Both babies blinked their big round eyes and grinned at Ling Rui.
Their soft, chubby smiles made Ling Rui smile uncontrollably along with them.
“My little darlings, you two are just too cute!”
Unable to resist, Ling Rui squeezed their chubby little hands and gave each of them a kiss.
The two babies giggled out loud as they were kissed.
Ling Rui, completely enchanted by the two little ones, found himself in a daze.
He sat there smiling foolishly for a while before shaking his head and once again holding their tiny hands.
Before using his foresight ability, Ling Rui had imagined a smooth and peaceful life for the two little babies.
In the royal family, the brothers were harmonious, and the children of his fourth brother were loved by everyone. Naturally, the babies cherished by the entire royal family should have a happy future!
With this thought in mind, Ling Rui held the hands of the two little ones and closed his eyes to sense their future.
As the images of the future began to unfold, Ling Rui’s previously smiling face gradually tightened.
He saw a vision of the two babies’ future.
Before Pingping, the little troublemaker, even reached adulthood, he perished in the frontier. At that time, he had already been crowned as the crown prince.
Ling Rui watched the scene of Pingping being set up and dying alone, and his heart ached to the point where he could hardly breathe.
After Pingping’s death, Anan couldn’t handle the grief, and her mental state deteriorated.
In a daze, Anan went to the royal ancestral hall, crying to the elders.
Ling Rui clearly saw the memorial tablets before her.
The most prominent name on the tablet was his. Besides his name, there were also those of his fourth and sixth brothers.
Ling Rui was completely stunned.
He could foresee everyone’s fate, but he could not foresee his own.
For the first time, in someone else’s vision, he saw his own death in this world.
He wasn’t afraid of his own “death” in this world.
Ah Wu had told him that once they lived out their lives here as ordinary people, they would likely return to their original world.
At that point, their departure would mean their “death” in this world.
They were mythical creatures—one a fierce beast and the other an auspicious one—with incredibly long lifespans unless something unexpected happened.
Ling Rui wasn’t afraid of death, but that didn’t mean he could accept dying so early.
Dying early was one thing, but after his death, his beloved brothers and their children were gone too!
“Ah, Ah Wu.”
Ling Rui, shaken by the vision, called out, “I saw it—I died.”
Ah Wu: “?”
Caught off guard by Ling Rui’s sudden voice, Ah Wu barely had time to react before hearing this sentence.
Ah Wu almost lost his composure: “Zai Zai, what did you say?”
“I just used my foresight to see Pingping and Anan. Pingping and Anan are my fourth brother’s children—they’re adorable.”
“I saw Pingping die, and Anan went to the ancestral hall…”
Ling Rui described everything he had seen to Ah Wu in detail.
After he finished, Ah Wu frowned, deep in thought.
The development of the Qi Dynasty Empire was visibly improving, and what Ling Rui had foreseen was nearly a fatal blow to the empire.
Ling Chen had no children.
The crown prince chosen by Ling Chen died young.
Ling Hao and Ling Fu also passed away, and the fate of Ling Fu’s child remained unknown.
In short, based on what he had seen, the Qi Dynasty Empire would face serious hardship.
“Zai Zai, don’t panic.”
In a short time, Ah Wu had thought through many things. Since his Zai Zai was the embodiment of an auspicious beast, with him there, Qi Dynasty would not suffer the catastrophic blow seen in the vision.
So, the most reasonable assumption was that he and Zai Zai would have left this world before the royal family began to decline.
“The vision you saw won’t happen. I won’t let it.”
Ah Wu’s tone was calm and steady, reassuring Ling Rui. His peaceful words gradually calmed Ling Rui down as well.
“As long as we stay a little longer, nothing will happen.”
And now, Ah Wu would begin to identify all possible factors that could cause their early departure.
With Ah Wu’s comforting words, Ling Rui sniffled and nodded, saying, “I’ll stay and protect my brother and his babies.”
“Mm, our Zai Zai is very capable and will definitely protect everyone.”
The two talked for a while before finally ending their conversation.
After cutting off contact, Ling Rui’s gaze fell back on the two babies on the bed. He pursed his lips and, in the next second, gathered both babies into his arms.
“Baby Pingping, Uncle will make sure you grow up safely.”
“And our little Anan won’t have to suffer either.”
The two little ones didn’t understand their uncle’s words, but being held in his arms, their chubby little faces radiated joyful smiles.
Ling Rui kissed their plump cheeks, filled with affection and tenderness.
These two babies carried royal blood, and they were truly his family by blood.
Ling Rui swore he would never stand by and watch them walk toward the tragic future he had foreseen.
“Susu… sleepy…”
The little troublemaker Pingping, after playing with his uncle for so long, was finally too tired. He yawned and wrapped his chubby hands around his uncle’s arm, wanting him to stay with them while they slept.
Anan also began yawning.
Ling Rui laid down in the middle, holding them, gently patting them as he lulled them to sleep.
It didn’t take long before the two babies drifted off to dreamland.
Ling Rui, lying between them, listened to their steady breathing, and his eyelids grew heavier.
Soon, Ling Rui also fell asleep alongside the babies. Once asleep, he knew nothing more, and all his worries melted away.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Ah Wu was still thinking about what Ling Rui had told him. As he pondered, a sudden realization struck him.
Zai Zai could now use his foresight to call out to him. Did that mean—
Zai Zai had remembered everything between them?
Ah Wu stood frozen in place at the thought of this possibility.
