“What did you say?”

The tone was very light, almost ethereal, sending a shiver of eerie tenderness through Zhuang Dongqing.

Zhuang Dongqing swallowed hard.

“Speak,” Cen Yan said.

Those two words were blunt, yet they felt like hypocritical coaxing, just waiting for the prey to take the bait.

Zhuang Dongqing instinctively didn’t want to answer, but it seemed he had no choice.

He opened his mouth, mustered his courage, and then faltered, “I… I’m pregnant, with your child.”

His voice was stammering and soft, and he looked down at his toes, only daring to focus on them.

Screech—

The sound of the chair leg scraping against the floor was rough and grating.

The light in front of him dimmed as Cen Yan stood up.

Zhuang Dongqing: “…”

Feeling the shadow overhead growing larger, Zhuang Dongqing’s mind went blank—help, help!

What was he going to do?

No, please don’t come closer…

Unfortunately, Cen Yan couldn’t hear the cries in his heart.

In a moment, a pair of exquisitely embroidered boots appeared in Zhuang Dongqing’s line of sight.

Cen Yan stood right in front of him.

Zhuang Dongqing clasped his left hand with his right, so nervous that his fingernails were digging into his skin, a slight sting reminding him to keep what little composure he had left.

“Why are you looking down?”

“…”

His voice was still light, but the words were frightening, “Is this your first time lying?”

“!”

Zhuang Dongqing shook his head decisively, trembling as he lifted his chin. When his gaze met Cen Yan’s, it felt as if he were pinned in place by something.

He felt… that gaze seemed to want to peel him open and see what was inside his heart and liver.

Zhuang Dongqing didn’t dare to move and obediently stood a bit straighter.

Yet under that intense stare, he quickly broke into a sweat on his back.

The amber eyes sparkled in the sunlight, just looking at him, and then Cen Yan began to circle around Zhuang Dongqing.

He walked slowly but steadily, and with each step, it felt like he was stepping on Zhuang Dongqing’s heart, making him uneasy.

“What are you pregnant with?”

As he circled to Zhuang Dongqing’s back, that gaze’s presence remained strong, and Cen Yan asked again.

Zhuang Dongqing stammered, “A… a child…”

His voice trembled, unable to control it.

So embarrassing.

But at this moment, he was more worried about his own life.

“You’re pregnant with my child?”

Who would have thought the complete sentence would come from Cen Yan’s mouth in the end.

Zhuang Dongqing nodded, nodding, nodding like a garlic clove being pounded.

In the next moment, Cen Yan circled back to him, and the distance between them was even closer. Zhuang Dongqing was caught off guard as their gazes met again, his throat moving sharply, but because of that doubt, he didn’t dare to break eye contact.

That expression made him look very… pitiful.

Yes, pitiful.

In an instant, Cen Yan thought of many things, even the details of that night were still very clear, but these quickly faded in his mind, returning to the boy standing in front of him.

A young master who looked very afraid of him.

Cen Yan’s cold gaze swept over Zhuang Dongqing’s trembling fingertips, “You are a man.”

Zhuang Dongqing didn’t react at first, nodding, “Yeah.”

“…”

Cen Yan looked at him without speaking, and after a while, Zhuang Dongqing finally realized the meaning of that sentence.

Zhuang Dongqing: “Being a man doesn’t mean I can’t give birth.”

What’s not to have in this world? A strange shape or two doesn’t make a difference.

Cen Yan frowned, clearly thinking of related information, “Aren’t you from the capital?”

“My aunt isn’t.”

The words tumbled out, feeling quite pathetic, but he couldn’t help it; he was already doing his best not to tremble.

Cen Yan fell silent.

The atmosphere was wrapped in a strange silence.

But the other party still looked at Zhuang Dongqing, eyes bright, expression unfriendly.

After being stared at for a while, Zhuang Dongqing finally couldn’t hold it in anymore, stiffening his back and shrinking his hands again.

“You are a man, and you are pregnant with my child.”

Cen Yan repeated each word slowly but firmly, “And then?”

And then?

Zhuang Dongqing looked at Cen Yan, his gaze clear but also filled with confusion.

He was somewhat stunned.

Cen Yan’s forehead twitched, stepping back two paces. Just as he steadied himself, he saw Zhuang Dongqing secretly let out a breath, “…”

“You said all this just to inform me of this news?”

“No, no.”

“Well, then what next?”

Oh, oh, it was time to talk about conditions!

