The beloved baby has a space

Liu missed Ayu terribly. Every time she received a letter from Ayu, she would feel a little anxious.

He was worried that Ayu might be mistreated or uncomfortable outside.

What I fear most is that she might suddenly stop coming back one day, turning all her past memories into nothing but a pipe dream.

But she kept these thoughts to herself and only wrote to the children again and again, telling them to have fun and not to worry about the family.

When children are studying abroad, communication is not very convenient.

Grandma Wang had made an agreement with them long ago to send letters to post stations in several places regularly. As long as the children followed roughly the same route on their study tours, they could receive the letters from home delivered in advance at those post stations.

There were a few times when things were lost or missed, but they were always connected.

Now that they no longer had to wait to receive or deliver letters, everyone in the Wang family breathed a sigh of relief.

These naughty kids have finally come back.

Apart from the eldest son Wang Chuanfu and his wife, and Wang Dalang and his wife who stayed in Hujia Village, and the third son Wang Chuanyuan and his wife who stayed in Nanhe Town, the rest of the Wang family stayed in Fucheng.

After snuggling in Old Mrs. Wang's arms for a while, Ayu ran to Liu Shi, finally easing the bitterness in Liu Shi's heart.

"Ayu has changed, she's become even more beautiful." Liu looked at Ayu and felt unfamiliar with her, but only her face was somewhat unfamiliar; the sense of closeness was still there.

The other members of the Wang family also looked at Ayu curiously for a while, and couldn't help but sigh, "She has really changed completely. If she weren't family, we really wouldn't recognize her."

"Girls change so much as they grow up. They'll be fine once they reach marriageable age," Grandma Wang said casually, changing the subject and not letting them dwell on it. "Even when Aibao was little, she changed every year."

Wang Chuanman was puzzled: "Bao Mei didn't change every year when she was little—"

Boom!
Wang Chuanman covered his head, looked at Old Mrs. Wang, and shut up.

"You think you're all talk? You're so good at talking. There's a vacancy for a storyteller in the restaurant, why don't you fill in?" Old Mrs. Wang's expression remained unchanged, as if she were just saying it casually.

In recent years, Mrs. Wang has become increasingly adept at concealing her emotions. She still criticizes her family members, but it's difficult for everyone to tell whether she's truly angry or not.

The old lady who used to glare and roll her eyes at the drop of a hat seemed to have never existed.

The crowd greeted Ayu and Qin Huai and the others with great enthusiasm, and then had servants take them to wash up.

Liu prepared some food for them, some of which were pastries and fruits that had been prepared a few days in advance, and some were freshly made, filling a whole table.

Ayu and Qin Huai didn't eat much, but Wang Wulang and the guards surnamed Chi shared the food.

After finishing their meal, Qin Huai went back next door to rest. A Yu wanted to chat with her family, but as she talked, she started yawning.

"Go and get some sleep first. You've had a long journey, you should rest well." Liu led Ayu to the courtyard.

Ayu's yard is still the same as before, but the flowers and plants inside have grown very well, and the grapevines and wild fruit vines have also grown quite a bit, all of which have been well taken care of.

In the early spring weather, the yard is full of life, with flowers and grass raising their heads, their joy written on their petals.

"It was all your grandfather who made it. He wouldn't let anyone else touch it, afraid that you would spoil it," Liu explained from the side.

Ayu smiled and said, "Yes, Grandpa loves me very much."

She lay on the bed, muttering, "Mother, I missed you so much while I was away. I bought you so many things, I'll find them all and give them to you when I wake up."

"Don't rush, you should get some sleep first. Your mother has made you a multi-flavor porridge, so you can eat it when you wake up." Liu looked at Ayu intently, afraid that the child's return was just a dream. Only by holding her hand did she feel it was real.

"Mother, why don't I see my younger brother?" Ayu naturally knew that her older brother had a son and her mother had also given birth to a younger brother.

When I left, my younger brother was already a few months old in my mother's belly. Now, he should be over three years old.

“He’s still in school. I didn’t know when you’d be back today, so I didn’t let him wait at home.” Speaking of her youngest son, Liu sighed helplessly. “He’s a little rascal. I can’t let him stay idle at home.”

As well-behaved as Ayu was, her youngest son was just as naughty. He had been beaten countless times at home, and Wang Chuanman would chase after him to beat him every few days, but he never learned his lesson and would start being naughty again.

According to her mother-in-law, Ayu had gathered all the well-behaved girls from the four households, while the rest were just mischievous monkeys.

She was convinced.

Thinking of her younger brother, Ayu's eyelids grew heavy, and she gradually fell asleep.

When I woke up, I heard a noisy commotion.

"You're going to be my future brother-in-law? I heard my sister was attracted to your looks, but you're not that good-looking." A childish, saccharine voice came from outside, sounding incredibly irritating. "When I grow up, I'll definitely be much, much better looking than you. Then, my sister won't even want you!"

Qin Huai's voice was very calm: "I'm afraid your sister will marry me before you grow up."

"You're so despicable! You tried to steal my older sister away while I was still young!" The little boy's voice rose several octaves in anger.

Ayu was not fully awake yet, and she thought in a daze: It seems that Mother was right, my younger brother is a naughty boy.

And he's only three years old, yet he speaks so fluently.

When she was three years old, she probably couldn't speak such long sentences.

