That afternoon, Shi Feifei went to see her royal uncle.
Her royal uncle was currently living in the palace!
He told her that the Martial Emperor Realm expert he had sent out had not returned.
Since the expert had not returned by now, there was an eighty percent chance he would never return!
Su Ying also made a trip back to the Grand Commander's residence and received the same news.
That evening, Su Ying and Shi Feifei met again at Yongning Palace.
"I asked quite a few of the palace maids and eunuchs who stayed in the palace at the time. There was no major commotion at all over at Heartwarming Pavilion!"
Shi Feifei was utterly baffled. "Those two Martial Emperor Realm experts were either killed or captured alive. Unless a very powerful Quasi-God made a move, there's no way they couldn't have caused any major commotion at all!"
"Could His Majesty have asked a Quasi-God to protect that little bitch in secret?"
Su Ying was just as puzzled.
"It's possible, but not very likely!"
Shi Feifei reasoned, "His Majesty and the entire royal clan left the city today. They must have had Quasi-Gods accompanying them as guards! Now that Hong San is no longer a Quasi-God, there are only three Quasi-Gods in the entire Chishui Kingdom, and someone has to guard the Devil-Sealing Well. It's unlikely they could spare one to protect Liu Ling'er!"
"Surely Liu Ling'er herself can't be a Quasi-God, and a very powerful one at that?"
Su Ying continued, "If she had that kind of strength, she wouldn't have let me bully her all these years for nothing!"
"Exactly!"
Shi Feifei said, "It takes a long time to cultivate to such a high realm. How old is she? Besides, even if she were exceptionally gifted and cultivated at an incredible speed, the experts in your Grand Commander's residence should have discovered her cultivation level long ago!"
"Even if the people at the Grand Commander's residence didn't discover it, the experts in the palace should have!"
Su Ying nodded. "After all, reaching the Quasi-God Realm can't be done in a single bound. It's not easy for outsiders to discern a Quasi-God's cultivation, but before she reached the Quasi-God Realm and the Martial Emperor Realm, there's no way she could have hidden it from everyone!"
"Although this assassination attempt failed without causing much of a stir, what should we do next?"
As Shi Feifei asked, she rubbed her forehead, plainly troubled by their current situation.
"I'm out of ideas!"
Su Ying shrugged. "Our Su Clan has plenty of Martial Thearchs, but no Quasi-Gods."
"Our Lingxi Royal Clan can't possibly send a Quasi-God here to assassinate her either!"
Shi Feifei shook her head. "If the king really did ask a Quasi-God to protect that bitch in secret, and Quasi-Gods from our two kingdoms came to blows, things would get serious!"
"Forget it, forget it. Let's wait until she's had the child!"
Su Ying said helplessly, "All the king cares about is the child in her belly!"
In the blink of an eye, more than ten days had passed since the Ancestor Worship Festival.
Liu Ling'er's time to give birth had finally arrived!
Naturally, there was no chance of anything going wrong when a God Realm expert gave birth.
Lin Heng was born safely!
Liu Ling'er was overjoyed as she held him in her arms.
He was just as excited himself!
I can finally see this world with my own eyes!
The first thing Lin Heng saw was Liu Ling'er's face.
Only now did he learn what his mother looked like.
Liu Ling'er was exquisitely beautiful, with brows like dark moth wings, clear almond eyes, a small, delicate nose, and red lips like sandalwood...
In Lin Heng's previous life, those looks would undoubtedly have put her at goddess level. No wonder Lin Changqing had gone along with the scheme and spent a night of passion with her!
Although she had only just given birth, Liu Ling'er did not feel weak in the slightest thanks to her powerful cultivation, and her complexion remained naturally rosy.
Holding her son in her arms, she had a few more traces of tenderness on her face than before, and her whole being radiated a rich maternal glow!
"Mother!"
Lin Heng tried calling out to her.
"Huh?"
Liu Ling'er was stunned.
Her son could speak just after being born!
Was this what a child born to a God Realm expert was like? Were they really so different?
"Son! You really are Mother's treasure and pride!"
Liu Ling'er couldn't resist planting a kiss on Lin Heng's cheek.
"Mother, can I be called Lin Heng from now on?"
He had been called Lin Heng in his previous life, and he didn't want to change his name in this one.
"Yes, of course!"
Liu Ling'er nodded repeatedly. "Whatever Heng'er says is fine!"
She had never imagined that her son would not only be able to speak from birth, but that he wouldn't just be babbling-he could actually hold a conversation!
Lin Changqing arrived, bringing Hong San and Xi Zhaoqu with him.
"Your Majesty, I've already named him. His name is Lin Heng."
Liu Ling'er said.
"Lin Heng? All right!"
Lin Changqing replied in a tone of complete indifference.
"The little prince is so handsome!"
Hong San praised him. "Other children are red all over when they're first born, and not at all good-looking. The little prince is completely different. His skin is smooth and tender, and his eyes are bright and full of life!"
"He is the king's own flesh and blood, after all. Of course he's different from children born to ordinary families!"
Xi Zhaoqu didn't forget to offer the king a word of flattery.
"Hong San, from now on, you'll stay at Heartwarming Pavilion and care for the little prince."
"This old servant obeys!"
Hong San cupped his fists and bowed.
Lin Changqing gave Lin Heng a few more looks, then said to Liu Ling'er, seemingly with some deeper meaning, "I'll give you a few more days."
With that, he left.
He wasn't entirely heartless; he hadn't made Liu Ling'er leave the palace immediately.
"Consort Liu, please rest. Let this old servant hold the little prince."
Hong San kept his manner very deferential.
"All right."
Liu Ling'er could tell that Hong San genuinely liked Lin Heng.
The old eunuch had treated her reasonably well in the past.
Besides, he had once burned his Divine Body to fight three Quasi-Gods of the Devil Race single-handedly. Even though he was a eunuch, he could still be considered a hero!
Taking Lin Heng from Liu Ling'er's arms, Hong San rocked himself back and forth as he kindly said, "Consort Liu, His Majesty told this old servant that he'll be sending you out of the palace in a few days."
"Once you're out, you must keep your identity hidden and stay out of sight. Perhaps His Majesty will have a change of heart one day."
"Even if His Majesty never changes his mind, once the little prince grows up, the day may come when he brings you back to the palace."
Liu Ling'er smiled. "Tigers and wolves surround us in the palace. I'm afraid it will be hard for Heng'er to grow up safely, won't it? Even if he reaches adulthood and achieves success in cultivation, he still won't be eligible to inherit the throne!"
"It would be good enough if he could grow up."
Hong San said somewhat helplessly, "This old servant can only stay with the little prince for ten more years at most... As for the future, this old servant can't say for certain!"
As they were talking, the principal consort, Shi Feifei, came to visit with Su Ying and the other secondary consorts.
Although they hated Liu Ling'er to the bone, they still had to keep up appearances.
"Congratulations, Consort Liu, on giving the king a little prince!"
"Yes, yes, congratulations!"
"The little prince looks very strong! He shouldn't cry if I pinch him, right?"
Lin Heng was speechless.
The group of consorts surrounded him, pointing and commenting, and someone even reached out and pinched his little cheek, quite hard at that.
Damn it!
They're actually laying hands on a newborn baby!
Have they no shame?
"Mother, that hurts! Beat her up!"
Lin Heng knew how strong his mother was, so he pointed at Shi Feifei, who was using hidden force to pinch his little cheek, and shouted.
Shi Feifei and the others jumped in fright. They hadn't expected a newborn child to be able to speak, much less so clearly.
Liu Ling'er instantly flew into a rage, sprang to her feet, and slapped Shi Feifei across the face.