Chapter 64 – I’m going to beat eggs.
Zhao Qiao was brought in and before he could fully grasp the scene inside, Zhao Qi pounced on him in a bear hug.
Zhao Qi vigorously patted Zhao Qiao’s back, “Why did you take so long to come! If you were any later, you could have become an uncle, you know!”
Zhao Qiao endured Zhao Qi’s unprecedented enthusiasm, feeling both honored and surprised, “Your Majesty, I’ve missed you so much. I think of you all the time, even when eating and sleeping!”
Zhao Qiao wasn’t exaggerating; he really did think of Zhao Qi all the time, even during intimate moments with his concubines, eager not to delay the Emperor’s affairs.
“Where’s the physician from Dongying?” Zhao Qi’s face was full of urgency as he asked impatiently, “Where is he?”
“He’s waiting outside,” Zhao Qiao replied.
“Good, you may leave,” Zhao Qi dismissed Zhao Qiao with a slap on the back, “Quick, bring the physician in!”
Upon seeing the physician from Dongying, Zhao Qi felt a mysterious and somewhat pretentious aura coming from him—
The physician was dressed strangely in all black, wearing a black mask (?), with only his dark eyes visible, making it impossible to guess his age or appearance. Zhao Qi felt like at any moment he might fold his hands together, raise two fingers, perform a ninja invisibility technique, and disappear with a “poof”.
Zhao Qi hesitated for a moment, then looked down and confirmed that the physician was indeed male.
The physician bowed deeply to Zhao Qi, showing no sign of the usual nervousness when meeting the Emperor, “This humble one is Meichuan, greeting Your Majesty.”
Zhao Qi personally helped Meichuan up, affectionately saying, “So it’s Physician Mei. We’ve been waiting for you for so long. Quickly, take a look at my belly.” Zhao Qi proactively lifted his clothes, exposing his abdomen to Meichuan.
Meichuan was surprised to find that the Emperor was pregnant, but he knew what to ask and what not to ask. Without much ado, he examined the pulse and felt the belly, coming to a conclusion, “It’s a girl.”
Zhao Qi: “???”
Meichuan: “Your Majesty, this humble one has a unique talent for accurately discerning the gender of babies in pregnant women.”
Zhao Qi: “Your talent doesn’t seem very useful then.” But it could be handy for setting up a fortune-telling stall.
Xiao Jinzi seemed somewhat regretful, “The first one is a princess…”
”What’s wrong with a princess? I quite like girls, a cute little princess… Wait,” Zhao Qi realized he was getting sidetracked by them, quickly steering back, “I didn’t ask you to look at this. Doctor Mei, can you get rid of the child in my belly?”
Doctor Mei Chuan said, “Your Majesty, it’s nearly the fourth month of pregnancy, equivalent to the fifth month for normal women. The fetus is already formed. In another four months, the little princess can be born—Your Majesty, you should consider this carefully.”
The dragon egg in his belly kicked again, and Zhao Qi paused, sitting down slowly on the chair.
At this moment, he realized clearly that there was a small life growing inside him, slowly but surely. He… no, she, perhaps inherited half of his genes, as He Changzhou said. She might look a lot like him, a miniature version of Zhao Qi. To erase a “little Zhao Qi,” he…
Just as Zhao Qi’s determination wavered by one percent, Jiang Dehai’s voice accompanied by a knock interrupted, “Your Majesty, Prince Zhaonan requests an audience.”
Very well, that one percent was gone.
”No need to consider further,” Zhao Qi said decisively, “I’ve made up my mind about this child.”
Mei Chuan nodded, “Please prepare the ink and paper, follow my prescription to gather the medicine.”
Zhao Qi asked, “Is it for a medicinal abortion?”
”Yes,” Mei Chuan said, “The prescription is complex, the preparation process is intricate, and the medicine must be taken promptly after preparation, or its effectiveness will be compromised.”
”When can I have the child removed?”
”Around noon tomorrow.”
Zhao Qi hesitated for a moment, “Will it be painful?”
”Your Majesty can imagine cutting out a piece of flesh or a bone from your body—how could it not be painful?”
Zhao Qi persisted, “Isn’t there a painless way?”
”…There isn’t.”
Zhao Qi clenched his teeth, “Then please, write down the prescription, Doctor.”
Li Chisu had been waiting outside for a long time. Zhao Qi neither summoned him nor dismissed him, so he could only wait patiently.
