Chapter 4: The Young Mother

In the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.

A servant hurriedly walked through the maze of cobblestone paths.

Brightly colored flowers lined the sides of the path, each so vibrant it was hard not to pause and admire them. This area used to be barren land, but after Qian Renxue arrived, she transformed it into a garden.

Every night, when the world grew quiet, she would shed her disguise, becoming the garden's most beautiful yet loneliest flower fairy.

However, this flower fairy rarely smiled; her face remained cold as ever.

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

The servant called out loudly outside the prince's hall.

Xue Qinghe, looking displeased, poked his head out from the window, shook it in response, and waved the servant away.

"I understand."

As soon as the servant left, She Long quickly removed his disguise.

"I really can't stand pretending to be Xue Qinghe any longer; it's so boring."

He turned back in resignation.

Sitting in the shadows, Thorn Dolphin glanced over at him.

"Then what are you going to do? Announce that Prince Xue Qinghe is pregnant? Request maternity leave?"

She Long's mouth twitched.

"How much longer do we need to keep this up?"

Thorn Dolphin replied, "About four more months. Once our lady gives birth."

She Long sighed. "I wonder what the little heir will look like. Probably as good-looking as our lady, don't you think?"

"She Long, we both know that the little heir won't make it past the first day."

Thorn Dolphin's face grew somber.

"No one survives once the High Priest has issued a death sentence. We're lucky our heads are still attached because of this situation."

She Long sighed again upon hearing this.

…

It had been a month since "Prince Xue Qinghe" had returned to Spirit City on maternity leave.

[Congratulations! Qian Renxue ate an egg, you received 110 growth points!]

[Congratulations! Qian Renxue drank a glass of goat milk, you received 95 growth points!]

Sorry, but even for a parent and child, the accounts must be clear.

You give me growth points, and I'll "honor" you… eventually. Lin Luo thought with great self-righteousness.

He kept a tally of his current growth points, just like an accountant.

Due to the poison wine incident a month ago, he had lost over a thousand growth points.

Right now, he still had 9,000 points, enough for 900 days, which was about two and a half years.

This meant that once he was born, he could quickly grow to a two-and-a-half-year-old after weaning.

But six years old, the age needed to awaken a martial spirit, was still a long way off.

"I hate eating."

Qian Renxue looked thoroughly unwilling.

But as she spoke, she stuffed another egg into her mouth.

It was because Madam Jones had scolded her rather severely upon hearing she hadn't been eating well.

"You brat, are you a pig? How can you grow so fast? My belly is already deformed because of you!"

Qian Renxue shoved a green bean pastry into her mouth and glanced down, frowning and grumbling at her belly.

How many times do I have to say it? Show some respect for this God-King!

Who are you calling a brat?!

I am a man!

Lin Luo was so furious that he performed a whole set of military exercises in the amniotic fluid.

Seeing her belly continuously moving, Qian Renxue chuckled, no longer showing the fear she had a month ago.

"Brat, all you can do is throw a tantrum, huh? If I went three days without eating, do you think I could starve you to death?"

She poked at her belly again, a playful expression that contrasted with her tension from a month ago; it was as if she was now bickering with her belly.

Since Qian Daoliu hadn't let her wander around much these days, Qian Renxue spent most of her time talking to her belly.

Gradually, she'd gotten familiar with the little guy inside.

She'd also noticed that he seemed rather intelligent.

When she spoke casually, her belly remained calm.

But the moment she began to scold him, it was chaos inside.

The little creature seemed to have an even worse temper than she did, throwing a fit as soon as she started.

But not only did Qian Renxue not feel any pain; she even found the sensation amusing, like a tickle.

She figured the little creature wasn't some little demon but rather a punching bag.

Throwing fits was all it knew how to do—no resistance whatsoever.

This entertained her to no end.

"Xue'er!!"

At that moment, an old man with a childlike face barged in.

Guang Ling Douluo grabbed Qian Renxue excitedly, "Come on, let's get you disguised. I'll take you out shopping!"

"Huh? Did Grandpa approve?"

"Since when did I need his permission? Your Fifth Grandpa has decided!"

Guang Ling Douluo pulled Qian Renxue straight onto the streets of Spirit City.

They threw on some simple disguises, both donning veils.

In truth, Guang Ling Douluo was worried that Qian Renxue would grow sick from being cooped up in her room, so he brought her out to lift her spirits, with Qian Daoliu's tacit approval.

Of course, Guang Ling Douluo also had his reasons. The solemn and quiet worship hall was unbearably dull, and he had little in common with the other elders.

Among the Seven Worshippers, Guang Ling Douluo alone still had a youthful heart.

As soon as they stepped out, Guang Ling Douluo acted like a wild horse, completely in his element.

He let go of Qian Renxue's hand and wandered around the food stalls, buying snacks and munching away.

Qian Renxue couldn't help but smirk as she watched him.

This guy just wanted an excuse to go shopping, didn't he?

At that moment, Qian Renxue's gaze fell on a particular stall.

Her bright eyes sparkled as she unconsciously walked over.

Guang Ling Douluo, mouth full of candied hawthorn, joined her.

"Oh, buying clothes? Hmm, aren't these a bit small?"

He quickly noticed the detail.

The stall was lined with clothes for infants, colorful and cute.

The stall owner, a sharp-eyed lady, immediately noticed Qian Renxue's pregnancy. She smiled and said, "Miss, it's been several months, hasn't it? Would you like to pick out something for the baby?"

Guang Ling Douluo, still chewing on candied fruit, looked at Qian Renxue with a knowing grin.

Qian Renxue's eyes sparkled, but she feigned indifference.

She said, "Who would buy clothes for him? He doesn't deserve it. I'm just looking. Let's go; we're not buying anything."

Watching her march off, Guang Ling Douluo chuckled and shook his head.

"Silly girl."

He pointed to the items he thought looked nice. "That one and that one, wrap them up for me."

"Certainly!"

After buying the clothes, Guang Ling Douluo turned, only to find Qian Renxue was nowhere to be seen.

He searched for a while and eventually spotted her, still wearing the veil, mingling with a group of pregnant women by the roadside, listening intently to their advice.

"Oh dear, how many months along are you?"

"Seven months?"

"Yes, you have no idea. This little rascal is so lively, kicking me all night long."

Hearing this, Qian Renxue finally joined the conversation, and a cheerful smile appeared beneath her veil. "Exactly! Little rascals just love kicking!"

The pregnant women turned to look at her, clearly surprised.

Such a young voice...