Two weeks after returning from the honeymoon, Luomen washes his hands in the newlywed couple 's marital bedchamber, having just completed an examination of Maomao, who is sitting on the edge of the bed, fixing her sleep robe.

She 's been throwing up all morning, so she hasn 't properly dressed for the day.

'Based on when conception likely took place, you should expect to give birth around the New Year. Let 's start supplementing with plenty of leafy greens, maybe some goatmilk, at least one egg prepared any way with each meal except raw, no raw meat, fish, or eggs, plenty of fresh fruit and lean meat. Go as easy as you can on alcohol, and absolutely no poison, ' he says, realizing this is the first time he 's ever had to give that instruction.

Maomao nervously answers, 'No poison? Who would poison themselves? Certainly not me! '

Luomen thinks it would normally be a bit difficult to conclusively confirm a pregnancy this early on, but Maomao has a full set of early pregnancy symptoms. Purple discoloration of the cervix, nausea, exhaustion, sore breasts 'the whole collection. The most telling one is a little tan stripe forming beneath her navel that normally wouldn 't show up until later in most pregnancies.

Her belly already has a slightly less flat profile, although she doesn 't have the type of body that would keep a pregnancy secret for long in the first place.

Considering the early appearance of symptoms, their severity, and the fact that Maomao was taking fertility herbs, he wonders if she might have twins in there, which is absurd considering how small she is.

Luomen can 't imagine his poor little Maomao being

that

pregnant. She 's such a tiny little woman.

'I believe there is a small chance this could be a twin pregnancy based on the onset of symptoms, so let 's make sure we 're getting lots of rest and nutrition. '

'Really? '

'Mhmm. Small chance. Your symptoms seem to match a pregnancy that 's a little further along and considering the severity and the fact you were taking all those herbs, it 's possible. If that 's the case, we 'll see a difference in how your pregnancy progresses, ' he answers.

Maomao sits on the edge of the bed, resting her hands on her belly. 'Oh, but I didn 't order two. '

'In your own little way, you really did, actually. It probably wasn 't necessary for you to help your fertility. '

'So now it 's my fault that I got pregnant, ' she jokes.

'Yes, you decided to do it. Took herbs to help you do it. Began performing the requisite action to cause it to happen. This seems like the expected outcome, and the normal relationship between action and consequence. '

There is absolutely nothing in the world that is cuter than Maomao sitting there, hands on her little tummy, pink in the cheeks, making nervous little jokes about the fact she 's definitely pregnant. It 's adorable. Luomen is not prone to the kind of absurd behaviors that her father and husband tend to engage in, but he really does just want to tell her that she 's the most adorable little mother there has ever been in all the world.

Luomen gives her a pat on the head. 'It 's early, so it might be best to limit the number of people who find out for a while. Everything looks good for you, but sometimes early on things just don 't work out. It 's no one 's fault. Just something that happens sometimes. '

'Understood. '

'Are you happy? ' he asks.

Maomao gives him a big crinkly-nosed grin. 'It 's exciting. '

'Yes it is. My precious Maomao, a mother. '

She stands to embrace him, claiming a rare but always wonderful Dad-snuggle. They were not too affectionate as she was growing up, but they did have a little hug now and then, and when she was much younger, she lived holding onto his hand like it was a second umbilical cord.

When she imagines Jinshi with a little one constantly holding his hand, it makes her heart leap unexpectedly. Adding a twin to that picture because he has two arms? Even more disarmingly cute. She can 't take it.

'I 'm so proud of you, Maomao. '

'It was very hard work. But I managed somehow. '

Luomen frowns and she says, 'I regret my usage of the word 'hard. ' '

'Thank you. '

'Always mindful of my dear dad. '

Luomen steps out into the hallway outside the marital bedchamber and finds an anxious husband waiting rather impatiently.

He darts in a bit frantically, and asks, 'Well?! '

Sore breasts and a missed period at the end of their honeymoon had grown to a full list of symptoms. Naturally, they strongly suspected pregnancy, but there was a world of difference between suspecting and knowing, and a certain amount of time had to pass before even a skilled doctor would be able to tell conclusively.

