Chapter 1 A Bad News

"Shi'er, I have some bad news for you." When Tan Weishi woke up peacefully in the most comfortable tent on the top of Thunder Cliff, Ye Tao was sitting on the edge of the bed, his face full of helplessness.

"What?" Tan Weishi's head was still a little dizzy. Just now, when she turned around, she didn't expect that she would suddenly see stars and fall down.

"You've been grounded, effective immediately," Ye Tao said.

"Why?" Tan Weishi was stunned for a moment, then asked angrily, "That had nothing to do with flying just now, did it?"

"You're pregnant," a brilliant smile appeared on the corner of Ye Tao's lips.

"Really?" Tan Weishi's mind went blank. After a while, she reached out and gently touched her still-flat stomach, asking suspiciously.

"Old Feng has been at Thunder Cliff all along. He diagnosed it," Ye Tao said, putting his arm around Tan Weishi's shoulder very gently.

"We... have a child?" Tan Weishi still couldn't believe it. Compared to this, being grounded was not worth mentioning at all.

Ye Tao smiled and said, "Yes." Ye Tao's answer was so simple, but the gentle and intense emotions surging in his heart were no less than Tan Weishi's. Although he had copied all kinds of supplies and had already produced many natural rubber products, the various products of the Durex brand were not yet in his development plan. But from that passionate night with Sophie years ago until now, for several years, although he was busy and often had to travel back and forth, his sex life was not rich, the lack of a child had indeed made him wonder. Naturally, Ye Tao never thought there was a big problem. He simply treated it as a sequela of transmigrating, a very common sequela it seemed.

But at this moment, being able to have a child still made him inexplicably excited. And beyond the excitement, more thoughts kept涌涌涌涌而来. He could no longer only consider himself, allowing himself and his family, which held power and enjoyed glory, to have a moment of brilliance in history and then fade away into oblivion, but he had to consider more for his child, for his family, which would undoubtedly be prominent in this time and space for a long time… This was the first time he had encountered such a problem in his life in two different time spaces.

Many ideas surfaced in his mind, such as what kind of person he would cultivate his child into, what kind of path he would prepare for him to take, whether he should let his child stray from the path of prominence, whether he should let his child continue his research in technology, to make this time and space more interesting and better? Too many enormous ideas made it impossible for Ye Tao to make a decision in a short period of time.

"Lord Ye, how is Her Highness the Princess?" Old Feng's voice sounded outside the tent.

Patting Tan Weishi, Ye Tao stood up and walked out of the tent. Old Feng lived in Yun Province all year round. In terms of conditions, it was more difficult than when he used to practice medicine and teach students in Dongping, especially since he ran around Yun Province all day long, collecting various treatment methods and searching for medicinal materials. However, Tan Weixin's health was indeed benefiting a lot from Old Feng's travels. However, Old Feng seemed to be in better spirits than he had been in previous years.

"Thank you, Old Feng!" Ye Tao bowed deeply.

"Alas, Lord Ye, whether it is Her Highness or you, Lord, I haven't used even a single dose of medicine. Where does this thanks come from?" Old Feng said with a smile, "However, Lord Ye, I have to congratulate you once again."

"Oh?" Ye Tao asked in confusion, "Is there anything else to congratulate me on?"

"If this old man is not mistaken, Military Governor Dai should also be pregnant," Old Feng cupped his fist and said with a smile.

"Uh..." Ye Tao was stunned for a moment, recalling Dai Yun's actions these days. Now was the time when Yun Province was finally preparing its troops for battle, and as the number one figure in Yun Province's military, it was conceivable how many things Dai Yun had to be busy with these days. In particular, the final inspection and evaluation of the several armies that were undertaking important missions was a rather complicated and arduous task. But recently, for almost a month, Dai Yun had taken airships and carriages, but had never ridden a horse once, which was really a bit too strange. As for not sharing a bed with Ye Tao because she was always quite "tired", that was something that had happened before. After all, this family of theirs was burdened with all kinds of affairs in Yun Province, so they couldn't afford to be too sentimental. And with Old Feng's reminder, Ye Tao immediately realized that Dai Yun already knew. In less than ten days after today's meeting, the various armies that would participate in the battle against the Zhenbei Army Division would set off one after another and enter the Western Ling territory in a very short time. Indeed, thanks to the existence of the Central Army Camp and the well-established command and support system, the commander-in-chief would not be too tired, especially since each unit had capable chief officers. If nothing went wrong, Dai Yun could return gracefully after the dust settled in about a month... But this was, after all, a military operation, and if Dai Yun wanted to take such a risk and something really happened, everyone would regret it.

"...This...this...really..." Ye Tao didn't know what to say. He cupped his fist at Old Feng again and said, "Thank you for the reminder, Old Feng. I really have to thank you for this."

"It's nothing, it's nothing. I haven't thanked Lord Ye for arranging the marriage between Feng Zi and me yet. This old man will take his leave." Old Feng waved his hand and walked away nonchalantly.

Ye Tao rushed into the nearby camp where Dai Yun was holding a military meeting, beside himself with anger. In the middle of the camp, Dai Yun was wearing a comfortable cotton and linen robe, lying on a soft chair, listening to the reports from the various armies on their preparations. This was the military preparatory meeting before the formal meeting, and it was also a tradition.

