novelraw Chapter 219 : Extra 1 - The Twins
Chapter 219 : Extra 1 - The Twins
Seven years passed in the blink of an eye.
The love story between the Empress and her partner was still fondly discussed by the public.
The seven-year itch that plagued most marriages hadn't appeared at all between the Empress and Shen Han.
On the contrary, as time went by, their feelings for each other grew even more intense.
Like a fine wine, the sediment of years made it more fragrant with age.
Besides their relationship, their pair of twin daughters attracted countless fans.
The two daughters were born just 5 minutes apart.
The elder sister was named Gu Xinqin, and the younger sister Shen Xinrou.
The character "Xin" represented vitality, signifying vibrancy.
"Qin" implied elegance and intelligence, while "Rou" suggested gentleness and beauty.
The sisters had just celebrated their fifth birthday, well-behaved and sensible, truly the focus of everyone's affection.
On a Saturday in late January, this day should have been Gu Junwan's day off, but a nuclear energy project she was focusing on recently had some issues, forcing her to rush to the office after lunch.
As soon as she stepped into the administrative building, Xu Zhao, under orders, came to meet her with a briefcase.
"Your Majesty, I've collected the latest data. The video conference will officially begin in half an hour."
Gu Junwan nodded slightly, then asked her assistant a few key questions, which were all answered fluently.
The January temperature was low, and both wore long woolen coats, creating a breeze as they walked.
Passing through the public area of the office building, they drew covert admiration from the staff.
Seven years seemed to have left no trace on Gu Junwan.
Even though she was now the mother of two precious daughters.
But if one felt carefully, they would find that the Empress's aura had become even more profound.
Her every move naturally exuded dignity.
That air and nobility didn't press down on people like a mountain, making it hard to breathe.
It was more like a sacred lotus growing on a snowy mountain peak, inspiring reverence and admiration.
Although it was Saturday, there were quite a few employees working overtime in Peace Palace.
After watching the Empress and Special Assistant Xu enter the private elevator, a group of young employees who hadn't been working there long immediately became excited.
"Honestly! The best decision I made this week was choosing to come in for overtime today!"
"The Empress's fashion sense is really so good! Like a walking fashion magazine."
"Another day of envying Special Assistant Xu. I wish I could work by the Empress's side too."
"Who doesn't want that?"
"Oh right, did you smell it? The Empress's perfume scent is so special! A woody fragrance, mysterious and reserved yet striking to the heart."
"I smelled it too, just when the Empress passed through our corridor. I really want to know the specific brand and model of the Empress's perfume."
At this point in the conversation, a veteran employee at the back of the crowd suddenly snorted lightly.
The sound wasn't loud, but it carried a hint of 'I alone am sober while all are drunk' pride.
Sharp-eyed young employees recognized her as a senior who had worked in Peace Palace for 11 years and immediately surrounded her, asking questions with flattering faces.
"Sister Li, you've personally experienced several historical changes in Peace Palace. Tell us about it!"
"What was the Empress like during her life's low point? Were there any high-energy scenes before her reversal of fortune?"
Sister Li looked up at the camera in the corner, then sternly led the new employees to their office.
"You should be more careful in the future, don't casually discuss the Empress's private affairs in public areas!"
"Everyone went through layers of selection to come here. You should focus more energy on work, not waste your professional time with an attitude of wanting to gossip up close."
These words were a bit heavy, and after they fell, the group of young people didn't dare speak again.
Sister Li looked at these vibrant employees and suddenly thought of herself seven years ago.
At that time, she had also secretly discussed the Empress's neutral fragrance with colleagues.
They originally thought the Empress had suddenly changed perfumes due to a change in preference, only to learn later through special channels that it was a specially blended perfume used to mask Alpha pheromones.
After discovering this secret, Sister Li and her colleagues had been secretly excited for quite a while.
It turned out that even before the Empress announced her relationship, she was already with Captain Shen.
Of course, Sister Li wouldn't tell these things to the new employees before her.
After a few seconds of silence, she slowly spoke: "The Empress is a very excellent and respectable leader. Whether in adversity or prosperity, she has always been consistently resilient, never admitting defeat."
"Although we can't follow the Empress like Special Assistant Xu, as long as we fulfill our job responsibilities well, we're also helping to solve problems for the Empress."
……
After marriage, Shen Han didn't leave the guard team.
However, compared to her previous front-line combat role, she now spent more time behind the scenes.
Unless Gu Junwan was traveling, she would accompany her as both the Empress's partner and personal guard.
For other missions, she arranged for Ning Xi and Ma Haoyu to lead teams in rotation.
After Gu Junwan temporarily went to the office, she began tinkering with her own projects.
In the past six months, Shen Han had developed a strong interest in coding.
The shielding devices she produced were almost comparable to the current equivalent equipment of the Federation military.
Of course, this doesn't mean Shen Han was a buried coding genius.
Her achievements were built on the existing technology of the Federation military.
It was now winter break, and her two daughters in the senior class of kindergarten were also on their holiday.
At this time, the two little ones were playing at the former Empress's residence. Shen Han would go pick them up after dark.
Around 5 PM, Shen Han, who was concentrating on capacitor testing, was suddenly interrupted by an urgent phone ring.
Seeing Ning Xi's name on the caller ID, she lazily answered: "What's up? I remember you're on duty in the office today? Want to come over for dinner?"
On the phone, Ning Xi's voice was somewhat serious: "I have something to tell you, don't panic. Xinqin and Xinrou snuck out of Peace Palace-"
Hearing this, Shen Han's scalp nearly exploded.
Before Ning Xi could finish, she had already stood up from her work chair, walking out while asking: "How did they run out? How long have they been out of Peace Palace? What's the situation with my mother-in-law? Have they been found?"
