Four years later, Yang Chen lay on the bed, holding the still-breathless Zhou Di in his arms. He kissed him gently, trying to calm him down a bit. After a while, Yang Chen asked softly:
"Was it good? Did you enjoy it?"
Settling into a comfortable position in Yang Chen's arms, Zhou Di nodded and replied:
"Yes, it's good. Comfortable." With a satisfied smile, he asked, "Chen Ge, what is going on with the Feng family?"
Yang Chen let out a weary sigh and said:
"The Feng family is in chaos. You know, Feng Quan'an's eldest son is an incompetent wastrel, yet he's determined to inherit the Feng family's territory. However, most of Feng Quan'an's subordinates oppose him, favoring his illegitimate son instead. Feng Xiao is hoping this grandson marry to Yang Jing's daughter to solidify his leadership. To make things worse, Feng Quan'an's wife is also involved in this contention, constantly pushing her own son forward, deepening the rift. So the two factions are entangled in constant conflict. Feng Quan'an is furious and begged me to step in and resolve this issue but I refused. You know, when I became the Commander-in-Chief, I signed agreements with the four warlords. Although I technically command the entire national army, the military affairs in their territories have to be handled by them unless they willingly relinquish their power, like the Chen family did. That allowed me to take direct control over their military."
Zhou Di frowned thoughtfully:
"For over a decade, you've been working to weaken the power of the four warlords and unify the nation, aiming to prevent another civil wars caused by various factions rising again. The Chen family was the first to dissolve during the war. Chen Shuyu and Chen Shuzhang, being relatively weak, willingly submitted to the Yang family's army. What about the Liao family?"
Yang Chen replied:
"The Liao family's navy is undeniably the strongest in the country. I discussed with Liao Yuanpeng and let him take charge of the national navy. Even my family's navy forces fall under his command. So, out of the four warlords, three have basically integrated into unified system, freely cooperating in terms of economy, personnel, military, etc., under the leadership of the president and parliament. Only the Feng family remains stubborn. While they nominally acknowledge the current government, they're still trying to establish themselves as an independent power. Honestly, I'm tired of it. Several times I have considered resigning as Commander-in-Chief, but no one was willing to take the position. You know what Chen Yufeng said? Let your son take over in the future because he's even worse than you."
Zhou Di chuckled:
"How did Chun'er leave such an impression on Chen Yufeng?"
"That happened before he went abroad to study. Chen Yufeng and I organized a five-day military exercises. Chun'er was just a junior commander, leading a mobile unit at the time. He managed to raid the enemy's headquarters and nearly annihilated their main camp in only three days. His unit almost destroyed the enemy's base, forcing Qi Yue to pick up his pistol and fight against them himself. Although Qi Yue eventually defeated Chun'er's unit, he lost his control of the frontline and suffered a major defeat in the end. Qi Yue was so furious to the ceiling that he almost shot himself." Speaking of this, Yang Chen couldn't help but laugh, "You wouldn't believe that the expression on Qi Yue's face made me and Chen Yufeng laugh so hard. Chen Yufeng even joked that Yang Zichun is even worse than me when it comes to fighting."
"Isn't this the classic case of 'capture the leader and the gang will collapse'?"
"That's right. Let's not talk about this anymore, instead about the children. Are you sure they will come back together? Chun'er has been home for three years. After his grandpa passed away, he went to Ferceland and stayed there fro another year. I wonder what these kids have been up to."
"You didn't want me to interfere, did you? Well, Chun'er finally came out to us. It turns out his lover is actually my Aichen, who never told me about this before he went to Ferceland for his Ph.D degree. I honestly thought they were like real brothers."
"Brats! If Chen Shuyu didn't have come here with his twin daughters and let Chun'er choose one to be his wife, we would never know how much longer he would have kept this secret from us. Now the whole world knows that the eldest son and grandson of the Yang family like men and, not just that, they're even dating a father and son from the Zhou family. However, I had never expected Chun'er to allow Aichen to study abroad. They've definitely grown up and truly understand what is the most important to each other. So we don't need to worry about the children anymore."
"If the Grand Marshal knew about their relationship, he would probably kill my Aichen. These two kids kept this secret so well, getting together without any indication. Our reputations in the Yang family have be ruined. Oh, by the way, do you know whether Zixiao and Zizhan will return to Qudu directly?"
"I have no idea but I think they should go back to Qudu directly. Zixiao doesn't have been back in six years. Zizhan and Aichen went to Ferceland together. None of three children made it back when their grandpa passed away. I'm sure Yang Jing and Jiang Fengtian miss them a lot so I think they will come back to Qudu directly. Yang Jing doesn't have been doing that president thing anymore and has returned to his military factory. He and his wife are living with Mom Liu in Qudu now."
