Ch 123 (Extra 5): Reborn to Raise My Husband

Recently Jingzhe noticed that a bearded grandfather kept coming to the house, carrying a square case to see Xiao-die. After each visit, Daddy would personally escort him out.

But Jingzhe did not recognize this grandfather.

Azu had also returned from the estate outside the capital, specially coming back to see Xiao-die.

He told Jingzhe that the grandfather with the case was a physician, someone who treated the sick.

Just like the time Jingzhe had eaten too many crab pastries and his stomach hurt terribly—the physician had come, patted his back, prescribed medicine, and after he took it, the pain went away.

“Is Xiao-die sick?”

Jingzhe’s eyes widened. He wriggled to climb down from Xiao Hu’s arms. “I want to go see Xiao-die!”

“Xiao-die isn’t sick.”

Xiao Hu held the little one steady. “It’s because you’re going to have a younger brother or younger sister.”

“Where did the younger brother or sister come from?”

Jingzhe was astonished. He clutched at Xiao Hu and bombarded him with questions. “Why haven’t I seen them? Did Xiao-die hide them in the garden? Is it one or two? Or many? Why don’t you call them out to eat cake?”

Xiao Hu’s ears buzzed from the rapid-fire questions. Clumsy with words, he could not explain clearly. “Oh, you little rascal—go ask your Xiao-die and Daddy.”

Jingzhe immediately slid down from Xiao Hu’s arms and scampered into Xiao Yuanbao’s room.

“What are you lurking at the door for? Why not come in?”

Xiao Yuanbao was inside checking the account books when he spotted a small figure clinging to the doorway, little head poking in and out without stepping inside.

He set down the work in his hands and said, “Daddy has gone to court. He’s not in the room. Are you looking for him?”

Hearing this, Jingzhe pressed his lips together before running inside.

“Azu told me we have a little brother or sister at home. Where are they?”

Xiao Yuanbao laughed softly and beckoned to him. “Come here to Xiao-die.”

Jingzhe ran over and pressed himself against Xiao Yuanbao’s leg. “Where are they?”

Xiao Yuanbao took his hand and placed it over his own stomach. “Right here. It’ll still be several months before you can see them.”

Jingzhe found this unbelievable. His eyes widened into perfect circles. “So tiny! And they can stay inside Xiao-die’s tummy!”

“That’s right. They’re still very small, and they’re afraid of the cold, so they hide in Xiao-die’s tummy.”

Xiao Yuanbao gently stroked Jingzhe’s head. “When you were very little, you were inside Xiao-die’s tummy too. You grew there for more than nine months. When your body got bigger and you weren’t so afraid of the cold anymore, then you were born.”

“After that, you drank milk, ate food, gained strength, learned to crawl, learned to call Xiao-die and Daddy… and now you’ve grown this big.”

After hearing such a careful explanation, Jingzhe finally believed it a little.

But he still found it astonishing. His eyes kept staring at Xiao Yuanbao’s still-flat stomach.

After hesitating, he tilted his head and pressed his ear against Xiao Yuanbao’s belly, trying to hear whether there might be a baby talking inside. But there was no sound at all.

He lifted his head. “Is the baby in Xiao-die’s tummy a younger brother or a younger sister?”

“Does Jingzhe want a younger brother or a younger sister?”

“I like both! If it’s a younger brother, I can teach him to play with a slingshot. If it’s a ge’er, I can let him ride my wooden horse. If it’s a younger sister, I can use the copper coins I saved to buy her pretty skirts.”

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became, hopping up and down. “Brother or sister, we can all play together!”

Seeing his joy at the thought of siblings, Xiao Yuanbao felt happy too. He pulled Jingzhe into his arms and planted a loud kiss on his cheek. “Our Jingzhe is so good.”

When Qi Beinan returned from the government office, Xiao Yuanbao—now prone to drowsiness during pregnancy—was still napping.

He slept deeply, a thin quilt over him and, on top of that, a small tiger-patterned blanket.

Qi Beinan glanced around the bed, surprised. The little rascal was not there sleeping beside Xiao Yuanbao as usual.

“Where’s Jingzhe?”

He stepped back out and asked Wen Ge’er.

“Young Master is in the study.”

Qi Beinan’s brow lifted slightly. “Why is he so obedient today?”

Usually he could not nap for even two incense sticks before waking, yet he would still cling to Xiao-die’s embrace and refuse to get up, staying lazy until Xiao-die rose.

Qi Beinan changed out of his red official robe and quietly went to the study.

With his hands behind his back, he peeked in through the doorway. At the long desk sat a small figure, head tilted slightly, little hand gripping a brush, brows knitted together in concentration—serious and proper indeed.

“Oh my, whose little baby writes such fine characters?”

Hearing the voice behind him, Jingzhe realized Qi Beinan had returned.

“Daddy!”

Qi Beinan lifted him into his lap. “Why so well-behaved today? You’ve written eight full characters.”

“I want to learn to write more. When the baby in Xiao-die’s tummy is born, I’ll teach them to read and write.”

Jingzhe picked up the brush and continued writing “Qi” and “Xiao” on the paper.

“You know Xiao-die has a baby?” Qi Beinan asked.

“Mm.”

