An eight-year-old kid emptied his scumbag father's warehouse and followed his grandparents into

He paused, his eyes seeming to have seen the future scene, his voice filled with longing and determination: "I will personally ask my father for permission to do all this with the most solemn ceremony for a prince. The betrothal gift..."

Thinking of the piles of treasures in the girl's space, Xu Zize shook his head helplessly, "Brother Xiaokang has to choose it himself to match you in some way."

"Brother Xiaokang wants everyone in the capital to see how I, Xu Zize, have devoted all my energy to picking the stars from the sky for Xi'er and how I have welcomed you into the palace in a grand and honorable manner."

His words were like the finest wine, stirring Jing Chunxi's heart, flushing her cheeks, and even burning her ears. She couldn't help but glance up at him, her eyes shimmering with shyness and joy she hadn't noticed. "You're getting more and more outrageous... Who asked you to be so ostentatious?"

"Yes." Xu Zize said firmly, his eyes blazing. "My Xi'er, you deserve the best in this world. Although the wait now is tiring, please believe me, Brother Xiaokang only wants to be with you for the rest of his life. When the time comes, you only need to wait patiently to be my most beautiful bride."

His words were sincere and passionate, and every word struck Jing Chunxi's heart.

A breeze blew past the corridor, blowing off a few petals that quietly landed on the clothes and hair of the two people. The air was filled with sweet fragrance and silently flowing emotions.

Jing Chunxi said nothing more, nor did he want to refuse. However, the slight smile on his lips and the glimmer in his eyes were the most silent yet touching response to his affectionate expectations for the future.

Although she knew that his words were not realistic, she could not help but indulge in them because she was also moved.

After returning to Qingshan Villa, the Ghost Festival arrived a few days later.

"Sister, Brother Five and Brother Six are back. They are leading all the children in their family to worship at the cemetery on the back mountain!" Before Sister Jin arrived, her clear and anxious voice rushed in. She took Mingzhu's hand and rushed into the house like a gust of wind.

Jing Qiurong, who was lying on the bed, whispering with Jing Chunxi and was already drowsy, was startled by the sudden noise and suddenly opened her eyes.

Although stewed black bean pork trotters were an indispensable part of her daily meals, the swelling in her legs didn't seem to go away much after she drank the soup.

As her due date approached, her belly grew alarmingly large, making it increasingly difficult for her to move. Xu Dingchun, alarmed by this, forbade her from walking around freely. Now, she could barely walk around the yard a few times a day, spending most of her time reclining on the couch like this.

"Didn't I tell you again and again to be careful and walk slowly when entering this room? Why don't you remember?" Seeing this, Jing Chunxi immediately stopped massaging his mother's swollen legs. Instead, he reached out and gently stroked the bulging belly, as if to comfort the younger brothers and sisters who might be disturbed.

She turned around, lowered her voice, and gently scolded the two little girls who had barged in rashly, frowning slightly.

"I'm sorry, aunt, sister, we...we forgot about it in such a hurry." Jin Jieer knew she was in the wrong, so she quickly stuck out her tongue, an apologetic look on her face.

She quietly brought a stool and sat down next to Jing Chunxi, looking at her aunt, trying to make up for her previous rashness.

Mingzhu, who insisted on coming back with Jin Jie'er and the others, leaned timidly on the other side of Jing Chunxi.

She carefully checked Jing Qiurong's expression before whispering, "Aunt, are you okay? We didn't mean to do that...it's just that seeing Brother Wutou and the others like that, we felt so sorry for them."

"Alas, it shouldn't be like this." Jing Qiurong recovered from the shock and sighed, with a heavy look of sadness between her brows.

She remembered that when Jing Chunxi had just returned, he had told her in detail about the hardships he had experienced during his exile, especially the cold-hearted attitude and evil deeds of the clan leader's descendants. She felt so upset that she didn't know what to say for a moment.

It would have been fine if the elders had just suffered retribution for the evil they did, but they made the children suffer so much.

Back to the end of April, all the members of the Jing family who were exiled to Lingnan returned to Qingshan Villa first.

It was not until then that the eleven children in the village who had been longing for their relatives day and night finally understood that except for them, the legitimate lineage of their family had almost died out, and only Jing Mingrong was left back.

On the contrary, the two families of Jing Changming and Jing Changdu, who were born out of wedlock, were all present and returned in one piece.

The joy in their hearts was instantly shattered by the cold reality. The children were all stunned, and the huge loss and grief suddenly gripped them.

The ones crying the loudest were Liutou and two other children who were a year or two younger than him and still had vague memories of their parents. Their cries were filled with the despair of never seeing their loved ones again.

Other younger children actually have no impression of their so-called family members, and their desire for relatives is also rootless.

But he was infected by the overwhelming sadness of his brothers and sisters, and vaguely understood that this news meant that they would no longer have their parents and other blood relatives, so he also burst into tears, and the scene was desolate.

Wutou, who was the first to learn the tragic news, had long since shed his tears in the past few years. Therefore, among all the grieving children, he was the only one who remained unusually silent, not wailing. Instead, he silently walked over and hugged the two youngest children tightly in his arms.

She whispered hoarsely, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Fifth Brother is here..."

Finally, it was this half-grown boy who forced himself to become the backbone, and took all his weeping and bewildered brothers and sisters to the back mountain to pay homage to the cenotaph he had quietly built and added new soil every year.

Now it is the Ghost Festival, a festival for paying homage to ancestors and burning paper money to express grief for deceased relatives. That is why Wutou and Liutou took a special leave and rushed back to the farm to preside over this ceremony, which is of special significance to their family.

"Let them go! No matter what their elders did when they were alive, the children's pure filial piety is always rare and should not be stopped." Jing Qiurong said with emotion.

Ever since he learned about his uncle Xu Dingchun's true identity, Wu Tou has been trying to find a job for a long time. Especially when he heard that the Iron Eagle Battalion was about to withdraw to the northern border, he insisted on joining the army to gain experience. He wanted to grow up quickly in that harsh environment, and also wanted to earn military merit to provide the strongest support to his sisters and brothers.

But Xu Dingchun and Jing Qiurong, after much deliberation, sought the advice of Six, who was only a year younger than Five. Looking at the entire family, young and old, especially the seven younger siblings, all under ten and desperately in need of support and care from older siblings, they painstakingly persuaded Five to stay in the capital for a while and shoulder the responsibilities of a fatherly brother.

Finally, Xu Dingchun used his current position as the Inspector of the Censorate to secure a position as a cavalry inspector for Wu Tou in the Bingmasi.

Although this child is only fifteen years old, he has experienced many hardships and has a calm and tough temperament. He also has a strong temper and good martial arts skills. He will first seek a legitimate job that can support the government.

If he is willing to endure hardships and make progress, the Bingmasi is a place where people can gain experience and be tempered. With their support in the future, he can always look forward to a bright future.