Amidst the sound of Little Carrot's crying, seeing that Middle Carrot couldn't control his sister and was pouting as if about to cry too, Mi Yao was so frightened she wanted to run away.
"Stop crying."
She crouched down to face Little Carrot's tear-streaked dirty face. "Did I bully you?"
Seeing Mi Yao up close, Little Carrot's sobs paused momentarily. Through teary eyes, she gazed at Mi Yao for a moment before shaking her head.
"Since I didn't bully you, you shouldn't cry. Well-behaved children never cry without reason."
Little Carrot seemed to understand her words, pressing her lips together and ceasing her fuss. But the moment Mi Yao stood up, Little Carrot began sobbing again.
One whimper after another, this was even more pitiful than her previous wailing, as if she had been terribly wronged.
Mi Yao: "…"
Taking the handkerchief from Shuang Hua, Mi Yao crouched down again. She had intended to hand it to Little Carrot to wipe her own tears, but unexpectedly, Little Carrot didn't take it. Instead, she lifted her head, waiting for someone to wipe them for her.
Seeing her obedient waiting posture, though reluctant, Mi Yao personally wiped away the teardrops on her face.
Once her tears were dried, Little Carrot quickly clung to Mi Yao's arm, pressing her cheek tightly against Mi Yao's clothes, afraid she would stand up and run away.
"This young lady."
Yu Xiu frowned, wanting to carry Little Carrot away, but before she could even touch her, just as she made the gesture, Little Carrot lifted her head and looked pitifully at Mi Yao, her swollen eyes brimming with tears.
To avoid having the face she just wiped become dirty again, Mi Yao allowed Little Carrot to cling to her. "What's your name?"
"Mother, Third Sister can't speak yet. She's called Xiao Shan, Shan as in kindness. Second Brother is called Xiao Liang, and I'm Xiao Yi, Yi as in bird's wing."
Big Carrot was the oldest and appeared to be the most steady and reliable among the siblings. Though clearly worried that his sister's behavior might displease Mi Yao, he maintained composure on the surface.
She remembered that Xiao Chu's children were seven, five, and three years old respectively.
Three years old and still unable to speak?
Meeting Little Carrot's moist, round eyes, Mi Yao blinked. "Want some snacks?"
Little Carrot understood the word "eat" and opened her mouth to reveal her small white teeth, nodding.
As the male protagonist destined to be a widower, Xiao Chu carried some of the "lonely star" archetype in his character setting.
His father and elder brother had both died early on the battlefield. Xiao's sister-in-law passed away from difficult childbirth after learning of her husband's death, and a year later, Xiao's mother also died from illness.
Among Xiao Chu's three children, the eldest son was picked up while he was stationed at the border. The other two were his elder brother's bloodline, registered under his name.
In the book, Xiao Chu never remarried or had children of his own, even by age forty, having only an adopted son unrelated to him by blood.
Now she could only hope that Xiao Chu's widower status was merely a plot device, not some unchangeable destiny. Even if she didn't antagonize his children like the original host did, she feared the male protagonist might be fated to have weak familial bonds, dooming her, his delicate wife, to an inevitable death.
"Thank you, Mother."
Seeing the snacks on the table, Xiao Yi didn't reach for them. Watching Xiao Shan quickly grab one and stuff it into her mouth, he pressed his lips together and thanked Mi Yao on his sister's behalf.
Compared to the youngest Xiao Shan, Xiao Liang was his older brother's shadow.
Seeing the array of pastries, Xiao Liang swallowed hard but forcibly averted his gaze, imitating his older brother by sitting properly on the small stool and not looking at the beautiful snacks on the table.
Mi Yao didn't concern herself with whether they were resisting their cravings, merely reminding them, "The wedding hasn't taken place yet. I can't be considered your mother."
Although this marriage was basically a done deal, she still hoped to postpone motherhood for a few more days.
"It was my recklessness that offended you, Madam."
