Upon seeing this, Nangong Chiyu felt as if his heart was being torn apart, and his feet unconsciously walked towards the kiln.

The closer they got, the more disheartened they became. After being driven out of the Chen family, they lived in such a place for five years.

"Yanchuan, how did you live before?"

His voice choked with emotion, and his eyes reddened.

If Yan Chuan had the same expression and effect as Nangong Chiyu, they wouldn't have needed to go through this kiln.

He deliberately brought it up so that this father, who had come from another era, would know what kind of life his wife and children had been living while he was gone.

He wanted him to witness all of this firsthand, so that even if he took three or four wives in the future, he would feel guilty and indulge his mother.

"My sister and I have lived in this kiln since we can remember. At that time, our mother was still ill, and every year after paying the grain tax, we could only eat broken rice."

But we didn't have that much broken rice, so Grandma would fetch water for others in exchange for some broken rice. An ounce of broken rice plus some wild vegetables was all the food the four of us needed for a day.

Yan Chuan continued, pretending not to notice Nangong Chiyu's change in expression, and simply recounted their past life as usual.

"I dug up all the wild vegetables around here. My favorite wild vegetable is shepherd's purse, and my sister likes purslane."

So, to be fair, Grandma would cook broken rice with shepherd's purse one day, and then cook purslane the next.

Yi Huan nodded in agreement: "Yes, Father, you have no idea how naughty my brother is. Every time, he deliberately digs up a lot of shepherd's purse and brings it back. Grandma thinks it's a waste, so she cooks shepherd's purse to eat."

The two had a tacit understanding since childhood; when the older brother wanted their father to know about their past life, she would cooperate with him.

Making Father feel guilty will be beneficial to Mother and their future lives.

They couldn't guarantee that their father wouldn't have other children in the future. In any case, their father felt guilty towards them throughout their childhood, and he would try to make up for it in the future.

"Yanchuan, Yihuan, it's your father's fault. You've suffered so much."

Nangong Chiyu was enfeoffed as the Prince of Yu three years ago. If he hadn't been injured, with his salary from four or five years ago transferred back home, Su Luo and the others wouldn't be living such a hard life.

"Father, we are not suffering. We are happy to be with Mother and Grandma."

Yan Chuan pulled Nangong Chiyu into the kiln. It was dark and cramped, with the only light coming in from the kiln window at the top used for ventilation.

Inside were the benches and wooden beds that Su Luo and the others had moved away. A few planks were placed on the benches to form two simple beds.

“Father, the small bed on the left is where Mother used to sleep. Back then, Mother was still sick, and Grandma was afraid that Mother would roll over onto my sister and me while she was sleeping, so my sister and I slept on the bed on the right with Grandma.”

And this spot, this used to be where Grandma's closet was, with clothes that others had given us but didn't want anymore.

If Grandma sees any that are in better condition and have fewer holes, she'll put them in this cabinet.

Grandma would only give us clothes with fewer patches when we needed to go out and about.

Nangong Chiyu sat on the wooden plank that served as a bed. As soon as he sat down, it made a clattering sound, which was like a sharp knife digging into his heart and controlling his mind.

He couldn't control himself, pulled Yan Chuan and Yi Huan into his arms, took a deep breath, and choked out.

"From now on, your father will never let you eat broken rice again."

Yan Chuan knew that he had achieved his goal, and it was only after a long while that Nangong Chiyu released them.

This kiln was like a huge rock, crushing Nangong Chiyu and leaving him covered in wounds.

“Father, my mother has suffered half her life. My sister and I only hope that she can live happily in the future. If you take a concubine in the future, my mother will be unhappy.”

The two children are so young, yet they have a million tricks up their sleeves.

"I will not take any concubines. Your mother is enough for me in this life, but..."

However, Su Luo doesn't accept him, and they still have a divorce agreement. If Su Luo gets tired of him one day, she can really just walk away.

Yan Chuan and Yi Huan also hope that their father and mother can truly get better, instead of just superficially respecting each other as they are now.

Other people's parents sleep in the same room, so why has my father been living in the east courtyard ever since he came back?

"What is Father worried about?" Yan Chuan asked.

“I’m worried that your mother will reject me, but I want to be with her. Our family has always been together, so I need your help.”

"As long as you genuinely like, love, and protect your mother, your sister and I will definitely help you. But if you're just putting on an act..."

My mother wouldn't deign to be with you either. Besides, it's not like no one likes her. Uncle Nangong Qing is a very good person; he's gentle and always goes along with my mother's wishes.

Yan Chuan brought up Nangong Qing to let Nangong Chiyu know that their mother was loved by many.

Nangong Chiyu frowned slightly. He could tell that Nangong Qing liked Su Luo, but he didn't expect that Yan Chuan could see it too.

"I assure you, and we can agree on three rules: first, I will never take a concubine; second, my feelings for your mother are genuine; and third, you can decide, okay?"

"Okay! I believe you can do it. Let's make a pact with a high five. If we think of this third point later, my sister and I will decide on it with you."

The father and his two sons made a pact by high-fiving in the kiln that as long as Nangong Chiyu had something to eat, he would never let Su Luo and the children go hungry.

Back home, the three of them washed a large plate of bayberries and brought them to Su Luo's study. Yi Huan fed Su Luo a bayberry with her small hand, her eyes smiling like beautiful crescent moons.

"Mom, these bayberries were picked by Dad, they're very sweet."

Su Luo nodded. It was tangy and juicy. She took a bite, and the sweet and sour juice flowed into her mouth, just the taste she wanted.

"Mmm! It's very sweet."

Yan Chuan pulled his younger sister down and said to Su Luo, "Mother, my sister and I are going to review our lessons. We'll take our leave now."

Before leaving, the two children winked at Nangong Chiyu, urging him to win over their mother.

Nangong Chiyu understood and responded to the two with his eyes, signaling them to go out first.

Only he and Su Luo remained in the study. Su Luo would look at some account books every day. Nangong Chiyu pulled up a chair and sat down beside her, took out a teacup and held it to her lips, asking her to spit out the bayberry seeds.

"Thanks!"

Su Luo uttered those two words without hesitation, and Nangong Chiyu replied, "You're welcome!"

Su Luo turned to look at him and saw that he had fed her another new bayberry.

Su Luo readily accepted the food and ate it. Her soft lips touched Nangong Chiyu's fingers, causing his fingers to involuntarily retract.

A ripple of emotion stirred within me.

"You've been picking bayberries for so long, did you go to a very far mountain?"