Chapter 637: Bound to the Child-Bearing System and Becoming a Winner in Life Chapter 638: Background Rabbit Demon (10)

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Main Character:

Shen Yao

Shen Yao watched Eighth Lady leave, but in the blink of an eye, apart from the lingering scent in the air, nothing seemed to have been left behind.

The system was puzzled: 'What was the Snake Demon's purpose in coming over? Just to negotiate? There was no need to make a special trip.'

Shen Yao scoffed: 'She simply felt she had no certainty of defeating me.' If she could suppress Shen Yao, the Snake Demon wouldn't be so polite in trading with her.

The system:... I see, so it's an on-site inspection, adapting to circumstances.

'Then why did the Host agree?' Clearly, their side held the advantage.

Shen Yao spread her palm, indicating she couldn't always follow Lin Xingzhi. Open spears are easy to dodge, hidden arrows hard to guard against: 'The Snake Demon isn't the impulsive, hot-tempered type of demon; fighting her brings no benefit.'

Why do something that brings no benefit? Shen Yao is a demon, not a human, and has no such notion of loyalty to the sovereign and love for the country.

As for Lin Xingzhi? After so many days of Shen Yao's careful observation, this man is the type who does as little as possible; even if he had the will, he would be powerless to truly make Lin Xingzhi pour his heart and soul into Li Guo.

'Host, how should this matter be told to Lin Xingzhi?' the system asked curiously.

Shen Yao raised an eyebrow: 'Say what? Just wait until things are over.'

The system:... Eh?

'Lin Xingzhi won't just ignore it; he also needs to leave himself some leeway. Floating Clouds City's annual contribution to the national treasury is a huge proportion.' If things really blew up into chaos, the emperor in the palace wouldn't agree first.

Actually, the Snake Demon didn't need to come at all, because her trade was Lin Xingzhi's bottom line; now it's just both sides testing each other to see who backs down first.

It was very clear that the Snake Demon's side couldn't hold out first, and Lin Xingzhi won without bloodshed.

Patting her palm, Shen Yao smiled falsely and gestured for the system to learn more; sometimes one can't be too anxious, otherwise it's oneself who suffers.

The system:...

The system was greatly shaken by this, especially since the subsequent developments really went as Shen Yao said: Lin Xingzhi didn't press the government office too hard, just made up the previous deficit and fined them a bit as a warning to others, while other matters like personnel handling were dealt with lightly.

But although Lin Xingzhi showed such leniency, the personnel involved in Floating Clouds City didn't dare not take it seriously; the previous step-by-step pressure had truly terrified them, and now they were even more frightened, like startled birds.

'Look, this is what happens when you do too many underhanded things—always afraid ghosts will come knocking.'

In the future, they would be troubled by this for a long time; when they recover depends entirely on their own abilities.

The system felt lingering fear about this; being alive and being dead aren't much different for a person.

No, there is still a difference.

Dead people can't help the treasury make money; living people are more useful.

Lin Xingzhi stayed in Floating Clouds City for two months, planning to depart for the capital only when the weather turned cold.

Shen Yao naturally had to go with him, but just before departure, a small incident occurred, causing Lin Xingzhi to have to postpone the trip and devote himself entirely to caring for his wife who bore him children.

Shen Yao:...

'No need to be so nervous; my health is very good,' she said. She is a demon; as long as she doesn't engage in fierce magical duels, the child in her womb won't come to harm no matter how she tosses about.

Lin Xingzhi shook his head repeatedly: 'No, no, returning to the capital isn't urgent. We should listen to the doctor and depart only after three months are full.'

After speaking, Lin Xingzhi inevitably cast his eyes on Shen Yao's flat belly.

Even to this day, he felt it was miraculous that he would actually have a child.

Clearly, before leaving the capital, the Imperial Physician had declared his physical condition was increasingly dire; not only was marrying and having children a luxury, but even his lifespan would be affected.

As a result, after a trip to Floating Clouds City, not only did he have a wife, but he also had a child.

Lin Xingzhi:... Suddenly, willows darken and flowers brighten, and another village appears.

Because Lin Xingzhi attached too much importance to her, Shen Yao was forced to live a wonderful life of eating and drinking; every day when she opened her eyes, there were various nourishing soups and meals, and a beauty accompanying her all the way.

Shen Yao:... Such a life is corrupt and decadent, truly enjoyable!

Eighth Lady, who hoped Lin Xingzhi would leave quickly:... Ahhh, I'm going crazy!

The group dragged their feet, and only after spending the New Year in Floating Clouds City did they remember the matter of returning to the capital.

By this time, Shen Yao was already three months pregnant, her belly slightly protruding like an inverted round bowl.

Lin Xingzhi acted even more nervous than before, because Shen Yao had been diagnosed by the doctor with multiple fetuses.

Shen Yao:... After all, she is a rabbit demon; multiple births in one pregnancy are very reasonable.

'It really won't cause any harm to the mother's body?' Lin Xingzhi looked worried, the handsome man slightly furrowed his brow, every frown and smile full of charm.

