Golden leaves fluttered down, rustling under foot.
Yan Mu lay on the rocking chair, leisurely basking in the sun.
Although the remnants of the Eldest Prince had been completely eradicated, for safety’s sake, Yan Mu still lived in the Prime Minister’s residence.
Today was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and Yu Yuan had specially taken a day off to accompany Yan Mu.
Yan Mu lazily opened her eyes. The rumored cruel and ruthless Prime Minister was currently squatting on the ground, personally weaving a hammock for Yan Mu.
“Be careful, don’t poke your hand again.” Yan Mu lazily yawned, admiring Yu Yuan’s exquisite beauty.
Yu Yuan’s face alone perfectly matched her aesthetic preferences, and now that he had grown up, his appearance had become even more outstanding.
It felt magical, as if she had watched a small tree sprout.
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“Mmm.” Yan Mu responded with a nod, her drowsiness causing her head to nod like a little chick pecking rice.
Yu Yuan sighed, he put aside his work and carefully washed his hands.
Then he carried Yan Mu horizontally in his arms.
Yan Mu’s eyes remained tightly closed, and her breathing was steady, without any reaction.
Yu Yuan frowned even deeper.
He leaned down and kissed Yan Mu’s vermilion lips.
After some entanglement between their lips and teeth, Yu Yuan successfully woke Yan Mu up.
āWuuā¦ā¦ā
She rubbed her eyes, pouting slightly in dissatisfaction.
“You can’t sleep anymore, or you won’t be able to sleep at night,” Yu Yuan said.
“With you there, how can I not sleep?” Yan Mu poked Yu Yuan’s chest with some resentment.
Her words made Yu Yuan a little uncomfortable.
His ears turned slightly red as he coughed lightly.
He carried Yan Mu into the room somewhat stiffly and placed her on the soft couch.
Just as Yan Mu’s bottom touched the cushion, she wanted to lean against the small table.
But Yu Yuan promptly pulled her back up.
“You mentioned a few days ago that you wanted to eat hawthorn cake. I had the kitchen make some for you today. Try it,” Yu Yuan picked up a piece of hawthorn cake and brought it to Yan Mu’s lips, coaxing her.
Hearing Yu Yuan mention it, Yan Mu instantly perked up.
She eagerly took a big bite.
The hawthorn cake was sweet and sour, making Yan Mu’s appetite soar. In no time at all, she had eaten half the plate.
As she continued eating, Yan Mu belatedly noticed something amiss.
“When was my last period?” Yan Mu asked.
“On the second day of last month,” Yu Yuan replied.
“Calculating the days, arenāt I delayed by half a month?” Yan Mu dumbly raised her head.
Yu Yuan was momentarily stunned by the question.
Then, as if realizing something, he stared blankly at Yan Mu’s belly.
āY-youā¦ā¦ā Yu Yuan stammered, which was extremely rare for him.
He backed up but accidentally tripped over a stool and fell to the ground.
āā¦ā¦ā
Yan Mu was initially a little surprised, but seeing Yu Yuan in this state, she calmly continued eating the hawthorn cake.
Yu Yuan stood up and pacing around the room several times before finally coming to his senses.
“Where is Imperial Physician Liu? Why hasn’t he arrived yet?!”
Yu Yuan’s face was serious, startling the guards as if something major had happened.
As Yan Mu watched the scene, she finished the entire plate of hawthorn cake.
Feeling a bit thirsty, she was about to get a cup of water when she saw Yu Yuan quickly approaching, as if facing a great enemy.
“Don’t move, I’ll get it for you.” Yu Yuan carefully pressed Yan Mu back down.
“Itās not even confirmed yet.” Yan Mu didnāt know whether to laugh or cry.
Yu Yuan ignored Yan Muās words completely.
“Tomorrow, I’ll have people start making clothes, a hundred sets each for both boy and girl,” Yu Yuan began to mutter to himself. “And we should start customizing the lock charms and what not as wellā¦ā¦”
Yan Mu facepalmed herself.
A hundred sets of clothes? If someone didn’t know better, they would think Yu Yuan was going to switch to selling clothes.
Fortunately, Imperial Physician Liu hurriedly arrived.
The presence of Imperial Physician Liu successfully calmed Yu Yuan down.
