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as expected, Zhu Deming marched to the capital sooner than Zhu Mingli after defeating the barbarians in the West.

He's been dealing with them for years and not once has he been defeated by them, he had known the western desert like the back of his hands. Besides, it was easy for him to settle their terms of defeat considering that they've been under the Empire before.

On the other hand, the Southern neighboring country who has been serving as their ally for the past years is quite hard to handle. Nevertheless, Zhu Mingli won the war and is awaiting the Emperor's order whether to withdraw from the border after successfully defeating the enemy's army or continue marching to conquer or lay siege until they reached their capital.

The Empire's army had won in two frontlines, naturally, this calls for a grand celebration.

It wasn't that surprising to Yan Gen though. What's more surprising to him is that Li Mei, the female lead, is going to marry the Fourth Prince Zhu Hai. How could Li Mei marry the fourth prince? And here he thought he'll have to battle her in Zhu Mingli's back courtyard, he may be the main wife but Li Mei is the female lead, or at least that's what he believes in. She can be the pitiful favored concubine, while she, the villainess, Wei Zhilan, is the evil main wife who will torment Zhu Mingli's women, especially the one he favored the most, which will definitely be Li Mei.

Nevertheless, Yan Gen is not that kind of a woman-- not that kind of man. He's not the original Wei Zhilan anyway, he'll willingly give way to our female lead and peacefully escape out of the scene.

Yet, in the blink of an eye, the world's female lead was married to another. Li Mei and Zhu Hai got married a few months ago. Yan Gen simply cannot believe it, how can it be? The love of her life is yet to come back and she already married another, isn't this a betrayal to her own lover? No, wait, are Zhu Mingli and Li Mei even considered lovers? For as long as Yan Gen can remember, the two of them met a few times and he can't sense any sparks between them, much less a romantic atmosphere.

Sure, Li Mei has this lovestruck look sometimes whenever her gaze landed on Zhu Mingli, the latter though, remain unresponsive to the girl's open admiration to him. Why is the female lead's charm not working on the male lead anymore?

It was probably because of himself, Yan Gen assumed. Could it be that he's now the female lead? If that's the case, then more troubles will come after him. And who would want troubles? He already has enough on his plates. Even finding writing letters to Zhu Mingli troublesome. If he didn't know that he is now his boss, he wouldn't bother replying back to his love letters.

Ah... whatever, I don't want to overthink.

Just as he was about to lie flat on his stomach, his other feet made a screech, stopping his action. Ah, that's right, he's now bloated. This is worst than having a diarrhea after eating a lot of foods and can't stand up. And as time passed, he can feel his body becoming heavier. He feels awkward whenever he see himself in the mirror.

The maids in the wangfu can't stop complimenting his looks, saying that he became more charming and beautiful, like a blooming flower in Spring.

It was a fact Yan Gen couldn't deny. Even he himself gets self awed whenever he look at his reflection, he will probably be the next narcissus but whenever he saw his bloated stomach, he will immediately be turned off. He was carrying this watermelon for a few months now and it became bigger and bigger until he couldn't sit and stand properly anymore. Walking became especially hard for him, he has to stick out his stomach and support his waist.

Goodness! God knows how much mothers suffer in times like this. How can they carry such a burden for a long time?

Yan Gen wanted to give birth already, yet he doesn't want to at the same time. Who doesn't know how hard it is to give birth? When he was in highschool, he remembered his aunt screaming at the top of her lungs when she was about to give birth during their family gathering at their house. It send him a chill. How painful it is to have your lower part be ripped? Yan Gen would crossed his legs whenever he thought about it.

He is scared about the inevitable thing that was about to happen to him. Moreover, the first few months of his pregnancy was a torture to him.

It was exactly because of this reason that he hasn't gone to the fouth prince and Li Mei's wedding, despite being a Princess Consort that has to attend formal royal gatherings. Noble Consort Su told him to just relax at home to avoid accidents that might lead to a miscarriage, stating that she already talked to his majesty regarding his pregnancy so there's no need to worry.

His morning sickness, sensitive smell, cravings, etc... it was so hard for him, to think that he has survive it for this long. Yan Gen doesn't know if he can survive the final battle of his pregnancy though.

It was already his due date, and this life inside him will definitely kick the shit out of him around the corner. It won't be that long, thus he was also not oblige to attend the welcoming banquet of the victorious army despite it being a must 'go' banquet to the imperial family and the nobles.

While the higher class are busy socializing and the commoners are busy having fun in the streets, Yan Gen is being confined in the wangfu, bored yet at the same time, he doesn't want to move around much due to his bloated heavy body. He heard that for young first-time mothers, it was hard to give birth. It gives him another scare. He is after all, biologically sixteen years old.

Right now, he was just having a little walk around his courtyard after sitting inside his chamber for so long. He needs fresh air, the midwives from the palace also told him to exercise a bit by having a small walk around the wangfu.

“It's a shame, his highness couldn't be by your side at this time around and you couldn't tell him about your pregnancy, wangfei” Baihe sadly said and Meigui sighed in melancholy.

What are they getting sad for?

It's good that Zhu Mingli isn't around him, a male lead like him who always brought troubles will only give him more things to stress out, and being stressed out is not good for him, he has to avoid it as much as possible.

“What's there to be sad about? It's not like I can't--” Yan Gen didn't finish his sentence when he halted in his steps, both of his maids also stopped, looking at him in askance.

Their expression changed when they saw their mistress' face contorted in pain.

“My lower part is killing me” he said, while trying not to lose consciousness.

Both of his maids immediately supported him and shouted for help.