Nine years later
The Lantern Festival, January 15th, the eleventh year of Jianyan.
The streets of Fengming Prefecture were extremely lively, with all kinds of lanterns hanging from the branches. In front of such dazzling lanterns, even the starry sky paled in comparison.
The lantern festival was bustling with people, young men and women walking together in groups or with their maids and servants, their laughter and chatter a testament to the prosperity of Fengming Prefecture.
Zhu Yu and Lu Xiaoyun walked hand in hand behind two bouncy eight- or nine-year-old boys, followed by Qi Yu, Feng Yan, Li Feng, Jiang Chuan, their children, and a group of others.
"Father, Mother, I want that lantern."
“I’m the older brother, you have to let me have it. I was the one who took a liking to this lantern first.”
"No, because you're the older brother, you should give way to me."
The two boys looked almost identical and wore the same clothes, making it impossible for outsiders to tell who was the older brother and who was the younger brother.
Her porcelain-white skin and slightly upturned phoenix eyes resembled Lu Xiaoyun's, while her thin lips and prominent aquiline nose resembled Zhu Yu's.
"Zhu Jingxing, Zhu Jingchen, that's enough! You two are fighting over toys in the manor, and now you're fighting over them on the street!" Zhu Yu looked at them with disgust. How could he have only given birth to two sons after going through so much hardship? His daughter, his daughter!
Zhu Yu glared fiercely at Jiang Chuan behind him, who shrank back and hid behind his wife.
“You two are both older brothers, so you have to give way to me and my sister. So, Auntie and Uncle, please give us the lanterns.” Another little boy, about five or six years old, was holding the hand of a three-year-old girl and looking up at Lu Xiaoyun and Zhu Yu with expectant eyes.
Zhu Yu bent down and picked up the little girl, leaving the little boy looking at his uncle with envy. Why did his uncle like his sister so much, and not him and his two older brothers?
Zhu Yu pinched the little girl's cheek: "Where are your father and mother?"
The little boy pointed behind him: "Look, over there, Daddy is buying a mask for Mommy."
Ah Yan was putting a little white rabbit mask on Ruoling's head, his face full of doting affection.
The little girl, wearing a pink dress and with a ribbon tied in her ponytail, looked just like Ruoling: "Mommy, you look beautiful."
Zhu Jingxing sighed like a little adult: "Sigh, my second uncle always buys my second aunt useless things. Why don't you adults listen to me?"
Zhu Jingchen also sighed, "Forget it, brother. No matter how many times we tell them, they won't listen. From now on, it's up to us two brothers to take care of them more."
...
Ten years have passed, and the Great Zhou Dynasty is now blessed with favorable weather and abundant harvests. It is no longer the weak, impoverished, and bullied Great Zhou of the past.
In recent years, Zhu Dan has worked diligently to govern the country, allowing it to recuperate and develop. He has issued a series of new policies, and the people of all walks of life, including scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, have sprung up like mushrooms after rain.
The Huainan and Jiangnan regions under Zhu Yu's rule were even more prosperous, with people not picking up lost items on the road, leaving their doors unlocked at night, and everyone having enough to eat and wear.
Two months after Zhu Yu gave birth to his child, he took Lu Xiaoyun and went to the Lin family in Jiangnan with the Duke of Zhenguo and Lu Yucheng.
Old Master Lin was terminally ill. The Duke of Zhenguo knelt before his bedside and personally served him medicine. The father-in-law and son-in-law talked things out, and Old Master Lin chose to forgive him before he passed away.
They stayed there for half a month, and only returned after taking care of Mr. Lin's funeral arrangements.
Before his death, he made a will, leaving all of the Lin family's assets to Lu Yucheng and his sister Lu Xiaoyun.
The black powder developed by siblings Lu Xiaoyun and Lu Yuyan over the years has become quite mature. They have continuously improved the ratio and formula, greatly increasing its power.
They were made into small black balls, which makes them easy to carry.
Even their crossbows and various weapons are among the best in the four kingdoms.
In the second year after Zhu Dan ascended the throne, he dispatched various experts to expose the spies from Northern Qi, Chen, and Southern Liang who were hidden within the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Therefore, the three kingdoms do not truly know the current strength of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
...
As night deepened, the children still looked like they hadn't had enough.
"Mommy, I want to play a little longer," Zhu Jingxing said, clinging to Lu Xiaoyun's leg and acting spoiled.
"Mommy, I want to play a little longer, okay? Okay?" Zhu Jingchen clung to Lu Xiaoyun's other arm and pleaded.
These two adorable little girls, all fair and tender, are clinging to your legs and calling you "Mommy," acting all cute and cuddly. Who could resist that? Just as Lu Xiaoyun was about to respond, Zhu Yu came over, grabbed one of them in each hand, and pulled the two clingy little devils off Lu Xiaoyun's legs.
"No, go back to the manor and sleep! I can't be late for martial arts practice and school tomorrow morning."
The two little ones reluctantly walked back.
Zhu Yu grasped Lu Xiaoyun's hand and said seriously, "You have to have principles! You can't just give in to their coquettishness."
Lu Xiaoyun clung to Zhu Yu's arm and whispered in his ear, "Listen to your husband, if you want to do this or that to me in bed in the future, I will also have principles."
Zhu Yu's face darkened. How could something like this in bed be compared to two little brats!
Everyone was tired from walking around, so they went back to their residences.
After bathing and washing up, Lu Xiaoyun put on a plain white undergarment, her long black hair hanging down her back, and Zhu Yu was carefully drying her with a cloth.
But as she was wiping, a certain man's hand became restless, slipping inside her clothes from her fair collarbone and sliding down to gently knead and tease her clitoris.
After giving birth, these two little lumps of flesh became even more proud.
Lu Xiaoyun's breathing gradually became heavy as he touched her, and the hand covering the white rabbit was burning hot.
Zhu Yu's eyes flashed crimson, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he scooped the person up from in front of the dressing table and threw them onto the bed. Then, with a wave of his hand, the bed curtains on both sides fell down, obscuring the two people inside.
Having been a woman for over two years, Zhu Yu knew what made a woman happiest.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
