"Husband, I’m not afraid of dying," An Jing’s voice choked even more violently, her throat painfully constricted, her eyes so red it seemed like tears could fall out at any moment, "I just can’t bear to leave the children behind..."
"I know," Xiao Changyi wrapped his hand tightly around An Jing’s, squeezing so hard it felt as if he wanted to embed her into his body. After a moment, he murmured softly, "I feel the same."
"Husband..." An Jing buried her face completely in Xiao Changyi’s chest, not allowing him to see her tears, but her voice grew even more anguished, "I want to live and go back... I want to watch the children grow up... I want to see them get married and have children..."
Xiao Changyi held An Jing tightly, his throat also tight with emotion, painfully so. It took him quite a while before he could utter three words: "So do I."
Meanwhile, in the Imperial Capital:
At the Imperial Palace.
At the entrance to Jun Palace, four little ones sat together on the steps, and although it was deep into the night, they still refused to enter Jun Palace to sleep.
The Emperor of Xiyun stood not far from the four children, looking at them as they sat there like little ones abandoned by their parents, feeling quite uncomfortable in his heart.
At first, the children could still play happily in the palace. However, as time passed and their parents hadn’t come for them, they started to cry and make a fuss. They had been consoled with great difficulty, but after a few days, they began to cry again, asking why their parents hadn’t come for them.
Today, the children were no longer crying; instead, they just sat there, waiting for their parents to come for them.
"Jing’er, Star, Qinger, Yun Er, it’s late. You should rest. Come, let’s go inside with Grandfather."
Just as the Emperor of Xiyun was about to lead the four children inside, they all turned their heads to look at him.
"Grandfather, why haven’t Daddy and Mommy come to pick us up?"
The Emperor of Xiyun’s lips trembled slightly.
"Grandfather, don’t Daddy and Mommy want us anymore?"
Upon hearing this, he hurriedly reassured, "My dears, your parents would never abandon you."
"Then why haven’t Daddy and Mommy come to take us home?" the four children immediately asked again, their doe eyes welling up with tears, appearing incredibly pitiful and heart-wrenching.
The Emperor of Xiyun’s old eyes also turned red; after all, he was bearing far more than these four little ones.
Yet he still consoled them, "Good children, your parents are off tending to affairs and haven’t come back yet. That’s why they haven’t been able to come for you, not because they don’t want you. Listen to Grandfather, let’s go inside to rest."
An Yiyun cried out, "Mommy told Yun Er and my brothers to listen to Grandfather, and we all did, but Mommy and Daddy still haven’t come for us. Yun Er doesn’t want to listen to Grandfather anymore, I don’t want to."
"Right, we don’t want to listen to Grandfather anymore!" the other three children chimed in, all of them crying.
The Emperor of Xiyun comforted them for a long time without success, so he had no choice but to send for Su Muchen.
When Su Muchen arrived, the Emperor of Xiyun whispered to him, "Chen, you ought to be sensible by now. Don’t make your Imperial Grandfather worry about you too."
"Your grandson obeys," Su Muchen felt especially distressed inside, for he knew about his father catching the epidemic.
"Please talk to your four younger brothers. You get along with them the best. If your father cannot return, you’ll be their support in the future, and they will be yours. You must be as close as true brothers, do you understand?"
"Your grandson understands."