Chapter 470: Children's Affairs

When Gu Jiu Ling gave birth to a pair of children, Xiao Yin, as the father, was not by her side; this matter has always been a hurdle in Xiao Yin's heart that he cannot get over.

Now that the two children have reached their first birthday, Xiao Yin took the initiative to send out notices, announcing a celebration banquet for the two children.

After the notices were sent out, they naturally attracted much attention in Shang Jing.

Xiao Yin is now an influential figure in Shang Jing that cannot be ignored, and some people take him as their leader.

For a time, all the noble families flocked to show their support for Xiao Yin.

That day the first winter snow fell, and the snowflakes adorned the entire Rui Wangfu in silver, making it especially beautiful.

Gu Jiu Ling actually did not want such an elaborate celebration for her children; she has always advocated keeping a low profile.

But Xiao Yin cared too much about this, and Gu Jiu Ling could not withstand him.

Xiao Yin not only prepared a lavish banquet in the flower hall, but also hired an ice sculpture artisan from somewhere unknown, turning the entire rear garden of Rui Wangfu into a large ice sculpture exhibition.

Xiao Yin had people haul huge blocks of ice from the upper reaches of the Imperial River to Rui Wangfu, and he hired dozens of ice sculpture masters to carve various cute animals in the rear garden of Rui Wangfu.

Moreover, the shells of these ice sculptures were filled with lanterns; when the candlelight was lit at dusk, the entire rear garden felt immersed in a brilliant, dazzling splendor, like the vast starry sky above.

Gu Jiu Ling had previously given birth to children and left a lingering illness, making her stomach sensitive to cold; she had to stay in the warm pavilion to warm herself by the fire.

These past few days, eating hot pot together with Xiao Yin every day has made her feel warm inside.

"Prince, peace and safety," Jiu Yue saw Xiao Yin enter and hurried over to lift the curtain, then bowed to Xiao Yin.

Xiao Yin nodded at Jiu Yue, then walked in.

Gu Jiu Ling rose to help Xiao Yin remove the large cloak draped over his shoulders; he rubbed his two long, large hands together, warmed them again by the fire, then walked to the bedside to look at the two sleeping little ones.

"Have you been troubled these days, keeping you from resting well at night?"

Xiao Yin still cannot understand Gu Jiu Ling's approach; logically, like ordinary noble families, after giving birth they would entrust the children to a wet nurse, or find a responsible grandmother to raise them.

As a noble lady, she need not personally care for the children to this extent, yet Gu Jiu Ling does everything herself—aside from the two wet nurses who breastfeed, all other aspects of the children's upbringing are handled by her personally, which makes Xiao Yin feel increasingly emotional.

But Gu Jiu Ling cannot manage it all alone; she is also somewhat tired.

Xiao Yin has several times proposed moving in to help Gu Jiu Ling care for the children, but Gu Jiu Ling still harbors resentment toward him and is unwilling to live together; Xiao Yin's lengthy explanations have not changed her mind.

The two little ones perhaps had reached the time to wake; at this moment they had slept through the whole morning, and upon opening their eyes to see their father, they instinctively lifted their chubby little arms toward Xiao Yin.

Seeing the two little ones, Xiao Yin's heart melted; he bent down and lifted them from the bed.

He placed one on each knee, then looked toward Gu Jiu Ling.

Gu Jiu Ling's face looked somewhat wan; Xiao Yin quickly asked in a low voice, "If you haven't been sleeping well lately, you can leave the children to me, or I can move in."

Gu Jiu Ling stared blankly for a moment.

She understood Xiao Yin's meaning, but the Qi Sha Gu case remains unresolved, and whether her maternal grandfather has been wronged in this matter is also still unsettled.

Under these circumstances, discussing their feelings would be premature; Gu Jiu Ling wanted to keep her distance from Xiao Yin, so she took the son from his hand, but just as she was about to take the daughter, Xiao Yin grabbed the girl's little arm.

The little girl is already one year old, born lovely as ice and snow; her hair has been left slightly longer by Gu Jiu Ling and tied into two small bunches.

