Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 449: I told you to launch a campaign, not to use any forbidden techniques.

And you, little sister?
Yuan Muyu sat there blankly, meeting the questioning and amused gazes of the two women, her mind completely empty.

I tried to offer a few words of explanation, but I felt that whatever I said would be futile.

And I don't want to expose my identity because of this... As for why I don't want to expose myself, I can't figure it out either.

Time seemed to have passed for a long time, yet it also seemed to have passed in just a few breaths. Yuan Muyu heard her own voice replying, "I... will also... seek an explanation."

Long Qinghuang almost laughed herself to death, but there was also a genuine intention to condemn him amidst the amusement. She then deliberately said, "Does my sister also think that King Yama is a cold-hearted person?"

"No..." Yuan Muyu only uttered half a sound before pursing her lips and then softly humming in response.

Just that one "hmm" felt like it had used up all my strength, leaving me completely exhausted and drenched in cold sweat.

Long Qinghuang continued her pursuit: "How does my sister plan to seek justice?"

"I..." Yuan Muyu gasped, her voice so low she could barely hear herself, "I don't know..."

Long Qinghuang's lips curled slightly, and Shen Tang finally looked at the two of them with some strangeness, feeling that their attitude was a bit off.
At that moment, a witch doctor rushed in and knocked on the door: "Your Majesty."

Long Qinghuang waved her hand casually, and the door opened by itself: "Come in and give my sister a proper diagnosis and treatment."

Several witch doctors cautiously entered and examined Yuan Muyu. They were all so frightened that they looked at each other in disbelief.

She didn't look weak at all; she seemed like a frail young girl. But when I took her pulse, wow, she was amazing!

She's probably already menopausal at that age, why pretend to be a delicate young girl?

The conflict between the principles of cultivation and self-doubt and denial in the super-grade realm led to disordered qi and blood, blocked meridians, and even a scattered and restless spirit. What can they possibly do to cure such super-grade cultivation problems?
The shamans wiped away their cold sweat and said cautiously, "Your Majesty, we...we cannot cure this young lady's problem at its root. We can only help stabilize her heart meridian and nourish her body, but these are not fundamental solutions. Ultimately, it depends on the young lady herself. If her heart meridian continues to be congested, she may vomit blood at any time, or even damage her body and fall from her cultivation."

Long Qinghuang smiled, but her eyes held no smile; they were cold.

She could actually see that.

The reason for the attack was to make this King Yama vomit blood, but he didn't.

Judging from her appearance, she had vomited several times before. Could it be that she had gotten used to vomiting and the stimulation wasn't enough?

But he didn't say anything, only saying, "Prescribe the medicine."

The witch doctors breathed a sigh of relief. They weren't required to cure him; their highest cultivation level was only third grade, so how could they possibly cure problems related to cultivation levels above that grade?

An old witch doctor took out several worms: "Young lady, you have blood stasis blocking your heart meridian. We will use witchcraft to draw it out. Don't be nervous. These worms are just scary-looking."

The worms were wriggling around and looked disgusting. Shen Tang, who was standing to the side, covered her nose and turned her head away, not wanting to look. But Yuan Muyu was expressionless and didn't care: "It's okay, come on."

Yama, the King of Hell, has seen countless mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and even corpse worms are commonplace, let alone this thing.

As soon as the insect touched Yuan Muyu's wrist, before it even started sucking blood, Long Qinghuang next to her started gagging.

Yuan Muyu: "?"

Shen Tang: “?”

The witch doctors were shocked: "Your Majesty!"

Unbelievable! A mere few insects, and the mighty Demon Emperor is actually gagging at them! Could it be that His Majesty also suffers from hidden injuries in his cultivation?
Immediately, a shaman urgently said, "Your Majesty, may I examine you?"

Long Qinghuang also felt confused. How could she feel nauseous because of a few bugs? Wasn't that ridiculous? Was someone casting a spell on her again? She nodded and said, "Okay, take a look."

The witch doctors examined the patients carefully for a moment, their expressions all turning strange as they looked at each other again.

"What's wrong? Why are you all making those faces?" Long Qinghuang said unhappily, "Just say what you want to say!"

"Um... Your Majesty," the old witch doctor said cautiously, "you... are pregnant."

"What?!" The three women stood up at the same time, knocking over a bunch of chairs on the floor with a clatter.

Three pairs of beautiful eyes widened, scanning all the witch doctors in the room: "Say it again?"

All the witch doctors smiled obsequiously: "It's true, His Majesty is pregnant, absolutely no doubt about it."

Long Qinghuang's stunned expression turned into wild joy: "Rewards! Each and every one of you will be richly rewarded!"

Shen Tang stared blankly, her mouth agape.

