Chapter 52

Unedited

Time passed quickly in the palace, and before he knew it, it slipped away between his fingers in a blink of an eye.

Since Shen Fengyue became pregnant, the system stopped using the bed technique, and it briefly escaped the ordeal. With less alcohol, the system had a rare moment of clarity and it even stopped talking to him in its cryptic way.

According to the time, Shen Fengyue was already four months pregnant with a slightly protruding belly. The system seemed to attach great importance to this child, and couldn’t help but play early education music every morning and tell bedtime stories to its child every night.

Shen Fengyue didn’t understand the system’s intentions, as the system looked at his belly with deep meaning, “You don’t understand its importance to me.”

Its voice was somewhat vague amidst the huge early childhood education music as if it was coming from the sky.

“It is my salvation.”

At first, Shen Fengyue could tolerate the system’s behavior, but after a month, he couldn’t take it anymore and angrily complained, “Are you crazy?”

The system glanced at him and then focused its gaze on his belly, coolly saying, “If you don’t let me do this, then I’ll go have fun and drink.”

“…,” Shen Fengyue was successfully threatened by it and could only step back, “You can continue.”

So the system enthusiastically continued to tell stories to its child.

When the Winter Solstice¹The Winter Solstice is the day with the shortest period of daylight and the longest night of the year, which usually falls on December 21 or 22 in the Northern Hemisphere and June 20 or 21 in the Southern Hemisphere. It marks the start of astronomical winter in the Northern Hemisphere and astronomical summer in the Southern Hemisphere. The Winter Solstice has been celebrated as a significant cultural and religious holiday in many parts of the world, including East Asia. arrived, Emperor Chu had someone send a lot of deer meat, more than Shen Fengyue could eat alone, so he invited Chu Xi to share it with him.

He had someone bring over a brazier with specialized grilling utensils on top, as Chu Xi and he sat on opposite sides.

The deer meat, which had been pre-cut by the palace servants to the appropriate size, was placed on it, immediately sizzling. Shen Fengyue sprinkled the seasonings that were placed next to him, and soon, the rich aroma of grilled meat spread throughout.

He first placed a piece of grilled deer meat into Chu Xi’s bowl. Chu Xi didn’t move his chopsticks, sitting upright and staring at him. Shen Fengyue winked at him and said, “Let’s have the palace servants leave when we eat together, so they won’t disturb us. What are you doing in a daze, quickly try my cooking skills.”

Chu Xi followed his gaze and picked up his chopsticks, grabbing a piece of deer meat and putting it in his mouth. After chewing a few times, he swallowed and looked up at Shen Fengyue eagerly.

“How is it?” Shen Fengyue asked him, feeling that this child was really introverted and wouldn’t speak unless prompted.

Chu Xi nodded and said softly, “It’s delicious.”

Cooking is something that people like to be praised for, and Shen Fengyue immediately smiled and said repeatedly, “That’s good, that’s good, let me continue.” He began to enthusiastically select pieces of meat to grill.

Because Chu Xi was still young, Shen Fengyue dared not give him wine and only put a fruit-based drink on his table that was just right to complement the deer meat.

Chu Xi took a small sip of the drink and his gaze crossed the grilled deer meat on the table, the hands that were grilling the meat for him, and landed on one place 

— The Imperial Concubine’s belly.

Perhaps because she was not going out today, the Imperial concubine was not heavily dressed up. Her hair and clothes were simple and elegant. She wore a winter dress in dark green, with a white rabbit fur collar. The Imperial concubine had a slim and well-proportioned figure, which made the slight bulge of her lower abdomen particularly noticeable.

That protruding belly stung his eyes, and Chu Xi couldn’t help but avert his gaze. The Imperial concubine was busy preparing the dishes for him, and he greedily enjoyed this tenderness, the maternal love he had been deprived of for so long. But at the same time, he felt a dark jealousy towards the child in her belly.

He couldn’t help but look at that belly again, thinking that if the Imperial concubine had her own child, she would not treat him so kindly anymore.

