Chapter 89: A Family of Four
The morning light pierced through the clouds and fell on the golden glazed tiles of the Forbidden City, illuminating the many palaces and buildings.
Officials hurried through the streets and alleys, posting the imperial edict of general amnesty in crowded places. The onlookers discussed it excitedly, spreading the news that the emperor had given birth to a dragon and a phoenix. The news quickly spread throughout the entire capital.
The palace was bustling with activity for the two newborn princes. Everyone in the palace received a reward, and the atmosphere was filled with the emperor's grace and joy.
The two little princes were raised in Kunning Palace. During the day, they would nurse and sleep by Yun Kui's side, wrapped in swaddling clothes, with only their two fist-sized heads showing, like tiny kittens.
Watching their two wrinkled little faces grow white and tender day by day, Yun Kui felt an indescribable joy and satisfaction. She would look at their eyes and nod their little mouths, finding Yu Xue adorable no matter how she looked at them.
The youngest prince is named Xiao Mingxuan, a name given by Xiao Qi'an. Xuan refers to a jade disc used in sacrificial rites to heaven, signifying the exquisite beauty of jade. The youngest princess is named Xiao Mingxian, a name given by Yun Kui, signifying brilliance and envy.
On the other hand, Sheng Yu was granted permission to visit Yun Kui and the two children at Kunning Palace on his days off. He never came empty-handed; he would bring either a box full of trinkets or little clothes and tiger-head hats. When the two children turned one month old, each of them received a rather heavy gold locket necklace.
Yun Kui was heartbroken. Although her father was now a vice minister, his salary was still limited. He was always so generous; she was afraid he would empty the family's coffers.
Sheng Yu reassured her, "Your father hardly spent any money in Pengcheng in previous years. After returning to the capital, he also acquired some properties and has a lot of money left over. I'll be happy to spend it on you."
To put it bluntly, he was the only surviving member of the two young princes' ancestors, so how could he not love them dearly? Seeing his daughters and children's sweet smiles made him feel that everything was worthwhile.
Yun Kui had no choice but to accept the gift on behalf of the children.
As for Xiao Qi'an, since his wife and children were in Kunning Palace, he simply moved many of his government affairs there as well.
Returning from court during the day, hearing the two children crying for milk, mixed with the Empress's soft humming of nursery rhymes, always fills my heart with boundless tenderness.
Mingxuan seemed a little afraid of him. Every time she entered the palace, she would stop crying as soon as she saw him, pouting and looking pitiful.
Xiao Qi'an was also too tall, so when Mingxuan was lifted up by his father and rested his head on his father's hard arm, he was so frightened that he cried loudly.
Yun Kui had no choice but to take the child and comfort him. Only when he returned to his mother's warm and soft embrace did Ming Xuan stop crying.
Mingxian was quite bold, just like her mother. When she saw her father, she raised her pink little arms and asked him to hug her. When Xiao Qi'an actually hugged her, she pretended to cry, complaining that her father's hug was not good and wanted to go back to her mother's arms. Then she gave her father a provocative little expression.
However, once Xiao Qi'an put on a stern expression to scare her, the little girl immediately burst into tears, which made him laugh: "So you're just like your mother, a paper tiger."
Yun Kui was so angry that she didn't want to talk to him.
At night, Yun Kui was worried about the child and always wanted to keep him by her side. Every night, she would wait until Xiao Qi'an finished his official business and returned before letting the wet nurse take the sleeping child to the side room.
Xiao Qi'an felt that she was paying too much attention to the child. "It's fine to take care of the child during the day, but why go through all this trouble at night?"
Yun Kui sighed, "The children always rely on me. They cry easily when they wake up and can't see me. I don't know how we got through our childhoods..."
Xiao Qi'an was silent for a moment, then the two embraced and he kissed her forehead. "It's all in the past."
Yun Kui said, "I'm not sad. I don't want to think about the past anymore. I'm very happy now!"
Xiao Qi'an kissed her ear, "Is it me who makes you happier, or the child?"
Yun Kui frowned: "Why does Your Majesty have to compare everything? Even comparing this to a child..."
Xiao Qi'an stared intently at her, as if he absolutely needed an answer.
Yun Kui had no choice but to say, "Without you, we wouldn't have two children, so you're the most important. Being with you makes me happiest, okay?"
The answer was correct, but the attitude was perfunctory, which displeased Xiao Qi'an. Considering that she was still in her postpartum period, he decided not to hold it against her for now. He would settle the score after these two months when she had fully recovered.
By the end of July, the summer heat was fading, and Yun Kui had finished her postpartum confinement. During the day, she would push her two children to stroll in the Imperial Garden.
Mingxian loved looking at lotus flowers, and Huaiqing and Huaizhu showed off their light-footed skills by walking on the water. Stepping on the lotus leaves in the pond, they flew back and picked lotus flowers that were bigger than their faces. Mingxian was so happy that she danced with joy and reached out to grab them.
Mingxuan, standing to the side, seemed to admire the two female guards' skills, staring at them curiously and even trying to reach for the swords at their waists.