Suppressing the urge to smack his forehead, Zhuang Dongqing opened his mouth again, thinking of something, and glanced back.

In the corner stood the wide-eyed attendant, Liu Qi.

Cen Yan understood, “Go, find Master Zhao.”

Master Zhao was the renowned doctor who had come with them from the fief, the best in the southwest.

“…Okay, okay.”

Liu Qi choked a bit, then turned to find someone.

As the footsteps faded, Cen Yan found a chair to sit down and then spoke again, “No one is here now, so go ahead.”

Zhuang Dongqing took a deep breath, “I… I can give birth to the child.”

“…Oh.”

His calmness even carried a hint of perfunctory indifference.

Zhuang Dongqing tried hard to ignore it, focusing on the empty space in front of him, negotiating, “But there are conditions.”

“Go on.”

Cen Yan casually picked up a cup of tea and took a sip.

“…”

Zhuang Dongqing took another breath, finally finding his words, “During this time, I need to be taken care of.”

“First, um, the living environment can’t be poor.”

“At least, at least it should be a courtyard with three entrances, right? It’s too stuffy and not ventilated. When it gets inconvenient later, even if I can’t go out, there should be a place for me to walk around and move.”

After saying that, he waited for a moment and indeed heard a calm “Mm.”

Zhuang Dongqing relaxed his shoulders, feeling less tense, and his mind started to work, recalling everything he had memorized earlier.

He straightened his stiff back, “With such a big courtyard, you have to arrange for the corresponding servants, right? It’s best to have young servants for cleaning, responsible for the bedding, the inner courtyard, the outer courtyard, and the kitchen shopping—all of it, at least, at least twenty or thirty people!”

That was about the number in the lady’s courtyard.

Cen Yan: “Reasonable.”

Zhuang Dongqing: “The courtyard should ideally have a garden, facing south, so it’s warm in winter and cool in summer.”

Seeing that Cen Yan didn’t interrupt, he continued smoothly, “Being pregnant isn’t easy; it’s quite hard, so the food needs to be good.”

“Mm, at least arrange for two cooks, one for sweet dishes and one for spicy dishes. If there’s someone who can make snacks well, that would be perfect.”

“The chefs at the restaurants in the capital, like the ones from Ju Fang Zhai, make great pastries—date flower crisp, mung bean cake, yam cake, thousand-layer crisp, lotus flower cake… these are all my favorites. Please get me one if you can; if not, buying some fresh ones occasionally is fine, but they must be fresh from the day. If they sit too long, the taste changes, and I might not be able to eat them.”

“As for the main meals, there should be fish and meat, both meat and vegetables.”

“Not just for me, but also to nourish the child.”

“I can eat regular dishes like chicken, duck, and fish; seafood isn’t my favorite, but beef and lamb are okay.”

Cen Yan raised an eyebrow, “For example?”

Zhuang Dongqing counted on his fingers, “There are so many—braised chick, soy sauce chicken, canned chicken, fried chicken, shredded chicken, chestnut chicken, beggar’s chicken, I like them all. Braised flower duck, marinated duck, duck shreds, roasted duck, roasted duck feet, braised duck feet, duck soup, pressed duck, I can also eat braised fish heads, stewed fish heads…”

This time, he didn’t finish his sentence as the teacup lightly tapped the table, the crisp sound interrupting him, making Zhuang Dongqing’s heart tremble.

Cen Yan: “Are you just listing dishes?”

Zhuang Dongqing: “…”

“You’re the one who needs to ask.”

Muttering, his voice was small and low, but unfortunately, in the room, Cen Yan heard it clearly.

After a moment of silence, Cen Yan patiently asked, “Is that all?”

“Um…”

Zhuang Dongqing fidgeted with his hands, feeling a bit embarrassed, “If, I mean if…”

Cen Yan sat up straighter, waiting solemnly.

Zhuang Dongqing tentatively glanced at Cen Yan, “If you could also give me some pocket money every month, that would be even better.”

“…”

Zhuang Dongqing’s sneaky glances were lively, completely different from his earlier dazed expression, and his eyes seemed to sparkle with anticipation.

Cen Yan pressed his fingers against his forehead.

His temples throbbed even more.

“I thought you came here for the Zhuang family’s matters?”

This statement seemed to awaken Zhuang Dongqing, and he quickly wrinkled his face, realizing, “Oh, that, that is indeed one of the reasons. Your Highness, you can’t just watch your own child fall into disgrace, right?”

