Chapter 13 Tug-of-War

"What did you say?"

His tone was very soft, so soft that it gave Zhuang Dongqing a chilling sense of tenderness.

Zhuang Dongqing's Adam's apple bobbed.

Cen Yan: "Speak."

These two words sound more substantial, but they also sound like a hypocritical lure, just waiting for the prey to take the bait.

Zhuang Dongqing instinctively didn't want to answer, but it seemed he had no other choice.

He opened his mouth, mustered his courage in one go, then stammered, "I'm... I'm pregnant with yours."

Her voice was stuttering and soft, and Zhuang Dongqing lowered her head to look at her toes, only daring to look at her own toes.

Zzz—

The sound of the chair legs scraping against the ground was rough and harsh.

The light dimmed, and Cen Yan stood up.

Zhuang Dongqing: "..."

As the shadow covering his face grew larger, Zhuang Dongqing's mind went blank. Help! Help!

What are we going to do?

No, please don't come any closer...

Unfortunately, Cen Yan couldn't hear the cry in his heart.

A moment later, a pair of exquisitely embroidered boots came into Zhuang Dongqing's view.

Cen Yan stood in front of him.

Zhuang Dongqing gripped his right hand with his left, his nails digging slightly into his skin with nervousness, the slight stinging pain reminding him to maintain his composure.

Why are you looking down?

"..."

The voice was still soft, but the words were frightening: "First time lying?"

"!"

Zhuang Dongqing shook her head decisively, then shakily raised her chin. When her eyes met Cen Yan's, she seemed to be nailed to the spot.

He felt... that gaze was as if it wanted to peel him open and see into his heart and soul.

Zhuang Dongqing dared not move and even stood up straighter.

Under that gaze, his back quickly broke out in a layer of sweat.

Her amber eyes shone brightly in the sunlight as she looked at him. Then, Cen Yan began to circle around Zhuang Dongqing.

The walking was slow but steady, and every step felt like it was stepping on Zhuang Dongqing's heart, making him uneasy.

"What are you pregnant with?"

Even after moving behind Zhuang Dongqing, the presence of that gaze remained strong, and Cen Yan asked again.

Zhuang Dongqing cried out three times, "My child..."

His voice was trembling; he couldn't control it.

How embarrassing.

But at this moment, he was more worried about his own life.

"You're pregnant with my child?"

Who would have thought that the complete words would ultimately come from Cen Yan's mouth?

Zhuang Dongqing nodded repeatedly, nodding vigorously.

The next moment, Cen Yan, who had moved behind him, circled back, and the two were even closer together. Chuang Dongqing was caught off guard and their eyes met again. His throat bobbed, but because of that doubt, he didn't dare to break the gaze.

That expression made him look... pitiful.

Yes, pitiful.

In an instant, Cen Yan thought of many things, even the details of their time together that night were still very clear, but these thoughts quickly faded from his mind, returning to the image of the boy standing before him.

A young master who looks very afraid of him.

With a cold gaze sweeping over Zhuang Dongqing's trembling fingertips, Cen Yan said, "You are a man."

Zhuang Dongqing didn't react immediately, but nodded, "Mm."

"..."

Cen Yan looked at him without saying a word. After a while, Zhuang Dongqing belatedly realized the meaning of those words.

Zhuang Dongqing: "It's not like men can't have children."

This world has everything, except for one strange or unusual person.

Cen Yan frowned, clearly having also thought of the relevant information. "Aren't you from the capital?"

“My aunt, no.”

Words kept popping out, it was pathetic, but I couldn't control it. I was already doing my best to keep from trembling.

Cen Yan remained silent.

An eerie silence enveloped the atmosphere.

But the other party was still looking at Zhuang Dongqing, his eyes were sharp and his expression was unfriendly.

After being frozen for a while, Zhuang Dongqing finally couldn't hold back any longer, her back stiffening as she withdrew her hand again.

“You are a man, and you are carrying my child.”

Repeating each word carefully, Cen Yan's tone was slow but firm, "And then?"

Then?

Zhuang Dongqing looked at Cen Yan, her gaze clear but also filled with a distinct bewilderment.

I was a little scared.

Cen Yan's forehead twitched, and he took two steps back. Just as he stood still, he saw Zhuang Dongqing secretly breathe a sigh of relief, "..."

"You said all that just to come to my door and tell me this news?"

No, it's not.

"Hmm, and then what?"

Okay, now it's time to state the conditions!

