"It's nice to see that they are getting along so well," Li Meili commented next to the empress as they watched the children from afar. "Your little star is being chased by our little moon."

  Tang Moyu nodded and tucked her hair behind her ear. The once long wavy hair she sported once now cut into a stylish short pixie cut much to Feng Tianyi's disappointment.

  "They are growing too fast, Meili. Hasn't it only been yesterday when Leyan and Yuan were babies?"

  The Black Nightingale laughed at that. Tang Moyu wasn't wrong though. So many things had happened since the fall of the Zhang family, and she also couldn't believe that her life would be exciting and full of happiness after all the bad things that happened in their life.

  "That's why I love them even more." She smiled in contentment. "We aren't certain what could happen in the future but I want to believe that it's still in our hands how we should live our lives." She paused as she remembered something—no, someone.

  "I still think of him every day," Li Meili said with such gentleness in her tone. "But I know Beixuan would want me to be happy even if he isn't here with us anymore."

  There had been times that it hurt her to know that she was only able to have this life with Jiren and their daughters because Tang Beixuan passed and caused her and Tang Moyu so much grief and pain when they lost him. It was bittersweet for her to think that she needed to lose him to be with her family now.

  "Don't overthink, Meili," Tang Moyu said as if she knew what was going on in Li Meili's mind. "Beixuan would always wish and choose for you to be happy regardless if he's with you or not."

  Li Meili nodded and didn't say anything in return. The other reason why she and her family came here to the Fengs was to hold a ceremony for Tang Beixuan's death anniversary. It wasn't solely for her children to meet their cousins whom Leyan and Yue hadn't seen for some time.

  "So how's Baobao and Little Star? Did the Song family officially accept that they are next in line?" she asked the empress, trying to dispel the awkwardness between them.

  "It isn't like they have a choice. Mother and Tianyi wouldn't give them a chance to doubt the twins."

  Tang Moyu knew that her children were still young to face such pressure and responsibilities, but they needed to learn what responsibility meant and how they should be mindful of their actions. What awaited them in the future would be harder than the pressure they have now, so they needed to learn how to be tenacious.

  "I understand what you mean." Li Meili nodded. Wasn't it why she ran away from her family before? While Li Yuanyi and Tang Moyu's twins were able to accept their fates as the heir apparent of their families, Li Meili knew at a young age that it wasn't that kind of life she would be happy with.

  Thankfully, her daughters wouldn't have to worry about such problems as her brother's son would succeed him in the future.

  It came as a surprise to her when Li Yuanyi announced to their family that he and Meng Yanran were expecting a child, knowing that her sister-in-law had trouble getting pregnant. As it turned out, she was not the one who had fertility problems but her ex-husband.

  As for the son Meng Yanran's ex-husband took in, none of them voiced out the possibility that it wasn't his out of respect. He was the one who cheated on Meng Yanran anyway. Whether it was his child or not, Meng Yanran didn't care about him anymore.

  "The ring on Leyan's necklace…" Li Meili heard her best friend. "Are you sure you are okay with her having it?"

  Tang Moyu knew how hard it was for her best friend to accept her brother's passing and to realize her growing affections towards Zhang Jiren. If she hadn't confronted Li Meili back then, she had no doubt that with her twin brother's personality and attitude, he would never let Li Meili know his feelings for her.

  Li Meili smiled and turned her head back to the gazebo where Gu Yuyao was calling her and Tang Moyu.

  "The ring isn't mine in the first place. It's never mine," she answered the empress's question before turning the wedding ring on her finger that Zhang Jiren gave her years ago. "I think Leyan deserves to have it so she wouldn't forget her real father."

  When she and Zhang Jiren told Leyan the truth that she wasn't Zhang Jiren's real daughter, the little girl had been upset. But after some coaxing and explaining from Zhang Jiren, assuring the girl that she would forever be his darling little girl, Leyan slowly accepted the fact of her being Tang Beixuan's daughter.

  The couple made sure that their daughters would never doubt their love for them, especially Leyan.

  Li Meili went to the gazebo with Tang Moyu and joined the others before all of them eventually went inside the Feng's home to have dinner together.

  Tang Moyu sat across her brother's family and watched how Zhang Jiren doted on his daughters who were both fighting to get his attention. Her eyes then caught the familiar ring on her niece.

  "That's a pretty necklace, Leyan," she told the girl.

  Tang Leyan immediately stopped whining to her father and unconsciously touched the ring.

  "Mommy said it was my Papa's gift to her." The girl smiled bashfully then glanced at her mother who smiled in return.

  "It's really pretty," her Uncle Tianyi agreed. "Your Papa looked for that ring forever before he found it."

  "Really?" Tang Leyan's eyes widened in surprise.

  "En," Feng Tianyi affirmed. "He looked for that ring for weeks before he found it after I suggested a place he should check. Your Papa also thought it was perfect."

  "Yeah." The girl nodded, fiddling the ring with her small fingers. "I really like it too."