A Young Mother

Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.

An attendant hurried along a winding maze of cobblestone paths.

All kinds of vividly colored flowers grew along the paths. As the attendant passed, he could not help exclaiming in admiration and stopping to enjoy them for a moment.

This had once been a patch of wasteland. After Qian Renxue arrived, she had turned it into a garden.

Whenever the night grew deep and quiet, she shed her disguise and became the most beautiful and loneliest flower fairy in the garden.

But this flower fairy rarely smiled, and her face was always icy cold.

"Your Highness, His Majesty sent me to ask if your cold has gotten any better."

The attendant called out from outside the crown prince's residence.

Xue Qinghe poked his head out of the window, his face gloomy. He shook his head without speaking and waved for the attendant to leave quickly.

"Understood."

After the attendant left, She Long immediately removed his disguise.

"I really don't want to keep pretending to be Xue Qinghe. It's so boring."

He turned around, looking utterly resigned.

Beside him, Pufferfish, who sat in the shadows, looked over.

He said slowly, "Then what do we do? Tell them Crown Prince Xue Qinghe is pregnant? That he's taken maternity leave?"

The corner of She Long's mouth twitched.

He asked, "How much longer do I have to keep this up?"

Pufferfish said, "Four months, I suppose. The young mistress will give birth in another four months."

She Long sighed. "I wonder what the little young master will look like. He should be as good-looking as the young mistress, right? What do you think?"

"She Long, you and I both know the little young master won't live to see the second day after his birth."

Pufferfish's expression was grave.

"No one can escape a death sentence passed by the Great Enshrined. The fact that neither of us lost our heads over this is already a blessing amid misfortune."

Hearing this, She Long sighed again.

A month had passed since "Crown Prince Xue Qinghe" returned to Spirit City for maternity leave.

[Congratulations! Qian Renxue ate an egg. You gained 110 Growth Value!]

[Congratulations! Qian Renxue drank a cup of goat's milk. You gained 95 Growth Value!]

Sorry, even a mother and her own son had to keep their accounts clear.

You give me Growth Value, and I'll try to be a little more "filial" to you in the future... Lin Luo thought with unbending righteousness.

Like an accountant, he calculated how much Growth Value he currently had.

Because of the poisoned wine incident a month ago, more than a thousand Growth Value had been deducted.

He had 9,000 points left, equivalent to 900 days, or about two and a half years.

That meant that after he was born and got through the nursing period, he could quickly grow to the age of two and a half.

But he would still be a long way from six, the age at which he could awaken his Martial Soul.

"I hate eating."

Reluctance was written all over Qian Renxue's face.

Yet even as she spoke, she stuffed another egg into her mouth.

It was only because Granny Qiongsi had heard that she had not been eating properly lately and had given her a stern scolding.

"You little brat, were you born in the year of the pig? How can you grow so fast? You've stretched my belly out of shape."

Qian Renxue stuffed another mung bean cake into her mouth and, looking down, berated her belly in great displeasure.

How many times have I told you not to disrespect this God King!

Who are you calling a little brat?!

This God King is a man!

Lin Luo was furious and once again performed a set of military boxing moves in the amniotic fluid.

Watching her belly ripple, Qian Renxue giggled. The fear she had felt a month ago was long gone.

"You little brat, all you can do is rage helplessly, huh? Believe it or not, I'll go three days without eating and starve you to death!"

Qian Renxue pointed at her belly again, her playful, lively expression showing none of the tension from a month ago. She looked as though she were arguing with her own belly.

These days, Qian Daoliu would not let her wander around, so most of the time Qian Renxue could only talk to her belly.

Gradually, she grew familiar with the little fellow inside it.

She did, however, discover that the little fellow in her belly was quite perceptive.

Whenever she said something inconsequential, all was calm and tranquil in her belly.

But when she opened her mouth to scold the little fellow inside, all hell broke loose.

The thing in her belly had an even worse temper than she did, immediately throwing a tantrum that seemed to turn rivers and seas upside down.

Yet not only did this not hurt Qian Renxue, it made her belly tickle and felt quite pleasant.

She had figured it out: the little fellow in her belly was no little demon at all, just a punching bag.

When he got angry, all he could do was flail around blindly, with no power to resist at all.

This delighted her to no end.

"Xue'er!!"

Just then, an old rascal with white hair and a youthful face suddenly burst through the door.

Light Feather Douluo grabbed Qian Renxue like a child and said excitedly, "Come on, put on a disguise with your Fifth Grandpa. I'm taking you shopping!"

"Huh? Did Grandpa agree?"

"Why would we need your grandpa's permission? Your Fifth Grandpa has made the decision!"

Light Feather Douluo took Qian Renxue by the hand and headed straight for the streets of Spirit City.

The two put on simple disguises, each wearing a veiled hat.

In truth, Light Feather Douluo was afraid Qian Renxue would fall ill from being cooped up in her room, so he had brought her out to take her mind off things. Qian Daoliu had already given his tacit consent.

Of course, Light Feather Douluo had his own selfish reasons too. The quiet, solemn Worship Hall was simply too boring, and he had little in common with the other old men.

Of the seven Great Enshrined, Light Feather Douluo was the one who had never lost his childlike spirit.

Not long after they reached the street, Light Feather Douluo was like a wild horse freed from its reins, his true nature completely unleashed.

He let go of Qian Renxue's hand and wandered among the roadside food stalls, buying pastries and snacks to eat.

The sight made the corners of Qian Renxue's mouth twitch.

He just wanted to go shopping himself and brought me along while he was at it, didn't he?

Just then, Qian Renxue suddenly spotted a stall.

Her beautiful eyes lit up, and she walked toward it without realizing it.

Light Feather Douluo, his mouth greasy from eating, also came to Qian Renxue's side.

"Oh, buying clothes? Huh? Aren't these clothes a little too small?"

Light Feather Douluo quickly noticed the crucial detail.

The stall was filled entirely with clothes for little babies, colorful and very cute.

The woman running the stall was shrewd and saw at a glance that Qian Renxue was pregnant. She smiled and said, "Miss, you must be several months along, right? Why not pick out some clothes for the baby?"

Light Feather Douluo ate his candied hawthorn skewer, watching Qian Renxue with an amused expression.

Qian Renxue's eyes sparkled, but her words were as harsh as ever.

Contrary to what she felt, she said, "Who'd buy him clothes? Does he deserve them? I'm just looking. Come on, I'm not buying anything."

Seeing Qian Renxue stride away, Light Feather Douluo shook his head and chuckled.

"Silly girl."

He pointed at the clothes on the stall that he thought looked nice and said, "This one and this one. Wrap them up for me."

"Certainly!"

After buying the clothes, Light Feather Douluo turned around, only to find that Qian Renxue was nowhere in sight.

After searching for quite a while, he finally found Qian Renxue in her veiled hat, mingling with a group of pregnant women by the roadside and listening intently as several of them shared their experiences.

"Oh, how many months along are you?"

"Seven months?"

"Yes. You have no idea, this little rascal is so lively. He keeps kicking me at night."

Hearing this, Qian Renxue finally found a chance to join in. The smile beneath her veiled hat immediately brightened. "Yes, exactly! Little rascals just love kicking people!"

The pregnant women all turned to look at her, their faces full of surprise.

Such a young voice...

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