Glory

Not long after, two swaddled babies—one in blue and one in red—were brought in. This was a deliberate arrangement by Ye Yaming to distinguish who was who.

Ye Yaming looked at the two little faces sound asleep in the swaddling clothes and smiled, asking, "Did they cry much last night?"

"Not really. They ate and slept, woke up to eat again, and only whimpered a little when they needed changing. They're very easy to care for," Yin Shi replied with a laugh.

Ye Yaming had heard plenty of stories about switched babies in the capital. Before giving birth, she had repeatedly reminded everyone to keep a close watch on the children during delivery to prevent any swapping.

That was why they didn't fully trust the maids with the babies. After Ye Yaming gave birth, Old Madam Ye had gone to rest, while Yin Shi stayed with the children. Old Madam Ye woke up around midnight and took over so Yin Shi could rest.

No matter what, after a night of effort, they could finally rest assured once Ye Yaming woke up and the children were safely handed over to her.

Ye Yaming gazed at the two little faces for a while.

"Both children look healthy and take after you," Yin Shi said cheerfully. "The little girl seems even prettier."

As fraternal twins, the two children bore some resemblance but were not identical, making it easy to tell them apart. However, with their rosy, wrinkled faces, Ye Yaming couldn't quite see who was prettier just yet.

"Were they weighed? How much do they weigh?" she asked.

At this, Yin Shi smiled again. "You've taken good care of yourself. The older brother weighs four jin and eight liang, and the younger sister weighs exactly four jin. The midwife kept praising them, saying it's rare to see such well-developed twins."

Ye Yaming breathed a sigh of relief.

All the hardship during her pregnancy, when her belly had grown as round as a balloon, making it difficult to sit or lie down, had been worth it.

After all, this era had no incubators. If the babies had been too small, they might not have survived. A weight of four jin was indeed remarkable for twins.

The couple leaned against the headboard, admiring their children. Ye Yaming gently patted Lu Guanyi's back and asked, "How are the names for the children coming along?"

Lu Guanyi's expression suddenly darkened. He clenched his jaw, a pained look flashing across his face.

Though it was brief, Ye Yaming noticed it.

She stared at him, puzzled, and asked, "What's wrong?"

She touched the spot she had just patted, recalling his strange behavior the night before, and a thought crossed her mind. "Are you injured?"

Lu Guanyi's expression shifted again. Clearly, Ye Yaming had touched his wound.

Yin Shi also watched him with concern.

"It's nothing, just a minor injury," Lu Guanyi said, realizing he couldn't hide it. "It'll heal with rest."

Ye Yaming looked at his gaunt face and asked, "Were you severely injured and unable to move? Is that why it took you so long to return?"

After being married for so long, she could feel the depth of Lu Guanyi's affection for her. If it hadn't been absolutely impossible, he would have returned to Lin'an by early August to be with her for the birth.

Lu Guanyi met her gaze, nodded, and reached out to stroke her head. "I've earned military merits and have been promoted to the third rank."

"I don't need you to achieve great deeds. Why must you push yourself so hard?" Ye Yaming scolded him angrily. "If anything were to happen to you, what would become of me and the children—"

Her voice choked with emotion.

Since giving birth, she seemed to have grown more vulnerable."Don't cry, don't cry." Seeing Ye Yaming about to weep, Lu Guanyi panicked and quickly said, "Crying isn't good for your health. Don't worry, I won't have to go back to the frontier anymore. I've applied for a transfer to the Ministry of War. The imperial decree should arrive in a few days."

"Ah?" Ye Yaming was stunned.

She grabbed Lu Guanyi's sleeve: "What happened?"

"First get up and eat something, then I'll tell you slowly." Lu Guanyi patted her head.

"Yes, there's plenty of time ahead. Have something to eat first." Yin Shi quickly added.

Ye Yaming looked around at Yin Shi, her wet nurse, several maids, and the two children—the room was full of people—and suddenly felt somewhat embarrassed.

"Take the children out first. Ziyuan, help me wash up." Ye Yaming said to Lu Guanyi, "You go rest, I don't need you here." She then instructed, "Have Zhang Ning come take a good look at you. I won't feel at ease until he does."

"Alright." Lu Guanyi appeared obedient and compliant.

Yesterday, Ye Chongming and Ye Hongsheng had come to the Lu residence and stayed with Ye Yaming the entire day, though they remained outside and didn't enter the delivery room. Early this morning, they returned.

Qi Furen had also come.

When the elders heard that Lu Guanyi was injured, they grew very anxious, immediately summoning an herbalist to examine him and calling An Tai and others over for questioning.

Only then did everyone learn that Lu Guanyi had suffered a serious injury some time ago. After recuperating for a while and improving enough to move, he rushed back.

Fortunately, his wound had healed well, and during the journey, An Tai had constantly urged him to slow down, persuading him with tales of how pitiful fatherless children were. They hadn't traveled too hastily, so the wound hadn't reopened.

However, the previously well-healed wound was somewhat red and swollen, showing signs of possible inflammation.

The herbalist changed his dressing and brewed medicine for him to drink, putting everyone's minds at ease.

"Why doesn't he know how to take care of himself?" Qi Furen said with reddened eyes.

"Exactly, Ming'er has us here. There was no need for you to rush back like this." Old Madam Ye and Yin Shi chimed in.

Lu Guanyi smiled and said, "I'm fine, I just need to rest and recover. Ming'er had to go through life and danger to give birth—I couldn't rest easy."

Hearing this, everyone fell silent.

It was true. If Ye Yaming had truly been in danger during childbirth and Lu Guanyi had returned two days too late to see her one last time, he would have regretted it for the rest of his life.

Even Qi Furen couldn't bring herself to scold him further, only saying, "While Ming'er is in confinement, you should rest properly next door."

"Yes, yes, chicken soup and tonics—Ming'er has them, and you should have them too. Both of you need to replenish your health." Old Madam Ye added.

With the elders present, Ye Yaming couldn't ask any questions.

It wasn't until the afternoon, when all the elders had been persuaded by Ye Yaming to return home, and only Yin Shi remained—who was also persuaded to rest in the neighboring courtyard—that Ye Yaming finally found an opportunity to ask Lu Guanyi what had happened.

Lu Guanyi knew that Ye Yaming wouldn't feel at ease without a clear explanation. Since the matter was already over and he was sitting here safe and sound, explaining it clearly wouldn't frighten her.

He said, "You know how the Duke Wei's estate has ties with the people from the Great Jin? Lu Guanyu somehow found out that a tribe from there was planning to head south to seize supplies and tried to use their hands to eliminate me.""This tribe has been constantly harassing us, causing great distress to our troops. Upon learning this, I decided to turn their scheme against them and eliminate them in one strike. It should have been an easy victory, but unfortunately we encountered a wolf pack. Caught between two forces, I got injured, and half of the five hundred soldiers I brought with me perished."

"His Majesty intends to assign General Qin to serve under my father as deputy commander, to maintain mutual restraint. Having our father and both sons stationed in the same military camp is a major taboo. Previously, there was no suitable position for me, and Lu Guanyu's appointment was arranged privately by Father over a short period, which is why the Emperor tolerated it."