Chapter 1236 - 1233: Reunion After a Long Separation (Part 1)

She rolled her eyes at him, but her eyes were always filled with a smile.

She chuckled all the way, not knowing why she was so happy. She suddenly remembered back then, around this same season, when she was pregnant, but at that time she was naive and unaware, and the psychological stress was immense. She regarded it as a burdensome task, with no joy at all, so perhaps the child sensed it wasn’t welcome and just left suddenly.

That piercing pain had left her terrified for a long time.

In the depths of fate, it felt as if destiny was at play. Another child quietly arrived in this very season. However, this time, both were prepared, full of anticipation and even extreme joy.

She secretly pinched her own arm, unsure if this was a dream or reality.

Afraid that something might happen to this child, she gently covered her belly, but it was still too small, so small that she couldn’t even feel its presence.

Nonetheless, she comforted herself: It will surely be fine.

After experiencing so much, she came to believe in destiny. If it’s destined by the heavens, then it will certainly succeed.

The summer banyan tree was cool and shaded. A gentle breeze blew, accompanied by the trickling of water in the garden, making this area seem refreshingly pleasant.

Footsteps were slowly approaching.

All of a sudden, a "shushing" sound was heard.

The two stopped their steps and curiously looked across.

Empress Dowager Liu was sitting on a bamboo chair, intently watching three cats in front of her. The two also looked over.

The three cats were scrambling over a large meat bone, locked in a stalemate. Two larger cats each grabbed one end, glaring at each other, evenly matched, unwilling to yield, and thus unable to gain an advantage over each other. The cat in the middle was much smaller and weaker, yet it held onto a piece of meat in the middle, refusing to let go.

Gradually, the small cat seemed to realize something, timidly let go, then looked at the two larger ones and made a peculiar move: it quietly took a small bite of meat.

Each of the two larger cats held the opposite side, unable to interfere with it.

Perhaps it understood the benefit, so while the two larger cats wrestled, it merrily took big bites of the meat.

It had already eaten many mouthfuls, even finishing the juiciest part in the middle thoroughly, while the two large cats were still helplessly struggling, afraid to let go for fear of losing completely.

So, the small cat became even bolder, unabashedly gnawing on the bone with delight.

The two watched and stifled their laughter.

Empress Dowager Liu looked up, a smile all over her face: "See, this is a real-life version of the snipe and clam fight and the fisherman gains."

Wan Donglin burst into hearty laughter and lightly kicked, causing the bone to clang onto the ground, and the three cats scattered like wild animals.

Empress Dowager Liu noticed them holding hands, with a rare closeness, particularly seeing her son with an exceedingly smug expression on his face.

She was puzzled, as she hadn’t seen him like this in years — people say newlyweds are joyful, and it’s understandable he would be enraptured in his marriage. The problem was, this joy seemed even greater than newly-wed bliss.

"Donglin, what’s going on?"

Wan Donglin looked at Yan Xixi, grinning: "Xixi, do you want to tell, or should I?"

Yan Xixi whispered: "You tell."

"Hey, I was going to give you a chance, but you gave it up. Alright then, I’ll tell."