Chapter 186 - 183: End of Confinement

Chapter 186: Chapter 183: End of Confinement

Zhou Lian’s postpartum confinement was relaxing and pleasant. Li Xiu and Sister Fang took care of everything, so Zhou Lian only needed to rest well and recover. The days passed quickly. After the Lunar New Year celebration, the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth came and went. She was originally supposed to end her confinement on the ninth day of the first month, but Li Xiu insisted she rest for a full forty-five days, just as she had after Nuonuo was born. Zhou Lian understood his good intentions and didn’t argue. Fortunately, school started on the twenty-sixth, so her studies wouldn’t be delayed. Otherwise, she probably wouldn’t have agreed so easily.

On the sixth day of the New Year, Ping’an arrived at the Li family home. He was going to study under Li Xiu for another year! Then, on the seventeenth, Li Bao returned. He had to hire two three-wheeled flatbed carts from the station just to haul all his things back! Looking at the mountain of belongings that filled the courtyard, even the ever-composed Li Xiu felt a headache coming on. ’Did he bring half of his entire house with him?’

It took an entire afternoon to sort out and put away everything Li Bao had brought back. Reading the letters from the Zhou and Li families that Li Bao had delivered, Li Xiu smiled faintly. Everything at home was fine. His three older brothers-in-law were slowly achieving the results they had hoped for. The younger children of the Li family were studying diligently, their grades consistently good; they hadn’t wasted Li Xiu’s efforts. The elders were all healthy, especially Grandma. Li Bao said that when she heard Zhou Lian had given birth to a big, healthy baby boy, she instantly looked ten years younger. Li Xiu glanced up at Li Bao, who was playing with Nuonuo, and smiled. ’Let him enjoy himself a little longer. This year, he’s going to be very, very tired.’

As he was teasing his little niece, Li Bao suddenly felt a chill creep over him. He turned his head and met his older brother’s ambiguous, not-quite-a-smile expression, and he shivered instantly. He couldn’t help but wail inwardly, ’No way. Big Brother isn’t thinking of tormenting me again, is he? I’ve been so good and stayed out of trouble lately.’ He flashed his brother a cloyingly sweet smile before decisively turning back to his niece. ’Whatever. I’ll just enjoy today while it lasts.’ Still, it had to be said that Li Bao was improving at lightning speed. With an older brother practically cracking a whip at his heels, he had no choice but to get better. ’When it comes to disciplining his own brothers, that guy is absolutely merciless!’

Watching this scene unfold, Ping’an’s eyes darted back and forth as he mused to himself. ’Seeing how practiced Li Bao is at this, maybe I should ask him for some pointers. Over the past month, Li Xiu has been tormenting me to within an inch of my life. I sometimes wonder, Li Jincheng is only two or three years older than me—where on earth did he learn to be so calculating and scheming? Is that Old Master Yun Qi really that formidable?!’

After the fifteenth of the month, everyone had arrived, and life got busy again. Li Xiu’s small courtyard became much quieter. After some discussion, Li Xiu and Zhou Lian decided not to hold a full-month celebration for Yanyan. For one thing, the weather was too cold, and Li Xiu wouldn’t let Zhou Lian end her confinement. For another, all their family and relatives were back in their hometown, so it was optional. However, there was a custom that the baby’s first haircut had to be done by a maternal uncle. After learning about the traditions of Li Xiu’s hometown, Ping’an eagerly volunteered to act as the "uncle" and give Yanyan the haircut. With Elder Ping and Mrs. Ping chiming in with their support, Li Xiu and Zhou Lian agreed. Since there was no full-month celebration, Elder Ping insisted that Li Xiu throw a grand banquet for Yanyan’s 100-day celebration instead. Seeing the look on Elder Ping’s face, Li Xiu hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

’Anyway, I’m already involved with the Imperial Palace, and it’s a connection I can’t sever even if I wanted to. Besides, I have no intention of severing it. So what if I’m a little high-profile? I have a son, a daughter, and a beautiful wife—I’m pretty much a winner in life. And then there’s Ping’an. He’s already too deeply entangled with our family. Since that’s the case, why not just announce our connection to the world? I’ve already taken him under my wing; I have to protect him to the end.’

