Pregnancy Brain Lasts Three Years

The news of Castorice's pregnancy again was like a sweet depth charge dropped on the calm surface of the Primordial Data Federation lake, causing ripples to spread rapidly.

Although no official announcement has been made yet, an atmosphere of unspoken joy and tension has already permeated the central palace of the Morning Star.

Lu Jingheng immediately updated the relevant files in the federal core database and raised the priority of the "Special Care Plan for the Pregnancy of the Governor's Wife" to second only to "Responding to Her Highness the Princess's Sudden Ideas".

As for Castorice herself, who was at the center of the incident, after the initial surprise and shyness, she quickly experienced what it meant to be "pregnant and stupid for three years" - although with her constitution and Luo Li's care, this "stupidity" was more reflected in the mental level and occasional confusion.

Early morning, at the family dining room.

Luo Li had just finished a morning communication with a diplomat from a distant galaxy when he entered the restaurant and saw Castorice staring blankly at a cup of hot drink on the table.

The color of that drink... was very peculiar.

The top layer is milky white, the middle layer is pale purple, and the bottom layer is a kind of luminous green. The three are not mixed, and the layers are clearly separated like a cocktail. It also exudes a complex aroma that is a mixture of floral, milky and faint herbal scents.

"Castorice, what is this...?"

Luo Li pulled out a chair and sat down, gazing at the "work of art" in the glass.

Castorice snapped out of her daze, blinked her somewhat bewildered purple eyes, and pointed at the cup. "Breakfast supplement—made according to the prenatal supplement formula that Ms. Ruan Mei left behind during her last visit."

She paused, then added softly, "It's just... I don't quite remember... the order in which I put the ingredients in... was it 'Star Marrow Pollen' or 'Moonlit Grass Juice' first?"

Luo Li glanced at the layered liquid in the glass, then at his wife's somewhat uncertain expression, and understood.

He reached out to check the temperature of the cup, then scanned the beverage's ingredients with an extremely subtle data sensory ability.

"There might have been a slight issue with the order, causing some separation, but all the ingredients are safe and the energy is very gentle."

He drew his conclusion, then picked up the glass and gently swirled it. Guided by his data, the liquid in the glass quickly and evenly mixed, turning into a soft, pale champagne color.

"It should taste better this way."

Castorice breathed a sigh of relief, took the cup, and took a sip. The taste was indeed much more normal.

"Thank you... My memory seems to have gotten worse lately."

She smiled a little sheepishly, "Yesterday I almost entered the calibration parameters for the time stabilizer for Shiyu as instructions for the automatic irrigation system in the yard."

"Normal reaction."

Luo Li held her hand and said gently, "You don't need to force yourself to remember these trivial things. Just let the kitchen prepare the recipe according to the standard process. You just need to tell me what flavor you want to drink."

For everything else, there's me, there's Jingheng, Shiyu Shiyi.

His words warmed Castorice's heart. Just as she was about to say something, her nose twitched and her brows furrowed slightly. "Hmm? What's that smell?"

Luo Li sniffed it too. "Is the kitchen baking those shortbreads from ' Honeyfruit Star ' that you said you wanted to eat last time? They've added the local sweet propolis."

Castorice shook her head, looking somewhat confused. "No... it's something else... it's a bit like... the smell of dried River of Souls silt? No, it's also a bit like the smell of rust and blood from the ancient battlefield of Amphoreus..."

As she spoke, her face paled slightly, and she covered her mouth as a mild wave of nausea washed over her.

Luo Li immediately waved her hand, and the restaurant's fresh air system silently increased its power, instantly purifying and filtering all the food odors in the air, leaving only the freshest simulated scent of grass and trees.

At the same time, a cup of refreshing floral tea at just the right temperature appeared beside Castorice.

"Are you feeling better?" He gently patted her back.

Castorice took a sip of her flower tea to suppress her discomfort, and sighed helplessly, "Much better... but my sense of smell and taste have become very strange."

Sometimes I really like a certain smell that I used to be completely indifferent to, and other times I'm disgusted by smells that I normally wouldn't even notice.

She gave a self-deprecating laugh.

"Yesterday, I even felt that the data flowing through Lu Jingheng's body smelled a bit like... sea salt caramel?"

Lu Jingheng, who happened to be carrying the latest optimized pregnancy nutrition menu into the restaurant, paused almost imperceptibly, and the steady flow of data around him seemed to freeze for half a second.

He placed the menu on the table without changing his expression, his voice calm and even. "Madam, this is the menu adjusted based on your feedback yesterday and the latest vital signs data. Please take a look."

In addition, the odor filtration and regulation systems in all areas of the palace have been fully upgraded to 'super-sensitive mode'.

Castorice's face flushed slightly. "Thank you so much, Jingheng."

