These little bastards, wait until you grow up, and see how I will deal with you! He thought secretly in his heart, but he still had to pretend to be a kind father on his face.
Song Zhe half-knelt down, trying to make himself look amiable: "My dears, Daddy just wants to talk to your mother, there is nothing else to it."
"I don't believe it! You just want to take my mother away!" Xiao Zimo puffed out his cheeks, his face full of distrust.
"Yes, Dad, you say that every time and then kick us out." Xiao Zixuan also nodded with an expression that said, "I've seen through you a long time ago."
Song Zhe was embarrassed. These little guys were so smart and hard to fool. His eyes rolled and he came up with a plan: "How about this, Daddy will tell you a story? After I finish the story, Daddy will leave and promise not to disturb your mother's sleep."
"Really?" Several children looked at him doubtfully.
"Of course it's true. When has Daddy ever lied to you?" Song Zhe patted his chest and promised, but secretly thought in his heart, I'll coax you first, and then I'll tell you when you fall asleep, hehe...
"Okay, then, what story do you want to tell?" Xiao Ziyan asked, blinking her big eyes.
"Just tell... just tell how your mother escaped from the bad guys and how she punished them later." Song Zhe cleared his throat and began to narrate her "glorious deeds". Of course, he inevitably added some exaggerations and described Chen Xiaoru as extremely heroic.
The children listened with great interest, occasionally exclaiming in amazement, completely captivated by Song Zhe's story. Chen Xiaoru and Xiao Siming watched from the side and couldn't help but smile at each other. This Song Zhe really has something.
Inside Pingyang Mansion, a pair of white-haired elders were nestled in an old rattan chair, enjoying the rare quiet moment. They were Song Zhe and Chen Xiaoru.
Song Zhe gently embraced Chen Xiaoru, letting her lean comfortably against his chest. He lowered his head and gazed at his wife's face, his eyes full of tenderness. Song Zhe took a deep breath, his voice choking a little: "Xiaoru, looking back on those days, if it weren't for you, I'm afraid I would have already sunk into that darkness, unable to extricate myself." He stroked Chen Xiaoru's silver hair and whispered: "I am already content to have you by my side in this life."
Chen Xiaoru raised her head, a sly glint in her eyes. She reached out and pinched Song Zhe's cheek, then said with a smile, "Back then, if you weren't so handsome, I wouldn't have come to your rescue!"
Song Zhe held Chen Xiaoru's hand and gently kissed the back of it. His brow furrowed slightly, his tone filled with deep remorse. "Well, I'm very fortunate that I still had a face that caught your eye back then, which is why I was able to keep you." Song Zhe's gaze dimmed, and his voice deepened. "What I regret most is not protecting you back then, letting you get schemed against, and we wasted four years."
"That's all in the past." Chen Xiaoru raised her head, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes, but she still had a gentle smile on her face. "In this life, I am really content and happy. I have you and the children."
After giving birth to quintuplets, Song Zhe asked the doctor to prescribe sterilizing medicine for her the next day, so Chen Xiaoru only gave birth to six children.
Song Zhe tightly grasped Chen Xiaoru's hand, his knuckles turning white from the force, and his voice trembled hoarsely, "Xiaoru, I have to go first." He took a deep breath and tried to suppress the reluctance in his heart. "After I leave, you must eat well, sleep well, and take good care of yourself. The one I am most worried about is you. The children have grown up and have their own families and children."
Although Song Zhe was given a body-strengthening pill, the poison eventually corroded his body.
Chen Xiaoru clutched his collar tightly with both hands and said, "Husband, you can't leave me. You know I'll be scared without you."
"Xiaoru, don't be afraid." Song Zhe patted her back gently, just like he did many years ago, soothing her frightened heart, his voice as gentle as ever.
But this gentle touch gradually lost its strength, becoming slower and lighter, until finally, the hand fell limply and finally stopped quietly at his side.
"Husband...Husband..." Chen Xiaoru called out twice, but the man in her arms didn't respond. She knew that the man who said he would protect her for the rest of her life had finally left this world before her.
"System, let's go." Chen Xiaoru closed her eyes and said to the system in her heart.
"Okay, host." The system's cute voice sounded.
Xiao Ziyan held her grandson's hand, humming a little tune as she walked briskly into the yard. Her clear voice was as sweet as a mountain spring: "Dad, Mom, I've brought Qing'er to see you!"
In the past, whenever her voice rang out, her parents would always come out with a smile, teasing Xiao Qing'er, and the yard would be filled with laughter. But today, it was unusually quiet.
A trace of uneasiness passed through Xiao Ziyan's heart. She quickened her pace and walked into the house. She saw her parents sitting side by side on the old rattan chair, snuggling tightly together, as if they were asleep.
"Dad, Mom?" Xiao Ziyan called softly and walked closer.
Dad and Mom still had their eyes closed, showing no reaction. Xiao Ziyan's heart skipped a beat, and a sense of foreboding washed over her. She reached out her hand, trembling, and touched Song Zhe's nose. It was icy cold, with no sign of life! She hurriedly touched Chen Xiaoru's nose, but there was also no sign of life!
"Dad! Mom!" Xiao Ziyan could no longer control herself, her shrill cries shattering the silence. "Wake up! Look at Yan'er!"
At this moment, Xiao Siming heard his sister's heart-wrenching cry, and knowing that something was wrong, he rushed in in two steps at a time.
"Zi Yan, what's wrong?" Xiao Siming asked anxiously. His eyes swept over his parents who had their eyes closed, and he already understood something in his heart.
"Brother, Mom and Dad...they're gone..." Xiao Ziyan burst into tears, her knees softened, and she fell to the ground.
Xiao Siming was struck by lightning. He stood there for a moment, then suddenly rushed to his parents, his hands trembling as he repeated his sister's actions. The cold touch completely shattered the last shred of hope in his heart. He took a step back, his knees falling heavily to the ground with a dull sound, tears welling up in his eyes: "Dad! Mom! How could you... How could you be so cruel and abandon us like this!"
The second, third, and fourth brothers, who had arrived shortly after, also fell to their knees upon seeing this scene, their cries piercing the heavens, their grief stricken. Their cries, like the blood-curdling cuckoo's cry, were mournful and desolate, echoing for a long time in this courtyard that had once been filled with joy.
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