Twin siblings are good

t... the amount of blood vomited could be detrimental..." Following Qingyu’s gaze, there was an un-dried pool of blood on the bedside which made her heart palpitate with fear at the sheer volume of it...327. Twin Nephew and Niece is Good

The news of the Mohist army occupying the capital city of Chu spread throughout the country within a month, causing all the nobles who were previously involved in power struggles to suddenly become cautious. In less than ten years, the Ding王府 had, under their watchful eyes, transformed from a state that was almost crippled by the suppression imposed by Mo Jingqi into an entity now capable of competing with anyone. Many people regretted not taking advantage of the time when Ding王府 was at its weakest to deal it a few fatal blows, thereby creating another formidable enemy whose power could not be predicted.

However, seeing the fierce Mohist soldiers stationed on the ramparts, all those who were previously eager for action involuntarily held back. Although there was a strong desire to annihilate the Mohist army, they knew that attacking first would only make them an easy target.

While the leaders of various countries were calculating their moves with different intentions, Ding王府 in Li City was in utter chaos.

The usually tranquil and pleasant main courtyard was now filled with noise. In the flower hall, several people sat or stood restlessly while many more waited anxiously outside. Those who had been in Ding王府 for a long time would recall that such scenes had occurred seven years ago as well. Indeed, today marked the birth of new members joining Ding王府.

In the flower hall, Mo Xiuyao was sitting calmly on the main seat. However, if one looked closely, he would be rigid from head to toe, restrained only by sheer willpower that stopped him from rushing into the room. Although he had experienced it before when Mo Xiaobao was born a few years ago, having gone through it made him feel even more terrified this time around. Moreover, back then there was just one child; now there were two. Everyone in the flower hall moved away from Mo Xiuyao at once, and even Mo Xiaobao, usually playful to the point of annoying his father, wisely stayed far away, lying quietly in Scholar Qingyun's arms.

Ye Li didn't like screaming when she was in pain, so her childbirth seemed less terrifying than that of other women. Qin Zeng sitting by the side couldn't help but recall how her own birth of Xu Zhirui had been met with screams echoing throughout Xu Manor. It even frightened usually stern Xu Qingze into fainting upon hearing his son's birth. Comparing this to Ye Li's situation, she suddenly felt ashamed.

Moh Xiaobao looked anxiously at the maidservants entering and exiting with water, worrying and cuddling in Scholar Qingyun's arms, his black eyes filled with fear. Scholar Qingyun patted young Mo Xiaobao gently and said soothingly: "Chen doesn't need to be afraid, your mother is fine. Do you want to go out and play with Zhirui When you return, your younger brother or sister will have been born." Mo Xiaobao shook his head and replied: "No, Chen wants to wait for the birth of my younger sibling. Grandpa, was it very painful when Mom gave birth to me" Scholar Qingyun smiled and said: "Yes, every mother experiences great pain during childbirth. So Chen should be filial to your mom in the future. Do you understand"

Moh Xiaobao nodded firmly and replied: "Chen understands, Chen will definitely take good care of Mom. Chen loves Mom the most."

"Good boy."

Outside the courtyard also had many people standing around, not only from Ding王府 but also including figures such as Hua Tianxiang, Han Mingyi, and Ye Wenhua. The flower hall was too small to accommodate everyone, so they waited anxiously in the nearest courtyard.

In the bedroom, Ye Li lay on the bed enduring intermittent pain, her face somewhat pale. Lady Xu held Ye Li's hand and watched anxiously as the midwife worked: "Lily, don't be afraid. If it hurts, scream." Ye Li forced a smile at Lady Xu; this childbirth was indeed more difficult than when she gave birth to Moh Xiaobao. A sudden sharp pain made her finally cry out.

Lady Xu wiped away the sweat on her forehead while asking: "What's going on How long until we can give birth"

The midwife replied hesitantly: "We may need to wait a bit longer, Young Master's position in the womb isn't ideal and needs to be adjusted." Lady Xu’s face darkened; she had given birth twice before and knew how troublesome an improper fetal position could be. "Then hurry up! You know what position the Duchess holds—don’t let anything go wrong!"

The midwife kept nodding her head, "Madam, don’t worry. The situation of the Viscountess is not serious; there won't be any problem. However, it will be painful for the Viscountess." Ye Li also overheard their conversation and nodded slightly, "It’s okay, just do what you have to do." Only then did the midwife step forward to adjust the fetus’s position. Xu Erfu held Ye Li's hand while trying to comfort her, "Don’t be scared, Li'er… Relax. When your aunt gave birth to your third brother, she also had abnormal fetal positioning; there is no need to worry."

Ye Li nodded and endured the pain.

