While speaking, Shen Muzhi kept observing Yan Xiao's expression.

Seeing her strange expression and the fact that she didn't answer immediately, his heart sank, but he forced himself to appear indifferent.

Before Yanxiao could reply, he quickly and cautiously added:

"It's okay if Yan'er doesn't want to. I don't particularly like children. As long as you're willing to be with me, that's fine."

Shen Muzhi's words further confirmed Yan Xiao's thoughts.

She immediately called upon her guardian angel in her heart:

"What's wrong with your male lead? Is something going on here?"

The guardian spirit first gave a haughty "humph" twice, and then directly pulled Yan Xiao into the space.

Yan Xiao's vision went white, and she found herself standing before the guardian deity. She looked at the deity uncertainly and asked:

"Why did you suddenly pull me in here? Is this serious?"

"It's not serious, but it's a matter that can't be explained in a few words. Are you sure you want to leave now without figuring it out?"

Yan Xiao felt relieved immediately upon hearing this and calmly sat down.

"Alright, go ahead."

"Actually, it's nothing. It's just that when Su Yuanyuan was with you, she felt your pulse and noticed something was wrong with your body."

She just thinks your medical skills are unparalleled throughout history, and you must know your own body well. Plus, you're still treating Mu Yunniang's infertility, so it's even less likely you can't cure yourself. The only possibility is that you don't want to be treated.

She couldn't figure it out, and since it was a very private matter that she couldn't ask you directly, she went to ask Chu Heng.

Chu Heng is such a smart person. After a little analysis, he immediately concluded that you didn't want to have a child with Shen Muzhi, so you did it on purpose, and told Su Yuanyuan to pretend she knew nothing and not to mention it to anyone.

Yan Xiao was speechless, completely exasperated. He hadn't expected the two senior and junior siblings to be talking about him behind his back. He looked at the guardian spirit with amusement and said...

"And then? How did Shen Muzhi find out without telling anyone?"

Hehe~

The guardian spirit smiled smugly, rolled his eyes at Yan Xiao, and then said:

"Isn't that because some people brought trouble upon themselves and upset Chu Heng? If you upset him, do you think he'll let you off the hook?"

Yan Xiao's eyelids twitched upon hearing this, and she roughly understood what was going on. Chu Heng's subsequent words confirmed her suspicions:

"To provoke Chu Heng, you told people that Su Yuanyuan had gone to marry a foreign ruler. Chu Heng didn't know if it was true or not, and in a fit of anger, he left a letter for Shen Muzhi before leaving."

The letter stated directly that you had a physical ailment, and that if it wasn't intentional, you could certainly resolve it with your medical skills. It also indicated that it wouldn't affect your health in any way, only hindering your ability to have children.

The guardian spirit clicked its tongue twice at this point and continued:

"Your husband didn't sleep all night after reading the letter. I thought he would question you, but he just kept quiet for so long and acted like nothing happened."

Even now, as we part ways, you only dare to probe so indirectly—you're truly capable! I must say, you have a real knack for managing your husband; I admire you greatly.

Shut up!

Yan Xiao glared at the guardian deity, slightly annoyed:

"Since you already knew, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

The guardian spirit shrugs and acts completely innocent, like:

"What are you saying? You didn't ask me anything, so what am I supposed to tell you? Now that you've asked, haven't I already told you?"

"you......"

Yan Xiao pointed at the guardian deity, then realized that further arguing was pointless, and simply fell silent.

"Alright, take me back."

The guardian spirit had originally expected to see Yan Xiao jump up and down, but Yan Xiao remained so calm, which disappointed him somewhat.

"Alright."

He then put Yan Xiao back down, wanting to see how she would coax Shen Muzhi.

After Yan Xiao returned to her body, she immediately looked at Shen Muzhi, concealing her guilty conscience completely, and said as if she had just remembered something:

"I've been so busy lately that I forgot to tell you something. Now that you've brought it up, I've remembered. If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten about it."

"What?" Shen Muzhi's voice was very soft, almost ethereal.

"It's nothing."

Yan Xiao coughed lightly before speaking in a serious tone:

"When we first slept together, weren't you drugged by Jiang Xinrui? I was worried that the child conceived that way would be unhealthy, so I used some contraceptive methods on myself."

After returning to Jiangbei, I was so busy with so many things, and you weren't around, so I gradually forgot about it. If you hadn't mentioned the child, I really wouldn't have remembered it.

"Huh? Oh..."

Shen Muzhi was stunned by the answer. The reason he waited until now to ask was because he was timid.

He never knew he was such a timid person until he faced Yan Xiao. He realized that he was no different from others and could also be timid and retreat.

He had always known that Yan Xiao had a secret. In the past, he had made excuses for Yan Xiao, thinking that those things were not right and did not make sense because of Yan Xiao's original identity.

But after learning Yanxiao's identity, he couldn't help but learn about the Miao ethnic holy maiden and the history of the Miao people, only to find that some of the things he learned about Yanxiao didn't match up at all.

Yanxiao is like a mystery. He allows Yanxiao to have secrets and does not force her to tell him everything, but that does not mean he can really not care.

He often felt lucky to have Yanxiao's favor, but at the same time he felt uneasy and even fearful, worrying that one day he would wake up and find that this person had regretted it and left him, and he wouldn't even know where to look for him.

He could only console himself, thinking that perhaps he was overthinking things, and that he should have more confidence in himself. He believed that as long as he continued to treat her well, he would be able to keep her.

Everything would be fine once the two of them had another child, but Chu Heng, of all people, gave him that letter.

The letter was short, but it kept him up at night, making him wonder if Yanxiao had really decided and was sure that he wanted to spend his life with her.

If so, why would she hide the fact that she was using contraception from him?

He's been holding back from mentioning it not because he doesn't want to, but because he's afraid to.

Now that they were about to part ways, he couldn't contain himself any longer, but he only dared to subtly probe Yanxiao's attitude.

But Yan Xiao's answer left him unsure of what expression to make; all his recent struggles and anxieties seemed like a joke.

Shen Muzhi almost slapped himself. If he had known it would turn out like this, he should have just asked directly back then. He was such a cowardly and stupid coward.

Yan Xiao found Shen Muzhi's silly appearance rather endearing, even though the word seemed a bit out of place when applied to him. That was just how she felt at the moment.

She smiled and pushed a cup of tea towards Shen Muzhi, her eyes filled with affection, as if to calm him down. She then said, with a pointed remark:

"If you have any questions in the future, just tell me directly. Why are you hesitating? Do you think I'm going to eat you?"

"Isn't it just that I want a child? Once all this settles down, I'll have one whenever I feel like it."

When Shen Muzhi met Yan Xiao's gaze, he felt as if he had been seen through, which made him feel a little embarrassed.

But after hearing what Yan Xiao said next, he couldn't help but feel happy again, looking no different from any other young man facing his crush.

"Okay, I'll do whatever you say!"