“…That’s a good reason.”

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

Liu Qi had brought Master Zhao and was already waiting outside.

Cen Yan let out a breath, his mind feeling like it had been thrown into chaos by Zhuang Dongqing.

Regaining his composure, he waved for them to come in.

• Master Zhao checked the pulse and asked detailed questions.

He confirmed that Zhuang Dongqing was indeed a man of the Ren tribe and was indeed pregnant.

The timing of that night at Guangyue Terrace matched the estimated date of conception.

“Is that enough to confirm it?” Liu Qi asked nervously, feeling a bit dizzy.

Zhuang Dongqing also felt nervous, “What else could it be?”

Cen Yan remained calm, “He had a high fever after returning from Guangyue Terrace and lay in bed for over ten days. If he could still do anything during that time, I would definitely want to keep such a rare person.”

Zhuang Dongqing: “…”

Liu Qi: “…”

Zhuang Dongqing whispered, “Once he’s born, we’ll know. He’ll look just like you, very smart.”

Cen Yan’s expression was flat, “Then he wouldn’t look like you at all?”

Zhuang Dongqing: “?”

No, this is an implication, right?

Under Zhuang Dongqing’s wide-eyed gaze, Cen Yan pressed down his irritation and let Liu Qi take the others away first.

Zhuang Dongqing knew they were going to discuss things and left obediently.

After the people left, Master Zhao said, “I always feel that the young master’s pulse isn’t right.”

Meeting Cen Yan’s gaze, he quickly corrected himself, “I’m sure there’s no problem regarding the child. I’m talking about his health; he’s weak and needs proper care. I just feel that something else isn’t quite right.”

“Weak?”

“Yeah, insufficient qi and blood, weak body; dietary supplements should be fine.”

Thinking of Zhuang Dongqing’s increasingly gaunt face, Cen Yan lowered his gaze, saying nothing.

Master Zhao only reported honestly, “The pulse irregularities need me to think about them more when I get back.”

This matter concerning offspring was not trivial.

Soon, along with Master Zhao, Xu Si, Hao San, and Liu Qi, who was in charge of arranging for Zhuang Dongqing, all gathered in the study.

Hao San, Xu Si, and Liu Qi had followed Cen Yan since childhood, growing up with him.

Master Zhao had once been the old prince’s doctor, watching him grow up.

The room was filled with trusted aides, each with different expressions, but Cen Yan remained calm: “This is the situation; let’s discuss it.”

Unexpectedly, the impulsive Hao San hadn’t spoken yet when Liu Qi, who was usually steady, suddenly knelt down first.

“I beg you, please keep this child.”

“Regardless of whether Young Master Zhuang has ulterior motives or if he was sent here, the child is innocent.”

Hao San was taken aback.

Liu Qi continued without pause, “Not long ago, the abbot of Daci Temple just told you that your Highness has a thin connection to offspring, and if there is one, it’s only one child. Now that this child has appeared, I beg you to keep him; you must not abandon him.”

Hao San and Xu Si didn’t know about this; once it was brought up, even those who had hesitations had to think it over a few more times, so…

Looking at the trusted aides kneeling and pleading for him to keep the child, Cen Yan’s expression was inscrutable.

“Understood, you can all leave now; Liu Qi, stay.”

In the end, he didn’t agree.

Cen Yan wasn’t one to beat around the bush; not agreeing meant he definitely didn’t approve.

Hao San wanted to persuade him again, but Liu Qi shot him a look, urging him to leave.

Once it was just the two of them, Liu Qi remained kneeling, as if he had done something wrong.

The two of them were silent for a moment, and Cen Yan said, “You haven’t mentioned your mother’s advice this month; do you know?”

The old princess would send letters every other month to her son and daughter, very formal. In the past, Liu Qi would read them and pick out the important parts to tell Cen Yan. This month, the letter arrived, but Liu Qi hadn’t mentioned it.

Liu Qi: “…I guessed it when I was at Daci Temple.”

The old princess would always urge Cen Yan to marry whenever she wrote. Cen Yan had never paid attention to it.

There had also never been a warm bed in the residence.

Since that night at Guangyue Terrace, Liu Qi had had a vague suspicion. When he saw Cen Yan’s lack of reaction to the idea of having no heirs, Liu Qi was certain: Cen Yan must only like men.

“Your Highness, please keep this child. The Ren tribe is dwindling, nearly extinct. If we miss this chance, there may never be another…”

Liu Qi knelt and pleaded again.