She would shower all her tenderness and love on her own child, cooking for him, hugging him when he was hurt, wiping away his tears… and all of these were happiness that he had never experienced.

He selfishly wished, his eyes turning into millions of needles, piercing that belly.

If only that child would disappear…it would be so much better…so much better…

“Chu Xi, what’s on your mind?” Shen Fengyue’s words startled him, and he quickly stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth and chewed it hastily to cover up.

His haste caused a layer of shiny oil to coat his mouth, which he was unaware of. With his mouth still moving, he looked at Shen Fengyue with a hint of confusion.

Shen Fengyue couldn’t help but laugh at this, and took out a handkerchief from his bag and leaned in to wipe the oil off his mouth. After doing so, he remembered something and looked down at his slightly protruding belly, rubbing it vigorously and saying casually, “It’s only four months now, and it won’t be noticeably bigger until seven or eight months.”

Chu Xi asked, “Is the Imperial Concubine hoping for a princess or a prince?”

Shen Fengyue shook his head, his lips curling into a smile. “Whether it’s a princess or a prince, it’s my child, and this palace will treat them equally.” He thought to himself that the child of this system would definitely not survive until birth, and he would find a chance to terminate it.

The system was stimulated by his rough actions just now and said, “Can you be more gentle? Be more gentle with my child!”

Shen Fengyue increased the pressure.

The system was so angry that its eyes turned red.

Chu Xi was choked up by Imperial Concubine’s loving and motherly expression, and despite her repeated efforts to keep him, he insisted on leaving, saying he had to go study. As he left, the sad expression on his face was visible to her back.

After dinner, following his usual routine, Shen Fengyue lay on the couch and felt the kindness of the system as the sound of books filled the air. He was drowsy and just as he was about to fall asleep, a cold breeze startled him awake.

He shuddered and felt the source of the cold breeze very close to him, and it was approaching his face step by step.

When he suddenly opened his eyes, he found the damn eunuch bent over in front of him. He asked, “Is the Imperial Concubine awake? Did the servant disturb your rest?” His speech was also cold.

Crap!

Shen Fengyue sat up with his hands propped up and looked unhappy as he asked, “What are you here for?”

Eunuch Shen lifted the box in his hand and only then did Shen Fengyue notice that he had brought something with him.

Eunuch Shen opened the lid to reveal what was inside, saying, “The Emperor sent someone to search for some interesting toys from the common people to alleviate the boredom of the Imperial concubine.”

Shen Fengyue half-opened his eyes and nodded to indicate that he could put the things down and leave.

But unexpectedly, Eunuch Shen put the things down and pretended not to understand, standing there like a log, even raising his eyebrows innocently.

He had some snow on him, and the snowflakes fell on his head, although many had melted and soaked his blue velvet clothes, but one stubborn snowflake remained on his eyebrows.

Eunuch Shen had thick eyebrows with a natural shape, and each eyebrow hair followed the contour of his face, but there was one hair that was particularly long and stood out. He raised his eyebrows, and the white snowflake also moved with it.

Shen Fengyue was originally speechless, but this scene made him laugh.

Eunuch Shen is so clever that he could tell the reason for his laughter with just a flicker of his eyes. He didn’t mind being laughed at and asked, “It’s snowing outside. It’s the first snow of the year in the capital city. Would the Imperial Concubine like to go and see it?”

As someone who rarely saw snow while living in the south, Shen Fengyue was moved by his words and almost immediately nodded in agreement without much thought.

It was the first snow of the year, and the snowflakes were not big, unlike the fluffy snowflakes falling down one by one, but like little white stars floating in the sky and falling down slowly, turning into small water stains on the ground as soon as they touched it.

Even so, Shen Fengyue behaved like a country bumpkin who had never seen the world, tilting his head back to let the snowflakes fall on his face as much as possible. He was excited when he felt the icy touch on his face.

He was so excited to see snow!

“It’s just snowing. Why are you so excited, Imperial Concubine?” Eunuch Shen couldn’t help but ask when he saw how happy he was.

