Doctor Lu Always Wants To Steal My Baby! Chapter 35
byChapter 35 The Birth Father
“The Emperor has his concerns, but allowing you to participate in the martial exhibition means he has already agreed to our request. All that’s left is whether you can win the top prize.”
“Cousin, you definitely can win, I believe in you!”
The meal was going well when Chu Yunqi popped up and handed He Chen a bright red Blood God Flower, urging him to prepare for the competition.
He Chen hadn’t expected this and was quite reluctant: “I’m helping Leyan eat.”
Chu Yunqi glanced at He Leyan, who had just forked a shrimp roll and was placing it on He Chen’s plate: “…Who is helping whom?”
“Ahem, my hands aren’t very flexible for certain tasks, you know.” He Chen said.
Chu Yunqi did not know. If his hands weren’t flexible, was that mechanical butterfly made by a dog?
Actually, the way He Chen’s eyes sparkled, he really did look like a happy little dog.
Chu Yunqi had this thought, then quickly chased it away: What the heck.
“Anyway, get ready. Once the remaining nine candidates are selected, you’ll draw lots and enter the arena.”
The Blood God Martial Exhibition champion has always been allowed to make one request. If he won… He Chen recalled the words Lu Changqing had reminded him of back home.
He pondered for a moment, then nodded, raising his eyes to look into the hall. Lu Changqing had anticipated that Chu Yunqi would speak up for him, but had he also anticipated Chu Yunqi bringing up this exhibition?
It was highly likely, since Lu Changqing had tidied his mental domain before they set off.
His heart must be deeper than the ocean…
Inside the hall, Lu Changqing was also looking toward the outside, answering Elder Fang’s question: “He enrolled in the Wuchen year, so he should have been born in the Gengxu year.”
“I heard he was born in the same year as that older brother of his in the He family, He what’s-his-name Yuan?” Elder Fang asked, looking in He Chen’s direction.
“The same year.” Lu Changqing withdrew his gaze and looked at Elder Fang. “Why do you ask?”
“Nothing, nothing.” Elder Fang chuckled. “Can’t an old man be a little gossipy?”
“Of course.” Lu Changqing smiled.
In fact, Elder Fang was paying extra attention to He Chen.
The world in Lu Changqing’s eyes was different from that of ordinary people. After breaking through to SS-level mental domain, the world seemed to unfold a chasm before him. In the same hall, during the same conversation, the information he gathered was not just the surface back-and-forth, but also the underlying emotional fluctuations, mental focus, and even nascent intentions.
Even before Chu Yunqi mentioned He Chen, Elder Fang was already observing him—a mental focus that only Lu Changqing could perceive.
However, since Elder Fang was being discreet, Lu Changqing didn’t press the matter and looked toward the official who had come to announce the results.
The ten participants for the competition had been selected. Besides He Chen, He Siyuan of the He family was also prominently listed.
Hearing He Siyuan’s name, Lu Changqing sensed an emotional fluctuation and glanced at Consort He.
He saw her lips drop slightly.
Was this intentional on her part?
“Reporting to Your Majesty, He Siyuan claims he is in a period of riot and is unable to participate in the competition. He also said that Dean Lu can testify.” The official continued his report.
The Emperor looked at Lu Changqing.
“He is indeed undergoing treatment.” Lu Changqing confirmed.
“Then find a replacement,” the Emperor said.
“Xia Zhenye of the Xia family is willing to fight on behalf of He Siyuan,” the official reported again.
“Oh?” The Emperor looked at the patriarchs of the He and Xia families. “Your in-laws seem to get along well. Granted!”
The Emperor said, watching the official leave, then inquired about the Xia family patriarch: “I heard your nephew was murdered. Have you found anything?”
“Reporting to Your Majesty, not yet.” A look of dejection flashed across the Xia family patriarch’s face.
“Tell the Patrol Bureau to send more men and find the culprit soon.”
“Yes, thank you, Your Majesty. We will surely find them.”
…
“Changqing,” the Emperor was discussing them, and Elder Fang pulled Lu Changqing aside for a quiet word. “That He Siyuan, did you treat him?”
“Yes.”
“What is his mental avatar?”
“Elder Fang is interested in that too?” Lu Changqing asked casually.
“The banquet is boring. I’m curious,” Elder Fang replied.