Just then, Sheng Yu entered the palace to visit his daughter and the two young princes. Seeing that the young prince was interested in kung fu, he borrowed a sword from Huai Zhu and performed a beautiful Bodhidharma sword dance in front of the two young princes.
Although he is over forty years old, he is still as agile as ever.
The two children were mesmerized, staring intently. Mingxuan, who was usually quite reserved, waved her little fists, eager to try, which made everyone laugh.
Yun Kui thought to herself, Mingxuan likes to practice swordsmanship, and perhaps he can inherit his father's mantle in the future. If he practices well, he can protect himself and his sister.
On August 18th, exactly one year after their wedding, Xiao Qi'an drafted an imperial edict.
Upon seeing the contents of the imperial edict, Yun Kui was slightly startled: "Isn't it a bit too early to establish a crown prince after only two months?"
Xiao Qi'an said, "Establishing a crown prince early can stabilize the court. In the future, his studies and martial arts training should all be conducted according to the standards of the crown prince. Besides, he is our only legitimate son. If we don't establish him, who else can we establish?"
Yun Kui smiled and said, "What if Mingxuan is just average, like the princes of Emperor Chunming? You won't regret it then?"
Xiao Qi'an said, "I will raise my children well."
Yun Kui said, "If Mingxuan is just not gifted, he won't get it no matter what, he's not cut out to be an emperor."
Xiao Qi'an sighed, "Don't worry, they inherited our looks, so they will naturally inherit my talents. You are also... quite clever. You survived in the Eastern Palace until now and even became Empress. You are the first person in history to do so. Your sons won't be too stupid."
Yun Kui didn't know if this was a compliment or a roundabout way of teasing her, "What if our son inherited your domineering and rude nature, and my greed and lust, wouldn't that be..."
Xiao Qi'an frowned and finally fell silent.
He did ponder this for a moment, but these shortcomings could be addressed and corrected early on. As the heir to the throne, he would certainly discipline Mingxuan strictly in the future and prevent him from going astray.
He was also keenly aware of something else that was even more important.
Since having children, she has focused most of her energy on them and is no longer as "lustful".
Or rather, he wasn't that "good" to him.
Therefore, he tried it again tonight. After taking a bath, he deliberately wore only a thin nightgown, with his chest slightly open, revealing what she used to love the most.
Upon entering, one could see her holding two small jade swords that Sheng Yu had bought for the child.
Xiao Qi'an frowned slightly, thinking to himself that Sheng Yu was becoming more and more irresponsible, spending all his time thinking about these things and going to the palace every few days. The two children now love watching him practice swordsmanship the most.
He slowly walked forward. Yun Kui noticed his gaze, looked up, and casually said, "It's getting chilly in autumn, why is Your Majesty dressed so lightly?"
Xiao Qi'an's face slowly darkened.
As expected, people's hearts are fickle.
He looked at her silently for a while, then said, "It's getting late, let's go to bed."
Yun Kui hummed in agreement, put away the little jade sword, and planned to make a knot tomorrow to tie it to the cradles of the two children.
After lying down, she listened quietly to the sounds coming from the next room.
Separated by a wall, it was actually not very easy to hear. She had originally intended to separate the bedroom with a gauze curtain so that she could hear the baby's movements at any time, but Xiao Qi'an said, "Do I also want to sleep in the same bedroom as the wet nurse?" So she had no choice but to give up.
As she was thinking, she actually heard what sounded like a baby crying from next door. She immediately opened her eyes, but wasn't sure if she was hallucinating. She lay in bed for a while, but decided to go and take a look. But as soon as she got up, the man suddenly rolled over and pinned her down, blocking her way.
She was pinned beneath him, unable to move her hands and feet. Meeting his deep, burning eyes, she swallowed hard and said, "You don't mean... the baby seems to be crying, I have to go check on him."
Xiao Qi'an said, "No one is crying."
As soon as he finished speaking, a faint cry could be heard.
Xiao Qi'an: "..."
Yun Kui: "..."
She tried to get up, but he pressed her down again. "Four wet nurses take turns watching over them. How can we let them go hungry? They'll be fine after they've been fed. Why do you have to worry about this?"
Yun Kui vaguely realized how well the little prince was growing, and subconsciously tucked in her belly. "I only gave birth two months ago, is that alright?"
Xiao Qi'an's tone turned slightly somber: "Given your past studiousness, shouldn't you have already figured out when you can do something and when you can't? Why do you still need to ask me?"
Yun Kui smiled guiltily and touched his chest muscles to reassure him, "I've been busy taking care of the kids every day and forgot."
Xiao Qi'an lowered his head and kissed her forcefully, until she was breathless and couldn't help but reach out to push him away. Only then did he bite her lips hard, punishing her for ignoring him these past few days.
Yun Kui, aroused by the kiss, still asked him with unease, "Is it really okay?"
Xiao Qi'an: "Let me see?"
Yun Kui hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
She knew he wouldn't mind; he had often kissed her there before. After giving birth, he stayed by her side in the delivery room and even personally wiped away the bloodstains. At first, she was a little reserved, but now she let him do as he pleased.
