Chapter 8, Third Mission

In the evening, Yinzhen sat next to Lü Yingfeng, who was wearing a plain headband and thick clothes. Her wet nurse stood beside her, holding two children.

Yinzhen was no longer as flustered as he had been when he first received the news that morning, but he still looked at the two children with a joyful expression.

My father's words from this morning still echoed in my ears: that the Qing Dynasty had never had twins, and that this was the first pair in my palace!

The Emperor wants to name the two children himself, and he said that when they are a month old, he must bring them into the palace so that the Emperor can see them in person!

"Ying'er, you have rendered meritorious service; you are my greatest contributor!"

Lu Yingfeng smiled as she looked at the two little children, and said with a light laugh, "How dare I mention any merit? Providing the prince with children is simply what I should do."

As she spoke, she looked at the two children who were very close to each other. The older sister reached out to touch her younger brother's hand, but he dodged her hand and she couldn't catch it no matter what she did. It was so cute that she couldn't help but stare at him intently.

Yinzhen watched the two playfully bickering, but for some reason his gaze was drawn to Lü Yingfeng, who was standing by candlelight. She had the typical features of a woman from the Sichuan region: fair skin, bright and clear eyes, and an air of radiant spirit.

But now, perhaps because she has become a mother, her temperament has become calmer. Her thick black hair is shiny and unadorned with any jewelry. Under the soft candlelight, she appears even more fair and delicate. Her eyes are like autumn water, and the love in them seems to drown you.

How come I never realized she was so beautiful before?

However, it was difficult to say such things out loud, after all, she had just given birth.

Yinzhen cracked his knuckles to suppress the irritation in his heart.

"Father said he would personally choose the name for the child, which will take some time. In the meantime, you can think of a nickname for him."

Lu Yingfeng then came to her senses and lowered her head to think upon hearing this—"Then let the prince be named... You'er, what does Your Highness say?"

"You'er." Yinzhen rolled the name over and over in his mouth a few times, then nodded and said, "Our child will surely be blessed by Heaven. This is a good name."

Lu Yingfeng's smile widened. She turned her gaze to the red swaddled baby in the wet nurse's arms, thought for a moment, and said, "Please let Your Highness choose a nickname for our daughter. I am not very literate, so it is Your Highness who can choose one that is worthy of this beautiful girl."

Yinzhen smiled in agreement, tapped her nose, and said, "You're always good at shirking your responsibilities."

Even as he said this, his gaze fell upon the beautiful baby in the swaddling clothes, who was waving her hands and couldn't sit still, and he began to think seriously.

“Our daughter will be named Shu’er. She’s been a beauty since she was little. When she grows up, she will surely be as beautiful as Ying’er.”

Lu Yingfeng blushed, touched her face and lowered her head, saying somewhat petulantly, "Your Highness is always good at teasing people."

Yinzhen chuckled twice, and the beautiful woman under the lamp blushed, making her even more pleasing to the eye.

Lu Yingfeng had already heard about the strange phenomenon from Xuexin and her wet nurse. Now, the two sat facing each other, but neither of them mentioned it.

“Ying’er has given birth to twins, and should have been promoted in rank, but… the household already has two concubines, so it’s not good to make any moves easily.” Yinzhen twirled the jade beads in his hand and said seemingly casually.

Lu Yingfeng seemed oblivious to the probing in his tone, and continued in a gentle voice, "I don't want to be a concubine, and I didn't risk my life to give birth to these two children for that reason. You know me, Your Highness."

"The rewards are coming in like a flowing stream, which is already quite eye-catching. Ying'er doesn't want to become the target of everyone's criticism. She just wants to raise the child well and wait for the prince to come."

The beauty's gaze was gentle, and every word she uttered conveyed her desire to stay by his side peacefully without seeking any title or status. The deep emotion in Yinzhen's eyes was genuine.

He gazed at the person before him, as if he had taken her words to heart, and patted her hand with satisfaction.

Zhao You, standing to the side, couldn't help but roll his eyes.

He listened intently to the conversation between the two of them. When he heard that his nickname was still You'er, he nodded in satisfaction. When he heard Dui Dui's mother say that her adoptive father should come and choose a nickname for her younger sister, Zhao You could understand her good intentions.

Although the girl came out first, he always believed he was the older brother and naturally wouldn't easily change his mind.

