Suddenly, my stomach churned, and I vomited all over his imperial robe.

Although Xiao Ce didn’t say anything, his face immediately darkened.

“What, does seeing me make you want to puke?”

How is this my fault?

…I don’t know why I feel like puking, maybe it’s just because he’s been so unpleasant to look at lately.

Luckily, Xiao Ce didn’t make a fuss about it and instead let me stay in the palace a bit longer to recover.

---

But the palace isn’t a place to stay for too long.

When I returned home to recover, things just felt more and more wrong. Not only did I throw up whatever I ate, but I also seemed to be gaining weight. Finally, my eldest brother called a doctor to check on me.

After checking my pulse, the doctor congratulated me with a chuckle:

“Young Master Lu, you’re pregnant.”

A strange silence fell between me, my eldest brother, my second brother, and my younger sister.

Then they all let out sharp cries of shock.

I, on the other hand, was a bit slow to react. My mind went blank for a few seconds.

Pregnant? How could I be pregnant?

Could it be that I’m actually a woman disguised as a man all these years?

What nonsense.

I know whether I’m a man or a woman!

I almost got confused.

The key point is that as a man, I was actually made pregnant by Xiao Ce, that scoundrel.

My eldest brother, the only reliable one in the family, took a long moment to process what was happening. His expression was complex.

“Doctor, my third brother is a man. How could he…be pregnant?”

The doctor respectfully replied,

“Minister Lu, it’s true that men generally can’t bear children, but there are a rare few who are ‘dual sons’ and can conceive. Young Master Lu appears to be one of them.”

The courtyard fell silent again.

Finally, my second brother let out a couple of awkward chuckles:

“Well, third brother, only your own child will truly feel like your own.”

I looked at him and said with a sigh:

“I’ve heard that this ‘dual son’ trait is hereditary. If I am one, you might not escape this fate either.”

His laughter stopped abruptly: “I have to give birth too?”

And with that, a second round of shocked cries erupted in the courtyard.

My second brother ran back and forth in panic:

“Big brother, say something! Big brother!”

Even my usually calm and scholarly eldest brother fell silent, probably trying to come to terms with the idea of men giving birth.

Finally, my eldest brother pursed his lips and said:

“Doctor, please check my second brother as well.”

It wasn’t long before the results came back, and thankfully, both my eldest and second brothers weren’t “dual sons.” I was the only unlucky one.

The doctor stroked his beard and advised me to accept my fate:

“In general, there are very few dual sons in this world. Many never even realize they are dual sons for their entire lives. To have been with a man and to conceive—this is even rarer.”

“Young Master Lu, you truly are one of the chosen ones.”

I slammed the table: “To hell with being a chosen one!”

Sensing the dangerous mood, the doctor quickly tried to flee:

“Young Master Lu, please calm down. You’re with child, don’t upset the fetus.”

…The fetus!

I was about to explode with anger.

If it were a normal person’s child, it would be easy to take care of it with a simple potion. But no, it had to be the emperor’s offspring, which meant the slightest mistake could lead to ruin!

Xiao Ce, you wretched dog, you’ve really done it this time!

---

When I went to the palace to see the Empress Dowager, I was stopped at the entrance.

“Young Master Lu, please wait here for a moment. Inside…”

The Empress Dowager’s maid approached me and whispered, “The Emperor and the Empress Dowager are currently arguing, and it’s about you…”

Before she could finish, I heard the Empress Dowager’s furious voice from inside, making me jump in fright.

“If you like Lu Ze’an so much, you can keep him privately, and I won’t say a word! But you want to make him empress?!”

The Empress Dowager’s voice trembled with anger: “That Lu boy…”

“Can he manage the household and take care of the palace?”

I shook my head frantically from outside.

No way… I can’t manage that many women!

The Empress Dowager’s voice grew more enraged:

“Can he uphold the royal dignity and quell rumors?”

That too—I can’t do that either…

If I were to enter the palace as empress, the rumors would only increase.

Then, her voice grew even more strained:

“Can he bear children to continue the royal bloodline?”

Uh…

I glanced at my growing belly and quietly raised my hand:

…Actually, it seems like I can.

This mother-and-son battle was clearly not something an ordinary person like me could be involved in.

Before I could sneak away, I heard a loud thud from inside as Xiao Ce knelt.

“Mother, it is I who have failed you.”

“If you grant your approval…”

“Your son will never take another empress nor produce any heirs.”

“All I want is Lu Ze’an.”

---

The Empress Dowager, being elderly, couldn’t manage too many affairs, and in the end, she compromised with Xiao Ce.

The compromise involved sending her trusted maid to the palace gates to intercept me and deliver me to Xiao Ce’s sleeping quarters, to smooth over the tense relationship between mother and son.

Great, you’ve reconciled. But who’s going to care about my survival?

Afraid that Xiao Ce would eventually discover the little one growing inside me, I kept busy eating pastries, trying to distract myself.

But it seemed like Xiao Ce could sense something. Suddenly, he pinched my waist.

“Imperial Scholar, you seem to have gained some weight.”

I panicked, trying to cover up: “Cough… cough cough!”

I was choking on a pastry, my face flushed red. Xiao Ce took the half-eaten pastry from my hand and, without a second thought, bit into the part I had already bitten.

“Stop eating so much. You’re getting fat… The palace grounds are large. Tomorrow, I’ll have the eunuchs supervise you as you run two laps, morning and night.”

Me: … You’re killing me!

At this rate, with my belly growing fast, Xiao Ce’s sharp instincts will figure it out soon. I have to escape quickly!

---

The Turkic delegation was preparing to leave. I secretly sought out the Turkic princess.

“Princess, you once said you’d grant me a request.”

“Does that still stand?”

The Turkic princess wasn’t surprised: “Of course! What do you need? As long as it’s within my power…”

“Can you… take me out of the capital?”

Finally, she gave me a curious look.

“…Why do you want to leave the capital?”

“Isn’t your emperor treating you well?”

I rolled my eyes in frustration.

“Yeah, sure, too well… so well I can’t take it.”

Well enough that I got tricked into bed and ended up pregnant. If I don’t run soon, I’ll lose everything!