At this moment, Ivy Shen lay limp and exhausted on a wicker chair, while palace maids fanned her continuously, hoping to dispel some of her heat.
"Ugh, it's so stuffy..." Ivy mumbled with her eyes closed.
"Darling, have some fruit." Liam Willow quickly peeled a grape and handed it to her.
Without even opening her eyes, Ivy ate the grape, but she still felt restless and irritable.
"Yiyi!" Suddenly, a very attentive little voice piped up.
Ivy opened her eyes and looked at her little Baby Belle, who was now over three months old and growing prettier every day.
Just looking at her was enough to make anyone swoon.
"Yiyi..." Little Nine stretched out her warm, chubby hands, reaching for Ivy.
Seeing this, Ivy frowned apologetically and said, "Be good, Little Nine, Mama can't hold you right now."
The wet nurse quickly smiled and said, "Empress, you rest, I'll take the princess for her milk." With that, she bent down and hurried away.
"Sigh..." Ivy muttered to herself, "Poor Baby Belle, I'm so sorry. I barely even get to hold her!"
"Xin'er, relax." Eli Crane was gently wiping her sweat with a towel as beads of perspiration kept popping up on her forehead.
"Relax?" Ivy's eyes snapped open, glaring at Eli Crane. "Relax? How am I supposed to relax?" she huffed, then looked down at her enormous belly.
Eli just smiled helplessly, a little embarrassed. Liam Willow also gave an apologetic smile.
Ivy let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes again.
Earlier, the seven of them had secretly fed her some pills, and finally, she was able to share a bed with them again.
But then, by complete coincidence, her missing master Xuanluo—who hadn’t been seen for five years—suddenly returned. The moment he saw her, he handed her a blue pill, saying it was a special creation he’d spent five years making: there was only this one in the entire world.
Ivy originally thought it was just for strengthening her body—after all, five years ago, his medicine really did make her tough enough to handle wild nights without feeling tired.
She figured, after five years, her master was just worried about her health and gave it to her out of concern.
Seeing how attentive her master was, Ivy couldn't stay mad at him anymore. Honestly, being able to have all seven of them, she felt truly blessed.
So blessed...
But seriously, can someone please explain what the heck is going on right now?
Septuplets?!
And they're all princesses?!
Looking at her belly, which seemed ready to explode at any moment—when it was only two months in!—Ivy felt terrified just seeing it. It looked like she was about to give birth already.
Ugh, Ivy's head was really pounding at this point. How did this even happen? How could she get pregnant with so many at once?
Naturally, her thoughts turned to her master's mysterious pill.
And Xuanluo didn't even try to hide it—he just answered straight up, "Yep, yours is the female version."
Female version? Wait, do pills come in male and female types now?
Xuanluo smugly replied, "Normally, no. But come on—I'm an immortal! Of course I can make them that way!"
Ivy was confused. So... what happened next?
Xuanluo kept showing off: "Next, I gave each of your seven husbands a 'male' pill. Oh, and by the way, the Living Buddha Sage spent five years researching medicine just for having daughters. I used my spiritual power, Daoist skills, and immortal elixirs to create the world's only pill that lets you share a bed and get pregnant!"
After saying this, he shook his head. No one knew the price he'd paid—he'd poured half his life force into making that pill!
His goal? To make up for all the pain he'd caused Xin'er.
He just wanted Xin'er to be spared from having to go through multiple pregnancies in a single year—it was exhausting enough as it was.
With seven babies at once, everything would be settled—no need for any more pregnancies!
Princes and princesses, all at once—how perfect is that!
That was all well and good for them, but did anyone care about how she felt? Heaven help her—her belly felt like it was about to explode!
Xuanluo had told the Seven Husbands to take good care of Xin'er. The medicine was powerful—sure, she could carry seven babies, but with so many, they had to watch for premature birth. The wet nurse had to be ready. These multiples would be tiny, so they needed the most experienced, careful wet nurses around.
So, as soon as Xin'er got pregnant, they launched a National Wet Nurse Selection Tournament across the country.
This move totally shocked Ivy Shen.
