Chapter 4: You can’t give birth to a younger sister just by kissing her.
As the sky grew darker, a tug-of-war ensued in the corridor.
Furious, Qiao Yue rushed straight to the study. An anxious Qiao Yin gritted her teeth and dragged her back, struggling for a full half-minute. Finally, Aunt Yao stepped in and together with Qiao Yin, dragged Qiao Yue back to the house.
Yao Ma was Song Baoyuan's wet nurse, who had watched her grow up and stayed by her side. Besides Song Baoyuan, she was the one whose words carried the most weight in the entire backyard.
Before entering the house, Nanny Yao first sent away the maids nearby, and as soon as she entered the room, she closed the door tightly.
Qiao Yin went to light the lamp, and the warm yellow light illuminated the profile of Song Baoyuan as she was looking at the account book at the table.
"Why are you all trying to stop me?" Qiao Yue asked angrily, "What will happen if I tear up the painting?"
"Alright!" Madam Yao frowned and scolded.
After taking the tinder, Qiao Yin hurried to Qiao Yue, tugged at her sleeve, and signaled her with her eyes to stop talking.
Qiao Yue couldn't hold it in any longer, "Are you just going to endure it like this?"
There was silence.
Aunt Yao sighed silently, walked to Song Baoyuan's side and patted her hand.
"I'm fine." Song Baoyuan comforted him in return.
The room was still not bright, hiding the sadness in her eyes.
She was so calm that Aunt Yao felt even more distressed. "My dear, since there is no one else in the room now, I will speak frankly."
"It is true that we were at fault in the marriage between the young lady and the son-in-law."
"What's wrong with him?" Qiao Yue interrupted angrily, "The son-in-law nodded and got married himself. Did anyone put a knife to his neck?"
Qiao Yin was about to cover her mouth, but hearing this, the pent-up resentment in her heart was aroused. "They say we are holding a favor hostage, but what about them? My uncle's friends, especially those from the Sheng family, have taken so much advantage of us by giving away so much money because of my uncle's generosity! If Madam were a little more stingy, their lives wouldn't be this easy!"
Madam Yao was helpless. "It's not that I don't support the young lady, but the facts are here. If all this were to be brought to light, who would be able to look good? It was like half-cooked rice, and we all thought it would be cooked after a few years. But now it's eaten even though it's not cooked. It's too late to regret it now."
"Luckily, I'm still full, so I won't feel sick if I don't chew. Given my son-in-law's character, even if he still has feelings for someone else, that's all he'll do. He won't do anything out of line. Everything's fine now, so there's no need to upset everyone over this. The most important thing is the young master and the young lady. When their parents are at odds, the ones who suffer the most are definitely the children."
Song Baoyuan looked normal, but she lowered her brows and stared at her folded hands. "I understand, Ma'am, don't worry."
She suddenly remembered that many years ago, when her father was bedridden, he held her hand in the same way to comfort her.
Dad said, "Daddy can only help you up to this point. From now on, you just have to live a good life."
She cried panic and helplessly, "But my brother doesn't like me."
That was the last time her father smiled at her. He assured her, "Our Baoyuan is such a good person. As time goes by, he will like you."
So, is it that the days haven't lasted long enough, or... she's not good enough.
"Just pretend nothing happened." Song Baoyuan said softly, glancing at the two maids, "You two, don't mention it again."
Qiao Yue was not convinced, and Qiao Yin was also depressed, but they still agreed obediently.
"yes."
*
In the yard, Jiang Chengyou was playing Cuju with Jiang Suisui.
The wet nurse stood by and stared at the child intently, afraid that if she was not careful, the child would run away again.
Jiang Suisui, under the instruction of her brother, happily went to pick up the Cuju ball. When she picked it up and looked up, she saw a red figure walking towards her. She immediately dropped the ball and ran straight towards the person.
"Daddy is back!"
Jiang Keyu squatted down just as she was about to pounce, picked her up and continued walking inside. "Have you been good at home today?"