Over the past few days, the symptoms had become quite severe.

Two days ago, Maomao was so sick to her stomach all morning that she claimed her stomach was trying to eject itself from her body. On top of that, she 'd been so incredibly tired, so she spent almost the entire day in bed. Then in the evening, right before dinner, she awoke absolutely well and incredibly energized.

She ate three entire dinners, demanded tons of sex a fully stomach, rearranged the furniture in their bedroom, and then entered a comatose like sleep only to awaken ill again and do it all again the prior day, and was on track for another insane day, sleepy and sick by day, horny and hungry by night.

Maomao teases, 'Well, what? Did you have a question? '

Jinshi is exasperated by even one single second of this teasing and collapses to his knees in front of her as she sits on the edge of the bed. Resting his head on one of her knees, he says, 'Maomao, don 't torment me like this. Are you? '

'Am I what? ' she asks, feeling a bit mischievous.

'Pregnant. Are you pregnant? '

She shrugs. 'Oh, right. We got to talking about medicine and I forgot to ask. Guess we 'll never know. '

'Maomao! Wife! Tell me. I have to know. '

Maomao plays with his hair, smirking a bit. He 's so adorable when he 's being a bit pathetic, looking like a little puppy who is begging for a treat. Sometimes when he looks like this, she is seized by the strange urge to just bite his cheeks. Why? She doesn 't know. Pathetic Jinshi is just a very bitable character, and she thinks he doesn 't mind when she takes a little nibble since he bites her all over.

But to be clear, she doesn 't bite actual puppies. That would be unsanitary, unnecessary, and unkind.

He looks up at her with his big puppy eyes, and asks, 'Are you going to have my baby, Maomao? '

This question sends chills running down her back. 'Hmm, I think I remember something about that. Let me think. '

He whines and wiggles a little. 'Maomao! '

'Okay, okay, okay. I 'll think about telling you. '

'Maooooomaoooooooooooooooo! '

Maomao playfully says, 'Stop acting like a baby. I already have one of those growing in my belly. '

Jinshi abruptly lifts her off the edge of the bed and holds her, feet dangling off the floor, hugging her so tight as he spins. 'You 're pregnant?! Really pregnant! '

'Husband, no spinning! Stop spinning! Spin bad! ' she says, feeling her sensitive stomach turn, moved in a very unwanted way by her husband 's outpouring of pure joy and happiness. 'Wife will puke! '

Not wanting to make her sick, he gently lays her down on the bed and climbs over her so he can straddle her legs and rest both of his big hands on her tummy.

'A baby! We 're having a baby! '

He is blushing, she is blushing, it 's a moment of cuteness and realization that all their love has been quite fruitful.

Maomao says, 'My dad says he thinks it could be twins. '

'We might have

two babies

? ' he takes one hand from her tummy to place it over his chest. 'My heart is aflutter. '

'I think you are expressing joy, but as a medical professional, for me hearing you say that your heart is doing anything irregular is deeply concerning, ' she answers.

'I 'm so happy I could die. '

'Please don 't. I will find a way to bring you back from the dead if you impregnate me and then leave me by any means. Death will not stop me from expressing my dissatisfaction and forcing you to return to your parental duties. '

Jinshi unties her sleeping robe so he can open it and touch her bare belly, and says, 'How do you feel? Are you happy? I 'm so happy I think I 'll explode. '

'

Again

, you will not explode. You will become a dutiful father who works hard to raise his child or children depending on whether I am pregnant or extra pregnant, ' she warns.

He covers her belly in more than two dozen sweet little kisses. 'Hi there. I 'm your dad. I 'm so happy you 're here! '

Jinshi talking to her pregnant tummy is so delightful that she worries her entire brain might rot into a pile of mush.

He puts her hands on top of his as they rest on her belly, and says, a bit more shyly, 'Hello. I 'm your mom? '

To the husband, Maomao being too shy is the cutest thing ever.

To the wife, Jinshi having absolutely energetic enthusiasm is the cutest thing ever.

