Chapter 84

Xiao Xingxing: “Is Father angry with the Emperor? The Emperor’s stomach hurts; it’s very pitiful.”

Xiao Heng: “I’m not angry. The Emperor’s stomach hurts because he ate something he shouldn’t have. Xiao Xingxing, you mustn’t learn from him and keep it to yourself. If something is wrong, you must tell me immediately.”

After thinking for a moment, Xiao Xingxing realized that the Emperor had slept beside him last night, and yet he hadn’t known about the Emperor’s stomach ache. He immediately pursed his lips, feeling angry himself.

The father and son had highly similar expressions.

Chu Zhaoyou hadn’t expected Xiao Xingxing to side with the Regent, adding another person he needed to appease, which was particularly vexing.

Fortunately, the younger one was easier to pacify. Chu Zhaoyou made a pinky promise with him, and Xiao Xingxing quickly softened.

Not having seen the Regent all day, Chu Zhaoyou found himself somewhat missing him, which quickly turned into a strong desire after a moment.

He went to consult the divine physician, saying, “The divine physician advised me to eat lightly recently. I wonder why. I felt perfectly fine two days ago. Can you go and tell the Regent that three days ago I was able to feast heartily? I restrained myself the following day, only to experience a rebound effect. I not only didn’t overindulge, but in fact felt quite pitiful.”

The old man took Chu Zhaoyou’s pulse. “I felt your pulse was a bit unusual recently. I was concerned it might be due to your diet, so I asked you to eat less so that I could discern the pulse pattern—”

The old man’s expression changed slightly as he grabbed Chu Zhaoyou’s other wrist.

In an instant, the old man released his hand with a complex expression. “Yes, after eating lightly for a few days, your body needs nutrition, which is prompting you to eat a bit more.”

Chu Zhaoyou was thrilled. “You go and tell the Regent about this, and I’ll give you ten taels.”

It seemed that he was only half wrong in this matter! With a 50% chance of success in the apology, as long as the divine physician cooperated.

The divine physician gazed at Chu Zhaoyou with a complex expression. “Don’t be too hasty to rejoice, well, you can rejoice, congratulations, Your Majesty, you’re one month pregnant.”

Chu Zhaoyou: “This is stable now.”

How could the Regent possibly be angry with him for being pregnant!

Pregnant… Wait a minute!

Chu Zhaoyou jumped up, eyes widened. “After Lu Jinghuan gave birth, didn’t the He Xin Gu disappear right in front of everyone’s eyes!”

Why could he still get pregnant! Are you truly an incompetent physician!

The old man: “Don’t get worked up! Don’t get worked up! I’ll explain what allowed you and the Regent Prince to have a child. The He Xin Gu’s yin-yang twin gu can’t give birth to a little gu?”

The He Xin Gu has a cycle of seven years. After spending seven years respectively on the Regent Prince and the Emperor, they meet and give birth to a new pair of He Xin Gu, which remained in Chu Zhaoyou’s body without being discovered.

It was good that Chu Zhaoyou became pregnant before Xiao Xingxing turned six. The new gu hadn’t spent a full seven years in his body, so there shouldn’t be any aftereffects this time.

The new gu had been dormant, having no impact on his body until recently when the divine physician noticed it. With a pulse check, it was indeed because Chu Zhaoyou was pregnant again.

Chu Zhaoyou: “…”

Wait, did he have to be grateful that he got pregnant in time? Otherwise, if it had been two years later, he might have had to get pregnant for the third time?

Chu Zhaoyou: “Have you conspired with the Regent?”

Did the Regent know that he could still conceive, which was why he named Xiao Xingxing after the fifth star of the Northern Dipper? Naming stars one by one, without even considering other names! How sinister!

The divine physician: “It really has nothing to do with him.”

Chu Zhaoyou: “How can it have nothing to do with him? Does that mean I can conceive on my own?”

It’s unclear where the Regent  is currently fuming, but the situation has already taken a turn, rendering the Regent’s anger useless.

If he was destined to conceive again, it was better for it to happen sooner than later.

Anxiously, he hurried to the meeting hall, not having held the Regent for a day.

As the old man watched Chu Zhaoyou’s hurried figure, he couldn’t help but feel that Chu Zhaoyou was unusually excited.

Tonight, the moon rose exceptionally early.

Chu Zhaoyou stood at the entrance of the Meeting hall and beckoned a guard. “I want to go in.”

The guard reported to the Regent.

The Regent was busy revising memorials, compressing five days’ worth of memorials into two. Today, he wanted Chu Zhaoyou to reflect alone, while he focused on revising memorials. He planned to make up for it in the following two days.

