"All done, Mom!" piped up Tiny Bunny. Of course, he was the only one who answered.
"Mom..." Tiny Addie, only two years old, naturally didn't have to do homework. Holding his teether, he said, "My brothers said chasing girls... chasing girls is the real path, homework is useless." The not-so-understanding Tiny Addie just told the truth.
Hearing this, the other little guys' faces darkened and they shouted, "Tiny Addie!"
"Mom..." Not knowing what he did wrong, Tiny Addie got yelled at and hurried to hide behind her.
"You all are too naughty," Adrian Night said, clearly annoyed.
"Exactly! Tiny Bunny, if you’re not doing homework, what are you doing here?"
"Little Bloom!"
"Tiny Caleb!"
"Alright, alright, you guys can stop pretending now!" Ivy Shen shot her husbands a glare. The way the kids acted was all because of their pampering, fine, if they wanted to play the doting dads, she’d just have to be the strict mom.
"Here’s the deal—before dark today, the four of you each copy the Dao De Jing fifty times. Got it?" Ivy Shen looked at Little Snowball, Tiny Bunny, Tiny Caleb, and Little Bloom as she assigned the homework.
"Mom, that's way too much! There's no way we'll finish!" Noel Song protested loudly.
"Eighty times."
"Mom!"
"A hundred times!"
Whoosh! The four little guys took off running. They were terrified Ivy Shen might say "a hundred and fifty times" next.
"Mom, I'll take Tiny Addie back now," Tiny Bunny said sweetly, taking Tiny Addie's hand. "Big brother will get you something to eat."
"Okay!" Tiny Addie obediently followed Tiny Bunny out.
"Mom, I'm going to check on big brother and the others!" Little Pretty quickly ran off too. After all, they're still kids—whenever they gather, they just want to stick together.
Watching their little figures, Ivy Shen couldn't help but smile. These kids were way too mischievous—who taught them this stuff anyway? So young and already thinking about chasing girls instead of doing anything proper!
"Xin'er!" Ethan Chu hurried over. He'd been away handling affairs, and hadn't seen Xin'er for a whole month.
"Xin'er, so, what name did you pick for our little princess?" Sensing her mood drop, everyone quickly changed the subject.
"Belle," Ivy Shen replied without hesitation.
"Belle?" Everyone blinked, wondering what the name meant...
"You guys know I’ve always wanted a little princess. I just know she’ll be a little princess, so I’m going to treat her like the most precious jewel, my absolute treasure." Ivy Shen smiled, gently touching her belly. "Belle, be good, when you’re born, Mom will dress you up so pretty—you’ll be the most beautiful little princess ever."
"Yeah, she’ll definitely be the cutest little princess."
"She’ll be as beautiful and smart as you," Eli Crane added, full of anticipation. He truly hoped for a little princess too.
"Really? You all think so too?"
"We’ve wanted a daughter forever!" everyone chorused. It was the truth—since the very first child, they’d hoped for a girl. Seven boys was more than enough; they really didn’t want Xin’er to have to give any more of herself. But somehow, every single time, it was another boy. How could they bear it?
Still, the people and ministers loved it—lots of princes was a good thing.
Hearing all their talk about "little princess," Ivy Shen finally felt a bit better.
"How much longer until she’s born?" Ethan Chu asked Lucian Vane.
Lucian Vane shrugged. "Not totally sure. Xin’er won’t let me check, but I’d guess it’s any day now!"
Just then, Ivy Shen suddenly cried out, "Ouch, ouch... it hurts!"
"Pain? Oh my god, is it time?" Lucian Vane exclaimed.
Everyone froze. It must have been the emotional rollercoaster that set this off. "Quick, get ready!"
Eli Crane scooped up Xin’er and hurried inside. Everyone sprang into action—no matter how many kids they’d had, they were always just as nervous.
Soon, Madam Jin and the other two senior matrons hurried in. Over the years, they’d delivered every single prince.
At the same time, three young, full-figured wet nurses showed up—prepped for days, kept in the palace just for the new baby.
"Oww, oww... it hurts so much..." Ivy Shen screamed from inside, clearly in agony.
How could this be? So many kids, and it still hurts this much—what a tragedy!
All seven husbands looked grim, while the seven little boys rushed over, excited at the thought of their mother giving birth. They were all hoping for a little princess—then they’d finally have a sister.
"I’ll protect my little sister for sure!" Song Xue’ao declared. He really wanted a sweet, soft voice calling him "big brother, big brother"—how wonderful would that be?
"Me too! I’ll give my sister everything I have," Little Li said, his peach blossom eyes sparkling.
"I—I’m the Crown Prince of Chu! I want my sister to be the most beautiful princess in Chu," Little Pretty said, not to be outdone.
"Look, haha, this is my gift!" Little Xuan pulled a huge gem from his pocket. He’d won it off his dad and had been saving it just for his little sister.
"I—I’ll teach my sister the coolest lightfoot skills!" Little Hua chimed in, eager.
"I’ll teach her to read," Little Bunny added—he had the best grades of all.
"Huh? A sister? I’m getting a sister?" Little Cheng looked confused, not quite getting it.
"Oww, oww..." Ivy Shen groaned in pain.
Everyone outside was frantic. Ever since Xin’er took the medicine from Master Xuanluo, she hadn’t needed to incubate eggs anymore—now, as soon as they came out, the eggs would crack open on their own after just a few seconds.
Which was a relief—otherwise Ivy Shen would be exhausted from incubating eggs after giving birth. That was a tough job.
"Ahhh…" Ivy Shen endured another wave of agony. She swore this would be the last time—at least all seven of them had kids now. Never again! She was not a breeding sow!!!!
"Waaa—!" Suddenly, a loud cry erupted from inside the room.
She’s born, she’s born! Everyone outside was thrilled. But as the cry rang out, so loud and strong, they all exchanged uneasy glances—something didn’t feel right.
Why was the cry so loud???
Baby girls don’t usually cry that loudly, do they?
"Madam Jin, it’s a princess, right? Bring her here so I can see!" Ivy Shen called out, weak and exhausted.
Madam Jin looked mortified. "Empress, it’s… it’s a little prince!"
"What?" Ivy Shen was ready to faint. Why, why???