The Grand Steward is a man of the Ruan Emperor, and he urges Ruan Mingchu to work every day. If he suddenly pretends to be sick, he definitely won't be able to hide it from him. If he can't even fool him, then he shouldn't even think about tricking Qingyao back.
So, this disease develops slowly.
At first, I only showed signs of fatigue; my complexion became a little paler each day, and the dark circles under my eyes increased daily. My appetite also decreased; I could only drink a vial of nutritional fluid in the morning and couldn't eat much of my three regular meals.
Finally, the head steward took the initiative to arrange a doctor for Ruan Mingchu.
The head steward said, "Seeing that you are not feeling well, this old servant specially invited Doctor Gu to take a look at you. If there is a problem, we can treat it in time; if there is no problem, we can put our minds at ease."
Ruan Minh Thu was more than happy to do so and cooperated fully.
"Then I'll have to trouble Dr. Gu."
Dr. Gu used portable medical instruments to examine Ruan Mingchu, and then used advanced technology to conduct a more in-depth examination. His expression grew increasingly serious.
Not to mention how distressed the Grand Steward, who was unaware of the inside story, was when he saw it, Ruan Mingchu and Mu Yu both thought he was seriously ill.
The Grand Steward had followed the Emperor Nguyen since childhood, so he naturally knew how much the Emperor valued Nguyen Minh Thu. Moreover, he had watched Nguyen Minh Thu grow up, and although he didn't show it on a daily basis, he still cared about him.
"Doctor Gu, is there something wrong with His Highness's health?" The Grand Steward's expression and words were filled with worry and anxiety.
Ruan Mingchu gave the head steward a strange look.
Dr. Gu shook his head. "It's too early to say. I would appreciate it if Your Highness would like to come to the hospital for a thorough examination."
Ruan Mingchu hummed in agreement.
The head steward quickly got to work and took Ruan Mingchu to the hospital.
They conducted all sorts of tests, including blood and urine tests, and finally produced a thick medical report.
Doctor Gu asked, "How has Your Highness been feeling lately?"
Ruan Mingchu said, "I don't have any particular feeling."
Dr. Gu frowned: "Do you feel hot and irritable in the morning?"
Ruan Mingchu recalled for a moment, then shook his head. How could he feel bored lying in bed with Xiangxiang's baby in his arms this morning?
Dr. Gu frowned even more deeply: "Your Highness, have you been experiencing hair loss or peeling skin lately?"
Thinking of Ruan Mingchu's merman-mermaid heritage, he added, "Also, has any of his scales fallen off?"
“Yes,” Mu Yu answered for him, “I found two pieces on the bed.” He secretly kept them and put them in a brocade box.
The head steward was extremely anxious. Seeing that Doctor Gu remained silent, he urged, "Doctor Gu, what's wrong with His Highness's health?"
“It’s not a big problem,” Dr. Gu paused, then added, “but it’s also a bit tricky.”
"The concentrations of alpha and gamma-2 hormones in the vagina are relatively high, indicating that the patient is about to enter a susceptible period."
"At the same time, since Your Highness is a mermaid hybrid, I borrowed some mermaid studies books from Mr. Qing. According to the descriptions in them, Your Highness should be entering adulthood."
Ruan Mingchu was very skeptical of those so-called monographs, believing that there was a 99% chance that they were just made up by Qingyao. He had searched through the entire Haohai Pavilion but had not found any place that said mermaids were divided into adult and immature stages.
(Qingyao: Because this is common knowledge passed down by word of mouth)
Dr. Gu showed the borrowed monograph to the Grand Steward, explaining as he read: "Mermaids, like Omegas, experience estrus cycles, especially the first one, which is particularly intense. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but Your Highness is about to enter a more vulnerable period, making things more difficult."
Alphas are exceptionally aggressive during their fertile period, and mermaid Alphas in heat need Omegas, which sounds like they're very Omegas-intensive.
The Grand Steward is already considering whether or not to hire some people with special professions for His Highness.
Ruan Mingchu was particularly dismissive of the notion that mermaids have a mating season. Did mermaids really need a mating season? Aren't they in heat every single day?
As for his vulnerable period, Ruan Mingchu wasn't worried at all. During that time, he just needed to pay attention to his diet and avoid strongly flavored foods; in short, drinking plain nutritional supplements for a few days would be fine.
After harshly criticizing the chief steward's suggestion, Ruan Mingchu left with the medicine prescribed by Doctor Gu in one hand and Mu Yu by the other.
