The emperor felt very open-minded and respectful of his precious son’s choices, but his precious son didn’t seem to fully trust that acceptance.
“Dad, I’ll tell you after some time.”
Ling Rui calculated the time in his heart. By the time enough time had passed, Shui Shui would be back. With Shui Shui around, even if his father were to faint, he could be saved!
While waiting for Shui Shui’s return, Ling Rui began to prepare his father mentally: “Dad, the person I like is someone you definitely won’t like, but apart from him, I won’t like anyone else!”
Ling Rui’s firm tone only deepened Emperor Ling’s curiosity about his son’s choice.
“Little Seven, give Dad a hint. Is it a problem with their background, personality, or maybe their health?”
The Emperor listed all the possible concerns he could imagine that might make him unhappy, hoping for some clues from his son.
But Ling Rui shook his head like a rattle drum: “No, no, none of those.”
“He’s in perfect health.”
As he said this, Ling Rui’s cheeks flushed slightly.
“His background is great, and his personality is excellent too.”
Great Qing was much stronger than their Qi Dynasty, so in terms of family background, Ah Wu’s could indeed be considered exceptional.
“Strange… if his background, health, and personality are all good…” The Emperor frowned, puzzled. “Then I don’t see any reason why I wouldn’t like him.”
Such a daughter-in-law would practically be the ideal choice.
No matter how picky the Emperor thought he was, he couldn’t fathom disliking someone like that.
Ling Rui, however, stammered and couldn’t come up with an explanation.
On the side, Noble Consort Yi, who was listening to their conversation, suddenly felt a strange pang in her heart.
She turned to look at her son.
She had raised him from a baby, so she could clearly see the guilt written all over his face.
“Don’t ask too many questions, Dad.”
If his father kept pressing, Ling Rui feared he wouldn’t be able to hold back and would end up spilling everything.
For his father’s sake, he had to endure.
“You naughty child! Why can’t you just say what you mean instead of making your father guess?”
The Emperor, frustrated with his inability to figure it out, reached out and gently knocked on Ling Rui’s head.
Ling Rui covered his head but didn’t complain.
The topic between father and son didn’t last much longer. Although Emperor Ling wanted to inquire more, other matters in the palace soon distracted them.
Ling Chen had mentioned earlier that their fourth brother’s children would be returning to the palace soon.
And just then, they arrived.
Their fourth sister-in-law was an orphan. She had stayed outside the capital with their fourth brother, first due to her pregnancy and later because, even after the child was born, traveling was difficult. Despite having attendants, life outside the capital was far less comfortable than in the imperial city.
Furthermore, Consort De had been eagerly awaiting their return, urging them to bring the child back to the capital for care.
It seemed the child had been quite a handful, as their fourth sister-in-law eventually chose to bring the child back.
Thinking about his little nephew and niece, Ling Rui’s eyes sparkled.
“Dad, Mom, I’m going to see the babies.”
“Go ahead.”
The Emperor waved his hand, not stopping him.
Ling Rui glanced at Noble Consort Yi, and seeing her nod, he happily grabbed some children’s items and made his way to Consort De’s palace.
As soon as he entered, he was greeted by the sound of crying children.
The palace servant who announced his arrival explained in a low voice, “The Wangfei had some other matters to attend to, so she left the children in the palace and went ahead herself.”
The two little ones hadn’t been in the palace for long before they started crying loudly.
Consort De was holding one of the children, while a nanny held the other. Both were busy trying to soothe the babies.
Perhaps overwhelmed by the effort, Consort De barely acknowledged Ling Rui’s entrance, offering only a quick greeting before returning to her task of calming the child.
“Pingping, be good, don’t cry. Our good baby doesn’t cry.”
The two children were named Pingping and Anan.
Pingping, the older brother, was almost two years old, while Anan was not even a year old yet.
Pingping had a loud voice and was crying vigorously. In comparison, Anan’s cries seemed more like a reaction to being startled by her brother.
Ling Rui walked over and looked at the two little babies.
The Ling family was known for their good looks, and his fourth sister-in-law was beautiful as well, so naturally, their children were adorable.
Pingping and Anan were chubby and undeniably cute.
Ling Rui took Anan from the nanny’s arms, gently touched her forehead, and began playing with her.
Anan, her tear-filled eyes wide, stared unblinkingly at the unfamiliar uncle holding her.
“Anan, I’m your seventh uncle! Give seventh uncle a smile.”
Although Ling Rui wasn’t that old himself, in terms of family hierarchy, Pingping and Anan still had to call him uncle.
Some babies, though small, already had a sharp eye for beauty.
Take Anan, for instance. Seeing that her seventh uncle was quite handsome, the tears in her large eyes quickly dried up, and her crying ceased.
“Ah!”
The little Anan reached out her hand to touch her uncle’s face.
Ling Rui, seeing her reaching out, grasped her small, soft hand and placed it on his cheek.
Feeling her uncle’s face, Anan’s eyes crinkled into a smile.
“You’re just too adorable.”
Ling Rui was enchanted by the soft, squishy sensation, feeling his heart melt.
He now understood what his parents often said—that when he was a child, soft and chubby, they found it hard to put him down.
Holding Anan, he thought he could somewhat understand how his parents must have felt when they held him.