There was nothing they could do—they were all so anxious. Seeing her enormous belly, they were genuinely scared.
So, all seven of them watched over her day and night, terrified that even a tiny mistake in her care could happen.
Of course, with her pregnant with septuplets, they couldn't share a bed with her either.
But it was fine—as long as they could have more children someday, everything else could be negotiated!
They all agreed: after this, Xin'er wouldn't have any more children. Time to close up shop!
At that moment, Ivy Shen lay on the wicker chair while Liam Willow peeled grapes for her and Eli Crane massaged her back and wiped her sweat.
The rest of the husbands were busy teaching the boys—handling homework and basic lessons.
"By the way, have my sisters arrived yet?" Ivy suddenly sat up and asked.
"Don't worry, Caleb Miles and Ethan Chu have already gone to pick them up—they should be here soon," Eli Crane reassured her.
"Have the snacks been prepared? It's been five years—they haven't met in person for five whole years, only keeping in touch by letter. Either they didn't have time to visit, or they couldn't come. Poor sister was having kids, Sister Xiyan was having kids, the Fire God was busy, Nina was raising her child, and so on. In short: no time!"
If she hadn't gotten pregnant with septuplets this time, who knows when they'd ever come back!
"The imperial chefs have everything ready—Felix went to check. You don't need to worry about any of it."
"Oh right, Liam, are the red envelopes ready? It's my first time meeting all the kids—I need to bring lots of red envelopes!" Ivy said quickly. Her sister's kids, Xiyan's kids, Nina's kids, and she wondered how Little Tian had grown.
"Don't worry, darling—with two abacuses in the family, we've already taken care of it," Liam Willow said, smiling.
Ivy nodded at that. Yes, red envelopes were the least of her worries—with two abacuses in the house, how could they mess up the calculations?
Meanwhile, elsewhere...
"Alright, ten-minute break!" Adrian Night waved his hand and slumped into a chair, exhausted. Why did taking care of this pack of little rascals feel so tiring?!
"By the way, Second Brother, have Ethan Chu and Caleb Miles come back yet?" Adrian Night asked, looking at Caleb Miles.
"Not yet, but soon—I think they should be here any minute."
"Yeah, Big Sis hasn't visited in years. With everyone coming this time—even Sister Xiyan—it'll be a real reunion. By the way, are the imperial chefs' dishes all ready?"
Caleb Miles was mixing medicine—all of it made for Xin'er. Ever since she got pregnant with septuplets, her tastes had changed and she was often nauseous.
"Should be almost done. The palace staff are all busy, and Felix went to check—nothing will go wrong!" With that, he looked at Little Lucian. "Son, come here."
"Daddy!"
"Go see if your aunts have arrived yet." They hadn't seen each other in five years—either Xin'er had something going on, or they did. This five-year reunion was truly something to look forward to.
"Okay!" Little Lucian dashed outside to check.
"Little Xuan!" Caleb Miles called out again.
"Second Daddy!" Little Xuan walked over, abacus in hand.
"Go tidy up the playhouse—there'll be lots of kids coming soon. And get the girls' playroom ready too. Your mom set out all those Hello Kitty, Maruko, and Snow White dolls for your little sisters to play with."
With Xin'er unable to help right now, they had to think of everything themselves.
"Huh? You want me to do all that?" Little Xuan grumbled, clutching his abacus. He didn't care about anything except money.
"Here, your labor fee." Caleb Miles smiled, pulling out a gold coin and handing it over.
Seeing that, Little Xuan hugged Caleb Miles' neck and gave him a kiss. "Second Daddy loves Xuan Xuan best! Don't worry, I'll take care of it!" With that, he ran off to get ready.
Adrian Night couldn't help but laugh. "Little Xuan is a total copy of his dad—no, actually, he's even more ruthless than his father!"
Totally! His dad's been tricked by him several times. Thinking of the great King of Calculators always getting outsmarted by his five-year-old son made him laugh.
"Are you done? Let's go see Xin'er—I bet Big Sis and the others have arrived."
"All done—let's go! Ah, it's been five years; I'm really looking forward to this!"