Hua Qing Si & Li Shi Qing

~ Head Manager's Discussion Hall ~

"Sister Hua, uhm, there is another request…" Li Shi Qing said, exhausted. 

"Yes, this stack just keeps getting larger. Seriously, Do they think Leiji will just, do these things? Utterly foolish, He is already stretched so thin as it is." Hua Qing Si sighed, rubbing her temples. 

A cup of tea slowly poured in front of Hua Qing Si. "Oh, thank you." She said, taking a sip of the tea, closing her eyes in the process. "Ah, that is some good tea…" She sighed in relief. Then leaning back in her chair she started talking, keeping her eyes closed and cup close to her lips. "Sister Li Shi Qing, tell me what you think about these requests? Don't they seem kind of… off." She asked, taking another sip. Her eyelids were clearly heavy. 

"Uhm, Uh… I think Leiji might do some of them… I've heard a little about how kind he is from Xiu Ding Ai, my junior. And heard some stories from sisters. But… I… I don't know for certain." Li Shi Qing stuttered shyly. 

The sound of a scroll unraveling rang out. I took a look at the request and instantly had mixed feelings. I began checking the others and separated them into piles. There was, a lot of requests. Easily thousands of them, some were a bit… Out there.

"Yeah, there's no way I'm going to do some of these things. A few of them would legit be far too much for me to do. However, I can do the ones in this pile here." I said, putting my hands on the pile I had sorted out. 

"Oh, Son, wait… Were you the one who poured my tea?" Hua Qing Si asked, curiously. 

"Yes, I used a similar method to my wine making to grow these tea leaves. I've found that a super low dose of it makes headaches just, simply vanish. I'm glad I had it available for you, mother Hua." I smiled. 

"I see, no wonder that relief was instant and I feel better than usual. Truly astounding. Would it be possible to sell this?" Hua Qing Si asked. 

"Hmm, I can't do a ton of it at once so I'd prefer to wait and stockpile it for the war effort. Commanders and warriors alike need to be clear headed after all. But I suppose I could supply a small portion for a high cost. The dose needed is rather low. And since this is preservable, it will last quite a long time." I said, putting a hand to my chin. "But we should send out refusals for these requests… Seriously, why would a woman want me to deliver their baby? Then this one… This young woman has quite the daring mindset, bold of her to ask such a thing as impregnation. I like the boldness of this type of request but I can not do this one. For… Many reasons. Oh so many reasons." I said, shaking my head. 

"That's what I thought. But you didn't see all of them, son. There was a request where triplet sisters were wanting you to do the same, but… All at once. I immediately sent it back with a big refusal." Hua Qing Si said. 

"I see… Seems Mother Chi Lian was right… This is going to be a problem… Do either of you have any thoughts on why young ladies from seemingly everywhere are after my seed so desperately? I get why the requests ask for me to take them as a concubine, or even a wet nurse, but this seems a bit odd." I asked, explaining my thoughts. "I may be married to ten amazing women, but I am still a man. So the thoughts of women are still mildly lost on me." I added, as I continued to look through the requests in more detail. 

"Well, I don't have anything other than, they may be thinking of the security of their families. Many of these young women would be used by their families to acquire your protection. And by extension the Yang family's protection, since there is zero doubt you are the heir." Hua Qing Si said. "But you already knew all of that. As far as the other thoughts that could be driving them, perhaps it's because you don't have any children with your wives, yet. Even though you're the one who came up with such a revolutionary pill." She added. 

"I see, so perhaps they see it as an opportunity. And are desperately using any tactic they can think of to ensure their security. After all, a man like myself isn't going to abandon his children. And thus, won't abandon their mothers either. Ugh, this is why I wanted my father to wait before breaking through, just a little bit longer. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now. We will just have to keep sending refusal notices." I said, then looked at Li Shi Qing. "And I have something else now, Mother Li, I was told to hand this token to you by your master, Flower Shadow Great Emperor. She is currently in Seclusion and is basically doing to you what my father has done to me with High Heaven Palace." I explained simply, handing over the token. 

"I see, so she really did break through then. I was playing with Xiu Ding Ai and the other little ones." Li Shi Qing said, holding the token close to her heart. 

"Listen, Flower Shadow won't take long to come out of seclusion. She is rather talented after all. I estimate a month, maybe 2. But until then, hang in there. I'll of course help you in this endeavor. As is my duty." I said, hugging Li Shi Qing. 

"But that's going to be… More trouble for you, s… son… I couldn't." Li Shi Qing stammered shyly again. 

"I used to be a lot like you at one point. Shy and reserved. But I found my place here. And now I am married and currently am the cornerstone of the human race's counter offensive. And as a result of this, what is it, when my family needs help? How could I call it trouble? Would I still be worthy to be the cornerstone?" I said, pulling away with a smile.