One month later.
Ever since Ivy Shen took that immortal pill Elder Rowan gave her, her body had become strong as an ox. The Seven Husbands were both delighted and bewildered—after the last epic 'sevenfold assembly,' they thought they'd finally get solo nights with her, but for some reason, Heart (Ivy) had become an absolute powerhouse.
After a whole night of chaos, Ivy was still bursting with energy—the morning court session, which used to be postponed, was now happening early.
Her lively, unstoppable state deeply rattled the Seven Husbands. For them, it was pain mixed with pleasure—pain because, seriously, were they just too weak? After all that tossing and turning, Ivy was still so spirited?
The pleasure, though, was obvious: with Ivy like this, they could party every night. It was basically paradise!
Later, seeing the gloomy faces of her Seven Husbands, Ivy couldn’t help but tell them about the immortal pill Elder Rowan had given her.
As soon as she said that, the Seven Husbands suddenly saw the light. Their moods instantly flipped, and everyone silently thanked Elder Rowan in their hearts.
It was thanks to him that they could be this happy.
On this particular day, Ivy lounged alone on a garden chair, cuddling Little Snowball and resting.
The husbands were all busy. Ever since her elder sister and Screwball finally admitted their feelings, the only thing left was the wedding.
Lacey, blushing, told Ivy she wanted to go with him to Flame Valley—after all, that's his home, and he's the king. How could he not care about his own realm?
Hearing that, Ivy felt a little reluctant, but then thought, well, that's just how it is when a woman gets married.
Besides, Ivy wasn't some old-fashioned woman stuck on ancient virtues. If she missed her sister, she could just go visit. Plus, with her sister moving to Flame Valley, that meant Ivy had a new vacation spot!
So Ivy agreed, and Yvonne Li piped up, insisting that Lacey could only go back after the wedding.
Naturally, Screwball agreed—this was the Princess's wedding, and it couldn't be rushed. It had to be done properly.
The common folk were thrilled when they heard the news, because Princess Lacey of Paintings wasn’t marrying just anyone—she was marrying the king of Flame Valley.
Here in the Soaring Phoenix Realm, there’s no such thing as 'strongest'—only 'stronger.'
So, they decided the wedding would be held at the Princess's residence first, and then Lacey and Screwball would go back to Flame Valley for another ceremony.
Today, six of the husbands went out with Screwball to shop for wedding supplies.
Honestly, the palace staff could've taken care of everything, but Screwball was way too anxious—he didn’t want anyone else meddling. He wanted to handle every detail himself, just to be sure.
As for Ethan Chu, the other husband, he'd already gone back to Chu Kingdom for three days. He’d stayed in the Soaring Phoenix Realm for quite a while, and Ivy figured, hey, he’s an emperor—if he just hangs around here and ignores his own kingdom, people are bound to gossip.
So, after Ivy nagged him a few times, Ethan finally went home to take care of business.
"Ee-ee-ya-ya!" The little guy in Ivy’s arms opened his big, pretty eyes and stared at her, grinning like a goof.
"Huh? What are you laughing at?" Ivy looked at her son, who was giggling at her, and couldn’t help but get a little vain. "What, are you totally smitten by your own mom? Huh?"
"Hehehehehe!" The little guy laughed even harder at Ivy’s words.
‘Gaa—gaa—’ Suddenly, a sharp cry sounded from above. The little guy immediately looked up, waving his tiny hands in the air.
Ivy didn’t even need to look up to know what it was. Little White, as usual, was here to get her baby’s attention. Seriously!
‘Gaa—’ Little White flapped its wings and landed quickly, then scuttled over to Ivy’s side on its claws. But from start to finish, its beady black eyes were locked on Little Snowball.
Little Snowball reached out, giggling, and petted Little White’s wing. Little White was loving it and chirped nonstop.
"Heart!" Suddenly, a hurried voice called out from outside.
Ivy blinked and looked up—Ethan Chu? Why was he back so soon?
Ethan dashed over, grinning, scooped the little guy out of Ivy’s arms, and plopped down on a nearby bench.
