Cough cough!

At the palace banquet, when Prince Yanping, Tang Ze, and Lu Cheng heard this news, they were filled with envy and jealousy to the point of madness.

Others are considered very fortunate to have two children in three years, but for Prince Ling and his wife, they had three children in less than three years.

They're twins, a boy and a girl.

How much good karma must one have accumulated in their past life to be able to have twins like a boy and a girl in this life?

They were about the same age as Xie Jingyan, only a few months later than him when they got married. As a result, Xie Jingyan had three children, both sons and daughters, while they only had one and hadn't even had a proper look at him yet.

There's no way we can catch up to them no matter what.

Prince Yanping and Tang Ze comforted themselves, saying that Xie Jingyan's good fortune was the result of many years of hardship. After all, he had experienced his mother being plotted against and dying tragically in the cold palace, and he himself had been demoted to guard the imperial mausoleum and spent more than two years in a wheelchair. They had not suffered as much. Xie Jingyan was a proper prince who had suffered so much for no reason. Heaven should compensate him.

I'm not envious.

There's nothing to envy.

But why does this wine taste so sour?

Du Cheng'an sat to the side, not envious at all. He couldn't even envy the Prince of Yanping and Tang Ze, let alone the Prince of Ling. Among them, he was the only one without a child. Cheng Yi's child was already in his belly, while his child was nowhere to be seen.

The Emperor was even more delighted.

Twins of opposite sexes are rare enough, but royal twins are even rarer, and to be born on the very day Xie Jingyan returned to the capital in triumph is even more auspicious.

The civil and military officials offered their congratulations to the emperor, who was overjoyed.

Meanwhile, at the Ling Prince's residence, after the midwife and maids had cleaned up the delivery room, Xie Jingyan entered. Shen Wan was lying on the bed, and Xie Jingyan had already changed out of his battle robes, now wearing a black brocade robe that made his face even more handsome and unparalleled.

He sat down by the bed, gently stroking Shen Wan's cheek with his fingertips, and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

With just one sentence, tears welled up in Shen Wan's eyes.

It's not hard work.

The hardships of this pregnancy were more than double those of Jin'er's. In the later stages, her belly was so heavy that it was difficult to turn over, and her hips hurt so much that walking was painful. More importantly, Xie Jingyan was with her from beginning to end when she gave birth to Jin'er, but he didn't spend a single day with her during this pregnancy.

However, considering that she didn't have morning sickness, while Xie Jingyan vomited when he went to fight on the border and was treated for several days as if he had water and soil incompatibility, and that they were twins, Shen Wan felt that all the suffering she had endured was worth it.

However, there's one thing she has to say: "I'm not having any more children in the next few years."

Xie Jingyan said, "I'll listen to you. If you don't want to have any more children, you can choose not to."

Shen Wan has already given him two sons and a daughter, what more could he want?

Xie Jingyan asked Shen Wan, "Are you tired? Do you want to take a nap?"

Shen Wan remembered that today was the day the palace was celebrating Xie Jingyan and his team's victory, so she said, "You should go and attend the victory banquet."

Xie Jingyan said, "The celebration banquet is over, it's more important to spend time with you."

He hadn't spent a single day with Shen Wan during her pregnancy. It was just a victory celebration banquet, something he'd attended many times in the military. What was more important than spending time with Shen Wan and the baby?

The emperor wouldn't blame him, and neither would the civil and military officials.

Shen Wan didn't expect the celebration banquet to end so quickly. She thought that it only took her less than half an hour to give birth. Even though her back was sore later on, she insisted on walking more every day, and those walks were indeed worth it.

After the banquet in Qingyang, Shen Jing did not return to the Pingyang Marquis's residence, but went directly to the Ling Prince's residence to see Shen Wan and her three grandsons. Shen Du and Princess Huai'an also came along.