“Go and ask him what new way of apologizing he has come up with. If he’s insincere, don’t let him in.”

The Regent wrote with determination, not even lifting his head.

The guard relayed the message.

Chu Zhaoyou said, “Tell him I admit my mistake. In the future, I’ll make sure to inform him immediately of any developments, such as me being pregnant again. That’s sincerity, isn’t it?”

Compared to how secretive he had been when expecting Xiao Xingxing, his openness this time was undoubtedly a huge display of sincerity.

The guard merely made a verbal attempt to stop him. It was impossible to prevent Chu Zhaoyou from entering; after all, if he forced his way in, no one would dare to stop him.

Whether he could enter depended entirely on Chu Zhaoyou’s self-restraint.

Chu Zhaoyou stood at the door, waiting for the Regent to come and receive him.

Inside the study, the guard said, “Your Majesty said he knows he’s wrong.”

The Regent: “What else?”

The guard: “Your Majesty said that he’s particularly sincere about being pregnant.”

The Regent: “… Let him continue reflecting.”

The He Xin Gu had been destroyed under the joint witness of him, the divine physician, and Feng Xingzhou. It was impossible for the He Xin Gu to accidentally enter his body as it had with Lu Jinghuan.

Chu Zhaoyou probably couldn’t come up with a way to deceive him.

However, this method I will definitely see through. Chu Zhaoyou has always been reluctant to bring up the matter of pregnancy. Now, by resorting to this, he’s clearly hinting at a desperate plea for forgiveness.

The Regent calmly and astutely analyzed the situation, thinking that he had pushed Zhaoyou to this extent. Zhaoyou was so endearing; after finishing three more memorials, he would forgive him.

Chu Zhaoyou waited and waited, but the guard told him that the Regent felt he was insincere.

Chu Zhaoyou: “…”

I’m even pregnant! Can’t he see such a great display of sincerity?

Chu Zhaoyou pinched his waist. Well, currently, it’s indeed not visible. Xiao Heng thought he was tricking him to come out? He thought this was another ploy to deceive him, just like when he had sought forgiveness with a thorny stick?

Chu Zhaoyou, who had brought this upon himself, headed to the divine physician.

Fine, the Regent didn’t believe it, did he? Then I’ll go and win over the divine physician, so he won’t tell you either. Let’s see when you’ll come to your senses.

Tonight, the moonlight was exceptionally bright, much like the night when Chu Zhaoyou had said he would procure a slice of moonlight for the Regent, wishing him peace and joy.

After the guard left, the Regent picked up the final memorial. Moonlight poured in from the east window, pure and serene.

He paused, suddenly lifting his head to ask the guard, “Where did His Majesty come from?”

The guard replied, “Judging by the direction, it seems to be from the divine physician’s place.”

With a click, the final memorial dropped onto the table. A gust of wind swept through as the Regent darted out of the Meeting hall.

The guard, without looking away, picked up the memorial and placed it neatly on the corner of the table. Inadvertently, he caught a glimpse of the contents, which mainly mentioned Xie Chaoyun’s upcoming wedding and her request for a month’s leave to prepare her dowry, as well as the temporary postponement of the military training in the outskirts of the capital.

Chu Zhaoyou strolled, leisurely counting in his mind.

As he counted to twenty-four, a familiar figure caught up from behind.

The person arrived after their shadow.

Chu Zhaoyou kept walking, casting a sidelong glance at the Regent.

Xiao Heng felt as helpless as he had when he first became a father, “Zhaoyou, I was wrong.”

Xiao Heng almost wanted to punch himself. Chu Zhaoyou had finally tried to be honest, and yet he still didn’t believe him.

“There’s no sincerity.”

The Regent finally realized how challenging it was to show sincerity. Anxiously, he said, “I’m telling the truth. Is your stomach still hurting? What did the divine physician say? Is it because of the pregnancy or did you eat something bad? You were vomiting last night. Let’s go and see the divine physician again.”

In hindsight, Chu Zhaoyou’s vomiting last night might not have been a simple occurrence.

Chu Zhaoyou grabbed the Regent’s hand and placed it on his stomach. “What could be wrong? Feel it, not even my stomach has gotten bigger.”

“Zhaoyou never gains weight,” the Regent wised up.

“Can I gnaw on a pork elbow in the middle of the night?”

“You can.”

“How about tofu pudding?”

“Both are fine.”

Chu Zhaoyou deliberately asked, “What name are you going to pick this time?”

Xiao Heng: “Chu Xuanji, how about that?”

Seeing how he blurted it out, Chu Zhaoyou became angry. “You’ve been wanting to have a second child all along! Saying one thing and meaning another.”

