I am the villain in the book

And so it was that on the day Xiao Hongsu was born, Li Zimu, Xu Quan, and Zhili departed from Shu Prefecture together.

This matter was not secretive and attracted the attention of many.

However, for most people, the news of "Young Master Wei's happy arrival of a son" was more important.

In the days that followed, the grand residence saw a constant stream of visitors. Countless high-ranking officials and wealthy merchants came to offer their congratulations at the first opportunity. It would not be an exaggeration to describe the scene in front of the mansion as "an endless stream".

Of course, Xu Qingwan and Lu Jingyao were in charge of handling such matters. Wei Changtian himself rarely showed his face, and only a few important figures and old acquaintances were fortunate enough to meet him.

Even so, Wei Changtian had to meet several guests every day, taking up the better part of his day.

As for the remaining part of the day, he naturally spent it with Liang Qin and Xiao Hongsu.

After these few days of development, Xiao Hongsu no longer resembled a "monkey." He was chubby and increasingly adorable.

Sitting on a bluestone, Wei Changtian held Xiao Hongsu and explained earnestly, "This is called the Gui Chen Blade. It's very powerful. Dad will teach it to you in the future."

"No, you might not like cultivation when you grow up. Dad still needs to respect your opinion."

"Of course, Dad has to tell you in advance."

"Although Dad is very democratic, your mother is not."

"If you don't cultivate, I guess she won't agree."

"Hmph, Dad won't speak up for you then."

"So you decide for yourself."

Looking at Xiao Hongsu with a smug expression, Wei Changtian kept talking.

The latter, however, sucked on his little fingers while staring blankly, not knowing what this guy in front of him was babbling about.

A gentle breeze passed through the treetops, and the sky was clear for miles.

The wife practiced her sword, and the husband held the baby and watched from the side.

This scene was indeed quite harmonious.

But it always felt like something was off.

Then, at some point, Lu Jingyao walked quickly from outside the courtyard, approached Wei Changtian, and whispered, "Husband, Her Majesty is here."

"Huh? Ning Yu Ke?"

Wei Changtian was stunned. "Why didn't she tell me in advance?"

"Her Majesty came in plain clothes."

Lu Jingyao explained softly, "She said she just wanted to see Hongsu."

"Oh."

Wei Changtian nodded, picked up Xiao Hongsu, and called out to Liang Qin, "Qin'er! Ning Yu Ke is here. I'll take Hongsu to see her! Do you want to come along?"

"You go!"

Liang Qin was practicing her sword with great enthusiasm and responded casually, "I won't go!"

"Okay."

Wei Changtian withdrew his gaze, carefully tucked in the swaddling clothes, and said to Lu Jingyao, "Let's go."

"Okay."

Lu Jingyao responded, and the two quickly walked out of the backyard, heading towards the main hall in the front yard.

On the way, Lu Jingyao secretly looked at Wei Changtian, whose attention was entirely on Xiao Hongsu, and suddenly called out softly,

"Husband . . ."

"Huh?" Wei Changtian didn't even raise his head.

" . . ."

Seeing this, Lu Jingyao couldn't help but feel a little dejected and lowered her head slightly.

But after hesitating for a long time, she still whispered like a mosquito buzzing,

"My, my father wrote to me again yesterday . . ."

"What did he ask you?" Wei Changtian was still teasing Xiao Hongsu.

"Asked, asked me . . ."

Lu Jingyao's cheeks flushed slightly, and her voice became even softer, "Asked me why I married you the earliest, but still haven't conceived . . ."

" . . ."

Wei Changtian paused in his movements and finally turned to look at Lu Jingyao.

Lu Jingyao was flustered by his gaze, thinking that, as before, she would be teased and ridiculed again.

However, this time . . .

"Hey, I thought it was a big deal."

Smiling, Wei Changtian replied very easily, "Then write back and tell him that you'll be pregnant soon too."

"Ah?"

Lu Jingyao thought she had misheard. Her mouth opened wide, her face full of confusion.

"Husband, you said . . ."

"I said you'll be pregnant soon too."

Wei Changtian curled his lips. "Did you hear clearly this time?"

" . . ."

Her eyes instantly became moist, and Lu Jingyao quickly covered her mouth and turned away.

