265: One step away

"What about you? What is so important that it must be said today?" The Emperor turned to Hain. "Can't you show some consideration for your monarch who just returned from the battlefield and wants to rest, hmm?"

"Your subject is terrified." Hain gritted his teeth and knelt on one knee. "I wish to ask Tu Nan a few questions."

The disgust and malice The Emperor had shown toward the Empress Dowager just moments ago had now completely cooled into indifference.

"Questions?" he countered. "What do you want to ask my fiancée?"

Hain gritted his teeth, feeling an immense bitterness in his mouth, yet he persisted in his request.

"I have questions, and I must ask them."

Tu Nan sighed, deeply feeling that there was nowhere to hide. Besides, she had intended to find an opportunity to have a frank conversation with Hain anyway.

"Your Majesty," she implored The Emperor, "give me some time, just here in the garden, how about it?"

She pointed to a garden to the side, where there were only low shrubs and a few sparse trees.

The Emperor glanced at her sideways, seeing that she had become calm, devoid of the awkwardness and evasiveness she had when she first entered.

He smiled with satisfaction and raised an eyebrow.

"Fine, twenty minutes."

He thought for a moment and then added with malicious intent: "Remember that you still need to arrange the bedroom for Your Majesty."

He really was afraid the world wouldn't be chaotic enough. Tu Nan watched helplessly as Hain's back stiffened even further.

The Emperor was referring to what she had asked him before disembarking: where did Your Majesty wish to be accommodated?

He said it was up to her. She could put him in the bedroom if she wanted; in any case, The Emperor himself was long accustomed to living in a dark room.

But now, saying it like this carried a very profound meaning.

The Emperor left, and only then did Hain stand up.

He walked into the garden without raising his head. When his beloved Female Beast stood beside him, he suddenly felt that twenty minutes might not be enough for him to prepare himself.

He couldn't bring himself to speak.

"Hain, it seems I am always speaking to you like this."

Tu Nan realized that this kind of scene had occurred many times between her and Hain.

"To make a long story short." Tu Nan was determined to cut the Gordian knot; she had already done the deed, and there was nothing she couldn't admit to.

"I am pregnant with Your Majesty's Children, and I will be the Queen of this Empire."

This was the Karma she gave Hain—simple, direct, and hurtful.

There was nothing to negotiate here; it was better to let him give up completely.

"Hain, don't worry about me, and don't get entangled in these petty romances. Just be yourself."

Instead, there was another matter that Tu Nan had already thought through on the way here; she needed to discuss it properly with Hain.

"Little Fish has been sent to the Autumn Palace. After he sees his older brother and sister, this is what I was thinking: how about letting him stay by your side for a while?"

Hain finally stirred. He clenched his fists and looked at Tu Nan with eyes full of disbelief.

"Are you abandoning him? Just because you are pregnant with Your Majesty's Children?"

Tu Nan shook her head helplessly, "Of course not because of that. It is just for his safety. Did Your Majesty not tell you? We have experimented; the Star Worms are too focused on these few Children. Their attraction to the Star Worms is even higher than that of an S-rank Male Beast."

"How do you think this Star Worms disturbance was formed? Your Majesty and I suspect it is because of the four Children. And this outbreak..." Thinking of Your Majesty who was damaged in that great battle, Tu Nan's mood became increasingly low.

"It is because the number of Children has increased again. You can verify this with Kong Jiamu and Your Majesty. Although Kong Jiamu might not know yet that I am pregnant again."

"I see," Hain said softly, and then he added, "No, Kong Jiamu knows too; the upper echelons of the Empire all know. After all, before returning, Your Majesty had already ordered the palace to prepare for the wedding."

Tu Nan blinked.

"That's fine, then. Let him find time to come and pick up the Children. The few Children should try to be separated for now."

"They are still so young, and they are leaving their mother?"

Hain was heartbroken, so struck by this series of news that he had already forgotten the purpose of his visit.

"I am even more heartbroken than you, but this is for their own good; there is no other way."

Tu Nan sighed. It had taken her a long time to explain this to Little Fish and Little Bird, and she promised them that she would keep the Video Call on for long periods every day so they could communicate with her at any time.

"It won't be like this forever. As long as Your Majesty resolves the Star Worms, they will always return to my side."

Tu Nan assured Hain, which was also the promise she had made to the Children.

"When will that be?" Hain asked in horror.

"Soon."

Tu Nan promised very firmly, "It won't be long before this matter is resolved."

Before Hain could ask how she could be so certain, he heard her continue.

"Hain, your word is worth a thousand pieces of gold, but I still need you to guarantee one thing to me." Tu Nan scrutinized Hain, seeking his assurance.

"You must guarantee Little Fish's safety, with all your might, sparing no effort for yourself."

Anger surged in Hain's black eyes. "He is my son too! There is no need for you to say it; I would never let him come to any harm."

Tu Nan disregarded his resentment. "Hain, because you hate me right now, I have to take that into account. I will ask Your Majesty for people to help you take care of Little Fish, and I hope you won't blame me."

"How exactly do you see me!" Hain grabbed Tu Nan's arms in disbelief and shook his head repeatedly. "You clearly know me, I...!"

He could no longer finish this sentence.

After Your Majesty announced his marriage to Tu Nan, "love" would be a word he could never utter to Tu Nan again, even though they already had one child between them.

"I hate you..." he told Tu Nan dejectedly and softly. "I hate you, but I love that child; I will always love him, I promise."

Tu Nan was silent.

She wished she hadn't understood anything at all.

Hain stepped back, standing one step away from her.

That was, a world apart.

"Then... let it be so," he did not want his disheveled state to be seen by Tu Nan. "Time is up, right? I will go first."

"I will wait for your summons before I go to pick up the child."

He used honorifics.

After giving a hasty salute, Hain stumbled away.

* * *

No matter how unbelievable Tu Nan found it, The Emperor insisted on forcing everyone to prepare the wedding within a week and stuffed Tu Nan into the wedding dress.

He fully demonstrated that when an Emperor is willful, they can do whatever they want.

Many old ministers cried and wailed, and Grand Steward Yuan Zhe also reported that it was impossible to complete such perverted wedding dress requirements on time, but he ignored them all.

And the result? By forcing them, the wedding was able to be held smoothly at the time he wanted.

"Weren't you asking me every day to get married and have Children as soon as possible? Now you have quite a lot of opinions."

In the royal court, he smiled and asked the ministers who had daughters one by one, "Am I only allowed to marry your daughter?"

"Or yours?"

No one dared to answer. He walked a circle, and only then was he satisfied.

"Tu Nan is the best; what I like is the best. You had better recognize reality sooner rather than later."

"The Empire has a Queen, and the Empire will have an heir. Double happiness, come, congratulate me."

Your Majesty's authority as a real-power Emperor was on full display at this moment.

Under his strong pressure, all the ministers lowered their heads, not daring to speak again.

"Go find the Empress Dowager." But in private, the old ministers who were unwilling to give up were whispering, "The Emperor has truly lost his mind."