He finally returns to the palace. He feels extremely relieved, since he thought he wouldn't make it, but there he is.
He heads to his residence to see his children. He wants to hug all of them, but also wants to find WooPil in particular, to tell him a few things regarding Elton. He plans to find Yingxing too, not knowing yet he already was informed.

He decides to stay behind and let the others handle the matters at hand, while he takes care of the children. He takes LeYang back to his residence, then looks for WooPil, intending to stay with them all and relax a little. He hid Roseslasher already, but he is still worried and often goes to check on it.
He asks the servants to prepare a nice meal, with WooPil's favorite dishes for dinner.

He is immediately told what happened once back, his first worry are Chan and WooPil of course, so he rushes to see them before anything else.
Qi is already checking them for good to make sure they are fine, also to mend wounds where there are.
Zhongli rushes inside the room. "Chan, WooPil!" He pulls them both for a hug. He'll always embarass them, no matter what.

He knows he has to be away for a few days. He really wouldn't want to, especially with the newborn babies but there is no choice.
He checks his teapot just in case but it confirms Roseslasher indeed broke free somehow.
He gathers Chan, Cyno, Jing Yuan and the rest of the court to explain the situation. He tries to share among them all his duties.

He has a couple of horses prepared, with supplies for the travel. He doesn't let it be known he is leaving. In very early morning, he and WonPil get on their horses and begin to travel. "Lead the way." Of course Roseslasher is with Zhongli.

He takes care of Zaiyi, telling him to stay in his residence for a few days, until he feels a bit better. Even their child is there at the moment, he seems all sweet around his parents, a bit less when servants approach.
He thinks he needs to hurry, seeing how big Chaoxiang was when he took him out, so he summons Childe and XiFan right away, following the same procedure. To his surprise, those children are a bit more average in size, meaning he was not so wrong with timings after all, Chaoxiang being the exception.

He gives his names: LeYang - for Childe's son, meaning 'happy sea' - , Muyang - XiFan's son, meaning 'bathe in sun' - and Chaoxiang - Zaiyi's son, meaning 'expecting fortune' - .
He invites them all to be in his residence for now, but they are free to refuse. He insists on keeping the kids there for a bit, he wants to monitor them but also be with them, he feels happy.