After a thorough examination, Imperial Physician Liu smiled and informed the couple that it was indeed a āhappyā pulse3åč (xĒmĆ i) – the regular throbbing of the arteries that indicates pregnancy. He also told them some precautions to take.
Yu Yuan nodded repeatedly as he listened, then generously rewarded all the servants in the Prime Minister’s residence.
“Weren’t you feeling tired just now?” Yu Yuan’s lips couldn’t help but curve up. “Let me carry you to bed.”
āYour face changes faster than flipping a book.ā Yan Mu wrinkled her nose coquettishly.
“It’s different. Youāre pregnant now.” Yu Yuan affectionately rubbed Yan Mu’s hair.
Yan Mu was carefully placed on the bed.
Yu Yuan turned around, wanting to go prepare some mother and baby essentials, but Yan Mu grabbed onto the hem of his clothes.
“Stay with me,” Yan Mu pleaded in a gentle voice.
Upon hearing her words, Yu Yuan instantly turned around.
He obediently removed his coat and lay down by Yan Mu’s side.
Only then did Yan Mu close her eyes in satisfaction.
She fell asleep so quickly now, almost as soon as she closed her eyes.
When she woke up again, the sky had already grown dark.
In a daze, it seemed like there was a shadow sitting ominously next to her.
Yan Mu was so scared that she almost jumped up in fright.
āItās me,ā Yu Yuan hurriedly explained.
āWhat are you doing?ā Yan Mu was shocked.
āIā¦ā¦ā Yu Yuan didn’t say anything, and after a long while, he whispered, “I’m looking at the child.”
“ā¦ā¦It’s only been less than a month. Is the baby even formed yet?” Yan Mu’s mouth twitched slightly.
Yu Yuan caressed Yan Mu’s stomach and suddenly leaned down, placing a gentle kiss on her belly through her clothes.
āI know,ā Yu Yuan said softly.
Yan Mu sighed.
Afraid of startling Yan Mu again, Yu Yuan obediently lay down.
It was a dreamless night.
When Yan Mu woke up again, Yu Yuan had gone to court.
There was a piece of paper left by Yu Yuan on the table.
It probably said that Yan Mu should take good care of herself and her child.
Yan Mu sighed, feeling a bit melancholy.
If Yu Yuan is already so invested when the child is only one month old, what will he be like when the child is actually born?
**************************
The autumn atmosphere gradually thickened, and the weather steadily cooled down.
Yan Mu’s belly was also starting to show.
Yu Yuan would accompany Yan Mu whenever he had free time, and she often felt his gaze on her belly.
Originally, Yan Mu wanted to find Hua Ping to have fun and exchange parenting stories.
But if Yu Yuan was in the residence, Hua Ping would most likely not dare to come.
The reason behind this was none other than the incident when she left the residence for Hua Ping and was captured by the Eldest Prince.
Before sheād come back, Yu Yuan had often vented his anger towards Hua Ping and the twins.
Qi Er, as Hua Ping’s husband and the father of the twins, naturally became a target as well.
Back then, Yu Yuan often made things hard for Qi Er4ē©æå°é (chuÄn//xiĒoxiĆ©) – lit. to make somebody wear tight shoes (idiom); to make life difficult for somebody.
Perhaps those memories were too deep, causing Hua Ping to always avoid Yu Yuan.
With Yan Mu’s hormones fluctuating during pregnancy, and no one to chat with, her temper became increasingly irritable.
Even minor things that would usually go unnoticed now easily ignited Yan Mu’s anger.
Just like now. As the Mid-Autumn Festival approached, the crabs were plump and delicious. But Yu Yuan wouldnāt let Yan Mu eat them.
I want to eat!” Yan Mu’s temper flared up.
The last time she celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival was four years ago when she was still a daughter of the Yan family.
Due to her poor health, Father Yan had supervised her and sheād only managed to eat a few bites.
Now that she was healthy, she ended up becoming pregnant. This time, Yu Yuan was even stricter than Father Yan, only allowing her to eat crab meat and not even a single bite of crab roe!
With her pregnancy hormones rising, Yan Mu immediately became angry.
