Huang Jia Li gazed at the baby in her arms. Beyond his silver hair, blue eyes, and pale skin, she could see his perfectly formed, astonishingly handsome face. "Doctor, why is he like this?" she asked, her voice still weak. Her son's tight grip on her finger remained unbroken. 'Such strong energy,' she thought to herself, a strange notion flickering in her exhausted mind.
"Hmm... if you permit it, I will take a blood sample to check for any genetic variations. Sometimes babies are born with genetic traits that result in a unique appearance, though such a pronounced case is very rare," Doctor Ang explained, trying to maintain a logical perspective. Had Mrs. Huang not given birth at home, witnessed by so many, one might suspect a hospital mix-up. But there was no denying this child had come from Huang Jia Li's own body; he was her son, however he looked.
"If it is a genetic variation, will it affect his health?" Huang Jia Li asked again.
"At this moment, I cannot give any conclusions, Mrs. Huang. We can only hope the blood tests show no health concerns," Doctor Ang replied patiently.
Huang Jia Li closed her eyes against a fresh wave of pain, but a mother's love knew no bounds. However her son appeared, he was the child she had longed for. She gently kissed the top of his head, as if to assure him that no matter how the world might see him, he would always be her beloved son.
"Will you need to take a lot of blood?" Huang Jia Li asked, imagining the needle piercing his tiny body, and her heart ached.
"Not at all, just a small sample for testing."
Huang Jia Li finally nodded her consent. Doctor Ang retrieved the necessary equipment from her bag and approached the baby in Mrs. Huang's arms. As the needle pricked the baby's thigh, Huang Jia Li's tears welled up again. The infant in her embrace let out a loud, angry cry at the sudden pain. "Shh... shh, my darling, Mama is here," Huang Jia Li whispered softly, trying to soothe him. "Everything will be alright. Mama is here." She began to hum gently, and slowly, the baby's cries subsided to whimpers before he fell back into a deep sleep.
Doctor Ang soon took her leave after giving precise instructions to Auntie Li on caring for the newborns.
Auntie Li's own eyes were red-rimmed, having witnessed her mistress's ordeal. She and a young maid escorted the doctor to the main gate. The rain and thunder had ceased, but the moon still hung enormous and bright, casting an ethereal glow over the night. Doctor Ang glanced up at it once more and shook her head faintly, chiding herself for thoughts that strayed beyond reason.
Auntie Li watched the doctor's car depart. As she turned to go back inside, the young maid beside her let out a sharp gasp. "Auntie Li, look!" The maid pointed a trembling finger.
Auntie Li turned. The front garden was ablaze with blooming flowers. In the brilliant moonlight, the sight was unmistakable. She walked closer to confirm she wasn't dreaming. Her brows furrowed in confusion—these plants were not in season. Driven by curiosity, she circled the large mansion to the back garden. The same oddity was present there; every plant, in season or not, was flowering spectacularly. 'Merciful heavens, what is happening?' Auntie Li thought.
"Auntie Li, this is so strange, isn't it? Earlier, I also smelled that floral scent when the second young master was born. And not just that—the thunder, the strong wind, the tremor... they all happened at once when he was born," the young maid prattled on nervously.
"Hold your tongue and mind your words!" Auntie Li commanded sharply.
The maid immediately clamped a hand over her mouth, not daring to say another word. However, with so many servants having assisted in the birth, the strange occurrences could not be entirely kept secret. Gossip would spread like wildfire from one mouth to another. Auntie Li sighed heavily and walked back inside. The most important thing now was to ensure her mistress rested and recovered. Giving birth was no easy feat.
When Auntie Li returned to the master bedroom, only one maid remained with Huang Jia Li. A quick glance told her the maid was holding the firstborn, while the second young master was still cradled in Huang Jia Li's arms. Her mistress's face was etched with profound exhaustion.
Auntie Li approached softly. "Mistress, you should rest now. Let us take care of the young masters."
Huang Jia Li finally relinquished the son in her embrace to Auntie Li. "I will rest. Please take good care of my sons," she said.
"Has the Mistress thought of names for them?" Auntie Li asked.
Huang Jia Li nodded and offered a faint smile. "My husband and I agreed on Gu Lang Yuan and Gu Lang Ying. The elder will be A-Yuan, and the younger, A-Ying."
"Beautiful names, Mistress. Congratulations on the birth of the young masters," Auntie Li replied sincerely.
Huang Jia Li smiled at the well-wishes. As her eyes closed, she immediately sank into the realm of dreams, the fatigue that had consumed her body finally overwhelming her.
