Yang Chuxia unfolded some of the paintings, "How is it, are the paintings by daddy really good?"
"Wow, daddy is awesome!" Lele exclaimed, looking at the several paintings set up in front of him, "This one is daddy, this one is mommy!"
"What about me? Where am I?" Yangyang, too, didnāt know when he had run in, and after looking at the paintings, he searched eagerly for himself but couldnāt find anywhere?
Lele also noticed and asked in confusion, "Why arenāt we in the paintings?"
No sooner had the question arisen than both little buns turned to look at Yang Chuxia.
"Your daddy painted these before you were born," Yang Chuxia said softly, "If you want one, you can ask daddy to paint for you. But you have to wait until daddy is free."
"Oh..." Upon hearing this, Yangyang let out an excited shout.
Leleās eyes were also smilingly curved.
So when Ye Ziāan came back in the evening, he was greeted with an exceptional warmth by his two sons.
"Yo, this happy?"
Yangyang was the most straightforward, "Dad, paint me, paint me." He patted his little chest, "Iām pretty, Iām pretty." His milky voice made one couldnāt help but laugh.
"Since when do boys say theyāre pretty?"
"Daddy, I want a portrait, too." Lele expressed himself more clearly than Yangyang.
Ye Ziāan raised an eyebrow upon hearing this and glanced at his wife, wondering how the two lads had come up with this idea.
"Lele wants to learn to write and said he also wants to learn to paint. Since it came up, I showed them your paintings," his wife explained.
Ye Ziāan understood, but the boy wanted to learn to write? Wasnāt he a bit too young for that?
Looking at their son gripping his clothes, wanting to be held, Ye Ziāan wondered if those tiny hands could even hold a pen properly.
"Dad, teach writing!"
The idea just crossed Ye Ziāanās mind when he nodded in response, "Alright, daddy will teach you later." He saw that Yangyang had also taken a small blanket and draped it over his shoulders, "Whatās he doing with that?"
"I want to fly, to fly!" Yangyang, hearing his father ask, hurriedly ran a loop around the room. With the blanket draped over him, it was indeed lifted by the wind as he ran. Midway, he tripped over his feet and fell, and one might have thought he would cry, but instead, he got up, giggling and draping the blanket again before rushing to Ye Ziāan, "Paint me, paint me flying!"
"Alright, alright, weāll talk about this after dinner. Let daddy sit and rest a bit first since he just got back," said his wife, seeing both sons crowding around Ye Ziāan, she pulled the two children away. Noticing the dark circles under his eyes, she asked, "Did you not sleep well last night?"
"I slept in a makeshift tent last night; it was a bit noisy."
Like him, all those who had worked had gone ahead to Yanghe Town, and they had set up tents nearby to rest for the night. He hadnāt gone to an inn in the town but stayed with the rest. Various snores and teeth grinding made it hard for him to fall asleep.
"Then you should head to bed early after dinner to get some rest," she suggested.
Soon enough, dinner was brought over from the kitchen, and the two little fellows diligently served Ye Ziāan with food.
"By the way, the people from the capital have returned. I asked about Mu Shaolingās situation, and I heard that the two of them were recently causing a fuss over annuling the engagement."
Ye Ziāan couldnāt help but snicker, "Those two really know how to make a spectacle. So whatās the result? Was the engagement called off?"
"Not sure, I heard that the Ministry of Rites hasnāt set a new wedding date, and the Emperor hasnāt issued any decree yet." She paused, then added, "But I had the congratulatory gifts sent ahead of time, just in case."
"That issue..."
As the adults talked, the two little children didnāt interject.