Ning Xuan did not so much as lift a brow. He continued sipping his tea, thinking, Let’s see what sort of commotion you can possibly stir up. Yet the composure he had maintained, certain that everything remained under his control, was utterly shattered by Yelü Zhen’s next words. His thoughts were thrown into chaos—turned completely upside down—and the teacup slipped from his hand and smashed to pieces.
“You. Are. Pregnant.” As though the impact were not already great enough, as though afraid Ning Xuan might fail to hear if he spoke too quickly, Yelü Zhen raised one corner of his mouth without the slightest trace of amusement in his eyes. He delivered the four words one at a time, each falling like a hammer. His voice was as light as a feather, yet the meaning was enough to shake Heaven and Earth.
A bolt from a clear sky could hardly have been more shocking. Ning Xuan froze for an instant, then quickly regained his composure. Wearing an expression as though nothing had happened, he bent down to gather the broken pieces from the ground, attempting to conceal every trace of his reaction—forgetting that no one would dare trouble someone of his present status with such menial work.
“I don’t know whether something is wrong with my hearing or something is wrong with General Yelü’s eyesight.” Ning Xuan spoke without haste. Without any deliberate effort, every movement he made naturally drew the eye. “I am a man. I’m afraid the words ‘you are pregnant’ are far too great an honor for me to accept.”
Yelü Zhen took no offense. Ning Xuan’s response seemed entirely within his expectations, and he answered with effortless composure. “For anyone else, it would indeed be as impossible as an iron tree blossoming—harder than ascending to Heaven. But for you, it is merely the natural continuation of your bloodline.”
“Since ancient times, legends have spoken of a certain bloodline—precious and exceedingly rare. Its people were said to be incarnations of the divine, protected by the gods and revered by the common people. Every one of them possessed extraordinary beauty and remarkable abilities. They could continue their bloodline and reproduce no matter how hostile their surroundings. Any member of the clan, whether male or female, possessed the natural ability to nurture life, even though they appeared no different from ordinary people.”
“They were known as the Changyu Clan. Through the rises and falls of history, they were displaced and scattered until the world gradually forgot them, but that cannot erase the fact that they once truly existed.” Yelü Zhen turned toward him with a calm, warm smile, yet his words instantly chilled Ning Xuan’s hands and feet as though he had fallen into an icy abyss. “And you are one of them.”
What was truth, and what was a joke? Faced with Yelü Zhen’s grave and intent expression, Ning Xuan knew how absurd the claim sounded, yet he did not even possess the strength to denounce it as ridiculous. It was as though he had entered a world populated entirely by madmen. He knew perfectly well that he was normal and everyone else was ill, yet because he stood alone against the majority, the world would instead regard him as the pitiful one who had lost his mind.
“What kind of joke is that?” His reply should have been righteous and confident, but the words emerged weak and uncertain, like the final struggle of a dying man. Ning Xuan knew better than anyone how he had come to this world. Surely he should also know exactly what he was and whether there was anything unusual about him.
“Have you recently suffered unexplained aches in your lower abdomen? Have you lost your appetite and found it difficult to eat? Have you frequently felt nauseated or wanted to vomit?”
The series of questions left Ning Xuan speechless. He had thought the discomfort came from the injury he suffered that night. He had assumed the nausea was psychological. He believed he had chosen bland food merely because he did not want to burden his body. He had blamed the abdominal pain on kicking off his blankets and catching a chill during the night. He had assumed…
Which of those countless explanations did not also describe the ordinary symptoms of pregnancy? Ning Xuan had simply never considered that possibility—or rather, no normal man experiencing all those symptoms would ever suspect that he was pregnant. What a ridiculous idea. What an absurd word. Yet it was supposedly happening to a man—and that man was him!
“If the Changyu Clan has gradually disappeared into history, how did you learn about it? Why should I believe what amounts to nothing more than a tale passed by word of mouth among a small number of people?” Although a violent storm had risen in his heart, Ning Xuan’s expression did not change. Even the way he lowered his head and idly played with his fingers remained perfectly smooth and composed.
“How I learned of it has nothing to do with you. Whether you believe me has even less to do with me. I have said what I came to say, and the purpose of my visit has been fulfilled. Farewell.” Yelü Zhen rose cleanly and decisively. Just as he claimed, he appeared to have come solely to tell Ning Xuan an extraordinary story to his face. Whether Ning Xuan believed it or how he reacted seemed entirely irrelevant to him.
Yelü Zhen turned to leave, but before departing, he left Ning Xuan with one final warning. “Your health is poor. If you wish to keep this child, then you must eat, however little appetite you have, and the more nourishing the food, the better. A man’s body is not the same as a woman’s. Even a descendant of the Changyu Clan cannot afford to be careless. Of course, everything depends upon whether you choose to believe me.”
Ning Xuan could see only Yelü Zhen’s departing back, not the expression he had worn while speaking. Those seemingly concerned words had no apparent foundation, leaving Ning Xuan uncertain what to think.
Far too many things had happened in a single day. Moon-Embracing Palace, ordinarily neglected by everyone, had received two exceptional visitors on the same day, almost at the same time. One was Han Ruifeng, once his closest friend and now nominally his rival in love. The other was Yelü Zhen, once his enemy on the battlefield and now someone Ning Xuan could not determine to be friend or foe. The news Yelü Zhen brought was even more shocking and unheard of: Ning Xuan was descended from the Changyu Clan, its men could bear children—and he was already pregnant.
His hand moved instinctively toward the abdomen that had often ached over the past few days. It was difficult to describe what he felt. He had believed himself entirely alone in this world, yet suddenly, without warning, he had gained a relative—someone bound to him by flesh and blood, someone he might even be nurturing within his own body. The feeling was like a stone falling into water. At first came the violent splash: shock, bewilderment, and disbelief. But once the surface began to settle, the endless ripples spreading outward produced emotions far more complicated. There was fear, astonishment, helplessness—and even joy. It was as though an instinct buried deep within his soul had suddenly awakened, sprouting and growing vigorously until it seemed capable of breaking through the sky. Its name was affection.
Born in a modern age of advanced technology and progressive thought, Ning Xuan had been immersed in modern civilization from childhood. He was a thoroughly modern person, with modern ideas and perspectives. He had received a modern education and experienced modern life. Faced with such feudal superstition and tales of ghosts and gods, the materialist atheist within him should have leaped forward without hesitation, produced countless theories and practical examples, and proved how absurd and laughable it all was. Yet his shock had lasted only an instant. Although his emotions still refused to settle, he could not deny that he was gradually calming down—because he was beginning to accept it.
Perhaps it was merely psychological. Perhaps he had remained too long in this backward, feudal society, and even his own thinking had become ignorant and antiquated. But the moment his palm settled over his lower abdomen through the fabric of his clothes, Ning Xuan seemed to feel a pulse different from his own. It was a presence both strange and familiar. For no reason he could explain, he wanted to protect it. For no reason he could explain, he could not bear to harm it.
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