FID – Chapter 879

Chapter 879: Thank You, Mother Empress

The sewing motion paused briefly. The Empress Dowager said calmly, “Prince, you are indeed blessed and fortunate. Congratulations.”

She simply didn’t want the little ones to be born fatherless. It was not for Feng Qingbai’s sake.

“Empress Dowager, do you regret sparing me that day?” He didn’t admit it, but he knew it must have been her.

In this world, the only one who could move Qin Xiao was her alone.

The Empress Dowager was silent for a long moment, then said, “No regrets.”

She then lifted her head to look at Feng Qingbai. “But my sons died by your sword. Even though I understand the principle that ‘to the victor belong the spoils,’ as a mother, I cannot forgive you. Nor could I ever reconcile with you, Prince. You are the murderer of my sons, forever!”

“At that time, the situation was dire. If I hadn’t killed them, I would have died. I do not regret what I did during the struggle for the throne, but I do owe you an apology,” Feng Qingbai said, moving to sit slowly beside her. “I lost my mother when I was young, and my father passed away when I was still a child. I had little family affection, except from the Liu family. From now on, I will treat you as my own mother, whether you like it or not. I have made my decision and it will not change. Just listen.”

There was no need to say anything else.

He reached out, took the Empress Dowager’s thin, pale, cool hand in his, then rose and started to leave. “Thank you, Mother Empress.”

On the soft couch, the old woman stiffened all over. Under the candlelight, her silver hair trembled more and more intensely. When her eyes turned red to the extreme, tears spilled from her eyes.

A choked, barely suppressed sob escaped her throat—fragmented and broken—more heartbreaking than a wail.

The old matron also silently shed tears, her eyes shining with a sense of release. She thought that the Empress Dowager must feel the same way at this moment.

One could not forget hatred, but eventually, one would slowly let go.

Just as the Empress Dowager said: how she lives is her own choice.

She could either live in hatred or break free from it to be reborn.

Feng Qingbai walked along the white marble palace path, facing the evening breeze without hurry, and looked up at the night sky. The stars twinkled sparsely, and the moonlight was pale as water.

Yet in his heart, it was as if a bright clear day had dawned.

He had heard from Shengsheng about their temporary stay in Yangxin Hall. On the night she had a severe stomach ache and high fever, it happened to be the same night he attended Yan Rongwei’s banquet. 

At midnight, Xue Zhong had ambushed him at the Dongyue border, and the situation was dangerous. Perhaps it was that night the Empress Dowager’s compassion was stirred.

Her single thought allowed him to escape death under Qin Xiao’s sword. Later, when Shengsheng had fetal movement, the children in her womb became extraordinarily close to the Empress Dowager. Whenever she comforted them, they would obediently calm down.

He did not believe in Gods or Buddha, but these coincidences left him no choice but to consider a spiritual explanation.

Perhaps his two little babies were truly born with spiritual souls. Who could say for sure?

This was why they already knew gratitude while still in the womb. The Empress Dowager spared their father, so they sought to atone on his behalf by getting close to her.

Whether this was truly the case, of course, couldn’t be confirmed by two newborn babies, but his guess was very likely correct.

If even the little ones understood gratitude, then as a grown man, what couldn’t he suddenly come to understand?

It would be quite a joke if his children had to teach their father how to be a better person.

Those two mischievous little sweet potatoes… Thinking of the babies still sound asleep in their cradle, Feng Qingbai’s eyes brimmed with laughter. They really seemed almost magical.

At the King’s Manor, everywhere was bustling with excitement.

The Princess Consort had given birth successfully—twins, a boy and a girl—a very rare and auspicious sign for the Nanling royal family.

The servants in the manor were all joyfully celebrating.

The kitchen staff had been busy all day preparing for this and still hadn’t rested.

Steward Ding paced all over the manor, repeatedly instructing the young servants and maids to pay close attention to every little detail so that nothing went wrong during the Princess Consort’s confinement.

The busiest place was still the nursery.

To feed the two little babies, a whole group of people were scrambling around, completely overwhelmed.

Because both little babies refused to be fed by the wet nurse. Even when they were crying loudly from hunger, as soon as the wet nurse approached, they would immediately shut their mouths tight and kick their legs vigorously, showing quite a strong will.

The wet nurses hired early that morning in the manor were completely useless.

Even the goat’s milk that the kitchen staff had painstakingly prepared for the babies went untouched.

Next door, Liu Yusheng was still sleeping deeply, so the whole family didn’t have the heart to wake her up. 

In the end, with no other choice, they had to feed the babies some rice water temporarily, which at least they would drink.

This was also why the kitchen staff had been so busy and hadn’t had a chance to rest.

The little babies had already been fed rice water twice and were now sound asleep. The room was crowded with people, but no one spoke; they only occasionally leaned over the cradles to look at the babies’ sleeping faces, their eyes and expressions full of contentment.

Feng Qingbai stood at the door and looked at the two little ones from afar but didn’t go in. Instead, he went to the master bedroom.

The woman was still sleeping, breathing shallowly, her sleeping face peaceful.

Feng Qingbai quietly climbed onto the bed, lay down next to her, feet touching hers, a smile playing on his lips even in his dreams.

……

Liu Yusheng had a deep, restful sleep. When she woke up, the sky outside was already bright, and the energy and spirit she had spent during childbirth seemed to have returned all at once.

She felt very refreshed.

Turning her head, she met the dark, clear eyes of the man beside her.

“Awake? Mother of the children.”

Liu Yusheng smiled playfully, “Slacking off and skipping work again, father of the children.”

They looked at each other and laughed out loud.

Her clear, gentle laugh mixed with his deep chuckle, filling the room with warmth and affection.

“I’m feeling better now. Send the maid to bring a basin of hot water so I can wash up, then bring the babies over. I want to feed them myself,” Liu Yusheng gently pushed the man.

“Now?”

“Mm, my chest feels full; I should have milk now.” Liu Yusheng’s face flushed slightly. 

Although they had been married for over a year and were intimately close almost every day, talking about this still made her a bit shy.

But feeding the babies was the priority; the colostrum in breast milk was very nutritious, and she wanted to breastfeed her own children.

Seeing her flushed face, Feng Qingbai smiled slightly, got out of bed, and went next door.

Soon, the babies were brought over. Grandma Liu, Chen Xiulan, and Du Juan, along with several other elders, had been taking care of the twins all night and were exhausted. Feng Qingbai persuaded them to go rest.

Perhaps sensing they were about to get close to their mother, the two little ones were full of energy. Their black, glassy eyes fixed straight on Liu Yusheng, their little hands waving vigorously.

As soon as they touched their mother, they immediately searched for their treasure and began sucking; their little mouths sucked and puffed rapidly, moving very quickly.

They were starving.

Feng Qingbai didn’t look away and watched with a twitch at the corner of his eye.

He had seen with his own eyes how these two little things had refused the wet nurse just yesterday.

They really could recognize people — just like their father, they were clean freaks.

His brows twitched as Feng Qingbai whispered to the baby boy, “Badou.”

The little one’s sucking paused slightly, then continued.

A faint smile crept to Feng Qingbai’s lips. They really could understand.

Then, with a big hand, he reached out and pulled the happily feeding baby up.

Sensing someone was trying to sabotage his food supply, Badou’s eyes snapped wide open. Both his little paws flailed quickly, and his tiny feet kicked desperately.

Even as his unscrupulous father pulled him up so that his body was practically vertical to the treasure, he still didn’t let go — clinging on like a suction cup, sucking tightly.