Xiao Qi'an lifted her skirt and carefully examined the injury. After a long while, she said in a hoarse voice, "The recovery is quite good."
Yun Kui subconsciously gripped the blankets tightly, and then saw him slowly lean down and kiss her, moistening her with his saliva.
She heard crying from the side room, mixed with the wet nurse's soothing voice. After a long time, it was time to change the baby's diaper again. The wet nurse got up to clean and change them, and seemed to feed them some milk. Then she gently sang a lullaby, slowly soothing them to sleep until dawn.
...
On August 20th, Xiao Qi'an announced to the world that he had appointed his eldest son, Xiao Mingxuan, as the crown prince.
The young prince was given high hopes, and even in his infancy, he began the path to becoming the heir apparent that Xiao Qi'an had meticulously paved for him.
The Crown Prince's Junior Tutor was a renowned Confucian scholar, the Junior Preceptor was the Grand Secretary Cai Heng, the Junior Guardian was his maternal grandfather Sheng Yu, who had been promoted to Minister of War, and the study companion was Shen Yanyu's son.
Fortunately, Xiao Mingxuan was precocious and resilient. At a young age, he already understood the heavy responsibility on his shoulders and studied and practiced boxing diligently every morning without ever slacking off.
Of course, he sometimes envied his younger sister, who could win the emperor and empress's praise by being sweet-talking and knowing how to use chopsticks to eat, while he had to recite poems and the Analects of Confucius without making a single mistake in order to get the emperor's approval, but he didn't get any rewards because that was what he was supposed to do.
But Xiao Mingxuan knew that he had to study hard and practice martial arts to be a good crown prince, so that his father and mother could be proud of him. In the future, he could better serve his father and mother and better protect his younger sister. In short, he would work hard!
...
It's August 18th again.
Xiao Mingxuan and Xiao Mingxian are both five years old. Reminded by their maternal grandfather, the two children each prepared a gift to celebrate their father and mother's fifth wedding anniversary.
Five-year-old Xiao Mingxian was fair-skinned and adorable, with a pair of big, dark eyes like water grapes, and a soft, sweet voice: "My brother and I have prepared congratulatory gifts for Father and Mother."
Xiao Qi'an and Yun Kui exchanged a smile. "What gift?"
Xiao Mingxian was busy in the kitchen early in the morning, with flour still on his cheeks, as he brought out the pastries he had made himself.
"My mother said that my father likes to eat pastries, so I made lotus flower pastries for my father and mother. I made them all by hand."
Xiao Qi'an picked up a crooked lotus-shaped pastry, took a bite, and the little girl probably thought the more sugar the better, but it was so sweet that it was cloying, with sugar crumbs in almost every bite. But he still smiled and nodded: "It looks good and tastes good. Mingxian is really amazing."
Yun Kui also took a bite and felt that His Majesty's ability to lie through his teeth was becoming more and more masterful, but she did not hesitate to praise her daughter: "Mingxian did a really good job, and Mother likes it very much!"
She took another bite, and suddenly something hard pierced her teeth. She frowned, took it out, and saw that it was a small gold pendant with two little figures, a man and a woman, carved on it.
Yun Kui was extremely surprised, and her eyes lit up.
Xiao Mingxian said, "Father said that Mother is a little money-grubber, so I asked Grandfather to have this pendant made at a gold shop. It's engraved with Father and Mother's likeness. Does Mother think it looks like them?"
Xiao Qi'an hadn't expected his daughter to have such a clever idea. He glanced at her and indeed, there was a resemblance of three parts.
Yun Kui stroked the little golden figure, her eyes slightly stinging: "Ming Xian is so thoughtful. Your mother will wear it every day from now on."
Xiao Mingxuan also took out his own painting, which depicted a family of four in the Imperial Garden. The Emperor and Empress were admiring the flowers hand in hand, he was sitting at a stone table reading, and his younger sister was skipping along the pond, holding a lotus flower in her hand, smiling.
Xiao Mingxuan studied calligraphy and painting under famous masters, and his skills were already quite impressive at the age of five. The couple exchanged a glance and both gave their approval.
As a result, Xiao Mingxian pointed to the little girl in the painting and said, "I just learned that! I love the little rascal, lying by the stream peeling lotus pods. Brother, are you saying that I am a little rascal?"
She had only just begun reading poetry and mostly didn't understand its meaning, which made Xiao Mingxuan both amused and exasperated: "Here, 'rascal' means playful and adorable."
Xiao Mingxian thought for a moment, then calmed down and said happily, "Then Father Emperor is a scoundrel, Mother Empress is a scoundrel, and Brother is a scoundrel. Our whole family are scoundrels!"
Yun Kui, Xiao Qi'an, and Xiao Mingxuan: "..."
————————
That concludes the daily bonus chapters! Next up is the "what if" scenario where both parents of the male and female leads are alive, starting this Thursday. Please continue to support us if you enjoy it! [Sprinkling flowers]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
