(It's been a while since I wrote like this. "Little cotton-padded jacket" refers to those who truly care for each other. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter.)

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What Chen Pingping, sitting in his wheelchair, discussed with His Majesty the Emperor, sitting on the dragon throne, that night remained a mystery for many years. No one was qualified to eavesdrop, not even Eunuch Yao, who was always by the Emperor's side.

This conversation was similar to the two talks held outside the Imperial Study within the past year. The words came from the Emperor's lips and entered the Minister's ears, not to be shared with a third person. However, the capital city of Qing Yu Nian already knew that the events of the past few months were entirely orchestrated by His Majesty and Dean Chen in secret. These two rulers were only waiting for the enemy hidden in the shadows to jump out, then they would capture them all in one fell swoop. Emperor Qing and Dean Chen joined forces, appearing exceedingly powerful, managing to keep the entire capital city in the dark for half a month.

Only then did people recall that many years ago, Dean Chen began accompanying His Majesty in the great task of unifying the world. The old man in the wheelchair had saved His Majesty several times, and His Majesty had given him the greatest trust and honor. The older generation never doubted Chen Pingping's loyalty to His Majesty, a fact that history had already proven, and it was now being demonstrated once more.

The people of the capital city harbored many speculations about this conversation.

That night, when Fan Xian left the palace to return to his residence, he didn't focus on the conversation in the Imperial Study, nor did he consider whether the conversation had anything to do with him. He suspected that His Majesty was simply lonely, and Chen Pingping was playing the role of a loyal subject and temporary friend.

The truth was not far from his guess, because from a certain perspective, Fan Xian and his imperial father were remarkably similar. If Emperor Qing was the best actor in the world, having deceived everyone for twenty years, then Fan Xian was naturally the second-best actor, hiding his thoughts in his heart, even from Emperor Qing.

This was an unprecedented battle of acting prowess, a battle of wits. Fan Xian lifted the curtain of the carriage and stared blankly at the silent and uneasy night streets of the capital city. He thought with a slight gloom that he had now gained His Majesty's absolute trust, and he had won another round in this battle, but... why fight at all? And how should he fight in the future?

The worry and anxiety on his face were not an act; they came from the depths of his heart, especially the extremely complex joy, worry, and confusion between his eyebrows, fully expressing his current mood.

Brushing past the wheelchair, Fan Xian lowered his head in greeting and saw a trace of gentle congratulations in Chen Pingping's aged eyes. He immediately understood that Sisi had indeed been taken away by the Dean. Now that he had returned to the capital, Sisi had naturally returned to the residence as well. He just didn't know if she had given birth yet, and whether it was a boy or a girl.

At the thought of this, he no longer had the mind to ponder the conversation in the Imperial Study. His whole heart had returned to the Fan residence, and he urged his subordinates to whip the horses pulling the carriage. However, too many people had died in recent days, so even though he knew that he might have become a father, Fan Xian only felt a faint satisfaction, without too much joy. Wan'er was grieving in the residence for the death of her birth mother, and he really didn't know how to deal with it after returning.

The carriage did not stop at the main gate of the Fan residence but went directly through the side alley and stopped at the corner gate specially reserved in the back garden. Before the carriage had fully stopped, Fan Xian had already jumped out of the carriage. He smiled at the wife of Teng Da, who was happily welcoming him at the door, and then walked towards his own residence, but after taking a few steps, his smile faded.

It wasn't that he was deliberately acting, but in the capital city, which was now filled with bloodshed and partings, the arrival of a new life couldn't wash away the bloody smell brought by so much death.

Walking through the flower hall and into the east wing, he wasn't surprised to find that the lights were still dimly lit. His father and Madam Liu were waiting for him in the room. The dim light shone on Fan Shangshu's face, revealing his wrinkles and the joy within them. Fan Shangshu was currently looking at an infant in Madam Liu's arms. Although he was trying his best to maintain the dignified appearance of a patriarch, he couldn't hide the contentment in his eyes.

