Chapter 16: The Emperor Is Pregnant

Chapter 16: His Majesty Is With Child

In the Zichen Palace, the imperial physicians filed in. Emperor Zhaowu rarely summoned imperial physicians unless his old injuries flared up, often even foregoing routine pulse readings due to his busy schedule. This time, an urgent summons from Zichen Palace sent the on-duty director of the Imperial Medical Bureau, Xu Yuanli, rushing over with his team.

Xiao Chen was already awake as he lay on the dragon bed in the inner hall, but the churning nausea in his chest and his dizziness had not eased much. With his eyes closed, he rested his wrist on the pulse pillow. Xu Yuanli paid his respects before placing his fingers on the emperor’s wrist to take the pulse. Moments later, his expression shifted slightly—the distinct sensation beneath his fingertips was unmistakably a slippery pulse, like beads rolling swiftly.

He even began to question his own medical expertise. After trying several different pulse-taking techniques, the sensation beneath his fingers remained unchanged.

By the time he withdrew, his temples were beaded with sweat, and his face had turned pale. The three other physicians on duty took turns stepping forward to check the pulse. Xiao Chen was highly attuned to others' presence; he had noticed Xu Yuanli’s tense, hurried breathing as he stood up. When the second physician began his examination, Xiao Chen opened his eyes and observed the man growing increasingly nervous.

Frowning slightly, Xiao Chen withdrew his wrist before the third physician could approach.

"Speak plainly to me. What is the illness?"

The second physician appeared both incredulous and flustered, instinctively glancing at Xu Yuanli. Xu Yuanli, coming from a long line of medical practitioners, had by then regained his composure. He cupped his hands and spoke:

"Your Majesty, I must report to you privately."

Xiao Chen propped himself up slightly.

"Zhang Fu will remain. The rest of you, withdraw."

The attendants in the room withdrew in sequence, retreating beyond the courtyard and maintaining a distance of five paces. The other three physicians also moved to the outer chamber. According to palace protocol, physicians must report separately after taking the pulse. Xiao Chen looked at Xu Yuanli.

"Speak."

"Has Your Majesty recently experienced loss of appetite, weariness, and nausea?"

Xiao Chen nodded. Xu Yuanli took a deep breath.

"Your Majesty, your pulse is smooth, rounded, and flowing like rolling beads—a clear slippery pulse. This pulse is typically seen in women during pregnancy. I cannot be mistaken. Combined with your recent symptoms, it is highly, highly likely that you are pregnant."

Even someone as composed as Xiao Chen was stunned for a moment, while Zhang Fu dared not even breathe heavily.

After regaining his composure, Xiao Chen summoned the other imperial physicians one by one to take his pulse and listened to their individual reports. Each was more alarmed than the last, yet all unanimously confirmed it was a pregnancy reading.

The current emperor was actually pregnant. Mishandling this situation could be risking their lives. Xu Yuanli, having served for many years and being well-versed in medical texts, steeled himself and reported:

"Your Majesty, my family’s medical texts once recorded a people known as the Luo. Among the Luo, both men and women can conceive. According to records, the Luo were wiped out by Emperor Jing’an in the early years of the previous dynasty, and many texts about them were destroyed. However, it is likely that a few Luo survived. If Your Majesty has Luo ancestry, this pulse could be explained."

Hearing about the Luo, Xiao Chen vaguely recalled his mother once mentioning this people in a storytelling manner during his childhood. He had treated it as a joke, but now…

The absurd night resurfaced in his mind, and the image of that scoundrel who held him down like an eager young wolf grew clearer. If he were truly pregnant, it could only be from that night.

The physicians in the room knelt with their heads bowed, not daring to look up. The origin of this child was naturally not something they could inquire about. But the emperor currently had no consorts and no heirs. If this child were born, it would be the emperor’s firstborn. Yet no one could predict how the emperor would react to fathering a child himself. They dared not utter a word, only lying face down in silence.

Xiao Chen lowered his gaze, his eyes resting on his abdomen. Could there truly be a child here—his and that stubborn one's? To keep it or not? If he kept it, what would he and Ling Yehan become?

"If I do not want it, is there a way?"

"According to the texts I’ve read, inducing miscarriage for a pregnant Luo individual is nearly identical to the methods used for women. Afterward, I could supplement with tonics to replenish qi and blood, ensuring Your Majesty’s safety."

Although Luo men being able to conceive was unusual, according to ancient texts, the medical treatments differed little from those for women.

Xiao Chen remained silent for a long time. If he chose not to keep it, just a few doses of medicine would suffice, and everything could return to how it was—unchanged. He closed his eyes.

"Prepare the medicine."