Maomao remembers back when Lishu and Basen 's baby was born how happy they were and how she wanted to experience that and also to give Jinshi that joy as well. She didn 't know it was possible for her to be so filled with bliss before this moment, and this is probably nothing compared to what it 's going to be like when she finally gives birth.

She 's actually just so very glad that they 're on this path, even though it 's not the path she always saw for herself.

She 's so happy.

He 's so happy.

Belly snuggles are so sweet, so wholesome, so lovely, so beautiful, such a blissful experience that Maomao wonders if maybe she too will explode.

Jinshi is meanwhile practically high on his own joy, absolutely obsessed and enchanted by the idea that Maomao was going to have his baby. Maybe two babies, even! He just wants to lay there with her and hold her until it 's time, but he suspects she 'd get annoyed with his constant presence after a while.

Maomao loves him as much as he loves her, but while he wants to just be in her personal space every minute of his waking life and also when sleeping, Maomao requires a little more free agency, time to 'breathe in air that doesn 't smell like him ' according to her.

Such a queen. She didn 't need a man, but he convinced her she could want one and that it should be him. Which makes him a king in a way, but not literally; he very famously isn 't about that.

He loves her so much.

He 's so happy.

It 's almost too much. Almost.

Cute Husband lays with his ear against her belly. 'Do you think there is one or two? '

'If my dad said it, he 's probably nearly certain even though there 's no proof. Most of his work after he originally left the rear palace was split between the Pleasure District and the nearly slum. A great percentage of that work was helping with complicated pregnancies and deliveries. After all, getting pregnant is one of the most dangerous things a woman can do. Always lots of babies in that part of town. So he 's seen twin pregnancies. Even a couple of sets of triplets. '

'Is it more dangerous to have twins rather than one baby? ' he asks.

Maomao answers, 'In my case, I have access to whatever extra nutrition is needed, it 's not a problem if I need to rest, and any symptoms I have will be managed by an expert. The biggest risk is that one or both of the babies would be positioned incorrectly for delivery, but Dad knows how to safely deliver surgically if there 's a complication. So it is a risk, but I am very privileged, and it is less of a risk for me than for others. Please don 't worry. '

'Why can 't I worry about my wife who is carrying my unborn babies? '

'Because your wife would find that annoying. Your part in this process was complete some weeks ago. Please leave the rest to me. I will keep you posted with any updates and allow you a reasonable amount of belly touches, ' she answers.

Jinshi kisses her tummy again. 'I 'm so happy. I really am going to burst. You 're going to be such a good little mom. I can 't wait. '

'Well, I think you 'll be a top-quality father as well. I can already tell you care very much. It makes me feel all warm on the inside. '

Covering her whole belly in kisses, he asks, 'I do have one question. '

'We can still have sex. It 's not a problem. '

Looking up, he frowns. 'What makes you think

that

was the question? '

'Wasn 't it? '

'No. '

'Then what was it? '

Jinshi throws his nose in the air. 'Fine! It was the question. '

'Mhmm. That 's what I thought. Always concerned with the Frog agenda, ' she teases.

'Frog? Not even using his proper name? '

'My apologies to the Grand Imperial Amphibian 'I wonder if I have to rename him now that you 're not a proper member of the imperial family? You have imperial blood still, and therefore, he also has imperial blood in him, more so when fully engorged. We could start calling it the 'Ministerial Rod of Governance. ' '

Jinshi kisses her tummy more times. 'You 're so funny. I love you so much.

Mom

. '

Her stomach turns and she announces, '

Dad

, I need you to stop touching my belly. I will throw up now. '

There 's a bowl next to the bed for this purpose, and she throws up all the six bites of breakfast she had before Luomen arrived.

She really feels like she needs to lay still, and he really needs to go to work, and so out he goes to be an adult and a competent Prime Minister.

It is only after he leaves that she realizes that she forgot to tell him not to tell anyone, and she just knows his joyful little idiot brain won 't be able to contain that information.

Maomao just pukes again while Jinshi heads to a meeting with the emperor.

The emperor didn 't even reschedule his thrice-weekly meetings with him, he just blotted out 'Prince ' and write 'Prime Minister ' next to it on his calendar. It was so offensive to Jinshi in some sort of way, and now everyone in the court was talking about what a brilliant political move it was.

