"Ah, I understand, madam. I’ll go tell the master right away," Sister-in-law Li said as she clattered down the stairs.
"Madam, Auntie Li sure is ruthless, even thinking of old beggars and turtle slaves," Mingcui remarked once Sister-in-law Li had departed, feeling her own suggestions paled in comparison.
"What did you expect?" chuckled Yang Chuxia. "When Sister-in-law Li was in the prefecture, she was a personal attendant of our family, so of course she had to handle such matters. It’s no surprise she thought of these ideas—she’s probably done them all before."
"Alright, let’s have her take care of it then," Yang Chuxia added. "Go check on the children."
No sooner had Yang Chuxia spoken than Grandma Lin and Li’s mother ca in, holding the children, from whom faint whimpers could be heard.
"They must be hungry, right?" Yang Chuxia said as she took Third, Ye Rongyue, nickna Yueyue, into her arms.
"They’re hungry indeed. After being carried out and about, how could they not be?"
While feeding the children, Yang Chuxia observed the little one in her arms and laughed, "Mom, have you noticed that Yueyue and Qingqing don’t look alike at all? When Lele and Yangyang were born, you couldn’t tell them apart to save your life, but these two, you wouldn’t believe they’re twins by looking at them."
"This old servant has also noticed," Li’s mother agreed, furthermore, neither child seed to resemble anyone in particular.
Yang Chuxia had also noticed this and, after feeding the two children, she stared at them intently for quite a while.
"Is it just that their features haven’t developed fully yet? I can’t tell who they look like at all," Yang Chuxia muttered to herself.
"They look like !" Ye Zi’an, having entered at so point, heard her mutter and vainly declared.
"Keep dreaming," scoffed Yang Chuxia. "I don’t see anything in them that resembles you. Everyone says a daughter takes after her father, but look at Yueyue—her nose and mouth don’t look anything like yours."
"Nonsense, she clearly looks like ." Ye Zi’an, not pleased, pointed at their daughter’s nose and eyes. "Look at these eyes, these double eyelids—who else could she look like but ? And look at this dignified nose, just like mine."
Whether it was the volu of his voice or sothing else, the two little bundles who had just closed their eyes started crying.
"Sister is crying." Hearing the cries, Yangyang ran in to find his parents gathered around the little bed, and his sister and brother lying there crying.
Rembering the words his grandmother once told him—that parents enjoy poking children’s faces—Yangyang thought his parents had poked his siblings into tears, and he imdiately took umbrage. "How can you be so childish!"
"Are you talking to ?" Yang Chuxia couldn’t believe it and pointed at herself.
Little Yangyang snorted and didn’t respond, moving forward to comfort his sister. "Don’t cry, sister. If you stop, brother will play with you. Be a good girl." He spoke while bringing a rattle to shake, and the attraction of the rattle made his sister stop crying. Only his brother continued to wail.
Yangyang glanced back, then toddled off to fetch a bell, "Little Four must stop crying now. If you cry more, brother will hit you. Here, play with this; as a boy, you should know not to cry."
The little one had no idea what he was talking about, but continued crying nonstop.
"Be good, brother, no more tears. If you stop crying, brother will tell you a story. Once upon a ti, there was a man nad Kong Rong..." Perhaps the little one was tired from all the crying, or maybe he just wanted to sleep, but eventually, in the crisp storytelling voice of Yangyang, he gradually drifted off.
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