Li Yuanying was listless for the next few days, somewhat dejected. The officials of Huating who came to report on various matters thought they had done something wrong. They went back and fretted over it for a long time, unable to figure out what they had done to make Li Yuanying so unhappy.
Of course, when Li Yuanying returned to the Prince’s Mansion, he didn’t reveal anything. He just touched Wei Jiu’s belly, feeling a bit melancholic. Their beloved daughter was gone, and now there were two boys. It was truly a cause for concern.
But having witnessed Wei Jiu’s struggles during her pregnancy, Li Yuanying didn’t intend to have her give birth again, even if these were two “stinky boys.” His princess wasn’t the type who enjoyed being confined to the inner courtyard, managing her husband and children. She had already endured enough hardship giving birth to twins. Besides, there was no guarantee that they would have a daughter if they tried again. It wasn’t worth it.
Sigh, he no longer had a daughter.
Li Yuanying didn’t tell Wei Jiu about Sun Simiao’s diagnosis. He let the sadness fester in his heart for days, grieving deeply.
Wei Jiu, always perceptive, noticed Li Yuanying’s unusual behavior even though her mind was occupied with her children during pregnancy. She asked Huang Ying and Huang Li what was going on. Initially, they were hesitant to speak. Later, when Wei Jiu put on a stern face, they dared to tell her that Sun Simiao had diagnosed the babies as boys.
Wei Jiu wanted to laugh, but her heart ached more than anything.
Li Yuanying truly loved daughters. He had been talking about it endlessly before she became pregnant, but he stopped mentioning it once she was expecting. Every day, when he touched her belly and spoke to the child inside, he never called it a daughter or a son. He was afraid of being disappointed if the child was born and turned out to be a boy.
Knowing that there were two boys in her belly, Li Yuanying must have been extremely disappointed. But fearing that it would affect her and the children, he kept it to himself.
This man, he was still a child himself. He didn’t seem like someone who was about to become a father.
Li Yuanying came back from outside and saw Wei Jiu leaning against a cushion, sketching shoe patterns. While her needlework wasn’t particularly good, she had beautiful handwriting and a good eye for drawing. Since her belly had grown, it was inconvenient for her to go out for long periods, so she would spend her time sketching patterns for the embroidery room to make for her.
Before the babies were even born, they had already prepared a significant number of little clothes and shoes for both boys and girls. The designs were drawn by both Li Yuanying and Wei Jiu, and they were all very cute.
As Li Yuanying approached, he saw that Wei Jiu was sketching shoes for a girl. It immediately brought back his sorrow. He went over and rubbed Wei Jiu’s belly. He wanted to sigh but held it back. He stroked her belly aimlessly, feeling one of the children kick him. He couldn’t help but rub it a little longer. He felt another kick, and this time, Li Yuanying was delighted. “Our son is kicking me right in the palm, even through the belly. He’s so smart!”
Wei Jiu lowered the pattern in her hand and looked at him.
Li Yuanying realized he had slipped up. His dear Wei Jiu was so intelligent, she must have understood. He stroked Wei Jiu’s round belly and confessed. “I asked Sun Shi, and he said we’re having two boys. Boys are good too. Look how cute Little Round Ball is. Even Elephants are pretty good, just a bit skinny. It’s good for children to be chubby. Round and chubby brings good fortune.” Li Yuanying was still rambling when he felt a kick from inside his belly. He immediately boasted proudly, “Oh, he kicked me again. This liveliness is just like me!”
Wei Jiu kissed his cheek. “We will have a daughter someday.”
Li Yuanying hadn’t yet discussed having more children with Wei Jiu. Pregnancy was a tough time physically and emotionally. He wanted to wait until after Wei Jiu gave birth and the twins were a little older to have a proper discussion with her.
After hearing Wei Jiu’s words, Li Yuanying became even more determined to not have more children. His Wei Jiu was willing to endure another grueling pregnancy just because he wanted a daughter. How could he bear to let her go through that again?
Giving birth was inherently dangerous. He wanted to grow old with Wei Jiu.
Li Yuanying expressed his thoughts. “I love both boys and girls. Giving birth is too damaging to the body. For at least the next two or three years, we won’t have any more children.” He then whispered in Wei Jiu’s ear about the birth control methods Sun Simiao had taught him, assuring her that they could choose not to have children if they wanted.
Wei Jiu naturally wouldn’t object. They had two children at once. If they had another one a year or two later, they might not be able to handle it. Although they had already carefully chosen several wet nurses and trained a group of maids and servants specifically to care for children, they couldn’t bear to entrust the upbringing to anyone else. They had to do it themselves.
Raising children wasn’t just about feeding and clothing them. It required a significant amount of effort.
After discussing it, they reached an agreement.
As the due date drew closer, Li Yuanying was about to move his office back to the Prince’s Mansion, afraid of missing the birth of his children and not being able to be by Wei Jiu’s side during such a crucial time.
The weather was not cooperating. In the half-month leading up to Wei Jiu’s delivery, there was continuous rain in Jiangnan, impacting spring plowing throughout the region.
Just when the seedlings had been planted, they were hit with several days of raging winds and heavy rain. The usually reliable dykes now looked like they were riddled with holes. Li Yuanying couldn’t afford to be lazy. He spent days organizing people to rescue the trapped citizens, working tirelessly.
Huating County was near the sea. Huating Port stood directly on the coast and was severely affected by the storm.
Li Yuanying made sure everyone was safe and forbade anyone from venturing out to assess the damage to their property amidst the heavy rain. He went out early and returned late every day, monitoring the progress of rescue efforts in different locations. To avoid disturbing Wei Jiu’s already light sleep during pregnancy, he slept in a separate room, even staying at the county office.