Fan Xian entered the room and first bowed to his father and Madam Liu, but he didn't look at the infant in Madam Liu's arms. Instead, he cast his gaze directly towards the bedside, where he saw Wan'er sitting, holding Sisi's hand and whispering something.

Wan'er's eyes were red and swollen, like pink peaches, looking very pitiful. Her face was also much thinner, haggard and worn, but she was forcing a smile, talking softly to Sisi, who was lying in bed. Fan Xian was slightly stunned, then walked over, not caring that the two elders were in the room, and sat directly next to Wan'er. He looked at Sisi, who was leaning against the pillow, with a smiling face, looked at this big girl from back then, and said, "You're already a mother, why aren't you asleep so late?"

Although Sisi had been frightened during this last month of pregnancy, she was protected by the Overwatch Council and taken by Chen Pingping to travel in the outskirts of the capital city, which kept her from catching a cold. She was also moving about much more than an average pregnant woman, so she looked more energetic than the average mother. In addition, this girl had grown up with Fan Xian since she was a child, and she had also been influenced by him with a bit of detachment. She had a broad mind and wasn't haggard due to the birth of the child in her arms. Instead, her face had a few more touches of plumpness, making her even more like a lovely young woman.

"Young Master, I've been sleeping all day, how can I fall asleep?" Sisi was still used to calling him Young Master, her eyes full of joy and the pride of being a new mother. However, she was deliberately suppressing it in her words. Although she had a cheerful personality, she wasn't a mindless idiot. She knew that too many things had happened in the capital, and the Young Madam was grieving in her heart, so she didn't want to be too showy at this moment.

But when she saw that the Young Master didn't even glance at the infant in Madam Liu's arms after entering the room, and instead went straight to the bedside, Sisi began to wonder in her heart, could it be that he was unhappy because she gave birth to a daughter? The light in her eyes dimmed a little.

Even though Fan Xian had a heart of seven apertures, he was still not very clear about the little thoughts of the women in the back garden of the house. Looking at this girl's expression, he thought that she was sad because she had no one to accompany her during childbirth. He smiled and was about to say a few words of comfort.

He didn't understand, but Lin Wan'er wouldn't fail to understand, and Madam Liu wouldn't fail to understand. Seeing Madam Liu walking towards the bedside with the child, Wan'er smiled slightly, gave Fan Xian a look, and said softly, "Go and see the little girl."

Fan Xian was stunned. He turned his head and saw Madam Liu looking at him with a slightly blaming expression. Only then did he realize what the problem was. He smiled bitterly, took the infant from Madam Liu's arms, and held it carefully. He fixed his eyes on it and discovered that the infant in swaddling clothes...

This little girl was really not good-looking. Not to mention that she couldn't compare to his own appearance, she was even inferior to Sisi's big, amorous eyes. As he looked at her, he couldn't help but laugh. He felt that he was really a bit confused - newly born babies naturally couldn't be called beautiful. It was good as long as she was healthy.

The three women, Madam Liu, Wan'er and Sisi, were startled when they saw him take the infant awkwardly. They didn't react, nervously watching him, afraid that he wouldn't know how to hold a baby. Madam Liu was even preparing to reach out and snatch her back, but she didn't expect Fan Xian to bend his left elbow slightly, support the baby's neck with his arm, and pat her gently with his right hand. He was holding her quite skillfully.

Seeing this scene, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, including Fan Shangshu, who looked at Fan Xian with astonished eyes. Wan'er, who had been depressed for a long time, couldn't help but smile secretly. At this time, Fan Xian was only focused on looking at his daughter, so he didn't care about the eyes of others. He also didn't think that in this world, there were very few men willing to hold children, especially in wealthy families like theirs. And it was even more astonishing to see him so familiar with it, like an old nanny.

Fan Xian held the child and said gently to Sisi, "The situation has been unstable recently, you must have suffered a lot... But you know me, if I didn't look at the child after entering the room, it's not because I don't like daughters, it's just that in my eyes, children are never as important as adults. Your safety is the most important thing."

