“Little one, since we’ve found you, why don’t you come back to the Chaoyue Palace with me and Shuang’er?” After a relatively “peaceful” breakfast, Han Rubing said this to Meng Xiaoyu in front of everyone.
As soon as Han Rubing spoke, the other three, except for Han Rushuang, all looked at her. “Sister Rubing,” Meng Xiaoyu called out, a bit at a loss.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you want to come with us?” Han Rubing asked with a smile, seeing Meng Xiaoyu’s confused expression.
“No… it’s not that,” Meng Xiaoyu quickly shook her head in denial. “I want to be with Sister Rubing and Sister Rushuang, but…” At this point, Meng Xiaoyu paused, looking at Nangong Yunhan and Ling Yuer, her eyes filled with hesitation.
“But you can’t let go of Miss Nangong and Miss Ling, right?” Han Rubing voiced the words Meng Xiaoyu couldn’t say. Seeing Meng Xiaoyu lower her head in silence, Han Rubing got a bit angry. “Little one, do you really want to have multiple partners and enjoy the best of both worlds?”
“I don’t,” Meng Xiaoyu retorted, raising her head at Han Rubing’s sarcastic tone. She never thought about having multiple partners or enjoying such a life. Feelings just happened, and it wasn’t something she could control or change. She knew this sounded like an excuse, but it was the truth.
“If you don’t, then why don’t you want to come back to Chaoyue Palace with me and Shuang’er?” Han Rubing asked again.
“Master Han, Xiaoyu isn’t from your Chaoyue Palace. What right do you have to take her back?” Ling Yuer couldn’t stand Han Rubing’s aggressive questioning of her beloved and spoke up.
“Because she is my beloved,” Han Rubing’s tone instantly turned cold.
“Sister,” Han Rushuang was a bit puzzled by Han Rubing’s sudden change.
“Xiaoyu isn’t just your beloved; she’s ours too,” Nangong Yunhan also spoke up.
“Haha,” Han Rubing laughed, looking at Meng Xiaoyu. “Little one, is that true?”
“Sister Rubing…” Seeing Han Rubing’s questioning gaze, Meng Xiaoyu didn’t know what to say. What happened to Sister Rubing? Why did she suddenly change? And hadn’t she already told Sister Rubing about her relationship with Yunhan and Yuer? Why was Sister Rubing asking again? Meng Xiaoyu was very confused.
“Little one, tell me, are they your beloved too?” Han Rubing asked again.
Hearing Han Rubing’s question again, Meng Xiaoyu looked at Han Rubing, then at the other three, and finally nodded. “Yes, Sister Rubing, they are also my beloved. I like you and Sister Rushuang, and I also like Sister Yunhan and Yuer. Even though I know it’s wrong, I still like them.” After mustering up the courage to say these words, Meng Xiaoyu looked at Han Rubing, who had been acting strangely since earlier, feeling a bit lost.
“Xiaoyu (wife),” Nangong Yunhan and Ling Yuer happily hugged Meng Xiaoyu from both sides. They were thrilled that Meng Xiaoyu acknowledged them as her beloved in front of Han Rubing and her sister. This feeling of being recognized moved them deeply. Ignoring Ling Yuer and Nangong Yunhan’s happy embrace, Meng Xiaoyu’s eyes remained on Han Rubing and Han Rushuang.
“Yuer,” seeing Meng Xiaoyu’s slightly aggrieved gaze, Han Rushuang also walked over, pulling Meng Xiaoyu from Ling Yuer and Nangong Yunhan’s embrace into her own arms, holding her tightly. Then, ignoring Nangong Yunhan and Ling Yuer’s displeased looks, she planted a kiss on Meng Xiaoyu’s lips. This silent gesture told Meng Xiaoyu that she wouldn’t let go of her, even if it meant sharing.
Seeing her sister quickly switch sides, Han Rubing sighed silently, then spoke with helplessness, “Alright, pack up quickly. We must leave the cliff bottom before dark.”
“Sister Rubing…” Hearing Han Rubing still insist on returning to Chaoyue Palace, Meng Xiaoyu called out, feeling wronged. Was Sister Rubing abandoning her? As this thought crossed her mind, Meng Xiaoyu’s expression was on the verge of tears. She didn’t want Sister Rubing to leave her.
Seeing Meng Xiaoyu’s about-to-cry expression, Han Rubing smiled inwardly, then pretended not to know and asked, “Hmm? Little one, did you call me for something?”
