111: Chapter 111 The due date is approaching

Over a month passed in the calm, water-like daily life of the East Courtyard.

Cao Ying's due date was drawing near; her once slightly protruding belly was now round and taut before her, and she had to support her waist with one hand while walking, her pace more than half a beat slower than before.

Every time Yao Yao saw her walking, she couldn't help but laugh, saying, "You used to sway with a water-snake waist, but now you're swaying with a water-bucket waist."

Cao Ying would roll her eyes at her each time, then continue to slowly shuffle back to her room while supporting her waist, with Yao Yao's undisguised laughter trailing behind her.

Hun Feng had put aside almost all his affairs for over a month.

Battle reports were handed over to Hun Qian and Soul Mie Sheng to approve, cultivation was temporarily set aside, and he had even notified Hun Tiandi—unless the sky fell, he was not to be disturbed.

His time was entirely reserved for his wives, especially Cao Ying.

Every morning and evening, he would personally support Cao Ying as she walked along the back corridor of the East Courtyard, his movements cautious, as if he were holding a piece of porcelain that might shatter at any moment.

He would also press his ear against Cao Ying's belly to listen to the fetal movements, and every time the little one kicked, he would be as happy as a fool, not even noticing Yao Yao rolling her eyes at him from the side.

Regarding the child about to be born, Hun Feng had been harboring an expectation in his heart.

He knew that Xiao Xiao—that is, the current Hun Muxiao—had been at the Dou Zong level at birth; back then, Xiao Yan and Medusa had unexpectedly conceived her in the depths of Jia Nan Academy due to the Fallen Heart Flame, and Xiao Yan's Dou Di Bloodline combined with Medusa's Nine-Colored Sky Swallowing Python Bloodline allowed the little girl to stand at a starting point that countless people could never reach in their entire lives.

Now, his own cultivation far exceeded that of the Xiao Yan of those days, the Heaven-Slaying Flame was the ultimate exotic fire formed by the fusion of nine fires, and his God-Grade Bloodline was no less than Xiao Yan's Dou Di Bloodline.

Although Cao Ying's cultivation was only at the mid-stage of the One-Star Dou Sheng, she possessed the Demon Phoenix Bloodline, which was also a top-tier physique.

Logically speaking, their child should be no worse than Xiao Xiao.

However, he was still a bit uncertain—Xiao Xiao being born a Dou Zong was the result of the collision of two top-tier bloodlines from Xiao Yan and Medusa; although Cao Ying's Demon Phoenix Bloodline was not inferior, it was ultimately a grade lower than the Nine-Colored Sky Swallowing Python.

Furthermore, he didn't have the luck that Xiao Yan had, which exploded after being pushed to a desperate situation, so he had no idea how strong this child could actually be.

"Cai Lin, what star Dou Zong was Mu Xiao when she was born?" Hun Feng asked, leaning on a soft couch and turning his head.

Medusa was flipping through the documents of the Snake-People Tribe and paused at his words, her purple eyes sweeping over him, her tone flat yet tinged with something strange: "Why, are you afraid your own child won't measure up to Xiao Yan's seed?"

Hun Feng coughed twice and quickly said that wasn't what he meant.

Medusa picked up her teacup, took a sip, and added calmly: "Mu Xiao was a One-Star Dou Zong when she was born. Instead of worrying about this, you'd better worry about Cao Ying's fetal position—Yao Ling says her fetal position is very good, so she should be able to have a natural birth.

As for what cultivation level the child will have after birth, that depends on fate.

The Xiao Family had produced a Dou Di in their ancestry, so their bloodline power is naturally stronger.

However, your God-Grade Bloodline is not bad either, and the Heaven-Slaying Flame is the ultimate fire formed by the fusion of nine, plus Cao Ying's Demon Phoenix Bloodline, so this child will at least start as a Dou Zun."

Start as a Dou Zun. Hun Feng savored these four words, and a faint smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

Starting as a Dou Zun was not bad either—after all, not everyone could stand at the threshold of a Dou Zong at birth like Xiao Xiao.

His child, Hun Feng's child, just needed a higher starting point than others; there was no need to compare this with Xiao Yan.

Compared to Hun Feng's struggle with the child's cultivation, the women of the East Courtyard were more concerned with another matter—whether the child in Cao Ying's belly was a boy or a girl.

This question had been mentioned a few times in casual chats by the stone table at the beginning of Cao Ying's pregnancy; at that time, everyone was just asking casually and didn't take it to heart.

But as the due date approached day by day, this topic was like a pot of soup slowly simmering on a low fire, bubbling away before anyone realized it.

The one who cared most about this question was Yao Yao.

She had been by Hun Feng's side the longest and was one of the first to marry Hun Feng, just like Medusa, but her belly was the least cooperative.

Cao Ying had only arrived for half a year before she got pregnant, and now she was about to give birth.

If Cao Ying gave birth to a boy, then this child would be Hun Feng's first son—although not the legitimate heir, he held the status of the eldest son, and her position in the East Courtyard would rise accordingly.

Yao Yao wasn't jealous of Cao Ying, but she was indeed a bit anxious.