Xiao Yi immediately stepped down from the stool and bowed his head in apology, while Xiao Liang, imitating his brother, stood beside him and mumbled: "I… bump, offended Madam."
Xiao Liang couldn't understand the meaning of his brother's words and naturally failed to imitate them correctly, only managing to follow along vaguely.
Hearing Yu Xiu's laughter from the side, he lowered his head even further, knowing he must have done something wrong to provoke such amusement.
"My younger brother is still young and hasn't begun his studies to understand proper conduct. He doesn't know the rules yet, so please don't blame him, Madam."
"At the Yu residence, children start their education at five and already understand propriety. How can he still not know the rules?"
Upon hearing Xiao Yi's explanation for Xiao Liang, Yu Xiu snorted. "Barging in recklessly and offending my elder sister—it's only because my sister is kind-hearted that she didn't punish you and even gave you pastries to eat."
Mi Yao's thoughts were still stuck on how, since they weren't married yet, she shouldn't be called "Madam." In the blink of an eye, she heard Yu Xiu scolding the little ones with full fury.
Seeing Xiao Liang's head nearly touching the ground, Mi Yao frowned. "Enough. What rules do they need to know in their own home? This was never something that should have been punished in the first place. What does it have to do with me being kind-hearted?"
Glancing at Yu Xiu, who was glaring at the children, Mi Yao finally understood why, in the book, Yu Xiu had been able to collaborate with the original host to torment these children.
It was clear that Yu Xiu disliked children—to the point of detestation.
Even knowing these little ones were Xiao Chu's children, she still seized every opportunity to direct malice toward them.
"If you have nothing better to do, go pack your things."
Fearing that Yu Xiu might misstep and implicate her, Mi Yao's words were clearly biased. Yu Xiu immediately understood that she had done wrong and displeased Mi Yao.
"Elder sister…"
Yu Xiu had thought Mi Yao also disliked these unruly children, but instead, Mi Yao had taken their side. Tears welled in her eyes as she said, "I spoke out of turn. Eldest and Second Young Masters, please don't hold it against me."
The young lady who had been so aggressive moments ago was now docile as a rabbit, even apologizing to these young children.
Hearing Yu Xiu refer to Mi Yao as "elder sister," Xiao Yi was momentarily at a loss for words. He first shook his head, then said, "It was my younger brother's fault. Aunt, you needn't mind it."
After speaking, he recalled that Mi Yao had just said she wasn't their mother yet and worried that the address "Aunt" might displease her. His brow furrowed again.
In contrast to his two brothers, Xiao Shan was completely at ease in the room. Clinging to Mi Yao's arm, he single-mindedly devoured four pastries. When he choked and needed water, he shook Mi Yao's arm, tilting his round face—sprinkled with sesame seeds—upward for her to fetch him a drink.
Afraid of dirtying Mi Yao's clothes, Shuang Hua used a handkerchief to wipe the food crumbs from Xiao Shan's face.
"Eat slowly."
Mi Yao had initially intended to ignore the little one, planning to bid these three children farewell and close the door once he had had his fill of clinging to her arm.
But with water to help wash it down, Xiao Shan ate even more joyfully. In no time, he finished the plate of pastries in front of him and began reaching his short arms toward another plate.
Worried he might overeat and upset his stomach while in her care, Mi Yao reminded him and then instructed Shuang Hua to clear away the pastries, leaving only two for Xiao Shan.
"If you're not going to eat, I'll have someone take these away. Later, the pastries will be kept in your quarters. If your younger sister wants some, give them to her, but have the nursemaid monitor the amount so she doesn't overeat and get a stomachache."
Afraid that taking away the pastries might cause Xiao Shan to fuss, Mi Yao made a point to add this instruction.
It was unclear whether Xiao Shan understood that these treats were all for her, or if she simply had a good temperament and wasn't possessive about food. Seeing the remaining snacks being taken away, she didn't cry or fuss. After quietly finishing the thumb-sized rose pastry in front of her, she spread open her chubby little hands.
