Guaizai and Dandan, seeing Qin Hengxuan crying and laughing, were both startled. Dandan, frightened, squeezed into Guaizai's arms and clutched his clothes:
"Brother, this grandpa's gone crazy, so scary."
"Brother's here, will protect you, don't be afraid."
Old Madam Qin heard this and threw a fist at Qin Hengxuan: "Stop laughing, you're scaring my grandsons."
Qin Hengxuan glanced at Dandan, quickly wiped his face and stopped.
Old Madam Qin didn't believe there could be such a coincidence in the world. Even if they were really overthinking it, she was going to acknowledge this grandson regardless.
Now she beckoned to Dandan, full of kindness, as if afraid that even a slightly louder voice would scare her grandson: "Good grandson, come, don't be afraid, Grandma will hold you."
Dandan went over to her. When she picked him up, he was heavy. Old Madam Qin said with a smile: "This child is sturdy. Gungun, come, Grandma will hold you too."
Old Madam Qin had one on each side. She kissed Dandan, then kissed Gungun. The two children had lots of fat on their cheeks, soft and squishy. Old Madam Qin loved them to bits, coaxing the two children to call her Grandma. After Gungun and Dandan called her, Old Madam Qin's eyes stung and tears began to fall. She started bustling about in a flurry again: "These are my grandsons, no mistake! Fang Zichen… has he returned to Hezhou? Someone, prepare the horses, prepare the horses."
"Mother…" Qin Hengxuan saw that Zhong Momo was really about to call for someone to prepare the horses, and quickly tried to talk her down.
"Mother, no rush. Let's go see Father first!"
Right now it was only speculation. Whether it was true or not, they still needed to send people to investigate.
If Fang Zichen and Guaizai really were biological father and son, then everything was as he thought. Only then could Dandan resembling him make sense.
But Fang Zichen's age didn't match.
Old Madam Qin had clearly thought of this too, and calmed down: "Right, let's go see your father first. If your father sees Gungun and Dandan, he'll definitely be happy."
Meng Ruqing stood frozen like a statue, the shock too great to bear. His mind was in complete chaos.
"Brother Xuan."
His hands trembled more and more violently. He urgently grabbed Qin Hengxuan's wrist. His heart was pounding so hard it kept exploding in his ears, making everything feel unreal. His throat was choked tight, his chest aching with a sour, swollen feeling.
At that moment, he had so many things he wanted to ask, but his lips moved and not a single word would come out. After a long while, he looked into Qin Hengxuan's sharp, reddened eyes and asked, "Brother Xuan, is it true? Mother didn't see wrong, did she?"
Qin Hengxuan gently patted his back, comforting him in a low voice: "Mm! Let's go back first. This still needs to be investigated. If you keep on like this, you'll scare the children."
Meng Ruqing looked at Guaizai, saw him watching with worry, and immediately composed himself.
Zhang Quan followed behind, his heart in his throat, feeling that the scene just now was like something straight out of an opera.
But he had said it all along! If there really was no connection at all, and yet Fang Zichen and the Qin family's zhujun looked so alike — it was truly rather frightening.
---
Old General Qin kept gazing outside the tent, waiting for what felt like an eternity. Just as he was about to grow restless, a commotion suddenly broke out outside.
"Wow! This tent is huge! Father says tents are made of cowhide and sheepskin, and they're worth a lot of money. There are so many here—Grandma, is your family very rich?"
"We are. Do you want some? Grandma will give you a box later, alright?"
"Oh! How could I possibly accept that!"
"Brother, Dandan wants to eat."
Guaizai said, "Grandpa Tang says you already ate three buns. Hungry again?"
Dandan said, "Those were just pre-meal snack, to fill the gaps between my teeth."
Qin Hengxuan stumbled and nearly fell flat on his face. Three buns to fill the gaps between his teeth!!!
This kid is even more hardcore than Guaizai.