Wei Changtian saw her shoulders twitch slightly, and then he heard a sob full of joy:

"Yes, I, I heard clearly . . ."

"Hongsu . . . It sounds so nice."

A quarter of an hour later, only Wei Changtian and Ning Yu Ke were in the main hall, with many exquisite gifts placed beside them, which must have been brought by the latter.

Holding Xiao Hongsu, Ning Yu Ke smiled and looked up to ask:

"Did Master choose it?"

"Yes, Qin'er and I thought of it together."

Wei Changtian replied with a smile, "It can be said that we racked our brains."

"Master's talent is so high, how could he rack his brains over a name?"

Ning Yu Ke only thought that Wei Changtian was being modest. After replying with a smile, she lowered her head and said gently to Xiao Hongsu, "Hongsu, your father is the most talented person in the world today."

" . . ."

Dressed in plain clothes, without any jewelry.

Today, Ning Yu Ke was dressed very "simply", but she still couldn't hide the temperament on her body.

After all, she had been on the throne for more than two years, and she was born into the royal family.

So, if Xu Suisui's "Empress aura" was pretended, then Ning Yu Ke's was innate, from the inside out.

Perhaps only when facing Wei Changtian would she show such a different side . . .

"Has Great Shu been good this past year?"

Looking at Ning Yu Ke, who seemed to be "loving" Xiao Hongsu, Wei Changtian casually asked, "How is the Heavenly Works Bureau? Has the steam engine been researched?"

"Thanks to Master, everything is fine."

Ning Yu Ke gently patted Xiao Hongsu to coax him to sleep while answering softly, "Several steam engines have been made, but the people of the Heavenly Works Bureau feel that there is still a considerable difference from what Master said, and they are still improving it."

"Okay, I'll go take a look in a few days."

Wei Changtian nodded, "And Datong City, let's take a stroll together."

"Okay, after I return to the palace, I will arrange it."

"Oh, right."

Speaking of Datong City, Wei Changtian couldn't help but think of Qingxian.

And thinking of Qingxian, he thought of that "Heavenly Spirit" again.

At that time, Qingxian took a fancy to Ning Yu Ke's painless physique and wanted to train the latter into some Heavenly Spirit to inherit the position of the Demon King of the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Wei Changtian didn't care about this matter later, and he didn't know where Ning Yu Ke was now.

"How is the matter of the Heavenly Spirit?"

Taking a sip of tea, Wei Changtian asked casually, "When do you plan to transform into a spirit?"

" . . . This servant hasn't thought about it myself yet."

Startled, Ning Yu Ke lowered her eyes, "But I will listen to Master's instructions."

"Didn't we agree before that you can only make your own decisions about this kind of thing?"

Wei Changtian shook his head with a smile, "It's okay, take your time if you haven't thought about it."

"Even if you don't want to transform into a spirit, it doesn't matter. Tell me then, and I'll talk to Qingxian."

"I don't believe she dares to force you."

"If she really dares, I'll send her to the west directly. Anyway, doesn't she just not want to live anymore . . ."

Sneering, Wei Changtian exposed his evil nature of "bullying others" in a few words.

And Ning Yu Ke, while listening, suddenly blurted out at some point—

"Master, this servant is going to get married."

"This thing about Heavenly Spirit, if you ask me, it's just uh, what did you say?"

His eyes stunned, Wei Changtian looked blank, "Get married?"

"Yes, get married."

"No, this is too . . . well, I'm not opposed, just a little unresponsive."

"But that's right, men should marry when they are old enough, and women should marry when they are old enough."

"Since you've already thought about it, then no matter who your sweetheart is, I will definitely support . . ."

Although he felt inexplicably down, Wei Changtian still smiled and rambled a lot.

In the end, he tentatively asked the most crucial question.

"Well, I'm just asking, who are you planning to marry . . ."

" . . ."

The sun was just right, and there were crisp bird chirps outside the window, just like when the two first met in Prince Shun's mansion.

Looking up at Wei Changtian's eyes, Ning Yu Ke bit her lip, her heart beating violently.

She was very scared, very timid.

But in the end, she still didn't look away, but mustered all the courage in her heart and said, word by word, the sentence she had said countless times in her dreams, in her imagination, but had never dared to say in reality—

"This servant wants to marry Master, may I?"