Shen Du was unaware of Princess Huai'an's difficult childbirth and postpartum hemorrhage while he was at the border, as no one told him. However, he learned about it upon returning to the capital. He felt sorry for Princess Huai'an, who had suffered so much, and was also grateful to have such a good younger sister. He was also thankful for Doctor Tao's superb medical skills, which saved the lives of Princess Huai'an and her child.

As soon as Shen Jing entered Moyuxuan, he saw Tanghulu walking unsteadily, which melted Shen Jing's heart and made him extremely happy.

"I was wondering why the Emperor didn't like me; it turns out I look more like my maternal grandfather," Shen Jing said, in high spirits.

Candied hawthorns are not shy around strangers.

Shen Jing reached out and picked him up. Tanghulu stared at him; the little boy wasn't afraid of people at all.

The maid announced that Shen Jing and the others had arrived, and Xie Jingyan came out to greet them.

Shen Jing and the others went into the room to see Shen Wan, who called out, "Father."

He called out to Chen Du again, "Big Brother."

Shen Du said gratefully, "I only found out today that you saved Huai'an and Chong'er. How can I possibly thank you enough?"

Shen Wan chuckled, "Brother, it's too formal for you to thank me. But Doctor Tao is a great benefactor of our Pingyang Marquis's mansion, so you should thank him properly."

Shen Wan had thanked Doctor Tao, the Prince An's Mansion had also thanked him, and Princess Huai'an had also thanked Doctor Tao after her confinement period ended. But Shen Wan felt it wasn't enough. Doctor Tao had saved the lives of Princess Huai'an and her unborn child, so any way of thanking him was appropriate.

Shen Du nodded, "Big Brother knows."

Shen Jing just missed his grandson so much that he came to take a look. He didn't even know what his own grandson looked like yet.

Without lingering, Shen Jing left after saying only a few words, without even letting Xie Jingyan see them off.

On the same day, a stream of rewards was delivered to the Ling Prince's residence.

Gold and silver jewelry, fine silks and satins, fertile fields and shops, porcelain and jade—whatever one could think of, the emperor bestowed upon them.

People from the palace came to the Ling Prince's residence in waves.

There were also congratulatory gifts from civil and military officials, and people came to visit Shen Wan in droves.

They receive so many gifts they're overwhelmed; the warehouse can't hold them all.

The third-day celebration was especially joyous and lively.

The names of the two children were also bestowed by the emperor.

The son's name is Xie Yuheng.

My daughter's name is Xie Yuhuan.

My nickname was given to me by a certain gentleman.

My son's name is Sweet Potato.

There's no other reason than that during the time this gentleman was suffering from morning sickness at the border, he vomited everything he ate, except for sweet potatoes and some nuts, which he could barely manage to eat a couple of bites without vomiting.

If the son is nicknamed "Sweet Potato," then the daughter's nickname will naturally be "Happy Fruit."

When the emperor learned the nicknames his son had given his two grandchildren, he felt even more that his decision to take the lead in naming his grandchildren was brilliant. Which royal child would name their child "candied hawthorn" or "sweet potato"? "Pistachio" was barely acceptable, but he was thankful that they didn't name them "walnut."

It's one thing to make do with a nickname, but to be so perfunctory with a formal name is something that will be recorded in history books in the future. He'll be laughed at by future generations for not knowing how to name a child properly. It's one thing for his son to be laughed at, but he's afraid that people will misunderstand and think that it was his imperial grandfather who gave him the name. He can't afford to lose face like that.

Xie Jingyan tolerated the fact that his name, Tanghulu, was taken away. After all, he was the eldest grandson of the emperor and had a special status. It was one thing for the emperor to bestow a name upon him, but it was too much for his second son to not allow him to choose a name. However, before he could even think of a name, the imperial edict bestowing the name arrived.

They couldn't refuse the imperial decree.

The man was furious.

If Shen Wan hadn't said the name sounded nice, he would have definitely gone to the palace to protest to the Emperor.