'It won't; my body is very good,' Shen Yao raised her hand and touched both sides of Lin Xingzhi's cheeks, explaining softly that demon pregnancy is the same as human pregnancy yet different, because children born of demons are nourished by demonic power and are strengthened while in the mother's body.

Moreover, Shen Yao has a cheat; the elixirs she takes every day are not for show, guaranteeing that the children born will each be as sturdy as calves. Though they can't shatter rocks with one punch, kicking a wooden post flying is still easy.

Hearing this, Lin Xingzhi sighed in relief, then immediately raised his arm to pull Shen Yao into his embrace to thank her. At this moment, he no longer cared whether Shen Yao was a demon, nor did he mind that their children were mixed-blood; just thinking that he, a solitary orphan, had a wife and children made his blood boil.

Shen Yao raised her hand and patted Lin Xingzhi's thin and weak back, thinking in her heart, 'Poor child; this is what royal family affection is.'

It is said that a sense of brokenness easily arouses people's protective desires; whether man or woman, encountering such a situation will make one's heart turn to mush.

Shen Yao inevitably paid more attention to Lin Xingzhi, causing the system to want to speak but stop. 'Sigh, this Prince Jing seems not so simple after all.'

Taking advantage of Lin Xingzhi's absence, the system softly reminded the Host not to get too deep: 'It might be deceiving the Host's feelings.'

What if someone digs a pit for the Host to jump into? Just like a fox spirit flayed and tendons pulled by a scholar; even if her own kind takes revenge in the end, a dead demon cannot be revived, and it's still a loss.

Shen Yao:...

'You're right to remind me, so we must closely monitor Lin Xingzhi's every move,' Shen Yao turned her head and passed the matter to the system; after all, this is the system's specialty.

The system had no objection to this; protecting the Host is protecting itself, for they are bound together as cooperative partners.

Shen Yao sent the system away, and she and Lin Xingzhi stayed in the room being lovey-dovey.

Only when letters from the capital kept arriving urging them did Lin Xingzhi take Shen Yao and depart for the capital.

The carriage was lengthened and thickened; to let Shen Yao sit more comfortably, Lin Xingzhi even specially requested imperial permission to modify it, after all, in the ancient imperial power society, some things used by ordinary people would be considered a violation of regulations.

Lin Xingzhi is Prince Jing; by birth and power he ranks among the very top of Li Guo, but for safety's sake he still obtained an imperial edict from the Emperor, to prevent anyone from deliberately causing trouble after returning to the capital.

"Deliberately causing trouble?"

Shen Yao blinked innocently, never expecting that the mild-tempered, good-natured Lin Xingzhi would ever offend anyone.

Lin Xingzhi raised his hand and awkwardly touched the tip of his nose, "Back then I had not yet met Yao Niang, and the Imperial Physicians kept saying things that were a downer; Xingzhi is no desireless Saint, so his temper wasn't actually that good."

Shen Yao:...

Got it, back then Lin Xingzhi's thing was going crazy whenever things didn't go his way; anyway, as a lonely man with no one to fear, he naturally cared even less about offending people.

Now Lin Xingzhi has a complete family, with both sons and daughters (on the way), and only now belatedly realizes that going crazy before might cause unnecessary trouble.

Lin Xingzhi smiled and moved close to Shen Yao, guaranteeing that everyone he offended were people who already had problems, and that he never made things difficult for good people and good officials.

Shen Yao:... Fine, speaking of personality alone, Lin Xingzhi is far better than certain people in Jingcheng.

With Lin Xingzhi busily seeing her onto the specially made carriage, Shen Yao leaned by the window, raised her hand to lift the curtain, and turned her head to look outside.

Eighth Lady, just one street away from Shen Yao, propped her arms on the restaurant window sill, smiling broadly as she waved at Shen Yao.

"Until we meet again."

"Safe travels."

The two demons lightly parted their lips, speaking silent words to one another.

The carriage beneath them moved slowly, and Lin Xingzhi lifted the curtain and entered.

Shen Yao let go of the lifted curtain with complete naturalness, smiling as she raised her hand to greet him.

"What's wrong?" Lin Xingzhi subconsciously worried about Shen Yao's body.

"Nothing, I just miss you," Shen Yao replied with words that made Lin Xingzhi overjoyed.

"Yao Niang."

Lin Xingzhi's voice was like water, gentle and enduring; he came to Shen Yao's side and sat down, at the same time raising his hand to pull her into his arms.

A faint fragrance instantly filled the tip of his nose, causing Shen Yao to unconsciously take a deep breath, hmm, a little drunk~

System:...

The System couldn't bear to watch this pair of men and women who knew nothing but flirting, wondering how it had never before noticed that its Host was so infatuated, as if there was nothing else all day besides Lin Xingzhi.

"In a world where love between humans and demons is the main theme, how many demons who expect to be entangled with humans remain sober and self-restrained?"

Reason cannot defeat instinct, and going against the flow cannot stop the tide. From the moment Shen Yao chose to complete the main mission, she jumped into the pit this world had dug.