Also, when did Brother Ayou become so childish? Ayu sat up, and the movement on the bed attracted the attention of the two arguing at the door.

She then saw a young boy wearing a ginger-yellow jacket, standing inside the house with his arms outstretched.

Qin Huai stood outside the house with one hand behind his back, his neck slightly bent, his face turned towards the baby.

"Brother Ayou." After Ayu got up, Tangyuan wrung out a handkerchief for her to wash herself before walking to the door.

Only after Qin Huai replied with "Ayu" did she squat down and look at the sulky little bean in front of her.

"Big sister!" the little boy called out first, his bright black eyes wide open. "Big sister, you look even more beautiful when you're awake than when you're asleep! You're so beautiful!"

Ayu smiled and said, "You must be Zhu'er. Thank you so much for taking care of the family these past few years while I've been away. My mother said that having you around has brought her a lot of energy."

Zhu'er was a little embarrassed: "Mother, did you really say that?"

He seems to always make his mother angry.

Moreover, upon learning that his older sister was coming back, he was so excited that he couldn't sleep for several days.

Seeing that everyone in the family was overjoyed and had started preparing early, not only did they clean the already clean house inside and out, but my mother, who rarely went into the kitchen, also prepared a lot of food, saying that my older sister liked to eat it. My second aunt even brought out more than thirty sets of clothes to air them out, which were all prepared for my older sister over the years.

As she watched, Zhu'er grew increasingly jealous!
Why does everyone like the older sister so much but not him?

He wanted to give his older sister a hard time, but when he returned, he heard that she was asleep. So he caught a few fat worms, quietly opened the door, and slipped inside.

Seeing her older sister asleep in the house, Zhu'er lost all her mischievous thoughts.

Because my older sister is so beautiful, and my mother said that my older sister was talking about him before she went to sleep.

He also wanted to be a good younger brother so that his older sister wouldn't be driven away by him.

Fifteen minutes later, Zhu'er obediently followed behind Ayu, her little hand trying to reach out and grab her several times, but Qin Huai's calm gaze scared her away.

When they woke up, it was already dinnertime, so the group sat down at the table and drank the congee that Liu had specially prepared.

"Sister, why do you have gold in your eyes, but I don't?" With his stomach full, Zhu'er's eyes darted around, staring intently at Ayu, and he did indeed notice the difference.

"You don't understand, do you? Because your older sister, our little sister, is the family's treasure. A treasure shines." Wang Wulang's cheerful voice came from outside. He had just finished playing at the training ground and was in a good mood. When he heard Zhu'er's words, he immediately replied.

He strode into the dining hall, twisted Zhu'er's neck, and lifted him into the air: "Tsk, you're not thin where you should be, and not strong where you should be. With this build, how can you be a man of the Wang family? Starting tomorrow, you'll learn martial arts from us."

Zhu'er, who disliked both studying literature and martial arts, was dumbfounded: "Ah, can I not learn them...?"

"Of course not! When Ayu was three years old, she could already squat steadily in a horse stance. How can you, as her younger brother, be worse than your older sister? How will you protect her in the future?"

Zhu'er was stunned: "But my father said that all I need to do in the future is to be a manager of the estate and make sure my sister has enough to eat."

"Wang! Chuan! Man!" Upon hearing Zhu'er's words, Old Mrs. Wang called out Wang Chuan Man's name with a cold laugh.

Not long after, Wang Chuanman's screams rang out.

"Mother, be gentle, be gentle!"

"Mother, I was wrong! I was wrong!"

Zhu'er belatedly covered her mouth and said, "Oh, Dad told me not to say it."

Ayu: "..." It's confirmed, my little brother is indeed very naughty.

Almost all children in the world are this mischievous.

Children who haven't experienced hardship won't mature so early; most of them will just become spoiled brats.

Besides, there's only one Ayu in the world, how could she be copied so easily?
While things were in complete chaos here, Young Master Ning hurriedly followed them back to the prefectural city.

He arrived at the prefectural governor's office and reunited with his family. He had not returned home for many years. He was finally rescued and then traveled and studied with them for several more years.

Lady Wei wept bitterly, her heart breaking. Prefect Wei, however, managed to restrain himself, saying with emotion, "You were saved by A-Yu; it's your good fortune. But in the future, don't be so reckless, causing your family worry and anxiety! Also, tell me in detail what happened to you in Lingkong City..."

The father and son talked by candlelight until late into the night. The governor of Wei County wrote down the information he had received in an urgent report and sent it to the emperor.

Meanwhile, outside the Empress's bedchamber in the Wanning City Imperial Palace, Emperor Minghua asked anxiously, "How is the Empress?"

Hua Hong and Lv Liu knelt on the ground, both shaking their heads.

"Your Majesty, please forgive us, but Her Majesty forbade us to inform her."

"Even I can't say that?!" Emperor Minghua was furious.

"I specifically told you this."

"Outrageous!" After all, they were husband and wife in their youth. Emperor Minghua turned to his personal eunuch and said to him, "Go and ask if Huai'er has returned. If she has not returned, send someone to bring her back to me by any means necessary."

At this moment, the tightly closed palace doors burst open, and the pale-faced Empress Qin leaned against her personal maid, her breath unsteady yet her aura imposing: "Qin Shuo, how dare you!"