Upon hearing this, the midwife immediately came over with the baby in her arms, handed the soft, tiny creature to Su Fuliu, and said with a smile, "It's a little prince."
Su Fuliu was taken aback for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh and say, "It really is a younger brother."
"Good for you, little brother. This way, Aunt Xu won't have to suffer anymore," Feng Muting said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, the Emperor Emeritus turned to look at Feng Muting and glared at him fiercely. Feng Muting touched the tip of his nose and gave an awkward smile.
It was also Su Fuliu's first time holding a newborn baby, and she was incredibly amazed: "It's so soft!"
Feng Muting raised an eyebrow, looking at the red, wrinkled little one with a look of disdain: "Can it be as soft as Liu Baoruan?"
Su Fuliu glared at him, then slowly walked around with the little one in her arms: "Father, have you thought of a name for the child?"
The Emperor Emeritus replied, "My daughter has already decided that if it's a boy, she'll be named Feng Muqing, and if it's a girl, she'll be named Feng Muyu."
"So that means the child's name is Feng Muqing." Su Fuliu looked at the wrinkled little guy in her arms and smiled.
After the postpartum period ended, the Emperor Emeritus took Xu Jiaolong on a long trip, ostensibly to relax after childbirth, leaving Feng Muqing, the baby, to be cared for by Su Fuliu and Feng Muting.
Although a wet nurse was taking care of him, Su Fuliu and Feng Muting couldn't just ignore everything. Every time Feng Muting finished his morning court session, Su Fuliu would wait for him in the imperial study and help him review the memorials. After they finished, the two of them would go to see the little baby together.
"Little Qing'er, your royal brother has come to see you. Come here, let your royal brother give you a hug and let your royal brother see if you've gained weight." With that, Feng Muting picked up Feng Muqing.
Su Fuliu watched with a pounding heart: "Tinglang, be careful! Do you even know how to hold someone? Be gentle!"
"Don't worry, don't worry, you won't fall." Feng Muting carried Feng Muqing as they walked, muttering to himself, "You brat, grow up quickly, the sooner you grow up, the sooner I'll be free, and I can live a carefree life with my Liu Bao without a care in the world."
Su Fuliu laughed and said, "By the time he grows up, we'll be old too, won't we?"
"What do you mean 'old'? When he grows up, your Tinglang will still be in his prime. Liu Bao, don't worry. Even then, you won't lack happiness. Your Tinglang will still have the ability to keep you in bed all day long," Feng Muting said with a wicked smile.
Su Fuliu blushed and was about to scold him when she saw his expression change. She quickly asked, "What's wrong, Tinglang?!"
Feng Muting's lips twitched, and he had an urge to throw the brat in his arms away: "This brat peed!"
He felt a warm sensation all over his body, followed by a strong odor. His lips twitched even more violently: "That brat even pooped!"
Su Fuliu laughed so hard she could barely stand up straight, tears streaming down her face: "Well done, Xiao Qing'er! Tinglang, you always bully me, look, even Xiao Qing'er couldn't stand it anymore, so she taught you a lesson for me."
"..."
The wet nurse quickly came over and took the child from Feng Muting's arms, then took him to change into clean clothes.
Su Fuliu was still laughing, but Feng Muting just pursed his lips, took a few steps over, and pulled Su Fuliu into his arms.
"You stinky bastard, let go of me! You stink!" Su Fuliu said, pinching her nose on purpose.
"If we're going to stink together, that's what makes a good couple," Feng Muting said, hugging him even tighter.
The sun shines brightly, happiness is just right. The End.
Chapter 1 Extra: Starry Night
Gu Xingchen followed Wen Hongye to Lijiang and returned to the Gu King's residence.
Looking at this familiar place, Wen Hongye couldn't help but tear up.
My heart is filled with guilt.
“Master, Hongye is back... Hongye will never leave again.”
Gu Xingchen looked at him, thought for a moment, and said, "Hongye, let's clean this place up together. Look, it's been so long since anyone has lived here, it's all dusty. Let's wipe it clean, and this will be our home from now on."