"Isn't their daughter living at home?"
"No, she's living at the university now. With no one else at home except Mom Liu, who mostly chats with Jiang Fengtian, but Yang Jing can't really join their conversation so he spends all his time in the factory. He told me that he has designed some new weapons and even invited me to check them out. He also invited us to stay in Qudu for a few days. After all, my father had admitted your position in the Yang family before he passed away."
"It is up to you. Actually I think we're living a better life now. Yang Yang and we can drive around, have meals or do things together. When I go to work, you have a chat with Yang Yang. When you go to work, I also have the company. Since Yang Yang learned Braille, he's been writing short articles for those magazines for the blind. Zihui's carving and restoration skills are finally dependable now. Does he have talked to you about his future?"
"No, he didn't have talked to me. You know he is a bit afraid of me, but he did talk to Yang Yang about it. He wants to inherit your legacy and continue carving at the company. Yang Yang, being as indecisive as ever, came to ask me whether you would agree this or not. He said this is ultimately what you intended for Aichen. He is worried that you might feel differently about Zihui if he works there, so...."
"I'm going to talk to him tomorrow. What's with these thoughts? The children should do whatever they want to do. Why can we really stop them from pursuing their hobbies? To be honest, at first, I worried that Yang Yang was angry with me because Zihui learned the carving and restoration from me, thinking it might interfere with his studying."
"That's exactly what I told him. If Zihui wants to study in college, let him go. If he wants to work in our company, it is no problem for him. Our kids can do whatever they like, regardless of whether it's practical or not. But Yang Yang always thinks that they're causing any trouble for us when they live here."
"He worries too much. You should have a nice talk with him. Don't carry such a heavy burden. I think it is wonderful for us to live together and take care of each other. And honestly, I have a great fondness for Zihui. By the way, Chen Ge, why did Zihui and Yang Wu ask you to arrange a seven-seater car for them?"
"I have no idea. How mysterious! They're planning to stay overnight in Yichun and come back tomorrow evening."
"Are they staying at the presidential residence?"
"I got a call from Erhua this afternoon. As the President, she doesn't have much free time to spend with them so Liao Yuanfang will be handling the arrangements for them. She will be having dinner with the kids tonight."
"I have no idea. So mysterious! They said they're planning to stay overnight in Yichun and come back tomorrow evening."
"Are they staying at the presidential residence?"
"I got a call from Erhua this afternoon. As the President, she doesn't have much free time to spend with them, so Liao Yuanfang will be handling the arrangements. She'll be having dinner with the kids tonight."
The next day, as dusk approached, Yang Wu drove into the mountains. Following in his father's footsteps, he served as Yang Zichun's adjutant. During the year Yang Zichun stayed in Ferceland, Yang Wu had been learning from his father how to be a good adjutant. Now that his Young Marshal had returned, Yang Wu was brimming with confidence and ready to do his job well. Yang Zihui remarked:
"Eldest brother, you two will surely going to shock Uncle Chen and Uncle Zhou. And no one told them that Uncle Jing and Aunt Jiang will be visiting with Grandma Liu to escape the summer heat. I think Uncle Yang and Aunt Yang are going to have their hands full again."
Yang Zixiao said:
"Don't worry. My mom has everything arranged. They're coming to Xishan with servants. Today, we'll tell them and tomorrow we'll go shopping with Aunt Yang. No problem. Everything becomes easier with more people here before my parents arrive."
Yang Yong laughed and said:
"This is easy enough to handle. But the Young Marshal and Aichen are definitely going to shock the Grand Marshal and Uncle Zhou. I think it will take a few days for them to recover from this surprise. After that, they will be busy handling everything for these children. My mom and the aunts will have their hands full for a few days too. Their first priority will probably be finding nannies as quickly as possible."
Yang Zihui chimed in:
"If it weren't for Yang Wu holding me up, I would have collapsed to the ground. Aunt Erhua and Uncle Yuanfang were so shocked they couldn't even speak. But Aunt Erhua really likes them a lot."
Yang Zizhan said:
"This was Eldest bro.'s idea. Apart from Ph.D, this is another reason that he spent a year in Ferceland."
Meanwhile, Yang Zichun carefully held a slightly larger basket, covered with a tulle scarf. He adjusted his position to ensure Zhou Aichen felt more comfortable as Zhou Aichen leaned on his shoulder. Zhou Aichen, who was also holding a basket draped in a tulle scarf, had his eyes closed and leaned himself on Yang Zichun. Yang Zichun asked gently:
"Do you feel comfortable like this?" Aichen responded with a soft "Mm-hmm." Then Yang Zichun turned to the others:
"Aichen and I have our happy ending. Now it's Yang Zixiao's turn, your marriage. Any prospects for marriage yet?"