To an outsider, the emperor, who has heirs of his own now, married his brother into the La clan, thus aligning the La clan with their family, and installed the former Imperial Brother as the Prime Minister. This ultimately aligned the top military position, top civilian position, and throne around the emperor.

Jinshi is sure that even though the emperor was forced to make his move, but when he did, he played everyone including Lakan. Now everybody has to be on his side and do what he says 'what a pain in the ass it is to have an older brother.

He has one of his thrice weekly meetings today, where he will report that he still has a backlog of non-urgent work that will take months to clear, and the emperor will give him shit about it like he wasn 't the one that left the position empty.

Still, nothing can ruin his mood. He feels so light and practically floats all the way to the emperor 's office.

Lihaku walks just slightly behind him; in his new role as Jinshi 's chief attendant, they 've had some bumps in the road. Lihaku has the disadvantage of not having known the Prime Minister literally all of his life like Gaoshun and Basen, but they 're working it out.

Prime Minister La Zuigetsu has such an intimidating name, but he 's such a goofy guy sometimes. After all, when Lihaku met him, the former prince was working in the rear palace and was disguised as a eunuch, but since members of the royal family were allowed there, he wonders why the eunuch act was necessary? He 's dying to know, but even though his boss talks to him quite a lot throughout the day, Lihaku can 't find the right time to ask him why he decided to pretend he didn 't have a penis.

Lihaku gives him an update of all the important news as they walk, and then he waits outside the door as the prince enters the office now most famous for being the scene of the Great Misunderstanding.

Yang sees his son float through the door, and says, 'Nice of you to join us. You 're quite late. '

'Sorry, urgent business. '

The emperor looks up at his son, who has a strange, gleeful grin seemingly frozen on his face. 'What urgent business? Judging from that look on your face, you were just with your wife right before this. '

Gaoshun thinks his expression is odd as well, although since returning from the honeymoon, the Prime Minister has often been seen going here and there seemingly quite happy with the world. For someone who was actually kind of an angsty and gloomy kid, Maomao has always done him so good.

Maomao herself has actually rarely been seen at all since the honeymoon and has reportedly been sick to her stomach often. A newly married bride staying at home due to nausea would normally cause everyone to start wondering whether she might be pregnant, but for some strange reason, no one is willing to speak these thoughts out loud.

There can 't be another misunderstanding, after all.

Jinshi proudly announces, 'My wife is pregnant. '

The emperor narrows his eyes and studies his son, as if analyzing the situation with more intensity that would normally be required. And then he says, 'I 'm not falling for this again. Everyone got mad at me last time. '

Gaoshun understands there is a very large difference in circumstance and says, 'Congratulations. '

'Thank you, Gaoshun. The emperor is unable to share in my happiness because he is too busy pretending to be the victim of that other problem he caused, ' Jinshi answers.

When Zuigetsu is in a good mood, sometimes he gives the emperor shit like a real little brother, a somewhat new behavior. The emperor has told Gaoshun that Zuigetsu becoming confident from having sex has made him a less likable coworker, and Gaoshun reminds him that he was the one that hired him to become Prime Minister.

Yang says, 'I 'm just cautious. How do we know? '

'The best doctor in this entire country did a full exam this morning and confirmed it. Also, the mother, also an accomplished medical expert, is certain, and she has actual symptoms she is pregnant. It 's a different situation than you and Lakan joining forces to become as confused as possible. '

Yang complains, 'Marriage has given you too much confidence. Your personality has worsened. '

'If having one woman has made me unpleasant, imagine how it would be if I had a thousand. '

The emperor scowls.

Considering the fact that Maomao thinks she is pregnant, and a respectable doctor has confirmed it, this information seems like it 's safe. But he thought that before! They were so sure that Maomao herself was pregnant, and then she told them she was swollen from eating too many lobsters and not because there was a baby.

Now so little time later, she 's switching it up on them again.

She 's so crafty, like her father, always keeping everyone guessing.

