Chapter 63

It was still early and it was a beautiful autumn day. Xiao Xinghan had some free time today and thought about how Gu Yanling loved to go out and play.

"Would you like to go horseback riding outside Beijing?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Yanling subconsciously looked at the child in her arms who was eating pastries.

Xiao Xinghan knew what he was hesitating about: "Just take them along."

Gu Yanling nodded immediately: "An An, stop eating, let's go play outside Beijing."

An An caught the play and hurriedly put all the cakes in his hands into his mouth. Gu Yanling wiped his hands with a handkerchief and said, "Eat slowly, don't choke."

An An said happily: "Watch the shadow play!"

The little guy has been particularly fond of watching shadow puppetry recently.

Gu Yanling pinched his little face and said, "Don't watch it today. Daddy will go with you tomorrow."

An An: "Okay then."

The family of three got on the carriage. Xiao Xinghan was afraid that Gu Yanling would be tired, so he took An An from his arms. An An met Xiao Xinghan's eyes and quickly looked away. However, this time she was not as nervous as last time, and she did not shout that she did not want to sit on his lap. She just sat obediently in his arms.

Xiao Xinghan lowered his eyes to his chubby face, thinking it was fun, so he reached out and pinched it. Gu Yanling also liked to pinch An An's little face. In the little guy's cognition, pinching his face was the same as kissing his face, both of which meant that he liked him. He shyly hid in Xiao Xinghan's arms.

Gu Yanling knew what her son was thinking, and also knew that Xiao Xinghan didn't mean that, so she said, "An An, come to Daddy."

When An An heard Gu Yanling calling him, he was about to get up from Xiao Xinghan's lap. Xiao Xinghan held his shoulders to stop him and said to Gu Yanling, "I won't do anything to him."

Gu Yanling: "Children are easy to coax. They like whoever treats them well."

What's more, An An knew that Xiao Xinghan was his mother. He just said he hated her before because Xiao Xinghan was cold and fierce, which scared him. But if he acted a little more friendly, An An would be coaxed and wanted to get close to him.

Looking at the current situation, Gu Yanling didn't know whether it was right to let An An and Xiao Xinghan get along.

Xiao Xinghan didn't care: "What do you mean by good? How can a child tell the difference between sincerity and insincerity?"

Gu Yanling glared at Xiao Xinghan and said, "Children are the most perceptive. They can sense whether someone is sincere or not."

Xiao Xinghan remained silent.

After listening to what Daddy and Mommy said, An An raised his head and said, "Daddy, I'm thirsty."

Because the child was present, Li Youfu prepared another pot of water, which was now warming on the small table. Gu Yanling poured him a cup. An An held the cup and drank the water, then whispered to Gu Yanling, "An An wants Daddy to hold me."

Gu Yanling took An An from his arms and kissed the baby on the cheek.

Xiao Xinghan didn't expect this to happen. He was indeed lenient with the child for Gu Yanling's sake. The child diverted a lot of Gu Yanling's attention. Xiao Xinghan felt that he was magnanimous enough to treat him like this.

Gu Yanling touched An An's head and said, "Your Highness, you don't need to ask Li Youfu to pick An An up in the future. I will get up early and go home to see An An by myself."

Xiao Xinghan: "..."

After getting off the carriage, Li Youfu found that the atmosphere was not as harmonious and joyful as before departure.

An An hugged Gu Yanling's neck: "Daddy, let's go home."

Xiao Xinghan was somewhat displeased when he heard this.

Gu Yanling looked at An An, then at Xiao Xinghan, and felt extremely embarrassed for a moment. She wished she could split herself into two halves, give one half to An An and take him back to watch the shadow play, and give the other half to Xiao Xinghan and accompany him to ride horses.

Li Youfu was sweating profusely and started to coax him, "Young Master An An, it's so much fun here. Do you want to see some fishing? The fish you catch can be grilled and eaten, which is delicious. You can also catch wild rabbits, which are plentiful here."

