Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 854 - 18: Li Xingsheng & Ling Yuezi Side Story (18) Dragon and Phoenix Twins_3
He revealed the token and entered the Moonlight Palace.
Coincidentally, Ah Qing was in the main hall, supervising the other little palace maids as they cleaned.
Seeing him dust-covered and haggard, Ah Qing asked in surprise, "Mr. Li, why do you look like this? Are you... weren’t you supposed to return to Zhao Country? Why are you still in Luocheng?"
"Where’s the Princess?" Li Xingsheng’s eyes were sharp, a stark contrast to his usual gentleness. "What does she mean by this?"
Li Xingsheng took out the letter from his pocket and handed it to Ah Qing.
Ah Qing sighed and nodded to him, "Mr. Li, please follow me." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
She led Li Xingsheng to Ling Yuezi’s bedroom.
The arrangements in the bedroom were unchanged, but the beautiful woman was gone.
"The Princess explained everything in the letter. She did this for your own good, hoping that you would choose another beloved," Ah Qing sighed softly.
"Ha! Choose another beloved? Doesn’t she understand that to me, she is the only one? Asking me to choose another beloved, is she doing this deliberately to make things difficult?" Li Xingsheng’s face was clouded with gloom.
Ah Qing felt troubled, "Mr. Li, I’m just the messenger; I can’t influence the Princess’s thoughts."
"Where did she go?" Li Xingsheng asked coldly.
"She went on a border patrol, traveling along the edges of Nanyue. As for where she is now, I... can’t say. She hasn’t sent any letters," Ah Qing was deeply troubled by the situation.
Is there no solution that will satisfy both sides?
Li Xingsheng glanced at Ah Qing, said nothing, and turned to leave.
"Since that’s the case, then we’ll never see each other again! She walks her own path, and I’ll cross my own bridge! We shall part ways!" Li Xingsheng spoke with clenched teeth.
Ah Qing frowned and sighed once more.
.
Ling Yuezi left Nanyue Capital Luocheng with twenty thousand soldiers, arriving at Pearl City in the southernmost part of Nanyue.
After staying in the city for only three days, she began to feel unwell, exhausted, and nauseated by everything she ate.
Ah Lan, who was traveling with her, showed concern, "The Princess has always lived in the Northern Land, perhaps you’re not acclimated to the Southern weather and water. Pearl City is by the sea, with few fields, and we either eat salty fish and shrimp or bitter seaweed every day. Not even a green leaf in sight; it’s hard on the Princess."
Another maid, Ziying, brought a cup of tea and sighed, "Funan Country occupied the little bit of good farmland on the outskirts of Pearl City. Even the farmers don’t have vegetables to eat, so how could there be any to sell? To satisfy the Princess’s craving for fresh vegetables, shall I gather some wild ones?"
"Do you recognize wild vegetables? Make sure not to gather anything poisonous," Ah Lan reminded.
"I recognize them; I often ate wild vegetables when I was young," Ziying said.
Ling Yuezi covered her chest, panic rising in her heart.
If she was not mistaken, she was not merely unacclimated, but rather...
Pregnant!
She had been intimately with Li Xingsheng for over three months; in the first two, they were together almost every day, only separating recently.
Li Xingsheng had good stamina and always desired to be with her.
And since that intimate day, she had not had her menstrual blood, although before, it always came on time.
"Stop arguing, listen to me!" Looking at the two maids, Ling Yuezi took a deep breath, "I might be... pregnant."
"Ah?" The two maids were wide-eyed with shock.
"This, this, this... what should we do, Princess? You’ll be very burdened," Ah Lan was extremely anxious.
Since arriving at Pearl City, Ling Yuezi had not rested for even half a day, immediately overseeing the defensive preparations inside and outside the city.
The south is hotter than the Northern Land; Pearl City has perpetual summer, with the sun blazing overhead like a fiery ball.
Conducting inspections of defensive preparations while pregnant, how will she manage?
Ziying also worriedly said, "Princess, once your belly grows, if Funan Country attacks, what will you do?"
Upon realizing her pregnancy, Ling Yuezi was shocked for only a moment, then calmly accepted it.
When she was with Li Xingsheng, she had considered this possibility.
If she conceived, then she would naturally give birth.
The palace nannies knew many methods of contraception, used by less favored concubines.
But she never inquired about them.
She liked Li Xingsheng, was willing to bear his child, except she couldn’t be a suitable wife.
"It’s not a big deal; things will unfold as they should. This is my and Mr. Li’s child, and I’ll deliver it well. However, the news of my pregnancy must be kept secret," Ling Yuezi instructed the two maids sternly.
Ah Lan and Ziying exchanged a look, "Yes."
.
Funan Country is more extensive and populous than Nanyue Country, and its people have an even fiercer nature.
The current queen is a greedy individual.
She has bullied and invaded almost all surrounding small nations.
Funan Country not only plunders food and treasures but also seizes people and livestock.
The Queen has even ordered the capture of some handsome men for her enjoyment.
It’s said the Queen’s palace contains over a hundred male concubines.
Thinking of the Funan Queen’s love for handsome men, Ling Yuezi felt fortunate she didn’t bring Li Xingsheng along.
If her own handsome man were taken by Funan Country’s hideous queen, she would probably go mad with rage.
She hopes Li Xingsheng forgets about her, marries a kind and beautiful woman, but definitely not Funan Country’s fifty-something pockmarked dwarf queen!
After arriving at Pearl City, Ling Yuezi discovered that the Funan Queen’s claimed desire to avenge the Regent King stemmed from her secret relationship with him, being her most favored paramour.
They conspired secretly to divide up Nanyue together.
Except, the Regent King was suddenly eliminated by Li Xingsheng.
.
To avoid revealing her pregnancy, Ling Yuezi started wearing Zhao Country-style dresses, whose waistline was beneath the chest, hiding the steadily rounding belly.
With a cape draped over, it was impossible to notice she was pregnant.
Since she had trained in martial arts from a young age, even with a large belly, her movements remained more agile than other pregnant women.
Ah Lan and Ziying looked on with admiration.
.
Ling Yuezi made strict arrangements for all defensive works in Pearl City and personally supervised the military training.
Funan Country attacked Pearl City several times unsuccessfully and were instead routed by the vanguard led by Ah Lan.
After repeatedly failing to gain any advantage, Funan Country behaved itself, merely confronting without launching any attacks.
By summer that year, Ling Yuezi gave birth to a pair of twins.
Ah Lan and maid Ziying each cradled a child, laughing, "Both children resemble Mr. Li."
Ling Yuezi smiled gently, "It’s good that they do; it’ll make it easier for them to recognize their father someday."
Ah Lan glanced at the children, "Princess, what names will you give the children?"
Ling Yuezi hadn’t considered this; she hoped Li Xingsheng would personally name the children, allowing him to experience the joy of fatherhood.
She smiled and said, "I’ll let him name them in the future. For now, let’s just call them by their childhood nicknames. The elder brother is Da Bao, and the younger sister is Xiao Nan."
Ah Lan and Ziying both glanced at the children, "Yes, Da Bao, Xiao Nan."
Nanyue Country has an open culture; men marrying women, visiting marriages, having children without a man is quite common.
Moreover, since the Eldest Princess now has two children by her side, people offered blessings without criticism.
.
Time passed quietly, and in a blink, the twins were a month old.
That day, urgent reports from the front brought news of a strange occurrence in a city adjacent to Nanyue belonging to Funan Country.
Flocks of birds flew wildly, herds of beasts ran amok, and the well water turned cloudy.
Ling Yuezi stood at a height, observing the celestial phenomena, and smiled, "A blessing from heaven."
