CHAPTER 637: CHAPTER 542 HOW SHOULD I SAY THIS? (THIRD UPDATE)

Everyone had lunch at the Duke’s residence at noon, and in the evening, Muta invited everyone to the palace for dinner.

Throughout the day, Queen Haotian didn’t let go of her little grandson. Wherever she went, she carried him with her. How could she not hold Sangyu when he was this adorable?

Queen Haotian chuckled bitterly. What she wanted most was to hold Sangyu, but everyone knew that Sangyu was Long Che’s treasure. If she wanted to hold her granddaughter, she had to wait for Long Che to be temporarily occupied. Only when he couldn’t hold Sangyu himself would she dare to step in.

Yi Luowa watched her mother’s cautious behavior and felt quite unsettled inside. However, Sangyu had been with his grandfather ever since he was born, so despite the discomfort, she couldn’t bring herself to voice it.

After returning from the palace, Long Che proactively handed both Sangyu and Ziyan to Queen Haotian. She was so grateful, she didn’t even know how to express it.

But these two little ones started fussing as soon as they got back. Barely a moment in their grandmother’s arms, they began murmuring and whining for their grandfather.

Queen Haotian and Emperor Haotian each picked up one child, pacing back and forth in the hall with them. But the little ones were relentless this time, wailing loudly and turning their gazes toward their grandfather.

Yi Luowa’s lips twitched slightly. She’d been wondering earlier why her father had been so generous in letting Sangyu stay with her mother—and now she realized, it was bedtime.

"Mom, Ziyan and Sangyu might be ready to sleep," she explained.

Queen Haotian glanced at her daughter and asked, "So early?"

"Yes." Yi Luowa stood up. "Mom, hand them back to Dad and Mom. Ever since they stopped nursing, only Grandpa and Grandma can get them to sleep at night."

Emperor Haotian looked at the pitifully crying Sangyu in his arms and quickly passed the child to Tong Yao. "My little darling, go find Grandma for your nap—no tears, no tears now."

Queen Haotian hesitated for a moment before handing Ziyan to Long Che. As soon as the children were nestled in their grandparents’ arms, their crying immediately ceased.

Queen Haotian sighed softly. After watching Long Che and Tong Yao take the children upstairs, she frowned and turned to her daughter. "If they’re this attached to Grandpa and Grandma, what are we going to do when they eventually go to Haotian?"

Yi Luowa pouted. "Either they take Grandpa and Grandma with them, or I visit you myself..."

"I can’t believe you can even say that!" Ni Lu interjected from the side. "Let me tell you, your dad did it on purpose. He doesn’t want you taking his precious treasures everywhere. Remember right after you gave birth, I suggested you and the babies come stay with me for a few days in S Country? Guess how your dad responded?"

Yi Luowa pouted and shook her head.

Ni Lu smirked. "Your dad said these two kids will never leave him by even half a step in their lifetime. He wants to raise them to the point where they don’t mind not having their mother, but can’t manage without Grandpa. Look how things have turned out—it’s just as he planned. The kids don’t even rely on you for bedtime anymore!"

Yan Zi glanced at Ni Lu. "You’re really stirring things up between Luowa and my brother. Do you have a grudge against him or something?"

Ni Lu nodded. "A grudge! Not letting me hold my grandson and granddaughter—that’s definitely a grudge."

Yan Zi shot her a look. "You just wait for Youyou to have a baby, then you can hold one all you want."

Ni Lu snorted. "That’s your family matter; you should talk to her yourself. Youyou doesn’t listen to me anyway."

"She doesn’t listen to me either! You don’t believe me? Watch—I’ll call her, and she still won’t respond." Yan Zi turned to Youyou, who was playing a mobile game with Danton, and gently called out, "Youyou."

Though the voice was soft, Youyou still heard her, slashing at the game’s boss several times before looking up. "Mom, did you call me?"

Ni Lu burst into laughter. "Your mother-in-law says she wants you to give her a grandchild."

Yan Zi let out a deep sigh. "I’m amazed by you—most of the time when I call you, you don’t hear it, but today, I speak in such a small voice and you still respond."

"I could’ve pretended not to hear," Youyou quipped, leaning toward Danton’s phone. "Attack from range! If you go close-range, your health bar is too low. Once the boss hits you, you’ll be done for!"

"Youyou! Your sister and I are talking to you!" Yi Luowa’s face darkened as she addressed her.

Youyou pursed her lips. "Sis, I heard you. Honestly, I’ve wanted to have a baby for a while, but if the child doesn’t come, what can I do?"

Connie smiled. "You really can’t rush these things. The more anxious you are, the harder it is."

"Exactly. So stop pressuring me—I need to relax and take it easy." Youyou lowered her head, ready to return to her game.

Yi Luowa glanced at her. "You and Danton haven’t been using your eyes lately, have you? Hand over your phones to me!"