The little one's teeth have also come in; being in the teething stage, she keeps blowing bubbles outward.

After blowing bubbles at her mother, she turned toward Xiao Yin and blew bubbles all over his face.

Xiao Yin, however, still held the daughter tightly in his arms, feeling like an old rooster protecting its chicks, worried that Gu Jiu Ling would take his daughter away.

Xiao Yin's brows and eyes sank slightly: "Gu Jiu Ling, what do you mean?"

Gu Jiu Ling knew Xiao Yin was angry with her over this matter.

Before they had children, the two of them lived together and ate meals; after having children, they ended up living separately, and this has been going on for quite a while.

Seeing Gu Jiu Ling silent, Xiao Yin softened his tone and sighed, "Forget it, I was wrong before, and you holding a grudge I accept. But now our relationship has returned to how it was, why can't we get past this hurdle?"

Gu Jiu Ling replied slowly, "Let's wait until the Qi Sha Gu case is settled before we talk about it."

Gu Jiu Ling does not lightly make promises to others; once she makes a promise, she is as stubborn as ten horses cannot pull back.

Jiu Yue and Yun Duo walked in laughing, bowing to Gu Jiu Ling and Xiao Yin: "Prince, Princess Consort, the outside guests have mostly arrived."

The arrival of Yun Duo and Jiu Yue broke the awkward atmosphere between Gu Jiu Ling and Xiao Yin; each person held a child and walked toward the flower hall.

The flower hall was already filled with guests, after all it was the first birthday celebration of the Rui Wangfu's young heir and commandery princess; holding such a grand banquet, the noble clans all came to show their support.

Moreover, with the fall of the Duan family, Xiao Yin's status rose sharply, yet some people already faintly sensed that the stronger his power grew, the nearer his death would be.

After all, the world is still rural; even if Emperor Longqing died, there are still several of his princes below him, and there is no way for Xiao Yin to take control—this reshuffling of the royal family seems about to begin.

Crown Prince Xiao Ting also arrived early with his entourage; this was Xiao Ting's first time seeing the pair of children born to Gu Jiu Ling.

Xiao Yin received other guests in the front courtyard; Gu Jiu Ling handed the children to the nanny and was responsible for receiving the noble ladies of each clan in the rear courtyard.

Not wanting to deal with some matters in the front courtyard, she had just rounded the moon gate when Xiao Ting blocked her path.

Gu Jiu Ling had not seen the Crown Prince for some days either; she merely observed Xiao Yin's face showing a somewhat helpless English expression.

She raised her eyebrows slightly, stepped forward, and looked at Xiao Ting, saying, "Your Highness, you are not drinking in the front courtyard; what are you doing in the rear courtyard? Could it be that you have taken a fancy to my flowers and plants there?"

Xiao Ting did not turn out as Gu Jiu Ling had imagined. Besides his usual impatience, a hint of bitterness seeped from the corner of his mouth.

"You like to joke with me, but you know full well what I have in mind."

Xiao Ting's remark was utterly baffling, and Gu Jiu Ling's face immediately darkened.

The entanglement between the original host and Xiao Ting is none of her business, but the way Xiao Ting previously treated the original host—almost getting her killed—now that the body has been inhabited by a different soul, he keeps clamoring that he still loves Gu Jiu Ling, which can be summed up in one word: despicable.

Gu Jiu Ling is still busy with her own affairs this time and does not want to have too much interaction with this Crown Prince.

She has experienced her husband's ability to become jealous over trivial matters.

Suddenly Xiao Ting raised his hand and seized Gu Jiu Ling's wrist, staring at her: "Next month I am to marry the Crown Princess; do you really have nothing to say to me?"

Gu Jiu Ling froze on the spot, "What does your marrying a wife have to do with me, old lady? And you still call me a hammer!"

Gu Jiu Ling was about to offer some congratulatory words, but then footsteps sounded from the corner, and Xiao Yin arrived with the male guests from outside, heading toward the east gate.

Just then, she ran into Xiao Ting raising his hand and gripping her wrist.

Xiao Yin's face darkened.