Zhu Junyang personally went to the Yu Residence to pick up Xiaocao. He saw that she had a host of maidservants behind her, all of them carrying boxes full of candies and desserts. He remarked out of tenderness, “What are you doing up so early ah? Don’t bother with that bunch of stinky brats and do this again in the future!”
“It’s not a big deal. I have servants helping out so it’s not a lot of work for me. It’s nice to give the kids a treat!” Yu Xiaocao grinned at him as she took the hand he offered her and entered the carriage.
Zhu Junyang looked at the sparkling and shining pink rays of light that came off of the jeweled flowers in her hair. It made her exquisite and fair little face seem even more transparent and glowy. His eyes were stuck on her as if he couldn’t look away. Glittery and shining jewels truly suited the little lass. In the future, when Treasure Pavilion had more diamonds and precious stones come in, he needed to bring them all back to let the lass get first pick!
Yu Xiaocao felt her face turn bright red after feeling the fiery gaze at her back. This fellow was more and more unable to restrain the look in his eyes. In about half of a month, she was about to become his bride and then they would truly become one household. Originally, she had been quite nervous and keyed up, but this guy would always make his presence known and would express his red-hot feelings to her. It made her have a bit of happiness within the embarrassment within her. Gradually, her complicated feelings had gone away and she became more tranquil and calm. She was now convinced that he was her soulmate in this life!
Since they both lived in the western part of the capital, it didn’t take very long for them to arrive at Imperial Prince Jing’s Estate. As soon as they entered through the side door, a group of brightly dressed kids sped over noisily. Xiaocao knew already that these were Zhu Junyang’s nephews from his older sister. She stopped and smiled gently at the little kids who were giggling as they ran towards them.
The youngest one of them was an adorable little fellow and ran the slowest. He did his best to keep up with his older brothers. His chubby and sweet little face was bright red with effort. As a toddler who hadn’t reached the age of three, it was already pretty good that he could run steadily, so how could he possibly catch up with his older brothers, who were whizzing by? He was so frustrated by this that he was about to cry. Behind him was an elegant young boy who looked to be around eight to nine years old. He was following them at an unhurried pace. Although he looked quite leisurely, he kept his eyes attentively on his younger brothers and kept his speed the same as the youngest one as he strolled forward.
“Third Maternal Uncle, Third Maternal Uncle!!” Zhu Junyang’s expression immediately changed when he saw the group of small devils running towards him. He felt his head start to hurt again.
He advanced forward a step to protect the little lass behind him as he was afraid that this group of little guys would knock into her. He picked up the four and half year old, Lu Jiayu, and placed him on his shoulders and then picked up two other boys, one in each hand as he stiffly said, “Why did you guys run into the outer courtyard instead of obediently staying next to your mother? What about Pei’er ah? If he fell, what would you all do?”
The second son, Liu Jiaqi, pinched the rock hard muscle on his third maternal uncle’s arm. He was already eight years old and it had been a long time since someone had last held him up in the air. His maternal uncle was so strong and clearly looked a lot more difficult to deal with than his father (Lu Nianhua: I, your father, am teaching you guys to be independent! I absolutely refuse to admit that I am weak!).
The third son, Lu Jialong, giggled happily. His personality took after his mother and he was quite simple-minded, which made Lu Nianhua quite worried about this son of his.
The youngest, Lu Jiapei, almost burst into tears when he saw his second older brother occupying the highest space that used to be his. He pulled on his third maternal uncle’s pants and incessantly whined, “Third Maternal Uncle, Pei’er also wants to be hugged. Pei’er wants to be held up high!” He almost pulled Zhu Junyang’s pants down from his antics.
Yu Xiaocao watched as Zhu Junyang wrangled with the kids. He resembled a Christmas tree with the children hanging off of him and the scene in front of her had unlocked a whole new view of Imperial Prince Xu. He was being pushed around by a herd of children. Despite the helpless expression on his face, his eyes were full of gentleness——this man would definitely become a good father who loved his children in the future!
