Chapter 8 – Taking Care of Kids Breaks Down Her Defenses and Arouses Tenderness

If she really couldn’t go back, she had to figure out a way to make tissues to use.

She’d just have to slowly get used to it—she couldn’t possibly throw away a pair of pants every time they got dirty.

Touching her nose, Song Yeqing thought of that pair of “fragrant-smelling” pants she had tossed far, far away and silently vowed: Next time for sure!

Right now, she was wearing pajamas and underwear from her space.

Thankfully, she mostly wore sports bras, so they were still a decent fit.

At 3 a.m., soft whimpering sounds came from nearby again.

Oh, someone needed to pee.

Song Yeqing, dead inside, squatted by the chamber pot to help the younger one relieve himself.

If she ever had a chance to return to the modern world, she would never have children. It was just too hard! She’d rather go ten rounds with a vengeful ghost.

Sitting at the edge of the bed, her face looked even worse than the day before.

If she could go back to last night, she would never have given the kids milk before bed. From now on, they’d only have it in the morning.

She had always been a light sleeper, since night was when spirits were most active. You never knew what dangers you might encounter—dying in your sleep was entirely possible.

Last night, the two boys had woken up a total of five times. Previously, it had only ever been up to three. In her view, it was all the fault of that bedtime glass of milk.

Now she was just grateful to have inherited Madam Song’s memories—otherwise, who knew how much chaos she would’ve caused?

Since she had taken over someone else’s body, she had to raise their children well. So what if it meant cleaning up pee and poop all day? She could do it!

The previous emperor fell in the prime of his career—unlike me, who can’t even survive these kids…

“What’s wrong? Don’t cry, okay? Where does it hurt?”

She was just thinking about what to cook next when the older boy, who was sleeping on the inner side of the bed, suddenly sat up and started crying.

More importantly, he wasn’t bawling like some bratty kid, but sobbing quietly, sniffling like a wounded little animal.

Who could bear something like that?

Flustered, Song Yeqing picked him up and cradled him, her voice carrying a gentle tenderness she didn’t even realize she had.

If her fellow disciples from the private Taoist school saw her like this, they’d probably think they were seeing a ghost. Then again, seeing ghosts was pretty normal for them.

The younger one heard his brother crying and joined in, the two of them forming a weeping duet.

He really liked copying his brother.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Don’t cry, alright? Be good.” Song Yeqing could only hold one in each arm, gently patting their backs.

Finally, after two minutes of coaxing, the crying faded. These two kids really were good—they were way too easy to comfort.

Her own nieces and nephews would take at least five or six minutes of crying before settling down. Not that they weren’t good kids, but compared to these two, they seemed far less sensible.

Especially the older one—he vaguely understood that the family was struggling and tried not to cause any trouble. He even helped look after his younger brother.

“Mom, do you… not like Dabao anymore?” He had stopped crying, but still sniffled, looking incredibly pitiful.

“How could that be? Mommy loves Dabao and Xiaobao the most.”

In the end, Song Yeqing was completely defeated by their soft obedience, and without hesitation, began referring to herself as “Mom.”

It only took two days to break down her defenses. It seemed that bratty kids were powerful, but obedient ones were even more lethal.

“But you don’t kiss Dabao and Xiaobao anymore. You don’t play with us either.”

The older one sniffled pitifully, while the younger one fiddled with the buttons on her pajama top and occasionally murmured, “Mommy.”

“Ah… Mommy… Xiaobao.” The little one pointed to himself.

It was true—Madam Song used to kiss each of them when they woke up, then spend about half an hour playing with them in bed.

During the day, she’d tell them stories, talk with them, and occasionally take them out for a walk.

Song Yeqing hadn’t done any of that. Since accepting her time-travel situation, she had only focused on feeding and protecting them.

It must have been the sudden change that made them feel insecure. Even though those extra supplies were nice, they were still unusual.