Luo Li suppressed a laugh and nodded to Lu Jingheng: "Well done."

Besides her senses becoming "strange," Castorice's emotional fluctuations were also more pronounced than before.

It's not that I'm easily angered or fragile, but rather that I'm more easily moved by small things.

One afternoon, she was sitting in the courtyard reading a book (a physical book about ancient flowers of Amphoreus, Luo Li had specially found for her) when she came across a page depicting a small blue flower called "Tears of Twilight" that had long been extinct in the Black Tide, and she found herself shedding tears without realizing it.

"What's wrong?"

Luo Li was working on some documents nearby when she noticed Luo Li's emotional fluctuations. She immediately put down what she was doing, put her arm around Luo Li, and asked her softly.

"Nothing..."

Castorice leaned against him, wiping her eyes, her voice slightly choked. "I just suddenly remembered, when I was little in Styxia, I think I saw a similar flower... My mother was still alive then..."

Her Remembrance of her birth mother were actually quite hazy, but the emotions that surged up in that instant, a mixture of homesickness, a sense of the passage of time, and anticipation for new life, were incredibly overwhelming.

Luo Li didn't speak, but simply hugged her tighter, letting her fully release these delicate emotions amplified by hormones.

Shiyu and Shiyi showed a level of thoughtfulness and curiosity beyond their years regarding their mother's changes.

Shiyu began to spend more time by her mother's side, sometimes doing nothing but quietly keeping her company. With her increasingly sophisticated time management skills, she carefully adjusted the flow of time in her mother's surroundings, making her feel more comfortable and peaceful.

She also secretly designed a prototype of a time field generator that can be worn on the body and stabilize the wearer's emotional fluctuations, although it is still in the testing phase.

Shiyi then put her unusual talent as a "bug generator" to use. Instead of messing with the Federation's systems, she began to study how to use data streams to create all sorts of "little gadgets" that would make her mother happy.

For example, she made a small jellyfish that changed color and shape according to Castorice's mood, and it floated in the room;

Or perhaps she improved the courtyard's sound system, allowing the music played to be finely adjusted according to Castorice's real-time brainwave frequency for optimal soothing effects.

Although there were occasional minor mishaps—for example, once I accidentally switched the soothing music to a rousing battle song, which almost Castorice jump off the swing—my heart was full of sincerity.

What made Castorice feel most like she had "become stupid" was a small "disappearance incident".

That day, she suddenly missed a type of sour plum pickled in a special honey from an old shop in the Amphoreus Marble Fair. The longing came suddenly and intensely.

She didn't tell anyone (feeling it wasn't right to make a fuss over some snacks), and secretly used the short teleportation array inside the palace to try and buy some at the market.

As a result, standing on the familiar market street, smelling the various foods, spices and people in the air, and watching the bustling scene, she suddenly felt a sense of disorientation.

who I am?

Why am I here?

What was I supposed to buy again?

The momentary bewilderment was so real that she stood there stunned for a while, until the proprietress selling sour plums recognized her and greeted her warmly, "Oh my, isn't this... Madam? What brings you here alone? Come in and sit down! I just got a new batch of those honey-glazed plums you mentioned last time!"

Castorice then seemed to wake from a dream, feeling both embarrassed and amused.

After buying plums and returning to the palace, she told Luo Li about it as an amusing anecdote.

After listening, Luo Li remained silent for a few seconds, then gently pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.

"Tell me what you want to eat next time, or let Lu Jingheng arrange it."

His voice was filled with heartache and lingering fear, "Tell me where you want to go, I'll go with you. Don't 'run away' alone again."

Castorice nestled in his arms, eating sweet and sour honey-brewed plums. The embarrassment she felt from "acting foolishly" was gradually replaced by a warm sense of security.

"Um."

She responded softly, touching her still flat stomach, where a new life was growing, bringing with it a series of sweet "side effects."

The saying "pregnancy makes you stupid for three years" may not be accurate, but this special period has indeed made her more sensitive, tender, and occasionally absent-minded.

But she didn't dislike the feeling.

Because every little "silly mistake" was met with her husband's meticulous tolerance and care, her daughters' heartwarming concern and whimsical ideas, and the stability and support of the entire Federation.

Isn't this kind of "foolishness," completely surrounded by love and security, another kind of happiness?

As dusk fell, the family of four gathered again in the courtyard.

Shiyu used her ability to make several firefly-like specks of light levitate around her mother, slowly drifting and bringing a sense of Tranquility. Shiyi, on the other hand, manipulated data streams to project softly changing abstract paintings into the air, claiming it was a form of "prenatal education."

Castorice leaned comfortably against Luo Li, feeling the faint stirrings of the new life within her womb. Looking at her considerate husband and daughters beside her, a gentle and content smile appeared on her face.

It's good to be silly sometimes.

Anyway, someone will catch her, always will.