Chapter 633

“Mother, these are the children Li Zhiwei gave birth to.” Xu Heming sighed as he explained. He was afraid that if he did not say something soon, The Old Princess would assume he had gone somewhere and snatched several children.

“What did you say?” The Old Princess stared at him, wondering if she had heard correctly.

These children had been born to Li Zhiwei?

Wouldn’t that make them her grandchildren?

At the thought, The Old Princess began trembling as she looked the children over carefully.

And sure enough, with their tiny noses and eyes, they truly resembled Xu Heming.

“All three of them?” The Old Princess asked again, still somewhat uncertain.

After all, the imperial physician had said that Li Zhiwei was carrying twins.

She would have loved two grandchildren, of course, but wasn’t three a little too many?

“Mm. All three.” Xu Heming’s voice was cold, but he could not hide the smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Li Zhiwei had given him three children.

“What a tragic fate!” The Old Princess sighed.

She could not help thinking of how the woman Xu Heming had married before had faked her death and disappeared, leaving only her child behind at the estate.

Now Li Zhiwei was still alive, but although the children had returned, their mother had not.

They said that children with mothers were treasures, while those without mothers were like weeds.

These children were still so young. Just looking at them made them seem pitiful.

“Wah… wah…”

Suddenly, a faint cry came from inside the castle.

Hearing it, Xu Heming hurried over to the youngest child, Niannian.

“Why are you crying?” Xu Heming asked with a frown as he looked at the baby, whose face had turned red from crying.

“Have you arranged wet nurses for the children?” the Princess Consort asked Xu Heming irritably.

The three children were so young; of course they needed wet nurses.

“Not yet.” Xu Heming shook his head. The moment he learned of Li Zhiwei’s whereabouts, he had rushed over.

Who could have imagined that when he saw her again, she would be giving birth?

No, he had not actually seen Li Zhiwei yet.

She was still in the delivery room, and he had not gone inside.

He had only brought the three children back.

“You haven’t found wet nurses, and you still dared to bring all three children back? Are you trying to starve my precious grandchildren to death?” The Old Princess scolded Xu Heming furiously.

“Chunxi, hurry and find some goat’s milk for the three young masters,” the Princess Consort quickly instructed Chunxi, who was standing behind her. She was growing anxious as well. What were they to do without wet nurses?

“Mother, don’t worry. Perhaps the Li family has already made arrangements. I’ll go ask Lord Li.” Xu Heming frowned and hurried out.

He had to ask Li Tianyou where the wet nurses were as soon as possible.

Looking at the three children lying on the bed, The Old Princess grew worried again.

Could it be that Prince An’s residence was cursed?

Perhaps it was simply unsuited to having a woman of the household.

“Mm…”

The Old Princess was about to call for Nanny Tang, but then remembered that Xu Heming had sent Nanny Tang away, and she still had not returned.

“Your father is really unreliable too,” The Old Princess muttered as she looked at the children.

The Old Princess began examining Niannian while the weather was still warm.

“Oh!”

The Old Princess let out a cry of surprise.

She had never expected that the baby with such a feeble cry would turn out to be the granddaughter she had longed for.

“Old Princess, what’s wrong?” Chunxi rushed in after hearing the cry.

“Nothing, nothing.” The Old Princess was now grinning from ear to ear. She had been yearning for a granddaughter for ages.

At the thought, she glanced at the other two children and secretly examined them as well.

They were both grandsons—both boys.

The Old Princess was a little disappointed, but when she remembered that she still had a granddaughter, she was satisfied after all.

Chunxi was somewhat puzzled. However, when she saw The Old Princess personally pick up one of the swaddled babies, she stepped forward to take the child from her.

“No need. This old woman can carry her herself.” The Old Princess smiled benevolently, her heart filled with renewed anticipation.

Prince An’s Residence, Qifeng Courtyard

Li Tianyou and Lady Yao sat in the courtyard, daring neither to say nor do anything.

They could not even leave.

“Sigh…” Li Tianyou had lost count of how many times he had sighed.

“My lord, should we go take a look at the children?” Lady Yao asked uncertainly. The people from Prince An’s residence would not let them leave, but surely they would allow them to see the children, wouldn’t they?

“No.” Li Tianyou was furious just thinking about it.

Back then, Xu Heming had wanted to have the children aborted.

Now that they had been born, he had actually come to snatch them away.

He had even confined Li Tianyou and Lady Yao to this courtyard.

The more Li Tianyou thought about it, the angrier he became.

“Prince!”

A maid’s voice sounded from outside the courtyard.

Li Tianyou and Lady Yao exchanged a glance.

Xu Heming had arrived!

Li Tianyou straightened his back and turned away with a displeased expression, unwilling to look at Xu Heming standing by the door.

Lady Yao imitated him and turned away as well.

“Father, Mother-in-law.”

Xu Heming entered and bowed to the two of them.

Li Tianyou snorted coldly. “When does Prince An intend to let us go home? We can’t possibly presume to accept that title of ‘Father’ and ‘Mother-in-law’ from you.”

“Father-in-law, how could you say that? Zhiwei is my princess consort, so naturally you are my father-in-law and Lady Yao is my mother-in-law.”

Xu Heming was not annoyed. After all, he and Li Zhiwei had never divorced.

Li Zhiwei had merely run away in a fit of temper. She would come back eventually.

“Enough. Don’t say such empty pleasantries. Why have you come to see us?” Li Tianyou did not believe that Xu Heming would come without a reason.

“May I ask whether the Li family has already found wet nurses for Zhiwei?” Xu Heming asked directly, without beating around the bush.

Li Tianyou and Lady Yao exchanged a glance, both wanting to say no.

However, the women of an aristocratic family never nursed their children personally. Besides, Li Zhiwei had given birth to three babies; she could not possibly feed all of them by herself.

And in truth, they had arranged wet nurses for Li Zhiwei.

It was just that the wet nurses were still at the estate.

“Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, Pingping, An’an, and Niannian are still hungry. Prince An’s residence hasn’t had time to find suitable wet nurses yet.” Xu Heming had guessed that Li Tianyou and Lady Yao might be unwilling to send the wet nurses over.

However, he had always known how to manipulate people’s feelings.

He did not believe that Li Tianyou and Lady Yao would remain unconcerned after hearing that the children were hungry.

After all, they were Li Zhiwei’s flesh and blood.

“Yes, we have!” The moment Lady Yao heard that the children were still hungry, she could no longer sit still and hurriedly replied.

Li Tianyou sighed, his displeasure with Xu Heming deepening. How dare he let his grandchildren go hungry?

“Father-in-law, could you tell me where the wet nurses are? I’ll send someone to bring them here,” Xu Heming asked, satisfied.

“They’re in Niutian Village. Send someone to the village to bring them here,” Li Tianyou said with a sigh.

“Thank you, Father-in-law. I’ll go fetch them at once.”

Xu Heming rose and was about to leave.

“Prince ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‍An, may we go see the children?”

Xu Heming was almost out of Qifeng Courtyard when Lady Yao hurriedly called after him.

Wasn’t she being kept in Prince An’s residence under the pretext of caring for her grandchildren?

Then surely they should at least allow her to see the children, shouldn’t they?