For some reason, seeing Bai Qingyan’s ears even redder than before, Xiao Rongyan felt somewhat nervous. He sat up straight and arranged the hem of his robe properly.

Bai Qingyan held the brocade box and stood before Xiao Rongyan, opening it…

Inside was a pouch embroidered with a pair of wild geese. The embroidery wasn’t particularly exquisite, but it was very fine and dense. One could see that the person who embroidered the pouch had put great care into it. In the lower right corner was also embroidered the character “Yan.”

“This is… You embroidered this yourself?” Xiao Rongyan couldn’t hide his joy. He looked up at Bai Qingyan, then reached out to take the pouch from the brocade box. Only then did he discover the pouch was quite heavy, seeming to contain something inside. Like a child who had discovered some novel toy, his eyes couldn’t conceal his excitement as he asked: “What’s inside?”

Bai Qingyan only smiled without speaking. Xiao Rongyan felt through the pouch and thought there was a piece of jade inside. Opening the pouch… a jade cicada appeared before Xiao Rongyan’s eyes. It was a white jade cicada that, while similar in size and very much like the one Xiao Rongyan had given Bai Qingyan, was not the same piece.

“A jade cicada?” Xiao Rongyan’s usually deep, pond-like eyes didn’t hide his delight and smile. “You carved this yourself?”

Whether it was the jade cicada or the pouch, the gift for Xiao Rongyan—even down to the smallest thread—was all prepared by Bai Qingyan’s own hands…

Bai Qingyan didn’t want Chun Tao and the others to discover it, afraid they would insist on helping her. So she kept the embroidery thread and pouch in this brocade box, taking it out to embroider a few stitches during breaks from reviewing memorials. After finally finishing the pouch with great difficulty, she then set about selecting jade stone.

The jade cicada Xiao Rongyan had given her was made of such pure, nearly flawless jade that it was truly difficult to find. After finally locating jade of somewhat decent quality, Bai Qingyan had to learn from scratch how to carve jade.

It must be said that while Bai Qingyan was skilled at horseback riding and archery, handling embroidery thread and carving jade stones… was like asking Bai Qingyan to trim flower branches—it was truly difficult for her.

She ruined countless pouches… not to mention her fingers being pricked by needles countless times. This originally good piece of jade was cut into many pieces, exhausting all of Bai Qingyan’s resources before she achieved this satisfactory jade cicada.

“How did you know I carved it?” Bai Qingyan placed the brocade box aside and sat down next to Xiao Rongyan, lifting her hem. “Perhaps I had someone else carve it!”

Xiao Rongyan held the jade cicada and pouch close to the lamp, examining them repeatedly with obvious fondness, saying softly: “With such poor carving skills, this should be A’Bao’s first time carving jade…”

Hearing this, Bai Qingyan reached out to snatch the jade cicada, but Xiao Rongyan grasped her hand and turned to look at Bai Qingyan, who was feigning embarrassed anger at him.

The candlelight swayed gently, illuminating Bai Qingyan’s exquisite and charming features. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he slowly moved closer to Bai Qingyan, wanting to kiss her, his voice low and solemn: “I love A’Bao’s gift very much. This is the best, the very best birthday gift I’ve received in my entire life!”

As Xiao Rongyan spoke, his thin lips almost brushed against Bai Qingyan’s lips. After finishing his words, he gently placed a kiss on the corner of Bai Qingyan’s lips: “I also love this kind of A’Bao very much—love her most in this lifetime!”

He again lightly pecked Bai Qingyan’s lips that had already been kissed rosy red, causing Bai Qingyan to hold her breath and her face to become even redder.

Even with matters of state and nation, even if the sky were falling… Bai Qingyan could remain calm and composed. Only when facing Xiao Rongyan’s intimacy, despite being a married couple who already had children, she still couldn’t let herself go freely.

Noticing that the shy Bai Qingyan was about to push him away, Xiao Rongyan grasped her pushing hand with the hand holding the jade cicada, leaning forward to encircle her entirely in his embrace.

“You can’t stay in the palace long. I estimate the wet nurse has already finished feeding the two children. I’ll have Chun Tao bring them over so you can hold them more. This is the first time they’ve seen their father since birth.” She said softly to Xiao Rongyan.

Thinking of the two children, Xiao Rongyan’s heart felt as if honey was overflowing: “Good!”

Soon, Chun Tao and Chun Zhi brought both little masters inside.

Upon entering again, the two little ones who had been soundly sleeping after their feeding had awakened. They opened their big eyes and looked at Xiao Rongyan holding them, neither crying nor fussing, their little mouths and tongues moving in a completely innocent and unknowing manner.

“Their eyes look like A’Bao’s…” Xiao Rongyan glanced at the daughter in Bai Qingyan’s arms, then looked down at the son in his arms, smiling as he said to Bai Qingyan: “I hope… our Kangle’s eyes can remain forever this pure and untainted.”

“What about Xile?” Bai Qingyan noticed Xiao Rongyan’s favoritism.

“Daughters should be raised with tender care, while boys naturally should practice martial arts well and protect Mother and younger sister together with Father!” Xiao Rongyan looked down at little Xile in his arms, who was gazing at him. “Our Xile must grow up quickly to protect Mother and younger sister together with Father!”

Speaking thus, Xiao Rongyan again looked lovingly at Kangle: “Our Kangle must also grow up quickly. Father will certainly pass on all his martial arts to you and your brother!”

“Daughters aren’t meant to be raised delicately—aren’t you afraid she’ll suffer if you teach her martial arts?”

“Martial arts must be learned. Whether it’s Father and Mother or an elder brother, none of us can protect her by her side at all times. If we’re all not beside her and she encounters danger, only with superior martial arts can she protect herself!”

Xiao Rongyan was experiencing the taste of being a father, wanting to pamper the children while feeling certain things must be learned, and learned exceptionally well. His heart was quite conflicted, for both he and Bai Qingyan were martial artists and naturally knew how much hardship learning martial arts entailed.

Xiao Rongyan couldn’t help but think of his mother again. Mother had loved him most, yet would still punish him mercilessly with a ruler when he was lazy, then secretly go to his bedside at night to apply medicine to his hands.

Now Xiao Rongyan could finally understand the painstaking care of his mother.

He looked up at Bai Qingyan: “As parents, we brought them into this world. Though we wish to protect their well-being and security for their entire lives, human lifespan is determined by heaven. We don’t know which will come first—accidents or tomorrow. So… the things they should learn, we must still have these two learn them. Only then… can we be at peace! What does A’Bao think?”

Bai Qingyan looked down at the daughter in her arms and smiled: “It depends on them. In the Bai family… Grandfather, Grandmother, Father, Mother, Uncle, and Aunts never forced us to what we should do anything. They didn’t spoil us excessively because we were daughters, treating all Bai family descendants equally. As long as we wanted to learn, they would teach, but once we learned… we had to learn to the best of our ability, not give up halfway! They showed us the path—how to walk it was our affair. Regarding how to teach the two children… I think it should be the same.”