Mi Yao initially thought she was asking for more food, but when Shuang Hua took a damp cloth to wipe Xiao Shan's hands and the child obediently allowed it, she realized the chubby hands were spread open for cleaning.
"Little Sister has disturbed Madam for too long. I'll take her away now."
Seeing that his sister had eaten her fill and assuming she wouldn't cause any more trouble, Xiao Yi tried to carry her away. But the moment he moved, Xiao Shan tightly wrapped her arms around Mi Yao.
Tilting her face upward, she babbled at Mi Yao, clearly coaxing and unwilling to let her brother leave.
Observing the little turnip's behavior, Mi Yao wondered if there was something in the goat's milk from her bath that attracted children. Otherwise, she couldn't explain why the little one had become so attached to her, and so intensely at that.
It wasn't as if she had shown any particular kindness.
Xiao Shan didn't want to leave, and Mi Yao didn't want to listen to a child's cries, so she reluctantly let her stay.
Fortunately, the little girl grew sleepy after eating. Not long after Xiao Yi and the others left, she began nodding off like a pecking chick, her head constantly drooping.
Once certain the child was asleep, Mi Yao instructed Shuang Hua to quickly escort her out of the chamber.
"Elder Brother, do you think Mother likes Shan'er? Even though Shan'er didn't speak and cried, she didn't get angry and even gave Shan'er snacks."
Leaving Xiao Shan alone in Mi Yao's room had left the two brothers restless. Fortunately, it wasn't long before Mi Yao's maid returned Xiao Shan to them.
Xiao Liang leaned over the bedside, his eyes darting back and forth as he checked that his sister was no different from before—sleeping peacefully with her eyes closed—before he relaxed and asked his elder brother.
"Madam doesn't seem like a bad person."
Xiao Yi recalled Mi Yao's attitude toward the three of them and felt slightly reassured. If Mi Yao had shown displeasure toward them, he would have been anxious; if she had been overly enthusiastic, he would have worried that she might be two-faced—outwardly accepting them but secretly plotting against them.
Mi Yao wasn't affectionate toward them, but she scolded her attendants when they were disrespectful. Though she seemed impatient with Xiao Shan's clinginess, she still used pastries to soothe her instead of having a servant simply take her away.
Their future stepmother didn't seem bad and likely wouldn't harm them to make way for her own children, as others had gossiped.
Hearing his elder brother say that Mi Yao wasn't a bad person, Xiao Liang smiled in relief: "That's good. People Shan'er likes are never bad people. Shan'er doesn't like Grandma Ma."
He had been so frightened by Grandma Ma's words that he couldn't sleep for several nights, afraid their new mother would see them as burdens, scold and hit them, and dislike his sister for not speaking—even using needles on her when no one was looking.
It was only after his brother told him that their father wouldn't marry someone who would mistreat them and not to believe Grandma Ma's scare stories that he felt less afraid.
Now, having met Mi Yao, he was even less frightened.
She looked so beautiful and smelled so nice. Even when his sister clung to her and cried, she didn't get angry and even gave her snacks.
Thinking of the snacks, Xiao Liang gazed at the fragrant food box on the table and swallowed. "Elder Brother, can I have a bite of Sister's snacks?"
"Eat some if you want. Madam gave them to us anyway. Just save a little more for Shan'er."
After speaking, Xiao Yi didn't forget to remind his younger brother: "The lady hasn't married Father yet, so you can't call her Mother. It's fine when you're talking with me, but don't address her as such in her presence, lest she thinks you don't understand propriety."
"Mhm mhm!"
With his mouth full of pastries, Xiao Liang covered his lips and nodded vigorously, afraid that pastry crumbs would spray out if he opened his mouth to speak.
Mother was so beautiful and never hit them, and she even gave them such delicious pastries. He would definitely follow the rules obediently, not letting Mother think he was an unnecessary burden, but rather an adorable and well-behaved child.