It was also her first time being a mother, so she felt a small, quiet joy.
She was not joking. She had truly felt it…
One… no, two lives were growing inside her body.
That feeling was difficult to describe. There was a sense of accomplishment, as if she was about to become a parent, and there was also an inexplicable joy swelling quietly in her chest.
The babies had actually moved. In another seven months, they would be born. When that time came, wouldn’t that mean…
She suddenly realized something, and her expression instantly turned cold.
Ye Qinglian said coldly, “Let go. Don’t force me to take action!”
Chu Ning’s hands were pressed against Ye Qinglian’s lower abdomen, and he was grinning foolishly too. “Didn’t you say you would agree to one condition of mine, Your Majesty?”
“I never even touched a girl’s hand before, but now I actually have children. My own flesh and blood too…”
Ye Qinglian’s face flushed faintly, and her whole body went tense. “Have you hugged enough? If you have, let go!”
Chu Ning said, “Not yet. Let me feel it a little longer…”
Ye Qinglian gritted her teeth. “Are you hugging the children? Can’t you hold them after they’re born?”
Chu Ning chuckled and said, “I just can’t wait until then…”
However, as he leaned close to Ye Qinglian, Chu Ning was a little surprised. He could not help saying, “By the way, Qinglian, you smell really nice…”
The woman instantly broke free and glared at him furiously. “Is this you hugging the children? You are clearly hugging me!”
He was obviously using the excuse of hugging the children to take advantage of her.
Chu Ning did not blush at all. “You’re going to be my wife in the future. Am I not allowed to hug you?”
Ye Qinglian said coldly, “Chu Ning, don’t force me to take action. This is your last warning!”
She really did smell nice…
Chu Ning said, “Don’t be angry. At first, I really did want to hug the children.”
Ye Qinglian asked, “Then what were you doing afterward?”
Chu Ning smiled and changed the subject. “Can I ask you something?”
Ye Qinglian’s expression was icy as she sat back down, picked up her bowl and chopsticks, and continued eating. “Speak.”
Chu Ning studied the woman before him. He also knew that it would be rather difficult to break through the wall between them. At the very least, if he had no connection to Ye Qinglian at all, it would be impossible.
This empress was far too wary of outsiders. To some extent, she had also sealed away her own emotions.
But Chu Ning was different.
You have my babies in your belly!
That was his chance.
Chu Ning smiled at Ye Qinglian and slowly said, “I want to know why I lost control when I appeared in the secret chamber that day… Don’t attack me. I’m just asking.”
Ye Qinglian sheathed her sword and shot Chu Ning a glare. “That has to do with my cultivation physique. Every year, during the time of extreme Yin, I cannot control myself and must enter seclusion in the secret chamber.”
“I was originally about to finish my seclusion, but then you appeared.”
Chu Ning thought for a moment and asked, “That red aura came from you?”
Ye Qinglian said, “That aura can bewitch every existence in the world, regardless of gender or any other living being. Even I cannot control it!”
Chu Ning understood. “So I basically picked up a bargain…”
Chu Ning chuckled and leaned his head over. “If you wanted to kill me, it seems you wouldn’t need to say anything either, right?”
Ye Qinglian did not even glance at him. “I simply do not want the children to be born with no one by their side!”
Chu Ning smiled and nodded, expressing his approval. “A mother really does think more thoroughly. The things I said to Xiao Bing today should have reached your ears, right?”
Ye Qinglian did not answer. She only remained silent.
Chu Ning looked at the woman before him and smiled faintly. “She asked me whether I had any sincerity toward you. I think when anyone in this world sees someone for the first time, it is either desire at first sight or a pursuit of benefit. That kind of thing doesn’t exist from the start.”
Ye Qinglian clenched her fist and said flatly, “I do not need that kind of thing!”
Chu Ning said, “But since the two of us already have this kind of relationship, I will try to turn responsibility into sincerity. After all, when I look at you up close, Qinglian, you’re actually quite cute…”
A flash of embarrassment and anger swept through Ye Qinglian’s eyes.
