[One year later]

"Husband, can you help me? I want some rice cake."

"Yes, Wife!" 

Huang Shu was busy taking out some rice cake from the kitchen. He just bought plenty of it from the city. His wife, Bai Yunyu, was very fond of eating glutinous rice cake and rice balls. 

He also loved eating moon cake, candied fruits, and sesame balls. 

Basically, Huang Shu broke almost all his small savings from his small salary for his wife's appetite.

Yunyu was eight months pregnant now. His belly bulged naturally as he was carrying a big baby. In fact, it seemed that the baby would be big and strong, just like his father, Huang Shu.

Yunyu's appetite and craving quadrupled after he got pregnant. He would eat anything that was served to him as a glutton. He had cravings for sweet snacks, a lot of it.

Huang Shu returned with a plate of rice cake, and then he served it for his wife, who was still playing Guqin under the Cherry Blossom Tree. 

"Thank you, Husband," Yunyu smiled. He stopped playing his Guqin and started binging on the rice cake. He ate everything in five minutes and burped slightly. 

"Do you want more?" Huang Shu asked patiently. To be honest, he was overwhelmed with Yunyu's appetite because few foods were just too expensive for them to afford right now, but he didn't dare to tell that to Yunyu.

As long as Yunyu was happy, then everything would be good. 

"No, I'm fine," Yunyu smiled. "I'm sorry, Husband. But the baby wants to eat everything. He is a glutton…."

"Yes, yes! I understand," Huang Shu happily caressed Yunyu's belly and said, "I think he will be a warrior, just like me. When I was a child, I also had a big appetite. I would usually bully my Imperial Brothers by defeating them in a battle, then taking all their foods as a loot, haha!"

"…"

[Okay, that one is not a good example for my child. I think my child will be a good scholar like me, but he eats a lot because thinking requires a lot of energy, right, Pupa?]

[Pupa: Heh, do you think I don't know your bodily function? I know that the baby likes to eat, but it's you who wants to eat many expensive things. The baby will just eat anything that Huang Shu gives.]

[Shush, this is the best time to eat good food. Huang Shu has been very obedient as long as the request involves the craving for his child, hehe.]

[Pupa: Using your child as a way to get much delicious food, Classic Yunyu.]

[I mean, what can I do? I feel like my body starts getting weaker and weaker after I reached six months of pregnancy. Sometimes, I can't even move my body at all! I think it's because I overeat, ehe~]

[Pupa:…]

Pupa sensed something was wrong and then returned back to the headquarter, wanting to find a better explanation of what was happening to Yunyu.

Yunyu stared at his husband, who looked so happy while caressing his big belly, "Husband, if you run out of money, I still have my saving and some of my dad's jewelry in a red box in our room. You can sell the jewelry to get more money."

"No! I have enough money for both of us! Just wait until I can be promoted higher, then we can move from the garrison to a nice house in the city!" 

Technically, Huang Shu and Yunyu could move out of this small courtyard as long as they had enough to buy a house in the city close to the garrison. 

But Huang Shu's current income wasn't enough to buy a good one, and he broke his saving to satiate Yunyu's appetite during his pregnancy. 

He could always ask for support from his newly ascended Emperor, his First Brother, Huang Bei. 

Or with the new title that he got, Emperor Guangli.

In fact, he already got the letter from his First Brother, asking him to return to the Capital City, because his First Brother wanted to officially appoint him as the new Great General, he even persuaded Huang Shu by offering the ministry of defense position for Bai Yunyu.

But Huang Shu sent a letter expressing his eagerness, yet he couldn't accept the title for now.

Because Yunyu was still pregnant, and he wanted to wait until his son was at least five years old until they returned to the Capital City once more.

Besides, Huang Shu hadn't asked Yunyu yet, whether he wanted to return to the Capital or not. Because Yunyu had a traumatic incident back then, that was caused by Huang Shu's late mother, Imperial Concubine Ai.

So everything was up to Yunyu whether they would settle in the Capital City or not. 

'Maybe I can use Yunyu's little maid, uh.. what is her name again? Meilan? I can bait Yunyu into accepting the invitation to meet Meilan and that stinky boy Xu Jiansheng. We can talk about staying in the Capital later,' Huang Shu schemed. 

"Husband, have you set up the appointment with the Physician? I'm already eight months pregnant, you know."

"Yes, he should come soon," Huang Shu said. 

**

The Physician came in the afternoon to check on Yunyu's condition. Usually, the Physician would smile and say that Yunyu would give birth to a healthy child in the past seventh months. But today, the smile on the Physician disappeared after he checked on Yunyu's condition.

Huang Shu realized that something was wrong, then he asked, "What's wrong?"

"Young Commander, I would like to talk with you outside," the Physician said. 

They went outside, and the Physician directly told Huang Shu about the problem. 

"It seems that Master Bai Yunyu's body gradually weakened as he enters the late stage of pregnancy. When I checked his body, I can barely feel his heartbeat and pulse. Young Commander, I'm sorry to tell you this, but… at this rate, Master Bai would die during childbirth. Though, if he pushed through, he will be able to deliver the baby before succumbing to his death."

Huang Shu's face paled as he heard 'death' from the Physician. He didn't want to lose his child, but he didn't want to lose his wife even more. 

"W—What should we do then?" Huang Shu asked. 

"Unfortunately, there is no other way to save Master Bai other than aborting the baby. I can make a pill that can abort the baby. But this is also risky because Ger could only get pregnant once or twice in his lifetime, and considering Master Bai's condition, he would be infertile after that…."

"Infertile…"

Huang Shu was completely crushed after hearing the explanation from the Physician. He wanted both. He wanted his wife and his baby. How could he choose one?!

Huang Shu closed his eyes. He was thinking about how to save the baby and save Yunyu. Because he knew Yunyu would refuse abortion. 

"Physician, I think it's better to abort—"

Click.

The door was opened, and Yunyu was standing in front of them. He already overheard everything. His face was flushed, then he said, "I will never abort this baby!"