"Yes, my lower back always aches during pregnancy, especially in the later stages. My belly also feels bloated, and I prefer to lie in bed and rest."
"My poor Sang'er." Lou Xian Yue gently massaged her lower back and abdomen. He retrieved a bottle of milky white ointment from somewhere and applied it to her belly to relieve the discomfort of bloating.
"It's only been less than a month, but your belly is much bigger than before," he said.
A little over twenty days ago, Sang Luo's belly was about the size of a human's two- or three-month pregnancy. Now, it's almost like six or seven months. This little one is making up for the previously stalled development during the mid-to-late stages of pregnancy.
Sang Luo snuggled in Lou Xian Yue's arms, hooking her arms around his neck and whispering in his ear, "Do you want another son or a little daughter?"
"I'll love anything you give birth to."
"But if you had to choose!"
Lou Xian Yue thought seriously for a moment, then smiled like a warm breeze, "I'd like a daughter. Xiao An is more like me, so I want a daughter who's like you."
"Haha, Xiao An has also been talking about wanting a younger sister every day. I'm afraid he'll be sad, so I also told him it's a younger sister."
"Maybe… it really is a younger sister."
"Really? Are you sure!" Sang Luo looked at him with bright, sparkling eyes, curious about whether this pregnancy is a daughter or a son.
Seeing her expectant look, Lou Xian Yue lowered his head and kissed her brow, nodding and smiling, "I'm the child's father, so I can sense it. The longer the child develops, the stronger my feeling becomes. This pregnancy is a little different from when you were pregnant with Xiao An. It's probably a younger sister."
"Listen again?"
Lou Xian Yue obeyed and put his ear to her belly. The next second, he seemed to be gently kicked. He was激动难言, "Sang'er, did the child just move! It, it sensed me too, didn't it!"
Sang Luo also gently covered her belly, smiling as she watched him lose his composure, "This one is more active than Xiao An."
Xiao An hardly moved at all when I was pregnant with him.
Speaking of this, Lou Xian Yue felt regret and happiness, "I couldn't be by your side when you were pregnant with Xiao An last time. This time, I will definitely be with you."
"Then it's settled. You're not allowed to leave again."
"Yes, I won't leave."
The two enjoyed a moment of tenderness together. Sang Luo thought of something and asked him, "By the way, how is the Eye of Guixu now? You wouldn't still have to…"
"The Eye of Guixu has been sealed again."
"Was it really Fei Yuan who did it?" Sang Luo remembered the words he said before leaving the Void Demon Realm.
She owed him a life.
This time, she really owed him a big favor, and it would be hard to repay.
Lou Xian Yue nodded, also puzzled, "I don't know how Fenghuang did it, but sealing the Eye of Guixu comes at a great price. I'm afraid he…"
Sang Luo's heart sank, "I'll return to the Eastern Continent after a while to thank him properly."
"I should personally bring generous gifts to thank him."
The two lingered for a long time, and after eating breakfast… or rather, lunch, they went to Chengen Hall and saw Zai Xin teaching Lan An his lessons. Ever since Sang Luo made an agreement with him, he had been studying diligently.
Sang Luo reached out and stopped Lou Xian Yue, who was about to enter the door, shaking her head, not wanting to disturb her son's studies. Unexpectedly, Xiao An seemed to sense something and looked towards the door, calling out cheerfully, "Mother, Father, what are you two doing sneaking around!"
The two had no choice but to enter the hall.
"Greetings, Your Majesty, Your Highness the Queen." Zai Xin saluted, wanting to step down first.
Sang Luo quickly reached out to stop him, "Old Zai doesn't need to mind us. Aze and I are just here to take a look and will leave in a moment."
Lou Xian Yue flipped through the books on the table, "Account books?"
"Yes, Your Highness is very intelligent and understands things quickly. I took some of the old national treasury account books to teach His Highness some arithmetic skills."
Sang Luo also took the account books and looked at them, immediately noticing something was wrong. Just in the few pages she casually flipped through, several account numbers were wrong, obviously some officials had embezzled.
This was still last year's account book, when Lou Xian Yue was still in office!
Sang Luo glanced at him, "Look at these muddled accounts from when you were in office. You're just throwing all the mess to your son."
Lou Xian Yue touched his nose, "I, I don't really look at these things."
He was either asleep or refining artifacts. He left these boring things to his subordinates.
"You're such an irresponsible Sea Emperor. The corrupt officials must be overjoyed," Sang Luo was so angry that she wanted to kick him.
Sang Luo flipped open the previous few pages of the account book again, and the unreasonable accounts were all corrected and marked. She quickly said, "Old Zai, you've worked hard."
Zai Xin chuckled, "I didn't correct these, His Little Highness did."
"Son, did you correct these?" Sang Luo looked at Lan An in surprise.
Xiao An blushed, "Mother, did I correct them wrong?"
Zai Xin, "His Little Highness is the smartest child I've ever seen in my life. Many adult beastmen can't even figure out these accounts, but His Little Highness calculates them quickly and accurately, without a single mistake."
Sang Luo's face broke into a smile, "My son is so smart, much stronger than your muddleheaded father!"
Lou Xian Yue was innocently shot, unable to refute a word, "That… the baby-grabbing ceremony… was quite effective."
"Hmph~ That's because my son is smart!" Sang Luo hugged Xiao An and kissed him, feeling very relieved about her son's studies. The two didn't stay long, so as not to distract him.
After going out.
Sang Luo lightly pinched Lou Xian Yue's jade-white earlobe, tapping it, "Do you still want this throne or not! Xiao An is so young, you don't really want to be a hands-off shopkeeper and be done with it, do you?"
Before, Lou Xian Yue was determined to die, so he hurriedly passed on the throne. It was a last resort. Now that he's alive and back, and won't die for the time being, he should take over the throne, but seeing his relaxed and carefree appearance, he doesn't seem to have any intention of taking over the throne.
"Experiencing two changes of dynasty in a short period of time can easily cause unrest among the people of the South Sea. I think maybe it's still…" Lou Xian Yue's voice trailed off.
Sang Luo was furious, "Xiao An isn't even three years old yet, he hasn't even learned all the characters!"
She touched her belly, humming softly, "You're such an unreliable father. When this child is born, I won't let you raise it!"
"That won't do! I'll go rewrite the edict right now!" Lou Xian Yue suddenly became anxious.
He didn't care much about the throne on the one hand, but more so because he had important people and obsessions in his heart, wanting to spend more time with Sang Luo and his children… However, his son was indeed too young. He had to wait until Xiao An transformed before abdicating to him.
"That's more like it!"
Sang Luo was satisfied, looking at the man's pretty earlobes, which had been pinched pink, and the lotus earrings were a little crooked. She felt a little itchy again, stepped forward and kissed him, putting her hands behind her back, smiling dangerously, "Hurry up and go!"
Lou Xian Yue returned to the study to rewrite the edict, issued an order, and re-ascended the throne of the Sea Emperor.
As for the corrupt officials and beastmen under his command, he had long known about them, deliberately casting a long line to catch big fish. They were all confiscated, adding a considerable income to the national treasury.