As a prince, and possessing extraordinary qualities that earned him a name bestowed by the emperor, he naturally had no worries about the future. But his sister was different; having a prince choose her name would make him think of her more often in the future.

Shuer...

This name is good. It sounds much better than the "Shu" in the TV series. "Shu" is mostly used to praise a woman's virtue and gentleness. Although both "Shu" and "Shu" are good words, they are also commonly used words and cannot compare with the names of the series of younger sisters that follow.

His younger sister is definitely the most beautiful, and Zhao You likes her even more now!

It's infuriating that even his cheapskate father couldn't resist testing him!

Forget about the concubine title; Zhao You bet his own intelligence that he would never grant Dui Dui's mother the title of concubine. Everyone knows what's going on in his scheming mind when he talks about these irrelevant things.

It's fortunate that Dui Dui's mom is smart; she truly deserves to be a woman who survives to the very end.

Lu Yingfeng is now completely content with having a son and a daughter. She doesn't even mind when Nian Shilan's people come to her room to invite the prince. After all, she can't serve him in bed, and the prince will leave sooner or later.

"Bring their little beds over here; they can sleep here tonight."

The wet nurse said worriedly, "Princess, you're still in your postpartum period. You lost a lot of energy during childbirth, so you need to rest well. The little princess and prince get up several times a night, I'm afraid..."

"It's nothing." Lü Yingfeng's gaze was fixed on the two children, and she shook her head indifferently. "If we were separated, I really wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully. Let's stay here."

For some reason, despite having just gone through the excruciating pain of childbirth that nearly brought her to the brink of death, Lü Yingfeng did not feel weak at all. She could hardly feel the postpartum discomfort that Consort Li had told her about. On the contrary, her body felt much lighter and more comfortable without the burden.

It must be because her two children know how to care for others; they are precious gifts from God.

She gently embraced the two children, her eyes brimming with tenderness. The shadows cast by the candlelight fell upon Zhao You, and the unique scent of his mother enveloped him.

In the incredibly peaceful environment, Zhao You couldn't help but snuggle closer to his mother, stretching out his small, lotus-root-like hands and tightly clutching the front of her clothes under Lü Yingfeng's loving gaze, before slowly closing his eyes and falling asleep.

Two jade-like figures slept peacefully in the night. Lü Yingfeng gazed at them without blinking, her heart filled with boundless love and courage.

Days passed slowly, and the day of Zhao You and Shu'er's full moon celebration arrived.

"Beep—Third task triggered: Please complete a palace intrigue at the full moon banquet."

Huh? Zhao You was dressed up in festive attire, looking like a lucky doll, watching his younger sister suck her thumb on the soft cushion. Hearing the sound for the first time, he didn't react at first.

"Me? Palace intrigue? I haven't even spoken a word in a month, who do you think I can outwit?"

The system was silent for a moment—"...The system has its own evaluation criteria. Judging from your current strength...just fight, the result is not important."

Zhao You nodded thoughtfully, watching his carefree little sister's posture as she tried to put everything in her mouth to bite, a helpless expression even appearing on her small face. He raised his hand and flicked the golden bell twice, the sound attracting the attention of the wet nurses, signaling them to free the little girl's own feet from her mouth.

He made two "ah ah" sounds, as if telling her that she couldn't eat it.

The wet nurse standing nearby almost burst out laughing and said to the person next to her, "This Fifth Prince really seems to love his sister. Judging from this, they shouldn't be siblings, they should be brother and sister."

Zhao You understood and was about to nod in praise of the wet nurse for being perceptive when he heard another older nanny suddenly speak sternly.

"What nonsense are you spouting! Everyone in the palace and the royal residence knows that these two masters were born with auspicious omens. The woman was born first, which is for the sake of having a good name. Who gave you the right to gossip and arbitrarily rank them? Don't you want to lose your tongue?!"

The wet nurse who had spoken also realized what was happening, her face turning deathly pale as she pleaded with the old woman not to reveal it.

Zhao You never expected that a mere joke would elicit such a strong reaction.

For the first time, he realized that beneath these vermilion and bright yellow glazed tiles lay the invisible constraints of feudal rule and etiquette, from which no word or action could be escaped. What he saw before him was no longer the TV series he had casually paused to comment on while watching.