very dangerous for those who are going to bear the child”.
He closed his eyes for a while, for as much as the confusion outside was controlled by his faithful servant. In a few moments, Changheng would walk through that door and he would face the uphill battle of convincing his husband that everything was fine, and that there was nothing to worry about. It was the first time that Qingcang wished that he was still imprisoned in the Haotian Tower.
It was night when Changheng reluctantly told Qingcang that he needed to leave to say goodbye to Danyin, who had apparently been hastily called back to Shuiyuntian.
The Moon Supreme assured the other man that he would be fine and he could go and say goodbye to his friend. Taking advantage of his husband's brief absence, Qingcang sent for Jie Li to immediately come to his chambers.
She was bowing in front of him in a matter of moments, nervous as ever at being called into the presence of the Supreme Moon, who wasted no time as he wanted to resolve this matter with Jie Li before Changheng returned.
“I want you to tell me everything you know about male pregnancies” – he got straight to the point, and if Jie Li was taken aback by the question, widening her eyes for a split second, she soon composed herself, placing a hand on her chin as if pulling some hidden knowledge from memory.
“They're not very common,” she said, factually. “And they don't happen without magical intervention,” she added.
They were both silent for a few seconds, Jie Li waiting for Qingcang to continue.
“And have you ever seen it happen?” – he asked, trying to maintain a calm and disinterested posture, but subtly failing.
“Well” – Jie Li continued, pacing the room as she spoke. “I've seen men interested in it happening. Some came to me in search of potions or pills that would make them capable of bearing a child” – she stopped as if she was taken by some memory passing before her eyes. “But like I said, it's very unusual. And it involves powerful magic.”
Qingcang was watching her closely now, with undisguised interest.
“But that never stopped you from selling those pills and potions, I bet” – he teased, with an arched eyebrow and looking towards Jie Li.
She just smiled shyly.
“But why the sudden interest?” – she tried to change the focus of the conversation. “My Lord is not thinking of…”
“Of course not” – Dongfang Qingcang bluntly cut in. “It was that husband of yours who was talking nonsense and made me curious” – he continued, crossing his arms in front of his chest, and turning his back to Jie Li, who was watching him intently.
Turning sharply after a few seconds of stillness, Qingcang asked at once, keeping in mind that Changheng would soon return and he didn't want the other man to hear even a single snippet of that conversation.
“And how would a man know if he was… pregnant ?” He arched both eyebrows, the word still awkward on his tongue, heavy. “Is there any way to… I don't know, figure this out?”
Jie Li couldn't contain a small smile. Seeing the Moon Supreme asking something that any woman knows the answer to as if it’s some dark and obscure knowledge drawn from the depths of some ancient and secret book.
"Yes, my lord." – she said simply, still with the trace of a smile on her lips. "The same way a woman would find out."
Dongfang Qingcang understood that the realization should be obvious, but he didn't have the time to fall for Jie Li's games.
“And how would that be?” – He asked, already impatient.
“With a potion.”
The answer made the Moon Supreme take a deep breath.
“I don't have time for your miracle potions, Jie Li” – he said, turning his back to her again.
“No, it's not one of mine” – Jie Li quickly corrected. "It's a potion of common knowledge, every woman knows how to make it."
Qingcang wanted to ask once and for all what he wanted to know, but he was afraid. If he was too direct with Jie Li, she might suspect something, something that clearly wasn't happening , but…
“I can prepare one for you, sir, if you want” – she said in a lower tone, and Qingcang, lost in his little reverie, hadn't even noticed that she had gotten so close that she was speaking next to his shoulder.
He stared at her with wide eyes, taken aback.
"Who said it's for me?" - He stammered, without much confidence in his words.
Jie Li decided to play with danger once more, and she smiled. Qingcang pulled away from her, tension visible in his shoulders. He passed one of his hands over his face, and as if in a gesture of surrender, he asked:
“How long can you make it?” – he said, without looking at Jie Li.
She seemed to ponder for a few seconds.
“Since I don't have everything I need here at the palace, I would say I need a week” – she said, in an almost professional tone, arms crossed behind her back.
Dongfang Qingcang slowly approached her, stopping a few inches away and tilting his face down to look her in the eyes.
“You have two days.”
And before she could argue, Jie Li was being gently ushered out of the Supreme Moon's chambers.
In two days, there would be a conference with Moon Tribe leaders. Dongfang Qingcang would ask his brother to go in his place, representing him. But he wouldn't say that to Changheng. And he would count on Shang Que to distract the former god of war outside the Palace for a few hours. He would then call Jie Li to come in with her stupid potion and put that crazy idea out of his head once and for all. And he would think of some way to punish Shang Que for saying something so absurd. Not that he's shaken by the idea, because he knows it's a… preposterous idea. But Shang Que deserves a punishment, without a doubt. And Jie Li too, don't think he didn't notice the little smirks.
Two days later, after saying goodbye to Changheng before leaving for a conference with Lunar Tribe leaders – which he never attended – and returning to his chambers when Shang Que confirmed that he was taking the fairy to accompany him on a safety inspection around the North Sea, Dongfang Qingcang was anxiously awaiting the arrival of Jie Li, who soon appeared before him with a small bowl in hand.
She didn't say anything as she handed him the container of clear liquid, which he took with slightly trembling hands. He brought the liquid to his nose and inhaled, but there was no odor strong enough for him to recognize, just a profusion of assorted herbs. He gulped, preparing to down the potion in a single gulp, but before he could bring it to his lips, he felt Jie Li's hand touch his arm, and he was startled by the audacity of the act before he understood the meaning of what was going on.
“No, my lord, it is not for drinking!” – She informed him, with a little fear on her face.
“What do I do with it then?” – he asked, still a bit lost in his actions.
Forty minutes and a few cups of tea later, in complete and utter silence, Dongfang Qingcang slowly rose to his feet, arranging his robe in one graceful motion, picked up the bowl that rested between where he and Jie Li were sitting, facing one another, and went to the bathroom.
Jie Li watched everything without saying a word, without moving, hardly breathing. The Moon Supreme entered the compartment and the room seemed to have stopped in time, everything suspended in the air for the minutes it took until his voice broke the silence of the place.
"Ready" – he said from inside the bathroom, catching her attention as she approached just a little closer to the door to hear better. "And now?"
It took Jie Li a few seconds to respond, but when she spoke, she made sure to use a pitch that was loud enough for Dongfang Qingcang to hear, though without shouting.
“If the liquid doesn't change color, the person is not pregnant” – she didn't know why her heart was beating so fast. "If it turns red, it's because they are."
What followed in the next few minutes was an even more overwhelming silence, and even Jie Li couldn't muster the strength to ask anything. She could only wait until Dongfang Qingcang decided to come out of the bathroom and say something. He'd probably send her away, and hopefully she'd make it out of there in one piece. Actually, Jie Li knew that she should seize this opportunity to go out, because maybe there was no other. But something held her there, a strange feeling that she shouldn't leave Dongfang Qingcang alone.
Inside the bathing compartment, the Moon Supreme stared in astonishment at the scarlet liquid that glowed inside a small bowl in front of him.