Since Xiaocao could see the kids from her vantage point, Lu Jiarui naturally also saw the young lady, who had a smile in her eyes, behind his third maternal uncle. Her skin was so fair that it almost looked transparent. She had a pair of very large eyes, so big that they seemed like they could see straight through a person’s soul. She looked so small, and it seemed like such a waste that she was paired up with his rough and crude third maternal uncle! His father had told him that a person’s eyes couldn’t trick people. His future third maternal aunt had a pair of eyes as gentle as water and resembled the purity of ice and jade. They were full of kindness and he could tell in an instant that she was someone who loved children and had a kind and gentle heart!
If Zhu Junyang knew that his eldest nephew from his sister, who normally seemed quite sensible and clever, believed that he wasn’t good enough for the little lass, then he would definitely start vomiting blood——he had praised that kid for nothing!
When Yu Xiaocao saw that Zhu Junyang’s clothing, which had been very tidy earlier, was now a complete mess, as if he was an eggplant that had just been trampled over, she hurried up to rescue him as his pants had been almost pulled down to his knees. She advanced forward and stooped over to hold the plump little fellow who was hollering at his third maternal uncle, begging to be held.
Lu Jiapei, who had been unable to find a place on his third maternal uncle to hold on, was almost about to cry when he suddenly felt someone pulling on his armpits. His two feet left the ground and he immediately fell into a gentle and fragrant hug. It felt warm and soft and reminded him of the time when he was still a baby and had been held in his mother’s arms.
Zhu Junyang was afraid that the little fat fellow would squirm along, causing the lass trouble, so he hurried over out of concern. When he saw the actual scene, he almost felt blood come up into his mouth. The young brat, who was usually as lively as a monkey, was currently nestled quietly into Xiaocao’s chest. It was as if the disturbance he had caused earlier had just been an illusion. What annoyed him even more was that stinky brat had unexpectedly hugged his future wife’s neck and had given a messy ‘muah’ on the little lass’s delicate cheek!
“Mother said that Third Maternal Uncle had gone out to bring my third maternal aunt back. Are you my third maternal aunt ah?” Lu Jiapei’s voice was sweet and tender. The Lu Family had good genes and all of the kids were as beautiful as porcelain dolls. The little fellow’s large eyes were opened wide and he had a face full of innocence. Yu Xiaocao felt her heart soften immediately.
The three children on Zhu Junyang all turned their attention towards her. Lu Jiayu, who was riding on his third maternal uncle’s neck, regarded the strange young maiden with curiosity. He blinked his large eyes and childishly corrected his younger brother, “That’s not right, she only becomes our third maternal aunt after marriage. Right now, we can only call her ‘auntie’! Nice to meet you, Auntie! I am Lu Jiayu and I’m the fourth in the family. Auntie, Yu’er really likes you ah!”
“Pei’er also likes Third Maternal Aunt!” Lu Jiapei was very attached to using this title to call her as he obediently leaned against her shoulders——Third Maternal Aunt smelled very good. It was sweet and fragrant and made him feel very comfortable around her!
The eldest son of the Lu Family, Lu Jiarui, saw how sweet his youngest brother was being and almost couldn’t believe his eyes. If he had to choose the two people in his family who caused the most headaches, it wasn’t his seven and eight year old brothers, who were respectively the second and third oldest in the family and at the stage where they were getting into trouble. Instead, it was the two youngest brothers. All of the trouble that came to them were self found and the youngest two somehow always managed to get into the thorniest situations.
He had never seen his youngest brother act so sweet and obedient before. Even when his youngest brother was still nursing from his mother, he had never been so quiet. Now, he was like a sweet little kitten, nestled obediently next to Third Maternal Aunt’s bosom. If it weren’t for the fact that he had kept his eye on this fellow, he would have been certain that his youngest brother had been spirited away and replaced with another boy.
The fourth son of the family, Lu Jiayu, was a bit jealous and blinked a couple of times. Then he began his campaign to swindle his younger brother, “Younger Brother, you’ve never ridden on Third Maternal Uncle’s shoulders, right? The view is so good here, don’t you want to try it?”