The Grand Steward's gaze fell on the two intertwined hands, lost in thought. Alphas should be more resistant to... well, you know.
Ruan Mingchu didn't expect that faking an illness would uncover a real problem, but regardless of the process, he had achieved half of his goal.
Although Qingyao still refused to return, the chief steward dutifully sent out government affairs, so Ruan Mingchu, who was in her fertile period and in heat, no longer needed to handle them.
After throwing the medicine into the kitchen cabinet, Ruan Mingchu pulled Mu Yu aside to discuss their next tactics.
Ruan Mingchu said, "Pretending to be sick doesn't seem like a good idea. Even the chief steward said it was so serious, but Qingyao only said to hand it over to me after this period of time has passed."
Mu Yu nodded firmly. In addition to his own duties, Ruan Mingchu also had to do the things that the Emperor Ruan should do. Especially since Ruan Mingchu was not familiar with these matters, the effort required to handle them far exceeded 1+1. The two could only talk at night.
This is utterly heartless; they don't treat their son like a human being, but rather like an ox.
Mu Yu scratched his head: "Or should we just run?"
He said it offhand in a fit of frustration, and to his surprise, Ruan Mingchu actually nodded.
Recently, Nguyen Minh Thu has been reflecting that changing the established gender stereotypes must start with young people. Those who have already benefited from this distorted form of gender discrimination are determined not to change and may even try to prevent it.
Adults who have been suppressed, discriminated against, and had their minds imprisoned for a long time have become numb and accustomed to it. When they think of change, they don't think of the benefits it can bring, but rather the potential harm. They are also afraid of change.
Only young people, whose thinking is not yet fixed, whose hearts are still pure and uncorrupted, are easy to influence.
To put it less nicely, they are easily misled.
Ruan Minh Thu decided to start with this group, find a fulcrum, and slowly leverage the entire empire.
Just as the Seventy-Seventh Galaxy needed to be cleaned up and the barriers between the various galaxies needed to be removed, Ruan Mingchu decided to gather some young people from various galaxies to reclaim wasteland in the Seventy-Seventh Galaxy.
The initial plan is for three people per galaxy, of three different genders, all under the age of twenty.
Given Ruan Mingchu's status, this first batch of people will most likely be from the families of the actual rulers of various star systems. Even if there are no suitable people in their families, they will be from that faction.
Going to explore the seventy-seven star systems is tantamount to escaping from the Imperial Star, so when Mu Yu mentioned it, Ruan Mingchu nodded directly.
After hearing Ruan Mingchu's explanation, Mu Yu was completely bewildered. "But if that's the case, we'll have to run away with so many people."
Ruan Mingchu rubbed Mu Yu's wrinkled face. "It's okay. We'll treat this operation as a secret operation. I'll contact the galaxy leaders of each galaxy directly and tell them to keep quiet and secretly select the people and send them over."
"Hmm... just have them wait for us somewhere outside the Seventy-Seventh Star System."
None of these words entered Mu Yu's mind. He only felt his originally warm palms getting hotter and hotter, and he felt like he was about to lose consciousness.
Mu Yu struggled desperately: "Stop rubbing!"
Ruan Mingchu chuckled twice, ignoring Mu Yu's fierce little glare and pretending not to hear it. Mu Xiaoyu's face was strangely smooth and delicate; the more you touched it, the more addictive it became.
If Ruan Mingchu and Mu Yu were truly determined to leave, it would be very simple. Mu Yu used a few spatial skills, and the two arrived outside the palace. They then boarded a flying vehicle prepared by their servants and sped all the way to the interstellar port. After boarding a ship at the interstellar port, the two left the imperial planet in less than half a day.
The head steward was worried about Ruan Mingchu's condition, so he specially brought Doctor Gu to examine Ruan Mingchu, only to find that he was missing.
He calmly sent messages to Ruan Huang and Qing Yao. Qing Yao cursed, "You brat! There's nothing I can do. A son is beyond his father's control once he grows up."
The work of Nguyen Hoang returned to him.
On a certain tourist star, Qingyao cursed into his terminal. He tried to contact Ruan Mingchu, but Ruan Mingchu didn't answer and hung up immediately. When he called back, Ruan Mingchu had blocked him.
Not content with cursing himself, Qingyao dragged Ruanhuang into it as well. Ruanhuang lay on the bed with her eyes closed and remained silent, which angered Qingyao so much that he planted a bright red plum blossom on her snow-white skin.