And to make matters worse, Yu Yuan continued, “I asked the imperial physicians, and crabs have a cooling nature. Eating too much isnāt good for the child…”
“Child, child! All you care about is the child!” Yan Mu was utterly furious.
Since she became pregnant, Yu Yuan had only focused on the child and no longer cared about her.
Yan Mu’s temper had become unpredictable, and she actually burst into tears.
The dignified Prime Ministerās wife was actually crying her heart out over a crab.
Yu Yuan was on the side, holding the peeled crab meat, feeling helpless.
He was stunned, seemingly not expecting Yan Mu to be so upset.
“I’m sorryā¦ā¦” Yu Yuan wiped Yan Muās tears away with a handkerchief. “Then how about letting you have a bite of crab roe?”
“It’s not about the crab roe at all.” Yan Mu sobbed, tears streaming down her face like raindrops on a pear blossom5ę¢Øč±åø¦éØ (lĆhuÄdĆ iyĒ) – lit. like raindrops on a pear blossom (idiom); fig. tear-stained face of a beauty.
“Ever since I got pregnant, you only care about the child.” Yan Mu broke into tears again, her eyes red and swollen like a little rabbit. “Am I just a vessel to bear a child to you?”
āWhat makes you think that?ā Yu Yuan was stunned.
“Y-you don’t care about me anymore.” Yan Mu covered her face and refused to look at him.
“Ah Mu, listen to meā¦ā¦” Yu Yuan was about to speak, but Yan Mu interrupted him.
“I donāt want to listen.” She continued to sob.
“Then I won’t say anymore.” Afraid of upsetting Yan Mu further, Yu Yuan changed his words.
Unexpectedly, when Yu Yuan really stopped speaking, Yan Mu cried even harder.
Yu Yuan had no choice but to let Yan Mu express her emotions.
“Ah Mu, do you remember what I said before?” Yu Yuan spoke softly. “Ah Mu, neither of us had a father. That’s why I made a vow that our child will never experience what we went through.”
“I don’t know how to be a father, nor do I know how a normal father and son should interact.” Yu Yuan handed Yan Mu the crab meat and continued, “I want to give him the best of everything, so that he can live a happy life under the care of his parents.”
“But all of this comes with one condition.” Yu Yuan’s expression turned serious. “Because this is my child with Ah Mu.”
“ā¦ā¦Because of me?” Yan Mu’s voice was off-tune from crying.
Yu Yuan’s words were like a powerful tranquilizer, calming her down.
“It’s because it’s Ah Mu’s child that I love them.” Yu Yuan gently rubbed Yan Mu’s nose and said helplessly, “Only a child born with Ah Mu is the most precious child.”
“So, rather than saying I love the child, it’s more accurate to say I love you.” Yu Yuan took Yan Mu’s hand, placing a kiss on her lips.
He looked straight at Yan Mu and said, word by word, extremely seriously, “Ah Mu, I love you.”
Yan Mu’s sobbing stopped.
She looked at Yu Yuan. Her eyes were still moist, resembling raindrops on a Yuhua pebble6éØč±ē³ (yĒhuÄshĆ) – colorful fine-grained pebbles found in the Yuhuatai (éØč±å°) area in Nanjing that had been soaked in water.
“So, you love me more, right?” Yan Mu lowered her head in a somewhat flustered manner.
“Of course,” Yu Yuan smiled and replied.
Yan Mu now came to her senses. Remembering how sheād lost her temper with Yu Yuan just now, when her emotions had gotten the better of her, she was so ashamed that she wanted to enter a crack in the ground.
Oh my God, what have I done?
She actually competed for attention with an unborn baby, and ended up arguing with the child’s father over it.
Yan Mu felt utterly ashamed.
She timidly raised her head to look at Yu Yuan, only to find him diligently peeling crab with his head lowered.
He dug out a large chunk of crab roe and placed it in the crab shell, handing it to Yan Mu.
The tips of her ears were red as she lowered her head to eat the crab meat.
Her mood became radiant like the afternoon sun.
It seemed that even the vinegar poured into a crab shell had turned sweet.
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāāā
The author has something to say:
ćQi Er and Hua Pingās Side Storyć(Translator’s Note: ps: I’ll be posting it in a separate chapter)
Edited by: Gaze
So fluffy and sweet ššš