Li Hua realized what Gan Qiongying was talking about eating, and looked at her with eyes full of helplessness.

Gan Qiongying loved Li Hua's shy demeanor the most. She reached out and pinched Li Hua's cheek before triumphantly opening the letter.

Because the shadow guard didn't seem anxious when he gave her the letter, Gan Qiongying knew it was just a message of reassurance and nothing else.

Sure enough, the letter was written by Gan Lin. It was full of well wishes, everyone was well, especially the two babies.

Zhenzhen and Pengpeng have grown a bit more, and their sleep time is getting shorter and shorter. Ganlin said that Zhenzhen even smiled at him once. The letter was written in vernacular Chinese, and the tone of the letter was full of the pride of becoming an uncle for the first time.

Gan Qiongying laughed, and suddenly felt a warm breath sweep over her cheek. She then realized that Li Hua had moved closer at some point and was looking at the letter in Gan Qiongying's hand.

Gan Qiongying hasn't dared to mention the child these past few days, fearing that Li Hua might show signs of another bout of madness, and his eyes, which were damaged from crying, still haven't recovered.

She even considered whether she should slow down a bit on the way back to give Li Hua more time to adjust.

But Li Hua had already put his arm around Gan Qiongying's shoulder, pulled her into his arms, and looked at the letter with her.

His gaze remained fixed on those two unfamiliar names. His Adam's apple bobbed a few times before he finally spoke softly, as if afraid of shattering a dream.

He asked Gan Qiongying, "Which one is Zhenzhen, and which one is Pengpeng?"

"Both names are excellent, full of vitality, and I like them very much." When he said this, although his voice sounded calm, his frantic heartbeat was so loud that even Gan Qiongying could hear it.

Gan Qiongying pointed at Zhenzhen and said, "This name belongs to our daughter. It takes your surname, Li. Li Zhenzhen, doesn't it sound nice?"

"This is our son, Li Pengpeng. Or if you have any ideas, just remove one character from the name I gave him and add one character."

“That’s good, that’s good enough…” Li Hua seemed to have run out of things to say, and kept repeating, “That’s really good.”

"Actually, my surname is not Li. It was the nanny who took me out of the palace who was surnamed Li."

“That’s good,” Gan Qiongying said. “Your surname should follow that of the nanny who gave you life.”

"Yes." Li Hua smiled, turned Gan Qiongying's shoulders, and kissed her forehead.

He paused for a long time before moving away, and when he spoke again, his voice was a little hoarse. The first thing he said was, "I'm sorry."

"I'm so pathetic. I couldn't believe it when I heard the news. How could I be worthy? Someone like me... someone who was abandoned and killed by my own parents at birth..."

"Don't say that!" Gan Qiongying immediately interrupted him.

Li Hua's voice choked with emotion as she said, "But it's true. I thought... I thought that meeting you in my lifetime was already a blessing from God."

“But you brought me two family members, and I wasn’t able to be by your side at that time…” As Li Hua spoke, tears welled up in her eyes again.

Gan Qiongying immediately grabbed his chin and said fiercely, "Your eyes are just getting a little better, hurry up and hold it in!"

Li Hua was indeed emotionally broken by her sudden outburst. She tilted her head back to stop the tears from falling, but her nose was actually very sore.

He couldn't imagine how Gan Qiongying managed to raise her child... through hardship and displacement, in such a harsh and cold place as the Northwest, and still manage to give birth to their child in a temple.

At that time, he not only failed to stay by Gan Qiongying's side, but also frantically searched for her everywhere, making her afraid to even go to the south that she had planned to visit long ago.

Having already believed Gan Qiongying's story, and considering his past dreams of killing Princess Duanrong, Li Hua had no reason to blame Gan Qiongying for abandoning him and running away after witnessing him kill someone.

Because in those recurring dreams, Li Hua wished he could kill himself, wished he could be dragged behind the horse, wished he could be the one who died a gruesome death.

He even felt guilty towards Gan Qiongying because of this; he should have explained things clearly sooner and confessed everything earlier.

If he had revealed his true colors and explained his purpose earlier, Gan Qiongying certainly wouldn't have panicked and fled with Gan Lin.

She was so smart and brave. She rushed back to explain herself right after giving birth, but I blamed everyone and even almost... imprisoned her like a bird in a cage.

She didn't blame herself at all, tolerated his insane illness, and indulged him in doing things that hurt her.

Li Hua wished he could go back to that time and stab himself twice to wake himself up.

But everything is beyond repair, and all he can say now is a hollow "I'm sorry."

But this was far too lenient for Gan Qiongying.

How brave one must be to resolutely choose to keep the two children and give birth to them, when there is absolutely no certainty about what kind of person he is or whether he will kill them as in the dream?

She even wrote him a letter while she was pregnant, sending her trusted confidant at great personal risk to deliver it. The entire letter was filled with words of comfort, overturning all the tenderness in the world.

He almost shot the shadow guard dead.

They were so close... so close to irreparable loss.

Li Hua had never hated his own weakness and suspicion so much. He didn't cry, because he didn't want Gan Qiongying to worry anymore.

After forcing back his tears, Li Hua sat up straight again and gave Gan Qiongying a smile. Although he looked very pale, he still solemnly made a promise.

“I will take good care of them, both the children and Ganlin,” Lihua said. “I will take good care of you for the rest of my life… through sickness and health, I will never leave you.”

Looking at his reddened eyes, Gan Qiongying especially didn't want his emotions to continue to fluctuate. Even if Li Hua didn't say anything, Gan Qiongying knew what kind of person he was.

He even gave up the throne and the world; what else needs to be explained?

Therefore, Gan Qiongying had no choice but to deliberately disrupt his thoughts, which were currently stuck in a rut.

Looking at Lihua, she said, "It's a given that you'll take good care of us. From now on, you'll have to wash the diapers and pay for them. As for me..."

"I think you need to work harder at night. After all, I've been celibate for so long. You should pay back all the 'marital obligations' you owe..."

"And what I suggested last night, that hanging position, please agree to it as compensation for me."

The grain transport officer, Li Hua, took a moment to process this. He still didn't understand the meaning, but he did understand what Gan Qiongying wanted to express.

Then, as expected, Gan Qiongying completely dispelled his sorrow, guilt, and regret.

The redness started from his ears and spread little by little. He glared at Gan Qiongying with a mixture of shyness and reproach, then reached out to cover his burning face.