Having received the secret blame of Madam Liu and Wan'er, Fan Xian naturally knew why Sisi had been so gloomy before. He explained with a smile, not meaning to, but he didn't expect that these words would land in Wan'er's and Sisi's hearts, with different feelings.

Sisi felt a burst of sweetness in her heart. Then she thought of when she was a child, the Young Master would always murmur nonsense like childbirth being the most difficult for mothers, and that it was the same whether a boy or a girl was born. Although she felt sweet in her heart, she didn't dare to show it too much in front of Wan'er, because she knew that the Young Madam had always been very kind to her, and that she had been wanting a child with all her heart for the past two years, but it had never happened...

Thinking this way, Sisi missed the last two sentences of Fan Xian. She glanced at the Young Madam, who was still bowing her head and smiling gently, and couldn't help but feel a pang in her heart, and felt sorry for the Young Madam.

On this side, the women's thoughts were complicated, but Fan Xian was holding his daughter and looking at her carefully. The more he looked, the more detailed he looked, and the more he looked, the happier he became. When he entered the room earlier, he was only concerned with Sisi's body and Wan'er's emotions, and he didn't take this daughter seriously at all. But now, holding her, feeling the softness and tenderness of this little body through the cloth, looking at the wrinkles on his daughter's forehead, and looking at his daughter smacking her lips from time to time, his heart became softer and softer.

The biggest difference between men and women lies in this. Women are pregnant for ten months before they painstakingly give birth to a child, and they have already cultivated ten months of feelings. In addition, they have put in so much hard work, effort, and pain, so they naturally have a strong, indescribable warmth towards their children. But men's feelings need to be watched, held, and experienced before they become stronger and stronger.

Especially for a busy person like Fan Xian, who was basically not by Sisi's side during her pregnancy, he naturally didn't have a strong feeling for this child. But as he held her, the feeling came. Fan Xian held her more and more carefully, staring blankly at the little girl in his arms, thinking, could this be his daughter? She would definitely be very beautiful in the future, she would definitely be very sassy in the future, in the future... these little eyes, which were tightly closed, would also grow bigger and bigger, and more and more beautiful.

After the tip of his heart softened, it gradually became sour and sweet. For some reason, Fan Xian felt that his nose was a little blocked, but this emotion was too complicated, and even he himself didn't know what words to use to describe it. He only knew one thing, that his two lives, which had been so troubled but also extremely lucky, had finally been continued in this world.

At this moment, he was thinking in his heart that even if he died on the spot now, he had still left something behind in this world. Unlike looking at that row of books at the Sun family in Kyoto, this feeling was more intense, more vivid, and more moving.

After holding her for a while, Wan'er, who was watching from the side, took the child over with the guidance of Madam Liu and the demonstration of Fan Xian, and held her in her arms with pity.

According to the rules of this world, this was also her child, and this kind of pity was real. Fan Xian smiled and looked at the pity and curiosity in his wife's eyes. Only then did he realize that his wife wasn't very old, and under his care, she was actually not much different from a young girl. However, seeing Wan'er holding the child, it seemed to have relieved some of the sadness in her heart, and he felt much better too.

It was already late at night, and everyone was a little tired, but the first life of the third generation of the Fan family made everyone a little excited. Even Fan Shangshu stayed in this room without avoiding suspicion, looking at this scene happily, and refused to go to rest.

In the end, Madam Liu made a few jokes, and let the old nanny and wet nurse, who had been waiting in the outer room, come in to hold the child aside, and urged everyone to rest early.

When Fan Shangshu was leaving, he suddenly thought of something, and prepared to call Fan Xian to the study to ask about the situation in the palace today, and His Majesty's mood. Then he thought that the child had already been exhausted these days, and it was hard for him to have a happy event, so why bother him? So he didn't say anything.

On the contrary, when the two elders were leaving, Fan Xian happily asked, "Father, when I was in Jiangnan, I asked you to choose a name, but I still don't know what name you gave this girl."

He asked happily, but Fan Shangshu glanced at Madam Liu, his eyes a little complicated, and then said peacefully, "It's not urgent to choose a name for a girl, let's choose a nickname to call her first."

