“I am Xiao Ai!” I nodded and said, “I love Mom’s sweet and sour fish, lion’s head meatballs, and stir-fried meat with celery. In the future, when Dad asks me to play chess, I won’t run away anymore…”
“Xiao Ai…” Mom pulled me into her embrace, crying, “I always believed you would be alive. How could you die? You won’t die…”
“Xiao Ai, your mom and I never told you about the strange thing that happened when you were born,” Dad wiped his tears and sighed. “You were born in the hottest summer, but you were ice-cold. The doctor said you had died.”
But just as your mom and I were about to hand you over to the doctor, snow as big as goose feathers suddenly fell from the sky for a whole day and night. Miraculously, you survived.
“You never said…” I looked at Dad in disbelief, realizing my origin was extraordinary.
“We thought your birth was strange and were afraid we couldn’t keep you, so we named you ‘Xiao Ai’, hoping to keep you with our love,” Dad sighed. “It seems you ultimately don’t belong here.”
“Xiao Ai, are you happy there?” Mom asked, looking at the dozen people beside me. “Who are they?”
“They are…” Oh no, how could I explain this to my mother without scaring her?
“Master Jiang, Madam, I will take good care of Ai’er!” the eleven people spoke in unison.
Mom and Dad were stunned.
“Dad, Mom, don’t worry, I’m doing well there!” I smiled, “You’re about to become grandparents.”
“Xiao Ai, you… are pregnant?” Mom’s face reflected joy and shock.
“Yes, Mom. We won’t see each other again, so I hope to have a daughter. Could you help me name her?”
“What surname?” Dad’s eyes scanned the people beside me.
“Jiang! Same as mine, it’s our Jiang family’s!” I quickly corrected.
“Great! A child of our Jiang family!” Dad said, then pondered, “If it’s a girl, let’s call her Xue Qian Lian!”
“Uh… Dad! Our family surname is Jiang.”
“Your dad means a four-character name, Jiang Xue Qian Lian!” Mom laughed.
“Great name!” Just as I finished praising Dad, I noticed their expressions change. Turning back, I realized my eleven handsome husbands had disappeared. Anxiously, I told them, “Dad, Mom, take care of yourselves. If you miss me, call my name when it’s snowing, and I’ll definitely hear you…”
A white light flashed, and I was sure I had returned.
In the blink of an eye, I appeared in the ice cave, where eleven people were already waiting.
“Little demon, you’re finally back!” Mizong looked relieved.
“We thought you wouldn’t return!” Tianji said, “If you hadn’t come back, my junior brother and I would have been killed by their anger. Glad you have a conscience…”
“Stop!” I interrupted, “Did you create those ice flowers?”
“How could I do that? When my junior brother and I discovered you were missing, we were worried. Then we saw the ice flowers fly into the white-light cave by themselves,” Tianji replied.
“I have another question,” I said, frowning at Xiaopizi, “How could they all enter this ice cave, especially Yu Han?”
“It’s simple!” Mizong smiled, pulling me to the cave’s edge, “Look!”
I was impressed by his method. There was a long ice path leading up, seemingly directly to the peak of Linghao Mountain.
“Xiao Ai, now what?” Nangong Mo asked, his eyes scanning Tianmie.
Looking at the eleven people again, I realized we were still wearing wedding dresses. Ye’s Group would suffer a huge loss – these were unique pieces by top designers, and we had escaped in them. Maybe I could have the kids wear them at their weddings someday! This thought made me giggle.
“Xiao Ai!” Nangong Mo’s call brought me back to reality.
“Where are you taking me now?” Tianmie suddenly grabbed me and flew.
“To see my three little demons and those three young masters,” Tianmie’s smile was now warm and comforting.
“Isn’t this inappropriate?” I asked, noticing those chasing behind. “Be fair!”
“Fair?” Tianmie raised an eyebrow, disdainfully. “You’re mine alone.”
I looked at Tianmie’s smile, inwardly groaning. Given his temperament, our future life would be quite exciting.
Master!” Tang Liuli stared at us in astonishment, her eyes wide. The two small demons who appeared afterward were also stunned.
“What about those three young masters?” Tianmei’s expression returned to its previous state.
“We have failed the master’s orders and are willing to accept punishment!” The three small demons knelt on one knee.
“If you want to punish her, you’ll have to ask me first!”
Mo Shuihen, Qiao Ruosi, and Bai Yuqing pulled up the three people from the ground, seemingly determined to confront Tianmei.
“Hehe, cease fire! Cease fire!” I quickly stepped forward to defuse the situation and glanced at Tianmei, making the six people pause, as if they’d realized something. I smiled and said, “We’re all family, so why fight? How long have we been traveling?”
“Only four days. I wonder where the madam has gone?” Mo Shuihen said, furrowing his brow.
“Oh!” It was only four days, indicating the time tunnel doesn’t change time and is likely related to this body, unlike my last journey where it was just my soul. With a carefree smile and a wave of my hand, I said, “Let’s go home!” Everyone exchanged smiles.
A few days later, children affected by the ‘soul-losing fragrance’ gathered in Yinri and were taken to Bingxue Mountain. After taking the ‘immortal ice flower’, loud cries erupted, keeping eleven handsome men quite busy.
“Seeing how hard you’ve cared for them, I might as well have a daughter and let you all become live-in sons-in-law!” This earned me eleven cold stares.
[Main Text: Chapter Thirty-Two – Finally, There Are Successors]
Five months later, Yinri Country, Phantom Love Mansion
“I’m warning you all to pray that I give birth to a daughter; otherwise…”
I was scolding those eleven people when the midwife interrupted me.
“Madam, you must push!” The midwife was sweating anxiously.
“I’m already pushing hard! What kind of child is this? If only I were in modern times, I could do a DNA test.”
“Madam, please concentrate!” the midwife reminded me again.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I heard a baby’s cry and sighed in relief.
“Congratulations, madam! It’s a big, healthy boy!” The midwife’s smile was ear-to-ear.
“What?” My entire face fell. Listening to the jubilant noise outside, I was furious! How could it be a son?
“Mom!” Old Sixth Huo Yan Jie pointed at Huan Ming, saying irritably, “This guy always disturbs me, preventing me from concentrating on sword practice!” His temper was clearly inherited from Huo Ling Yun, every frown and glance similar.
“Alright, be good! Don’t be angry!” Pinching Huan Ming’s cheeks, she lightly tapped his head. “How can you bully your brother? How’s your sword technique? Be careful or your father will spank you!”
“I’ve already mastered it!” Huan Ming patting his chest confidently.
“Xu’er!”
“Quickly asking Che’er to help the fallen Xiao Huan Xu up, she saw him from afar carrying a book and walking while reading, just like Xiao Yao. Brushing dust off his clothes, she asked, ‘Does it hurt? Just like your father, not careful while walking!’
‘Mom, Xu’er is fine!’ Xiao Huan Xu, the seventh child, sweetly smiled, looking very much like Xiao Yao, especially with his expressive eyes.
‘Mom!’ Suddenly a leg was gently shaken, revealing the extremely cute baby face of Yu Huan Ye, the mischievous eighth child, known for his quick temper and constant competition with his siblings.
‘Mom, it’s Dad’s turn tonight; I want to sleep with Mom too!’ Huan Ye’s eyes sparkled as he climbed onto her lap.
‘Little troublemaker! Your dad will definitely throw you out the front door if he hears this!’ She laughed, pinching his little nose while the older brothers laughed at his pouting face.
