That night, in the courtyard house, red candles illuminated everything, and jubilant noise filled the air.

“First bow to Heaven and Earth!”

Following State Preceptor An’s hearty voice, the two figures dressed in red in the hall bowed together.

“Second bow to the elders!”

The two figures bowed to Yun Guangyao, Consort Rong, Bei Tang Wenfeng, and Jiang Qingxue, who sat in the seats of honor.

“Husband and wife bow to each other!”

The two turned toward each other and bowed.

Under the red veil, a tear slid from the corner of Mu Yunjin’s eye and fell to the ground.

Chu Li seemed to notice this small detail and reached out to take her hand. Then, without waiting for State Preceptor An to announce “send them to the bridal chamber,” he bent down and carried Mu Yunjin to their room.

…

…

……

In the room, on the bed.

After laying her body down, Chu Li reached out to untie her wedding clothes. Soon he had removed her outer garments and tossed them aside, planting a series of delicate kisses on her cheeks, neck… and gradually moving downward.

Moments later, both were unclothed, and just as they were about to deepen the intimacy, Mu Yunjin suddenly remembered something and placed her hand on Chu Li’s chest, stopping him.

“Wait,” Mu Yunjin said softly.

“Hmm?” Chu Li kissed the corner of her lips, cradling Mu Yunjin’s face in his hands, speaking in a low voice.

Mu Yunjin pursed her lips, somewhat shyly saying, “I’m pregnant.”

“…” Lost in passion, Chu Li did not immediately comprehend the meaning of Mu Yunjin’s words.

Mu Yunjin looked at Chu Li expectantly, wanting to see his reaction.

The last time she was pregnant, Chu Li had lost his memory. When she discovered her pregnancy, she didn’t dare tell Chu Li immediately or share it with him.

This time, this moment seemed most appropriate.

“Pregnant?” Chu Li came to his senses as some of the passion subsided, comprehending her words.

Mu Yunjin nodded. “Miss Bai diagnosed my pulse yesterday. She said it’s less than a month along.”

“Really?” Chu Li’s face suffused with a hint of joy. Although they already had one child, hearing this news again still filled his heart with sudden happiness.

“Really,” Mu Yunjin nodded in confirmation.

After these words, Chu Li once again kissed Mu Yunjin, this time much more carefully than before.

“Chu Li, you’ve always wanted a daughter. What if this is another boy?” Seeing how much Chu Li liked daughters, Mu Yunjin privately hoped she could give birth to a girl this time, fulfilling Chu Li’s wish.

Though Chu Li verbally expressed a preference for a daughter, any child of his and Mu Yunjin’s would be cherished.

“This Prince loves all our children.”

“Huan’er, it’s our wedding night. Don’t be distracted.”

“…”

After a long while, whispers came from behind the red curtains.

“Chu Li, be more careful. What if it’s a girl?”

“Mm, is this all right?”

“Mm…”

……

……

During her second pregnancy, Mu Yunjin accompanied Chu Li to a place called Tranquil Valley to live.

This place had beautiful scenery of mountains and waters, with few people around—truly a retreat into the mountains and forests.

Life here was quite carefree.

For the rest of the time, Mu Yunjin always felt that even after giving birth to the child in her womb, she wouldn’t want to return to the imperial city, preferring to live in this place forever.

Occasionally, they would receive carrier pigeons from the imperial city with news of who had given birth, who was about to marry.

Only upon receiving these letters would Mu Yunjin and Chu Li leave Tranquil Valley.

During this pregnancy, Mu Yunjin had no pregnancy symptoms. Her appetite was excellent, and she didn’t experience a single bout of morning sickness, much easier than when she was pregnant with little Mu’er.

Therefore, Mu Yunjin always said that this time, she would surely give birth to a well-behaved baby…

When Mu Yunjin was six months pregnant, little Mu’er turned one year old and, through crawling and rolling, had learned to walk.

Little Mu’er, having learned to walk, gave Mu Yunjin extreme headaches.