“It’s an ape-monkey type.” Lu Changqing satisfied his “curiosity.”
“Ape-monkey type? That’s uncommon. What element?”
“Metal element.”
Metal element… Elder Fang narrowed his eyes.
Although intermarriage inevitably made bloodlines more mixed with each generation, the major aristocratic families intentionally controlled this, carefully screening partners for marriage and childbirth. For example, the He family prided itself on the Snow Wolf, prioritizing ice-element attributes or wolf-type mental avatars when selecting subordinates or “tent companions.”
Of course, this wasn’t absolute.
The ice element was stronger than the standard five elements (Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth) and less common. Wolf-type mental avatars, even ordinary wolves, were among the best companion beasts and were not numerous.
The He family’s vast influence could not rely solely on this small number of elites.
Perhaps He Siyuan’s birth father was just a military officer unrelated to either, who was somehow chosen by He Yayun.
It was a plausible explanation—if Elder Fang hadn’t met another He family officer who bore a three-to-five-point resemblance to He Chen and whose mental avatar was also a wolf.
That old friend who saved his life and then vanished without a trace…
A military officer and a rebel’s son, two fathers, two children, facing vastly different treatment…
Elder Fang was deep in thought, and Lu Changqing, observing him, suddenly had a flicker of something in his own eyes.
At this moment, the first round of the martial exhibition had ended. The remaining five people began the second round. He Chen’s opponent was not very strong; he finished first. Along with Shen Xian, who finished shortly after, and Xia Zhenye, who received a bye, they entered the third round.
Shen Xian winked at He Chen: “Rival in love? He’s coming for you.”
There was no “love” involved. But He Chen happily accepted the hostility from this Xia family heir, who was He Siyuan’s older brother-in-law.
“Be careful. He may look crude, but his strength is considerable. He’s earth element, naturally possessing immense power,” Shen Xian whispered a warning.
The Xia family had been unlucky, failing to produce any promising figures for two consecutive generations, and had been declining. They had only slightly recovered their footing by deeply binding themselves to the He family in recent years. However, Xia Zhenye was quite strong; he had once held the top spot on the First Military Academy’s combat ranking and was the Xia family’s “new hope.”
“The stronger, the better,” He Chen said with a smirk, stepping into the circular arena.
In his mental domain, the Snow Wolf sensed He Chen’s fighting spirit, stood up from the snowfield, pushed off with its front paws, its body taut with excitement, yet its eyes glowed with calm, cold light. It looked at the opponent through He Chen’s eyes, like a fully drawn bow, ready to pounce at any moment.
However, the exhibition before the Emperor was meant to stop short of serious injury, and the use of weapons or companion beasts was forbidden.
He Chen suppressed the Snow Wolf’s agitation, but his person merged with its excitement and calm. The instant Xia Zhenye’s straight punch arrived, He Chen tilted his head slightly, his arm shooting out like a phantom, delivering a palm strike to the inner side of Xia Zhenye’s elbow joint.
The nerve bundle was precisely struck, causing the arm to go numb and the attack to stall. Xia Zhenye glared angrily at He Chen.
A boring trick! If he were wearing battle armor, let him try hitting his weak points!
The moment Xia Zhenye glared, He Chen struck again, his right fist hitting the side of Xia Zhenye’s neck.
“Nice tickle!”
Xia Zhenye took the punch head-on, his expression turning somewhat savage. He began a furious assault, a relentless barrage of combination punches and sweeps covering the entire arena.
He Leyan clenched his small fists.
He Chen and Xia Zhenye were moving too fast. He could only see their blurred shadows and had to ask Chu Yunqi beside him: “Is my dad better, or is that person better? Did my dad get hit?”
He had heard people nearby discussing that his dad’s opponent had great strength.
“No, your dad hasn’t even had a corner of his clothes touched.” Chu Yunqi laughed cheerfully, glancing at He Siyuan at the next table. “He Siyuan, your substitute isn’t very effective, is he?”
He Siyuan’s expression remained unchanged, but Xia Xue looked strained—that was her biological brother!
He Yayun, sitting alone at a table, looked at Chu Yunqi: “Your Highness, you should call Siyuan Cousin.”
“Yes, Aunt.” Chu Yunqi smiled again. “Aunt, you are so composed because the one being played around in the arena is ‘fortunately not’ Cousin Siyuan, right?”
