After finishing their meal, Mother played with the three children. Su Ling and Xi Zhi especially loved listening to Mother talk. They stared at her with wide eyes, following her movements.
Yu'er stayed next to me, occasionally babbling a few words in his baby talk. Xie Yuancheng recently bought me some picture books, and I showed them to Yu'er. He really likes the colorful patterns now.
"Mother~aunt~"
"Auntie?" I craned my neck to look at the auntie he was talking about. It turned out to be a girl in a painting. "Yu'er, you can recognize people now. Her name is Jiu Xuan Nu."
"Nine-Nine Ni~"
I kissed his little face and gently leaned on his little shoulder to teach him to recognize words. Yu'er was very attentive, and I could understand a sentence or two of what he said.
"Yu'er wants to study now!" Mother said, rocking Xizhi's bed and smiling at us.
When Yu'er heard his mother's voice, he tried to struggle to get out, but I held him and wouldn't let him go. Yu'er then started to roll around in my arms.
"Yu'er, you'll be two years old in a few months. You can't always throw a tantrum when you're unhappy."
"Mommy~ Waaah." Yu'er seemed to be trying to get me to give in by crying. I tickled his armpits, and he laughed, his giggles sounding particularly crisp.
Su-Ling watched us from the side, holding a bottle of milk. I would occasionally shake the bed for her, and whenever the bed shook, she would grin.
However, my mother said that a baby's crib shouldn't be rocked all the time, otherwise the baby will suffer later.
"Yu'er~" Father and Xie Yuancheng came in. Upon hearing his grandfather's voice, Yu'er ran faster than a rabbit.
I don't know how he runs, he can run so fast without falling.
Yu'er snuggled into her father's arms and started talking to him. All I could hear was his laughter; the rest I had to guess.
But seeing Yu'er like this now, I'd feel a bit more at ease if Xie Yuancheng and I left. I hope those three little ones won't cause their parents too much trouble and won't be too naughty.
I'm worried about problems if I leave early, so I want to go to sleep early. Ever since Yu'er slept with us last time, she's been coming to our room to sleep every few days.
I was planning to get a good night's sleep tonight, but Yu'er kept holding my hand and asking me to talk to him. I told him stories, and I fell asleep while I was telling them.
When I woke up it was the middle of the night. As soon as I opened my eyes, I felt little claws touching my face. I grabbed them, and Yu'er giggled beside me.
"Yu'er, why aren't you asleep in the middle of the night?" I turned on the bedside lamp. I didn't dream tonight, which means Xie Yuancheng's route was correct.
"Daddy~ Daddy~" Yu'er pulled my hand to look at Xie Yuancheng. He was sleeping soundly tonight. I held Yu'er in my arms.
"Shh! Yu'er, let your father get some sleep."
Yu'er looked into my eyes and nodded. He looked so adorable when he smiled. I leaned against the pillow and told him a story.
"Mommy~" Yu'er rolled over and almost fell off the bed. I was startled awake and quickly hugged him in my arms. He was soft, sweet and cute.
"Hehe~" He thought I was just playing with him. I patted his little bottom, and Yu'er laughed even harder.
"You and your son are still playing in the middle of the night." Xie Yuancheng also woke up, and his half-open eyes looked particularly amusing.
"It's all Yu'er's fault. He teases me all the time, and he smiles so cutely."
"I'll coax him." Xie Yuancheng took Yu'er from me and told me to turn off the light: "Good boy, it's dark now, you need to go to sleep, otherwise you won't grow tall!"
I leaned against him and chuckled, "You can tell he was told that when he was a kid."
Yu'er rolled around twice in the middle. He was so happy tonight that he was giving us a hard time.
"Yuancheng~ You still say you're omnipotent? Go and put our son to sleep." I yawned. If I don't sleep well, I won't have any energy tomorrow.
Xie Yuancheng leaned over and kissed the corner of my mouth: "It's all because you stay up late at night, and our son is following suit."
"No way! I woke up and found Yu'er touching my face, so I turned on the light."
Yu'er heard the sound and crawled over again. His eyes were big and bright, and with the moonlight outside, he looked like a little elf.
Xie Yuancheng held Yu'er in his arms, refusing to let go no matter how much he struggled, and gently patted his back. Because no one was talking to Yu'er, he actually fell asleep.
"He truly lives up to his reputation as a marquis; he can even lull someone to sleep with this."
"Should I try to comfort you too?"
"I don't need to. Lie down a bit, so you don't press on Yu'er."
“He’s so small, how much space can he take up? Ying’er, come a little closer.”
I moved a little closer, and Xie Yuancheng reached out and took my hand, which calmed him down. The older one is always a handful, and the younger one is always causing trouble.
I didn't dream for two nights in a row before I agreed to leave with Xie Yuancheng tonight. I spent the whole day looking after the three children; they need to sleep four or five times a day.
Seeing that I was playing with him all day, Yu'er started making a fuss everywhere, wanting to go to the yard, the backyard, and the pond to see the lotus leaves, and I took him there.
"Hehe~ Mother~" Yu'er held my hand and looked up at me from time to time. I put a small wildflower behind his ear.
"Yu'er is so handsome." I clapped my hands beside him, and he clapped along with me. When he's not making a fuss, he's a bit silly, and he imitates everything the adults do.
Xie Yuancheng and his father were talking about something I had never heard of before. I'll ask them properly before we set off.
My mother said she prepared some things for me to take on the journey. I noticed that she had a few gray hairs. I told her to try to think positively, as she still has three little ones to take care of.
“Ying’er, no matter how old you are, in your mother’s heart you will always be a child.”
"Mom, I'm not that old to begin with. It's just that I got married and had children too early, so I feel like I'm old."
My mother was amused by me, and Yu'er, who was standing next to her, cooperated by holding her hand. He laughed and drooled, so I took a handkerchief to wipe his mouth.
"Yu'er, you're already one year and seven months old, why are you still drooling?"
"Hehe~" It would be amazing if he knew to reply to me.
"Ying'er, you must listen to Yuan Cheng this time. Don't act alone, and don't look at those girls and boys indiscriminately."
"Mother, don't listen to Xie Yuancheng's nonsense. I'm not that kind of loving. I already have a headache dealing with him, how could I dare to provoke outsiders? Besides, these three little ones are all wonderful, I can't bear to part with any of them."
"That's good. I was worried that you would dress as a man again this time, just like before, as you know."
"I understand~" I haven't worn men's clothes in a long time. I'm used to wearing women's clothes now, and I don't know what it would feel like to wear men's clothes.
"Mother~" Yu'er started to whine and beg me, thinking I was going to take him out.
"Yu'er, stop making a fuss. Your father and mother are right here in the house. We'll take you out of the manor to play when you're a little older."
Actually, things were much calmer in Dazhao when the children could go out whenever they wanted, unlike now, where we have to worry about them even just going out. Seeing that I wasn't leaving, Yu'er stayed close to me, listening to her mother and me talk.
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