CHAPTER 471: CHAPTER 159 FAMILY AFFAIRS_3

Speaking of which, Ke Lian checked Du Xixi’s body for any injuries again, and only when he saw that she was completely unharmed, even the strands of hair by her temples obediently stayed behind her ears, did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Du Xixi was amused by his anxious demeanor, and the heaviness in her heart because of Shan Zhi suddenly lightened. She chuckled lightly, "I’m fine, it’s just that something happened to a poor student in my department’s family, and I’m a bit worried about her."

Ke Lian only cared if Du Xixi was alright. As for who that poor student in her department was or what had happened, Ke Lian wasn’t interested at all.

He walked beside Du Xixi and walked forward with her, "Did you hear? Recently, quite a few courtiers are pushing for Your Majesty to get married and have children!"

"You’re gossiping too?" Du Xixi raised an eyebrow with a smile and took Er Er, who Ke Lian was holding in his right hand, into her own hands, "Brother must have refused, right?"

Yiyi was playfully reaching out to tug on Ke Lian’s collar but shrank back obediently after receiving a cool look from Ke Lian, staying quietly in his embrace without daring to be naughty.

"Quite a few people in the Military Department were gossiping about this today, and I overheard some." Retracting his gaze, Ke Lian gently said to Du Xixi, "Your Majesty did indeed refuse, but it’s useless, given his age, it’s indeed time for him to get married."

The couple changed into their shoes and walked toward the sofa, where Ke Xing was leisurely reading a newspaper. When he saw Du Xixi, he waved his hand as a greeting.

Ke Lian added at this point, "Your Majesty seems very resistant to the idea of marriage. Could it be that he’s afraid of marriage?"

Ke Lian always had a peculiar interest in speculating about Chen Yin.

Du Xixi tilted her head, recalling all the past interactions with Chen Yin, and realized that Chen Yin never had a girlfriend, besides herself, never got close to any other girls. Suddenly, a thought flashed through Du Xixi’s mind, and she gently said to Ke Lian, "What do you think, could Brother actually like men?"

The corner of Ke Lian’s mouth twitched, but considering Chen Yin’s usual aloofness towards women, he thought Du Xixi’s words made sense, "It’s not impossible."

The ideology of the Star Era was already very open-minded. It’s not that relationships between men and women were overly casual, but at least male with male and female with female wasn’t something resisted by the Star Era. There were even quite a few noble families where such love occurred.

Even noble families with legacies spanning hundreds or thousands of years could accept it, so there was no reason for commoners not to accept it. However, as the emperor of the Blue Star Empire, Chen Yin couldn’t fall in love with a man.

For no other reason than that a man couldn’t bear children... The technology of the Star Era still couldn’t equip males with artificial wombs.

But speculation was just speculation, and after Du Xixi and Ke Lian sat down, Du Xixi herself dismissed this speculation, "Actually, even if Brother really turned out to like men, those courtiers might not necessarily reject it."

"Brother was very clear that if he didn’t have an heir, the emperor of the Blue Star Empire would emerge among our Yiyi and Er Er. The courtiers only want someone who can take on the responsibilities of being an emperor; it doesn’t necessarily have to be Brother’s child."

"This..." Ke Lian was taken aback and couldn’t come up with a rebuttal. Just as he was about to speak holding Du Xixi’s hand, his father interrupted.

Ke Xing put down the newspaper and looked at this couple discussing the emperor’s marital matters with speechlessness, "Why think so complicatedly? Isn’t it possible that our emperor simply doesn’t have someone he fancies and is unwilling to marry just anyone?"

Du Xixi and Ke Lian exchanged a knowing smile, realizing they were indeed overthinking. Without any other women by Chen Yin’s side, it’s natural he couldn’t develop feelings for other women. This "emotionally barren" state made it difficult for him to find an ideal marriage partner to propagate heirs for the Empire.

He simply didn’t have his heart moved, so refusing to marry was reasonable.

After this bout of unfounded speculation, it was already mealtime. Today’s dish of 2569 was stew, clearly specially requested by Ke Xing, but this delicious stew, even eaten for three consecutive days, wasn’t cloying, so Du Xixi and Ke Lian laughed it off and enjoyed it.

After dinner, a fine drizzle unexpectedly started falling outside, leaving Du Xixi, who was used to taking a walk after meals, feeling a bit disappointed. She stood under the eaves, habitually raising her head to gaze to a certain spot in the sky.

Every previous night, as long as it wasn’t raining and there weren’t any clouds, a beautiful moon would be hanging there. Du Xixi loved how it hung high, emitting pure moonlight.

With their two sons being looked after by Ke Xing and 2569, not only did Du Xixi come out to enjoy the rain scene, Ke Lian also followed. He nestled Du Xixi in his embrace; compared to admiring the rain, he preferred admiring Du Xixi.

He felt that the comments by the netizens on the Star Network were all lies, saying that after being married for a long time, the initial wild passion would turn into placid hearts of peaceful waters. But he and Du Xixi had been married for nearly two years, and he always loved Du Xixi so much, even more than before.

What peaceful waters, what tranquil hearts, were mere excuses for lack of love. True love is evidently the heart’s pounding upon waking each day, evidently the immense satisfaction that comes with every hand-hold and every embrace.