Yuan Muyu was equally bewildered. She stared blankly at Long Qinghuang's stomach. As she stared, she suddenly felt a sweet taste in her throat, and spat out another mouthful of blood. The person who had been facing the attack directly without aggravating her injuries had suddenly coughed up blood.

Then the world spun around her, and she fainted. Long Qinghuang didn't even bother to look at her, excitedly pacing around the room, her hand unconsciously touching her stomach as she looked down, her eyes filled with tenderness.

Shen Tang slumped her shoulders, utterly defeated.

That stinky mistress already has an illegitimate child, sob sob sob...

Isn't it said that the more powerful a life form is, the harder it is to reproduce? Moreover, the dragon race's reproduction was further hampered by witchcraft, and the problem has only just been resolved; it will take some time to recover, right? How come it's already a resounding success?
Was the boat too fast, or is this Demon Emperor a chosen dragon maiden?

Shen Tang's identity also brings to mind other things... This isn't just about status within the inner court; it actually has extremely important and far-reaching implications for the entire world order. The heir to a powerful empire is being conceived, which in itself is an extremely important political event, and its father is a human from the Great Qian Dynasty...

Furthermore, with the Dragon Emperor pregnant, it's highly unlikely she'll participate in intense battles; a personal campaign is definitely out of the question. The potential for conflict in the Northern Frontier has truly ceased. But what if Gu Zhanting decides to fight?

Long Qinghuang quickly realized this as well, and her expression changed from joy to a little wary: "You'd better really have nothing to do with Gu Zhanting anymore."

Shen Tang smiled wryly: "Don't worry, I won't let it get out. But if I become more pregnant later, it might be harder to hide. What will I do then?"

"The future is a matter for the future," Long Qinghuang said calmly. "Our Dragon Clan's martial fortune was stolen, but it is recovering now. Given some more time, we may very well have new super-grade items."

Shen Tang nodded and bent down to pick up the unconscious Yuan Muyu.

Long Qinghuang chuckled and said, "You care about her?"

Shen Tang said, "Although she's a strange person, it's hard to get along with her... but isn't it because she's sick? Otherwise, why would Xingzhou like such a strange person?"

Long Qinghuang sneered: "Who told you that Xingzhou liked her? Even if he did, that's all in the past."

Shen Tang: "Huh?"

Long Qinghuang said coldly, "She is Yama."

Shen Tang immediately let go, and Yuan Muyu, whom she had just helped up, lay down again.

This time, Long Qinghuang couldn't bear it. The mother tyrant, who had just become pregnant, felt a rare tenderness in her heart. She sighed, waved her hand, and sent Yuan Muyu to the bed with a gentle burst of energy.

Looking at Yuan Muyu lying on the bed with a pale face, Shen Tang showed no sympathy and said coldly, "No wonder you were talking about something else just now. It turns out you recognized me a long time ago."

"Mmm." Long Qinghuang carefully cradled her belly and sat back down on the soft chair.

Shen Tang couldn't help but say, "Now you're being careful? Wasn't it quite impressive that you managed to split up our battle by yourself last night?"

Long Qinghuang nodded sincerely: "But I'm pregnant."

Shen Tang took a deep breath: "You're not even showing yet, who are you trying to impress by holding up your belly..."

"I'm pregnant, Xingzhou."

Shen Tang shut her mouth, her hair practically steaming. She couldn't continue this topic, or she'd be driven mad with anger, so she changed the subject: "Since you recognized King Yama, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I told you earlier, could you have coordinated the attack just now?" Long Qinghuang said leisurely, "I just wanted to scold her to her face, and she couldn't refute me."

Shen Tang said, "Even if you expose them, you can still scold them to their face."

"That's different, the fun is different... If you expose her, do you think you can make her curse herself?"

Shen Tang said sarcastically, "Your Majesty is so old, yet you still have such a childlike heart."

"That's right. I also felt like I didn't look like myself before. Turns out it's because of the baby, hehe."

Shen Tang: (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

You can attack and punish, but I didn't tell you to use forbidden spells. Even I was indiscriminately blasted to death.

My head is still spinning. All those palace intrigue tricks I learned have gone to waste and are utterly useless.

Long Qinghuang, however, had already begun writing a letter with a smile on her face.

Shen Tang knew without even looking that this could only be a letter of good news addressed to Lu Xingzhou.

She might even try to steal the man away as the official wife, which is infuriating.

Shen Tang, who had never planned to go back to see the capital after being away for so long, suddenly felt a strong urge to go back and visit.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: I originally mentioned some tag-related issues, which caused a lot of misunderstandings, so I deleted it. The tags are no longer being used; they'll remain as they are.

(End of this chapter)