Auntie Li signaled for the young maid to follow her to the nursery prepared long in advance by her mistress. "Place the first young master there," Auntie Li instructed firmly.
"Yes," answered Lan Ting Er, the young maid who had been carrying Gu Lang Yuan.
"You may go and rest now," Auntie Li ordered.
"But, Auntie Li, will you guard them alone?" Lan Ting Er asked with concern. Auntie Li was, after all, getting on in years.
"The young masters have just been born; they will sleep soundly until morning," Auntie Li said softly. "There's no need for both of us to stay. You can come relieve me tomorrow morning."
"Alright," Lan Ting Er agreed, not daring to argue further. In this household, Auntie Li's word was law among the servants.
After Lan Ting Er left, Auntie Li looked down at the second young master in her arms. She let out a long breath. The marvels that had occurred at his birth had not escaped her sharp observation. For a woman of her age, she held a deep respect for signs and myths. The birth of this second young master felt like an omen that he was no ordinary child. "Young master... young master..." she whispered softly. "Will you be the pride of the Gu family, or will you be its..." She cut herself off, unable to finish the thought. Auntie Li could only hope no misfortune would befall the Gu household. Having served this family for most of her life, her loyalty was unquestionable, especially towards Mrs. Huang, who had always treated her with immense kindness and respect, like a mother.
Three days after the births, the blooming flowers had returned to normal, as if the strangeness in the Gu residence gardens had never occurred. This, of course, set the servants whispering once more, but a stern look from Auntie Li was enough to silence their conversations.
Huang Jia Li sat in a chair she had placed in the nursery, allowing her to nurse her sons comfortably. The blood test results from Doctor Ang had come back, and the report found nothing abnormal about Gu Lang Ying. Huang Jia Li had fully accepted her second son's starkly different appearance. To her, no matter how Gu Lang Ying looked, he was the child who had come from her womb.
Gu Lang Ying, nestled in his mother's embrace, moved his little mouth impatiently, suckling vigorously as if he could never get enough. "Auntie Li, look how strongly he feeds!" Huang Jia Yi said, smiling contentedly at her son's vigor. Gu Lang Yuan, who had fed first, was already fast asleep in his crib.
Auntie Li walked closer and smiled a motherly smile at the tiny infant. Gu Lang Ying's large blue eyes stared intensely at his mother. Every time Huang Jia Li met that gaze, her heart would flutter uncontrollably, her soul seemingly drawn into admiring those blue depths. "His grip is also remarkably strong," Auntie Li remarked softly, her voice pulling Huang Jia Li from her reverie.
"The servants have stopped talking about the strangeness, haven't they?" Huang Jia Li asked, though her admiring gaze remained on her son.
"I have made sure they do not continue such talk," Auntie Li answered.
"In your opinion, Auntie, were all those signs an omen that my son will become a great ruler?" Huang Jia Li added with a small laugh.
"No one can know the will of heaven," Auntie Li replied wisely. "But all those signs were favorable. The young master is destined for greatness. His birth was so blessed by heaven that the flowers bloomed for three full days." She continued, her gaze never leaving the nursing baby, silently adding a prayer in her heart that her words would come true. "When will Master Gu return?" Auntie Li asked.
"According to plan, in two more days."
"Mistress..." Auntie Li's voice betrayed her anxiety.
"Auntie, I know what you want to say," Huang Jia Li replied. She looked up and met Auntie Li's gaze directly, her voice firm and resolute. "I will never fear my husband's reaction upon seeing this baby. There are so many servants, and you, who can bear witness that he was born from my womb. No one can deny he is my biological son."
Auntie Li sighed again, hoping her deepest fears would not come to pass. She did not want to see her mistress's heart broken.
CHAPTER 5
Two days later, the sound of a car engine announced Gu Wei Hei's return. Huang Jia Li's heart, which had been steady, began to pound with a mix of anticipation and trepidation. She waited in the living room, a son cradled in each arm.
Gu Wei Hei entered, looking weary from his trip but with a smile ready for his wife. "Jia Li, I'm back. How are you? And the babies—" His words cut off abruptly as his eyes fell upon the infant in her left arm. His smile froze, then shattered.
He strode forward, his gaze locked on Gu Lang Ying. "What... what is this?" he demanded, his voice low and strained.
"This is our son, Gu Lang Ying," Huang Jia Li said, her voice calm but firm. "Your second son."
Gu Wei Hei's eyes darted from the silver-haired, blue-eyed child to the dark-haired, typical Gu Lang Yuan in her other arm, then back again. Disbelief, confusion, and a dawning horror played across his features. "That's impossible," he stated flatly. "He looks... he looks nothing like us. Nothing like any human!"