"Why are you back so soon?" Ivy was baffled. It had only been three days! Sure, the roads were better now, but even on a thousand-mile horse, it should take at least two days and a night. Did he just stay there for a few hours?
"I just went back to hand things off." Ethan shrugged. These days, the Soaring Phoenix Realm was so powerful that every kingdom wanted in. The people of Chu Kingdom all knew their king was married to the empress, and they were so happy, rebellion was the last thing on their minds!
"You!" Ivy sighed. He was a king, for goodness’ sake. How could he be so chill about it?
"By the way, where is everyone?" Ethan looked around, curious when he didn’t see the others.
"They went with Screwball to help pick out furniture. Screwball insists on doing everything himself—such a show-off," Ivy said with a snort.
Ethan chuckled. Men always want to look good in front of the woman they love.
Just then, the A, B, and C nannies walked over.
"Long live the Empress! Long live! Long, long live! Blessings to Young Master Chu!" the three nannies called out together. Here, no one really knew what to call Ivy’s seven husbands. Technically, since Ivy was the emperor, they should be called consorts—Chu Consort, maybe? But Ivy just told everyone to call them 'Young Master' instead!
Honestly, deep down, Ivy was still a bit traditional. The idea of her husbands being called 'consorts' just grossed her out. 'Young Master' was so much better!
"Empress, it's time for the Crown Prince's feeding," the three nannies chorused.
Ivy smiled and nodded. She knew these three nannies absolutely adored Little Snowball. If they didn’t see him for a whole day, you could bet they’d show up the next morning with red eyes from crying all night, missing him!
Sigh, this little guy had everyone—young and old, men and women—wrapped around his finger. Total little monster!
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Ethan reluctantly handed Little Snowball to the nannies, looking pretty annoyed—he’d barely held him for a minute! Seriously!
The three nannies whisked the little guy away. Little White, seeing his little master leave, flapped his wings and took off.
"Alright, stop staring," Ivy said, amused.
"Hey, Heart, when are you going to give us a few more kids? Look, I barely had time to warm up before the little guy got snatched away," Ethan grumbled.
Ivy smiled helplessly, then suddenly remembered something. "By the way, did you arrange for General Nee to pick up Sister Yvonne at Mount Hua like I asked? That was the main reason I sent you back."
"Yeah, I already sent him," Ethan replied with a gentle smile. Honestly, he'd always known about his royal sister and General Nee, but life is full of twists and turns. Whether they’d finally open their hearts to each other this time—well, that was up to fate.
"I believe General Nee won't let me down," Ivy said, gazing at the sky. General Nee, I've set up such a good thing for you—please, don't disappoint me!
"Heart..." Ethan started chattering away about all sorts of things.
Ivy just lay back in her wicker chair, her eyelids starting to droop.
"What's wrong? Sleepy?"
"Yeah, I guess spring’s coming—makes people extra sleepy," Ivy said, yawning.
"Here, have a grape." Ethan saw the bowl of washed grapes beside the rocker, grabbed one, peeled it, and held it to Ivy’s lips, hoping to wake her up.
Ivy blushed and opened her mouth for the grape, but as soon as she swallowed, her stomach lurched and she bent over, dry heaving.
"Heart, what’s wrong?" Ethan panicked. Just then, Husband Six came back, and seeing Ivy like this, everyone rushed over in alarm.
"Heart! Wifey!"
"What’s going on?"
"No idea. I’ve just been so tired lately," Ivy mumbled.
At that, Husband Seven’s expression changed. Lucian Vane and Ethan both grabbed her wrist at the same time to check her pulse.
"Oh my god, you’re pregnant, Heart! You’re pregnant!" Ethan shouted.
"What? Heart’s having a baby?" Husband Five yelled, thrilled.
But Lucian Vane just frowned and kept listening closely. Ivy was confused. "What’s wrong, Lucian?"
"Wait!" Lucian Vane interrupted Ivy, brow furrowed, listening even more intently.
Everyone stopped talking and watched Lucian in silence.
After a moment, Lucian’s hands trembled and his face was full of surprise.
"What is it?" everyone pressed.
"Heart... Heart... Heart is carrying twins!"
"What?!" Everyone was stunned, then erupted into deafening cheers.