113: Chapter 113 Boys and Girls Are the Same

The birth of Hun Muying was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, sending ripples through the East Courtyard. Although the little one was a girl, she was born with exceptional natural talent—a Five-Star Dou Zong, four stars higher than when Hun Muxiao was born. Her God-Grade Bloodline and Demon Phoenix Bloodline were perfectly fused within her, and a faint, blood-colored glow, tempered by the Heaven-Slaying Flame, circulated through her meridians. Even Yao Ling couldn't help but exclaim at how outrageously good the girl's foundation was when she checked on her. Lin Qingwan, in particular, treated Hun Muying as the apple of her eye. She would run to the East Courtyard as soon as she opened her eyes every morning, holding her granddaughter and refusing to let go, repeating over and over, "Her brows and eyes look like Ying'er's, and her nose bridge looks like Feng'er's," unable to get enough of looking at her. Hun Muxiao was incredibly curious about her little sister. She lay by the cradle, staring at the wrinkled little face for a long time, then looked up and asked her mother, Medusa, why her sister was so small and wrinkled like the steamed buns Grandmother made. Medusa was rarely amused enough to curl the corners of her lips, saying it was because she was still small, and when she grew up, she would be as beautiful as her. Hun Muxiao nodded in satisfaction, reached out a tiny finger, and poked the palm of her sister's hand. The tiny fist instinctively grabbed her fingertip with surprising strength, giving Hun Muxiao a start.

The wives at the stone table took turns visiting Cao Ying's room every day, bringing tonics, little clothes, and calming herbs in an endless stream. Every time Yao Yao returned from a visit, she would sit on the stone stool and space out for a while, then suddenly blurt out, "Five-Star Dou Zong, even higher than Mu Xiao." She was truly envious—not that Cao Ying had a child, but of the child's talent. She had been with Hun Feng the longest and had the deepest feelings, yet her stomach was the least cooperative. Every time she thought of this, she couldn't help but glare at Hun Feng under the corridor. Gu Xun'er didn't say anything, but when she walked under the corridor supporting her waist every evening, she would occasionally glance at Cao Ying's room, her fingers gently stroking her slightly protruding belly—her due date was in two months. Cao Ying had given birth to a daughter, so would the one in her belly be a boy or a girl? She wasn't biased toward boys, but she knew the entire East Courtyard was silently watching this matter.

Xiao Yi Xian remained the quietest one, squatting by the flower bed every day to tend to her plants, occasionally picking a few freshly bloomed calming flowers to send to Cao Ying's room, leaving without a word. Yun Yun helped Cao Ying tidy up the bedding and medicinal materials in the delivery room every day. Since Cao Ying couldn't get out of bed during her postpartum recovery, Yun Yun handled everything from her meals to her hygiene, and even her technique for changing Hun Muying's diapers became increasingly skillful.

Medusa remained the most steady anchor of the East Courtyard. She didn't talk about it like Yao Yao, nor did she silently compare like Gu Xun'er; she simply ordered the kitchen to stew different nourishing soups for Cao Ying every day, personally checked the medicinal ingredients for the medicinal meals, adjusted the temperature of the bedroom, and inspected the pills for fetal protection. As the main wife, she didn't need to do these things herself, but she did they anyway. Every time Cao Ying received the tonic soup from her, she felt a bit flattered. Medusa would only calmly say, "Rest well," and then turn back to her soft couch to continue flipping through letters.

That evening, Hun Feng returned from the Hall of Hun Tiandi. Pushing open the door, he saw Cao Ying leaning against the head of the bed, holding Hun Muying in her arms, looking down at her daughter's face in a daze. The baby had shed the red wrinkles of her birth, her skin had become fair and tender, and her features were becoming clearer—her brows and eyes indeed looked like Cao Ying's, but the lines of her nose bridge and chin were more like Hun Feng's. At this moment, the little one was fast asleep with her eyes closed, her tiny fists clenched tight, occasionally smacking her lips as if eating something delicious in her dream. Cao Ying, however, wasn't looking at her daughter's face but was staring blankly at her little fists, her phoenix eyes filled with a faint, yet unhideable sadness.