Xiao Heng hastily explained, “Xuanji is one of the stars of the Northern Dipper…”

Chu Zhaoyou pinched the Regent. “You still want to have seven.”

“No, Xuanji is one of the first four stars of the Northern Dipper, while Yuheng is the fifth star, and it can also refer to the last three stars.”

All seven stars were accounted for.

The Northern Dipper proved that the Regent truly didn’t want to have seven children. Who could bear to see the esteemed Ziwei star suffer repeatedly?

Chu Zhaoyou expressed his opinion, “Xiao is a nice surname.”

The nickname will be Little Moon.

As they walked, Chu Zhaoyou suddenly turned serious and said to the Regent, “If this child still looks like you this time, I’ll leave home on my own.”

The regent felt a bit nervous.

Nine months later, the little moon princess was born, a beautiful girl who resembled Chu Zhaoyou.

– End of the Extra Story –

In the author’s notes at the end, there’s a bonus extra story featuring the little princes, but it’s not included in the main text because it’s more everyday in nature.

“The Little Tales of the Princes”

Lu Jinghuan’s son’s nickname is Lu Xingxing.

At four years old, Lu Xingxing met Xiao Xingxing, who was five, for the first time, and they both behaved sensibly.

With a childish voice and clear pronunciation, Lu Xingxing said, “Big Brother Xingxing.”

Xiao Xingxing held his little brother’s hand and went fishing in the royal garden. “My father released a lot of fish into the pond.”

Sometimes, Xiao Xingxing couldn’t sit still, so the Regent had him fish to temper his will.

Lu Xingxing didn’t understand how to fish, so he squatted and watched.

Seeing how adorable Lu Xingxing looked, with a red mole at the center of his brow, Xiao Xingxing patiently taught him how to fish.

Previously, when he went out with the Regent, his father had even taught him how to grill fish.

Xiao Xingxing quickly caught two fish and put them in a bucket, saying, “You’re a guest, I’ll grill fish for you.”

Lu Xingxing frowned with concern, “But, Big Brother , won’t the fish feel pain?”

Xiao Xingxing had never considered this question before. He propped up his chin and thought for a moment. “Grilled ones will, steamed ones won’t. Do you want to eat them?”

Lu Xingxing didn’t hesitate, “I do.”

Carrying the bucket, Xiao Xingxing passed by the divine physician’s herb garden, slipped through the fence, and dug up a sweet potato.

Lu Xingxing asked, “Will the sweet potato…”

Xiao Xingxing answered fluently, “The steamed one will, the grilled one won’t. Do you want to eat grilled sweet potato?”

Lu Xingxing said, “I do.”

Xiao Xingxing, along with Lu Xingxing, had steamed fish and grilled sweet potato. He felt the day was perfectly fulfilling and said, “If only Father could come to carry me back at this moment, it would be even better.”

It was the first time Lu Xingxing had eaten so happily. Feng Xingzhou, upon seeing this, was astonished.

 Lu Xingxing crouched down in front of Xiao Xingxing and said, “Big Brother Xingxing, I can carry you!”

The National Preceptor said he needed to diligently practice martial arts to avoid being bullied by Xiao Xingxing in the future.

Lu Xingxing thought martial arts practice was fine, but it shouldn’t be used to fight his brother. If he could lift a sandbag, then he could carry his brother.

Xiao Xingxing glanced at Lu Xingxing’s small frame, about to say something, when the divine physician suddenly appeared. “You two are digging up my sweet potatoes again!”

In a flash, Xiao Xingxing grabbed Lu Xingxing and ran, “Grandpa Physician said it’s okay to dig them up casually, right?”

The old man fumed, unable to resist their daily visits.

He lifted one up, “Both of you, go water the plants.”

Lu Xingxing immediately said, “Big Brother Xingxing is tired, I’ll help him water.”

The old man replied, “Do your own tasks, and your Big Brother Xingxing is a year older, so he should water twice as much.”

The two little ones, with their water ladles, earnestly watered the plants for the divine physician.

“I’m sorry, Big Brother Xingxing.”

“No problem, little brother, I’ll help you.” Xiao Xingxing glanced at Lu Xingxing’s small white robe. “You go rest.”

When the adults arrived, due to the overly harmonious scene between the brothers, the Regent and the National Preceptor felt unhappy and ended up having a disagreement.

For those who have read the complete version, please remember to give a five-star review to the author.

Xiao Xingxing counted on his fingers, “My sister and I together make up the seven stars of the Big Dipper. I have three stars, and my sister has four. At most, you can deduct two stars, leaving five. If you deduct three stars, it’s like erasing all of me!”

Give him five stars! Give it to him! After it’s completed, we have to celebrate! Give it to him!