The day turned into night but they still did not hear any baby’s cries from Ye Li’s room except for her occasional moans of pain. Finally Mo Xiuyao could not bear it anymore and stood up, intending to go inside. Qing Yun called out loudly, “Stop!” Mo Xiuyao paused, then continued walking forward. Qing Yun said in a solemn voice, "If you want Li'er safe, don’t enter! If you go in, would the midwives still dare to move" Indeed, the pressure and aura around Mo Xiuyao was such that not only did it make those midwives uneasy but even those sitting in the main hall were also uncomfortable. Qin Zheng had taken Xiao Bao out earlier so that he could wait outside. If Mo Xiuyao entered, the midwives would be more panicked, leading to mistakes.

Cold air kept radiating from Mo Xiuyao as he turned and looked at Qing Yun. After a while, he finally returned to his seat but no one doubted that he wanted to use his palm to break open the tightly closed door.

Everyone waited until dawn when they finally heard the first cry of an infant.

The worried crowd instantly came back to life and stood up. Xiao Bao ran in from outside, "Sister, I heard your voice!" He then rushed towards the entrance but the delivery room was still closed so he stayed by the door eagerly waiting. After a while, another cry sounded out; everyone finally breathed an enormous sigh of relief. Soon after, Xu Fu and a midwife each carried a child outside and smiled as they said, "A boy and girl, mother and children are safe."

They then brought the children to Qing Yun who was extremely delighted by the two wrinkly little red monkeys, "Good, good children. How is Li'er" Xu Erfu smiled, "She has been exhausted for a day and night, so she’s sleeping now. Father, take a look—this is your granddaughter and this is your grandson." Qing Yun nodded happily, "A boy and girl, very good…"

Xiao Bao tugged on Xu Erfu's dress in anticipation, “Maternal auntie, maternal auntie, Chen’er wants to see his brother and sister.”

Everyone couldn’t help but laugh out loud; when Xu Erfu turned around intending to hand the children over so that Mo Xiuyao could take a look at them, where was he

The children were born safely, everyone let out a sigh of relief. They had waited here for almost two days and nights and were all very tired. Especially Qing Yun who was already eighty years old could not handle such exhaustion anymore. Seeing Ye Li and the children safe, Xu Hongyu quickly instructed Qin Zheng to support Qing Yun back to rest while the others dispersed to their rooms as well. Only Xu Erfu still needed to stay a bit longer to take care of the two infants along with the midwives.

Ye Li woke up from her deep sleep and found candles burning in the room, it was pitch black outside already. She habitually touched her abdomen but instead of the round belly she had for months now there was nothing but flatness which made her whole body ache. Moving a little, she noticed her head of silver hair spilling over beside the bed. Mo Xiuyao was lying on his side by the bedside holding one of her hands while fast asleep.

When Ye Li moved, Mo Xiuyao quickly opened his eyes and saw that she was looking at him with some sleepiness still lingering in her eyes; he immediately lit up with joy. "Li’ge, you’re awake…" Ye Li nodded and ran a hand through his messy hair while asking softly, "How long have I been asleep Where are the children"

Mo Xiuyao looked outside and said, “It’s already dawn; you’ve been sleeping for almost two days. The children…” Mo Xiuyao had not seen them yet so he had a bit of confusion in his eyes.

"Get someone!"

The people who were guarding the door such as Qing Shuang rushed over upon hearing his voice. "Your Highness, the Viscountess is awake." Seeing that Ye Li was up and about, Qing Shuang was also very happy, “I’ll get someone to bring you some warm porridge.” Mo Xiuyao stopped her and asked, “Where are the children”

Qingshuang smiled and said, "Young Master and Young Miss are sleeping outside. I will ask the nanny to bring them in." With that said, Qingshuang bowed respectfully and hurriedly left.

Not long after, Nurse Lin and Wei came in with a baby each in their arms. They carefully placed the babies beside Ye Li on the bed. "Your Excellency, look at how beautiful little Prince and Young Miss are," they said with smiles. Lowering her head to have a look, although she already knew what newborns looked like, Ye Li was still taken aback by them. With her eyesight, she really could not tell why these wrinkly little red monkeys were so pretty. However, it was her own children after all, and seeing the two cute sleeping babies with their eyes closed made her heart soften like cotton.

With affection in her eyes, Ye Li touched the rosy faces of the infants gently.

Nurse Lin said, "Your Excellency, this red swaddling is Young Miss and that yellow one is little Prince. Young Miss looks exactly like Your Excellency did when she was a child."

