“Great King, he’s born… it’s a little prince.”
A woman joyfully rushed out of the room, shouting. As soon as her words fell, a burly man immediately dashed into the room at an incredibly fast speed.
Inside the room, a few maidservants, seeing the burly man rush in, immediately bowed in greeting.
“You may rise. My son… where is my son? Where is Hi nhi?”
The burly man anxiously asked, his voice filled with joy and anticipation, after looking around and not seeing his child or wife. The woman who had announced the birth earlier had now followed him in, and hearing his question, she quickly replied,
“The little prince is with the Queen inside the bedchamber.”
This room consisted of two sections: the outer section was for the maidservants to sleep, from where they could be summoned by the master from within, while the inner section was where the master rested. The burly man was extremely familiar with the room’s layout, knowing it inside out, but at this moment, he was in such an agitated state that he couldn’t recall anything clearly.
Hearing the woman’s words, the burly man cursed under his breath. Looking at the other door in the room, he couldn’t maintain his composure or dignity. He kicked the door open with one foot and simultaneously rushed in at his fastest speed.
“Husband, you’re a father now, yet you still haven’t changed?”
Inside the chamber, there wasn’t much furniture: a dressing table, a wardrobe, a few chairs, and a bed. Lying on the bed was a beautiful young woman with an infant in her arms. The young woman was exceptionally beautiful, but at this moment, her tired, pale face revealed an even more captivating vulnerability, and the voice of complaint just now had indeed come from her.
“My apologies, I was too excited just now and momentarily forgot myself.”
Hearing his wife’s reproach, the burly man scratched his head awkwardly, standing rooted outside the door. The young woman shot him a glance, then seeing the pile of door fragments at his feet, she let out a chuckle.
“You, you’ll never change.” After saying this, she glared at him.
“Now, aren’t you going to come here and see our child?”
“Ah, yes, of course, I must see our child.”
The burly man snapped out of his daze, quickly walked to the bedside, all the while muttering the three words “our child.”
Arriving at the bed, the young woman gently lifted the baby and handed him over. The burly man received him with trembling hands, his careful and precious demeanor as if he were holding an invaluable treasure.
He tenderly examined the baby in his arms. Though still tiny, the child’s features were already well-formed, displaying an extremely resolute, albeit very tender, expression. The baby sucked on a finger, its round eyes curiously gazing at him.
The young woman was also watching the baby, and seeing his expression, she felt a secret joy inside. She gently stroked the baby and said,
“He looks so much like you, born with such a resolute face, it’s incredibly reassuring.”
The burly man’s smile grew even brighter. His wife was praising both the child and him! He foolishly kept muttering, “Yes, yes.”
“Look at you, so smug, you’ve forgotten who you are. I only hope he takes after your looks, but not your personality – so foolishly stubborn, completely a block of wood.”
The young woman gave him a reproachful glare, but her eyes were filled with nothing but love and happiness.
Just as the burly man was about to reply, a commotion arose outside the room. Following a series of footsteps, a group of people entered one after another.
Seeing these people, the burly man sighed helplessly, glanced at his wife, then said dejectedly,
“My wife gave birth, what are you all doing here?”
“You brat, just because you’ve grown a little, you think you’re so big? How dare you chase this old man away! He’s your son, but he’s also my grandson.”
Hearing the strong man speak, an elder strong man roared, his height and face completely cast from the same mold as the strong man. At the same time, the elder strong man's hands were not slow; he directly snatched the baby from his son's hands.
The strong man and his wife looked at each other, feeling helpless, but seeing the elder strong man joyfully playing with the baby, both saw delight in each other's eyes.
"And you lot, what are you doing here?"
The strong man irritably looked at the remaining people and said.
"You brat, I am your father's sworn brother, and your child is my grand-nephew. What right do you have to forbid us?"
Another elder strong man roared, though his build was much smaller than the previous one. As soon as he finished speaking, he ran towards the baby and his sworn brother to play. At the same time, he boisterously shouted,
"Brother Da Feng, I've come to help you!"
Next, the rest of the group also announced themselves one by one.
"I am the son of your father's sworn brother, I am your brother, I have the right to be here."
"I am the First General. The Great King has a child, I must definitely come."
"I am the Second General, and so am I."
"I am your father-in-law. I've come to see my grandson."
"I am the Finance Official..."
"I am the Staff Officer..."
………..
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….
Each person, after announcing themselves, immediately ran over to see the baby. After everyone quieted down, Old Strongman Da Feng then spoke up and asked,
"What is my grandchild's name?"
Immediately, everyone in the room looked towards the strong man and his wife. The couple looked at each other for a moment, then the strong man replied,
"My wife and I have discussed the baby's name for a long time."