(Maomao did not invite or purposefully encourage the previous matter and remains annoyed when she thinks about it.)

Yang asks, 'Are you sure? '

'Yes. You 're going to be an uncle. '

'You 're really, really sure? If I believe you, everyone isn 't going to be mad at me in a few days and your wife isn 't going to throw food at me and yell at me? '

'Really sure. '

Yang feels his heart begin to soften at the idea that his baby was having a baby. But for real this time. Staring across the desk at his dear son, the firstborn from his youth, now sitting tall as a married man who just came from finding out he was going to be a father?

Zuigetsu

hates

it when the emperor gets sentimental around him; it 's so weird to have the older brother who mostly causes grief be sweet. How awkward. How uncomfortable. How cringe it really is, to see how the emperor 's eyes become wet like his emotions are really moved by this.

'You 're really going to be a father. '

'Yes. I just found out earlier, so I was late. Sorry. '

Work forgotten, Secret Father asks Unknowing Son, 'How do you feel? '

'Great, actually. '

'And Maomao is well? '

'She has had a lot of nausea since we got back from the honeymoon, but I think she 's okay. Mostly resting. She has really turned into a cat because she naps all day and wakes up late hungry and full of energy and mischief. It 's so cute, ' he answers.

Even though Maomao is the one that is pregnant, Gaoshun thinks at the moment that Jinshi is the one who is glowing. He just looks so happy as he and the emperor start chattering about Maomao.

Secret Father wants to know everything, and that 's all Unknowing Son wants to talk about anyway.

The emperor is so proud of him, but he also wants to pout because he wants to become a grandfather. He doesn 't want to be uncle!

Unknowing Son sees Secret Father sour, and asks, 'What 's that face for? '

'I just realized that bastard Lakan is going to get to be a grandpa and I have to be uncle. An injustice. '

Jinshi blinks in confusion. '

Yes

, because Lakan is Maomao 's father, and you are my brother. '

'Well, the grandfather role is more senior than the uncle role. '

His son answers, 'I don 't 'I don 't know what you want me to do about that. You 're the emperor, the highest ranked person in this whole land. '

'But to your child, I 'll just be uncle. '

Yang decides to pivot back to happier matters. 'Never mind. We need to have the prayer ceremony for Maomao. For your wife. Your pregnant wife. '

Pregnant Maomao makes everyone so contented, the Secret Grandfather, the proud daddy, and Gaoshun.

It 's customary in the imperial family for them to have a prayer vigil where the members of the families burn incense and pray when a new child has been conceived. This is less an official imperial act, and more a family tradition.

Jinshi doesn 't hate the idea of it, but he feels like whenever Maomao 's family and his mix, adverse results occur.

He says, 'I 'll ask Suiren to plan a dinner. We are keeping it small. And please don 't cause problems with Lakan just because he is the grandfather and you 're the uncle. And oh, Luomen said it might be twins, so I expect this to be reflected in your gift-giving. '

'Twins? Really? '

'Yes. '

Yang really thinks his son can 't even help himself sometimes. He just has to outdo him. He can 't just have a baby. He has to have two.

Jinshi very lightheartedly jokes, 'We 'll probably have two to your three, so I 'll probably catch up to you soon. If we had two daughters, I 'd have more daughters than you. Or two boys, I 'd have the same number of sons. '

'But I have three. '

'Three what? Sons? ' Jinshi is so confused, because this is such a weird thing to be wrong about. He wonders if he 's counting the ones that died, which would be morbid, but then that number would be five since he had three deceased sons.

The emperor slipped, and he didn 't mean to slip. He was too busy frowning to keep his cool.

With a nervous laugh, his son asks, 'You don 't have a secret kid no one knows about, do you? '

'Of course not. '

His nervous behavior doesn 't go unnoticed, and Jinshi asks, 'If you did, you would tell me, right? The only living adult male born into your family? You wouldn 't keep a secret son from me. '

'Of course not. The idea is preposterous. '

Gaoshun remains still as a stone by the door as always, but he can practically smell the sulfuric fumes and smoke from the volcano. The boiling magma of the volcano hungers for a sacrifice, calls out for a victim to wander up to it 's peak and fall in.