An An's attention was immediately drawn to this question, "Rabbit?"

Li Youfu smiled and said, "Yes, white, gray, and each one is very plump."

An An immediately looked at Gu Yanling: "Daddy, An An wants a little white rabbit."

Seeing that he didn't mention going back, Gu Yanling breathed a sigh of relief: "Daddy will catch one for you!"

Xiao Xinghan was in no mood at all. Whether he admitted it or not, he could see that Gu Yanling always put the child first in everything.

Li Youfu glanced at his master, then bowed to Gu Yanling and said, "This old servant will take the young master fishing."

Gu Yanling knew that Xiao Xinghan was angry, "An'an, go play with Li Youfu first, and daddy will catch a little white rabbit for you later, okay?"

An An hesitated for a moment and nodded.

Li Youfu hugged him and said with a smile, "There are not only rabbits, but also ponies. Do you want to go and see them, Young Master An An?"

This time, An An didn't hesitate at all and nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

Li Youfu carried him away.

Gu Yanling tugged at Xiao Xinghan's sleeve and said, "Don't be angry if I don't bring An An out next time."

Xiao Xinghan admitted that he was not as magnanimous as he thought, and he was indeed dissatisfied with the extra child.

"Would you come out without him? I'm afraid you'd miss him even if you came out."

Gu Yanling used to often go out to play. An An was very well-behaved with Su Lixiao during the day. The only reason she stuck to him recently was because he came to accompany Xiao Xinghan at night and didn't go back. The child was only two years old. If his father was not at home day and night, how could the little guy not miss him?

"An An has been very well behaved. I told him that you haven't seen me for many years and that you missed me very much. He was very sensible after hearing that and asked me to accompany you first. He is only two years old. I hope Your Highness will not be too harsh on him."

When Xiao Xinghan heard him use the word "harsh", he became very angry.

Seeing this, Gu Yanling realized that her words were a bit harsh and held his hand. "I said the wrong thing, don't be angry."

Xiao Xinghan said sarcastically, "You're right. I'm too stingy. I'm arguing with a child. I don't know myself. How can I be as important as this child of unknown origin in your heart?"

Gu Yanling: “…”

Xiao Xinghan was too lazy to argue with Gu Yanling, "Go and accompany your sweetheart An An, there's no need to say these things to anger me."

Gu Yanling raised her hand and touched his brow, saying helplessly: "Don't say angry words, I'm leaving, you must be very angry, An An is important to me, and you are important too."

Xiao Xing said coldly: "I just feel the same."

Gu Yanling wanted to laugh. After all, His Royal Highness rarely acted so childishly. "Your Highness, you are already so old. It's time for people to laugh when you hear this."

Xiao Xinghan: "Who dares?"

"Yes, yes, no one dares. Your Highness, don't be angry. You are very important. Yuanbao loves you the most." Gu Yanling hugged Xiao Xinghan's neck and kissed his lips.

Xiao Xinghan's expression finally broke the ice, "Let's go on horseback."

Gu Yanling was about to say something when she was grabbed and dragged away. Xiao Xinghan said, "Aren't you going to catch rabbits for him?"

Gu Yanling reacted and said with a smile: "How can I catch the rabbit? I have to rely on Your Highness."

Xiao Xinghan snorted coldly.

Because of the autumn hunting at the end of the month, the royal hunting grounds had already been cleaned up and were extremely safe.

Gu Yanling saw the legendary and majestic Arabian horse. It was indeed different from ordinary tall and handsome horses. She stroked its mane and asked, "Is it really bright red when it runs?"

Xiao Xinghan: "Just try it and you'll know."

Gu Yanling jumped onto the horse with a quick and decisive movement, and said to Xiao Xinghan: "Your Highness, do you want to ride with me, or--"

Before he could finish his words, Xiao Xinghan's clothes fluttered and he landed behind him, holding him in his arms, and the two of them were tightly fitting together.

