Li Mai quickly stood up to greet him and saw the little guy holding his stone horse in his arms, his face covered in tears.
Upon seeing her, the little one cried even harder, "Auntie, bad person, stealing Daddy!"
She cried and complained, and even gave her little stone horse to her aunt, asking her to protect it for her.
Li Mai took it with a bewildered look, glanced at her older brother who was slowly following behind, and roughly understood what was going on.
She first helped protect Shi Xiaoma, then wiped away her nephew's tears with a handkerchief and gently comforted him, "Fu Bao, don't cry. With your aunt here, no one can take your father away."
She knew that Fu Bao treated Shi Xiaoma like her father, but she didn't plan to do anything about it; that was something her older brother should be busy with after he came back.
He and Fu Bao had been separated for over a year. From birth until now, Fu Bao had no memory of him, only the title "Daddy" and the stone horse that he had given her. Only after he became familiar with the child could he correct this.
Fu Bao was easily appeased by her aunt's words. Li Mai stood up, holding the stone horse in one hand and Fu Bao's hand in the other, and looked at Yun Chang who was walking towards her.
"Big brother just got back?" Li Mai asked with a smile.
When Yun Chang saw that she was home, she smiled and hummed in agreement, "Yes, I just got back. Zhou Quan isn't home?"
"He's not here. He went out to check on the preparations at the inn." After saying this with a smile, Li Mai invited Yun Chang to sit at the table under the shade of a tree in the courtyard. After having someone make tea, she put her arm around Fu Bao and sat down on the other side.
Yun Chang glanced at Fu Bao and briefly explained what had just happened. Li Mai smiled and said, "Since you were away this past year, Shi Xiaoma has been your substitute, accompanying Fu Bao as her father as she grows up."
“Every night when he goes to sleep, Shi Xiaoma needs to be placed next to his pillow where his little hands can reach him before he can sleep soundly,” Li Mai said softly.
“Now that you’re back, try staying with him until he falls asleep at night before leaving, and see if things gradually get better,” Li Mai advised him.
"I understand," Yun Chang replied, knowing what to do.
Li Mai has more experience than him in raising children.
Li Mai then said to Fu Bao, "Fu Bao, this person is called Yun Chang. He is your father, your family. He's not trying to take your father away from you. He's a great general and a prince. You should call him Father, understand?"
Fu Bao understood, but didn't say anything.
He had never used the title "Father" before, and he wasn't used to it, so he didn't open his mouth.
Yun Chang smiled and glanced at Li Mai. That would be fine. Let him call her "Father" first. It's okay if he's a little unfamiliar. Once he's older and more familiar with her, he'll naturally understand.
Instantly, he felt better and waved to Fu Bao, "Fu Bao, come here. Your father brought you a gift when he came back. Do you want it?"
Upon hearing about the gift, which any child would love, Fu Bao nodded. He glanced at the stone horse that Li Mai was watching over for him, knowing it wouldn't get lost, and then walked over to Yun Chang's side.
Yanbao and Yubao had already washed their hands. Hearing that there were gifts, they ran over and stood close to Limai. "Mom, who is this?"
Yun Chang looked at them with a smile. These two kids can speak so fluently now?
“Do you remember your uncle? This is your uncle. He’s a great hero. He can ride a horse and fight bad guys. Don’t you like heroes the most? Go and call him uncle!” Li Mai said to her two children with a smile.
"uncle!"
"uncle!"
Yanbao and Yubao each called out "Uncle" in a clear voice and then went to Yunchang's side.
Yun Chang's heart softened at being called that, and she softly hummed in agreement, "When your uncle saw you last year, you were about the same age as Fu Bao. I never imagined you'd grown so much!"
"Hehe!" The two babies chuckled, because when they didn't know how to respond to someone's question, they would just chuckle back.
When Fu Bao saw her older siblings coming over, her father started talking to them and ignored her in his arms. She immediately became anxious because she hadn't received her gift yet!
"Father, Father King!" Fu Bao tried calling out to his father.
Yun Chang heard this, looked down at Fu Bao nestled in his arms, and his eyes stung with tears. His son had finally called him.
"Mmm, good boy!" Yun Chang raised her hand and patted her son's head, responding with a soft laugh.
"Xuanwen, bring me the gifts I brought for the children," Yun Chang ordered.
Xuanwen responded and turned to leave.
Soon, Xuanwen arrived with three guards, each carrying a cloth-covered object. They placed the objects in the courtyard one by one before turning and leaving.
Yun Chang went over herself, lifted the cloth covering the outside, and saw three bamboo cages inside, with three parrots flying around inside.
"Oh, it's a myna!" Yanbao exclaimed excitedly, then plopped down on the ground, her eyes fixed on the cage.
Following Yanbao's example, Yubao and Fubao also lay down on the ground to watch the parrots inside.
Li Mai covered her forehead.
“Yanbao, this is a parrot. Mynas are black,” Limai corrected her daughter.
Yun Chang was stunned by the actions of the three children. How could they be so unhygienic, lying directly on the ground? Fortunately, her sister's yard was paved with bricks and the ground was clean and dust-free.
"Fu Bao, Fu Bao!" Suddenly, the parrot in front of Yan Bao called out twice.
"Wow, it's calling for Fu Bao! Fu Bao, come quick, it's calling you!" Yan Bao exclaimed excitedly, stood up, and made way for Fu Bao.
Fu Bao scrambled to his feet and ran over, then lay down again, excitedly shouting, "Say it!"
"Fu Bao, Fu Bao!" the parrot called out again, much to the parrot's delight.
"Auntie, it will be called Fu Bao!" Fu Bao excitedly told Li Mai.
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