Chapter Sixty-Three: Shared Values (Part One) — Fifth Update Upon Release

Tao Ming’s heart tightened. “Softy, what’s wrong?”
Su Nanxing waved his hand, setting up a soundproof barrier to keep the music outside the door.
Softy touched her chest and said, “It’s here. It feels really uncomfortable.”
Sticky moved beside Softy and asked, “Is it stuffy? Do you feel like you want to throw up?”
Softy hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
“Mom, I feel it too, just not as bad as Softy.”
Tao Ming looked at Su Nanxing, who shook his head lightly and coaxed the two little ones to play aside. Soon, they forgot the matter altogether.
He then turned to Tao Ming and spoke softly, “I told you that woman is suspicious. Her music can bewitch people’s hearts.”
Tao Ming was puzzled. “I didn’t feel anything at all.”
“No feeling is good. You should sleep a little longer. You were exhausted before.”
Tao Ming’s cheeks flushed. She glared at Su Nanxing, turned away, and closed her eyes to sleep.
Su Nanxing stayed with the two little ones, playing until they grew sleepy. Then he carried them one by one to the innermost part of the bed and coaxed them to sleep.
Finally, he lay on his side next to Tao Ming, gently wrapping his arms around her, his gaze fixed on her beautiful, sleeping face.
When Tao Ming opened her eyes, she saw Su Nanxing staring at her in surprise. “You haven’t slept at all?”
Su Nanxing leaned in for a kiss, but she pushed him away. “I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.”
Su Nanxing chuckled, “No doubt, you are truly my wife.”
Tao Ming laughed too, her eyes shimmering like rippling water, making Su Nanxing’s breath catch. He lowered his head, ready to kiss her again, but Tao Ming pushed him away once more. “My mouth feels uncomfortable. Wait a bit.”
Tao Ming sat up to wash up, feeling her clothes were uncomfortable. As she undressed, she said, “By Earth time, it’s been about a week since I last washed my clothes.”
Su Nanxing watched Tao Ming take off her T-shirt and bra, his voice low and husky. “Wife, you’ve lost so much weight now. You don’t feel the same as before.”
Tao Ming took out clean clothes and changed, her bare legs stepping off the bed. She stood upright, twisting and turning to look at herself. “I think it’s fine. I used to be a bit too plump.”
Su Nanxing hugged her from behind. “Wife.”
Tao Ming slapped his hand away. “Let me brush my teeth first. I feel awful.”
After washing up, she climbed back into bed, reached out to touch Softy and Sticky’s foreheads, found they weren’t sweating and were sleeping soundly. She nestled beside Su Nanxing, pulled the cool blanket over her legs, and asked, “What time is it?”