Suppressing the urge to slap his forehead, Zhuang Dongqing opened his mouth, but then, remembering something, glanced back.

In the corner stood Liu Qi, a follower with wide-open eyes.

Cen Yan understood, "Go and fetch Master Zhao."

Master Zhao came all the way from his fiefdom; he is the foremost physician in the Southwest.

"...Okay, okay."

Liu Qi choked up for a moment, then turned to look for someone.

Once the footsteps had faded into the distance, Cen Yan found a chair to sit on to the side before speaking again, "There's no one here now, so speak."

Zhuang Dongqing took a deep breath. "I... I can give birth to the child."

"……oh."

The calmness even carried a hint of perfunctory formality.

Zhuang Dongqing tried to ignore it, focusing only on the empty space directly in front of him, and concentrated on negotiating, "However, there are conditions."

"Tell me about it."

Cen Yan picked up a cup of tea and took a sip.

"..."

Zhuang Dongqing took another breath, and her speech finally flowed more smoothly. "I need to be taken care of during this time."

"First of all, well, the living environment can't be bad."

"At least, it should be a three-courtyard house. If it's too stuffy and not well-ventilated, even if I can't go out later on, there should still be a place for me to walk around and move around."

After speaking, I waited a while and sure enough, I heard a calm "hmm".

Zhuang Dongqing relaxed her shoulders, becoming less tense, and her mind started working again, recalling everything she had memorized earlier.

She straightened her stiff back. "With such a big courtyard, I should also arrange servants for it. Ideally, there should be young servants, sweepers, bed makers, servants for the inner courtyard and the outer courtyard, as well as kitchen staff and shopkeepers. There should be at least twenty or thirty people!"

That's about the number in the lady's courtyard.

Cen Yan: "That makes sense."

Zhuang Dongqing: "It's best if the courtyard has a garden and faces south, so it's warm in winter and cool in summer."

Cen Yan didn't interrupt, and continued speaking more and more smoothly: "Being pregnant is not easy, it's very hard, so you have to make sure I have good food."

"Well, you need to assign me at least two chefs, one for sweet dishes and one for spicy dishes. If you can also find someone who's good at making snacks, then that'll be perfect."

"In the restaurants in the capital, the pastries made by the chefs at Jufangzhai are quite good. Jujube flower pastries, mung bean cakes, yam cakes, thousand-layer pastries, lotus flower cakes... These are all my favorites. It would be best if I could invite one of them, but if not, it would be fine if they could buy me some from time to time. However, they must be fresh on the same day. If they are left for too long, the taste will change, and I might not be able to eat them."

"As for the main meals, there should be fish and meat, both meat and vegetables."

"Even if it's not for my sake, it's for the sake of raising the children well."

"I'm fine with regular dishes like chicken, duck, and fish, but I don't really like seafood. I'm okay with beef and lamb though."

Cen Yan raised an eyebrow. "For example?"

Zhuang Dongqing counted on her fingers: "There are too many! I like roast chicken, braised chicken, stewed chicken, fried chicken, shredded chicken salad, chestnut chicken, beggar's chicken. I also like roast duck, braised duck, shredded duck, roast duck, roast duck feet, braised duck feet, duck soup, pressed duck. I'm also okay with roast fish head, braised fish head..."

Before she could finish speaking, her words were interrupted by a light tap of a teacup on the table, the crisp sound causing Zhuang Dongqing's heart to skip a beat.

Cen Yan: "Should we recite the names of the dishes?"

Zhuang Dongqing: "..."

"You asked it yourself."

He muttered softly, but because he was indoors, Cen Yan could hear him clearly.

After a moment of silence, Cen Yan asked patiently, "Is that all?"

"Hmm..."

Zhuang Dongqing scratched her hands, a little embarrassed, "If, I mean if..."

Cen Yan sat up straighter, looking solemn as he waited.

Zhuang Dongqing tentatively glanced at Cen Yan out of the corner of her eye and said, "If you can give me a monthly allowance, that would be even better."

"..."

Zhuang Dongqing's expression when she secretly glanced at people was very lively, completely different from her blank look just now; her eyes seemed to have suddenly become bright.

He was genuinely looking forward to it.

Cen Yan pressed his brow with two fingers.

His temples twitched even more vigorously.

"I thought you came here because of the dealer's business?"

These words seemed to awaken Zhuang Dongqing. The boy's face wrinkled up quickly, and he said in a daze, "Oh, that, that is indeed one of the reasons. Your Highness, you can't just watch your child fall into a lowly status, can you?"

"...The reason is good."

