Mu Rong cleared his throat. “Cheng Cheng, I came to see A’Xi.”

Mu Xi rolled her eyes. “Mu Cheng, go back to your courtyard.”

Mu Cheng smiled sweetly. “A’Jie, I want to stay with Brother Mu Rong…”

“Mu Cheng!” Mu Xi glared at her. “Mu Rong and I have matters to attend to. Go back.”

Mu Cheng pouted. “Brother Mu Rong, I want to come too. Take me with you.”

Mu Rong pinched the bridge of his nose. “Cheng Cheng, it would be inconvenient to bring you along.”

Mu Cheng bit her lip.

Mu Xi paid her no further attention, took Mu Rong’s arm, and the two walked out of the side room shoulder to shoulder.

……

The villa.

The nanny spotted Mu Xi and Mu Rong and hurried out with Yi’an in her arms.

“Little An’an.” Mu Rong took the child from the nanny’s arms, his face filled with tender affection.

Mu Xi’s eyes curved softly as she pinched the little one’s cheek.

“A’Xi, after we are wed, let us adopt An’an under your name. We shall be his father and mother — how does that sound?” Mu Rong gazed at the little one in his arms with gentle warmth. “A’Xi, his mother died in premature childbirth because she saved you. We cannot let An’an grow up so small without a father or a mother.”

Mu Xi looked at the little one, who had been raised plump and fair, and felt a pang of bitterness in her heart.

The little one’s mother had been a handmaid at Mu Rong’s side. She had conceived a child with a manservant, who, frightened of punishment upon learning she was with child, had run away in a panic.

Mu Rong, kind-hearted as he was, saw that the mother was pitiful and yet capable in her duties, so he did not fault her and allowed her to remain in service at the prefecture residence.

But when she was still three months from her due date, she had, as usual, accompanied Mu Rong to the Minister of Revenue’s residence to visit Mu Xi. That day, assassins suddenly descended upon the estate.

In order to save Mu Xi, she had taken a sword thrust meant for her, causing her to go into premature labor. The little one was born, but she did not survive.

“A’Xi, we owe this to An’an.” Mu Rong’s voice was laced with sorrow. “If not for saving you, how would he have come to have no mother?”

“Mu Rong, but will the Prefect agree to let us adopt An’an?” Mu Xi felt as though her heart were being squeezed.

Indeed — had it not been to save her, the little one would not be without a mother. Every time Mu Rong said as much, guilt would press heavily upon her heart.

“A’Xi, once we are wed, we will tell Father that you had long been with child. When the time comes, we will simply bring An’an home as though newborn, and An’an will be our child in every proper and rightful sense.” Mu Rong held the little one’s tiny hand and waved it gently toward Mu Xi. “Our An’an will have a mother after all.”

The words of refusal that Mu Xi had been about to say, she swallowed back down.

She had intended to adopt An’an openly, without deceiving the Prefect or letting the outside world believe An’an was her own flesh and blood.

“A’Xi, put your heart at ease,” Mu Rong said. “In the future, everything that belongs to the Prefect’s household will belong to our children. It is only that An’an is too pitiable, which is why I wished to raise him under our names.”

Mu Xi paused for a moment, then nodded. “Very well.”

“Come, you hold him.” Mu Rong carefully transferred the little one into Mu Xi’s arms.

Mu Xi was slightly taken aback — ordinarily, Mu Rong would not let her hold the child, saying he feared it would tire her out.

The two remained at the villa until midday before Mu Rong reluctantly set An’an down and, taking Mu Xi’s hand, departed.

On the long street, Mu Xi tilted her head to look at the man walking beside her, holding her hand, and smiled. “Mu Rong, you really do love children.”

“Mm.”

“Then let us have several children in the future.” Mu Xi’s eyes were warm with a smile.

Mu Rong smiled but said nothing.

“Mu Rong?” Mu Xi shook his arm.