Whenever she wasn’t watching closely, the chickens she had carefully raised in the yard would be caught one by one by this child and thrown into the nearby stream.

His justification was that the weather was too hot, and he wanted to take them for a swim.

Finally, after the fifth chicken drowned, little Mu’er’s father could no longer stand by. He punished the boy by making him squat in the chicken coop for a full three days.

From then on, little Mu’er behaved himself and never touched the chickens again.

With little Mu’er as a contrast, Mu Yunjin became increasingly convinced that the baby in her belly would be very, very well-behaved.

Another four months passed, and the full-term Mu Yunjin finally reached her delivery day. After a day and night of labor, she gave birth to a well-behaved baby in her belly.

Yes, it was a girl.

Her formal name was Chu Qiao, but her nickname used the name that Taoist Fengxuan had once given: Chu Xiaohua, or Little Flower.

After Chu Xiaohua’s birth, both Mu Yunjin and little Mu’er felt they had lost favor…

……

One day, Mu Yunjin had just awakened from her sleep. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Chu Li sitting beside a small bed, playing with the three-month-old Chu Xiaohua like an infatuated fool.

Feeling jealous, she pulled the covers over her head and feigned deep sleep.

In her heart, she chanted: Come comfort me, come comfort me!

But a certain man busy with the child didn’t notice this scene at all and continued to play with Chu Xiaohua.

“Chu Li!” Mu Yunjin shouted, throwing off the covers and sitting up in bed, glaring at Chu Li angrily. The expression in her eyes told Chu Li: You’re in trouble!

But a certain man simply made a “shh” gesture to her. “Huan’er, keep it down. Don’t frighten the baby.”

“…” Mu Yunjin felt like running away from home.

At this moment, little Mu’er waddled in from outside, walked to Mu Yunjin’s bedside, and reached out his little hands, saying in a childish voice, “Mother, hug me.”

Mu Yunjin bent down to pick up little Mu’er and sat him on her lap. “My darling is so good.”

After saying “darling,” she deliberately glanced at Chu Li.

Indeed, a certain sensitive man frowned upon hearing these words. He quickly approached the bed, took little Mu’er from Mu Yunjin’s arms, and placed him next to Chu Xiaohua’s small bed.

“Mu’er, watch your sister for a while.”

Little Mu’er nodded, and then Chu Li bent down to pick up Mu Yunjin and walked out of the room. The next thing they heard was the door of the small room next door being closed.

In the small room, there was passion.

“Chu Li, you bastard! Now that you have a daughter, you don’t want me anymore!” Mu Yunjin punched Chu Li lightly.

Chu Li chuckled. “Huan’er, you’re even jealous of your daughter. You’re becoming more and more remarkable.”

“As if you’ve never been jealous of your son!” Mu Yunjin replied sulkily.

“…” Certain past events hit home for a certain person, and he didn’t let Mu Yunjin leave the small room for the entire morning.

In the other room, little Mu’er was rubbing Chu Xiaohua’s face. “Sister, grow up quickly, sister, grow up quickly…”

Chu Xiaohua’s big eyes blinked as she looked at the person rubbing her face, seemingly unaware that her drool was continuously flowing uncontrollably. Her mouth turned down, and she cried in distress…

At this point, the people from the small room next door finally emerged in a fluster.

……

Time flew, and three years passed in the blink of an eye.

Mu Yunjin and Chu Li spent more than half of each year living in Tranquil Valley, and the rest of the time they stayed at Phoenix Feather Pavilion, the Prince Ning’s Mansion, or the courtyard house in the Southern Kingdom.

Three years later, little Mu’er was already a four-and-a-half-year-old boy, and Chu Xiaohua was already a three-year-old ball of flesh…

Yes, a ball of flesh.

At three years old, although Chu Xiaohua wasn’t as tall as her brother, little Mu’er, her weight was much heavier than her four-and-a-half-year-old brother.

On this day, she was playing on a seesaw with her brother, little Mu’er, in the yard.