Wei Jiu didn’t think she was weak and needed constant company. She was heartbroken to see Li Yuanying return every day with a tired expression. She wished she could do something to help, but her pregnancy limited her. No matter how hard they worked, no matter how skillful they were, sometimes they were helpless against natural disasters. When the sky sent down misfortune, all they could do was minimize casualties and damage.
That day, the dyke along the Shangyou River showed signs of a potential breach. The worst part was that there were fertile fields and villages below. If it worsened, it could even flood the county seat. After hearing the report, Li Yuanying rushed to the area with his men to organize the repair work.
As they arrived, the rain began to pour even harder. Seeing the river water rising even more violently, Li Yuanying ordered the people holding umbrellas to step back and led the work from the dyke. His princess and his two unborn “stinky boys” were still in Huating. He couldn’t let the cruel sky win!
With Li Yuanying personally on the dyke, morale soared. Everyone rushed to carry the prepared materials to the breach and start the repair work. As if the heavens had heard Li Yuanying’s curses, the heavy rain gradually subsided amidst the synchronized chants of the workers. A faint glimmer of sunlight even peeked through the dark clouds in the sky. Downstream, people were digging channels to divert the flow. The raging river water gradually calmed down, no longer violently impacting the dyke they were working on.
By the time the breach was completely sealed, the sky had cleared. The days of continuous rain seemed to be coming to an end. Everyone looked forward to the long-awaited good weather. They were overjoyed and cheered for Li Yuanying.
Li Yuanying was also happy. But as he looked at the heavily damaged dyke, he felt uneasy. The cruel sky could be terrifying when it was angry. He needed to find a way to ensure the safety of the lives and livelihoods of the people along the riverbank. As he was pondering, he heard someone rushing towards him. The person shouted from afar, “Your Highness, Your Highness!”
He had to shout loud enough for Li Yuanying to hear him. The area around Li Yuanying was crowded with people, and others couldn’t squeeze in. After yelling at the top of his lungs, he finally managed to reach Li Yuanying. Li Yuanying recognized him as the steward of the Prince’s Mansion. Seeing him rush over, drenched from the rain, Li Yuanying couldn’t help but ask with concern, “What’s wrong?”
The steward quickly replied, “Your Highness, the Princess is in labor!”
Li Yuanying couldn’t stay there a moment longer. He ordered others to take care of the remaining tasks and immediately rode back to the mansion. By the time he reached the mansion, his clothes were almost dry from the wind.
Li Yuanying rushed in three strides to the delivery room, which had been prepared long ago. He saw servants coming in and out, but there was no sound from inside. Dong Xiao’e saw Li Yuanying return and hurried forward to deliver the good news. “Your Highness, the Princess has given birth. They are two young masters.”
Li Yuanying was annoyed. He wanted to go in and see Wei Jiu immediately, but the midwife stopped him, saying that he had just come from outside and was still carrying the cold air, which could make the Princess and the young masters ill.
Li Yuanying had no choice but to have someone attend to him. He took a bath and had his whole body fumigated until it was warm before rushing to see Wei Jiu.
Wei Jiu was exhausted from the delivery and had already slept once. Seeing Li Yuanying sitting beside her bed with a guilty expression, she gave him a smile and took his hand. “You’re back.”
Li Yuanying said regretfully, “I was late.” He was unable to be by Wei Jiu’s side during such a crucial moment. How could he not feel guilty?
Wei Jiu smiled and said, “You weren’t late.” She turned her head towards Li Yuanying, “If you had come back earlier, you would have barged in. I didn’t want you to see me giving birth.” No woman looks beautiful while giving birth. It’s so painful that anyone would lose their composure and scream in pain.
Li Yuanying held Wei Jiu’s hand tightly and talked to her for a while before asking for the twins to be brought to him.
Although Li Yuanying had seen Li Zhi and the others when they were still infants, that was after they were born. This was the first time he was seeing a newborn. As the wet nurse brought them over, his first impression was that they were truly ugly. They were small, with wrinkled faces and unkempt hair!
Li Yuanying didn’t dare to criticize the children that Wei Jiu had endured so much to bring into the world. He held them in his arms and looked at them carefully. Upon closer inspection, they weren’t so bad. At least their eyes looked like Wei Jiu’s, bright and beautiful. He held one and then the other, even though he found them too light, he was still very satisfied.
The next day, Li Yuanying watched as the children were bathed. He saw their tiny little penises and couldn’t help but feel worried.
They weren’t good-looking, and their endowment wasn’t impressive. How would they ever get a wife?
The twins, unaware of Li Yuanying’s criticism, were enjoying their bath. After all, they had spent their time in the womb floating in water. Being held by their bottoms and immersed in the warm bath water gave them a sense of security.
After playing with the twins for a while, Li Yuanying said goodbye to Wei Jiu and went to the county office to hear reports about the disaster. He handled various affairs and then went to find Sun Simiao, who was busy arranging post-disaster prevention measures, to see if there was anything else he needed.
After finishing his official duties, Li Yuanying confided his anxieties to Sun Simiao, worrying that his sons might be rejected by women in the future!
Sun Simiao couldn’t help but laugh. “They’re all like that when they’re just born. When you were a child, did you have a very impressive endowment?”
Li Yuanying thought about it for a moment. It seemed to be true. He said confidently, “I’ve grown up for so many years, how could I still remember if I had a good endowment as a child!”
With his worries relieved, Li Yuanying was in a good mood. He ordered his men to thoroughly investigate every aspect of the disaster. He needed to ensure that the relief efforts were implemented properly.
**Author’s Note:**
Little Prince: Oh, my sons are so tiny. I’m worried.
Big Son: ??
Little Son: ??
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