247: dislocation

"Already pregnant?"

The Emperor's words sounded very strange. Not only Tu Nan, but even James standing nearby was momentarily stunned.

The Old Doctor gave The Emperor a look of disapproval.

Only then did The Emperor realize his words were quite ambiguous. He lowered his head and coughed lightly, but he didn't explain further. Instead, he looked at Tu Nan and slowly broke into a smile.

"Are you happy?"

He asked seriously and sincerely.

His Majesty was currently wearing his military uniform, standing tall and elegant inside a command room.

This was not the flagship command room Tu Nan was familiar with.

"Are you... out at war?" Tu Nan asked. He hadn't mentioned going out this morning.

The Emperor nodded. "I haven't dealt with them for a few days, and they've started acting up again. I'm doing a round of inspection. I'll be back as soon as possible."

His joy could not be hidden as he stared at her, asking the question Tu Nan hadn't answered again.

"Are you happy?"

Tu Nan hadn't expected that what he cared about most was such a subtle question.

The Emperor's earnestness made her take a moment to truly feel her emotions. After a while, she told The Emperor, "Your Majesty, I am very happy."

The Emperor's child should be a Dragon, right? So what color would it be? It should be a five-clawed one? What abilities do Dragons have... will it be a boy or a girl?

Thinking of these things, Tu Nan's expression softened.

The Emperor was such a sharp person; he saw at a glance that Tu Nan truly looked forward to the child, which was different from what she had said before.

All that talk about it being a gift for him, or for the sake of the Empire.

This Female Beast's love for her child was the most sincere, untainted by any other considerations.

That was why he called her a little liar.

A little liar... who even fooled herself.

"Wait for me," he instructed Tu Nan. After thinking for a moment, he added, "Don't overwork yourself. This place isn't as good as the Capital City, after all. You need to be more mindful. Put that pile of official business aside; I'll help you look over it when I return."

"It's fine, Your Majesty. I know what I'm doing."

The pregnancy would last a long time; she didn't want to start lying around just yet.

The Emperor nodded and hung up the communication.

What Tu Nan didn't know was that immediately after, The Emperor ordered Kong Jiamu to be sent to the Border Star to pick up a batch of important military supplies.

Well, it didn't mean anything else; it was just that nothing could be allowed to go wrong with that batch of supplies.

The Emperor thought it only natural that once the supplies were brought back, tasks like frontline inspections could be handed over to the Peacock.

He should still stay on the flagship as much as possible.

"This is wonderful! His Majesty is going to have a child!"

James was overjoyed. He pulled Tu Nan aside and nagged her with a long list of precautions, completely forgetting that this wasn't Tu Nan's first pregnancy and that she was quite experienced.

When Tu Nan's smile began to grow strained, the old man started telling her about how cute His Majesty was as a child.

About his mischief, setting fires, climbing trees, and being punished by the Empress Dowager for wreaking havoc in the palace.

In short, he had done every single thing a mischievous little boy could do. It was hard to imagine that he would be as steady as he was now.

Tu Nan, however, listened to these stories with great interest.

Time passed like this, and the morning quickly slipped away.

It had been a long time since Tu Nan and James discussed the follow-up of the fertility research, but in fact, the research was still ongoing, and more data was being unearthed from various regions.

The reports on how to ensure healthy births and good upbringing had been updated through several versions.

The two had a simple meal together and chatted for a while longer until Tu Nan felt a wave of sleepiness.

"Ah, then shall we call it a day? His Majesty was right; you really need to pay attention to your rest." James completely forgot who had just been dragging her along for discussions and gave her a righteous admonition.

"...Then I'll go back and sleep for a bit."

Tu Nan didn't want to force herself. She said goodbye to James and returned to her room.

As she stood up, the figure that had been standing by the door flashed past and hid in the room next door.

Tu Nan's afternoon nap was sweet and sound.

When she woke from her deep, dark dream, she felt as if some small insect was crawling back and forth on her face.

She tried to shoo it away several times, but the insect persistently reappeared.

Forced to open her eyes, she saw that The Emperor had already returned. He was lying on his side by the bed, propping his head up with one hand while watching her.

The 'insect' turned out to be the tip of his long silver hair that he was holding in his hand.

"Your Majesty, you're back? What time is it?"

She checked the time groggily and found that she had slept for a full three and a half hours. No wonder her head felt foggy.

Tu Nan rubbed her eyes and walked toward the living room... specifically, the bathroom over there.

When she came back, she couldn't help but complain to The Emperor.

"Can't you leave even one small toilet? Is having only a bathtub too extreme... it's really not convenient enough."

The Emperor raised an eyebrow, stood up lazily, and studied the bathroom door for a moment.

"It's quite good. I like it."

"...The hobby of a Jiao," Tu Nan sighed.

"Exactly." He moved closer to her without a word, sniffing at the crook of her neck.

"Um... Your Majesty?"

His chin rested on her shoulder, feeling slightly heavy. More importantly, his breath brushed against her ear, making it itch.

"Go fill the water."

The Emperor picked Tu Nan up and placed her in the bathtub against the wall, instructing her.

"Now?"

It wasn't even dinner time yet. He was in such high spirits today?

"Did James show you the final version of the report?" Tu Nan asked in a low voice as she turned on the water.

The water slowly wet the soles of her feet, the tops of her feet, and her ankles.

She guessed that The Emperor couldn't wait for the child to receive 'nutrition' and love.

"So impatient," she glanced at His Majesty, only to see that The Emperor had already quickly stripped down to his skin. With a long stride, he stepped into the bathtub and stood before her.

"Reach out your hands," he said to Tu Nan with a smile.

Tu Nan obediently reached out her hands, letting His Majesty help her out of her pullover nightgown.

The Emperor held her as they lay down in the bathtub.

Tu Nan held him, and held him.

But the skin beneath her hands was too hot, too firm.

That sensation... there was just something unusual about it. Tu Nan stroked him repeatedly to confirm.

This was... this was the other Majesty, that Silver Armored Knight, the body double.

The next target on her list to conquer.

But at this time, in this place, this person intended to enjoy... her, right here in The Emperor's room?

[20%]

After focusing her mind to check his treatment progress, she found that this person's data had been consistently at 20% recently. That 10% didn't seem to have appeared again.

But indeed, it was no longer The Emperor's stable 15%.

"The Emperor..."

The arrow was on the string; besides, she had already decided to pretend she knew nothing, hadn't she?

"I like it when you call my name."

The other party held her waist and told her so.

Is that so?

Tu Nan looked down at him from above, watching him sink enjoyably into the water. He kept his eyes open, gazing at her through a thin layer of water.

His silver hair spread out in the water.

The Jiao's ability seemed to allow him to hold his breath underwater for a very long time.

But in the end, she just gripped his arms, calling his name repeatedly along with the impact of the water ripples.

In full.

Or in broken fragments.

The Emperor.

Tu Nan tilted her head back high. Sweat or droplets from the splashing water hit her face and body... then fell back into the water.

And that person's gaze never left her for even a moment.