Chapter 80

Translator: She.Wee
Editor: KitKat

——–

Though he said otherwise, Xiao Zhige still went to see the two children. In a typical household, the babies would have already been taken away by the wet nurse for feeding. However, the situation with the merfolk was different. The two babies, born smaller than usual, had a thin, almost transparent membrane covering their skin. One could vaguely see their soft, tender features underneath.

“This must be the fetal membrane described in the notes. It will fall off on its own in two hours,” Hu Shifei and Yu Xiao were observing the babies, keeping a close watch on the membrane.

When the babies were first delivered, the membrane was a semi-transparent milky white and felt a bit thick, like a protective shell around the fetus. After the babies were taken out, the membrane gradually became thinner and more transparent, and now their faces were clearly visible.

“This membrane should be nourishing; it can provide nourishment to the baby,” Hu Shifei speculated. At first, the babies were still crying, but after the blood on the membrane was wiped clean and they were wrapped in swaddles, they quieted down. Their little mouths started sucking, looking somewhat content. The membrane continued to thin out.

Xiao Zhige crouched down and carefully poked each baby’s cheek: “Which one is older?”

Yu Xiao, excited, said, “The one on the left is the older brother, and the one on the right is the younger sister.” After the babies were delivered, Hu Shifei had to clean and stitch up the wounds, so he was very familiar with the two children.

Xiao Zhige looked and noticed that the younger sister was slightly rounder. Although her features were still immature, with a closer look, one could vaguely see a resemblance to An Chang Qing, especially the small mole under her eye, which was almost identical to An Chang Qing’s. Xiao Zhige’s gaze softened: “She looks like Nuo Nuo.”

As if sensing her father’s presence, the younger sister opened her eyes and waved her hand in the membrane, making a sound like “ah.” Her voice was clear, like a baby bird’s chirp. Xiao Zhige was taken aback, then smiled, “Her temperament seems to take after me, she’s quite strong.”

He had heard the cries when the babies were born and originally thought that the loud cries indicated a boy, but it turned out to be a girl.

Not sure if she understood his words, the younger sister waved her hands and feet with effort. After struggling and finding it hard to move, she closed her eyes again, her pink little mouth sucking away.

She fussed for a while, while the older brother remained completely still.

Xiao Zhige spent some time with them before heading back to check on An Chang Qing. Despite Hu Shifei’s high medical skills, a cesarean delivery still took a toll on one’s vitality. An Chang Qing had lost quite a bit of blood. Even though the delivery room had been cleaned, Xiao Zhige could still smell a faint hint of blood, and his face and lips were quite pale.

After talking with Xiao Zhige for a while, An Chang Qing had fallen asleep from exhaustion. At this moment, Xiao Zhige returned and found him still deeply asleep, eyes closed.

Xiao Zhige lightly traced his face with his fingers and then gently kissed his forehead.

—

When An Chang Qing woke up again, it was the next day, and he was lying on the bed in the main room. His abdominal wound had been properly bandaged. As the effects of the anesthesia wore off, he started to feel some faint pain. He groggily touched his flat abdomen and became fully awake upon realizing its flatness. Just as he was about to call for someone, he saw a small crib placed beside the bed. The two children, dressed in soft, warm clothes, were sleeping with their heads together.

Since he was awake during the delivery, he knew which was the older brother and which was the younger sister.

His expression softened instantly as he propped himself up with his elbow and leaned forward to look at the two babies. The fetal membranes had fallen off, and the babies were dressed in bright red clothes, looking tender and adorable. Although they were smaller in size, they were fair and plump from birth, with dense hair, unlike ordinary babies who were wrinkled and would need time to grow.

The more An Chang Qing looked, the more he found them adorable. He couldn’t help but reach out to poke their chubby cheeks and small hands. Blood ties were indeed magical; although An Chang Qing couldn’t say he particularly liked children before, seeing these siblings now filled him with tenderness from the bottom of his heart.

The two tiny babies, only a bit larger than his palm, were connected to him and Xiao Zhige by blood.

Suddenly, his finger was grasped. The younger sister opened her eyes and made “ah ah” sounds while grasping his finger with her tiny hand. The grip was not strong, like being wrapped in cotton candy, soft and gentle. An Chang Qing couldn’t help but smile, lightly shaking the finger she held.

While father and daughter were playing, Xiao Zhige, hearing the commotion, came into the room. Seeing An Chang Qing smiling, he relaxed and said, “Awake? Are you hungry? Hu Shifei said you can only have some light, liquid food for now.”

An Chang Qing leaned against the pillow and watched him come over. He skillfully picked up a small rattle prepared earlier to entertain his daughter, then shook his head with a smile, “Not very hungry.” In reality, he had little appetite; the pain from the abdominal wound made him reluctant to eat.

Noticing his lack of appetite, Xiao Zhige didn’t mention it directly. He spent some time playing with him and the two children, then went out to call the cook, instructing them to prepare some light, easily digestible congee and egg custard.

By evening, An Chang Qing had eaten a small bowl of egg custard and half a bowl of fish porridge, then lay back down. Until his abdominal wound healed, he couldn’t move around freely to avoid tearing the wound. Lady Yu and An Xian Yu had visited him and the children, but seeing him still weak from childbirth, they didn’t stay long.

Xiao Zhige had also stayed home these past few days, not going to the military camp or official residence, accompanying him in the house. After the delivery, he stayed by his side without leaving, taking care of both him and the two infants. It was quite a hectic task—especially since the babies were just born and smaller than usual. To avoid suspicion, they had not yet hired a wet nurse, and instead, a cow was kept to provide milk daily.