"Mm." Wen Hongye nodded, dispelling her sadness, and led Gu Xingchen to fetch water to wipe the table and sweep the floor, cleaning the dusty house until it was spotless.
"Is this your old room?" Gu Xingchen asked, looking at the newly renovated room.
Wen Hongye nodded: "Mm..."
Gu Xingchen then grinned foolishly: "From now on, this will be our room."
Wen Hongye looked at him, her heart filled with emotion: "Xingchen, thank you. You are the only one in this world who understands me the most. Even if I don't say anything, you can guess what I'm thinking."
When he parted ways with Su Fuliu and the others, all he wanted to do was return to Lijiang, but he didn't say it out loud.
He was worried that Gu Xingchen wouldn't be used to living there, not only because he was afraid she wouldn't adapt to the local climate and environment, but also because he was afraid she wouldn't be accustomed to the customs and traditions of Xinjiang.
Therefore, he never mentioned to Gu Xingchen that he wanted to go back to Lijiang.
It's unclear how Gu Xingchen figured out his thoughts, but when they parted ways with Su Fuliu and the others, she offered to take him back to Lijiang.
He was stunned for a long time.
He didn't come to his senses until he actually returned to Xinjiang.
"Of course I understand you best, just as you understand me best, because we are inseparable." Gu Xingchen smiled, then reached out and grabbed the small bamboo basket that Wen Hongye never took off except when bathing or sleeping, and shook it. "The candy is almost gone again, shall we go out and buy some? And while we're at it, let's buy some oil, salt, firewood and rice. This will be our home from now on, a home for life, and oil, salt, firewood and rice are indispensable."
Wen Hongye grasped his hand and smiled, "Are we just buying oil, salt, firewood, and rice? We also need soy sauce, vinegar, and tea. Today is our first day back, so we need to have plenty of meat and fish. I'll cook for you today and show off my skills. Let's prepare a sumptuous dinner to welcome ourselves back!"
"Alright, I want to see how good your skills are. If they are, can I slack off from now on?" Gu Xingchen grabbed his hand and led him outside.
“Then it seems I need to keep a couple of tricks up my sleeve, otherwise I won’t be able to ‘eat and be lazy’ anymore,” Wen Hongye replied.
"Alright, alright, don't worry. Show off your skills and let me have a good meal. I'll cook delicious meals for you for the rest of my life, and I promise I won't slack off." Gu Xingchen's gaze was fixed on the road beneath her feet and on Wen Hongye.
Looking at Gu Xingchen, whose eyes were full of him, Wen Hongye blushed and said with dissatisfaction, "Don't just look at me, watch where you're going, or you'll fall."
"Who can blame me for having such beautiful red leaves? I can't take my eyes off them once I see them," Gu Xingchen chuckled foolishly.
Wen Hongye snorted: "It's hard for a person to learn to be good, but it's really easy to learn to be bad. You weren't like this before. Look at you now. Who did you learn all these witty remarks from? Did you learn them from Prince Ting or from that Guard Xie?"
Chapter 2 Side Story: Starry Night (Part 2)
Gu Xingchen coughed lightly, then scratched the back of his head: "No..."
He was a little frustrated. Had he said something wrong? Why did Su Yan seem to enjoy Xie Chen's flirtatious words, but when it came to him, Wen Hongye "scolded" him for going astray?
He thought about it carefully, realizing that Xie Chen was always flirting with Su Yan, so maybe he hadn't flirted with him enough, which was why Wen Hongye said that? It seemed he needed to flirt with him more.
Seeing his thoughtful expression, Wen Hongye asked, "If you don't have anything in mind, then you don't. What are you daydreaming about?"
Gu Xingchen met Wen Hongye's eyes, nervously licked her lips, and then cleared her throat, saying, "I was thinking, should we go buy some more wine later?"
"Buy alcohol? Aren't you not very good at drinking?" Wen Hongye asked, looking puzzled.
