The horses galloped wildly on the way to the capital. The cold spring night wind, mixed with a drizzle, made the two riders look disheveled.
Xie Lu gripped Xie Liwei's belt tightly, feeling as if the horse was going to throw him off.
Thinking of what Xie Liwei had just said, he really wanted to twist Xie Liwei's head off from behind and kick it like a ball!
That's his daughter!
His daughter!
This kid actually kept it from him, and not only that, he even dared to let his daughter have his child!
I'm so angry! I'm so furious!
As dawn broke, the city gates opened, and horses galloped into the city. The soldiers guarding the city, still half-asleep, shouted angrily at the departing figures, "Where are you...?"
Before he could finish speaking, his colleague covered his mouth, "Shh, those are people the commander ordered to be released, it's fine."
They just need to obey the orders given from above.
The horse galloped all the way to the gate of the Prince of Xiaoyao's mansion. Xie Liwei tightened the reins, and Xie Lu hurriedly dismounted. After only two steps, his legs went weak and he was about to fall to the ground. Fortunately, Qin Yu reacted quickly and caught him, then helped him into the courtyard.
Song Yaozhu's pregnancy was safe and smooth; she gave birth shortly after labor began. The midwife praised her for taking good care of herself, moving around frequently, and controlling her diet, unlike the ladies in large mansions who were overly concerned with their babies, leading to large pregnancies and difficult births.
Last night ended quickly; by the time I tidied up and lay down, it was already past midnight. Now that the wet nurse has fed the baby and I've brought her to her bedside to sleep, I feel at peace.
"Master Xie is here!" Granny Qin said happily.
Xie Lu walked to the door, stopped abruptly, straightened his clothes, his Adam's apple bobbed a few times, and then went into the room.
Seeing that the atmosphere was rather strange, Qin Mama came in and gave Xie Liwei a wink. She then led all the servants in the room out.
Only the three of them and two sleeping children remained in the room. Xie Lu looked at the woman lying on the bed. Her appearance was seven parts similar to Xie Wanqing's, but her temperament made her overlap with Xie Wanqing, making people overlook the remaining three parts of the difference.
"Wanwan?"
Song Yaozhu burst into tears. She reached out her hand to Xie Lu, who immediately took it.
"Father's Wanwan..." Xie Lu also burst into tears.
"Father..."
The father and daughter embraced and wept. Xie Liwei watched this scene, feeling a surge of warmth in his heart, yet also unable to suppress a pang of jealousy. He walked over and put his arms around both of them.
"Father..." Before he could finish speaking, Xie Lu pushed him away.
"You brat!" Xie Lu glared at him with red eyes. When they were on horseback, he had been thinking of twisting the boy's head off. Now, however, he was extremely grateful. He raised his arm and patted Xie Liwei on the back. "Thank you. If it weren't for you, how could our family be reunited?"
The three of them stopped crying and started laughing, holding hands and firmly believing that things would get better in the future.
News of Song Yaozhu giving birth to a son and a daughter quickly spread throughout the capital, and various families sent congratulatory gifts. Xie Lu took leave from the academy and spent his days playing with his granddaughter.
Perhaps because he raised daughters from a young age, he prefers girls a bit more.
“My granddaughter will definitely grow up to be a great beauty! Look at those small eyes and nose.”
Xie Mingyue curled her lips in disgust. "You're so old, can you please not talk like that? It's disgusting!"
Xie Lu snorted, "Are you going to look or not?"
Xie Mingyue leaned closer, her little face still wrinkled. How could she have foreseen the future from that?
"It's ugly, it's hideous." As soon as he finished speaking, the child in Xie Lu's arms yawned and opened his dark little eyes, staring intently at Xie Mingyue.
Xie Mingyue's heart melted instantly. She rubbed her hands together and mimicked Xie Lu's tone, saying, "Uncle was just talking about your maternal grandfather. He's so ugly!"
The Yin family member who had been watching everything: "..."
I can't be bothered with these idiots!
Madam Yin went to find Song Yaozhu with the booklet in her hand. She was currently in postpartum confinement, and the room was hot and stuffy, but she still opened a window to let in some fresh air so that the room would smell better.
"These are the congratulatory gifts sent by various families during this period. Consort Shu from the palace also sent a gift."
Song Yaozhu took the booklet and glanced at it. There was nothing special about it. Even if Consort Shu wanted to harm her, she wouldn't be foolish enough to target the gifts directly.
Yongle and Shen Qingyu also sent gifts. Yongle sent a pure gold peace lock, palm-sized, made of solid gold, with a unicorn pattern carved on one side and a bluebird pattern on the other.
Song Yaozhu felt the weight in her hand; she couldn't understand what Yongle was thinking, preparing such a heavy gift for the child.
"Oh my, Princess Yongle is so thoughtful! These gold locks must have been prepared a long time ago!" Madam Yin took the two locks and played with them for a moment. They were made of pure gold! Their heavy weight made a difference in her hands.
If it weren't for the fact that dragon and phoenix patterns can't be used casually, I'd probably have to carve dragon and phoenix patterns on both locks.
As she touched him, Madam Yin's brows suddenly furrowed.
"Sister-in-law?" Song Yaozhu noticed that something was wrong with Madam Yin's expression, so she waved away the maids in the room. "What's wrong, sister-in-law?"
Madam Yin held the two gold locks, hesitated for a moment, and said, "I own a gold shop myself. Not to brag, but I might not be able to tell the difference between very light gold and solid gold, but I can tell the difference in weight with just a touch. The weight of these locks is a bit off. And the color of the gold seems a little whitish..."
After saying these words, Madam Yin bit her tongue, afraid that her words might seem like she was deliberately trying to sow discord between the two of them.
Song Yaozhu weighed the lock in her hand, but couldn't tell the difference, so she called over Granny Qin and asked her to bring a pair of pruning shears to cut open the gold lock.
Upon hearing this, Granny Qin panicked for a moment and immediately went to do it.
The moment the gold lock was cut open, it was discovered that the lock was indeed solid, but it was solid on the inside, covered with a layer of gray stuff on the outside, and then covered with a layer of gold on the outside.
"What is this!" Song Yaozhu exclaimed in surprise.
"This servant will request the family physician to take a look!"
The imperial physician arrived quickly and declared, "This is mercury! If mercury is encased in gold, over time the mercury will seep through the gold. If someone wears it for a long period, they will suffer mercury poisoning!"
Granny Qin was so frightened that she threw the golden lock away, exclaiming, "How could the princess have such a vicious thought!"
Song Yaozhu took a deep breath. "It wasn't Yongle who did it."
If it were made by Yongle, she wouldn't have made the gold lock solid. A solid lock would be too heavy, and the child wouldn't wear it often. If she truly wanted to harm her child, making it hollow and lightweight would have been most suitable.
The person behind this wanted to exploit her trust in Yongle to harm the children. Unfortunately, Yongle insisted on a solid gold lock; otherwise, given her trust in him, she would surely have put it on both children!
Song Yaozhu, still shaken, grasped Madam Yin's hand, "Thank you, sister-in-law!"
Madam Yin was worried that she might have spoken carelessly and offended someone. Now, her guess has been confirmed—she saved two children!
"We're all family, no need for thanks."
Her voice trembled with lingering fear. The people in the capital were truly terrifying!
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