The bluish veins, like branches, bloom with vibrant plum blossoms, creating a snowy plum blossom pattern on the clothes.
Admiring his own work, Qingyao suddenly laughed, pulled Ruanhuang into his arms, and gently circled Ruanhuang's lower abdomen with his cool fingertips.
"Since the eldest is disobedient, why don't we have another baby to help you share the burden?"
Ruan Huang finally opened her eyes, her beautiful phoenix eyes, sharp yet tender, seemed to hold both anger and reproach.
Her slightly swollen lips parted slightly, uttering a hoarse voice: "Get out."
I don't know how long he slept through the night, that his voice became so hoarse. Qingyao wasn't annoyed by the scolding, and just smiled and kissed Ruanhuang's Adam's apple.
Her hands, sometimes light, sometimes heavy, traced Ruan Huang's body, pulling him down from the clouds and causing them to sink together.
It just goes to show that Qingyao and Ruan Mingchu are truly father and son; they both want to have and raise children. Even if one or two don't want to inherit the family business, having more children means there's bound to be one who likes this line of work.
Upon receiving news from those remaining in the palace that government affairs were no longer piling up, but were being handled remotely as much as possible, Ruan Mingchu on the spaceship breathed a great sigh of relief.
Although I sometimes feel that he is a bit irresponsible as a son, I then think that he is even more irresponsible as a father, and that guilt disappears completely.
He was afraid that Qingyao, in a fit of anger, would instigate his father to hand over the throne to him, and that would be something that could not be solved by simply running away.
Now he can focus on doing what he wants to do.
The star system leaders who received the message were somewhat bewildered, unable to understand what the Crown Prince was planning. With all seventy-seven star systems ruined, what kind of pioneering work could they possibly undertake?
But we still need to send people over.
Some people, judging others by their own standards and thinking maliciously, believe that Nguyen Minh Thu may be trying to emulate ancient emperors by sending hostages to the Seventy-Seven Star System because of the rebellion.
Such people won't send their favorite promising juniors over, but to prevent other unforeseen circumstances, they will send their own family members over, though these will be the kind who are not favored and can be discarded at any time.
However, for star system leaders who are completely loyal to the royal family and have few ulterior motives, the most outstanding individuals are selected and sent there. With so many people, their star system cannot afford to lose face.
In any case, the number of people Ruan Minhchu requested was complete.
Ninety-nine Alphas, ninety-nine Betas, and ninety-nine Omegas.
Whether these people can become the spark that ignites a prairie fire is unknown, but Ruan Mingchu will do his best.
Nguyen Minh Thuc ordered the military to specially modify a warship and named it Hope.
Everyone was gradually transferred to the Hope, and by the time Nguyen Minh Thu arrived, everyone was already there.
Eating and drinking are one of the ways to foster friendships among young people, so Nguyen Minh Thu specially ordered people to prepare a variety of wines, dishes, snacks and desserts for them to eat.
Nguyen Minh Thu did not attend this first gathering and exchange meeting, allowing everyone to relax and communicate freely.
Meanwhile, Ruan Mingchu and Mu Yu were in the study reviewing their files. These files were filled out by the students themselves; Ruan Mingchu hadn't sent anyone to investigate them privately, so their authenticity was unknown. But for now, Ruan Mingchu treated them as reliable data.
At least names and genders can't be faked.
Managing 297 people, Ruan Mingchu quickly reviewed his memories, turning written materials into data and archiving them in his memory palace.
Mu Yu, standing beside him, watched Ruan Mingchu fill a document every three minutes without stopping, and yawned in boredom.
What's so interesting about that? Names and such, you'll remember them naturally once you get to know them. Mu Yu is confident that even if he tries hard now, he'll be doing exceptionally well if he can recognize seven out of two hundred and ninety-seven people.
Mu Yu flipped through page after page of documents with a "whoosh," and exclaimed in surprise, "Hey!"
"Gong Zhushen and Hao Youyou, I didn't expect it to be them. The Omega who came with them is named Liu Yi, I think I've heard of that name before."
Ruan Mingchu hummed in agreement. With Mu Yu here, and the leader of the Ninety-Nine Star System being his mother, he naturally sent people he knew well as much as possible.
"I'll go see him in a bit."
Mu Yu hummed in agreement, but couldn't sit still for long. "I'm going to find them now."
Ruan Mingchu looked up at him and said, "Mm."