She raised her hand to gently stroke her lower abdomen, able to feel the offspring being nurtured within her belly.

Shen Yao lay on her side in the carriage with her eyes half-closed, letting her black hair, combed behind her head, fall naturally around her body.

"Host, how should we handle this?" Too dangerous!

"Take it one step at a time," she raised her hand and yawned, Shen Yao indicating to the System that it need not be so nervous; this world targeted all creatures, not distinguishing between the Human Race and demons, somewhat like a love-induced automatic intelligence-lowering halo.

"Returning to Jingcheng from Floating Clouds City will take months; if something unexpected happens on the road, who knows, she might even give birth to the child."

By then their main mission would be mostly complete, and if Lin Xingzhi was deep-minded and well-hidden, they could also cut off the fuel from under the cauldron and directly leave with the children.

Shen Yao had been a single mother before; as long as she raised the children smoothly and completed the main mission stipulated by the System, they could leave this world at any time.

However, these were all backup retreat routes, on the premise that Lin Xingzhi was unreliable.

From her observation, Lin Xingzhi was currently not bad, so there was even less need to bring the children to suffer hardships; did she really think raising children alone was simple? Accumulating trump cards for the children in advance was what a qualified mother did.

Before Lin Xingzhi even knew, Shen Yao had already categorized him into the ranks of child-rearing tool people; his words and actions completely lacked the intimacy and reluctance that should exist between husband and wife, consisting entirely of planning for future life.

No wonder Shen Yao was a chosen worker; no matter how deep the affection she showed on the surface, what she valued more in her heart was still herself.

Everything she did was for the sake of the main mission; completing the main mission was the foundation of her ability to transmigrate, and lovers, offspring, feelings, power... all could become means to be used.

Poor energy after pregnancy made Shen Yao become drowsy, and her eyelids inevitably grew heavy.

In no time at all, she went from lying on her side to lying flat, and Shen Yao leaned against the soft pillow behind her and fell into a deep sleep.

When she opened her eyes again, Shen Yao found herself lying on a strange bed.

Propping herself up on the bed to sit up her upper body, Shen Yao shook her head slightly, and only after her spirits improved did she put on her shoes and get down.

Tap—

The tightly closed room door was pushed open from inside out, and Shen Yao saw the colorful sunset hanging at the edge of the sky, as well as Lin Xingzhi sitting in the courtyard fanning himself while playing chess.

"Yao Niang."

Lin Xingzhi put down the chess piece he held in his hand, walked a few quick steps, and supported the dazed Shen Yao.

"This is..."

She remembered they were clearly on the journey; where did this courtyard come from?

"The weather was unfavorable, so we stopped over at Lotus Water Town; this is a lodging provided by the Government Office."

Lin Xingzhi supported Shen Yao to sit on the stone bench, explaining that wind and snow had been frequent recently; Lotus Water Town was small but had convenient transportation, and once the group rested well, they would set off northward again.

Shen Yao turned her head and leaned into Lin Xingzhi's arms, saying, "Because I am pregnant, Xingzhi has gone to trouble."

"What is this? Xingzhi does it gladly," if not for the Emperor urging too much, he could still delay.

Lin Xingzhi now found having a wife and children warming the kang very delightful, secretly sighing that such days made one intoxicated; if anyone dared to destroy them... his gaze turned fierce, recalling the Li Guo people's vicious words about demons in Jingcheng, he unconsciously pursed his lips, and his determination to protect his wife and children grew firmer.

The group stayed in Lotus Water Town for several days, then set off at dawn.

Without lifting the curtain, Shen Yao could sense several demonic auras present in Lotus Water Town; she sighed inwardly that demons were everywhere, then turned and leaned against Lin Xingzhi's shoulder, falling into a deep sleep again.

Lin Xingzhi subconsciously pinched his fingers, feeling some uncontrollable worry.

Although Yao Niang kept saying it was nothing, and the accompanying physician found nothing upon pulse diagnosis, Yao Niang's drowsiness and fatigue grew worse day by day, and Lin Xingzhi still couldn't help but think of the worst.

Just like when his Mother Consort passed away back then, he was nervous and at a loss, unable to help; now all this happening to Yao Niang once again evoked bad memories for him.

The group followed the predetermined route back to the capital, passing through several large and small towns along the way.

When more than half of the return period had passed and the journey was nearing its end, Shen Yao's drowsiness improved; she could eat, drink, and go out shopping, her only concern being that her abdomen was somewhat too large, appearing from afar as if she might give birth.

Lin Xingzhi's tension was visible to the naked eye, especially when the accompanying physician took her pulse for a long while and finally stammered that Shen Yao's belly very likely contained triplets or even quadruplets, causing Lin Xingzhi to almost faint.

Shen Yao: ……

Shen Yao gained an additional mission to persuade and comfort Lin Xingzhi. Don't be frightened by her appearance; in fact, with fetal breath nourished by demonic energy, she was as stable as could be, and there was absolutely no situation of difficult labor that human women would face.