That suppressed laugh was like a drop of cold water falling into a boiling oil pan, instantly freezing the already eerie atmosphere in the Imperial Garden to a freezing point.
Xiao Che's face, which had been immersed in the sacred ritual of "Dragon Qi Nourishment," instantly turned cold. He slowly turned around, his icy gaze like a drawn sword, precisely locking onto the little palace maid who was pale with fright and trembling all over.
The wrath of an emperor can cause the deaths of millions.
With just a glance, the invisible pressure seemed to thin the surrounding air. All the palace servants knelt on the ground in fear, trembling with terror, not daring to even raise their heads. The little palace maid who had caused such a disaster collapsed to the ground, her legs giving way, her eyes filled with desperate fear.
She knew she was finished.
Xiao Che parted his thin lips slightly, about to utter those cold words that could decide life and death.
However, at this critical moment, a soft little hand gently tugged at his sleeve.
"His Majesty……"
Lin Wanwan's voice, carrying just the right amount of grievance and languid charm, successfully blocked his impending outburst of fury.
Xiao Che was startled and subconsciously turned around, only to meet Lin Wanwan's watery eyes, which seemed to be covered with a thin layer of mist.
"Look at you," she muttered softly, not pleading for the young palace maid, but in an almost coquettish tone, "you've terrified her. But, you can't entirely blame her..."
As she spoke, she sighed softly, her voice filled with helplessness: "Every day before dawn, Your Majesty drags me around this garden like I'm drawing talismans, going round and round. Now, I'm afraid the entire palace, from the concubines to the palace maids, is laughing at me behind my back, saying that I'm like a puppet on strings..."
Her words were spoken casually, yet every word struck at the heart.
She cleverly attributed the young palace maid's "misbehavior" to the absurdity of their "charm-drawing" walking ritual, and portrayed herself as the most innocent and wronged "victim" in this farce.
The anger in Xiao Che's heart was instantly extinguished by this sudden feeling of heartache and guilt.
Looking at Lin Wanwan's aggrieved expression, and recalling his actions of forcibly dragging her to "draw the Bagua diagram" these past few days, even if he firmly believed in the authority of the "Royal Secret Codex," he had to admit that, to outsiders, this operation was indeed... somewhat foolish.
He wasn't angry that others were laughing at him; he was heartbroken that his empress had become the laughingstock of the palace because of him.
For a moment, he was at a loss.
"I..." He opened his mouth, wanting to say something to defend himself, but found that his theory of "nourishing with dragon energy" seemed so pale and powerless in this situation.
Seeing his unusually embarrassed state, Lin Wanwan knew that the time had come.
She said, "casually," in a tone as if she were just suggesting a novel idea, "Actually, I read something in a book a few days ago. It said that rather than letting children experience these ethereal 'qi', it would be better to... let them experience something more tangible in advance."
"Something more substantial?" Xiao Che's interest was piqued, and he immediately pressed for an answer.
“Hmm,” Lin Wanwan nodded and began to present her carefully prepared “scientific” concept, “The book calls it 'prenatal education’.”
"Prenatal education?" Xiao Che pondered this novel term, his eyes filled with curiosity.
“Yes,” Lin Wanwan explained earnestly, “meaning that although the child in the womb has not yet been born, it already has a sense of awareness. If we can talk to it often, recite some ancient sages’ articles for it, and play some elegant music, we can awaken its intelligence and cultivate its temperament in advance. This is much more… more advanced and more effective than simply ‘showing off dragon energy’.”
She deliberately emphasized the word "high-class".
Sure enough, Xiao Che's eyes lit up instantly upon hearing this!
prenatal education!
Awaken your spiritual intelligence early! Cultivate your character!
This sounds far superior to his mysterious and unreliable "dragon aura" trick! It's also more in line with his status as the son of an emperor!
He instantly realized that the methods he had learned from the "Royal Secrets" seemed rather crude. His Empress was far more insightful; she could even devise such a methodical and sophisticated approach to ensuring a safe pregnancy!
"This method is excellent!" He immediately approved, his face regaining the radiance of having found the "ultimate truth." "Wanwan, why didn't you say so sooner!"
Seeing his enthusiastic expression, completely forgetting about holding the little palace maid accountable, Lin Wanwan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
She knew that her "counterattack" had succeeded.
From then on, the mornings in the Imperial Garden finally returned to their former tranquility.
Lin Wanwan's "lazy sleep" was regained. And all the palace servants in Kunning Palace no longer had to walk on tiptoe, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon.
However, they soon realized that they had been too optimistic.
Although the metaphysical ritual of "showing off the dragon's aura" was cancelled, a more "hardcore" and "imperial" prenatal education course officially kicked off without fail.
...
Early morning, Kunning Palace study.
