At dinner time, those who had been working or studying gradually returned. Ninghe Hall was once again bustling with activity. The men talked about the court and their futures, while the women chatted about clothes and their children.

Children's spirits couldn't be compared to adults. After playing for a while after dinner, they felt a little listless. Xiao Yuan rubbed her eyes and murmured, "Sister, go to sleep."

Xiao Jun and Xiao Qi also cast the same look. The little friends haven't seen each other for more than two months and don't want to be separated. What should they do?

"Carry them into my room and let them sleep on my bed tonight." Qin always loved to enjoy herself. Her large rosewood carved bed was much larger than the beds in ordinary people's homes.

"How can that be? What are you going to do?" Tong Mingyu objected.

"Take them to Yiyuan. My bed should be able to accommodate four children." Yuan Yutong suggested.

In the entire Xiao family, except for my mother-in-law's place, only my big bed can meet the needs of four children.

"It's late now, why bother moving around? Let the kids sleep here. I've stayed in the side room for one night and the conditions there aren't any worse. Let's do it!"

The grandchildren haven’t seen each other for several months, so let’s fulfill their wish to sleep together!

General Xiao also supported his wife's suggestion that no one should be wronged, especially the children.

When the four children finished washing and were put into the fragrant and warm big bed, they were not sleepy at all.

After everyone left, General Xiao and Qin were worried about their children and planned to take a look at them before going to bed. Unexpectedly, they saw that all their grandchildren were full of energy.

Xiao Jun was wearing a shirt and rolling up his sleeves, demonstrating some moves he had learned from somewhere; Xiao Qi, always his most loyal audience, sat not far away and kept cheering and clapping. Perhaps because he was too involved, most of his chubby arms and legs were exposed, trembling with his shouting and movements.

The two sisters huddled together. Xiao Yao, with her half-dry hair draped over her shoulders, lowered her head and told her younger sister something. Xiao Yuan's inner clothes were open, revealing her bellyband and round belly. She nodded as she listened, and did not forget to glance at her brothers from time to time.

Qin couldn't stay up late, so she spent a little time with her grandchildren, told the old women and wet nurses who were on night watch to take good care of the young master, and then went to bed.

When General Xiao saw his grandchildren, he thought to himself, "I've never slept with them in my arms!" Each one was so fair and tender. Just imagining two on his left and two on his right was enough to make him itch. So he perfunctorily sent his wife away, took a bath, put on his underwear, and returned to look for his grandchildren.

"Grandpa will tell you a story, okay?"

"Okay!" There is a story to listen to, so the four people gathered around and sat down obediently.

"Ahem." General Xiao lay in the middle of the large bed and ordered the night watch maid to draw down the bed curtains and retreat to the outer room. Then he coaxed his two little granddaughters into the inner side of the bed, holding them in one arm. He then called his two grandsons, letting them rest their heads on his other arm, and began to tell the story of "Once upon a time..."

"Let's talk about fighting." Xiao Jun demanded strongly.

General Xiao wanted to satisfy his grandson's request, but was afraid that his granddaughter would not like to hear it. It seemed that sleeping with the little ones was not an easy thing.

"I'll tell Ping An and Ru Yi a story about a war first, and then a story about animals, okay?"

"Okay!" No one objected.

For the first time in his life, General Xiao was trying to coax his child to sleep by racking his brains to tell him stories one after another.

He didn't know when his grandchildren fell asleep, but he ended up falling asleep himself while he was talking.

The next morning, Qin woke up earlier than usual. She was a little uncomfortable sleeping in a different bed and was also a little worried about the children.

So after washing up, she hurried to go and take a look. After all, there were four children sleeping together, and after her granddaughter was injured, she was really scared.

When the bed curtain was lifted, Qin was so shocked that she couldn't speak. She saw her husband sleeping in the middle of the bed, while Xiao Yao was sleeping obediently at the innermost part. Apart from the fact that her little feet were sticking out of the quilt, everything else was normal.

Xiao Jun slept completely at the foot of the bed, his calves resting on his grandfather's large feet, not even a corner of the quilt covering him. Xiao Yuan had somehow shifted position and crawled to the outside of the bed. He was now half-kneeling, his grandfather cradling his little bottom, drooling profusely. Xiao Qi lay mostly on the bed, his knees drooping over the edge. He was afraid he would fall off if he turned over again.

Seeing this scene, Qin was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, and was also very scared.

If an adult turns over and falls on a child, will the child still be alive?

She glanced angrily at the people around her. Such a situation had occurred, yet no one had come to tell her. If anything had really happened last night, who among them could bear the responsibility? However, she could no longer care about pursuing these matters. The most urgent thing was to settle the child.

She whispered to Yu Ma to make the bed she had just slept in, fetched a small quilt, and wrapped the four children one by one in their blankets. She wondered how long the children had played the previous night; surprisingly, none of them had been woken. After settling the grandchildren, she instructed Yu Ma to take the two older maids to watch over them, and then she freed herself to return to settle accounts with her husband.

General Xiao, who was soundly asleep, was woken up by Qin. He sat up straight, confused as to why. He was disturbed for no reason. Just as he was about to get angry, he suddenly remembered something. He fumbled around on the bed with his hands and shouted anxiously, "Where are the children? Where are my grandchildren? They are safe, safe."

"Stop yelling! The grandchildren are still sleeping! I want to ask you, how could you sleep in the same bed with them? Aren't you afraid of crushing the children? Really?"

Qin even omitted the honorific, which showed how angry she was. How could this man become so unreliable? He's over sixty years old, and he's acting with less and less regard for the consequences.

"How could I be crushed? I sleep very well, and the children are also very obedient." General Xiao knew he was in the wrong, and now he just wanted his wife to stop making a fuss, and he had long forgotten that his sleep was disturbed. He was prepared to act first and ask for her consent later because he knew his wife would not agree to him sleeping with the grandchildren.

Qin described the positions of everyone she saw this morning and asked her husband, "If you rolled over and fell on Ruyi and Aqi, how could they bear it? If someone got hurt, wouldn't you feel bad?

"How could it be such a coincidence? How come I've never heard of anyone being crushed?"

General Xiao didn't care, but he also knew that from now on he would never be able to sleep with his grandchildren.

Alas, I can no longer share the same bed with the smooth and tender Aqi and Ruyi, the fragrant Ping'an, and the strong Ajun.

Qin shook her head and sighed. How could there not be someone crushed? We have one, and she's your most precious granddaughter, but how could I dare to tell her? What happened last night can't be known to my sons and their wives, especially my eldest son and his wife. They're terrified themselves, let alone her biological parents.

Qin not only told her husband not to tell anyone, but also sternly warned the servants who had served the previous night. General Xiao thought his wife was making a big deal out of nothing, but the others felt it was just as it should be. If word got out, everyone would be in a state of panic for at least three to five days. There was nothing they could do; the lesson they had learned was too profound.

Qin told the four children who had just woken up that she had been with them to sleep last night. Xiao Qi and Xiao Yuan could no longer remember and just replied casually. Xiao Jun asked in confusion, "Where is Grandpa?"

"Your grandfather left after seeing you two were asleep."

"Really?" Xiao Jun asked doubtfully.

"Yes, you can't remember clearly because you fell asleep."

"Then tonight... let grandpa tell you stories again!" Xiao Jun requested with great anticipation.

Qin almost dropped the cup in her hand. First she had an unreliable grandfather, and now she had a grandson who was eager to create chaos in the world. Didn’t these two intend to let the family have a good New Year?