But also, Gaoshun wonders if the emperor has a secret son that no one knows about? If he is keeping a secret like that, did he really slip up and drop a hint while being teased by his brother about who is better at making babies?

The emperor immediately pivots to work, like that 's going to make Secret Son forget all about the fact that he hinted there might be a third imperial son.

Whoops.

After half an afternoon of work, the emperor 's mind drifts back to the baby.

He really wants to be a grandfather!

Then he remembers something else.

'Zuigetsu. '

'Hmm? ' the Prime Minister is leafing through papers, copies of reports about improvements to a bridge just south of the capitol.

'Did you eat any of those black candies that Maomao made? '

The prince remembers the ordeal and takes a deep, somewhat traumatized breath. 'How do you know about those? '

'I had one. '

'Maomao 'gave you sex enhancing drugs? '

'She 's done it many times before. But she didn 't give this one to me. I found it . '

'Found it? Where? '

' 'on the floor. '

Jinshi tilts his head. ' 'Excuse me, what? '

'Look, that 's not the point. I just want to know if you ate one of those candies. The candy on the floor is not an issue. '

'Poison. You ate poison off the floor. That 's how we get rid of rats. We put sugar in poison and put it out on the floor and they run around eating it because they don 't question the free sweets on the floor, ' he answers.

Surely not Zuigetsu, criticizing him for the Floor Candy incident!

The fact that Maomao didn 't tell her husband that she accidentally

poisoned the emperor

at their wedding is news to both Unknowing Son and Secret Father. It seems like news that the husband should know, but now that he does know it, he feels a strange sense of secondhand embarrassment. Spies have probably written letters saying the emperor will eat strange candy off the floor and that he can probably be killed this way.

Jinshi sighs. 'But to answer your question. Yes. I did eat one of those. I thought I was going to die. '

'Me as well. '

'Maomao gave some to Lady Taomei, right Gaoshun? '

Gaoshun frowns, as he did not ask to be brought into this conversation and he certainly doesn 't want to talk about his sex life with these two. 'Yes. '

'Did you eat one? '

The attendant answers, 'My wife was given ten, and I 've already eaten all of them. '

Emperor and Prime Minister are

shocked.

'You didn 't think you were going to die? ' the emperor asks.

'No. I had one every night for ten nights. I found the experience invigorating, if that can be all I say. '

Zuigetsu? Wrecked.

Yang? Wrecked.

Gaoshun? Had a great time and did it every night for ten nights in a row, still came to work every day, and the emperor realizes he did field training during most of the last three weeks for his annual combat readiness test.

Jinshi can 't imagine Gaoshun being such a fiend that he was flirting with a fuck stroke every night and then getting up and running, doing obstacle courses, practicing archery and swordsmanship, and then going home to risk fuck stroke again.

It 's incomprehensible.

What kind of a monster is this very shy and proper man who gets embarrassed if anyone sees him holding his wife 's hand in public? And Lady Taomei, letting that man come home from a hard day and then putting him to such hard work?

The emperor says, 'I had heart palpitations and had to be treated by Luomen in the middle of the night. '

Jinshi is just now finding out both that Maomao accidentally poisoned the emperor and that his life was probably actually in danger a little bit. But she 's obviously not going to be punished, because whose fault is it that the emperor has the same survival instinct as a pantry rat?

But Gaoshun? Just fine. Not afraid of fuck stroke at all. Then again, Gaoshun and Basen are both incredibly physically resilient and powerful. Gaoshun is old enough that all his children are grown, but he can keep up with the fittest young recruits that are less than half his age.

Jinshi thinks he and the emperor are just the pathetic brothers who can 't take the heat.

The emperor thinks they are pathetic father and pathetic son who can 't take the heat.

Pathetic relatives, either way.

