The eldest daughter's scheming, the crown prince's exclusive favor to the venomous concubi

Jian Yue smiled and said, "Husband, do you think I've changed? Wasn't I used to be very vengeful? Why am I forgiving others now?"

Bai Jianan smiled and said, "It's not that you've changed. You've always been kind. It's just that fate has been cruel and made you suffer too much inhuman treatment, which has blinded your heart. My Yueyue is the kindest woman in the world, the woman I love the most."

Jian Yue laughed loudly, "So good at talking? Bai Jianan, have you spent all these years learning how to say sweet nothings?"

Bai Jianan did not deny it, saying, "I learned it from Xing'er. She always says that her mother is actually the kindest and most beautiful woman, and she loves her mother the most. Tell me, if I don't study hard, what will happen if my wife only has Xing'er in her heart in the future?"

Jian Yue chuckled and said, "Speaking of which, why don't you mention that every time I go back, I'm left out because you two are always so lovey-dovey? As expected, Sister Hua is right, a daughter is a father's little sweetheart. With a daughter, you can even forget about your wife."

Bai Jianan tightened his grip on her arm and retorted, "How could that be? I'm just showing my affection because of her. By the way, my wife, you're pregnant now and it's not suitable for you to overwork yourself. Let's go back to the village for a while. Anyway, finding Qiu Lingyu isn't something that can be done in a short time. Let the people below continue the search while we go back to rest and recuperate. We can also let Xing'er know that we're going to have a little sister or brother."

Upon hearing this, Jian Yue leaned against Bai Jianan and said, "Alright, I haven't seen Xing'er in a long time anyway, I miss her terribly, and so does Wutong, I wonder what kind of state Xing'er has tormented her into."

Xing'er is Jian Yue's daughter. Her name was decided by Shangguan Ting. Because Bai Jianan was nominally married into the Shangguan family, Xing'er's full name is Shangguan Xing'er. Wutong, on the other hand, is the boy born to Yue Leyun.

Wutong was born prematurely and was physically weak. Although he was kept healthy and nourished in the palace with good medicine, he was still weak and sickly. Hua Xiangrong then prepared medicinal soup for him and soaked in it every day. As a result, he became a person who was immune to all poisons.

Perhaps it was different from others from birth, or perhaps it was knowing that it was often sick and needed to be taken care of. It never cried or made a fuss from childhood to adulthood. Its only flaw was that it liked to follow behind Xing'er. From the time it began to babble, it has never been separated from her.

Hua Xiangrong is an extremely strict mother. Wutong is in poor health, but like the other children in the Shangguan family, he still gets up early to train and practices martial arts every day without interruption. Now he is five years old, and his martial arts skills are comparable to those of an average adult, except that he lacks strength.

According to Hua Xiangrong, it doesn't matter if he is physically weak. What matters is that he was born a man but does not have the ability to protect the woman he loves. This is absolutely unacceptable. Therefore, she named him Wutong, meaning that he will never regret being a phoenix perched on a parasol tree.

She wanted to raise her son to be a man that women would be unable to let go of, and a man they would never regret in their lives.

From the care put into the name, Jian Yue knew that Hua Xiangrong was truly raising Wutong as her own son, and the Shangguan family was also treating Wutong as their protégé, passing on everything about the Shangguan family, big and small, to Wutong, teaching him how to be a person.

As for Yue Leyun's matter, no one mentioned it. Shangguan Wutong was born into the Shangguan family and had nothing to do with anyone else.

Another ten months passed. Jianyue had a difficult labor and almost lost both her and her unborn child. In the end, she was lucky enough to give birth to twins, a boy and a girl. The boy had a beauty mark on the corner of his lip, and the girl had a cinnabar mark on her head. The two children were very beautiful, and everyone who saw them was envious.

The day she gave birth was also the day Jianyue fulfilled her last wish.

On the very day of the delivery, a woman came to the village, wearing a mask and leading a child of about five years old, walking step by step toward Jian Yue's home.

"Mother, is this Aunt's house?"

"Yes, this is the house of our aunt who has been looking for us for so many years. Nianzhe, now that we're here, we're home. You'll have older sisters and younger brothers too. Aren't you happy?"

"Of course I'm happy, but will my older sister and younger brother like me?"

"Yes, especially your aunt. She'll treat you like her own child. And, your aunt is having a baby today, so you'll be a big brother now. You have to take good care of your little brother or sister, okay?"

"I know, I will definitely take good care of them and won't let them get hurt in any way."

When Jian Yue was giving birth, Bai Jianan couldn't help but rush in. Seeing Jian Yue's pained and restrained expression, his heart jumped into his throat. He took a few steps forward, grabbed Jian Yue's hand, and said, "My wife, don't be afraid. I'm here, your husband is here."

Jian Yuexiang was drenched in sweat, her eyes slightly open, and she said weakly, "I know, don't worry, I'm fine."

