FID – Chapter 884

Chapter 884: Even If They’re Monsters, I Will Still Protect Them! 

Xiao Badou closed his eyes, let his arms go limp, and played dead.

Liu Yusheng: “……” Baidou understands human speech…

“Do you want to live on rice soup from now on?” Feng Qingbai shook the little one he was holding.

With a gagging sound, Xiao Badou spit up some milk.

“……”

With eyes as dark as obsidian, Xiao Baidou looked at the food that had just come out of his mouth, his lips trembling. His eyes turned red in an instant, and just as he was about to start wailing—

“Calling for reinforcements won’t help. Right now it’s just me interrogating you. If you dare cry, I won’t be the only one doing the questioning.”

Xiao Badou instantly closed his half-opened mouth, eyes full of hopeless despair.

Liu Yusheng felt like she might faint from watching all this.

“You two can understand what we’re saying, can’t you?”

The babies shut their eyes and stayed silent.

Feng Qingbai didn’t even bother waiting for an answer to such a stupidly obvious question. “The two little shiny orbs in your mother’s space—were those you and Hongdou?”

No response.

Another shake—this time, Xiao Badou panicked and flailed his tiny hands, opened his eyes, and blinked.

Feng Qingbai’s gaze grew even darker. “Was it you who caused the change in the space?”

Blink. Blink.

Liu Yusheng suddenly asked, “Did you use the spiritual energy in the space to heal me?”

Xiao Badou paused—then blinked.

Staring at the little one still dangling upside down and the other—Hongdou—now wide-eyed and quietly watching her from her arms, Liu Yusheng’s eyes slowly welled with a soft red hue.

During childbirth, the pain had been excruciating—so much so that she’d passed out at one point.

Before losing consciousness, she vaguely remembered crying out, “Do you two want to kill your mother with pain?”

When she woke, she’d felt a warm energy soothing her body’s pain. And when it came time to deliver the twins, it had gone unexpectedly smoothly—almost effortless. Aside from exhaustion, there had been minimal bleeding.

So it was the babies who had helped her, transferring the spiritual energy to ease her recovery.

Were they truly spirits condensed from the spiritual spring within the space?

Even she found such a mystical idea hard to believe. And yet, it was real.

Just like the impossibility of having a space bound to her: It was fantastical, but true.

Xiao Badou had already been set down by Feng Qingbai. Gaining his freedom, he immediately dove back toward the milk source like a little suction cup.

And Feng Qingbai leaned over and gathered all three of them into his arms.

Long ago, the crow fed its mother in return, and the lamb knelt to nurse. His own children, too, were showing their filial piety in their own way.

No matter whether they were spirits or demons—he accepted them.

As always, the two little ones nursed themselves to sleep. Watching their tiny mouths slow down, the slurp slurp sounds growing fainter, Liu Yusheng’s eyes filled with tenderness.

Before the babies were carried out, she kissed each of them gently on the face.

“Yee… yaa…”

“Yah, slurp…”

The murmuring baby noises in their sleep melted hearts, so soft and innocent. It brought an unbidden smile to her face.

Feng Qingbai didn’t kiss the babies—he kissed their mother instead. “Get some rest. I’ll be back soon.”

“Alright.” Liu Yusheng smiled warmly.

In the nursery, the Empress Dowager placed Xiao Badou in the cradle, personally changed his diaper, then leaned over to gently stroke Hongdou’s tiny head. Only after being reminded again by the old maid did she finally prepare to leave.

It was already very late outside.

Seeing the elderly lady step out, Feng Qingbai instructed Wei Zi, “Escort the Empress Dowager back to the palace.”

The Empress Dowager said calmly, “I can go back myself. No need to escort me.” She paused, as if afraid he wouldn’t listen, and added, “You’re not allowed to follow me.”

“In that case, I’ll take you myself.” Feng Qingbai waved Wei Zi away.