Lin Wanwan was lounging on the soft couch, eating sweet and sour plums.
Xiao Che sat upright to one side, holding not a memorial to the throne, but a thick, heavy copy of the Zizhi Tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government), which could be used as a brick.
He cleared his throat and, in a loud, rhythmic voice typical of those he used when discussing politics with his ministers in the imperial court, began his daily "morning reading" to Lin Wanwan's slightly protruding belly.
"Initially, when Emperor Gaozu of Han entered Guanzhong, he made a three-point agreement with the elders: those who kill will be put to death, those who injure or steal will be punished..."
His voice was powerful and resonant, filled with imperial majesty. When he read about crucial political intrigues, he would deliberately slow down his speech and emphasize his words, as if the unborn child in his womb could truly understand the profound meaning behind the words.
Lin Wanwan listened, feeling drowsy. She simply couldn't understand how anyone could start prenatal education with the "Zizhi Tongjian" (Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government).
However, Xiao Che was thoroughly enjoying it. He believed that as a future emperor, one must understand checks and balances and strategy from a young age; this was called "winning in the womb!"
The emoji above his head is filled with the pride and sense of responsibility of being a father.
[My son, did you understand? These are all important points; they'll be on the test! .jpg]
If the morning's "literary immersion" only made Lin Wanwan drowsy, then the afternoon's "artistic cultivation" made her extremely restless.
Inside the music hall of Kunning Palace, Xiao Che dismissed all the musicians and sat down behind a guqin (a seven-stringed zither).
Lin Wanwan had assumed he would play a piece of classical music like "High Mountains and Flowing Water".
However, when the first note flowed from his fingertips, she knew she had been naive again.
The music was chilling and stirring, filled with the spirit of war! The intense finger movements and rapid strumming made it seem as if the scene before me was not a tranquil palace, but a battlefield where thousands of troops were fighting!
The piece he played was none other than "Ambush from Ten Sides," a timeless tale depicting the epic battle between Chu and Han!
The entire Kunning Palace was filled with a tragic atmosphere reminiscent of the line "The wind is howling and the Yi River is cold."
Lin Wanwan was terrified. The little one in her belly seemed to sense the murderous aura and moved uneasily.
Xiao Che, however, was extremely satisfied with this. He believed that his son should listen to such heroic battle songs from a young age to cultivate a decisive and ruthless imperial spirit!
The emoji above his head had now transformed into a general clad in armor, passionately commanding thousands of troops.
[For my child, I'll fight to the death! .jpg]
Looking at the man in front of her who was earnestly conducting the most unreliable prenatal education in the world, Lin Wanwan finally couldn't help but sigh deeply.
This prenatal education is probably not very useful for the child, but it's almost driving her, the mother, crazy.
On this day, Xiao Che was reading aloud the chapter on the Battle of Red Cliffs from the Zizhi Tongjian with great emotion. When he read about the ingenuity of the "chain strategy," he became so excited that his face flushed, as if he were Zhou Yu, the strategist who devised the plan.
Lin Wanwan leaned back on the soft couch, her mind already wandering far away.
Suddenly, she felt a very slight yet incredibly clear wriggling sensation in her abdomen.
The feeling was like a little fish gently swaying its tail inside.
She paused slightly, then instinctively placed her hand on her abdomen.
Just then, that slight wriggling came again! And this time, it landed right on her palm!
Lin Wanwan's eyes lit up instantly.
At that moment, Xiao Che was reading the crucial line, "Everything is ready except for the east wind." He paused, preparing to use a more emotional tone to enhance the atmosphere, when he suddenly felt a slight, numb sensation in his abdomen, as if something had pushed against him.
He was stunned on the spot.
The reading aloud abruptly stopped.
The entire study fell silent instantly.
He stiffly and slowly lowered his head, staring blankly at Lin Wanwan's abdomen, then slowly raised his head again, meeting Lin Wanwan's smiling eyes, his face filled with disbelief and shock.
"What...what was that just now?" His voice trembled slightly.
Looking at his adorable, terrified expression, Lin Wanwan's smile was so gentle it was almost overflowing with tenderness.
She took his hand and gently placed it on the spot where it had been moving, and said softly:
"Your Majesty, the baby... seems to have kicked you."
"boom!"
Xiao Che's brain completely exploded at this moment!
He stiffly felt the warm softness under his palm, savoring the slight yet incredibly real response from just now. A surge of joy and shock, a hundred times stronger than when he learned he was pregnant, instantly swept over him!
He moved!
His child is responding to him!
This must mean they've understood my "Zizhi Tongjian" and are applauding my great talent and strategy!
After a brief period of blankness, the emoji above his head was instantly filled with a huge, shimmering, golden text that kept growing larger!
[He moved! He moved! My son is a prodigy! .gif]
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