The midwife squatted between her legs and said, "Don't talk. Save your strength to keep pushing. This baby is a bit big. If you don't push, it might be dangerous."

As soon as the midwife finished speaking, Jian Yue felt unbearable pain in her abdomen and cried out. Bai Jianan immediately offered his hand and placed it on Jian Yue's lips. Jian Yue bit down hard and then felt a warm current flowing through her abdomen. Then, a clear cry echoed throughout the room.

"Congratulations, Madam, it's a little princess! Oh my, she even has a little red birthmark between her eyebrows, she's so beautiful."

Just then, the midwife suddenly exclaimed, "Don't move! There's another one inside!"

After giving birth, Jian Yue was so exhausted that she fell asleep, but Bai Jianan sat trembling in front of her bed, his eyes filled with deep heartache.

The midwife was the same woman who delivered Xing'er's baby five years ago. She was used to it now. She simply handed the towel in her hand to Bai Jianan, gave him some instructions, and then turned to leave.

Bai Jianan skillfully wiped Jian Yue's face. When Jian Yue finally felt unwell and woke up, Bai Jianan quickly stopped and asked worriedly, "What's wrong? Did I hurt you?"

Jian Yue shook her head and said, "It's nothing, I'm just worried about the child and want to see him."

Bai Jianan smiled, tidied her up, and said, "Why are you in such a hurry? Once my wife has rested, it won't be right to look at them anymore. We'll deal with these two brats together then."

Jian Yue laughed: "Two of them? No wonder they say that twins are hereditary. My sister and I are twins."

Mentioning Qiu Lingyu made Jian Yue feel a little down again. She sighed, and Bai Jianan was about to comfort her when Bai Xiaowan rushed in and stood by the door, saying, "Yueyue, Yueyue, look who's here!"

Jian Yue looked up in surprise, and the door creaked open. A familiar figure came into view, smiling and saying, "Yueyue, it's been a long time."

Qiu Lingyu returned, and she and Jian Yue had a long talk. Qiu Lingyu also talked about what had happened to her over the past few years.

To everyone's surprise, Qiu Lingyu lived on Mount Riliang and found a cellar in their burned-down house as her place of refuge.

As her belly grew bigger and bigger, Qiu Lingyu didn't see a doctor until the baby was born.

Lu Zhe's child must be different from others. If word gets out, this child will likely face dire consequences.

Qiu Lingyu dared not gamble, so she persevered and gave birth to the child alone.

Sure enough, the child had a problem.

The newborn child's cries were deafening, causing beasts to flee in terror and snakes, insects, and plagues to keep their distance. Inside the child's body, Qiu Lingyu also discovered the Golden Cicada Gu that had been living within her own body all along.

This terrified Qiu Lingyu, who feared that the Gu worm would harm the child.

As time went by, the child grew up healthy and was able to relax. She gradually started taking him to the mountains. However, the child was too special for her to let anyone see him, so she waited until he was five years old before coming to find Jianyue.

She said, "I didn't originally plan to show up, but I thought that since you've been looking for me for so many years, you must know those things. If I didn't show up for a long time, you would feel guilty."

Jian Yue nodded, her eyes filled with self-reproach, and said, "Why didn't you say so? If you had, we could have had another plan together. Aren't you afraid that you'll lose this child by hurting yourself like this?"

Qiu Lingyu laughed and said, "What's there to be afraid of? This child is no ordinary person. He's survived all this trouble and he's definitely not going to die. I don't need to worry."

Jian Yue shook her head helplessly: "You're so stubborn. You care so much about Lu Zhe, this child must be the apple of your eye. How could you not worry? Are you just unwilling to talk about it, or are you afraid of ruining your self-esteem?"

Qiu Lingyu smiled but remained silent. Jian Yue said, "You are always so stubborn. Are we not so similar? I would definitely give you a good scolding. Since we are so evenly matched, I can't say anything to you."

"But if you don't trust others, do you not even trust me? From the first moment I saw you, I knew you would never harm me. Why couldn't you see me in the act?"

Qiu Lingyu explained, "It's not that I don't believe it, I just didn't want to implicate you. You know, I can't guarantee that he's not a normal person. Lu Zhe's identity means he can't have children at all. I don't know what method he used to actually get me pregnant."

Jian Yue said, "He must love you too, but after living for so long, he has forgotten what love is. Otherwise, he would never have given you this child. For him, children are no longer what he wants. He can live forever, and offspring are only a burden to him."

Qiu Lingyu lowered her eyes and said, "Of course I know, otherwise I wouldn't have stubbornly let him use me and still guard this child for him."

Although Qiu Lingyu was smiling, Jian Yue could clearly see that there was always a trace of sadness in her eyes, an unyielding presence. After a long while, Jian Yue asked, "Sister, do you hate me? If it weren't for me, he wouldn't have died."