"He is our son, Wei Hei. I gave birth to him. Everyone here witnessed it. Ask Auntie Li, ask any of the servants."
"This is some kind of trick! A deformity! Or... or something else!" Gu Wei Hei's voice rose, his businessman's mind rejecting what his eyes saw. The rumors he had vaguely heard about strange occurrences now crashed into him with new, sinister meaning.
"There is no trick. The doctor has examined him. He is healthy, just... unique." Huang Jia Li held Gu Lang Ying closer, a protective gesture that did not go unnoticed.
"Unique?" Gu Wei Hei spat the word. "He's a freak! Do you have any idea what people will say? What this will do to our family's reputation? To my business?"
"He is a baby, your son!" Huang Jia Li's composure finally cracked, her voice trembling with emotion. "He needs his father's love, not his disgust!"
"Love?" Gu Wei Hei laughed, a harsh, bitter sound. "How can I love that? Look at him, Jia Li! He's not normal! He'll be an outcast, a spectacle! We need to... we need to handle this quietly."
A chill ran down Huang Jia Li's spine. "Handle? What do you mean by 'handle'?"
Gu Wei Hei ran a hand through his hair, his mind racing through scenarios—private clinics, discreet institutions far away. "We can say he was stillborn. We'll arrange for him to be cared for somewhere... appropriately. Somewhere he won't be seen."
Huang Jia Li stood up, her body trembling with a fury that momentarily overshadowed her weakness. "Never! I will never let you take my son away! If you are so ashamed of him, then you should leave! But he stays with me, in this house, as a rightful member of this family!"
"You are being irrational! Sentimental! Think of the future, of A-Yuan's future! Having a... a sibling like that will ruin his life too!"
"A-Ying will not ruin anyone's life! He is a blessing! His birth was accompanied by miracles!" Huang Jia Li shot back, tears of rage and hurt streaming down her face.
"Miracles? Or curses?" Gu Wei Hei countered, his own face pale. "Thunder, earthquakes, flowers blooming out of season... those are not normal signs, Jia Li! They are warnings! That thing is not meant for this world!"
In her arms, as if sensing the turmoil, Gu Lang Ying began to cry. But it was not the weak cry of a newborn. It was a clear, piercing sound that seemed to vibrate in the air. The lamps in the room flickered momentarily.
Both parents fell silent, staring at the baby. Gu Wei Hei took an involuntary step back, fear now mingling with his revulsion.
Huang Jia Li looked from her husband's terrified face to her son's extraordinary one. In that moment, a line was drawn in the sands of their marriage. She saw clearly that the man she married valued reputation and normalcy above the flesh and blood of his own child.
She wiped her tears, her expression hardening into one of fierce determination. "Get out," she said, her voice cold and final.
"What?"
"Get out of this room. Until you can look at your son and see not a monster, but a child, you are not welcome near him. Or near me."
Gu Wei Hei stared at her, shocked by her defiance. He opened his mouth to argue, to reassert his authority, but the words died in his throat under her unyielding gaze and the baby's unsettling, luminous eyes watching him.
With a last, conflicted look of anger and fear, Gu Wei Hei turned and stormed out of the room.
Huang Jia Li sank back into the chair, her strength spent. She rocked Gu Lang Ying gently until his cries subsided. Auntie Li, who had been waiting anxiously in the hallway, rushed in.
"Mistress..."
"He will come around, or he will not," Huang Jia Li said, her voice weary but resolved. "But my sons will know love. They will know they are wanted. Especially this one." She looked down at Gu Lang Ying, who had quieted and was now staring up at her with those profound blue eyes. "The world may not understand you, my little wolf cub," she whispered, using an endearment that felt strangely right. "But your mother will always be your shield."
In the days that followed, a cold distance settled between husband and wife. Gu Wei Hei busied himself with work, avoiding the nursery. Huang Jia Li poured all her love and attention into her babies. Gu Lang Yuan grew like any healthy infant. But Gu Lang Ying... he was different. His eyes were too knowing, his growth slightly faster, his silence profound. And sometimes, in the quiet of the night, Huang Jia Li could swear she saw a faint, silvery glow emanating from the crib where he slept.
The strange tale of the Gu family's second son became a carefully guarded secret within the mansion walls, a seed of wonder and dread that had only just begun to sprout. Far away, in a realm of ice and snow, a mother's heart ached with a loss she could never speak of, unaware that the piece of her soul she had sent into the mortal world was now a boy named Ying, who held the storm and the moonlight in his eyes, and a destiny that would one day shake both worlds.