“A’Xi, I am afraid… I am afraid you will be like An’an’s mother — that after giving birth, you will leave.” Mu Rong’s voice trembled slightly. “A’Xi, for now, let it just be the one, An’an. All right?”

Mu Xi frowned slightly. “Mu Rong, that won’t happen. An’an’s mother failed to survive because she was saving me…”

“I am afraid I cannot protect you and the child well enough.” Mu Rong said slowly. “A’Xi, can we wait a few years?”

If she refused, he would find a way to ensure she could not conceive.

Xiao Yi had left saving her — how could he possibly have a child with Mu Xi.

“All right.” Mu Xi nodded helplessly.

At that very same moment, Mu Cheng pulled Yan Shiyao into the villa after Mu Xi and Mu Rong had left, knocked the nanny unconscious, and the two of them stood staring blankly at the little one lying in the cradle.

“Your sister already knows — this little baby is Mu Rong’s child,” Yan Shiyao said, frowning. “He brought your sister here to see the child himself. That shows your sister is in on it.”

She had been dragged along to trail behind Mu Xi and Mu Rong — did she have nothing better to do?

“Yaoyao, my sister absolutely does not know this child is Mu Rong’s. Mu Rong must have deceived her somehow.” Mu Cheng said with certainty.

If her sister knew that Mu Rong had fathered a child with his own personal handmaid, she would absolutely have broken off the engagement.

Yan Shiyao narrowed her eyes and said seriously, “Once your sister returns to the manor, have your handmaid go and inform both her and Mu Rong separately that the child has gone missing. Mu Rong will certainly panic. Then find a way to make him blurt out that the child is his.”

Mu Cheng’s eyes brightened. “Yaoyao, inform Mu Rong first, then wait half an hour before informing my sister. Time it so that when my sister is almost there, she can hear it with her own ears.”

Yan Shiyao said, “Mm.”

Mu Cheng lifted Yi’an from the cradle and handed him to Yan Shiyao. “Take him away. When evening comes, bring him back.”

Yan Shiyao hesitated briefly, then nodded.

Leaving the villa, Yan Shiyao hired a carriage and carried Yi’an to the Prime Minister’s residence.

Yaozhi Courtyard.

Yan Shiyao pressed her fingers to her aching temple and looked in exasperation at the endlessly crying and fussing Yi’an, already regretting the entire business.

“First Young Miss, where… where did this child come from?” Chunyi was frantically trying to soothe him.

Yan Shiyao rubbed her temples for a long while before finally saying, “Hold him. We are going to find Ningning.”

……

In the courtyard, Xuan Yanyu lounged lazily on the reclining chair with his eyes half-closed in contentment, while Yan Yunning stood behind him kneading his shoulders.

Ye Jian and Ye Chen stood idly to the side with nothing to do.

From this day forward, the Second Young Miss Yan would serve His Highness in their stead — until she had worked off the silver she owed His Highness.

“Tea.” The man let the single word fall slowly from his lips.

Yan Yunning shook her somewhat aching arm, poured a cup of tea, and held it out before him. Xuan Yanyu kept his eyes closed, making no move to raise his hand and take the cup.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, please have some tea,” Yan Yunning said with a light smile.

Xuan Yanyu shifted slightly and reached out to tap the corner of his own lips.

Yan Yunning stepped closer and, in perfectly good humor, held the cup up to his lips to feed him the tea.

“Pastries.” Having finished the tea, the man raised his arm and pointed at the pastries on the small side table.

Yan Yunning picked up a piece and held it to the man’s lips. Xuan Yanyu took a small bite, then lifted his eyelids to look at her. “Yan Yunning, why don’t you teach this Palace how to tie a jade pendant? What do you say?”

Yan Yunning’s lips curved faintly. “Does Your Highness the Crown Prince not know how? I thought I saw you tie one quite well the other day.”

The man flicked her on the forehead. “Tsk,” he said. “What do you know? This Palace wishes to learn the most beautiful tying method, to one day personally tie it for this Palace’s Crown Princess.”