“Go tidy things up, and if His Majesty issues any orders later, everyone can avoid being caught in a fluster. Lan’er, make a trip to the Apothecary Courtyard. Take plenty of gold coins with you, have the pharmacists make up extra batches of pills, and bring all of them back.”
Hearing that they had tasks to perform, the four maids steadied their nerves and set to work with deft, efficient hands.
When Hong’er turned back to check on the two little princes, Mia finally felt her legs give out from under her. Collapsing onto the edge of Xueyi Wright’s bed, she moved her lips and whispered silently: My Lady, please wake up soon. It would be terrible if His Majesty were to arrive before you regain consciousness…
007. His Majesty Arrives
It seemed the Moon King’s bout of indisposition hadn’t lasted long. That evening, just as everyone—having bustled about for an entire day—was only halfway through their dinner, the cry of “His Majesty has arrived!” echoed from outside.
Mia nearly dropped the bowl in her hands. A crowd of maids hurried to the doorway and dropped to their knees to welcome the Sovereign.
Ji Aotian walked in while asking, “I heard Consort Xue gave birth to twins for Us. Where are they?”
Cold sweat beaded on Mia’s forehead, thinking to herself that she knew this Emperor would pull something like this. She hastily and respectfully replied, “Your Majesty, the two little princes are in Consort Xueyi’s chambers; they’ve already been fed and have fallen asleep.”
“In Xueyi’s room, are they? Just as well, I’ll go check on how Xueyi is doing. Giving birth to two sons for Me in one go she’s a major contributor!” Ji Aotian was in high spirits. With the Moon King causing no major fuss or discomfort today, coupled with the sudden addition of two sons, it was indeed a joyous occasion.
As he walked toward Xueyi Wright’s room, he instructed Chief Eunuch Huaide, who was trailing close behind: “Huaide, arrange the rewards according to the standard for a Noble Consort, and heavily reward My Consort Xue.”
Huaide acknowledged the order and smiled over at Mia. Given the Emperor’s intent, it seemed Consort Xueyi would likely be elevated to the rank of Noble Consort shortly, meaning these servants were about to rise along with her!
Mia forced her face into a stiff smile, her palms slick with sweat. She had no grounds to bar the Emperor from entering, yet she had no idea how he would react upon laying eyes on the little princes.
She had already prepared herself: if the Emperor attempted to harm the little princes, she would protect them with her life. At the very least, she had to let Consort Xueyi set eyes on them.
Huaide glanced at the group of maids, wondering why each of their expressions looked so peculiar.
Hong’er, who had been inside tending to the two little princes and Xueyi Wright, had already dropped to her knees the moment Ji Aotian entered, though a closer look would reveal she was drenched in a cold sweat as well.
In high spirits, Ji Aotian told Hong’er to rise, his gaze immediately falling upon the swaddling clothes resting inside the shared bassinet. Wrapped up tightly as they were, standing where he was, he could only make out two bundles.
He smiled. Having already fathered sixteen children, he long ago lost any fiery enthusiasm for infants. Still, he felt a certain curiosity toward twins, prompting him to step forward for a closer look. Ah, neither of the little fellows has been named yet; I’ll take a look and pick names for them.
“Hah!” At that single glance, Ji Aotian was amused. One of the little boys was sleeping half on his stomach, burying his entire face right in the crook of his brother’s arm. As for the other, the moment Ji Aotian’s gaze drifted over, those eyes suddenly snapped open. The pale golden pupils were strikingly gorgeous, exceptionally large, and chillingly clear—not at all resembling a newborn infant. Looking closer, the hair peeking out from the baby’s swaddling wrap was pure white. Ji Aotian beamed with delight
“Good! Consort Xue is truly the foremost beauty, and this son of Mine is bound to grow up into a handsome man.” As he spoke, Ji Aotian reached out and scooped up this son in his arms. “I shall give you a fine-sounding name. What shall it be? Yu… Yu. Yes, my prince, Ji Ziyu.”
Sprewell now known as Ji Ziyu struggled to control his facial muscles, trying to make himself look somewhat like a normal infant. Being scooped up entirely like this was far worse than sleeping in the bassinet and being used as a body pillow by his brother!
Having named Ji Ziyu, Ji Aotian was in an even better mood as he extended his other hand, intending to pick up the other half-prone infant.
Every maid’s heart leapt straight into her throat, and even Ji Ziyu opened his eyes wide though he himself hardly knew why.
008. Names
Qi Fei, feeling thoroughly uncomfortable now that Ji Ziyu was gone, showed signs of waking up after his prolonged unconsciousness. Just as he stirred to consciousness, he felt a sudden sensation of weightlessness. Dazed and groggy, he figured someone must be holding him.
He couldn’t quite wrap his head around when exactly he had been born, only feeling that an infant’s body tired with extreme ease and kept his eyelids glued shut.
From Ji Aotian’s perspective, this closed-eyed infant possessed the same exquisite, elf-like face as Ji Ziyu, yet what made him different?
Looking closely, it seemed the slits of his eyes were slightly longer. He couldn’t help wondering if those eyes, once opened, would span half the size of his face; they felt overwhelmingly, disproportionately large.
