That afternoon, the rhythmic clash of wooden spears echoed from the training ground. Sri sat at its edge, back straight, face calm. Her eyes were warm as she watched the youths practice.
Beside her, Chen was painting—on a small bowl. The bowl used to hold Sri's hairpins, according to him.
Sri broke the silence.
"Cú zhī… do you think, having children—"
Chen toppled out of his rattan chair.
"WHAT?!"
Sri turned, one brow lifting slightly.
"What do you mean, what?"
Chen sprang up, wiping sweat, his smile far too quick to be honest.
"Oh— I thought you said corn. The evening wind twists sounds."
"I didn't say corn."
"Of course not. But you once talked about planting corn. Children and corn—
both grow," he said lightly.
Sri looked back toward the field. Inside Chen's head, every alarm rang at once.
No. I am not ready to share the bed with diapered infants.
***
A Quiet Operation: Mission—Prevent Pregnancy
That night, a small lantern glowed in the back room. Chen convened a secret meeting.
Attendees: Mei Lin and Han Yue.
Chen spoke softly, carefully.
"Starting tomorrow, instruct the physician to prepare a tonic for Sri.
A strengthening tonic… that produces nothing."
Han Yue frowned.
"A seed-preventing potion?"
"We'll give it a more dignified name," Chen said.
"The Immortality Tea of the Bedchamber Realm."
Mei Lin shook her head.
"I want no part in this."
Han Yue sighed.
"This time, I cannot test it on myself, Your Highness."
Chen looked from one to the other.
"If you don't help, Sri will have children."
Mei Lin replied instantly, flatly.
"Which means Your Highness can no longer shout 'Srimaduuu!'
in the middle of the night asking for your hair to be brushed."
Chen nodded firmly.
"Exactly."
***
The Problem: No Potion Can Restrain Chen's Nationalistic Ardor
A week later, Sri entered the room with her hair still wet, wrapped only in a shawl.
"I want to create something," she said calmly,
"that protects not only the State, but the future."
Chen stepped back.
"By rice and ancestral oaths," he panicked,
"I drank five cups of the tonic this morning—my body refuses instructions!"
That night, a battle took place.
Not with spears.
With the bed.
Several Months Later — Joyful News The physician bowed, smiling politely.
"Congratulations, Lady Sri. You are carrying… twins."
Chen fainted on the spot.
***
The Moment of Birth
The first cry filled the room.
The first born: a daughter.
Her gaze was sharp. Her smile thin.
Chen swallowed.
"This is… me in miniature. More serious. More dangerous."
The second born: a son.
His eyes were large and clear. When he cried, his voice was gentle—almost apologetic.
Mei Lin whispered, nearly in awe.
"This one is Lady Sri… in male form."
Han Yue nodded stiffly.
"But far too handsome. This is dangerous."
***
Names That Shocked Chen
Sri proposed names—full of military codes, she said, for easy recall.
Chen refused.
In the end, he chose himself.
Daughter:Lu Shuang Yi
—"Clear, and One of a Kind."
Later known as the youngest heir to author a strategy canon:
无笑,不胜
Without Laughter, There Is No Victory.
Son:Lu Dewa Sri
—a fusion of a God of beauty and his beloved wife.
Chen Plans… Again
Three months after the birth, Chen whispered to the physician in the kitchen.
"The previous potion failed. Make a new one. Stronger.
Something that works through an embrace."
The physician stared.
"That is not a potion, Your Highness. That is black magic."
Chen inhaled.
"I'm willing to pay anything—
as long as she doesn't become pregnant again until I'm ready,
emotionally and physically."
***
The Victims Who Now Have a Club
Raka became the children's tutor. Whenever Shuang Yi fixed him with her sharp stare, he trembled.
Mei Lin raised the twins on a strict shift system.
Han Yue became their personal guard. Every morning he asked,
"Why didn't I become a monk first?"
Evening, on the Veranda, Chen held Lu Dewa Sri. Sri cradled Lu Shuang Yi. Lu Dewa Sri tugged Chen's hair, laughing. Lu Shuang Yi took a small dagger from her mother's belt and stared at a bird—silent, focused.
Chen turned to Sri.
"If one day the world burns because of them, you know who writes the diplomatic letters."
Sri nodded, kissing his cheek.
"Poems. Kiss-seals. Dragon-clad pigeons."
***
[Sequel Teaser: Hell & Heaven Descended in One Bloodline]
In a corner of the room, Mei Lin, Han Yue, and Raka drank tea.
Raka asked,
"Do you think Chen will ever stop?"
Han Yue shook his head.
"Perhaps his children will be the ones to defeat him."
Mei Lin looked toward the babies.
"Or… shake the world even harder."
The Chen family cat climbed onto Han Yue's head.
Even animals, it seemed, wished to be recorded in this story.