Xu Yuanli kowtowed and left with the other physicians. As expected, the emperor could not accept this. But it was hardly surprising—the emperor, noble as the ruler of a nation, would have consorts in the future and would have no shortage of heirs.

At this moment in the side courtyard of the Marquis’s residence, Ling Yehan listened to the family's endless demands and finally laughed in exasperation.

He stared down at Wei Dacheng, his gaze tinged with amusement:

"Repeat what you just said."

Wei Dacheng felt so unnerved under his gaze that he didn’t know what to do with his hands and feet. He swallowed hard and spoke again:

"Xiao Feng, you are a member of the Wei family. You went missing as a child, and now that our family is reunited, you should change your surname back to Wei, acknowledge your ancestors, and honor the Wei family lineage. Our Wei family has now been granted the title of Marquis."

Ling Yehan sneered:

"Do you really think a six-year-old child would remember nothing? 'Went missing'? I just happened to 'go missing' into an acrobatics troupe, and the troupe even gave you a string of coins—is that how I went missing?"

Wei Daguang’s face instantly changed color, and even Wei Boyang turned pale. He actually remembered.

Before any of them could speak, Wu Shi knelt down crying and grabbed the hem of Ling Yehan’s robe:

"Xiao Feng, it’s my fault. At that time, the family was too poor—we only had two bowls of thin porridge a day. I know I wronged you, but back then, only by going with the acrobatics troupe could you survive. If you want to blame anyone, blame me. It’s all my fault."

Ling Yehan looked down at her. In his past life, she had knelt at his feet just like this. He vaguely remembered some of what happened back then—it was the last years of the previous reign, a time of severe drought. Selling children or giving them away was not uncommon. In places hit harder by the disaster, there were even cases of people exchanging children to eat. The eldest son was the family’s lifeline, and the youngest was still in swaddling clothes. Selling a child like him, who had just reached the age to train for acrobatics, seemed like the only logical choice for survival.

He had resented it, but he remembered Xiao Chen once saying that in times of national disaster and natural calamity, the common people could not be blamed. Selling a child, though shameful, was a means for the poorest victims to survive. So, in his past life, though he disliked it and never changed his surname, he still tacitly acknowledged the Wei family and settled them outside the city. But human greed knows no bounds. The Wei family was not one to walk the righteous path. Such people might seem honest when oppressed, but once they gained power, they would lose control, revealing their rapacious claws and stopping at nothing for wealth and status.

He helped Wu Shi to her feet:

"Considering that what happened back then was caused by natural disaster, this Marquis will not punish you. The surname Ling was imperially bestowed by His Majesty. My ties with the Wei family were severed long ago. I will not punish you, nor will I acknowledge this surname. From now on, the Wei family has nothing to do with me."

His blunt, decisive tone shattered the long-cherished dreams of everyone in the room. Wei Daguang stood up, wide-eyed:

"This is unfilial and ungrateful! We gave birth to you and raised you until you were six. Is this how you repay us?"

He even tried to grab Ling Yehan, but at that moment, the door swung open, and guards with swords filed in. Wei Daguang panicked but didn’t want to back down. He refused to believe Ling Yehan would dare to kill his own father here.

Having ruled for over a decade in his past life, Ling Yehan saw through his thoughts almost instantly. In one swift motion, he drew the sword from the guard beside him. A cold gleam flashed as the blade landed on Wei Daguang’s neck, cutting off a section of hair:

"You refuse face when it’s given, and now you dare to act like an elder in front of me? You think a slight resemblance is enough to force me to acknowledge you? Among the millions of people in Great Zhou, countless look alike. In this life, I, Ling Yehan, have only one relative—His Majesty. Everyone else is nothing but ants in my eyes. Killing one or a hundred makes no difference. The lives of all of you combined are like dandelion fluff in the wind—scattered and gone."

"Guards."

"At your command."

"Drive these people out from the capital and send them back to their hometown. If any of them dare to claim kinship with me in the future, it will be considered a false claim of relation to a court official, and they will be punished accordingly."

The Wei family never expected Ling Yehan to be so heartless. Their cries were quickly muffled by the guards as they were dragged away.

Ling Yehan had no desire to stay in the room any longer and stepped outside. It was then that the steward hurried up to him, looking anxious:

"Marquis, His Majesty was here earlier. He came as far as the side gate of this courtyard but left after glancing inside."

Ling Yehan snapped to attention.

"What?"

Xiao Chen had come. Of course, he would have known the Wei family had been lingering in the capital for days. But why did he come and then leave?

"Marquis, I—from a distance, I saw that His Majesty looked displeased when he left."

No sooner had the words been spoken than Ling Yehan bolted toward the nearest side gate. He grabbed a horse and galloped at full speed, whip in hand, toward the palace gates. The palace gates had already been locked for the night, but he pulled out an imperially bestowed token from Xiao