Chapter 273 - Twins One Month Old!

The news of Shen Ninghua giving birth to the auspicious boy-girl twins spread throughout the capital overnight. The people were extremely surprised and began to condemn the demonic monk Liaochen. Many people regarded the two children as auspicious signs. They thought that next year, they would definitely have a good harvest.

After the twins were born, the sky was exceptionally clear for more than ten days. There were no clouds in the clear and blue sky, nor any trace of thunder and rain as before. It was already the twelfth month of the lunar calendar. Although it did not snow, the thunder in the winter shocked many people.

What shocked them most was that the thunder even destroyed half of Ningkun Palace. Now they finally knew the reason. This was a warning from the heavens that a demon monk was going to harm Princess Zhaohua and the twins in her belly. This was not strange. After all, the auspicious people were blessed by the heavens upon their births! It was a pity that the thunder did not directly kill the demon monk Liaochen in prison!

Baili Qingcang even publicly asked the officials in court to suggest names for the twins. The officials did not dare to raise any objections and they racked their brains to think of names, afraid that they would make the Emperor dissatisfied.

When Baili Junyi returned from court, he immediately went to Huajun Pavilion. After carefully washing his hands and changing his clothes, he entered the room and saw Shen Ninghua leaning against the pillow, breastfeeding the children.

The room had no-smoke coal burning and was especially warm. Shen Ninghua was wearing snow-white pajamas. Her long black hair was only tied up with simple jade buttons. Some hair strands scattered on her cheeks and shoulders, making her skin look like pink jade. She looked stunningly beautiful.

Bail Junyi’s eyes turned hot. He felt a rush of hot blood up from his heart. He stopped there and his heart beat wildly, making him feel restless. He thought that he would never forget this scene.

Shen Ninghua slightly raised her eyes and discreetly pulled together her clothes. “You are back?”

“Yes.” Baili Junyi raised his hand and touched his nose, forcing himself to put on a calm smile. He walked to the bedside and sat down. Looking at the baby boy who had already eaten and was fast asleep, a trace of jealousy flashed in his eyes. What a lucky brat, humph!

He reached out and gently touched his daughter in the red swaddling clothes. The tender touch from his fingertips made him feel more relaxed. He felt as if he was touching a piece of tofu. His heart was filled with joy and admiration. “My daughter is the cutest. She is always nice and never causes trouble for her mother.”

Shen Ninghua did not know what he was thinking about. Seeing that the son had also fallen asleep, she folded her clothes and lay down on the pillow. “The nanny told me not to carry the children. Otherwise, my arms will hurt after the one-month confinement. You carry the son up and pat him gently to let him burp.”

Baili Junyi panicked. These two children were as soft as tofu. He was even afraid that the wind would blow them apart. When he held them in his arms, he was so afraid that his scalp would go numb. Now he had to pat them?

Seeing that he did not move and even had a look of horror in his eyes, Shen Ninghua was puzzled. “What’s wrong? If you can’t do it, how about calling the nanny in?”

“No,” Baili Junyi interrupted her, “Don’t call the nanny. I can do it.”

Looking at his expressionless and serious face, Shen Ninghua couldn’t help but curl her lips. “Are you sure you can do it?”

A man couldn’t say no!

The expression on Baili Junyi’s face became even more serious. He picked up his son with stiff arms and carefully held him. He gently patted him twice and then frowned. He asked Shen Ninghua, “Why isn’t he burping?”

Looking at his posture, Shen Ninghua was stunned for a moment. Then she laughed in a low voice. “Hahaha, you…” If the daughter wasn’t asleep, she would have laughed out loud.

Baili Junyi held the son horizontally in his arms and patted his back so lightly that it was as if he was touching the baby with his fingertips. How could he burp?

“Honey!” Baili Junyi’s expression was solemn as he glared fiercely at Shen Ninghua in order to conceal the embarrassment in his eyes.

Shen Ninghua laughed for a long time and finally stopped. However, her lips were still curled up. She took the baby over and patted his back gently. After a while, the baby let out a loud milk burp.

Baili Junyi was embarrassed in his heart, but he forced himself not to show it on his face. Seeing Shen Ninghua put the baby down, he sat down by the bed and covered him with the quilt.

Shen Ninghua laughed in her heart for a long time. When she saw the daughter unconsciously moving her little hands in her sleep, her attention was quickly diverted. “Junyi, it’s been more than ten days. Hasn’t Father Emperor decided on their names?”

Seeing that Shen Ninghua was no longer laughing, Baili Junyi heaved a sigh of relief in his heart. “Not yet. This time, Father Emperor is particularly cautious. The officials and the Imperial Astronomical Observatory have submitted at least 80 or 100 names, but he is still not satisfied. We will just wait.”

“Alright. However, it’s a little inconvenient for us to address the two babies now.” Shen Ninghua said with some regret.

An idea occurred to Baili Junyi. “Don’t the people say that babies with ordinary names are easier to raise? Let’s give them informal names first.”

“That would do. Do you have any good ideas?”

Baili Junyi touched his chin and looked at the two sleeping babies. He suddenly chuckled. “Big and Little?”