This seesaw was specially drawn by her mother, who had also specially found a carpenter to carefully craft it. It was also what little Mu’er used to love playing on with his sister.

But now, he didn’t like it so much anymore.

Because when his sister was younger, each time they played, he could easily lift his sister, enjoying his role as the older brother.

But now, under his father’s extreme pampering and feeding of his sister, it was he who was easily lifted each time…

This made him lose face as an older brother.

“Brother, come down!” Chu Xiaohua covered her mouth and laughed, watching her brother’s feet leave the ground, giggling non-stop.

Little Mu’er was embarrassed and angrily said, “Why did Mother and Father name you Chu Qiao? You should be renamed Chu Chen! No, Chu Xiaopang!”

“Waaah…” The Princess Qiao, who had just been renamed Chen (Sink) and Xiaopang (Little Fatty), burst into loud tears.

This crying caused the two people inside the house to rush out. Seeing Chu Xiaohua continuously wiping tears, both Chu Li and Mu Yunjin felt heartbroken.

“What happened?” Chu Li picked up his daughter and wiped her tears.

“Brother…” Chu Xiaohua had just pointed at her brother across from her, but immediately pulled back her little chubby hand. If she said it was her brother now, her father might punish her brother, so she decided not to say anything.

Chu Xiaohua cried and looked at her father, shaking her head.

That night, Chu Xiaohua went on an unprecedented hunger strike. No matter how Mu Yunjin and Chu Li coaxed her, she refused to eat a single bite.

Sitting to the side, little Mu’er felt extremely guilty. He voluntarily sat beside Chu Xiaohua and took her little hand. “Sister, I’m sorry. It was my brother’s fault this morning.”

After saying this, little Mu’er opened his palm. “Look, your hand isn’t even as big as mine, so you’re still Chu Qiao, Qiao sister.”

It’s said that children are easily comforted. After hearing her brother say this, Chu Xiaohua compared her hand with her brother’s, then compared it with her parents’ hands. When she found that her hand was indeed the smallest, she smiled and finally began to eat.

Chu Li and Mu Yunjin didn’t understand what charades these two children were playing, so they didn’t delve deeper and peacefully began to eat.

……

In the evening, after putting little Mu’er and Chu Xiaohua to sleep, Chu Li and Mu Yunjin went out for a walk.

The summer night’s breeze was very refreshing. The two held hands, strolling by the small stream, feeling perfectly content.

“A few days ago, Crown Prince Yun sent a letter saying that Qinghuan gave birth to twin boys. They want us to go to the Southern Kingdom on the seventh day of next month for the full-moon celebration,” Mu Yunjin said as they walked.

Chu Li nodded without saying much.

“Crown Prince Yun and Qinghuan are quite similar to us back then—first marriage, then developing feelings. Now they’ve had children too. I’m truly happy for them.” Mu Yunjin sighed, recalling her first meeting and growing connection with Chu Li when she was the Third Young Lady at Minister Mu’s mansion.

Hearing her mention the past, Chu Li also recalled scenes from days gone by, though he was thinking of their first meeting at the Literary Appreciation Tower.

In the blink of an eye, five or six years had passed.

“Wow, a shooting star!” Mu Yunjin suddenly exclaimed excitedly, pointing to a series of brilliant stars flashing across the distant sky.

Mu Yunjin quickly pressed her hands together and made a wish.

Chu Li watched her with a smile in his eyes, waiting until she opened her eyes. Her eyes sparkled as she grabbed his arm excitedly and said, “I’ve been here for so long, but this is the first time I’ve seen a shooting star.”

“Were you making a wish just now?” Chu Li raised an eyebrow.

“Yes…”

“What did you wish for?”

“Guess.”

“To have another child?”

“…”

Laughter rang out.

As they spoke, the two figures walked further and further away, leaning against each other. Faint words could still be heard: “I wished that our family of four could be together for a long, long time.”

“You’re not greedy.”

“Hmm?”

“If it were me, I would wish for all lifetimes to come.”

(End of the Main Story)