Standing to one side, Mia and Hong’er watched Ji Aotian meticulously scrutinize the little prince, feeling so tense they could barely catch their breath!
“This son of Mine isn’t lively enough; look at Ziyu, he’s already opened his eyes,” the Emperor remarked casually, as if making small talk, seemingly oblivious to anything genuinely unusual.
Mia steadied her nerves and hurriedly picked up the thread of conversation. “Indeed. Everyone thought Consort Xue was carrying only one little prince, so we were all startled when we learned there was another inside. The situation at the time was extremely critical, and Her Ladyship fought hard to stay conscious precisely to tell us to perform a Caesarean section.”
Regardless of anything else, she hoped that in light of Consort Xueyi nearly losing her life, they would let the little prince live in peace.
Hearing this, a trace of concern clouded Ji Aotian’s face. “How is Xueyi doing now?”
“Please rest assured, Your Majesty. Her Ladyship just needs proper rest and recuperation, though her constitution will be somewhat frailer from now on.” Mia didn’t mince words, relaying the exact assessment given by the physicians.
True to expectations, Ji Aotian was even more moved. How could anyone fail to be touched by a gentle woman who usually spoke in such soft tones, yet willingly risked her life under the knife for the sake of her child?
Cradling both children in one arm, Ji Aotian walked toward Xueyi Wright’s bed. As he walked, he asked Mia, “Which one is My Seventeenth Prince, and which is little Eighteenth?”
Mia glanced over and replied, “The one with his eyes open is the Seventeenth Prince, and the one with his eyes closed is the Eighteenth Prince. Eighteenth Prince seems to have been trapped inside the womb too long during birth, so his health is rather poor. Master Rhoden said…”
“Said what?” Ji Aotian stood by Xueyi Wright’s bedside, his eyes narrowed slightly, expression unreadable, though his tone remained even.
Mia drew a deep breath and said, “He said the Eighteenth Prince might not live long.”
“Oh, is that so?” Ji Aotian said nonchalantly. “Then have Rhoden come check on him more often, along with the physicians. Such an adorable little fellow shouldn’t suffer an early death.”
Mia let out a sigh of relief and hurriedly acknowledged the command.
Influenced by the soul of the dark elf, Qi Fei’s complexion was naturally somewhat pale, so no one noticed anything abnormal about him at the moment.
He had lived for only sixteen years in his past life; was he not going to live long in this one either? An early death?
Qi Fei felt like crying without tears. Heavens, I thought you were giving me a second chance to experience happiness, but it turns out you just hadn’t finished toying with me and wanted another round!
Still Qi Fei calmed himself slightly this time, someone was actually willing to hold him!
After a short while, seeing that Xueyi Wright was still fast asleep with nothing left to converse about regarding the two infants, Ji Aotian stood up, placed both babies back into the bassinet, and prepared to leave.
Just before stepping across the threshold, Ji Aotian turned back with a playful, teasing smile and said, “That cute little fellow didn’t have a name yet, did he? Let’s call him Ji Ran.”
With that, leaving behind a roomful of white-faced maids, he departed in high spirits.
009. Unescapable Darkness
Ji Ran’s hands flailed through the air until they bumped against Ji Ziyu, whereupon he finally settled down. He had no inkling of what that name signified.
In his past life, his name had been Qi Fei. In truth, his real name ought to have been Qi Fewu (Discarded Waste). Perhaps as he grew older and his utility value increased, the Qi family had officially registered a name for him, dropping the final character and altering the homophone to Qi Fei (Flying).
Though “Ji Ran” sounded a bit peculiar when spoken aloud, it had to be a decent name!
How could it possibly be a decent name!
Mia’s eyes turned red. She truly had no idea how heartbroken Xueyi Wright would be upon waking up, inquiring after her two children, and learning that one of them had been named Ji Ran.
Not a single prince of the Chuyun Empire possessed a two-character name; it was a symbol of imperial recognition. Only princes stripped of their peerage titles had their second character the generation name stripped away. Those stripped of their names lost all qualification to be buried within the imperial mausoleum.
Furthermore, Ji Ran… Your Majesty, were you telling us that if we chose to keep this child, we must have the resolve to bear the punishment?
Ji Ziyu was jarred awake by the crying. Upon waking, he felt the infant sleeping beside him thrashing his little arms, striking out forcefully at everything around him—though without the slightest hint of a threat.
The maids rushed inside in a flurry, picking up Ji Ran to see if he had wet his bed, grown hungry, or simply felt lonely.
Yet none of those were the case.
With his eyes closed, Ji Ran unsure whether to cry or shout kept screaming at the top of his lungs while flailing his arms. He wanted to smash everything within reach. Why? Why, when he opened his eyes, was everything still shrouded in pitch darkness?
Clearly, while inside the womb, he had seen things other than darkness. He had seen those two colors that seemed capable of illuminating the world, and that adorable fetus! Could all of that have merely been a dream, leaving him still devoid of light? His world consisted of nothing but black.
He didn’t know how to vent the suffocating gloom in his heart; crying out and throwing punches couldn’t release even a fraction of the grievances he felt. Why? Why is it always me?!