“……”

The Empress Dowager didn’t say a word, because saying anything would be pointless. Once Feng Qingbai made a move personally, it meant there was no room for refusal. Arguing more would only waste her breath.

The royal residence’s carriage was already waiting at the gates. Lanterns hung on either side of the entrance, casting a warm glow. The light wasn’t dim, but the Empress Dowager, now advanced in years, had climbed Mount Bodhi early that morning to pray for charms, and was truly exhausted. If not for her concern for the two little ones, she wouldn’t have lasted this long.

When it came time to board the carriage, she stubbornly refused Feng Qingbai’s assistance and immediately regretted it.

Just as she lifted her foot to step onto the carriage, a sudden ache shot through her leg, and her body swayed dangerously to the side.

Before the old maid could even cry out in alarm, Feng Qingbai had already caught her firmly and—without giving her any chance to resist—scooped her up and carried her into the carriage.

By the time the Empress Dowager was ready to scold him, Feng Qingbai had already stepped back, leaving her so furious that the breath caught in her chest, unable to go up or down.

Frustrated and flustered, she finally lost her temper, “I told you there was no need to escort me! I can return by myself! You don’t need to treat me so attentively. I won’t harm those two children! You don’t need to curry favor with me!”

“If my own mother were still alive, I would escort her myself. Since she’s not, and you are my imperial mother, of course I’ll see you off,” Feng Qingbai replied calmly, showing no sign of anger in response to her outburst.

The Empress Dowager pressed her lips together, her face stern as she turned to look out the window.

Night had deepened. Outside, the grand mansions stood in silence, each with lanterns glowing brightly at their gates. The soft golden light cast the warm, comforting feel of home.

Since yesterday, when Feng Qingbai first called her ‘Mother Empress,’ he hadn’t referred to himself as ‘This Prince’ anymore when facing her—only using ‘I’ instead.

She knew of his change.

The carriage wheels rolled softly, and the sound of horse hooves clopped rhythmically, echoing down the quiet street.

After a long silence, the Empress Dowager spoke, “During the day, I went to the Royal Temple. Master Juehui said that the two babies were born with spiritual energy. I worry that extreme wisdom may bring harm, so I sought two talismans of safety for them. When I’m not around, watch them carefully. Don’t let the babies show too many signs of their nature in front of strangers. It’s not good for their cleverness to reveal itself too soon.”

Outstanding trees attract the wind’s wrath.

Watching the old woman speak to him but stubbornly refusing to look his way, Feng Qingbai said calmly, “The wise are often seen as demons. Such cleverness in newborn babies would be seen by ordinary people as monstrous. Mother Empress, by protecting them like this, aren’t you worried they’ll bring trouble upon themselves?”

Suppressing her reaction to the words Mother Empress, the Empress Dowager snorted coldly, “Whether spirit or demon, so what? Even if they truly are monsters, I can protect them!”

She couldn’t fight Feng Qingbai, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t protect her two little ones.

Her eyes gazed distantly out the window as she added with a trace of self-mockery, “I’m just an old lonely woman. Giving my life for them is all I have left. What is there to fear?”

The carriage stopped at the palace gates. Feng Qingbai personally escorted the Empress Dowager back to the Yangxin Hall. Before she entered the main hall, he said softly,

“You now have grandchildren. You are no longer alone.”

The Empress Dowager paused, expression unreadable, then left without a word.

That night, from within her inner chamber, there was once again the soft sound of crying.

The old maid stood behind the beaded curtain, feeling both heartache and helplessness. The Prince was fine. He just let the Empress Dowager snap at him a couple of times and everything was okay. Why did he have to say those things that made her cry every time?

She didn’t even know whether she should side with the Empress Dowager in blaming him.

The Princess Consort of the King gave birth to twins—a boy and a girl—and the entire King’s Manor, even the palace, was filled with joy.

This news became the talk of the town among the common people.

Besides that, another major event happened these past few days, which the people started to quietly gossip about behind closed doors.

Prince Yan and his heir got into trouble.