Ning Xi: "It's been about an hour. They climbed over the wall of the former Empress's residence, then secretly hid in the cargo area of a procurement vehicle to get out."
"Teacher Tang and the others just learned about this situation and haven't told the Empress yet. They asked me to contact you first."
"We've got the route map of that procurement vehicle, but the driver's phone is unreachable. Little Ma has taken people to chase, they should catch up in half an hour at most."
After hearing Ning Xi's words, the heavy stone hanging in Shen Han's heart relaxed a tiny bit.
It was good that the daughters weren't kidnapped.
The procurement staff who could enter and exit Peace Palace were all strictly screened, and most likely wouldn't do anything outrageous.
What Shen Han couldn't understand was, with Peace Palace's tight security, even if the two little ones were familiar with the layout, they shouldn't have been able to "escape" so smoothly.
If the walls of the former Empress's residence were so easy to climb, wouldn't the alarm system be useless?
Just as this thought crossed her mind, Shen Han's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
The little ones had used the shielding device she made!
Only this could explain why they were able to pass through several checkpoints smoothly.
And the procurement vehicle driver's unreachable phone was probably also due to electromagnetic interference.
Shen Han quickly met up with Ning Xi and set out with a tactical team in a flying car.
On the way, she wanted to call Gu Junwan several times but held back each time.
She figured it would be better to find the daughters first, then tell her wife about this incident.
Originally, Gu Qianqiu and Tang Yucai also wanted to come along, but Shen Han persuaded them over the phone.
The former Empress's outing wasn't as simple as her just leaving.
A big commotion would not only waste time but also cause unnecessary panic.
Thinking of the dangerous stunt the two little rascals had pulled, Shen Han felt both worried and angry.
She sat silently in her seat, her face cold enough to be frightening.
Ning Xi came over and patted her shoulder, saying softly: "Don't be too anxious, I'm sure it'll be fine."
"They're just kids, making mistakes is normal. They're probably scared by now. If you put on a long face and scold them, making them cry, I'll be angry!"
In these seven years, Ning Xi had never married, treating the two little ones like her own daughters.
Now, seeing Shen Han looking like she wanted to beat someone, Ning Xi immediately changed sides.
But Shen Han wasn't having it.
Restraining her anger, she said urgently: "Don't try to persuade me, and don't stop me later."
"If we don't teach them a lesson today, who knows what big trouble they might cause in the future!"
The flying car moved quickly, almost arriving at the target area simultaneously with Ma Haoyu's team.
When alarms sounded from both front and back, the procurement vehicle driver thought he had accidentally encountered some emergency.
It wasn't until he heard repeated orders to pull over that he realized in shock that the target being intercepted by the flying vehicles in front and military vehicles behind was himself!
The driver steadily parked by the roadside and came to the front of the vehicle with his credentials.
"I'm a procurement officer from Peace Palace. These are my ID card and work permit."
"May I ask which department you belong to? Is there anything I need to cooperate with?"
More than thirty people converged from front and back, each face showing obvious anxiety.
Two soldiers presented their credentials and discreetly took control of the driver.
Shen Han led a group of comrades to directly open the rear door of the truck, moving plastic boxes out one by one.
"Xinqin, Xinrou! Are you in there?"
Just as Shen Han's voice fell, a crisp childish voice suddenly emerged from the far end of the cargo area: "Mama, Mama, you're here!"
The voice that entered everyone's ears was clear and melodious, tender yet delicate, as pure as a spring.
Hearing her younger daughter's voice, half of the tension that had gripped Shen Han's heart throughout the journey instantly relaxed.
She leapt into the cargo area, pushing aside plastic boxes as she walked in, asking: "Where's Xinqin? Both of you come out right now."
At this moment, another girl's voice, as melodious as a lark, softly sounded: "Mama, did Xinrou and I do something wrong to make you angry?"
In the dim cargo area, visibility was poor.
Even though Shen Han was an S-class Alpha, she could only see two small silhouettes huddled in the corner.
Shen Xinrou's voice appeared again, sounding pitiful: "We know we were wrong, Mama. Can we have a hug?"
Under the alternating cute offensive from her two daughters, Shen Han felt her heart melt into water. How could she still bear to say a harsh word to the two little ones?
She quickly walked to the far end of the cargo area, bent down to pick up the two pitiful little girls, and carried her daughters out.
"Are you trying to scare Mama to death? It's okay to be playful, but there are some things you can't do."
"Did you think about how your grandmothers and mamas would be heartbroken? How worried and scared we'd be when you snuck out without a word?"
Gu Xinqin and Shen Xinrou each sat in their Alpha mother's arms, obediently listening to the scolding.
Sensing their mother's worry, the two little ones exchanged glances across the air.
Then, the younger sister Shen Xinrou reached out her chubby little hand, hugged Shen Han's jaw, and said softly: "Mama, it was my idea to come out and see the outside. I dragged sister along. Don't be angry with sister. If you want to punish someone, punish me."
The elder sister Gu Xinqin gently pressed her cheek against Shen Han's face.
Her voice, still childishly tender, now carried a hint of Gu Junwan's coolness as she imitated her: "I took the shielding device, Mama. Don't punish my sister, and please don't be angry anymore, okay?"
Shen Han was dazed by their coaxing, her mind full of her two little angels' adorable expressions.
When she spoke again, her tone had completely changed.
"Then you mustn't do this again in the future, okay?"
"Are you thirsty? Uncle Little Ma brought you some juice."
"Oh right! You're not hurt, are you? Did any boxes in the cargo area bump or hit you?"
The two little ones hugged their Alpha mother's neck, shaking their heads in unison.
Behind Shen Han's neck, out of her sight, the daughters grinned mischievously and secretly high-fived with their short little arms.