An Fu cleared away the finished meal and brought over warmed milk. The milk was in a specially designed porcelain bottle with a small opening for easy feeding. Xiao Zhige clumsily took out the older brother, placed him on his lap, and began to feed him.

He was very careful, but still unskilled; either he fed too quickly, causing milk to spill from the baby’s mouth, or too slowly, making the baby fussy with the bottle. The younger sister, who hadn’t yet had her turn, became more anxious. When she couldn’t get any milk, she pouted and began to cry loudly.

The Northern Warlord, his face dark, dared not lose his temper. After calming one baby, he went on to calm the other. Finally, after feeding both babies, he felt more exhausted than after a battle.

Seeing his furrowed brow, An Chang Qing couldn’t help but laugh. Once Xiao Zhige had placed the two babies back into their crib, he gently rocked the crib and softly coaxed them to sleep.

Xiao Zhige sat by his side. Once the babies were finally fed and asleep, he remained silent for a while before finally saying, “When they’re a bit older, let’s find two wet nurses.”

An Chang Qing teased him, “Mother and Yu Xiao said they could help, but you refused.”

Lady Yu, who had given birth to two children, was naturally more experienced in taking care of them. Yu Xiao liked the siblings and had always wanted to help, but Xiao Zhige had ultimately refused, opting to personally take care of the children.

Unfortunately, the Northern Warlord had underestimated the difficulty of caring for two infants. In just a day and night, he was completely worn out.

Xiao Zhige didn’t know what to say, staring at his sleeping children, and cursed them softly in his heart.

However, he managed to get through the day. The two babies were not too troublesome; with another feeding in the middle of the night, they would sleep until morning. Xiao Zhige first went to wash up and change into clean clothes, then brought warm water to clean An Chang Qing. Although he didn’t have to go through a traditional postpartum confinement, his wound still needed time to heal, so he had to take it slow.

By the time they were both cleaned up, it was already late. They turned off the lights and lay in bed. An Chang Qing found himself unable to sleep and whispered to Xiao Zhige, “Shouldn’t we choose names for the children?”

Typically, the Emperor would name the grandchildren, but given the relationship between Xiao Zhige and Emperor An Qing, it was better for them to choose the names themselves.

Xiao Zhige had forgotten about this and pondered before saying, “Have you thought of any names?”

An Chang Qing hadn’t thought of any either, as it was his first time being a father and he completely forgot about naming the children.

Xiao Zhige thought for a moment and said, “Since they are our blood, we should use both of our surnames and add a single character.”

However, he couldn’t think of what single character to use at the moment, so he decided to set it aside for now. The next day, Xiao Zhige gathered several books and reviewed them with An Chang Qing. Eventually, they decided on naming their eldest son Xiao Anheng and their youngest daughter Xiao Anzhu.

“Heng” refers to the rare and precious jade, while “zhu” means the “pearl” in the phrase “the pearl of one’s eye.”

The two children were their hard-earned treasures.

***

Half a month after giving birth, An Chang Qing’s abdominal wound had gradually healed, and the two children had grown to a normal baby size. Xiao Zhige hired two reliable wet nurses to help take care of them.

With the wet nurses in place, the existence of the children could no longer be concealed. Although Xiao Zhige didn’t openly discuss the origins of the children, the Generals, though surprised, refrained from asking further after seeing his expression. They assumed the children were abandoned infants brought back from the South. While there were many speculations about the children’s origins outside, both Xiao Zhige and An Chang Qing kept silent, never revealing anything. The few servants who knew about it in the household were also tight-lipped, not daring to say a word.

Thus, the sudden appearance of the two children in the General’s residence gradually became a non-issue.

Meanwhile, New Year’s Eve quietly arrived.

This year, the city of Yanzhou was brightly decorated and bustling with activity. The General’s residence, however, kept a low profile. Since An Chang Qing had not fully recovered, no additional festivities were prepared. After having a reunion dinner, they distributed rewards to the servants and sent them off to celebrate the New Year on their own.

An Chang Qing stayed up with the two children until they were asleep, then he could no longer keep his eyes open and went to bed. Xiao Zhige stayed up with his family, waiting for dawn. Since he had to oversee matters in the South, he made it through New Year’s Eve but had to depart on the first day of the New Year.

At the crow of the rooster, Xiao Zhige took out three prepared red envelopes—one for each child, and the larger one was placed under An Chang Qing’s pillow.

Hearing the noise, An Chang Qing opened his eyes groggily, seeing Xiao Zhige already dressed. He quickly woke up, “Are you leaving?”

Xiao Zhige replied with a soft “mm,” adjusted the blanket that had slipped off An Chang Qing, and kissed his forehead. He whispered, “Sleep now. It won’t be too long. I’ll be back soon.”

TN:
Thank you She.Wee for the wonderful chapters.

On a side note, while waiting for TTBE’s next chapter, you might want to check out this novel being translated by Duct Tape Translations: Wedding Celebration
The original title is 冲喜 (Chōngxǐ). The term refers to someone being betrothed as a wedding partner to ward off evil for someone else who’s been sickly or deemed as bad luck. It’s quite a difficult term to translate in one or two words for the title. The translator decided to translate the title as Wedding Celebration.

This novel is from the same author as TTBE and they bear several similarities. If you like TTBE, I really recommend this one. It’s also a rebirth historical novel where MC was forced by the emperor and his father to marry ML in his previous life. MC had to deal with his father, evil court officials while finding a way to save ML in the beginning. I feel like they’re an older and more matured version of ACQ and XZG. Biggest difference is probably there’s no mpreg in this one. Also, this novel features one of the most pitiable antagonists I’ve read. Don’t worry, it’s a happy ending for our MC.

So if you’re interested check it out:
https://www.ducttapetranslations.com/p/wedding-celebration.html