"Military Governor Dai, you've been suspended from your duties. Effective immediately..." Ye Tao blurted out.

An extremely interesting smile appeared on Dai Yun's face, and she shrugged helplessly, saying, "This really isn't the right time. If it weren't for Old Feng, I don't think anyone would have been able to tell."

No one knew what they were talking about. The officers of all levels, who had originally stood up to salute Ye Tao and congratulate him when they saw him enter, were all stunned. Military Governor Dai had been suspended from her duties... What had happened?

"Lord Ye? What mistake did Military Governor Dai make that you want to dismiss her?" Shiliu, the former female attendant by Dai Yun's side and the current head of the Central Army Camp, couldn't help but ask.

"Shiliu... This isn't a mistake in the first place. I'm having a child too. I was originally planning to wait until after the battle and when I couldn't hide it anymore to tell everyone... Who knew it would be so unfortunate..." Dai Yun's tone at this moment was extremely well-behaved, which was also a super rare sight.

Everyone present was petrified. No wonder Ye Tao was angry. If this kind of thing happened to any one of them, their reaction would only be more intense than Ye Tao's. And Dai Yun must have known that doing this was not good...

But seeing Dai Yun's tone, Ye Tao really couldn't get angry. He sighed and said, "Let's dismiss the meeting. I'll send someone to notify everyone about the preparatory meeting tomorrow morning."

"Congratulations, Lord Ye, Military Governor Dai. This humble general takes his leave!" Everyone hurriedly slipped away. Although they knew that no violent incidents would occur in the tent, it was still wise for everyone not to stay here and watch the spectacle.

After everyone had left, Ye Tao sat down next to Dai Yun. Although Dai Yun had been with Ye Tao for a long time, she was not the kind of woman who often switched between being tough and gentle, but had always been relatively strong. This could be seen from the situation on the day she and Ye Tao got married. On the one hand, she knew that it was wrong of her to have hidden such an important matter. On the other hand, perhaps her thoughts had indeed changed after having a child. When Ye Tao sat gently beside her, Dai Yun leaned into Ye Tao's arms for the first time in a long time. "Don't be angry. It hasn't been a few months yet, and I'm in good health. I wanted to wait until I had the opportunity to fight a battle and eliminate most of the enemies before coming back.... I didn't expect this..." Dai Yun said softly. And this kind of situation was not very common in Dai Yun and Ye Tao's interactions.

"Sigh..." Ye Tao sighed, "You're really capable of making a mess. Fortunately, Shi'er got pregnant and Old Feng saw it. Otherwise, if everything went smoothly, that would be fine, but what if something happened? Don't you, as a military governor, understand the dangers of the battlefield?"

Dai Yun tilted her head, saying with a hearty yet playful tone, "On the ground, there are the Frost Wolves and Silver Wings, the best scout cavalry in the world. Now, there are also airships patrolling at any time. If we can still be ambushed under these circumstances, then I don't deserve to be called Dai Yun."

Ye Tao did not say anything.

Dai Yun lowered her voice and said softly, "Alright, don't be angry. I won't go, and I'll stay in Yun Province to manage the rear. With the Office of Documents and the General Staff Department, I won't be too tired... But who will command the front lines?"

Ye Tao rolled his eyes and said, "Naturally, it's me. Who else could it be? Let any of the army's chief officers command the entire army in such a big battle? They would definitely be up to no good behind the scenes. Even Wei Ran can't do it. Since you can't go, it's only natural that I go."

"Oh? Is Marshal Ye going to take command personally?" Dai Yun was not worried that Ye Tao would encounter any danger, but was rather excited. Indeed, there were airships in the air, and on the ground, there were those well-equipped and well-trained scout cavalry who had never disappointed anyone. Ye Tao would also definitely have that guard that could easily deal with ten ordinary soldiers by himself. It would be difficult to encounter any problems. Although Dai Yun herself was extremely outstanding, in the heart of a young woman, she hoped that her husband would be a towering hero who was stronger than herself in all aspects. And Ye Tao, although he was admirable in most aspects, just didn't like to fight. "How long has it been since you wore that armor?"

Dai Yun's chin rested on Ye Tao's shoulder. She gently wrapped her arms around Ye Tao's waist, her whole body pressed against his back. Ye Tao's armor and her own armor had always been placed on a rack, in the room or tent where military meetings were held, to show the authority of the Yun Province Pacification Commissioner as the highest military and political leader of Yun Province. Now, Ye Tao's armor was behind them.

"Want to try it on?" Ye Tao asked casually.

"Sure," Dai Yun stood up. Seeing Ye Tao's nervousness as he was about to support her, as if he was afraid that her movements would be too violent and would hurt the child, Dai Yun smiled slightly. She helped Ye Tao put on the armor piece by piece, fastening each hinge. After fastening the last hinge of the breastplate, Dai Yun suddenly found that the two-finger space that the breastplate originally had at the waist to facilitate movement was now less than one finger wide.

"Marshal Ye, you've gained weight," Dai Yun laughed.