"Fan Xiaohua." Fan Xian said with a smile, "I've already thought of a nickname."

As soon as this remark came out, Lin Wan'er and Sisi were a little dissatisfied, thinking that how could they take such a vulgar name in their family? But Sisi didn't dare to speak in front of everyone, and Wan'er noticed her father-in-law's expression, and was stunned in her heart, and didn't say anything.

Fan Xian exchanged a glance with Wan'er, and then remembered something. His face became a little ugly. After Fan Shangshu and Madam Liu went out, he couldn't help but shake his head, sighed, and looked at his daughter in the arms of the old nanny, and said, "Could it be that this little girl's name has to wait for the palace to bestow it?"

Sisi was startled when she heard this, thinking what kind of statement was this? Then she thought of the Young Master's other identity, and quickly pursed her lips, not daring to express any opinion.

Lin Wan'er looked at him and said softly, "I heard from Father that your courtesy name... was also taken by the palace back then. I think it's not just the name, at the latest the day after tomorrow, His Majesty will let you hold the child into the palace. Bestowing a name is one thing, I'm afraid the palace will also send a batch of old nannies and wet nurses for you to choose."

Fan Xian raised his eyebrows slightly and sneered, "Those old junk from the palace... let them come, I'll just raise them."

Now he naturally had the confidence to say this. He was someone who dared to slap the Empress Dowager, let alone those old fish-eyed people. But as soon as these words came out, the family nanny who was holding the baby girl in the east wing became scared, and the wet nurse behind her lowered her head, not daring to breathe.

Fan Xian glanced at them and said calmly, "Take good care of the young lady on weekdays, it will always be hard on you, but we won't need a wet nurse. Tomorrow, the Young Madam will go and talk to Madam about it."

Lin Wan'er looked at him in confusion, wondering what her husband was doing? Why did he want to drive the wet nurse out? Seeing Fan Xian sit back on the bedside, he smiled and asked Sisi, "Do you have milk?"

Sisi blushed slightly and nodded. Fan Xian smiled and said, "That's settled then. The child always has to be raised by herself. What's the point of having a wet nurse to breastfeed the child?"

Fan Xian thought, how would you people know the importance of breastfeeding? How much would colostrum sell for in that world? The doctor said that a mother's personal breastfeeding has a psychological impact on the baby... He knew that if he said these things, no one in this world would understand, so he didn't discuss it with the two women, and decided on it unilaterally.

The wet nurse on the side lowered her head and dared not say anything, secretly slandering, what's wrong with a wet nurse? Your old Fan family was able to develop, wasn't it because the ancestor in Danzhou breastfed a few children of the royal family. The family's old nanny heard some other meaning, and looked at the Young Master with surprise, thinking, could it be that the Young Master is preparing to let the concubine personally raise the young lady? This would be a violation of the rules, and she would have to talk to the Old Master and Madam about it tomorrow.

Fan Xian didn't know what this old woman was thinking in her heart, and didn't care much. He had worked hard in this world for twenty years, if he had to be told by others how to raise his own daughter, he would have lived in vain.

He sat next to Sisi and said a few more words, and found that this girl was sleepy, and was forcing herself to keep her eyes open to speak. He felt a little unbearable, so Fan Xian said with a smile, "Go to sleep quickly. When we were in Danzhou in the past, you were lazier than me."

Seeing Sisi's hesitant look, Fan Xian smiled and said, "You've really been confused in Kyoto for a few years. I said when you were a child that it's the same whether you have a boy or a girl, although it's not a national policy, it's a family rule."

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When they returned to the main bedroom, a rough maid who was rubbing her sleepy eyes had already brought hot water, preparing to serve the two masters to sleep. Fan Xian waved his hand and chased them out. He supported Wan'er to sit on the bedside, looked at her eyes seriously, and said, "I know the rules of the big house. The children born by the concubines have to live with the main wife."