Ye Li twitched her lips; she could not really see how the babies were similar to her. Smiling at Mo Xiuyao, she asked, "Xiyao, have you seen" Initially indifferent about the infants, Mo Xiuyao only looked after he heard Nurse Lin's words. After staring for a while and comparing his wife’s face with that of the infants, he nodded and said, "Indeed they look very alike; my Young Miss will grow up to be as pretty as Agni." To him, this was not really true, but it was a beautiful wish.

Ye Li had slept for almost two days straight. Now that she woke up, she felt hungry and ate the meat porridge Qingshuang brought specially prepared for her. She then made Mo Xiuyao rest. Since Ye Li started labour, he had not rested properly; seeing his wife safe and sound now, he finally relaxed. After Ye Li finished eating her porridge, she got him to go to bed.

But Ye Li slept too long that night and was now unable to sleep. She placed the two babies who were still blinking their eyes beside her on the bed and watched them as they slept soundly with their eyes closed. Gazing at them, she could not help but feel affectionate for them. Bending down, she kissed the wrinkled little faces of both infants. Just as dawn broke, Mo Xiaobao rushed over to Ye Li’s room upon hearing that his mother had woken up; he did not wait for someone to announce him and came in without a knock. As soon as she lifted her head, she saw him sticking out his head from the other room, so she smiled and said, "What are you looking at Why don’t you come in"

"Is Father not here" Mo Xiaobao circled the inner chamber with his eyes, seemingly confirming that Mo Xiuyao was indeed not there before entering. He then ran to Ye Li's side and saw the two babies lying next to each other on her bed, "Mother, are you alright now" With a smile, Ye Li ruffled her son’s hair as she said, "I am fine, I came here to see your sister and brother."

Following his mother, Mo Xiaobao climbed onto the bed. Kneeling beside her, he looked at the babies curiously and poked them with his little hands, asking, "Why do my sister and brother look like wrinkly little monkeys They are not pretty at all."

Hurriedly seizing his mischievous little hand, Ye Li said smilingly, “In a few days, they will be plump and white. Xiaobao looked the same when he was born.”

"What" Mo Xiaobao was puzzled yet slightly resentful and disbelieving. How could he have been so wrinkled and ugly His aunt had said that he was a chubby little baby when he was born, but... looking at his well-behaved sleeping sister and brother, they were actually not so ugly after all. Mo Xiaobao nodded heavily in agreement. Even if his sister and brother weren’t pretty, he would still treat them very well! He would treat them even better than Chong Xiaodaii and Xu Zhirui!

“What are you thinking about” Seeing how Mo Xiaobao was nodding and shaking his head with a deep look on his face, Ye Li reached out to touch her son’s forehead.

Moxiaobao smiled and said, "Mother, I will be very good to my sister and brother."

Ye Li smiled and said, "I know Xiaobao can be a good big brother."

Last time when she gave birth to Mo Xiaobao, Ye Li did not rest for the customary month as most women would. In her previous life, many women were seen out and about a week after giving birth and Westerners did not even have the custom of confinement at all. Naturally, Ye Li could not be bothered with it either; there was so much work to do in these months that she had no time for rest anyway. Nevertheless, as soon as she allowed her freedom, Nurse Xu and two nannies dragged her back onto the bed and did not allow her to get up until half a month later.

Towards the end of May, Dingwang’s mansion sent invitations to nobles and celebrities from neighboring countries, inviting them to attend a grand celebration for Qingyun's eightieth birthday at the beginning of June. Along with these invitations came another piece of news: Wangfei had given birth to twin babies, one boy and one girl, further expanding the Dingwang family. The news about Ye Li’s pregnancy was initially known only among Dingwang’s generals but never announced publicly. Although people were puzzled as to why the usually inseparable Wangfei did not participate in the battle for Chu Capital, most just assumed she stayed behind to hold down the fort in Northwest and paid little attention to it. Now that the news had spread, everyone envied Dingwang even more. Having recently conquered two imperial cities of Xi Ling and Da Chu, he now has a pair of twins as well. It seems that all good luck is destined for Mo Xiuyao alone.

Among those who heard these pieces of news, none were angrier than Mojingli and Ren Qining.

Mojingli needed no introduction; he had always been at odds with Mo Xiuyao. Now that the latter has a perfect family while his only son was nowhere to be found, how could Mojingli not feel enraged In a fit of anger, he naturally recalled his deep-seated hatred for Mo Jingqi and tormented the young emperor once again. The already timid and weak young emperor had been so terrified that he almost fell ill.

Compared to Mojingli, Ren Qining was even more aggrieved. His son, daughter, wife, and concubines were all killed by Mo Xiuyao. This could be considered wiping out his entire family. In addition, the internal conflicts within the northern border tribes that he had stirred up made him feel nothing but hatred towards Mo Xiuyao. Seeing the invitation paper with its bright red background aiming at a golden auspicious cloud, Ren Qining was so furious that he nearly spat blood.