The emperor says, 'Maybe we need to marry the Ma clan strength into our line? You 're all so robust. You have a granddaughter don 't you? We could introduce her to the crown prince. '

'My granddaughter is going through a bullying phase right now. It wouldn 't be a good idea. She is

very strong

. '

'Nonsense. I 'm sure they 'll get along. I 'm sure he 'll make a good impression. He 's a brave boy. I 'm sure he 'll stand up for himself. '

(The crown prince recently thought there was a monster under his bed, so he asked Princess Lingli to sleep with him because he is sure the monster would fear her. Lingli agreed that yes, the monster should be afraid of her.)

Sometimes Gaoshun imagines the emperor is like an octopus with eight arms that can juggle eight different crises at one time. He 's an incredibly competent leader and wonderful emperor, but sometimes he has seven important matters he 's dealing with and one thing that is purely absurd.

His grandchildren have all been born with unusual strength and move through their early years like little monsters who can 't control themselves, breaking toys, furniture, occasionally each other 's bones, and so forth. They 're like little cannonballs as soon as they start walking. He would never speak ill of the crown prince, but he is very precious and a bit delicate by comparison, so polite and well mannered.

'Should I have my wife coordinate a play date with the empress? ' Gaoshun asks.

'Yes, please. '

After a long day of work, Jinshi returns home to find Maomao feeling much better. They talk about the prayer ceremony, and Maomao thinks it doesn 't sound like fun at all, burning incense and praying.

She wonders if Jinshi is aware that the La clan is a bunch of irreligious intellectuals who don 't do

anything

spiritual. They visit holy places for ceremonies they are required to attend, while the imperial family is quite devout, keeping up with prayers and ceremony.

The only thing they 're going to do at a ceremony requiring moments of quiet prayer is fidget and think about whatever their unique and singular obsession is, because at birth, every member of the La clan is assigned one single thing that they will be infatuated with for the rest of their life, their own personal religion that they will practice silently until they die.

Yang drops by unannounced with flowers around the time they finish dinner, so he can be nosy about the pregnancy.

Maomao doesn 't really mind, since he is the uncle-grandfather.

Sitting on a couch beside her, he asks, 'Would you mind too much if I '? '

'It 's okay, I guess, ' she answers, allowing the emperor to give her belly a little pat. She 's physically placed her hands inside of his body and seen his organs, so this incursion into her space doesn 't feel entirely unfair.

After a while, the emperor says, 'I was wondering if we could invite Lady Ah-Duo to the dinner and prayer ritual? '

Maomao resists including too many people in this because she is sure her family is going to embarrass her, but she sincerely believes there is a huge chance Lady Ah-Duo is the grandmother. Excluding her seems cruel, since she already didn 't get to participate in the wedding.

'I 'm okay with Lady Ah-Duo and the empress because she 's the empress, obviously, but lets keep it to family other than that, ' she answers.

Since she 's spent most of the day in a nauseated haze and she has babies on the brain, she doesn 't realize how suspicious it is that she would make a cutout just for Ah-Duo and no one else.

It puzzles Jinshi because they 're not the closest. Maomao is more social with Lihua, for instance.

The emperor also finds this suspicious, and when Jinshi leaves the room briefly to relieve himself, the emperor leans over and quietly asks, 'Do you know, Maomao? Did your father tell you? '

In context, Maomao actually doesn 't understand what is being asked.

'Do I know what? '

'You know what I 'm asking. '

'I actually don 't. '

'Do you want to know? '

'I 'm good for now, thank you. '

Yang wonders if anyone really knows how hard it is to ask Maomao questions? Is there a trick to it? Gaoshun seems to know how to make her talk, but Maomao is slippery like an eel and evades any sort of traction in social interactions.

He 's not going to let this little woman Lihaku him again, as his wife calls it.

She won 't lie, but she 'll purposefully avoid understanding what the question is so there is never a way for her to answer it, and if she is forced to understand the question, she will issue vague answers whenever possible.

The emperor says, 'I would like for you to show me, with your fingers, the maximum number of living sons I have in the world if all your unconfirmed suspicions are correct. '

Maomao 's face melts.

Such a direct question.

He doesn 't suggest Ah-Duo, or a missing prince. It could be that one prince is getting counted when he shouldn 't be, or there 's a missing prince somewhere, or that he 's simply testing the accuracy of her testimony.