"Drinking a little won't hurt."
"No, why do you suddenly want to drink?"
"Let's drink... to liven things up." Gu Xingchen blushed as she finished speaking.
Wen Hongye was taken aback for a moment, then looked at Gu Xingchen, who was blushing, and immediately laughed: "I think it's not drinking to liven things up, but to embolden yourself, isn't it?"
Gu Xingchen paused for a moment: "No, do I need to muster courage for this..."
"Then why are you blushing?" Wen Hongye retorted.
"Well, well... drinking to liven things up, I... I wanted to..."
Wen Hongye looked at the stammering Gu Xingchen and shook her head: "What's wrong with you? Why are you stuttering like this? What are you thinking about that's making it so hard for you to speak?"
“Oh dear, you’ll know once we buy the wine and drink it tonight. I can’t bring myself to say it,” Gu Xingchen replied.
Wen Hongye was even more puzzled. What could be so difficult to say? He chuckled and said, "You can only say it after drinking alcohol. Isn't that just drinking to embolden yourself?"
In a panic, Gu Xingchen said, "No, I just wanted to have a drink with you and experience the feeling of being slightly tipsy. I've heard that when you're slightly tipsy, you know, it feels very different, cough..."
But actually, Wen Hongye wasn't wrong. He just wanted to use alcohol to embolden himself and say some flirtatious things that he wouldn't normally say.
Upon hearing this, Wen Hongye immediately frowned.
Gu Xingchen thought he was angry, so she quickly coaxed him, "I, I'm not, no, Hongye, don't be angry, I just... well, I won't drink anymore."
Wen Hongye snorted, "Xingchen, you've really gone 'bad'!"
"I didn't, I didn't go astray, I...I...tsk, I just...okay, I was wrong." Gu Xingchen felt like crying. Was he too stupid to learn, or was Wen Hongye too hard to win over?
Xie Chen's flirting skills and words come so easily to him, so why is it so difficult for him?
He regretted not secretly seeking Xie Chen's advice.
"Where did we go wrong?" Wen Hongye asked.
"You shouldn't learn such irrelevant things."
"Hmm, it's good that you know you're wrong. I'll punish you by not letting you touch me tonight." Wen Hongye nodded.
Gu Xingchen was taken aback: "Huh?"
"Any objections?" Wen Hongye looked at him.
He immediately shook his head: "No objection, no objection. There's a candy vendor up ahead, I'll go buy you some!"
Wen Hongye smiled and followed.
After paying for the candy, Gu Xingchen kept stuffing candy into Wen Hongye's small bamboo basket until it was full. He then stuffed the extra candy into his larger bamboo basket.
"Um... Hongye, how about we change the punishment? How about I not eat tonight?" Gu Xingchen peeled a piece of candy and held it to Wen Hongye's lips, asking with a pitiful expression.
Chapter 3 Side Story: Starry Night (Part 3)
Wen Hongye ate the candy, which made Gu Xingchen think that he had agreed, so he smiled and said, "I knew Hongye was the best."
"What's there to be happy about? I didn't agree to that." Wen Hongye ate her candy and turned to walk away.
“Hongye…” Gu Xingchen immediately followed, looking aggrieved.
Afterwards, the two bought a lot of things, but Gu Xingchen didn't let Wen Hongye take any of them.
After arriving home, Gu Xingchen quickly put her things down, panting as she shook her sore arms, then looked longingly at Wen Hongye who had come over to unpack.
"Red Leaf..." he called out weakly.
Wen Hongye glanced at him and then said, "Why are you looking at me? Take the things to the kitchen."
"Oh." Gu Xingchen hurried over, taking the vegetables and rice, while Wen Hongye took the oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.
After arriving in the kitchen, Gu Xingchen put down her things and said, "I'll help you."
Wen Hongye didn't say anything, she just nodded.
The two got busy; Gu Xingchen picked and washed the vegetables, while Wen Hongye chopped and stir-fried them.