"Look how worried you are," Zheng Yu's tone finally carried a hint of ease as she reached out to wipe the red tinge from his eyes. "So, this is why you've been ruining your own health like this?"
Gu Yi remained silent, lowering his gaze in affirmation.
"No, wait!" Zheng Yu suddenly realized. "Ever since brother-in-law's youngest niece was born, your spirits have been low, and you've been making excuses every night. You haven't been thinking about this matter all along, have you?"
Gu Yi remained silent again, defaulting to affirmation.
Having received her answer, Zheng Yu pressed her forehead. Was she that frightening? So much so that her husband had hidden this matter for so long? It was also her fault for being incompetent and inattentive. She had been too busy at the end of the year and hadn't paid timely attention to his feelings.
"Since it doesn't harm your body, you can take it for now. At worst, I'll shamelessly ask Lu Yu for a prescription for myself, saving you the trouble of taking this frequently."
Gu Yi looked up at her face, his eyes a little lost, a mist floating in them. He pursed his lips and nodded.
"Should this medicine be taken beforehand or afterward?"
"Afterward," Gu Yi replied earnestly, mistaking her question for concern about the medication.
It was precisely this pure and innocent demeanor that made her heart flutter. Did her husband still need to endure?
Following her heart, Zheng Yu suddenly smiled, stood up, and swept Gu Yi into her arms. She strode to the bedside and gently placed him on the bed. Soon, she shed her clothes and kissed him, not giving him a chance to resist. The red canopy slowly descended, obscuring the intimate scene within the room.
...
The storm finally subsided. Beneath the red canopy, the two held each other tightly. Gu Yi was exhausted, lying in her arms, on the verge of sleep.
"Sleep now. I'll wake you when it's time for dinner."
Hearing this, Gu Yi grunted and gently pushed her. His arms were truly lacking strength, and he soon fell asleep.
Zheng Yu, her face filled with contentment, felt the smooth, tender skin of the little person in her arms and smacked her lips with satisfaction. She reached for the towel by the bedside and helped him wipe the sweat from his body. The pleasure of daylight indulgence was indeed good. She had never seen Yi'er like this before.
As for the matter of children, it would be a lie to say she didn't want them at all. However, since Yi'er didn't want them, she would naturally abide by his wishes. After all, he was the one suffering, and she shouldn't be the one to make the decision.
She wanted children, but she wanted Yi'er more. One could not have both fish and bear's paw. If she had to choose one, she would choose Yi'er; she wanted Yi'er to be happy and joyful.
Gu Yi's inner turmoil was resolved, and he was no longer dejected. His physical condition also gradually improved.
A year passed in a flash. At Lu An's first birthday banquet, Lu Yu only invited a few close friends and did not invite outsiders.
For the "Zhuazhou" ceremony, Lu Yu filled the table with various items. There were abacuses, brushes, medical books, cookbooks, toys, hair accessories, rouge, hammers, and so on. Everything was there, and even a live kitten.
No matter which item Lu An grabbed, Lu Yu would be satisfied. This was merely for fun, and she did not force her child's preferences.
Lu Yu carried little An'er from the room to the table and placed him in the center, giving him a variety of choices.
The items on the table were too attractive to little An'er. Except for the toys and the kitten, he had never seen any of the other items. If he weren't so small, he would have wanted to hold them all. A group of adults gathered around the table, staring intently at his actions.
Suddenly, a small black tuft of hair by the table caught his entire attention. It was a tuft of hair that was moving.
Lu An, giggling, crawled to the edge of the table on all fours. He reached out, grabbed the small black tuft, and pulled upward. Immediately, a "wah wah wah" cry came from beneath the tuft.
Lu An couldn't pull it up and frowned unhappily. He was about to exert more force when his father scooped him up with a strong grip.
The adults who had been observing by the table hadn't expected this situation at all. They were stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.
The owner of the small tuft was Li Fulang's daughter, Li Xing. The upturned tuft was her hair, which her father had specifically styled that morning. She never expected that a child nearly a year younger than her would treat it as a toy.
Human joys and sorrows are not interconnected.
Over there, Li Xing, held in Li Fulang's arms, was crying loudly for her little tuft. Here, Lu An, held in his father's embrace, blinked his bright eyes, completely unaware of what was happening.
Seeing all the adults gathered around laughing incessantly, he also opened his little mouth and giggled, revealing four small, white front teeth, his hands waving happily.
This incident was laughed about by Lu Yu and Shen Xuan for a full year, but that's a story for another time.
The Zhuazhou ceremony concluded with Lu An grabbing more than half of the items on the table. He was quite clever, crawling and turning on the table, gathering the items he wanted into a small pile, and finally protecting them with an embrace, not letting go of any he liked.
After the Zhuazhou ceremony, Shen Xuan and Lu Yu buried the "Son's Wine" they had prepared for Lu An under the osmanthus tree in the courtyard.
Osmanthus flowers bloom in September and October. The Zhuazhou ceremony was held at the end of November, by which time the flowers had long since fallen. Golden petals had gathered on the ground, and faint fragrance drifted with the autumn breeze.
Shen Xuan had regretted not being able to drink the "Son's Wine" brewed by his father when he got married. But now, looking at the "Son's Wine" that had just been buried under the osmanthus tree, he suddenly felt at peace.
He didn't have it, but An'er must.
An'er, you carry all the love of your mother and father. May you grow up safely and healthily.
Since they were all close relatives and friends, no one left. They accompanied the couple to the osmanthus tree and personally watched Lu Yu and Shen Xuan bury the jar of "Son's Wine," which contained all their love, for their son. Everyone was touched.
On the way back, Gu Yi and Zheng Yu sat in the carriage. Zheng Yu rubbed Gu Yi's hands. His hands always became very cold in winter, and she liked to warm them for him.
Gu Yi raised the hand that Zheng Yu had just warmed in her palm and gently stroked his own cheek. He recalled An'er's kiss after the Zhuazhou ceremony that day, which had covered his face with saliva, but was truly adorable.
"Wife."
"Hmm? What is it?"
"Do you want children? Children that belong to both of us."
Hearing this, Zheng Yu's brow furrowed imperceptibly. Thinking that seeing Lu Yu and Shen Xuan's child today had made him uneasy, she quickly expressed her feelings: "Didn't we talk about this before? Compared to children, I care more about you. I don't want you to force yourself to do things that make you unhappy for my sake."
"I'm not being forced," Gu Yi raised his head, his eyes full of determination and love. "I, perhaps, want a child that belongs to us. It's my own initiative, my genuine desire."
The cold wind outside the carriage blew open the curtains, but it could not dispel the tenderness within.
PS: Regarding whether Gu Yi and Zheng Yu would have children, only one little cutie expressed her opinion. Since there were no other objections, this is the ending. The couple will have a cute little baby.
[Epilogue Complete]
[Full Text Complete]
There is no banquet that lasts forever. It is time to say goodbye. Although I have only written up to this point, their story will not end. They will continue to live happily in their little world.
See you in the next story!
Love you! (づ￣3￣)づ╭❤～