Suddenly, a knock came at the door.

Liu Qi and Master Zhao were already waiting outside the door.

Cen Yan let out a long breath, his mind seemingly also a mess from Zhuang Dongqing's actions.

Composing himself, he beckoned them in.

*

Master Zhao took his pulse and asked him questions in detail.

It has been confirmed that Zhuang Dongqing is a man of the Ren ethnic group, and it is indeed true.

The night they were together at Guangyuetai, the time also matched the predicted date of their cohabitation.

"Is that all you need to know?" Liu Qi asked nervously, her mind still reeling.

Zhuang Dongqing became nervous at the question, "Otherwise what?"

Cen Yan remained calm: "He developed a high fever after returning from Guangyuetai and lay in bed for more than ten days. If he can still do something at this time, then I will definitely keep such an extraordinary person here."

Zhuang Dongqing: "..."

Liu Qi: "..."

Zhuang Dongqing whispered, "I knew it from the moment he was born. He looks a lot like you and is exceptionally intelligent."

Cen Yan said expressionlessly, "Wouldn't that be completely unlike you?"

Zhuang Dongqing: "?"

No, this is a subtle dig at him, isn't it?!

Under Zhuang Dongqing's wide-eyed gaze, Cen Yan suppressed his irritation and simply told Liu Qi to take the men away first.

Zhuang Dongqing knew they were going to discuss this, so she left discreetly.

After the person left, Master Zhao said, "I always felt that the young master's pulse was not right."

Meeting Cen Yan's gaze, she quickly corrected herself, "There's definitely no problem with the child. I was talking about his health. He's weak and needs proper care, but I don't want to go into details. I just feel like there's something else not quite right."

"Weak foundation?"

"Yes, you have insufficient qi and blood, and your body is weak. You can improve your health through diet."

Thinking of Zhuang Dongqing's face, which had become even thinner, Cen Yan lowered his eyes and said nothing.

Master Zhao simply reported the facts, saying, "The abnormality in the pulse requires me to go back and think about it some more."

This concerns having offspring, so it's no small matter.

Soon, along with Master Zhao, Xu Si, Hao San, and Liu Qi, who had settled Zhuang Dongqing, all gathered in the study.

Hao San, Xu Si, and Liu Qi have been with Cen Yan since they were young, accompanying him as he grew up.

Master Zhao was once the old prince's doctor and watched him grow up.

The room full of trusted confidants had different expressions, but Cen Yan remained calm: "That's the situation. Tell us all."

Unexpectedly, before the impulsive Hao San could even speak, the usually composed Liu Qi knelt down first.

"I beg you, Master, to spare this child."

"Regardless of whether Young Master Zhuang has ulterior motives or was sent here, the child is innocent."

Hao San was surprised.

Liu Qi continued talking: "The abbot of Daci Temple recently gave the master a reading, saying that the prince's fate is thin and that if he has a child, he will only have one son. Now that this child has appeared, I beg the master to keep him and not abandon him."

Hao San and Xu Si were unaware of this matter. Once it was revealed, and it was the abbot of Daci Temple who spoke of it, even those who had initial hesitation had to reconsider several times, and so...

Looking at his trusted men kneeling in the room, all begging him to keep his child, Cen Yan's expression was unreadable.

"Understood, all of you may leave, except for Liu Qi."

In the end, he didn't agree.

Cen Yan doesn't like beating around the bush; if he doesn't respond, it certainly doesn't mean he agrees.

Hao San wanted to persuade her again, but Liu Qi drove him away with a look.

When only the two of them remained, Liu Qi still knelt on the ground, as if he had done something wrong.

The master and servant were silent for a moment. Cen Yan said, "I haven't heard you mention your mother's instructions this month. Did you know?"

The old princess would send letters to her son and daughter every other month. They were very formal. In the past, Liu Qi would read them and tell Cen Yan the important parts. This month, the letters arrived, but Liu Qi did not mention them.

Liu Qi: "...I guessed it when we were at Daci Temple."

Every time the old princess wrote to Cen Yan, she would urge him to get married, but Cen Yan never paid any attention.

There has never been a concubine or bed warmer in the mansion.

Ever since that night at Guangyue Terrace, Liu Qi had a vague suspicion. When Cen Yan heard that he had no offspring but did not react, Liu Qi was certain: Cen Yan must only like men.

"Master, please keep this child. The Ren clan is nearly extinct. If we miss this opportunity, we may never have another one..."

Liu Qi remained kneeling and pleaded again.