Tears swirled twice in Lin Wan'er's eyes, but they didn't flow down. She didn't know how much of a blow she had suffered in the past few days, and how much sadness she had in her heart, but she had nowhere to pour it out. Today, Sisi came home. Although she remembered in her heart that the baby girl was Fan Xian's flesh and blood, she was also happy in her heart, and even had a vague feeling of gratitude towards Sisi, but her heart was still filled with extremely complex emotions.

Especially when Fan Xian was vaguely revealing that he didn't want her to get involved, the various emotions mixed together, making Wan'er unable to stop feeling sad. She came from a noble background, had a bizarre life experience, had a character like ice and snow, and was mixed with hidden-but-undeveloped intelligence in her silliness and joy. But in the end, she was still a woman. All women have delicate thoughts.

Fan Xian quietly looked at her, knowing that the death of the Eldest Princess, the death of the Second Prince, and the bloodiness of the royal family had made his wife unbearable. He said in as gentle a tone as possible, "You're thinking too much, aren't you? I just don't want those nannies to defile our child... This child is always ours, but Sisi is her biological mother after all, so we can't just take her away like that."

Lin Wan'er sighed, looked at her husband's face in front of her knees, and said softly, "You don't have to be so careful in front of me. I know you're worried about me." She smiled somewhat reluctantly, "But speaking of it, sometimes I do feel a little jealous. Sometimes, I don't understand what you and Sisi are talking about, something about national policy and family rules."

Fan Xian smiled helplessly. After all, Sisi was someone who had grown up with him, just like a younger sister who had been educated by letters. Naturally, there were some shared things that belonged to that world. He held his wife's hands and said softly, "In the future... I'll tell you everything, only we know, if others want to know... hey, I just won't tell them."

After pausing, he held his wife's hands tightly and said with a smile, "What about carriages and sedan chairs, cars and cannons, I'll tell you everything."

Lin Wan'er was confused, thinking that she knew about carriages and sedan chairs, but what were cars and cannons? But she also knew that he was trying to coax her, so she forcibly hid the sadness on her face and said with her head slightly lowered, "I do... want a child, seeing what happened to my brothers now, I don't know what will happen in the future. Having a child is like having another hope."

These words were said calmly, but they made Fan Xian's heart ache, especially when he looked at Wan'er's thin face at this time, which was much thinner than it had been two years ago. Compared with Sisi over there, it seemed as if she had just given birth and lost her health, adding even more pity. He knew what his wife was thinking, and that the research on that medicine should be almost finished. He had eight points of confidence in his heart, and said with a teasing meaning, "Of course we have to have children. Let's give Xiaohua another younger brother, and this family will be lively."

Wan'er just thought he was coaxing her, smiled, and didn't say anything. Fan Xian looked at her with a sly look, and said, "But having children seems to have a lot of steps to do. Speaking of which, we haven't been intimate for more than half a year."

Lin Wan'er smiled and spat at him. Then she thought that her husband was deliberately amusing her. Thinking of his good points and his carefulness, she felt even more sad. Fan Xian was just joking, so many people had died in the palace, how could the couple be in the mood to do such a thing? He stood up, brought over the basin of water that had been slightly warmed, placed it in front of the bed, and directly took off Wan'er's shoes and socks, which startled her.

"Let me wash your feet for you. You must have suffered a lot from running around in the palace these days." Fan Xian lowered his head, put his wife's bare feet into the basin, scooped up hot water, and gently rubbed them.

Lin Wan'er looked at his hair, felt the warmth coming from her feet, and her nose became sore. She cried silently. Fan Xian lowered his head, and knew she was crying without looking up. He knew his wife's suffering, but couldn't find any words to comfort her. He only silently washed her feet, and his heart was also filled with countless sour feelings.

The sound of water gradually subsided. After working hard for countless days, Fan Xian, who was mentally exhausted, held Lin Wan'er's bare feet in his hands, leaned on her knees, and fell into a deep sleep just like that, sleeping soundly, like a child. Lin Wan'er gently stroked his face with pity, the tear stains on her eyes gradually dried, and she said softly, "It's not hard with you."