Infinity, The Arcade Age

Having settled an old score, Qin Ming felt utterly refreshed.

With his hands clasped behind his back and his belly slightly puffed out, he swaggered back onto the flagship, walking in a slow and deliberate square step.

Pushing open the door, he strolled into the cabin.

Inside, Sun Shangxiang, the leader of the fleet, was still lounging in her chair, legs propped up on the table, eyes closed as she relaxed.

She barely cracked an eye open when she saw Qin Ming enter before immediately shutting it again.

"What, went to cause trouble for your old superior? You really couldn't wait even a moment, huh? The second you get some power, you rush off to take revenge—truly the behavior of a petty man who just got lucky."

Qin Ming scoffed. "A man lives for his pride, just as a Buddha is worshiped through incense. Only so-called gentlemen say things like 'revenge is best served ten years later.' That's nonsense. The fact that I didn't strangle him on the spot already proves I've got self-control."

Sun Shangxiang, who had already heard all about Qin Ming's experiences since boarding the ship, couldn't help but smirk.

Seeing Qin Ming walk over and take a seat beside her, she suddenly jiggled her leg.

"Sitting down? What for? Come on, give me a leg massage."

"What the hell? I'm the Captain of the Personal Guard now!"

"I don't care what captain you are—you still work under me. What, you don't like it? You gonna strangle me too?"

Sun Shangxiang's taunting words made Qin Ming roll his eyes.

Being under someone else's command, he had no choice but to grudgingly comply, shuffling over at a snail's pace.

He had come to realize that Sun Shangxiang's personality was actually quite similar to his own—petty, vindictive, and absolutely unable to swallow any grievances.

She had clearly taken her defeat in their duel very personally, and now every word out of her mouth was dripping with sarcasm, practically flaunting her authority in his face.

As Qin Ming sat there with a sour expression, grinding his teeth while kneading her legs like he was wringing out dough, Sun Shangxiang herself was clearly also struggling—her hands gripped the armrests in a death grip, her face twitching as she stubbornly refused to pull her legs back.

At that moment, the sound of footsteps echoed nearby.

It was Liu Adou, who had been playing with his nanny the whole time, now suddenly waddling over.

He stared at Qin Ming's furious kneading and Sun Shangxiang's grimacing expression for a long moment.

Then, with a bright, cheerful grin, the little boy spoke up.

"Hey! I want a massage too! Soldier, you have to massage my legs next!"

Already brimming with frustration, Qin Ming's eyes widened at those words.

Without even thinking, he smacked Liu Adou on the back of the head.

"Massage, my ass! You think you're somebody? If you don't shut up, I'll twist your little head right off!"

"WAAAHHH!!!"

Liu Adou immediately burst into loud, wailing sobs, sending his nanny into a panic as she rushed over, scooped him up, and fled the scene while frantically trying to console him.

Meanwhile, Sun Shangxiang, who had just been gritting her teeth through the pain, suddenly snapped her eyes wide open.

Grabbing an apple from the table, she hurled it straight at Qin Ming's head.

"Who the hell do you think you're hitting?! You do realize he's my godson, don't you?! His head's already not working right, and you go smacking him in the skull?! What if you made it worse?!"

Qin Ming, now with an apple-shaped red mark on his forehead, sulked and pursed his lips.

Sun Shangxiang, meanwhile, yanked her legs back with a sharp hiss, rubbing them with both hands to ease the soreness.

Then she glared daggers at Qin Ming again.

"My husband only has one son! If you knock any more sense out of his head, he'll have your hide!"

Hearing this, Qin Ming paused for a moment, then furrowed his brows in confusion.

"…So, Adou really isn't very bright, huh?"

"No shit! Does he look smart to you?"

"But how did he end up like this? Was it malnutrition?"

"No one really knows. Some say it happened when Zhao Yun was charging through Cao Cao's million-man army with him, since he had to stuff him inside his armor. Others say it's because my husband dropped him when he was little. Either way, he's been slow in the head since birth."

Turning to look at Liu Adou, who had already stopped crying, now happily playing in another room without a single care in the world, Sun Shangxiang let out a long, weary sigh.

Sun Shangxiang let out a long sigh, leaning back into her chair and tilting her head up to stare at the ceiling. "Ugh… And he's supposed to be the next ruler of Shu? Shu is finished…"

Qin Ming, sensing some juicy gossip, immediately inched closer, his eyes wide with curiosity. "Hey, Sun Shangxiang—"

"Watch your mouth! Call me Madam!"

"Alright, alright, Madam Sun, can I ask you something? If Adou really isn't that bright, why didn't Lord Liu just have another kid?"

At those words, Sun Shangxiang's eyes widened sharply, and she snapped her head toward him. She locked eyes with Qin Ming for two full seconds before her lips twitched, and she suddenly whipped her head away.

"…No reason. He just didn't want to."

"Tsk, who are you trying to fool? Come on, it's just the two of us here—spill it!"

"I said he didn't want to! What would I lie for?! And let me remind you—that's my husband you're talking about! Your lord and ruler! You'd better watch your mouth if you don't want to die!"

"But I'm part of your faction now! A soldier of Wu! What's wrong with me asking? And besides, the way you're dodging the question… could it be your fault?"

"What the hell do you mean my fault?! What does this have to do with me? When I married him, he was already over forty! And he was always going on about how his 'second brother is unrivaled in the world'—how was I supposed to know which second brother he was talking about?! And on top of that, I was furious back then! How was I supposed to know he was so fragile?!"

Qin Ming had only casually thrown out the question, but Sun Shangxiang instantly exploded. She grabbed every piece of fruit and even the entire tray from the table and hurled them at him, forcing Qin Ming to frantically raise his arms in defense.

And as she pelted him, she was still yelling furiously. "They didn't ask for my opinion before arranging the marriage! They didn't ask for my opinion before the wedding! Now his body can't handle it, and somehow it's my fault?! With how weak he was, the fact that I didn't kill him outright should already be considered mercy!"

"Hey, hey! It's fine if you're mad, but why are you hitting me?!"

"Because you keep asking dumb questions! Always snuggling up to his sworn brothers, three whole years without setting foot in my chamber once! He doesn't have an heir, and somehow I'm the one to blame?! Like I'm his only wife?!"

Once she had thrown everything within reach, Sun Shangxiang plopped back down into her chair, crossing her arms and stewing in anger.

Deep down, she knew… she couldn't really blame Shu's people for resenting her.

After all, Liu Bei was already in his forties, having poured every last drop of his energy into restoring the Han Dynasty. And then he got dragged into this political marriage, only to be thrown into the hands of Sun Shangxiang and her fully armored squad of over thirty female guards, who tormented him relentlessly for months.

Sure, at the time, he was definitely enjoying himself—so much so that he forgot all about returning to Shu. But afterward…? He had to pay the price.

If he had the option, if he had any choice at all, there was no way Liu Bei wouldn't want another child. But after returning to Shu, he just didn't have it in him anymore.

Forget having kids—Liu Bei, a man who had once been utterly devoted to his cause, barely even spent time with his wives after that. Especially when it came to Sun Shangxiang—maybe he had trauma from that period, but ever since they returned to Shu, he never dared set foot in her chambers again.

In the past few years, he had literally spent more nights sharing a bed with his sworn brothers than he had with his own wives. At this point, he had completely transformed into a workaholic…