Finally, there was movement. Xiao Jinzi came out leading a man dressed in exotic attire. Li Chisu glanced at the man—this attire had distinct Eastern characteristics. Could this man be from Dongying?
”Prince,” Jiang Dehai said, “Your Majesty asks you to come in.”
Li Chisu regained his senses, straightened his clothes, and entered the room.
”Your Majesty.”
Zhao Qi looked up at him, his eyes seeming poisoned, as if he wanted to poison him to death.
Li Chisu was of noble status, exceptionally handsome, well-versed in the ways of romance, a dream lover for many men and women in Nanzhou. Now, being looked at with such disgust by the person he most desired and favored, he truly felt hurt. “Have I offended Your Majesty again?”
Zhao Qi never had a good impression of playboys like Li Chisu. Now, forced to carry his child, Zhao Qi saw Li Chisu as fundamentally flawed. He couldn’t even be bothered to curse at him anymore. “What do you want?”
Li Chisu’s tone was slightly serious, “A matter of importance.”
”Speak.”
”Your Majesty, although the disaster in Jiangxia is said to be a natural calamity, it is also partly due to human causes. Since the founding of our dynasty, there have been repeated floods and blockages in transportation due to a lack of talented water management officials. Take the current disaster in Jiangxia as an example. Local officials are patching up rather than addressing the root causes. Even if they can temporarily alleviate the disaster, it is by no means a long-term solution.” Li Chisu spoke eloquently, “As the saying goes, to control water, it is better to dredge than to block, and better to divert than to dredge.”
Zhao Qi didn’t expect Li Chisu to bring up something so serious. Last night, he and Xiao Shiqing had discussed this in bed, and Xiao Shiqing had lamented, “Our dynasty lacks a great Yu.”
Zhao Qi looked skeptical, “Do you understand water management?”
Li Chisu smiled, “I don’t, but I know who does.”
”Who?”
”This person is a renowned scholar in Jiangxia, living in seclusion on Wumang Mountain outside the city. He is extraordinarily talented in waterways, but he is aloof and refuses to associate with others of lesser caliber. He was a close friend of my late father and taught me for a period when I was young. Your Majesty, if we can persuade him to come down from the mountain, the matter of water management will surely be twice the result with half the effort.”
”Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
”A few years ago, I visited him once and asked why he refused to come down. He said… he said the emperor was incompetent and unworthy of his service.”
”…” Oh, so the blame is on him again.
”Although he is stubborn, I am willing to try on Your Majesty’s behalf to persuade him to manage the water—only asking Your Majesty not to hurry me away too quickly.”
Zhao Qi sneered, “After all that talk, is this what you’re here for?”
”Yes, and no,” Li Chisu said, “I also sincerely wish to share Your Majesty’s burdens.”
Zhao Qi thought for a moment, “If this person is really as capable as you say, even if I have to visit him three times, I will invite him down the mountain.”
”I’ll leave immediately. Your Majesty is the emperor, and there’s no need to lower yourself like this. Besides…” Li Chisu paused, “The road to Wumang Mountain is rugged, and Your Majesty’s current condition is heavy. It’s not suitable for mountain climbing.”
”Rest assured, I won’t be heavy for long.”
Li Chisu was taken aback, “What does Your Majesty mean?”
Zhao Qi said calmly, “The divine doctor from Dongying is here. Tomorrow at noon, he will help me remove the dragon egg.”
Li Chisu fell silent for a moment before asking, “Is Your Majesty really going to do this?”
”If the dragon egg wasn’t yours, I might have hesitated a bit,” Zhao Qi looked down at his belly, which was growing day by day, “Unfortunately, it is yours.”
Li Chisu chuckled, but there was no humor in his eyes, “In that case, I’ve implicated this child. If I were to say that this child isn’t mine, would Your Majesty give him a way out?”
Zhao Qi frowned, “What do you mean?”
The words almost came out, but Li Chisu didn’t say them in the end. Zhao Qi already disliked him so much, if he found out he had lied to him again…
”It’s nothing,” Li Chisu heard himself say, “Since Your Majesty has made up your mind, I have nothing more to say.”
After finishing speaking, Li Chisu was stunned.
Zhao Qi nodded and said, “I permit you to stay in Jiangxia for five more days. Find a way to invite that water management expert you mentioned down from the mountains. If there’s nothing else, you may withdraw.”
Mei Chuan, dressed in foreign attire, coming in and out of the Emperor’s residence naturally caught Fu Zi’s attention. As soon as Xiao Shiqing returned to the inn, Fu Zi reported this matter to him.