Li Xiu never troubled Zhou Lian with these complicated matters. Zhou Lian understood the gist of the situation, but her mind wasn’t on such things, so she never pressed for details. She simply focused on obediently finishing her confinement, waiting for the day she would be set free.

On the day her confinement ended, Zhou Lian was up bright and early. ’Freedom at last!’ she thought. She knew Li Xiu had good intentions, but anyone would go stir-crazy after being confined to the kang for forty-five days. Seeing how excited Zhou Lian was, Sister Fang couldn’t help but tease her, "You did your confinement in the winter, which was lucky. What would you have done if it had been summer!"

Zhou Lian paused for a moment, then smiled. "Ha, I guess I’m just lucky!" ’Just the thought of being stuck indoors during the peak of summer—not being able to open a window, wash your hair, take a bath, or even use a fan...’ Zhou Lian shuddered. ’That would be absolute torture.’ She turned to look at her son and daughter sleeping soundly on the kang. ’My children are so sweet and considerate!’

When it was finally around ten o’clock, the room, with its underfloor heating and heated kang, was as hot and steamy as a sauna. Li Xiu had Sister Fang take Nuonuo outside to play for a while, while he stayed behind to help Zhou Lian wash her hair and take a bath.

After two hours, Zhou Lian was finally feeling refreshed, propped up against the kang and encouraging Nuonuo to look at her little brother. In the kitchen, Li Xiu and Sister Fang were busy making lunch. Ping’an put down his book, stretched his back, and walked to the doorway. He glanced toward the open kitchen door and smiled to himself. ’That Li Jincheng really has no limits when it comes to spoiling his wife. I’ve never seen a man dote on his wife so much. The more I learn about him, the more I admire him. A grown man, and a smart, capable one at that, who manages everything at home and at work. He does the laundry, cooks, takes care of the kids, cherishes his wife... and on top of that, everyone praises his business acumen, his connections, and the way he handles himself. I have no idea where he gets all the energy to manage everything so perfectly that he earns nothing but praise.’

Nuonuo carefully stepped over the threshold on her short little legs and toddled unsteadily toward Ping’an, shouting, "Uncle, Uncle, time for eat-eat! Come eat-eat with Nuonuo!"

Snapping out of his thoughts, Ping’an quickly swept the little girl into his arms. "Nuonuo, why were you in such a hurry?" he asked gently. "What would you have done if you’d fallen?"

"Nuonuo’s hungry, and I want Uncle to eat with me!" Nuonuo said in a small voice, twisting her fingers. ’Nuonuo’s tummy is rumbling, and Daddy is only just now making yummy food. Nuonuo is getting impatient!’

He didn’t need to guess what this little imp was thinking. ’She must be starving. They usually eat around 11:30, but it’s already an hour past that. Kids don’t eat much, so they get hungry fast.’ Ping’an walked briskly toward the east wing. Seeing a refreshed and glowing Zhou Lian, he asked laughingly, "Did you really have to? You took so long in the bath that my poor little niece is starving!"

Before Zhou Lian could say a word, he turned to jab at Li Xiu. "And you! You indulge your wife in everything. You should’ve just let her bathe by herself. Look how you’ve starved Nuonuo!"

Li Xiu shot him an unreadable glance but didn’t deign to reply. ’He’s genuinely worried about Nuonuo, that’s true, but he’s also just taking a rare chance to tease me and Zhou Lian.’ Seeing that Sister Fang was already helping Nuonuo eat, Li Xiu turned and asked Zhou Lian softly, "Bao’er, school starts the day after tomorrow. Everything okay?"

Zhou Lian rolled her eyes at Li Xiu and said nonchalantly, "What could be the problem? I kept up with all of last semester’s coursework. Yingzi brought me the final exam to practice on, and my score was even better than hers! They’re holding the exams right when school starts, so getting my credits for last semester will be no issue. Don’t worry!"