The Best Husband
The next day, Palace of Qin.
"Didn't sleep well last night?" Early in the morning, Lily Evans looked at Alexander Hayes's face and could vaguely see traces of fatigue.
Alexander Hayes gave her a wry smile: "Charlie woke up crying three times last night. I got up to help you feed him three times—how could I possibly sleep soundly?"
Hearing this, Lily Evans felt a wave of guilt wash over her. "Sigh, you're so busy during the day, and at night Charlie keeps you from resting. I'm really sorry."
Alexander Hayes took Lily Evans's hand and gently kissed it. "Lily, between husband and wife, there's no need to say sorry. Besides, that noisy little rascal who keeps us up at night—Charlie—is the one I planted in your belly. Now that he's born, if anyone's to blame, it's me for not making him better behaved. Now he keeps his mother up, and you have to get up at night to comfort him. Sigh, he's our child, and now that he's here, we can't exactly put him back. As parents, a little exhaustion is part of the deal. We're the ones who brought that noisy little thing into the world."
Alexander Hayes's words warmed Lily Evans's heart. He wasn't like other husbands who, once the child was born, would just leave everything to others and not care at all.
He never complained about Lily Evans wanting to keep Charlie with them at night, even if it disturbed his rest.
You have to know, almost all other aristocratic men would never let a noisy child stay in their own room. Even if it was their own flesh and blood, at night they'd hand Charlie to a wet nurse and sleep in a room far away, out of earshot of the crying.
But Alexander Hayes accepted everything about Lily Evans, and was even more considerate and attentive than most common husbands.
Lily Evans wanted to keep Charlie by her side, and since her confinement, Alexander Hayes had indulged her. At night, he'd always help change diapers, feed Charlie, and soothe their crying son to sleep—truly the most patient and competent father in the world.
"Today is the third day, and the House of Zhao is coming to the Palace of Qin's gates to hold a meeting." Lily Evans said as she helped Alexander Hayes get dressed, her eyes full of worry. "Last time, the House of Zhao attacked us and lost tens of thousands of their soldiers, but they're still the local power. They've been entrenched in Anchester for decades—do you really think they'll just obediently listen to us? We even killed their old patriarch and Zhao Jun, and forced all the House of Zhao clan members to spend a whole day moving corpses. They must resent us deeply."
Alexander Hayes listened to Lily Evans's worries with a smile. "Are you worried about me, my dear?"
"It's hard to guard against petty people! Sure, our military strength is impressive, with two hundred thousand Black Armored Qin soldiers and three thousand Shenhuo Battalion troops, but governing a country involves so many details. If the House of Zhao wants to make trouble, they can trip us up in small ways and stop our policies from being implemented. That's enough to be a headache! The House of Zhao has infiltrated every aspect of Anchester—government, people's livelihoods, everywhere you look, there are House of Zhao members. Who knows what tricks they'll pull behind the scenes?" Lily Evans said.
"You're absolutely right to be worried," Alexander Hayes replied, looking completely relaxed. He didn't seem anxious at all, which made Lily Evans even more nervous. She nudged him: "Neither of us has experience running a country, and now we've run into such a tough local power right after taking charge. Look at me—I'm anxious, but you're not worried at all!"
Seeing Lily Evans fuss like a little housekeeper, Alexander Hayes smiled and tapped her nose. "If you're worried, why not come with me to the House of Zhao meeting? See how they react when we show up together—what do you think?"