The horse started running very quickly, at such a fast speed that Gu Yanling could only feel the wind whistling past her ears, which was really refreshing.

After running around in the forest, Gu Yanling looked down excitedly and found that the horse's body had turned bright red, just as it was written in the book.

"Good look."

Xiao Xinghan kissed his earlobe, his breath brushing against Gu Yanling's ear, "I'll try it right away if I have a chance."

He was already blowing in her ears, but Gu Yanling wasn't stupid enough to ask what he was trying to do: "..."

How can this person be so dishonest?!

Xiao Xinghan: "Don't you want to try? What does it feel like to be on horseback? It should be deeper than usual. You won't be able to bear it and cry loudly. In this forest, no matter how loud you scream, no one will hear you."

The low, magnetic voice was bewitching in her ears. Gu Yanling felt a little dry in the mouth and her body was hot. She began to avoid his lips, "Stop talking!"

If he hadn't brought a little one with him today, Xiao Xinghan would have tried it no matter what. Seeing that Gu Yanling's ears were burning, he reluctantly let him go.

He picked up the bow and arrow and shot two arrows in succession at the hare that suddenly jumped out.

Gu Yanling watched helplessly as the hare was pinned to the tree by two arrows, kicking its dangling legs helplessly.

Gu Yanling exclaimed: "How amazing!"

Not wanting to be disturbed, Xiao Xinghan didn't bring any guards with him, so he had to pick up the prey by himself. Gu Yanling followed him off the horse.

Both arrows were embedded in the tree trunk, and the rabbit's neck was stuck between the two arrows and it was naturally unable to escape.

The snow-white little fat rabbit was carried away unharmed by its ears. Gu Yanling looked at Xiao Xinghan with sparkling eyes, "Your Highness, you are amazing."

Xiao Xinghan: "Do you want to try it?"

Gu Yanling: "Can I do it too?"

Xiao Xinghan: "Of course this won't work, but shooting a hare is still possible."

Gu Yanling was eager to try: "Hmm."

Xiao Xinghan hugged Gu Yanling from behind, put his hands around him, and covered Gu Yanling's hands that were drawing the bow and shooting the arrow. With a whoosh, the arrow flew through the air at a fleeing hare not far away, and the hare was nailed to the tree. Only its ear was injured. The speed was too fast and the force was too strong, so there was not even a bleed.

Gu Yanling was extremely excited.

Xiao Xinghan felt Gu Yanling's admiring gaze, and although he didn't show it on his face, he felt quite pleased in his heart.

An An followed Li Youfu to watch Chang Feng fishing, but they caught nothing. Finally, Chang Feng went into the water and used a sharpened bamboo pole to catch a bucket of fish quickly, accurately and ruthlessly.

An An was happily jumping around on the river bank. If the stream wasn't icy, and Li Youfu hadn't stopped him for fear that he would catch a cold, he would have wanted to go into the water to play.

"An An!"

When An An heard her father's voice, she turned around and met the hare's red eyes. She exclaimed in surprise, "Little white rabbit!!"

Gu Yanling didn't dare let him hold it, fearing that the rabbit would hurt him. "It's a little white rabbit. How about taking it home and raising it for you to play with?"

An An was very happy: "Daddy is so awesome!"

"It wasn't Daddy who caught it. It was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who caught it for An An." Gu Yanling also demonstrated to An An how Xiao Xinghan caught the rabbit with two arrows.

After hearing this, An An kept looking at Xiao Xinghan, but she thought of what he said in the carriage and didn't say thank you for a while.

Seeing that he wanted to get close to him but was hesitant, Xiao Xinghan gave him a way out: "When you are older, I will teach you how to ride and shoot, and you can do it."

An An's eyes sparkled, she nodded heavily and opened her arms towards him.

Xiao Xinghan leaned over and picked him up. There was a "boo" sound, and the little fat boy gave him a big kiss on the face.

Xiao Xinghan: "..."

There's saliva on it.