Old Madam Qin and Zhong Momo laughed, saying this child's appetite really took after Qin Hengyi. How wonderful! A good appetite is a blessing, a good appetite is a blessing.
Gungun and Dandan missed Zhao Ger and Fang Zichen. They had run wild in the village and seen plenty of people, so they weren't scared when they met Qin Hengxuan and his group. But they were quite attached to Meng Ruqing, and at this moment, holding his hand, they bounced along as they walked.
Meng Ruqing gently asked what they wanted to eat. Dandan said, "Anything is fine, Dandan isn't picky! Being picky is bad. Father says picky people don't have weight, and then they can't become heavyweight figures. Pretty Uncle, do you know what a heavyweight figure is? It's the super awesome kind of person. So Dandan isn't picky. But Dandan's favorite is the braised ribs Daddy makes. Those are so yummy. Pretty Uncle, next time you come to Dandan's home, Dandan will have Daddy make them for you!"
The child was so enthusiastic. Meng Ruqing smiled, "Alright."
Originally, Guaizai alone was already lively enough. Now with two more added, the whole way there was filled with nonstop chattering and chirping. Gungun and Dandan found everything novel, their little mouths running nonstop without a moment's rest.
Old General Qin heard them from far away.
Qin Yi lifted the tent flap and turned back to say, "General, the Old Madam and the others have returned."
"Got it." Old General Qin smiled. "Those two little ones must have been picked up. I can hear their voices. I bet they're lively like Guaizai."
Qin Yi saw Meng Ruqing holding the hands of two chubby children. The two children walked like rabbits—how could they not be lively?
Following the sound of footsteps, the group arrived outside the tent. Old General Qin smiled, "The children are back—"
At the same moment, Meng Ruqing led the two children in.
Old General Qin spoke while instinctively glancing at Gungun and Dandan. The instant his gaze landed on Dandan's face, his words came to an abrupt halt.
Old Madam Qin saw that he was also shocked and said with a smile, "Do you also think this child looks like Xuan'er?"
"He does." Old General Qin was slightly dazed, his heart seeming to stop beating. He couldn't even sit still. He swallowed hard before he finally managed to speak: "Exactly the same."
Though he was a military man, he was brave and skilled in battle, gifted in strategy—not a brute with strong limbs and a simple mind. His brain was not muddled. On the contrary, he reacted very quickly. The joy that Old Madam Qin couldn't hide on her face and Meng Ruqing's expression further confirmed it.
Gungun and Dandan were brought to the bedside by Meng Ruqing. "This is Grandpa."
Gungun and Dandan called out in crisp, clear voices.
Old General Qin's breathing quickened, overjoyed. For a long while, he couldn't speak at all. "Ai, ai, ai, good children, truly good children. Xuan'er, go call Lao Jiang and have him come over."
Qin Hengxuan asked with concern, "Is Father feeling unwell somewhere?"
"No, no. I feel wonderful right now."
Lao Jiang was quickly summoned. Old General Qin said his heart was beating very fast and told him to check quickly. He didn't want to die at all right now—save him, fast.
Lao Jiang took his pulse and said there was nothing wrong. He also noticed that the high fever that had persisted for two nights without breaking seemed to be slowly receding now, no longer as scorching as before. He couldn't help but feel overjoyed.
Though he didn't understand what had happened, the fever had gone down and Old General Qin's spirits seemed good—that was a great blessing.
Old General Qin had the three children stand in a row by the bedside, then looked at this one and that one, reaching out to stroke each child's head. Beautiful. His heart felt absolutely wonderful.
At this moment, he could die happy right now!
Old Madam Qin also sat nearby watching. The three children were like polished jade, truly adorable. She couldn't look at them enough.
Zhong Momo brought in food. Guaizai hadn't eaten anything since morning and was hungry now.
Meng Ruqing still wanted to lift Gungun onto the stool, but Gungun didn't need his help at all. The two children were the most eager when it came to eating. By now they had already climbed up and seated themselves.
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