"I'm a very good boy!" Jiang Suisui emphasized loudly.
Jiang Keyu couldn't help laughing.
"Daddy, will you tell me a bedtime story today?"
"Well, if you can eat dinner by yourself later without Mommy feeding you, Daddy will tell you a bedtime story, okay?"
Jiang Suisui touched his ear, as if thinking about whether this deal was worthwhile.
After thinking for a long time, he tilted his head and smiled secretly, "Okay, pinky promise."
"Pink pinky." Jiang Keyu cooperated and hooked her little finger.
Jiang Chengyou picked up his Cuju ball and when he saw his father, he not only did not greet him, but also hid in the house.
Jiang Keyu saw it, shook his head and didn't care.
The food was already served in the room. Jiang Keyu placed Jiang Suisui on the table and looked around. "Where's the Madam?"
"Madam was looking at the account book just now and accidentally spilled ink, so she went to the inner room to change clothes." The maid guarding the table replied.
Jiang Keyu nodded and bent down to remind him, "Daddy also needs to change his clothes. Please sit here and wait."
Jiang Suisui nodded like a chick pecking at rice.
Jiang Keyu was unbuttoning her official uniform as she entered the inner room, just in time to meet Song Baoyuan coming out after changing her clothes.
"I'm back."
"Um."
Song Baoyuan was wearing plain clothes, with only a few orchids on the lapels as a background, which made her look simple and beautiful.
She naturally took the official uniform handed to her by her husband and spread it out on the rack.
Jiang Keyu changed into a more comfortable dark green robe and asked casually, "When I came back, Jiang Chengyou was like a mouse seeing a cat when he saw me. Has he gotten into trouble again?"
"No." Song Baoyuan turned her back to him, "It's just that you're always mean to him, so of course he's afraid of you."
"I didn't mean to be mean to him." Jiang Keyu stared at his wife's back as he tied his belt. "It's just that he's so naughty. If I'm not strict with him, I don't know how much of a spoiled brat he'll become in the future."
"Bang!"
The sound of something falling and breaking could be heard from a distance. The couple looked at each other and walked out together.
Jiang Suisui, who was waiting for dinner at the table, opened her big innocent eyes. It was obvious that the accident did not happen here.
"You guys eat first." Jiang Keyu walked out again, "I'll go take a look."
"Um."
Song Baoyuan didn't care. She sat down next to Jiang Suisui and put some food into her small bowl.
Not long after, Jiang Keyu came back, followed by Jiang Chengyou with his head hung down.
Jiang Chengyou stepped over the threshold and stopped moving forward. He stood facing the wall, clasping his hands obediently.
"What's wrong?" Song Baoyuan couldn't help but frown when she saw him like this.
The nurse who had come with them replied, "Just now, the young master was playing Cuju in the room and accidentally knocked over two jars of Red Yanzui that Miss Qiaoyue brought back this morning. The master has punished the young master by making him face the wall and reflect on his mistakes."
Ten thousand taels of silver were just wasted.
"Jiang Chengyou, didn't I tell you not to litter in the house?" Jiang Keyu scolded harshly, "Isn't the yard big enough for you to play in? Do you know what you just did?"
Jiang Chengyou didn't dare to say a word.
Is he going to give his "good brother" some wine? Song Baoyuan unconsciously clenched her fists.
"It's just two jars of wine." She said softly, "Come and eat first."
Jiang Chengyou glanced at his father's expression.
"Stand still!" Jiang Keyu showed no mercy. Turning back, her tone softened. "You and Sui Sui eat first."
Song Baoyuan felt like there was a ball of cotton stuck in her throat, making her feel itchy, but she couldn't spit it out or swallow it, which made her anxious.
She said as calmly as possible, "It's not good for a child to be hungry."
"We have to teach him a lesson." Jiang Keyu looked at her son with a stern voice, "I'm starving with him, so I can't be considered mistreating him."
"he……"
"cough!"