If Zai Zai had truly remembered, why hadn’t he said anything earlier?
But if Zai Zai hadn’t remembered, how could he have used foresight to reach out to him?
Ah Wu, who usually had everything under control and could handle any situation with ease, now found himself filled with uncertainty and confusion, especially when it came to his beloved Zai Zai.
Ling Rui was unaware of Ah Wu’s inner conflict.
With two cuddly babies by his side, Ling Rui had a restful sleep. The two little ones were able to sleep through the night without disturbing him.
In the morning, the nannies changed their diapers, fed them breakfast, and then quietly placed the babies back beside Ling Rui.
As soon as the babies were back on the bed, they immediately began circling around their little uncle.
“Susu,” Pingping, the little one, thoughtfully called out to his uncle first.
Seeing that his uncle wasn’t responding, he looked at his sister and then started playing with her.
The two babies began poking Ling Rui’s face and puckering their lips to give him kisses.
With the two awake, Ling Rui had no hope of getting any more sleep.
After a moment of playful chaos, Ling Rui gave in and opened his eyes.
“Babies, why are you up so early?”
“Uncle, door! Door!” Pingping pointed to the door, eagerly looking at Ling Rui.
Ling Rui: “…”
He understood—the little one wanted to go out.
Reluctantly, he dragged himself out of bed, picked up the two mischievous babies, and gave them each a big kiss.
“You won’t even let your uncle sleep in, you little troublemakers!”
“No, no!” Pingping protested, tilting his head, refusing to admit he was a troublemaker.
Though still young, the two babies could already understand when someone was teasing them. If anyone called them bad or naughty, even little Anan, who couldn’t speak yet, would babble in protest.
With the nannies occasionally helping out, the two babies weren’t too hard to handle.
Everyone in the palace knew how well Ling Rui took care of the little ones. The two babies were especially fond of him, and no one else could soothe them.
Ling Chen, hearing about this, came to see for himself.
It was during the late afternoon, and the imperial garden was bathed in the beautiful light of the setting sun.
In a small pavilion within the garden, the two babies sat in small carts gifted by the Ministry of Works, holding toys and happily playing with Ling Rui.
Ling Chen stood at a distance, watching the scene, reluctant to interrupt the peaceful moment.
Ling Rui was entertaining the two babies, calling them his precious little ones.
Smiling, Ling Chen watched for a while before approaching his three little treasures.
“Big brother,” Ling Rui greeted him with his flushed cheeks as he noticed Ling Chen approaching. “Are you done with work?”
“Mm, I’m free now.”
Ling Chen sat down and casually picked up Anan.
He didn’t pick up Pingping, though, since this little troublemaker tended to squirm around when held, making it hard to handle.
“What are you playing?” Ling Chen asked.
“I’m teaching Pingping how to talk, big brother. Pingping is so smart.”
Just as Ling Rui finished praising Pingping’s intelligence, Anan, sitting in Ling Chen’s arms, pouted her little lips.
Noticing this, Ling Rui quickly balanced his praise, “Anan is smart too! Our Anan is smart and adorable!”
Ling Chen chuckled at their interaction. “Little Seven, do you like Pingping and Anan a lot?”
“Of course, they’re so cute!”
“But no matter how cute they are, they’re not your children. In a few days, their mother will take them back to their residence.”
Ling Chen’s tone carried a deeper meaning.
Ling Rui glanced at his big brother, understanding immediately what he meant.
Big brother was hinting at both marriage and children.
“My fourth brother’s estate isn’t far from mine. If I want to see the babies, I can visit anytime. Besides, fourth sister-in-law won’t mind me coming by.”
His fourth sister-in-law was kind and had always treated him well.
“Isn’t it inconvenient to keep visiting someone else’s estate? If you like babies so much, why not have your own?”
“I can’t have any,” Ling Rui muttered, playing with Pingping’s toy, lowering his head and softly adding, “If I could, I would’ve had one already.”
His voice was so soft that Ling Chen didn’t quite catch what he said. “What did you say?”
“Nothing, nothing.”
Ling Rui mumbled vaguely, “I was just talking nonsense. Big brother, stop pushing me. I already have someone I like.”
“Big brother, the person I like is really great. I think you might even like him too.”
Ling Rui didn’t want to shock their father, but he was confident his big brother could handle the news.
Sensing his younger brother was about to confess, Ling Chen grew tense and quickly interrupted, “Do you even know what liking someone means? And do they like you back?”
“Of course—”
Ling Rui was about to say “Of course he likes me,” but then suddenly remembered something important.
Last night, without realizing it, he had used foresight to contact Ah Wu.
Moreover, during their conversation, he had hinted enough for Ah Wu to realize that his memory was fully intact—he hadn’t forgotten anything.
“Oh no…”
Ling Rui mumbled to himself, “I gave myself away.”
He had been pretending not to remember certain things with Ah Wu to maintain their current closeness.
But now, it was clear he had slipped up.
“Why did you stop talking? Are you in shock?” Ling Chen waved little Anan’s hand in front of his face to snap him out of it.
Ling Rui, jolted by Anan’s small hand, snapped back to reality.
The brothers locked eyes, and Ling Rui’s expression nearly turned tearful.
“Big brother, now I’m not even sure if the person I like still likes me.”
Ling Chen: “…”
Ling Chen didn’t quite understand what was going on, but he casually added fuel to the fire, “If you’re not sure, it means they haven’t given you any sense of security.”
“Little Seven, how about reconsidering?”