Shen Ninghua’s interest that had just been aroused suddenly dropped. She said in a bad mood, “Big and Little? It doesn’t matter for the boy, but when our daughter grows up, do you want me to tell her that her father gave her the name Little?”

“Haha, I was just joking. Don’t take it seriously.” When he thought of how his daughter would look at him in grief, Baili Junyi was terrified. “How about Big and Sweetie?” The daughter was a treasure. Sweetie should be a good name for her.

Looking at the son who was sleeping soundly, Shen Ninghua thought helplessly. It seemed that you were destined to be called Big. Mother had no choice. “Alright.”

Baili Junyi was extremely happy. He looked at the two children for a while with satisfaction before calling Bai Ruo and the nurses in to carefully carry the two babies back to the room next door.

When there were only the two of them left in the room, Baili Junyi took off his shoes and lay down next to Shen Ninghua. He pulled Shen Ninghua closer and let her lay in his arms. He rubbed the top of her head with his cheek. “Ninghua, Father Emperor sentenced Liaochen to death this morning. When our children are one month old, he will be executed.”

Shen Ninghua nodded and relaxed in his arms. “Yes, the Empress has also quieted down a lot. She must know that she has angered Father Emperor this time.”

“Yes. Recently, the fights in court are getting fierce, especially between the Third Prince and Crown Prince. The two of them are almost at loggerheads. Basically, as long as Crown Prince agrees to something, the Third Prince will definitely object to it. Father Emperor didn’t interfere. I think he must have his own ideas.”

“Although Father Emperor has grounded the Empress, he does not have any ill feelings towards the Crown Prince. He should be very satisfied with the Crown Prince’s honest behavior before. Otherwise, he would not merely ground the Empress while giving an order to prohibit the palace maids from talking about the matter.”

“Well, it seems that we can enjoy peace for a while.” The Empress was grounded, and the Crown Prince and Zhao Family did not dare to move.

The two of them hugged each other and the atmosphere was exceptionally warm. They did not finish speaking what was on their minds, but they knew very well in their hearts that after this short period of peace, there would probably be a bloody storm. It was best to take advantage of this moment to enjoy this peace.

As the days passed, the two children became more adorable. They were also exceptionally calm. Every day, they would quietly sleep after drinking milk. When they woke up, they would slightly open their black gem-like eyes to look at the figures around them and made people feel their hearts go soft.

But there was one thing: they absolutely could not be separated, nor could they leave Shen Ninghua for too long. Once they were separated, or if they did not see Shen Ninghua for a long time, they would definitely cry as if the heavens collapsed and the earth cracked.

After a month of recuperation, the two babies’ health conditions were much better, and when they cried loudly, people would feel heartbroken.

Shen Ninghua was adept at medicine, and she knew that it was not bad for babies to cry occasionally. However, Baili Junyi could not bear it. As long as he heard the crying, he had to hold the children up and comfort them before they stopped. He was especially cautious about the daughter. Even if she just let out one single cry, Baili Junyi would quickly respond.

Every time Shen Ninghua saw this scene, she would laugh to herself.

One day, it was exceptionally sunny. Shen Ninghua took a good bath with Bai Ruo waiting on her and changed into a light set of clothes. She felt that her entire body became much lighter. During this month, she couldn’t move around or eat as she wanted, and she couldn’t even open the windows. She could just lie in bed every day, feeling as if her bones were melting.

After helping Shen Ninghua dress up, Hong Ling exclaimed, “Miss, you are even more beautiful than before!”

Although Shen Ninghua has given birth to the children, her waist was still slender and her whole body was slim. Because of a month of recuperation, her complexion was rosy and healthily white. After becoming a mother, her temperament had become much gentler and more tolerant. In the past, she was beautiful and sharp, but now she had become much warmer, making people unable to take their eyes off her.

Shen Ninghua was in a good mood. She turned to Bai Ruo and said, “Bai Ruo, give Hong Ling a red packet later. She is becoming more and more sweet-tongued.”

Bai Ruo quickly smiled and agreed. “Yes, Miss.”

Hong Ling smiled and bowed. “Thank you, Miss, for your reward.”

Shen Ninghua laughed and looked down at the hairpins in the jewelry box, not knowing which to wear.

When Chu Junyi walked in, he saw a peerless beauty in pink and white clothes frowning slightly beside the dressing table deep in thought. His eyes were immediately filled with deep shock and adoration. “Ninghua…”

Shen Ninghua raised her head and met his gaze. She blushed. “Aren’t you receiving the guests in the front yard?” Today was the full-month party for the two babies. She could arrive later, but Baili Junyi had to go to the front yard early in the morning.

Chu Junyi walked over with a golden jewel phoenix hairpin in his hand. He helped Shen Ninghua wear it and looked at it with satisfaction for a while. “Well, I just got a message from the Palace that Father Emperor and mother will be here in a while. So I came to see if you have dressed up.”

“Then let’s hurry over.”

Chu Junyi grabbed her arm and pulled her into his arms. “Ninghua, should you change your makeup to look a little uglier? I don’t want you to go out and let others see you so beautiful.”

Shen Ninghua’s face turned even redder as she pushed him away slightly. “Alright, let’s hurry.”

Chu Junyi laughed softly and lowered his head to kiss her on the forehead before walking out holding her hand.