While Ling Rui was happily bonding with baby Anan, little Pingping in Consort De’s arms was getting upset.
Baby Pingping noticed the commotion and suddenly cried even louder, almost to the point of passing out.
His crying was so loud that Ling Rui’s ears were buzzing.
“Little Seven.”
Even Consort De was overwhelmed by the noise. Holding Pingping in her arms, she said to Ling Rui, “Pingping is watching you and crying. Come, you should hold him too.”
Seeing that Ling Rui had managed to soothe Anan without her crying, Consort De thought that he might be better at calming babies.
Pingping was really wailing.
Ling Rui, seeing this, handed Anan back to the nanny and reached out to hold Pingping.
As soon as Ling Rui made the gesture to hold him, Pingping leaned his small body forward, eagerly trying to burrow into his uncle’s arms.
“Be good, Uncle’s going to hold you now.”
Ling Rui picked Pingping up, and his arms suddenly felt the weight.
If Anan was as light as cotton, then Pingping, who was over a year old and nearly two, was like a small weight in his arms.
The small weight Pingping was satisfied now that his uncle was holding him. He puckered his red lips and gave his uncle a kiss.
Ling Rui: “…”
Ling Rui’s heart was melting again.
But before it could completely melt, Anan’s cries started up again.
Seeing her brother being held, Anan wasn’t happy.
Ling Rui turned his head to see the teary-eyed Anan stretching her little hand towards him. In a rush, he passed Pingping over to someone else and went to hold Anan.
But as soon as Anan was in his arms, Pingping started crying again.
Ling Rui: “…”
Ling Rui finally felt a bit of a dilemma.
Both babies were adorable, but he could only hold one at a time!
“Consort De…”
Ling Rui looked towards Consort De for help.
Consort De also had an expression of being at a loss. It was clear she found the situation difficult as well.
Pingping and Anan were both her grandchildren, and now that both wanted Little Seven to hold them, it was hard for her to decide who Little Seven should hold.
“You hold Anan. Anan’s health is more delicate than her brother’s, and she shouldn’t cry too much.”
As for the little troublemaker Pingping, Consort De thought to herself—
In all of history, she had never heard of a child crying themselves to death.
Though Consort De had made a choice, Pingping was still stubborn, and his crying was rather alarming.
Ling Rui liked both babies and, after a moment of indecision, sat down and decided to hold both at once.
“Alright, Uncle’s holding both of you this time. Be good and play nicely, no more crying.”
“Hmm! No, no!”
Pingping, nestled against his uncle, holding a little stuffed toy in his hand, babbled a few words.
He didn’t know how to say much yet, but his soft, babyish voice made people want to tease him to hear more.
With Ling Rui there, both babies became easier to manage.
Consort De sat down to the side, finally able to relax a bit.
“Little Seven, thank goodness for you. The nanny couldn’t calm these two down just now.”
“They probably miss their mother.”
Ling Rui chatted with Consort De while holding the babies.
He had been gone for a while, and Emperor Ling and Noble Consort Yi were starting to wonder why he hadn’t returned.
“Has Little Seven been kept by Consort De for dinner?”
“Probably. Forget it, let him be.”
Emperor Ling said, “Let him spend more time with the children at Consort De’s. Maybe if he likes them enough, he’ll want some of his own.”
Thinking back to Ling Rui when he was little, Emperor Ling and Noble Consort Yi both found themselves looking forward to Ling Rui having his own children.
Time passed bit by bit.
Ling Rui, stuck at Consort De’s palace, still hadn’t been able to leave.
It seemed that the fourth wangfei had planned to leave the children in the palace for a few days, as she wouldn’t be coming to pick them up. She had some important matters to attend to.
There were nannies in the palace to take care of the children, so the fourth wangfei felt reassured.
Consort De had initially thought that there wouldn’t be any issues with the children in the palace.
But who would have known? Despite being cute and well-behaved on the outside, the two babies were anything but easy.
They didn’t want the nannies to soothe them, only their little uncle.
As evening approached, Consort De found herself in a bind.
If she let Little Seven go, Pingping and Anan would cry and fuss.
But if she didn’t let Little Seven go, it was getting quite late.
While Consort De was still struggling, Ling Rui, holding the babies, made a decision.
“Consort De, I’ll take Pingping and Anan back to my palace. The nannies can come with us to feed them and take care of them. When it’s time for bed, they can sleep with me.”
Consort De hesitated for a moment. “That would be too much trouble for you.”
“It’s no trouble at all! I’m their real uncle, it’s only right for me to look after them.”
These two babies were his fourth brother’s children, and the more Ling Rui looked at them, the more he liked them.
Even if taking care of the babies was tiring, he didn’t mind!
With Ling Rui’s suggestion, the two babies were taken to his palace.
Night fell.
The two babies, dressed in their nightclothes, laid on Ling Rui’s large bed.
Ling Rui knelt beside the bed, soothing them both.
As he continued comforting them, he suddenly found himself thinking about Ah Wu.
Looking at the babies on the bed, Ling Rui’s eyes curved into a smile. “Come, let Uncle take a good look at you two and see what you’ll be like in the future.”
He wanted to see the future of the little ones, and maybe even let Ah Wu know—he was now quite good at taking care of babies!
