Chapter 46: Sharing a Bed

Dinner time came, and those working or studying gradually returned. The Ninghe Hall was filled with liveliness once again. The men discussed politics and career prospects, while the women chatted about clothes and children.

The children, however, could not match the stamina of the adults. After dinner and some playtime, they began to look drowsy. Xiao Yuan rubbed his eyes and murmured, “Sister, sleep.”

Xiao Jun and Xiao Qi gave the same pleading looks. The little companions hadn’t seen each other for over two months and didn’t want to part. What could be done?

“Bring them to my room. They can sleep in my bed tonight,” said Mrs. Qin, always fond of comfort. Her purple sandalwood-carved bed was much larger than the average bed.

“That won’t do. What about you?” Tong Mingyu objected.

“Move them to Yiyuan. My bed should be big enough for four children,” suggested Yuan Yutong.

In the Xiao family, apart from their grandmother’s place, only her large bed could accommodate four children.

“It’s late. Why move them around? Let them sleep here. I’ll sleep in the side room tonight. It’s just as comfortable. Let’s settle it this way.”

Grandmother was determined to fulfill her grandchildren’s wish to sleep together.

General Xiao supported his wife’s suggestion, believing that the children’s comfort should take priority.

After the four children had washed up and were placed on the fragrant, warm bed, they surprisingly didn’t fall asleep right away.

After everyone else had left, General Xiao and Mrs. Qin, concerned about the children, decided to check on them before heading to bed. To their surprise, they found the grandchildren wide awake.

Xiao Jun, wearing his inner garments, was rolling up his sleeves and demonstrating some moves he had picked up somewhere. Xiao Qi, his loyal audience, sat nearby, clapping and cheering. His chubby arms and legs jiggled with each movement.

The sisters, meanwhile, huddled together. Xiao Yao, her hair half-dry, was quietly telling her younger sister a story. Xiao Yuan, her undershirt open to reveal her tummy and round belly, listened attentively, occasionally glancing at her brothers.

Mrs. Qin, unable to stay up late, spent a short while with the children, instructing the maids and wet nurses to take good care of the young ones before retiring to bed.

General Xiao, however, had another idea. He realized he had never cuddled his grandchildren while sleeping. Imagining the soft, plump little ones on either side of him was irresistibly tempting. After dismissing his wife with an excuse, he bathed, donned his nightwear, and returned to the grandchildren.

“Grandpa will tell you a story. Would you like that?”

“Yes!” The children eagerly gathered around, sitting obediently.

General Xiao reclined in the middle of the large bed and ordered the maids to lower the bed curtains and leave the room. He then coaxed the two granddaughters to the inner side of the bed, holding them with one arm. He invited the two grandsons to lay their heads on his other arm.

“Once upon a time…”

“Tell a story about battles,” Xiao Jun demanded enthusiastically.

Wanting to satisfy his grandson while considering his granddaughters, General Xiao proposed, “I’ll tell a battle story first, then a story about animals for Ping’an and Ruyi. How does that sound?”

“Okay!” No objections came.

For the first time, General Xiao found himself storytelling to put children to sleep. He went on and on, exhausting his imagination, until he eventually lulled himself to sleep.

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The next morning, Mrs. Qin woke earlier than usual, unable to adapt to a different bed and worried about the children. After freshening up, she hurried to check on them.

When she lifted the bed curtains, she was momentarily speechless. Her husband lay sprawled in the center of the bed. Xiao Yao, ever the calm one, slept on the innermost side, her little foot poking out from under the blanket. Xiao Jun lay at the foot of the bed, his leg draped over his grandfather’s, with not even a corner of the blanket covering him. Xiao Yuan had somehow shifted to the outer side, half-sprawled, half-kneeling, her little bottom nestled against her grandfather. Drool formed a large patch beneath her. Xiao Qi was mostly on the bed but dangled his knees over the edge, seemingly on the verge of tumbling off.

Mrs. Qin felt a mix of laughter and alarm. What if her husband rolled over in his sleep and accidentally hurt one of the children? She scanned the room angrily, annoyed that no one had informed her of this situation.

Suppressing her frustration, she quickly instructed the maids to prepare the side room and carried each child, bundled in small blankets, to her recently vacated bed. Not one of the children stirred.

Once they were settled, she sternly warned the maids and wet nurses to watch over them closely before returning to confront her husband.

“Why were you sleeping with the children? Aren’t you afraid of crushing them?” Mrs. Qin scolded, her tone sharp.

“How could I crush them? I sleep quite still, and they were very obedient,” General Xiao defended weakly, fully aware he was in the wrong.

Mrs. Qin described each child’s precarious sleeping position. “What if you rolled over onto Ruyi or Ah Qi? They’re so small. How could they withstand it?”

“Well, it’s not that likely. Who gets hurt from that?” General Xiao muttered.

Mrs. Qin sighed. “You say that because you don’t know. Our family has experienced this before, and I’ll never forget it.” She swore the incident would remain a secret, especially from the children’s parents.

Later, she told the children she had stayed with them the previous night. Xiao Jun, suspicious, asked, “Where was Grandpa?”

“He left after you fell asleep.”

“Really?”

“Yes. You must not remember because you were asleep.”

“Then tonight… can Grandpa tell us a story again?” Xiao Jun asked eagerly.

Mrs. Qin nearly dropped her teacup. First, an unreliable grandfather, now a mischievous grandson. It seemed the two were determined to disrupt the household’s peace this New Year.