Fu Zi asked, “Prime Minister, should I investigate this person’s background?”
Without needing to investigate, Xiao Shiqing already knew that the person was likely the Japanese physician Zhao Qi had invited. However, he wasn’t sure of the extent of the person’s true abilities.
“You say this person was brought by Zhao Qiao?”
“Exactly.”
“…Then we should investigate.”
“Understood.” Seeing Xiao Shiqing’s thoughtful expression, Fu Zi asked, “Prime Minister, do you have any concerns?”
Xiao Shiqing slowly said, “What do you think the Emperor intends by inviting such a physician from afar?”
“Naturally, it’s to ensure a successful childbirth.”
Initially, Xiao Shiqing thought the same, but he began to feel something was amiss. The young Emperor had been by his side, waiting for him to speak or even subtly hinting, but he hadn’t. Could it be that the young Emperor truly intended to deceive everyone?
Moreover, since Zhao Qi had concealed this from him, he probably didn’t want him to know about the child’s existence. After the child was born, he wouldn’t acknowledge him as the father either.
So, what did that make him? The young Emperor took fertility drugs to have a child and sought him out merely for bloodline compatibility, with no connection to the Xiao family?
His thoughts grew increasingly chaotic. Xiao Shiqing forced himself to stop speculating and asked, “How much longer until the person I asked you to find arrives?”
Fu Zi replied, “The journey from Japan to Jiangxia is long. Even without rest, it will take several tens of days round trip.”
“Too long.”
Fu Zi fell silent. Having followed the Prime Minister for many years, this was the first time he clearly sensed his turmoil—Xiao Shiqing was agitated, even somewhat panicked.
Xiao Shiqing closed his eyes. He was afraid he might have to break his promise.
“Keep an eye on the Emperor,” he instructed Fu Zi, “Take note of everything he does and says. Report immediately if anything is amiss.”
“Understood.”
That night, the candles in Zhao Qi’s, Li Chisu’s, and Xiao Shiqing’s rooms burned through the night.
The next day was similarly gloomy. Thick dark clouds rumbled with thunder, oppressive and suffocating.
Zhao Qi sat by the window, staring absentmindedly at the clouds.
A strange, indescribable scent drifted into his nostrils. He turned his head and met Mei Chuan’s eyes peering in from outside. “Your Majesty, the medicine is ready.”
Zhao Qi’s heart tensed. He couldn’t tell whether he was more nervous or scared, but his voice trembled when he spoke, “Bring it in.”
Jiang Dehai closed all the doors and windows. Xiao Jinzi, Cheng Boyan, and others stood before him. Each looked different, yet their expressions and gazes were strangely similar—they were all worried about him.
Zhao Qi glanced at the bowl of medicine. It looked no different from the previous tonic he had taken, but its effects were completely different.
“Physician, are you sure?” Zhao Qi asked anxiously.
Mei Chuan replied, “If something happens to Your Majesty, I won’t leave Jiangxia alive. I won’t risk my life, let alone Your Majesty’s. Please rest assured.”
“What will happen to me after I drink this medicine?”
“You will endure severe abdominal pain for half a day, followed by the expulsion of blood clots.”
Upon hearing the words “blood clots,” Zhao Qi’s already pale face turned even paler. “Damn…”
His dragon’s egg, the dragon’s egg of four months, was about to turn into blood clots…
Jiang Dehai couldn’t bear to hear this and couldn’t help but advise again, “Your Majesty! Please reconsider, Your Majesty—”
Mei Chuan reminded him, “Your Majesty, the medicine must be drunk while hot, otherwise the fetus won’t be expelled cleanly, and Your Majesty will suffer in the future.”
…Damn it, here goes nothing!
Zhao Qi took a deep breath, no longer hesitating. He picked up the bowl of soup and was about to drink it when suddenly a commotion came from outside the door.
T/N: There is plenty more where that came from, so stay tuned! And stay healthy! Straighten your posture, so some stretches and drink some water before continuing hehe~
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Also, check out the other series we have on HoH!
If you like cats, check out Revenge of the Garfield
If you like dragons, check out I’m Pregnant with the Hope of the Entire Planet and The Dragon and the ‘Princess’
How about some mystery or showbiz? Check out Morbid Addiction & Perfection
What about the perfect, most non-toxic male lead ever? Laws of Love
How about MC nursing ML back to health? Forced into the Deep
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