She had grown up with Hun Feng since childhood and had the deepest bond, yet she had fallen behind in this aspect.

Gu Xun'er's thoughts were more reserved.

She was also pregnant, but two months later than Cao Ying, with more than three months until her due date.

As the only daughter of Gu Yuan and possessing the Gu Clan's God-Grade Bloodline, she had been accustomed to doing everything as well as possible since childhood.

She didn't care if the child was a boy or a girl, but she cared about the child's talent.

If Cao Ying's child could show astonishing talent in cultivation as soon as they were born, then the one in her belly could not fall behind.

The glory of the Gu Clan could not be interrupted in her generation.

Xiao Yi Xian didn't care about these things.

She still crouched by the flower bed every day to tend to her flowers and plants, and occasionally when she was pulled by Yao Yao to discuss whether the child was a boy or a girl, she would just listen quietly, then say calmly, "Both are fine."

But she was actually a bit envious; she also wanted a child, a child belonging to her and Hun Feng.

It's just that she would never take the initiative to speak up—she was accustomed to waiting.

Medusa sat on the soft couch, flipping through the letters; she appeared calm on the surface, but she was thinking about this matter in her heart.

She was the main wife, and Mu Xiao was her and Hun Feng's daughter; although Mu Xiao's biological father was Xiao Yan, Hun Feng treated her as his own.

Now that Cao Ying was about to give birth, and Gu Xun'er was also pregnant, if both these children were boys, the situation in the East Courtyard would have to be reshuffled again.

Fortunately, Cao Ying had always been respectful to her as the main wife on the surface, and Gu Xun'er was the eldest lady of the Gu Clan, with an excellent sense of propriety, so there wouldn't be any scenes of fighting for favor.

But as for their individual thoughts in private, no one could say for sure.

Yun Yun and Cao Ying were the closest.

The two had lived in the side courtyard for several months, spending their days together, and their bond grew deeper.

That evening, Yun Yun supported Cao Ying as she walked along the back corridor; the moonlight fell on them, overlapping the shadows of her moon-white long dress and Cao Ying's dark red long dress.

Cao Ying supported her waist with one hand and rested the other on Yun Yun's arm, suddenly turning her head and asking: "Sister Yun Yun, do you think this child will look like me or like my husband?"

"It would be better if they looked like you. If they looked like him, they would be too good at attracting young women." Yun Yun rarely made a joke, and Cao Ying laughed so hard she almost choked; Yun Yun supported her, and only after she had laughed enough did she say slowly, "It's best if they look like you—seductive and beautiful, with many clever ideas, and never suffering a loss."

She said this, but in her heart, she knew that no matter who the child looked like in the future, she would love them just as she would her own child.

She was not pregnant, and she was not in a hurry to get pregnant; she had found her place in this East Courtyard—not as a concubine fighting for favor, not as a former Sect Master who had been cast aside, but as a real, needed person.

That evening, the wives were rarely gathered together at the stone table.

Yao Yao was peeling grapes while looking at Cao Ying's belly, and suddenly blurted out: "Cao Ying, your belly is round, just like my mother's was when she was pregnant with my younger brother—it must be a boy."

Cao Ying stroked her belly and smiled, replying that she would take Sister Yao Yao's auspicious words.

Gu Xun'er put down her teacup and continued unhurriedly: "I think it's a girl. Your complexion has been getting better in the last few months, and your skin is even more delicate than before; the elders all say that carrying a girl nourishes the mother."

Yao Yao and Gu Xun'er each stuck to their own views, and later they even pulled Medusa into the fray.

Medusa picked up her teacup and said calmly that her belly was also round when she was pregnant with Mu Xiao, so Yao Yao and Gu Xun'er both turned to stare at Cao Ying's belly and fell into deep thought.

Xiao Yi Xian still didn't speak, just picked up her teacup to cover the faint smile at the corner of her mouth.

Hun Feng came out of the study and saw this scene—his wives were sitting around the stone table, arguing fiercely about whether the child in Cao Ying's belly was a boy or a girl, and even the usually quiet Xiao Yi Xian was listening with great interest.

He leaned against the corridor pillar and watched for a while, then suddenly spoke: "What are you arguing about? Anyway, whether it's a boy or a girl, it's my, Hun Feng's, seed."

Cao Ying looked up at him, stood up with difficulty while holding her big belly, walked to him while holding her waist, looked up at him, her phoenix eyes full of anticipation: "Husband, do you think our child will be a Dou Zong directly like Mu Xiao when they are born?"

"When Mu Xiao's mother was pregnant with her, her father hadn't even broken through to Dou Sheng, and the bloodline power was far less than it is now.

Now I am an Eight Star Dou Sheng, and you are a One-Star Dou Sheng—our child's starting point will only be higher than hers.

Take good care of yourself, don't think so much." Hun Feng reached out and put his arm around her shoulders, his tone firm and gentle.

Cao Ying pressed her face against his chest, her arms wrapped around his waist.

Moonlight fell on the dark-leaf osmanthus in the East Courtyard, the laughter of the wives at the stone table continued, and this home felt more like a home than ever before.

And that little life about to arrive was, in the expectant eyes of everyone, approaching the threshold of this world, bit by bit.