Chapter 118 Pei Ji's Heart-to-Heart Talk

She was soaked in the rain for who knows how long, and it seemed like she was all alone in the world. She couldn't remember why she was left there, but she would always remember the loneliness and despair of that night.

She was lucky; her brother rescued her.

She also wanted Pei Ji to be a little luckier.

“Brother Pei Ji, the two guards who are always by Sheng Sheng’s side are Uncle Old Cat and Uncle Old Fish.”

Pei Ji seemed a little taken aback, wondering why she suddenly said these things.

Sheng Sheng tilted her head and continued, "I heard they came from the battlefield, they're really amazing."

"Brother Pei Ji, shall I have them teach you martial arts? Afu knows martial arts, right? But Afu alone isn't enough. If Brother Pei Ji also knows martial arts, then you won't have to worry about anyone bullying you. You can fight back!"

The little dumpling smiled with its eyes narrowed, speaking slowly, word by word, but with a cheerful tone throughout.

Pei Ji was stunned, and his fingers curled up.

The sunlight shone on the little dumpling's face, making her look even more lively and vivid. On her porcelain-white face, even her eyelashes cast blurry shadows.

The warm winter sun is the most enchanting.

Some people hate the scorching summer sun, but find it hard to resist the gentle warmth of winter.

After a long while, Pei Ji finally found his voice, still with a slight chuckle: "Why are you suddenly bringing this up?"

The little dumpling looked into his eyes, her usually watery eyes now filled with seriousness, as if she could see right through Pei Ji's heart.

Sheng Sheng met his gaze quietly, the curve of her lips remaining unchanged, yet resolute.

Pei Ji slowly suppressed his smile.

“Sometimes I can’t even understand myself, how come the one who understands me best is a five-year-old little dumpling?” Pei Ji smiled, but the ten-year-old boy looked exhausted.

This was the first time he had shown signs of exhaustion in front of others.

She pouted, pretending to be unhappy: "What are you saying? Who's the little dumpling? So what if you're five? Five-year-olds know a lot."

"Yes, Sheng Sheng knows a lot more now."

Pei Ji chuckled and reached out his hand, seemingly wanting to pat Sheng Sheng's head.

But seeing his hands covered in dust and dirt, Pei Ji withdrew them halfway, wanting to wash them clean, but remembering that the bucket had been taken by Afu, he could only leave them hanging by his side.

After a long pause, Pei Ji silently picked up the hammer that was on the ground again and continued hammering the planks into the ground.

“When I was very young, I didn’t understand things and I didn’t have the ability to analyze situations like I do now. I don’t know why I only had my mother and a kind but frail old nanny by my side since I was born. I never saw my father before I was seven years old.”

Pei Ji spoke calmly, without any fluctuation in his expression, as if he had already said it a thousand times in his heart and had long accepted it all.

But he didn't stop what he was doing; instead, he put even more effort into it, as if only in this way could he vent the tiny bit of grievance in his heart and then calmly tell Sheng Sheng about it.

Sheng Sheng squatted down beside him, rested her elbows on her knees, and looked at him with her head propped up on her hands.

A hint of heartache appeared in her eyes, and upon closer inspection, one could also discern the little dumpling's empathy.

This feeling of emptiness and neglect is something that everyone understands all too well.

The little dumpling stayed with him attentively, blinking her eyelashes as she listened intently to what he was saying; it was quite adorable.

The sadness that had been stirred up in Pei Ji's heart inexplicably disappeared.

Pei Ji chuckled: "Later I found out that it was because my mother was just a maid who swept the palace. I was just a product of his drunkenness. My mother came from a humble background, and he looked down on her. She was given the title of Beauty because of her pregnancy, but she had no power or influence. There was only one old nanny in the palace who was willing to follow her faithfully."

My existence served as a daily reminder to him that he, the emperor, had once had a relationship with a lowly palace maid, so he loathed me and never even glanced at me. When I was seven, he summoned me for the first time. Guess what he said to me?

Pei Ji's voice was clear and crisp, and he even had the mood to ask her a question in return.

Sheng Sheng could guess, almost without thinking, why the Song emperor had summoned him.

He said that since the State of Song had been defeated, it needed to send a hostage to the State of Yu to show Song's sincerity and seek peace between the two countries.

He said, "I am his son, the prince of Song. It is time for me to stand up and do something for him and for Song."

Pei Ji chuckled, seemingly mocking himself, yet also expressing a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a feeling of deep emotion or reflection).

Sheng Sheng didn't know how to comfort him.

Although she had heard these stories from others before, hearing Pei Ji say them in person now evoked a completely different feeling.

Pei Ji's seven years of growth there were glossed over lightly, without much explanation, but Sheng Sheng could probably guess that it was perhaps even more painful than it is now.

The old emperor never fulfilled his responsibilities as a father for even a day, yet he demanded that Pei Ji fulfill the filial duties of a son.

Why should he? Pei Ji is only seven years old; he's just a child.

Pei Ji was only seven years old when he had to come to the State of Yu alone, carrying a heavy burden.

He knew that he was the one abandoned by the State of Song.

Pei Ji sighed softly. The memory was not pleasant at all, and he still couldn't help feeling a little sad.

Sheng Sheng silently took his hand, shook it reassuringly, and gave him a bright and cheerful smile: "It's okay. He doesn't care about you, so why should you care about him? If it were me, I would work hard to become stronger, to the point that he can't even reach me, and then teach him a lesson!"

The little dumpling pouted, sharing his hatred for the enemy.

She paused, then added, "Actually, if it weren't for Brother Pei Ji who came to Yu Kingdom as a hostage, Sheng Sheng wouldn't have met Brother Pei Ji, and Brother Pei Ji, you wouldn't have had such a good friend as Sheng Sheng, right? Hehe, so, what's that saying again? 'A loss may turn out to be a blessing in disguise.'"

Pei Ji laughed out loud, without correcting her statement that "the old man lost his horse."

Sheng Sheng also chuckled.

“Brother Pei Ji, a golden carp is no ordinary fish; it will transform into a dragon once it encounters wind and clouds. I bet you will become very powerful, so I will be your best friend for life. If you are no longer here and go back to the Song Kingdom, don’t forget me, okay? I’m still waiting for you to protect me.”

The little dumpling spoke very directly; children's emotions are always hard to hide, simple and pure.

Pei Ji looked at her without saying a word, but silently memorized her dimpled smile.

In the pavilion in the front yard, four people chatted and drank tea. It was almost noon, but the two young masters in the back yard still hadn't come out.

Afu was baffled: "Strange, what are the princesses talking about? Why haven't they come out yet?"

Zijuan guessed that the little dumpling was probably hungry soon after eating the bowl of porridge before leaving the house, so she suggested that they prepare lunch together first.