Cute?
She was the empress of an Empire, decisive in killing, with cultivation that reached the heavens.
And Chu Ning called her cute?
She was just about to speak when Chu Ning said it for her.
Chu Ning said, “I know. If I say that again next time, I’ll die.”
Ye Qinglian said, “…”
Ye Qinglian said, “If you know, then don’t say it next time. Understand?”
Chu Ning smiled with narrowed eyes.
His wife really was quite cute. As long as he could understand her personality, it felt like there would not be too many problems.
Chu Ning had no interest in eating. He simply watched her quietly.
A moment later, Ye Qinglian put down her bowl and chopsticks in satisfaction.
Ye Qinglian said, “I need to handle government affairs now. If there is nothing else, leave.”
She looked at Chu Ning with a cold smile. “Today, I have already warned the hidden guards. Whether you enter or leave, the moment you are discovered, there is absolutely no chance you will reach this place!”
“Aren’t you some expert from beyond the world? Show me whether you can walk out of this hall without being noticed by the hidden guards.”
Chu Ning did not answer. He only smiled at Ye Qinglian. “What time will you eat dinner tonight?”
Ye Qinglian said, “When I finish handling matters.”
Chu Ning said, “That won’t do. You have to eat in the evening.”
She frowned unhappily. “I am the emperor. Do I need to listen to you?”
Chu Ning answered with complete confidence, “I am your husband, and the father of the children. You have to listen whether you want to or not.”
From head to toe, he carried an air that seemed to say, if you don’t accept it, then come and cut me down.
Yet Ye Qinglian just could not bring herself to act.
Because she knew this man was indeed doing it for her own good…
She said nothing more and only watched as Chu Ning cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks, then walked out of the hall.
Ye Qinglian gave a cold laugh.
Did he want to trick her into his hands, then conveniently take over her empire?
Impossible.
She did not believe it anyway.
After thinking this, Ye Qinglian raised her head and looked outside the hall.
The hidden guards were watching. If he was discovered, he could forget about coming here to deliver meals and take advantage of her again.
He had actually hugged her? What did whether she smelled nice or not have to do with him? Did he really think that just because they had children, he was truly her man?
Dream on.
But suddenly, she froze.
Chu Ning had just walked out through the door.
Where was he?
There was only one path leading outside, the main entrance of the hall. Where was he?
Ye Qinglian hurriedly stood up and walked to the doorway, looking outside.
There was no one there.
Ye Qinglian urgently called out, “Hidden guards, where are you?”
Several figures appeared and knelt on one knee to greet her. “Greetings, Your Majesty!”
Ye Qinglian looked at them and frowned. “Where is the person who just walked out of my Bright Virtue Hall?”
Everyone looked completely baffled.
One of them said, “Your Majesty… there was no one. We were absolutely watching with full attention just now!”
They had just been warned. How could they not watch carefully?
Had Her Majesty gone mad? She was not trying to find an excuse to replace them, was she?
Ye Qinglian’s eyes widened. She spread out her divine sense, but no matter where she searched, she could not find Chu Ning’s figure.
Where… exactly had he gone?
One of the hidden guards said, “Your Majesty, this is the second time. Have you perhaps been… hallucinating recently?”
Ye Qinglian suddenly froze.
Hallucinating?
She instinctively rubbed her lower abdomen.
Impossible. It could not be a hallucination. That damned man had just been angering her, and she had even eaten the food he made. How could it be a hallucination…
Ye Qinglian said, “All of you may leave. Continue watching.”
Ye Qinglian was a little dazed. She still did not understand what had happened.
How could such a living, breathing person simply vanish?
Only, when she turned around, she suddenly sensed that a strand of her hair had been lightly lifted.
She did not pay it any mind.
Ye Qinglian thought, “That guy must have used some method. It was very likely given to him by Xiao Bing… Forget it. Let him be.”
And Chu Ning was standing right behind Ye Qinglian with a smiling expression. Then he turned and returned to the palace.
Time to catch up on sleep…