Danton swiftly defeated the boss, exited the game, and handed his phone to Yi Luowa. "Sis, instead of managing me and my second sister, why don’t you go upstairs and chat with Mom and Dad? They’re heading back to Haotian tomorrow night."

"Could you not remind me of that?" Yi Luowa puffed her cheeks in frustration.

"Hehe..." Danton chuckled. "Nope!"

"Dear, you go to the side chamber with Mom, Dad, and Second Uncle," Tong Airui said, stepping out of the side room. "I’ve already prepared fruit and tea."

"See? My brother-in-law is the most thoughtful!" Danton grinned as he rose, helping Yi Weiyang to his feet. "I’ll take Second Uncle inside first."

Queen Haotian smiled lovingly, watching her son, who used to need support himself, now capable of helping others.

The family moved into the side chamber. Yi Luowa sat next to her second uncle, grabbing his arm with a grin and saying, "We can chat, but you’re not allowed to bring up any embarrassing stories about my childhood!"

"If I don’t bring up embarrassing stories, is there anything left to talk about?" Yi Weiyang teased.

Yi Luowa pouted. "If you tell Mom and Dad one word, I’ll stop talking to you! Danton, go call Huo Li over to help me deal with Second Uncle."

Queen Haotian interjected, "Don’t call Huo Li. She looked so pale when she returned—I’m surprised she didn’t vomit. No one’s allowed to bother her."

Yi Luowa stuck out her tongue and didn’t dare say anything.

Queen Haotian smiled at Yi Weiyang. "Second Brother, you endured so much suffering in your younger days, but now you have Huo Li, a baby, and this mischievous Luowa constantly teasing you—I’m actually jealous of you!"

Yi Weiyang laughed, patting Yi Luowa’s hand. "Even I feel like I’m dreaming. This girl teases me endlessly, but she cares about me too. Speaking of Huo Li, it was Luowa who pushed us together. Originally, I thought I’d spend this life devoted entirely to Luowa..."

Yi Luowa quickly made a shushing gesture. "Shh—don’t just say things like that. Huo Li would get jealous if she heard!"

"Huo Li’s not a petty person," Queen Haotian sighed softly. "That girl’s had a tough life too. Being with your Second Uncle, she’ll surely find happiness. You did the right thing!"

Yi Luowa squinted at her mother skeptically. "We haven’t even finished reminiscing, and you already know everything about us?"

Queen Haotian affectionately glanced at Tong Airui before addressing her daughter. "You didn’t tell me, but someone else already shared everything with me."

Emperor Haotian sighed deeply. "There are schemers on my end, and apparently there are on yours too. Xi Meichen has been so malicious—she nearly destroyed the entire Yi family. Her two daughters are still imprisoned in S Country, aren’t they?"

Yi Weiyang turned his head toward Tong Airui. He wasn’t concerned about Xi Meichen’s daughters and hadn’t bothered to check on their current situation.

Tong Airui nodded. "They’re still imprisoned, but I heard from my Uncle Jack that Shiqing is now paralyzed and unable to take care of herself, while Yi Lingfei went mad a month ago..."

Yi Luowa frowned slightly. "Shiqing becoming paralyzed isn’t surprising. She bullied people endlessly in the prince’s mansion. I heard she’s been ’visited’ almost daily in prison. But Yi Lingfei—how did she go mad?"

"She was subjected to ’ideological work’ every day. The fact that she lasted this long before breaking shows she had remarkable mental strength!"

Yi Luowa threw him a sidelong glance. The ones carrying out the ’ideological work’ were probably people he’d sent.

Tong Airui chuckled. "Not every bad thing is my doing. Am I really that terrible?"

Yi Luowa feigned a smile. "No, you’re great—wonderful, even!"

Queen Haotian watched their banter and smiled warmly. "Luowa, your Second Uncle and Airui are both your benefactors. Without them, you wouldn’t have the happiness you do today. Try to provoke them less in the future."

"Without Second Uncle, I definitely wouldn’t have what I have today. But—I’ve been wondering lately: if I hadn’t met Tong Airui, would my life be even better than it is now?"

Tong Airui laughed in frustration. "Let’s skip everything else for now—without me, could you have had these two adorable babies?"

"Fair point." Yi Luowa stifled her laughter and leaned against her Second Uncle’s shoulder.

Queen Haotian scolded lightly. "You’re always provoking people! By the way, is there any news from your Seventh Aunt’s side?"

Yi Luowa immediately tensed up. How was she supposed to answer that?

Tong Airui lightly pressed his lips together. "Mom, we’ve made some progress on Seventh Aunt’s case. However, I plan to take Danton to the hospital tomorrow for testing. Once the results are out, we’ll finalize the dosage for treatment."

Queen Haotian listened with relief and smiled. Her daughter had been found, her son’s poison could be cured—things she hadn’t even dared to dream of before.