Children might find new things exciting, but they could also feel frightened. And now, seeing that nothing had gone back to normal the next day, it all erupted.

Song Yeqing lowered her head and, hesitating at first but then resolutely, kissed both their foreheads.

I’m sorry. It’s my fault. As long as I’m in this body, I will try my best every day to be a good mother.

She didn’t say it out loud, only made the promise in her heart.

Then, just like Madam Song, she spent half an hour playing in bed with the kids. Their laughter filled the room, and even she occasionally smiled.

Children needed time to adjust—their senses were incredibly sharp.

If Madam Song couldn’t return, she would gradually learn to build her own way of interacting with them. She was her own person, and couldn’t pretend to be someone else forever.

For breakfast, she steamed eggs and cooked millet and pumpkin porridge with sugar. The kids ate happily and sweetly.

“Qingniang! Qingniang?”

Just after breakfast, while she was walking around the courtyard with the kids to help digestion, someone knocked on the door.

It sounded like Old Lady Ge.

“Coming!”

Song Yeqing quickly adjusted her expression, removed the door latch, and let her in.

“Madam.”

Old Lady Ge was close with Madam Song, so there was no need for formal greetings—just a slight nod of the head to show respect.

The old Song household was big on rituals, which seemed to be a common trait among hidden sect families. But once Song Yeqing understood the customs, it wasn’t too hard to follow.

“I just came to check in. You didn’t come out all day yesterday, and I was a little worried. Has Yanxin still not returned after three days?”

“Granny Ge.”

“Granny.”

The two children greeted her in their sweet little voices.

“Oh, what good boys Dabao and Xiaobao are.”

Granny Ge patted their heads and glanced at Song Yeqing with concern. Seeing that she looked fine, she walked inside.

Worried they hadn’t eaten, she had brought some wild vegetables and three small bird eggs with her.

Without waiting for Song Yeqing to help, she went straight into the kitchen, placed the vegetables on the table, and the eggs into a ceramic bowl. What a straightforward and efficient woman.

Clearly, the two families had a strong bond.

Every time Song Yeqing cooked, she would clean up and store everything in her space, so she wasn’t worried about being exposed.

The He Yanxin couple had indeed appreciated her help in matchmaking back then.

They didn’t have any elders at home, so when it came to big life events like marriage and childbirth, it was Granny Ge who had taught and supported Madam Song.

Madam Song had been a pampered young lady and didn’t adapt well to village life. It was Granny Ge who helped her learn many things she didn’t understand.

Originally, He Yanxin had invited Granny Ge to cook, but she refused to accept payment, saying she already had a daughter-in-law to take care of and cooking wasn’t too much trouble.

Madam Song would always give her vegetables or eggs in return.

After the first six months, there wasn’t much food to cook, and most meals were thin vegetable porridge that Madam Song could handle herself. So Granny Ge stopped coming over.

Granny Ge’s family had ten members and lived even harder lives. Later, He Yanxin managed to find some grain while he was away and shared some with her. Only after that did they start paying her.

“He still hasn’t come back. I just stayed home yesterday to wash clothes and sweep a bit, so I didn’t go out.”

Song Yeqing brought over a stool and invited her to sit, pouring her a ceramic cup of water.

“I figured. If I hadn’t heard some noise from your place, I would’ve come by much earlier.”

The once-plump farmwife now looked so thin and frail that she seemed to have aged ten years, even though she wasn’t yet fifty.

Times were hard, and yet she still brought wild vegetables and bird eggs.

The vegetables she had picked were even more tender than the ones Madam Song usually found, and the eggs were rare—who knew how long she’d searched to find them?

Anshan Village was considered relatively well-off in the area. Outside the village, people were starving to death. Here, only a few elderly people had chosen to take their own lives to save food for their families.

In most homes, people did whatever they could to ensure their children had enough to eat. For the average household, the next generation was their only hope for the future.

(End of Chapter)