Shen Fengyue rolled his eyes at him but didn’t answer him. He stretched out his hands to catch the snowflakes, and as he raised his hands, his shirt lifted up, making his protruding belly even more visible.

Eunuch Shen was attracted by the protruding belly and couldn’t resist reaching out to touch it.

As soon as his hand touched it, Shen Fengyue reacted strongly and slapped his hand with a snap. He hugged his stomach and stepped back a few steps, looking wary.

“What are you doing?!”

He rubbed his fingers as if recalling the touch just now, feeling the softness and elasticity…

Shen Fengyue knew what he was thinking when he saw his expression and warned him, “Don’t even think about it!”

The system was still screaming in his head, causing him a headache, “Ah ah ah ah ah Shen Fengyue, he touched our child!!!!”

“How dare he touch our child QAQ.”

Shen Fengyue comforted the system while communicating with Eunuch Shen. Eunuch Shen stopped rubbing his fingers after being reminded by him. He took a big step forward, narrowed the distance between him and Shen Fengyue, and bent down to approach the fake belly with a cautious expression. After observing it for a while, he suddenly reached out a finger to poke it.

But Shen Fengyue had anticipated it and dodged.

“Is this baby… fake?”

His finger was still pointing toward the fake belly in front of him.

Shen Fengyue couldn’t let him find out, so he confidently straightened his belly and propped up his waist with one hand, saying, “Sir, your words are out of line. Could it be that this palace is pretending to be pregnant and deceiving the emperor?”

Eunuch Shen’s eyes moved back and forth on his belly with a smirk, which made Shen Fengyue’s hair stand on end. His belly naturally moved back a bit, but thinking that he couldn’t lose face, he immediately straightened it again.

Eunuch Shen couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the sight of him desperately trying to push his belly up to the sky, and his face full of pride. Despite the glare he received, he couldn’t stop the joy from spreading. His laughter grew louder and louder, until it became so hoarse and unpleasant, almost like a duck’s quack.

He laughed until his neck and ears turned red, and finally, under the angry glare of Shen Fengyue, he covered his face with his sleeve, still unable to contain his laughter, and said, “Your Majesty, please don’t show your belly to your servant anymore, or you might strain your waist.”

Shen Fengyue: “…” I’m going to hit your horse, hit your lailai²The phrase “我敲你馬，敲你lailai啊” is a vulgar expression and can be interpreted as “I’ll hit your horse, hit your ‘lailai,’ (slang for genitals) , what’s so funny!

Eunuch Shen felt that the Imperial Concubine was his source of happiness, and every time he saw her, he always left with a smile on his face, feeling fulfilled.

He couldn’t resist teasing her with his old habits, pointing to her belly, bowing and saluting, shaking his head, and sighing in an exaggerated tone, “Your Highness’s methods truly amaze me, I have to say.”

Shen Fengyue was so angry that his body was trembling, and he had to exert great restraint to keep himself from swearing.

As the saying goes, getting angry is not good for one’s health, so for the sake of his own body, from then on whenever Eunuch Shen came, he would have Hong Mei or Luo Xue receive him and he wouldn’t see him at all.

The Imperial Concubine was still like a highly combustible cannon. After being shut out for so many days, Eunuch Shen knew that she was still angry, so he restrained himself somewhat.

The following days passed peacefully, Shen Fengyue and the system rarely had any arguments and each focused on doing their own thing. He had been waiting for the opportunity to have the abortion, and soon, it was New Year’s Eve.

• 1
  The Winter Solstice is the day with the shortest period of daylight and the longest night of the year, which usually falls on December 21 or 22 in the Northern Hemisphere and June 20 or 21 in the Southern Hemisphere. It marks the start of astronomical winter in the Northern Hemisphere and astronomical summer in the Southern Hemisphere. The Winter Solstice has been celebrated as a significant cultural and religious holiday in many parts of the world, including East Asia.
• 2
  The phrase “我敲你馬，敲你lailai啊” is a vulgar expression and can be interpreted as “I’ll hit your horse, hit your ‘lailai,’ (slang for genitals)