Obviously, if he asks her if she knows about the baby swap and she doesn 't, then she will know about it.

So he found a different way to ask the question that didn 't expose the real theory he was testing.

If all her unconfirmed suspicions are correct, the emperor has three children.

She holds up three fingers and lets out a very long breath.

What follows is a furiously fast, whispered conversation that has to be over before Jinshi returns to the room.

'Did Lakan tell you? '

'I don 't talk to that man, ' she defensively answers.

'He is your father, Maomao. '

'Yes, sometimes people in families decide not to tell each other important things, ' she whispers.

Okay, well, that 's fair, the emperor decides. 'Did you tell your husband? '

'Of course not. I wish

I

didn 't know. I also wish you didn 't know that I know. This is an unfortunate turn of events for me. '

They whisper quickly until Jinshi returns and shuts the door. 'What are you two talking about all quiet like? ' he playfully asks.

'Nothing. '

Maomao and the emperor speaking in unison is possibly the most suspicious thing he has ever witnessed in his entire life. They 're just not people who seem like they 'd be able to be in sync, but sure enough, they sit nervously.

'I was just joking, but now I 'm worried. '

The emperor stands and says, 'Well, I 'm sure Maomao needs her rest since she 's expecting, and therefore I shall take my leave. Thank you for making time for me. '

After her father in law practically runs out the door, her husband says, 'It is late. Your bath should be ready. We can 't have you staying up too late. '

As they get ready for bed, taking their separate baths and putting on sleeping robes, Jinshi considers the strange, hushed conversation. He 's never seen Maomao and the emperor whisper with each other before. They looked cozy, like it was very important for him to lean in and be as quiet as possible.

He thinks back to the emperor 's strange slip-up in the office, where he implied that he had another son out in the world somewhere.

Maomao is good at solving mysteries. So if there were people who just figured it out on their own, maybe Maomao knew about the mysterious third royal son. Was she keeping another nephew from him?

Once they crawl into bed, he snuggles up to her, rubs her belly for a minute and asks, 'Do you know who the emperor's mystery child is? '

Oh for fuck 's sake.

Maomao doesn 't curse often even in her own mind, but really? REALLY? Really! After all these years, she quietly had this strange theory. There was no proof of it. She wasn 't sure it was true.

'Yes. I will ask that you not force me to reveal this person 's name out of respect for the emperor. '

His eyes sparkle in the dark. 'You

do

know. How fascinating that I married a woman that would hide someone in my family from me. '

'Yes, how fascinating, that you married a woman who doesn 't want to participate in your family 's drama. '

Jinshi rests his head on her shoulder. 'Have I ever been introduced to him before? '

'No. '

This is true, people aren 't introduced to themselves. This is a great first question. She thinks that she might be able to slither out of this one after all.

'Is the mystery son older than the crown prince? '

'Yes. '

'How much older? '

'Much older. '

'So if it got out that he existed, it would be a problem, because according to our traditions and customs, the other son should be the crown prince. '

'Indeed it would. '

Well, this is a scandal waiting to happen

, Jinshi decides. No wonder the Other Son is being kept a secret, although he wonders why.

'Why is the Other Son a secret? '

Maomao answers, 'No one has actually told me the reason. I have my theories, but I will not speak on conjecture. '

'How did you find out? '

'I had a theory for a while. I didn 't find out it was true until earlier when the emperor was whispering at me. How did you find out? '

'The emperor accidentally let it slip during our meeting today. Inadvertently said he had three sons instead of two. '

Officially, she now considers the emperor 's question to her 'to be cheating, because he simply forced her to correctly answer the question he incorrectly answered earlier. It wasn 't a sophisticated interrogation technique; he just replicated his own mistake.

His wife says, 'Why are you not having this conversation with the emperor? '

'I want to solve the mystery too! '

'I 'm very tired and need my rest, ' she announces, before immediately beginning obnoxiously fake snoring noises that communicate very clearly that she is done talking about Other Son with Other Son.

Maomao considers that maybe this family really does need prayer, because what on earth are they even doing at this point? Is she one of them now? Is she about to bring two more of these things into the world?