Song Baoyuan wanted to persuade her again, but when she looked in the direction of the voice, Aunt Yao, who had reminded her, shook her head at her.
Jiang Keyu didn't pay attention to what was behind her and didn't notice the eye contact between them.
Forget it, Song Baoyuan said to herself, lowered her head and stopped interfering.
But he couldn't untie his frown, and didn't even notice that his daughter was unusually well-behaved while eating today.
*
The hour of Xu is the time to prepare for bed.
After taking a bath with her mother, Jiang Suisui huddled in a corner of the bed as if she was being punished, waiting for her mother to make the bed first.
While her mother's back was facing her, she quietly crawled under the quilt and squirmed.
"Awoo!" He suddenly jumped out and made faces at his mother.
Song Baoyuan was stunned, and held her in her arms, feeling both amused and helpless, and rubbed her furry head.
Jiang Suisui rubbed against me like a little kitten, "Mommy smells so good."
"Our ears of corn are also fragrant."
Jiang Suisui hugged her mother's arm, her dark eyes rolling around, "Mom!"
"Um?"
"Why aren't you smiling today?"
Song Baoyuan was slightly startled, and quickly pulled the corners of her mouth, "Mom is smiling."
"No!" Jiang Suisui stretched out two index fingers, poked the corners of his mother's mouth and pulled them up, "That's what it means to smile."
Song Baoyuan cooperated by raising the corners of her mouth and curving her eyebrows. "Is that right?"
"Um!"
The door creaked and both of them looked towards the door.
Jiang Chengyou, who had just finished his shower, walked awkwardly ahead, holding his little pillow. Jiang Keyu followed behind, also in her pajamas after showering, holding a quilt in one hand and closing the door.
Seeing Song Baoyuan, Jiang Chengyou felt like he had found a savior. He ran to the bed in small steps and climbed up nimbly. He pushed his sister aside and hid in his mother's arms.
Jiang Suisui glared at him in dissatisfaction.
"What's wrong, Jiang Chengyou?" Jiang Keyu walked over expressionlessly, "Are you afraid that I will eat you?"
Even though he had his sister blocking him in front and his mother protecting him from behind, Jiang Chengyou still didn't dare to say a word.
Song Baoyuan touched his face and said nothing.
"Tell a story! Tell a story!" Jiang Suisui was the only one who was cheerful, patting the quilt and urging them.
"Okay." Jiang Keyu responded, "Sui Sui will sleep next to Mom, Jiang Chengyou, let go and come over and sleep next to Dad."
The tone of the sentence kept changing. Jiang Chengyou, who felt that he was being treated differently, was very dissatisfied and finally said his first sentence of resistance since dinner, "I want to sleep next to my mother too!"
"come over."
"oh."
Jiang Chengyou couldn't muster up the courage a second time, so he obediently switched places with his sister and covered himself with the same quilt as his father.
Jiang Suisui and her mother shared the same quilt. She lay down obediently, blinking her bright eyes, waiting for the story to begin.
Song Baoyuan also lay down, with one arm on her daughter's waist to prevent her from kicking the quilt out of joy.
"Last time we talked about the story of Pangu creating the world, do you remember?"
"Remember!" Jiang Suisui began to kick wildly. "Pangu used his super powerful axe to chop the sky and the earth came into being. So, Daddy, how did humans come into being?"
Jiang Keyu tucked in the corner of the quilt and said, "Then today we will talk about the story of Nuwa creating humans."
"Legend has it that there were no humans in the world, and the goddess Nuwa felt very lonely. So she used yellow clay to mold little people in her own image. Then, she dipped a willow branch in pond water and sprinkled it on the little clay figures she had molded. A magical thing happened, and the little people came to life. Thus, humans came into being in the world."
Jiang Suisui blinked her big, innocent eyes and said, "Daddy, was I also made of mud by the goddess Nuwa?"
"Of course you are not. You and your brother are both born to father and mother."
"Then how did Daddy and Mommy give birth?"
Jiang Keyu: “…”
I was speechless for a moment.
