Carrying one child in each hand into the house, Qiao Yan shut the door and spoke sternly, “Didn’t I tell you not to come out of the house? Why didn’t you listen?”
The two little ones hung their heads. Xiao Chuan’er kept his small face set and silent, while Xiao Yu’er shuffled her feet, her tiny voice tinged with tears.
“We wanted to help Mama fight the bad guy.”
Hearing this, Qiao Yan was moved. Looking down at the dagger in her son’s hand, her heart softened so much she wanted to cry. She crouched down and pulled both children tightly into her arms. “My darlings, I’m sorry. It’s Mama’s fault. I shouldn’t have lost my temper with you.”
Xiao Yu’er, held by her mother, burst into loud sobs. She had been really scared—the uncle she thought was a good person had made Mama angry and even fought with her, and she felt it was her fault for bringing this on Mama.
“Wah wah wah… Mama, baby was wrong. Baby… won’t sneak out ever again.”
Qiao Yan knew the child was frightened, and gently patted her back. “Good baby, don’t cry anymore. Mama doesn’t blame you. Don’t be scared.”
In the Sea of Consciousness, Little Milk System sniffled along with a tremble.
[So touching, Host. Both little ones are so well-behaved.]
Qiao Yan was both touched and smug. “Of course—look whose kids they are!”
Xiao Chuan’er felt reassured held in his mother’s arms, but his little mind was still on the man outside who looked just like him.
Unlike his naive sister, he knew that man was probably their father.
The tiny boy nestled against his mother, his small face serious as he asked, “Mama, is that man our father?”
Though phrased as a question, his tone was certain.
Qiao Yan froze for a moment, then let out a soft sigh.
What’s meant to come will come!
She set the two children down from her embrace and looked solemnly into their little faces. “Babies, he is indeed your father. But because he didn’t know you existed before, and Mama isn’t familiar with him either, I’m not sure how he’ll treat you.”
“But Mama promises—no matter what he does, you’ll always be Mama’s little treasures!”
When the two children heard that the man outside the door was their father, their big eyes lit up. But at their mother’s following words, their gazes dimmed again.
Xiao Yu’er burrowed back into her mother’s arms and whined in her babyish voice, “Mama, we only want Mama. We don’t need a father.”
Of course, having one would be even better.
Xiao Chuan’er took his mother’s hand and patted it like a little adult, comforting her. “Mama, don’t be sad.”
The little one had already conjured up a whole scenario in his head—his mother cruelly abandoned by a scumbag, and now the scumbag showing up again—and instantly lost all goodwill toward that certain biological father outside the door.
Mu Qinzhen, who had suddenly learned he had two children, felt his heart drift as if in a dream, almost unable to believe it was real.
He waved at Gao Zhuoyuan behind him. Gao Zhuoyuan, thinking his master had orders to give, stepped forward and listened attentively.
Mu Qinzhen was silent for a long moment, then moved his lips hesitantly and said enigmatically, “Gao Zhuoyuan, this prince has children now.”
Gao Zhuoyuan: “…”
Is the prince trying to show off?
Before he could figure it out, the prince continued, “Two of them. This prince has two children.”
Gao Zhuoyuan: Confirmed! The prince is definitely showing off!
A smile plastered on his face, he bowed, clasped his fists in salute, and declared in a booming voice, “Congratulations to Your Highness on gaining two young masters!”
The several attendants behind him also rushed to offer their congratulations.
Thinking of the two little masters inside the house, the attendants were especially excited—their prince would no longer have to endure the Empress Dowager’s nagging!
Mu Qinzhen let out a long breath and laughed aloud. Confirmed—this was no dream!
Though the woman had drugged him back then with despicable means, there was no denying that the two children were adorable, and he liked them very much.
He surveyed his surroundings. The farmstead now consisted of only one enclosing wall and three low, shabby tiled houses. Thinking that his children had grown up here, he found himself somewhat regretful for having banished the woman to such a remote place.
The open ground around the tiled houses had all been cultivated into farmland. Aside from some common vegetables, the majority of what was planted were things he had never seen before.
What were those plants bearing long red-and-green striped fruits, and those vine-like plants with triangular leaves that were the most numerous?
Still, all the crops in the fields were growing well. Recalling how the woman had just wielded a hoe against him in combat, he guessed these things were probably all planted by her.
After surveying the surroundings, Mu Qinzhen walked toward the room where Qiao Yan was. This time, he didn’t act rashly—he knocked gently, afraid of startling the children inside.
Knock, knock.
After the knocking, a deep, magnetic male voice came from outside.
“Come out. This prince has matters to discuss with you.”
Qiao Yan shot a glare at the direction of the door, but she knew she needed to clear things up with that man.
She soothed the two little ones in her arms. “Wait here obediently for Mama. Mama will be right back.”
The two little ones looked warily toward the door. When it opened, what Mu Qinzhen saw was the woman’s angry, disgusted expression—and the wary gazes of the two little ones.
At that moment, he felt a bit stifled inside, but he showed the two children a kind smile and followed Qiao Yan to the courtyard to discuss matters.
He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, expressionless, but his tone was serious and solemn: “Come back to the capital with me. The two children can’t keep living in this kind of environment.”
The moment Qiao Yan heard this, her fuse was lit: “What’s wrong with this kind of environment? Didn’t I still raise the two children all by myself? Besides, the fact that the children live in this environment is your doing!”
Mu Qinzhen was at a loss for words. It was true that he had banished her here, but back then, she was hardly innocent either.
“If you hadn’t drugged this prince, how would this prince have sent you here?”
Qiao Yan pouted, feeling indignant inside. Although drugging a man to sleep with him was something the original owner had done, not her, at this moment she couldn’t defend herself even if she wanted to.
She lifted her chin, like a child throwing a tantrum: “I don’t care! I’m not going back!”
She pointed at the farmland around them: “See those crops? That’s the empire I’ve built with my own hard work over these years. If I go back with you, wouldn’t I be taking a huge loss?”
Mu Qinzhen’s lips twitched. Was the bustling capital really not as good as her few acres of farmland?
But seeing the woman like this, he inexplicably found it amusing: “If you come back with me, I’ll give you a thousand acres of fertile land, how about that?”
If she didn’t return, his mother would probably keep hounding him about whether his preferences were abnormal.
Qiao Yan’s eyes lit up. A thousand acres of fertile land was indeed a huge fortune for her at the moment, but thinking about all those messy affairs in the capital, she felt no temptation at all.
She still preferred staying in this remote corner of the mountains, far from the emperor’s reach, raising kids and farming the land, living a leisurely and prosperous life.
“Not going! Whether it’s a thousand acres or ten thousand, in my heart, none of it compares to my little vegetable garden.”
Mu Qinzhen’s brows furrowed tightly. For others, it was easy to invite a god but hard to send one away, but for him, it was the complete opposite!
What on earth had happened to make a woman change so drastically in four years?
The Qiao Yan of the past had been pretty, but at best, she was a beautiful fool—timid and stupid. But now she was confident and radiant, and even audacious beyond belief!
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