Hun Feng sat on the edge of the bed, reached out, and waved his hand in front of her, asking why she was dazed. Cao Ying came back to her senses and looked at him. Her lips moved, and before she could speak, she sighed.

"Husband, it is Ying'er's incompetence that I could not give you a son." Her voice was very soft, her tone filled with self-blame, a bit of unwillingness, and a trace of grievance that only she could perceive. She didn't truly feel incompetent—she was a genius alchemist rarely seen in the Cao family for a hundred years, a cultivator of the Demon Phoenix Bloodline, and her cultivation at the mid-stage of One-Star Dou Sheng could hold her own in any force. But when it came to having children, she had indeed only given birth to a daughter. She knew Hun Feng wouldn't look down on her for this, but she couldn't help but think: how good it would have been if it were a boy. If the firstborn was a boy, she would have more confidence in this East Courtyard, and the status of the Cao family would rise accordingly. Now it was just a daughter; no matter how good a daughter was, she was still a daughter and ultimately couldn't inherit the family line of the Hun Clan like a son.

Hun Feng heard this, reached out, and pinched her cheek, neither too hard nor too soft, as if punishing her for saying such nonsense. Cao Ying's face tilted to the side from his pinch, and she let out an "Ouch." The sadness in her phoenix eyes was still there, but it looked somewhat comical with his fingers pinching her.

"Nonsense. Boys and girls are both my children. Whatever you give birth to, I like." Hun Feng withdrew his fingers and lowered his head to kiss her forehead firmly. Cao Ying covered her forehead, looking at the natural expression on his face, and the inexplicable anxiety in her heart suddenly dissipated by more than half. But she still wouldn't let it go, mumbling, "But a boy can inherit the Hun Clan's family line, while a girl will eventually have to marry when she grows up." Hun Feng leaned against the head of the bed, pulling her and her daughter into his arms, his chin resting on the top of her head, his tone lazy yet firm: "Who says girls can't inherit the family line? Isn't Mu Xiao my Hun family's daughter? Muying will also be a young master of my Hun family in the future. I will acknowledge however many you give birth to; boys and girls are the same. At worst, we'll have another one later; you have a strong constitution anyway."

Cao Ying was amused by his words and burst into laughter, raising her hand to give his shoulder a light slap. Hun Feng looked down and saw the trace of sadness in her eyes finally dissipate, and only then did he lean back against the head of the bed with satisfaction. He reached out to tease his daughter's little fist, and the tiny hand immediately gripped his index finger, holding it very tight. He leaned down and planted a very light kiss on his daughter's forehead. The little one unconsciously smacked her lips in her sleep, as if responding to her father's kiss.

Cao Ying leaned in his arms, lowering her eyes to look at her daughter's face. After a moment of silence, she suddenly whispered: "Husband, Sister Xun'er will also give birth in two months. That one in her belly should be a son. Sister Xun'er has the Gu Clan's God-Grade Bloodline; her son will definitely be stronger than Muying—by then, you won't have to worry about the Hun Clan's family line." Hun Feng didn't answer the question of whether it was a boy or a girl, but simply pulled her closer into his arms, his tone filled with a bit of helpless indulgence: "Why do you always compare with others? You give birth to yours, and Xun'er gives birth to hers; anyone's son is the same—they are all my, Hun Feng's, children, and they will all have to call you Mother."

Cao Ying buried her face in his chest and said nothing more, but the curve of her lips could not be suppressed. She knew she might never be able to compete with Xun'er and Cai Lin for their positions in Hun Feng's heart, but she had Hun Muying, and this wrinkled little thing was the bond between her and Hun Feng. With this child, her status in the East Courtyard was no longer that of a trophy won from a snatched marriage, but the true Young Mistress of the Hun family.