Su Nanxing wrapped his arms around her as she leaned against him. “There are still two hours until dawn.”
“By the way, how do you know the time? I haven’t seen any clocks or anything.”
Su Nanxing took out a small round object and handed it to Tao Ming. “This is for keeping time.”
Tao Ming examined the round metal disc in her hand, about five centimeters in diameter, engraved with countless lines of various sizes. At the moment, a faint white light glowed between a thick and a thin line.
Su Nanxing turned the disc in Tao Ming’s hand. “This is called a Light Leak. It’s similar to a clock—the glowing spot shows the current time.”
Tao Ming studied the Light Leak, noticing the whole circle was divided into thirty equal parts by one-millimeter-thick lines, and each part was further divided into eight by thinner lines. She counted, noticing the glowing spot was between the sixth thick line and its adjacent thin line. “So it’s six and a quarter?”
“My wife is so clever.”
Tao Ming turned the disc over, noting some complex symbols engraved on the back. She sighed, “High-tech! But why not mark numbers on it?”
Su Nanxing breathed warmly in her ear. “I made this myself, too lazy to mark numbers. The ones sold in shops have numbers.”
Tao Ming scratched her ear and nudged Su Nanxing’s head aside. “Is this expensive?”
“It’s okay. A regular one costs a single amethyst coin. Bigger and more exquisite ones cost extra.”
Tao Ming turned and happened to kiss his lips. Su Nanxing tenderly caught her next words. “That’s so expensive...”
They kissed for a while before separating, Tao Ming continuing, “With prices like that, can ordinary people afford them?”
“There are cheaper sand leaks and water leaks for keeping time. Convenient, portable Light Leaks like this are meant for the wealthy.”
Tao Ming’s eyes softened seductively. “The Su family must be rich! Please support me!”
Su Nanxing pecked her cheek. “Everything I have is yours. But the Su family isn’t the richest—the Qin family is wealthier.”
“Tell me more.”
“The Su family has been skilled in formations for generations, selling formation-related items like Light Leaks, fabrics and ornaments with formations, as well as protective arrays and small teleportation arrays. The Qin family has ships for overseas trading, selling rare imported goods like glass goblets. Though their unit prices aren’t as high as ours, they sell in bulk.”
When she heard ‘glass goblets,’ Tao Ming grew excited. “I’ve wholesaled thousands of boxes of glass cups!”
Seeing her eyes shine like stars, Su Nanxing smiled softly. “You can do whatever you wish.”
Tao Ming, seeing he was coaxing her, pouted. “The Seventh Prince wants me to rebel. That requires a lot of money.”
Su Nanxing pulled Tao Ming into his arms, facing her. “Do you truly want to rebel?”
Tao Ming fell silent for a moment, her expression serious. “At first, I just wanted to lift the restrictions from Softy and Sticky. Then I met someone who tried to assassinate Softy, and heard from the Seventh Prince about the common people's lives here. I wanted to do something for them. Later, when the Imperial Dragon Guards and the people you brought all died, I didn’t want their deaths to be in vain.”

Su Nanxing brushed a few strands of hair behind Tao Ming’s ear, gazing into her eyes. “Are you sure?”
Tao Ming nodded. “This is my own decision. It has nothing to do with you.”
Su Nanxing hugged her tighter. “I told you, you can do whatever you want.”
“But this is rebellion. It’s best not to implicate the Su family.”
Su Nanxing began pecking her face again. “No one in the Su family wants to be emperor. Otherwise, the current one would have been dealt with long ago.”
Tao Ming was puzzled. “Why?”
“What’s good about being emperor? Locked in the palace all day, eating and sleeping cautiously, afraid any mistake might mean death.”
Tao Ming agreed, “That makes sense...”
“Not only the Su family, the Qin family has no interest in ruling either.”
Tao Ming frowned slightly. “Then why send their daughters into the palace?”
Su Nanxing’s heart tightened. He decided not to tell Tao Ming the truth and said casually, “This is Wei River, not Earth. Daughters are used to maintain family interests.”
Tao Ming was instantly angered. “Now I’m even more determined to rebel.”
Su Nanxing hurried to soothe her. “Of course, I’d never treat Softy that way.”
Tao Ming recalled what Su Nanxing had said earlier. “All those people you brought died. Don’t you feel any guilt or regret?”
Su Nanxing took a deep breath. “Wife, you and I grew up in different environments, received different educations. Those people were tools cultivated by the Su family. If they hadn’t died following me, they would have died following someone else next time.”
Tao Ming sat up, moving away from him, her face grim.
Su Nanxing knew Tao Ming was angry and said solemnly, “I’m willing to change my perspective for you, and treat them as independent people from now on.”
Tao Ming closed her eyes, her chest aching.
Until now, their conversations had never touched on matters of life and death. She hadn’t known Su Nanxing viewed human life this way. Today, she realized deeply that Su Nanxing was a native of Wei River, born to the powerful Su family. In his eyes, ordinary lives were perhaps no more precious than weeds by the roadside.
Ironically, the Seventh Prince treated commoners far better than Su Nanxing did.
Tao Ming calmed herself and spoke. “It’s not just for my sake. They’re people, too. They have their own joys and sorrows, parents, wives, children. They are individuals with the right to choose their own paths.”