“Sister Rubing, are you abandoning me?” Meng Xiaoyu threw herself into Han Rubing’s arms, crying.
Seeing the little one crying in her arms, Han Rubing glanced at her sister and the other two’s displeased expressions, then patted Meng Xiaoyu’s back with amusement. “Who said I’m abandoning you?”
“You just said you were going back to Chaoyue Palace,” Meng Xiaoyu mumbled, still lying in Han Rubing’s arms.
“Going back to Chaoyue Palace has nothing to do with me abandoning you. Besides, even if I go back, I’ll take you, this little troublemaker, with me!” Han Rubing said with a doting tone, gently patting Meng Xiaoyu’s back.
“But earlier you…” Meng Xiaoyu started to say, but seeing Han Rubing’s teasing gaze, she immediately stopped.
Seeing Meng Xiaoyu’s fearful expression, Han Rubing’s mood improved significantly. “What about earlier?”
“Nothing,” Meng Xiaoyu quickly shook her head, seeing Han Rubing’s familiar mischievous smile, then buried her face back in Han Rubing’s arms, internally lamenting, “Sister Rubing, why are you still so mischievous after all this time? T^T”
After crying for a while, Meng Xiaoyu suddenly thought of something and looked up at Han Rubing. “But what about Sister Yunhan and Yuer?”
“What else? Of course, wherever my wife goes, I go,” Ling Yuer answered, while Nangong Yunhan nodded.
“If the two of you want to visit my Chaoyue Palace, it’s not impossible. Just be prepared to pay for your stay. Not much, just three hundred taels of silver a day,” Han Rubing said with a mischievous smile, hearing Ling Yuer’s shameless words.
“Three hundred taels? Why don’t you just rob us?” Ling Yuer was momentarily choked by Han Rubing’s words, then exploded in anger.
Nangong Yunhan, however, ignored Han Rubing, softly saying, “I’ll go pack first,” before elegantly turning and leaving the dining room.
Seeing Nangong Yunhan already packing, Ling Yuer stopped bickering with Han Rubing and also went to pack, afraid that if she delayed, Han Rubing would leave her behind with her wife.
“Sister Rubing, do we need to pack anything?” Meng Xiaoyu asked, still in Han Rubing’s arms.
Han Rubing looked at Meng Xiaoyu with a teasing smile. “What do you think?”
“Uh, I don’t have much to pack, just a few changes of clothes,” Meng Xiaoyu said with a dry laugh. She really didn’t have much to pack, not knowing what to pack and not needing to. With Han Rubing and the others around, Meng Xiaoyu didn’t have to worry about anything. The only thing she needed to bring was herself. Although this might seem useless, it was the truth. Thinking of this, Meng Xiaoyu continued to nestle in Han Rubing’s arms, not wanting to pack anything. She just wanted to stay in Sister Rubing’s arms. Call her lazy, useless, or even a freeloader; it didn’t matter. She wasn’t diligent, wasn’t useful, and didn’t like eating hard, dry food.
“Little one, do you want me to carry you back to pack?” Han Rubing teased, looking at the little one clinging to her. Then, as the little one blushed and tried to push away, she bent down and lifted the little one in a princess carry, following her sister out of the dining room.
Half an hour later, everyone had packed their things, loading the items they might need on the road into the carriage Nangong Yunhan had used when she met Meng Xiaoyu and Ling Yuer.
After hitching the carriage and loading their belongings, Nangong Yunhan called the medicine servant, instructed her on some matters to attend to while they were away, and then turned to board the carriage. Entering the carriage, she saw Meng Xiaoyu smiling at her, and Nangong Yunhan smiled back, sitting down and pulling Meng Xiaoyu into her arms. In a low voice, she said, “Xiaoyu, wherever you go, I go. I’ll never let you leave my side.”
“Sister Yunhan, I won’t leave you,” Meng Xiaoyu said softly, relaxing in Nangong Yunhan’s embrace.
“Is everyone seated? If so, let’s set off,” Ling Yuer’s disgruntled voice came from outside the carriage. Why did she have to drive the carriage with this ice block? Thinking of this, Ling Yuer glared at Han Rushuang, who was seriously studying the map Nangong Yunhan had given her.
Han Rushuang, however, ignored Ling Yuer’s angry glare, continuing to study the map seriously. She didn’t want to drive the carriage with Ling Yuer either, but they had drawn the lot to do so. So, even though she was unhappy, she didn’t complain much.