At the stone table, Yao Yao, Gu Xun'er, Xiao Yi Xian, and Yun Yun were sitting around drinking tea. Medusa was leaning on the soft couch flipping through letters, but her ears didn't miss the movement at the stone table. They all knew that Cao Ying had given birth to a daughter—this news had spread throughout the East Courtyard before Cao Ying had even left the delivery room.

Yao Yao spoke first. She placed her bone whip on the stone table, picked up a teacup, and took a big gulp, her peach-blossom eyes flashing with a bit of relief: "It's good that Cao Ying gave birth to a daughter. If she had given birth to a son on her first try, wouldn't her tail be wagging in the sky? At least we still have a chance. Whoever gives birth to a son next, that person will be the mother of the Hun family's first boy."

Gu Xun'er held her teacup without drinking, just looking down at her own reflection in the tea, and remained silent for a while before softly speaking: "Cao Ying giving birth to a daughter is a good thing for the East Courtyard. The competition for a son is too intense—Cai Lin is the main wife; if she gives birth to a son, that child will be the legitimate eldest son, and the structure of the East Courtyard will be reshuffled because of it. Cao Ying is a concubine; her son cannot claim the title of legitimate son, but he can claim the title of eldest son. Now that she has given birth to a daughter, this competition has eased a bit. Whoever this one in my belly is, boy or girl, there is no need to rush to compare with anyone." She said this flawlessly, neither belittling Cao Ying's daughter nor elevating her own status, but objectively analyzing the delicate situation of the East Courtyard. But Yao Yao heard another layer of meaning in her words—Gu Xun'er was also secretly weighing this matter. She was the eldest lady of the Gu Clan, possessed the God-Grade Bloodline, and was the only daughter of Gu Yuan. The weight of the child in her belly was no lighter than anyone else's.

Xiao Yi Xian remained the quietest one. She gently placed her teacup on the stone table and said only three words: "Daughters are good." She didn't explain why they were good, but Yun Yun nodded slightly on the side. She knew that Cao Ying had it tough in the East Courtyard, and a daughter could reduce some of her pressure—at least before she gave birth to her second child, she could quietly finish her postpartum recovery without being compared to anyone.

Medusa put down the letters, picked up her teacup, and said in a flat but clear voice: "Cao Ying's having a boy or a girl is the same. She is Hun Feng's wife, and Muying is the Hun family's daughter—the treatment she deserves will not be less. As for who gives birth to a boy first, you fight among yourselves, don't disturb me." Yao Yao was amused by her words and burst into laughter, and Gu Xun'er also curled the corners of her lips.

Meanwhile, the Cao family in the Central Plains received a family letter from the Soul Realm. Cao Ying wrote the news of her daughter's birth in the letter with her own hand. After reading it, Cao Yu immediately ordered people to prepare a generous gift, packing several ten-thousand-year-old ganoderma and an ancestral protective artifact into a gift box, and ordered them to be sent to the Soul Realm at high speed. He sat at his desk, clutching the family letter, muttering, "Daughters are good, daughters are considerate." But the weight of that generous gift made all the elders of the Cao family understand—Cao Ying's status in the Soul Realm was no longer what it used to be. Although she was not the main wife, she had given birth to Hun Feng's first child, and this merit was enough to let the Cao family rise to a higher level under the protection of the Hun Clan.

Various forces in the Central Plains also received the news quickly. Hun Feng was the Young Master of the Hun Clan, an Eight Star Dou Sheng, the controller of the Heaven-Slaying Flame, and one of the men closest to the Emperor Realm on this continent. His first child was born; although it was a daughter, her Five-Star Dou Zong talent still made countless forces look on with respect. The teams delivering gifts lined up at the main entrance of the Soul Realm, and even the Yan Clan and the Thunder Clan sent people to deliver congratulatory gifts. Yao Yao stood at the gate of the main hall, watching the boxes of congratulatory gifts pile up in the corners of the square, sighing that it was fortunate that Cao Ying had given birth to a daughter, otherwise Hun Qian would have to add double the guards to protect these treasures. At this moment, Hun Muying was lying in her mother's arms, fast asleep, completely unaware of the clamor surrounding her.