*
Outside the window, birds flew down onto the big camphor tree that had been moved to the military hospital at some unknown time. They hopped here and there, finally choosing a suitable branch to build their nest and settle down.
The breeze brushed past the leaves, past the birds' thick feathers, and finally past the small twigs the birds had brought.
When the breeze arrived, it carried the chill of late winter; when it left, it carried the warmth of early spring.
*
Winter was about to end, and the long days of Du Xixi's postpartum confinement slowly passed with the arrival of spring. As Yiyi and Er Er no longer slept as much as they did right after birth and instead moved about and looked around, Du Xixi was about to be discharged.
Chen Yin had returned to the Imperial Palace halfway through Du Xixi's postpartum period, as his "birthing companion plan" had run out of time. He could only occasionally watch his two nephews, who had yet to grow, through video calls.