His meaning was clear, and He Yayun understood.
She would never indulge him or follow his line of thought. Instead, she coldly turned her head and drank a cup of wine.
Her gaze swept over the arena, but she unconsciously squeezed her palm for a moment.
He Chen’s fighting figure unexpectedly reminded her of that person. That cold, stubborn scoundrel who dared to disobey her and look down on her!
He Yayun tightened her grip and drank another cup of wine.
“Being played around” certainly described Xia Zhenye at the moment.
Xia Zhenye’s advantage was strength; he preferred to directly and simply crush his opponents. He had always been confident in his defense, but He Chen seemed to have an exceptional understanding of human anatomy. He could always strike Xia Zhenye’s nodes—those points that caused sharp pain, paralysis, or affected movement—with unexpected cunning.
Xia Zhenye certainly wouldn’t know what kind of experiments a child who grew up wandering and needing to fight enemies to protect himself had conducted on his own body, or what kind of painstaking effort he had put into mastering these “points.”
He only felt that He Chen’s moves were too despicable!
His eyes were bloodshot, his rationality gradually consumed by rage. Finally, He Chen exposed a clear “flaw” during a change of stance. Xia Zhenye seized the opportunity, leaped high, gathered his strength in his right fist, and hammered down with the speed and ferocity of a falling meteorite, aiming for He Chen.
Everyone thought He Chen would dodge.
Just as he had been doing all along.
Unexpectedly, He Chen did not retreat. Instead, he stepped forward, meeting Xia Zhenye. The instant Xia Zhenye’s right fist reached his head, He Chen’s alloy right hand shot out like lightning, grabbing Xia Zhenye’s wrist. His left hand simultaneously pressed down on Xia Zhenye’s elbow, and his body suddenly sank and rotated!
Timing, angle, and force—a force no weaker than Xia Zhenye’s! The three combined perfectly. Xia Zhenye could neither avoid nor change his move. His entire body, driven by the immense momentum and impact of his own right fist, was slammed heavily onto the bluestone floor like a sack of rocks.
A bone-cracking sound echoed. Chu Yunqi clicked his tongue, happily sipped his wine, and didn’t forget to fill He Leyan’s glass with juice, clinking cups with him.
Half of Xia Zhenye’s face was bruised. He struggled to stand up from the ground, his entire right arm twisted backward at an unnatural angle.
The murmurs from the audience grew louder.
“Looks like our top ranker is more solid than your academy’s top ranker, Senior,” Shen Xian mocked, as if afraid Xia Zhenye’s face wasn’t dark enough.
Xia Zhenye’s eyes blazed with fury, but he ultimately restrained himself. He suppressed his violence, glanced at He Chen, and after the referee announced the result, he turned and stormed away.
Seeing him walk back with that look in his eyes, Fang Wenzhuo, who was sitting next to Xia Kai and tending to his meal, turned pale, lowered his head, and his hands trembled nervously.
Only Shen Xian and He Chen remained in the arena.
“Mostly for show, you understand?” Shen Xian whispered to He Chen, negotiating.
He Chen raised an eyebrow. Before he could speak, Shen Xian abruptly attacked.
“Bastard.” He Chen countered with an almost smile. Both men struck cleanly and quickly, engaging in rapid close combat.
With their excellent physiques and handsome looks, and their moves being both broad and swift as lightning, their close-quarters fight was truly pleasing to the eye, possessing top-tier “spectacle.” Everyone in the hall, led by the Emperor, watched with full attention.
When Shen Xian lost narrowly to He Chen in a way that preserved his dignity, even the Emperor called out, “Good!”
“That Shen family boy is good. Reward him for me,” the Emperor said happily.
Shen Wenyao, the Shen family patriarch, quickly and joyfully thanked the Emperor on Shen Xian’s behalf.
“He is good. This adopted son of Shen Xingzhou is more promising than the Shen family’s legitimate descendants,” someone below whispered mockingly.
Shen Wenyao, whose ears were sharp, heard the comment but showed no anger. He looked at Xia Yuan, the Xia family patriarch: “I wonder how Zhenye is. His injury looked serious.”
Xia Yuan suppressed his anger: “No need for Brother Wenyao to worry.”