“No!” Lu Jiapei wasn’t the least bit fooled by his brother’s tricks and buried his face into Xiaocao’s neck before breathing in deeply a couple of times. He closed his eyes in bliss——his older brother was definitely trying to steal his place from Third Maternal Aunt. Which idiot would want to cozy up to Third Maternal Uncle’s hard and firm body (Author’s note: Then who was the one crying and wailing to get into Third Maternal Uncle’s arms and almost pulled his pants down?)?
Lu Jiayu’s eyes flickered and then he extended his little hand, revealing a piece of toffee that was mostly half melted. He coaxed, “Older Brother has a piece of delicious candy here. If you come out of Auntie’s arms, this piece of candy will be yours ah!”
“Don’t...want!” Lu Jiapei found it difficult to resist the bait but ended up refusing. His eyes, however, were stuck on that piece of candy. Wah wah wah wah, he really wanted to eat candy ah. Maternal Grandmother’s residence had such tasty candy! However, he also didn’t want to leave Third Maternal Aunt’s arms, so what should he do?
“Pffftttt…” When she saw the two little fellows interacting with each other, Yu Xiaocao couldn’t help but let out a laugh. She gazed at Lu Jiayu with amusement and quietly remarked at Zhu Junyang, “This little fellow has a lot of tricks up his sleeves!”
Zhu Junyang huffed, “He must have taken after the Lu Family. My older sister is a very direct and frank person…”
Lu Jiayu saw that the beautiful auntie was laughing at him and his face turned red. He bashfully took back the hand with the toffee in it and said, “I’ll hold onto this for Younger Brother. Mother said that we shouldn’t eat too much candy as our teeth will turn black!” An expression asking for praise surfaced onto his face, ‘Quickly compliment me for being sensible, compliment me for thinking of my younger brother…’
“Eh? Then, does that mean that candies and pastries I brought today won’t be used ah?” Yu Xiaocao deliberately had Wutong open up a box of strawberry flavored gummy candy, revealing a set of delicate and pretty red soft candies. When the lid was taken off, a dense puff of sweet scented air permeated the surroundings and succeeded in drawing all of the children's attention towards the box. They were all staring at it avidly.
Six year old Lu Jialong stared at the red candies that he had never seen before for a long time. Finally, he couldn't resist from saying, “Mother said that as long as we brush our teeth after we eat, we can still eat a few sweet things! Isn’t that right, Fourth Younger Brother?”
“Mhm mhm, Third Older Brother is right! If we brush our teeth after we eat candy, our teeth won’t hurt and won’t turn black...that’s what Mother said!”
Lu Jiarui suddenly had the urge to cover his face when he saw the gluttonous expression on his fourth younger brother’s face——had the family ever shorted you on food or drink? This was the first time they were meeting Third Maternal Aunt but he was losing face for all of them! What a disgrace! ...however, the candies that Third Maternal Aunt brought over really smelled very good, which made them hard to resist!
Lu Jiapei, who hadn’t reached the age of three, couldn’t bother to think too much anymore. His eyes glowed as he looked towards Xiaocao as he sweetly said, “Third Maternal Aunt, can Pei’er try a piece of candy ah? Pei’er will taste them for his older brothers ah!”
Yu Xiaocao restrained her desire to laugh and pinched the little fellow’s bun face as she said in a voice full of tenderness, “You’re such a clever little fellow!”
At this moment, the group of little fellows had already climbed down from their Third Maternal Uncle’s body and surrounded Xiaocao. The spurned Zhu Junyang stood quietly behind Xiaocao as he was afraid that the herd of monkeys might bump into her. Oh ho! He was treating Xiaocao as if she was a delicate porcelain doll that needed protection!
Lu Jiarui quietly observed this scene. It was as if he was seeing the way his father and mother interacted with each other. The way that Third Maternal Uncle treated Third Maternal Aunt must be the type of ‘true love’ that his father talked about, right? It must be a fortunate thing to be able to meet one’s true love in one’s lifetime, right?