When the last person left the Prince's palace, the gates adorned with the Rurik Trident slammed shut in front of Rostislav, and only then did the Prince relax.
After several years apart, seeing his teacher again filled him with joy, but unfortunately, they both had missions to fulfill.
Throughout the day, Rostislav and his teacher engaged in a series of tedious matters, such as the bishop's ordination ceremony, the administrative division of the diocese, and the church naming ceremony, which almost wore him out.
His teacher was tired, and he was also very tired; the weary teacher and student had no energy to communicate much, so they could only drag their exhausted bodies back to their residences to rest.
But Rostislav's misfortune was that upon returning, he suddenly realized he hadn't yet dealt with the day's political affairs, and those matters were still piled up there.
Having no choice, the Prince could only summon officials and nobles to deal with and arrange everything, and the whole ordeal only ended now.
Even for a young man like Rostislav, this intensity of work was extremely tiring; the Prince sat on his throne, rubbing the bridge of his nose to relieve his stress.
However, just as the Prince was rubbing the bridge of his nose, a pair of small hands suddenly pressed against his temples, gently massaging them.
The owner of these hands had excellent technique; both the position and the pressure were perfectly controlled, making the Prince very comfortable.
And smelling that familiar fragrance, the Prince also knew who was giving the massage.
"Ah, Zoe, you're actually massaging your husband's head; I thought you were truly cold-hearted and didn't care about me."
Although he was physically and mentally exhausted, the Prince still joked with his wife.
Recently, the couple had a small disagreement; Zoe felt her husband was too dull, while Rostislav just found his wife inexplicable.
Listening to Rostislav's teasing, the Prince's wife's affection, which had arisen from her husband's weary state, immediately dissipated by more than half, but seeing her husband's expression, her heart ultimately softened.
Even if my jewelry broke in front of him and he acted as if he didn't see it, he is, after all, my loving husband…
"I learned from someone in the imperial capital, but you really do get carried away easily."
Zoe chastised her husband with her words, but her hands did not stop; her fingertips seemed to carry subtle currents of air, and every stroke, every press, made the Prince much more relaxed.
"Thank you, my wife."
This time, the Prince's tone was very serious, without any of the previous teasing, which made Zoe's face flush; although they had been married for so long, Zoe often behaved like a young girl.
Even during intimacy, Zoe would act like a shy maiden, holding back her sounds, which undoubtedly ignited Rostislav's desire, causing him to increase his efforts just to hear those adorable moans.
"Oh, by the way, I have something for you."
Rostislav suddenly remembered something, fumbling at his waist, searching for something, and finally pulled out a small box containing a set of shining silver jewelry, which he carefully placed in Zoe's palm.
"This is... earrings?" Zoe looked at the silver treasure, her face filled with joy.
"The previous one broke, so I had a new set custom-made for you. Don't break this one again."
Hearing this, Zoe glanced at her husband, her face flushed even more, and her love and affection for her husband grew stronger, in every way possible.
Zoe had seen many imperial capital dignitaries, some highly influential, others from prominent families, but in her opinion, none of them could compare to her husband; none of them possessed even a fraction of his prestige.
When she first married into Rus', Zoe originally thought her future would remain ordinary, living a simple life as a common lord's wife.
However, this was also what she desired, as she originally wanted to escape the greatness that had entrapped her family.
The only thing worth celebrating was that her husband had a strong cultural background, and she and her husband still had common ground.
But everything that happened afterward surprised her greatly; this husband achieved one feat after another on the battlefield, defeating many powerful enemies.
And upon arriving in this wild land of Northeast Rus', he built a city from scratch here, establishing a city, and also defeated the powerful Bulgar army.
Most importantly, the husband who accomplished all of this was not yet twenty years old; his future was very bright, and she too would inevitably walk towards the greatness she had once fled, only this time entering as a master.
And just as Zoe was thinking this, marveling at her husband's greatness, a sudden urge to vomit surged through her, and she almost vomited directly on her husband.
"What's wrong with you...? Wait!"
His wife's sudden vomiting surprised the Prince, but he quickly reacted, "Doctor! Doctor! Quickly call a doctor!"
Rostislav helped his wife up, his words filled with joy; if his suspicions were correct, his wife should be pregnant!
At the Prince's call, the doctor arrived quickly. Leading them was a Persian physician wearing a white turban and a prominent long beard. Rostislav had great faith in this pagan doctor.
This man was named Ibn Khain. He was originally the doctor of the Bulgar leader Akad, but Akad didn't take him when he fled, leaving him stranded in Rus'.
This doctor's fate was also full of hardships. His family were royal physicians to a Persian warlord. Ibn was the second son of this family, having studied much knowledge, not only traditional Islamic law and medicine but also being keen on Greek philosophy, astronomy, and alchemy.
Furthermore, in the subsequent wars, the warlord served by Ibn's family was destroyed by the Seljuk army, and his family was forced to separate. Due to the situation, Ibn left his war-torn homeland and came to the stable Bulgar, serving as a doctor for Bulgar nobles.
When he was first captured, Ibn tried to explain his skills to gain important positions, but with so many captives, the Rus' people had no energy to discern, and his words were useless; no one believed him, after all, with so many bearded men, who would believe your words? I could even claim to be a Patriarch.
Just as this doctor was about to be locked up as an ordinary slave, he saw Abdul running over to rescue people, so he shouted, "Abdul, I still owe you money!" and was thus saved.
This scholar highly admired Ibn Sina's 'The Canon of Medicine', and to buy this book from Abdul, he owed the merchant a heavy debt.
This connection now saved his life, as how could anyone in Bulgar redeem him, a Persian?
And to enable this doctor to earn money to repay his debt, the slave merchant introduced him to Rostislav.
The Moscow Prince greatly valued this doctor and hired him with a high salary. Persian medicine was very advanced in this era, even stronger than Byzantine medicine. Looking at the various bizarre medical practices in Europe at this time, it was better to have a Persian doctor as his royal physician.
Returning to the present, the experienced Doctor Ibn immediately recognized the Princess's condition, but he did not announce it; these matters must be confirmed and re-confirmed.
The doctor skillfully directed the scene, first bringing in a few guards to help the Princess to her room, then finding a few midwives, as some matters were not suitable for a man like him.
Moreover, he had more important things to do, which was to prepare medicines for the pregnant woman's recovery. This was the Moscow Prince's first child, and nothing could be taken lightly.