"I know!" Jiang Chengyou suddenly chuckled, "Daddy and Mommy kissed, and then you swelled up in Mommy's belly."
Song Baoyuan: "..."
Jiang Suisui was so excited that she wanted to get up, but her mother held her down.
"Then Daddy and Mommy, can you kiss now and give me a little sister?"
"Ahem." Jiang Keyu pretended to be calm, "Sui Sui wants a younger sister?"
Jiang Suisui's eyes lit up, "Yeah!"
Song Baoyuan couldn't help but interrupt: "You are a younger sister yourself, and you still want a younger sister?"
"My brother has a sister, and I want a sister too!"
"Stop it."
Jiang Suisui was stunned, tears welling up in her eyes. She pouted, feeling extremely aggrieved, "Why can my brother have a sister, but I can't?"
"That's not what mother meant." Song Baoyuan said hurriedly.
"Woo woo!" Jiang Suisui bit her lower lip and cried.
Song Baoyuan's gentle coaxing was drowned out by her crying.
Seeing his wife at a loss and his daughter in tears, Jiang Keyu naturally could not sit idly by.
He reached out and wiped his daughter's tears, "Okay Sui Sui, of course you can have a sister."
"Then I want it now."
"Not now..."
“Woo woo!”
Cried even more sadly.
Jiang Keyu had no choice but to leave Jiang Chengyou who was watching the fun, pick up Jiang Suisui and sit up, patting her back and coaxing her patiently.
Song Baoyuan couldn't lie down anymore, so she sat up. She didn't know what else to do except wipe her daughter's tears.
"Okay, Sui Sui, don't cry." Jiang Keyu glanced at his wife unintentionally, and spoke with difficulty, "Don't listen to your brother's nonsense. Even if it's your parents or your dearest, it's impossible for you to have a sister so soon."
“Woo woo!”
"I... Daddy, Daddy promises you that I will try my best to give you a sister, okay?"
The crying suddenly stopped. Jiang Suisui wiped her eyes and choked, "Really?"
Jiang Keyu had mixed feelings, "Yeah."
Jiang Suisui turned around and looked at her mother again.
Song Baoyuan avoided his gaze and nodded silently.
"Then you two can kiss now."
Jiang Keyu's pupils trembled, and she tried to reason with her, "You can't give birth to a sister just by kissing."
"Then how can we give birth to a sister? What are you going to do now?"
Jiang Keyu: “…”
The couple's wandering gazes met without warning, and they hurriedly avoided each other, and awkwardness spread instantly.
Jiang Suisui looked back and forth at them, and gradually pouted again, "Woo woo!"
“Woo woo!”
Jiang Keyu covered Jiang Chengyou's mouth with a slap as he imitated her.
Song Baoyuan was already anxious, and the crying made her even more anxious. "Okay, okay, Sui Sui, stop crying."
“Stop crying!”
Jiang Suisui completely ignored him.
Song Baoyuan was anxious and suddenly leaned forward, her lips brushing Jiang Keyu's face.
Jiang Keyu and Jiang Suisui were both stunned.
"Okay, okay." Song Baoyuan stared at her daughter, not daring to look away. "Mom and Dad have already kissed each other. If you want a sister, you have to be obedient. Otherwise, no one will be willing to come into Mom's belly and be your sister."
Jiang Suisui was frightened. With wet eyes, she cried in a baby voice, "I'll be good."
"Then lie down and sleep."
Jiang Suisui nodded like pounding garlic, broke free from his father's arms, and huddled back into the quilt.
Song Baoyuan lowered her head to tuck the quilt in for her, then lay down herself and whispered, "Go to sleep."
Although she didn't look at him or mention anyone by name, Jiang Keyu knew that she was talking to him.
His cheeks were slightly hot and his ears were red, but he looked calm and lay down to sleep.
Jiang Chengyou sneaked into the quilt of his mother and sister.
It took Jiang Keyu a while to realize what was going on, and she reached out to pull him back.
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