Yang Chen and Zhou Di looked at Yang Zixiao and Yang Zizhan when they walked in and asked:
"Why are you two here? We thought your brothers should have gone back to Qudu."
Yang Zixiao smiled and said:
"My parents and Grandma Liu are coming here to escape the summer heat so my Dad told us to wait for them here. We will go back to Qudu after summer."
Zhou Di, startled, asked:
"What? Your parents are coming?" Then he looked at Yang Chen, who shrugged, clearly just as surprised. So Zhou Di continued, "Then we need to arrange everything in order to make them comfortable here. Your Aunt Sanhua's family will also be arriving soon. Where are Chun'er and Aichen?"
At this moment Yang Zichun and Zhou Aichen walked into the hall, each holding a basket. Yang Chen glanced at them asked:
"What are you two holding?"
Yang Zichun lift the scarf from his basket and explained:
"Dad, Pa, these are my children and those are Aichen's children."
"Dad, Pa, these are my children and those are Aichen's children. We used surrogacy with two girls from our country in Ferceland. The embryos were created through in vitro fertilization and implanted into the girls, who then gave birth to these five children, four boys and one girl. Now we hope Dad and Pa can give them names."
Yang Zizhan and Yang Zihui held onto Yang Chen and Zhou Di, who were already stunned, on each side. Their hands, originally clasped together, tightened their grip. Zhou Di raised one hand to covered his mouth, tears streaming down his face, while Yang Chen covered his eyes with his free hand. He let go of Zhou Di's hand and pulled him into an embrace. After a moment, he said in a trembling voice:
"Don't cry, don't cry. Let's look at the children first, look at the children."
Saying that, supported by two nephews, they walked to the two baskets. Inside one basket lay three infants, two wrapped in blue swaddling clothes and one wrapped in pink.
Yang Zichun explained:
"They are two older brothers and one older sister. I was worried we might not be able to tell them apart so I wrote the numbers on them."
Zhou Di asked, his voice trembling:
"Aichen, are these two the younger brothers?"
"Yes, they were born two days later than the other three."
Zhou Di turned to Yang Chen and said:
"Chen Ge, let's come up with the names for the children. You gave my Aichen's name. Please name these five children."
Yang Chen thought for a moment before saying:
"Let's call them Yang Guanwen, Yang Guanwu, Yang Guanjie, Zhou Guanying and Zhou Guanjun. Scholar ('wen" in Chinese), warrior('wu' in Chinese), hero('ying' in Chinese) and handsome('jun' in Chinese). These are my hopes for the boys, which they will protect our beautiful girl, Yang Guanjie, in our family."
Standing behind Yang Chen and Zhou Di, Yang Zaihua stepped forward and said:
"Grand Marshal, the dinner is ready. The young masters have just come back and must be tired from the long trip. After dinner, it is best for them to take a rest. Let my wife and me take care of the young masters and the young miss. Master Chun, please hand over the children's things to your Aunt Yang. Your Grandma Yang and Aunt Yang will take good care of them."
Yang Chen said:
"Let's go and have dinner together." Holding Zhou Di's hand, he continued, "Dizi, we have our grandsons and granddaughter now. Are you happy?"
Zhou Di held Yang Chen's hand tightly and said:
"Of course, I am happy to be with you. We have to find the nannies for them first."
"Let Zaihua and his wife handle it."
"Chen Ge, we are happier and luckier than they are."
"They? Oh, yes, Zhou Chuyu and Nie Huanzhang. Of course we are happier than them. I have known this for a long time."
Yang Zichun walked behind his father, holding Zhou Aichen intimately. Zhou Aichen whispered:
"Ge, do you think that we can finally have a peaceful night's sleep tonight without being disturbed by the children?"
"But you have to fulfil my desires first. Since we have our children, it has been a long time for us not to sex each other."
"It is my turn this time and don't try to play any tricks."
"It doesn't count last time. We were interrupted by the kids so we didn't finish our sex. I didn't enjoy it."
"You are trying to cheat me again..."
As everyone made their way to the dining room, the empty hallway was left behind. Yang Zaihua looked around, then walked to the door and locked it. No one would be leaving tonight. Everyone was home.
At the Yucheng City Museum, the night guards were inspecting the various exhibition halls with flashlights. The dim light swept over all the artifacts in the exhibition hall, including the largest glass coffin in the center, and passed over the mummified bodies of Zhou and Nie who had been embraced each other for thousands of years.