Jingzhe nodded. “Azu told me. Xiao-die said so too.”

Qi Beinan laughed and wrapped his hand around the little one’s. “Then Daddy will teach big brother two more characters. When Second Treasure is born, Jingzhe can be a capable Big Treasure—a capable older brother.”

The thought of becoming a capable Big Treasure made Jingzhe even more diligent.

He obediently followed Qi Beinan, filling a whole page with characters without once complaining of being tired.

Watching his writing grow more orderly, Qi Beinan felt pleased and kissed his soft cheek several times.

Jingzhe rubbed the cheek that had been kissed, feeling it both ticklish and sore.

He reached up to touch Qi Beinan’s chin.

“It’s a beard!”

Qi Beinan laughed. “Did it prick you?”

“Why does Daddy grow a beard? Xiao-die doesn’t.”

“Because Daddy is a man. Men grow beards—Daddy does, Azu does. But Xiao-die is a ge’er, so he doesn’t grow one.”

Jingzhe’s eyes lit up. “Xiao-die says Jingzhe is a boy too. Then I want to grow a beard!”

Qi Beinan did not quite grasp the implication and nodded. “That’s right. Jingzhe is a boy. You’ll grow a beard too.”

Jingzhe furrowed his brows. “I want to grow one now.”

Qi Beinan’s brow twitched. “You’re still small—a little baby with a soft white face. How could you grow a beard now?”

“When you grow up and can marry, it will grow by itself.”

“I don’t want to marry. I want a beard now!”

Jingzhe pouted, flopping onto the desk in stubborn protest, demanding a beard.

Qi Beinan pinched his cheek and glanced at the brush and ink nearby. After a moment’s thought, he asked, “Then where do you want your beard?”

Jingzhe immediately lifted his chin. “On my chin too!”

Qi Beinan smiled indulgently. “Very well.”

When Xiao Yuanbao woke from his nap, he found that the little one who had been sleeping beside him had slipped away at some unknown time.

He removed the small tiger blanket from over his belly and called for Hongtang to bring water. After washing his face, the heavy summer drowsiness finally eased a little.

“Xiao-die, Xiao-die! Come look!”

Xiao Yuanbao had only just woken properly when the little one came scampering in, hopping with excitement.

On that fair, clean little face was a full ring of thick whiskers drawn all around—like a bearded opera performer.

“What happened to your face?!”

Jingzhe happily ran up to Xiao Yuanbao, lifting his chin and tilting his head from side to side. “It’s the beard I grew!”

Xiao Yuanbao burst out laughing. “Who gave you such a beard? You look like a little old man.”

“Daddy gave it to me! I’m a man like Daddy now!”

Qi Beinan followed in behind him, laughing. “He ran so fast I couldn’t catch him.”

Xiao Yuanbao laughed and scolded, “You’re a grown man. It’s one thing to let the child fool around—why are you helping him?”

Qi Beinan said, “Isn’t it good? He looks like a mountain bandit chief.”

Seeing that neither the big one nor the little one could be reasoned with when they started being ridiculous, Xiao Yuanbao beckoned. “Come here. Xiao-die will wash it off.”

“No! I want to keep my beard to sleep!”

Jingzhe hid behind Qi Beinan, guarding his beard fiercely and refusing to come over.

Xiao Yuanbao shook his head. “I truly have no way with the two of you.”

Second Treasure was born in early summer, just as the cicadas began to sing in the garden. It was a quiet, ordinary day.

When Xiao Yuanbao rose from his noon nap feeling unwell, his prior experience told him immediately what it meant. The discomfort in his abdomen made it clear—he was about to give birth.

The household stirred into motion, just as it had when Jingzhe was born.

Jingzhe had been outside buying a sugar figurine from a vendor calling out in the street. When he returned, he found the residence in complete commotion.

Though he did not fully understand what was happening, he sensed that perhaps the baby was about to be born.

Filled with curiosity, he ran to see Xiao-die, but the adults were flustered and would not let him enter.

At first he did not think much of it. But when he saw the basins being carried out—bright red inside—his sugar figurine slipped from his hand. The Guan Gong head he held shattered crookedly on the ground.

Jingzhe burst into tears.

“Xiao-die! I want Xiao-die!”

He had barely cried out twice when he heard another baby’s cry from inside.

At once he stopped crying.

The adults waiting in the courtyard visibly relaxed.

A round-faced lady came out smiling. “Born! Fulang and child are both safe!”

Jingzhe saw his father rush inside like a horse galloping across the grasslands. Sniffling, he hurried after him.

Daddy was beaming, holding Xiao-die and kissing his forehead.

There was now another small bundle wrapped in a quilt in the room. Jingzhe crept closer to look.

The baby in the blanket was very small, eyes closed as if asleep. The tip of the nose was a little red—he must have been crying just now.

“Jingzhe, come here.”

Hearing Xiao-die’s soft call, he ran over at once.

“That is your younger brother. He is a ge’er.”

Jingzhe asked, “A ge’er who won’t grow a beard?”

The entire room burst into laughter.

Jingzhe did not understand what everyone was laughing at, but he kept his word. He would let him ride the wooden horse Uncle Ming had given him—his favorite wooden horse…

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