"Mo Xiuyao! Mo Xiuyao!" In his study, seeing how angry and vicious Ren Qining looked, all of his trusted subordinates were too scared to speak. After a long while, they saw Ren Qining slowly calm down before someone cautiously asked, "Sir, shall we attend the event"

Ren Qining sneered as he tightly clutched the invitation paper in hand, as if he was squeezing Mo Xiuyao himself. "Attend Of course we will! Not only me but all of North Rong, Southern Zhao and West Ling’s representatives will attend. If we don’t go, wouldn’t it give others an impression that we fear him" A strategist asked anxiously, “Could it be that Mo Xiuyao is setting up a trap”

Ren Qining glanced at his subordinate and snorted lightly. "A trap Even if he’s as powerful as Mo Xiuyao, he can’t hold all of them in Li City to kill them. He just wants to understand the thoughts of those who are in power across countries. Just so, I also want to meet Ye Lye Yi and Lei Zhenting."

After hearing this, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. Soon after, someone else raised another question. “If Sir personally attends, he might have to bring along a lady as well. But now…” A ruler going on an envoy mission without his female relatives was indeed inappropriate. Moreover, there were occasions when only a woman could play her role perfectly. Especially with a powerful Wangfei in Dingwang’s mansion, all the representatives attending would naturally bring their ladies. However, Ren Qining currently faced another issue: his harem had been completely wiped out.

After marrying the princess of the northern border tribe as his empress and taking several concubines from there, most of them were Han Chinese women. This was indeed what some of Ren Qining’s Han advisors wished for. After all, they always felt that their own dynasty was legitimate. Although they had to rely on the strength of the northern border tribes now to restore their kingdom, they still hoped that the next emperor would have pure Han blood. Therefore, when his empress and children were killed initially, these Han Chinese secretly rejoiced inwardly. But after the death of several princes and princesses born from Han concubines, everyone started to realize how serious the situation was.

Now that there could not be a day without an emperor, the harem naturally also could not be left without someone in charge. However, on whether he should take another Han Chinese wife or one from the northern border tribe, both sides were deadlocked. Initially when Ren Qining’s side was weak, it would have been easier to say, but now that the northern border tribes had taken over a vast territory of Da Chu, many soldiers from Da Chu also joined their army. As a result, the situation where the army was solely composed of people from the north quickly changed; Han Chinese advisors started to gain bargaining chips. Thus, whether he should marry a woman from the north or one from the south had been debated for more than half a month already. Both sides would send each other harsh glances and verbal abuse as soon as they met.

Ren Qining naturally favored Han Chinese women over those from the north; as a man, he preferred gentle and well-bred ladies from Han noble families to the rather rugged women of the northern border tribes. However, people from the north were not all foolish either. Ren Qining was originally a Han person himself, so if he had another Han empress, wouldn’t their kingdom be considered part of Han territory Would there still be any place for them in the future Naturally, they would firmly oppose that.

Thinking about this issue made Ren Qining even more headache-stricken. Originally, if he could have seized Chu Capital smoothly this time, he could restore his dynasty’s legitimacy under the name of an imperial orphan from the previous dynasty. Then those people from the north wouldn’t be so important anymore. Unfortunately, because Mo Xiuyao had interfered in between, all his efforts were wasted. In the future, he still would have to rely on them; it was impossible for him to shake off or suppress them at any time. Not only was that impossible, but he also had no choice but to hold them up high.

With a wave of his hand to interrupt everyone’s discussion, Ren Qining said solemnly, "Announce my decision later on. Crown Empress Helan from the Taji tribe."

"Sir!" Everyone called in unison; one person stepped forward and said, “Sir, that Princess Helan is capricious and unreasonable; how can she be a queen”

Ren Qining impatiently replied, "Then do you think there’s another more suitable candidate from the north Capricious and unreasonable… those qualities also have their advantages. At least they don’t have so many tricks up their sleeves to irritate others." His former wife, that princess from the northern border tribe, was as cunning and sly as any man. Women in the north were not restricted like those in Han; the princess had been trained as a successor. Unfortunately, she fell deeply in love with Ren Qining upon first sight and willingly became his empress rather than the revered leader of the strongest northern tribe. Even so, her constant interference had long made Ren Qining impatient. If only Mo Xiuyao hadn’t done such a thorough job, perhaps Ren Qining would have thanked him.

“Also, crown my wife’s eldest daughter and Zhang Daren's third daughter as concubines.” was set up like the bedrooms of the noble ladies in the capital, with all the furnishings being elegant and luxurious. Even the windows were covered with smoke gauze, which was the favorite of noble...