His gaze suddenly became solemn, and his entire body exuded a powerful aura. Slowly looking at everyone around him, the strong man roared,
"Remember this... My son is called... Duan Da Tian."
Everyone present fell silent, secretly awed by the strong man's emanating power, and at the same time, secretly memorized the name. After a moment, the elder strong man who claimed to be Old Man Da Feng's sworn brother suddenly roared,
"Excellent, a very good name. Da Tian, this old man approves of this name. I hope he lives up to his name, conquering a vast realm just as his ancestors did. Good, Da Yu, you've chosen a very good name."
After speaking, he stroked his beard and laughed heartily, looking as if he thought nothing of anyone else. After laughing for a moment, feeling the surprised gazes of everyone around him, the old man awkwardly cleared his throat and chuckled.
"My apologies, I was a bit too excited for a moment."
"What's there to apologize for? Damn, Xie Xiong, what you said was brilliant! If you hadn't said it, I wouldn't have thought of it. Truly worthy of being called the Steel Clan's foremost strategist, it wasn't in vain that I became sworn brothers with you."
Old Man Da Feng heard his sworn brother's praise, looking utterly smug and forgetting himself, he stroked his beard and loudly praised him back. His demeanor was not much different from his sworn brother's just now. Seeing these two, the rest of the people broke out in a sweat. Perhaps sensing his grandfather's joy, the baby, also known as Da Tian, in the old man's arms also gurgled with laughter, and everyone was infected by this laughter and smiled.
After a hearty laugh, Da Feng looked at his son with satisfaction and said softly,
"Da Yu, you've chosen a very good name. But I also want to say something. You've grown up and now have a child; you should also change your old fiery temper. You have a family now, so you must think things through carefully before acting. Understood?"
"I will obey, Father."
The strong man Da Yu looked at his father's kind and caring eyes; his heart felt incredibly warm and touched, and his eyes were a little moist. Da Feng looked at him with satisfaction, and just as he was about to offer words of comfort, his son's next words left him speechless.
“But I truly didn’t expect this name to hold such profound meaning. I simply thought it sounded imposing, so I chose it.”
Watching Dai Yu stand there innocently confessing, Dai Feng’s old face flushed. Not just him, but his sworn brother’s face was also red. Just moments ago, the two of them were extolling themselves, and now the plain truth had come out. He glared angrily at his son, just about to “lecture” him a little when a series of footsteps accompanied by angry shouts suddenly came from outside the room.
“You two old geezers, what are you meddling in your children’s affairs for? Hurry up and scram so Xi’er can rest!”
With that, three middle-aged women appeared from outside the room. Seeing them, the two old men immediately cowered, standing still in apprehension. The rest of the people broke out in a sweat, bowing to greet them.
“Greetings, Empress Dowager.”
“Greetings, Madam Priestess.”
“Greetings, Madam General.”
The Empress Dowager entered first, nodding as she looked around, then fiercely bellowed: “What are you all doing here? What help can you offer in someone else’s family matters? If you want to offer congratulations, do it tomorrow at the banquet. Now, everyone go home and let the mother and child rest.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The group of men, sweating profusely, all replied in unison and then filed out of the room. After the crowd had left, only nine people remained in the room: the three newly arrived middle-aged women, the two old men, Dai Yu and his wife and child, and finally, the middle-aged man who had earlier introduced himself as the father-in-law.
“What brings the three of you mothers here?” Dai Yu asked hesitantly. Among the three, the Empress Dowager was his mother, Madam Priestess was the wife of Xie Xiong, his father’s sworn brother, and the last one, Madam General, was the wife of his esteemed father-in-law, who had remained silent until now.
“This doesn’t concern you. Today is your happy day. We came to drag these three old men back to prevent them from disturbing the baby and Xi’er.”
This time, it was Madam Priestess who spoke. As for the Empress Dowager, once everyone had gone, she went straight to Dai Feng, gave his head a firm pat, and at the same time, snatched the baby from his arms.
The three women cooed over the baby for a moment before returning him to the impatient Xi’er, who was waiting nearby. Finally, each of them dragged their respective husbands back home.
Gently closing the door, Dai Yu let out a sigh of relief. The husband and wife exchanged a brief smile. Seeing his wife’s exhaustion, Dai Yu tenderly embraced her.
“You’ve worked hard. Go get some rest.”
“Be gentle, Dai Tian is asleep.”
Xi’er said softly. Glancing at their son, who was in a deep sleep, Dai Feng smiled and lay down, gently resting his wife’s head on his arm as he softly said,
“You should sleep too.”
“Mm.”
……
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