I've Got This Cannon Fodder Trope Covered!

Chapter 55

Since the incident with her eldest daughter last year, Madam Jiang had become accustomed to the bitterness of this medicine.

Wei Heng sighed softly, his gaze resting on his wife's weary face.

After dinner, Madam Jiang let her hair down. As the mother of two beauties, Wei Hanzhang and Wei Hanyue, Madam Jiang was naturally blessed with exquisite features. Even though she was in her thirties and had endured significant hardship, her beauty had hardly faded. Under the lamplight, she looked like jade, a vision that could enchant any onlooker.

Lying back down, Madam Jiang gently advised, "This morning, I heard from Shen Shi that Cheng'er seems to be unwell. You should go and check on him, my lord."

After a moment of silence, Wei Heng replied, "Madam is unwell as well. I'll stay with you."

...

The couple lay quietly side by side in bed. The room was pitch dark. The early summer moonlight was faint, offering little illumination but enough to hide their expressions in the darkness.

Madam Jiang's breathing was steady, but Wei Heng knew his wife was not truly asleep.

The physician had said her excessive worry had deprived her of restful sleep, which did not bode well for longevity.

Over the years, they had always shared the same bed, treating each other with respect and distance. But tonight, Wei Heng suddenly felt he could no longer endure the silence.

He reached an arm under her neck and placed his other hand gently on her back, rhythmically patting it, which gradually turned into a tender caress.

Then, holding her cheek with one hand, he leaned down and kissed her.

Madam Jiang abruptly turned her head, placing a hand against his chest, her voice tinged with surprise, "My lord, the physician just mentioned a few days ago that I am currently unfit for... marital relations."

In the darkness, Wei Heng paused, remaining silent for a long while before finally saying, "Alright."

His voice, tinged with hoarseness unique to desire, made Madam Jiang sigh in relief, though she couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. "Is it that the concubines haven't been serving you well? Tomorrow, I'll arrange for a few younger ones..."

"Madam, save your thoughts," Wei Heng gently stroked her thin, frail back, feeling both tenderness and frustration. "Just sleep."

The woman in his arms was indeed far too thin. Ever since their eldest daughter's incident, she had rapidly withered away within the span of less than a year.

Yet, Wei Heng could still recall the first time he saw his wife.

She was the eldest daughter of the Zhongshu Ling family, highly regarded for her virtuous nature in the capital. When his mother proposed the match, he hadn't even met her.

After the marriage was arranged, they became engaged, and he visited her family's residence, inviting her out for a stroll.

Back then, she was a bright young girl, radiant and lovely, standing beneath a blossoming apricot tree, her smile gentle and serene.

There was a stirring in his chest at that moment, as if something inside him had awakened, but he had thought nothing of it at the time.

He already had a maidservant by his side since childhood, who he had taken in as a concubine. Having thought himself familiar with the ways of love, he didn't place much significance on the brief moment of affection.

After their marriage, she indeed lived up to her reputation, dignified and serene, gentle and virtuous. Within a month, she had raised his chambermaid to the status of a concubine, and he hadn't refused. At that time, he'd thought to himself how his mother's choice was impeccable—his wife was not only beautiful but also virtuous.