He then seemed to let his anger boil over, speaking his mind: “He is the son of a rebel, after all. Brutality is in his genes. Zhenye is his sister-in-law’s biological brother, yet he struck with such viciousness.”
Son of a rebel… The Emperor narrowed his eyes for a moment, the relaxed look on his face fading.
Elder Fang, next to the imperial seat, suddenly spoke: “Vicious? Patriarch Xia is being too hypocritical. If Xia Zhenye’s punch had landed, who would be the vicious one?”
Lu Changqing’s body, which had just straightened, relaxed slightly again. He remained silent, letting Elder Fang continue:
“Your Majesty, speaking of brutality, this subject has heard that Xia Zhenye is brave and strong, and loves to spar with others. His subordinates who are less skilled and are forced to fight when General Xia is in the mood often end up crippled.
“This kind of brave gene, I suppose it must have come from Patriarch Xia?”
The Emperor looked at his godfather with some surprise, then smoothed things over for Xia Yuan: “Teacher, you exaggerate. Children of military families are naturally impulsive and warlike, but if the restlessness goes too far, they should indeed be restrained.”
The latter half of the sentence was directed at Xia Yuan.
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Xia Yuan bowed his head, answering with suppressed resentment.
“Your Majesty is right, children of military families are prone to impulsiveness. Patriarch Xia shouldn’t call Chen’er brutal. Even Chen’er’s older brother, Siyuan, who usually looks so refined, can’t control himself when he loses his temper,” Consort He suddenly interjected with a charming smile.
“Your Majesty, my family told me that once Siyuan returned from the military and was in a bad mood for some reason. A young maid served him tea, and he said the water was too hot. He forced the girl to soak both her hands in the boiling water so she would remember what ‘hot’ felt like. And that’s just one incident—”
“Cough!” He Hongyi coughed heavily, wondering what madness had seized his sister now.
Elder Fang glanced at Consort He, deep in thought, while Lu Changqing picked up his teacup and took a small sip of tea.
Consort He stopped, looking at the Emperor with a mix of coquetry and grievance: Your Majesty, your subject is preventing your woman from speaking.
However, she knew when to stop and changed the subject: “It’s fortunate Siyuan wasn’t participating today. Alas, they say his mental power has been in a period of riot for quite some time. My sister has been worried about him.”
“But with such unstable mental power, why does he insist on being Leyan’s godfather? If he simply loves Leyan, isn’t being Leyan’s uncle enough?”
This remark was truly a dagger drawn, inviting speculation.
No matter how thick-skinned He Hongyi was, he couldn’t help but explain: “It’s just that the family loves Leyan too much and doesn’t trust outsiders.”
“Enough.” The Emperor glanced at him, then lazily looked away. “Summon He Chen to enter, and bring the child. I want to see the father and son.”
*
The competition ended, and He Chen walked back to the banquet. He Leyan was already standing. Seeing He Chen approach, the child rushed toward him and hugged his thigh.
“What’s wrong?” He Chen was startled and bent down to pick him up.
The child didn’t want to be held, though. He looked up at He Chen, his big eyes full of worry: “Are you hurt?”
“No.” He Chen squatted down, his voice softening slightly, but quickly becoming firm again to maintain his mighty image. “How could Dad get hurt? You saw the match. Was Dad awesome?”
“Awesome!” He Leyan nodded seriously and without hesitation. “Super awesome!”
He Chen’s lips curved high. This joy was genuine and irrepressible. He scooped the cub up, bouncing him in the air. He Leyan was both scared and delighted, wrapping his arms tightly around He Chen’s neck, his own lips unable to stop smiling.
“Cough!” Seeing the father and son getting endlessly affectionate, Chu Yunqi couldn’t help but interrupt. “Cousin, hurry up. The Emperor is waiting to see you.”
As he spoke, he pulled out a piece of paper covered in writing: “I picked these out. They are all good requests.”
He Chen glanced at the paper and couldn’t help but look up at Chu Yunqi.
“What is it?”
“Nothing. Your handwriting is good.” He Chen felt a pang of sympathy for this guy—for half a second.
Just then, the imperial decree arrived. He Chen heard that Leyan was also required to go. He frowned for a moment, set Leyan down, tidied his clothes, gave him a few instructions, and tightly held his large hand, walking toward the inner hall.