Chapter 52 [52]

【52】/First release

Lu Zhiwan was stunned, the joy in his eyes froze and was filled with confusion.

"Who am I?" She murmured in disbelief, and reached out her hand to touch Xiao Jingting's head to see if the fever had made him confused.

Before his hand touched him, the man turned his face away.

The unhesitating action instantly brought Lu Zhiwan back to the scene of their first meeting. Back then, he had also been resisting her touch.

So strange, so alert, without any hesitation.

The outstretched hand froze in the air, and so did the smile on her lips.

She carefully looked at the man in front of her, trying to find a trace of playfulness on his face, but there was none -

He was so serious, his eyes were dark, bright and clear, with a hint of untamable wildness, like a newborn tiger cub.

Lu Zhiwan was stunned by the metaphor in his mind, and looked again. Yes, the man in front of him still looked the same, but his eyes and temperament were completely different.

"Your Majesty, you really don't recognize me?"

Lu Zhiwan frowned and brushed back her hair to give him a clearer look. "Take a closer look. Don't you have any recollection of it at all?"

Xiao Jingting stared at her, his thick brows furrowed even deeper: "I don't know her."

He pushed himself up and tried to get up: "Where is this? Take me back, I want to find Yue Niang!"

Seeing him anxiously trying to get up, Lu Zhiwan hurriedly went to hold him down: "You still have wounds on your body, don't move."

Thinking of what he had just said, my heart couldn't help but skip a beat.

He called himself "I" and said he wanted to find Yue Niang.

Lu Zhiwan was extremely grateful that Xiao Jingting had told her about Yue Niang when he took her to Jinli Garden before, otherwise she would have misunderstood Yue Niang as some delicate and beautiful young lady.

"Xiao Jingting, calm down first."

Lu Zhiwan held his arm. Although he didn't know what was going on, he knew the wound couldn't be moved. "It doesn't matter if you don't recognize me. Just lie down first and I'll talk to you slowly... Don't worry, I'm a good person and I won't hurt you."

"Those people also said they were good people." He stared at her with a heavy gaze, still struggling.

He was already covered in wounds, and with such reckless movement, the wound on his chest quickly split open, and blood soaked through the gauze, as well as the white jade pendant around his neck.

When Lu Zhiwan saw him bleeding, he was busy holding him down, and he didn't notice that the jade pendant was stained with blood, and suddenly a faint red light flashed.

"Oh, I told you not to move! Look, the wound has opened up again."

But Xiao Jingting didn't care: "Let go! I have to go back, otherwise Yue Niang will be anxious."

No matter how slow Lu Zhiwan was, he realized what was happening.

Xiao Jingting's memory stopped at the age of five, when he was discovered and forcibly taken back to the palace.

She wasn't sure if this was because his high fever had damaged his brain, or if it was the damned plot gravity that was causing trouble, forcibly lowering the "villain's" intelligence.

If it is really the latter, they are both villains, so why is Xiao Jingting the only one with lowered intelligence? Who is it looking down on?

The corner of his mouth twitched, and Lu Zhiwan looked at Xiao Jingting in front of him, who seemed to be unaware of the pain and was still struggling to get up. He sighed helplessly: "I'm really not a bad person, just listen to me and don't move-ah!"

The man suddenly bit her wrist.

Unlike the usual ambiguous nibbles, this time it was a solid and fierce bite with the upper teeth.

The corners of Lu Zhiwan's eyes suddenly became wet. She couldn't tell whether it was the pain or the worry and fear of the whole day, which turned into uncontrollable grievance after his bite.

He held on tightly and refused to let go. Lu Zhiwan did not struggle. Suddenly, a tear slid down her cheek.

It landed on the back of her hand.

The teeth biting her wrist paused, then loosened unconsciously. The man looked up at her, a hint of confusion in his childlike, clear eyes.

"Why didn't she hit me or scold me?"

Lu Zhiwan: “…”

You are a masochist, you really want someone to beat you up.

Wait...what was that sound just now?

Could it be that I was hallucinating because I was bitten?

Lu Zhiwan frowned slightly and looked suspiciously at the man who was still biting her wrist and refused to let go. The pain was not severe, but she said, "You've been biting it for so long, isn't your mouth sore?"

Xiao Jingting: "..."

Seeing that he was still on guard, Lu Zhiwan thought that he must have suffered a lot when he was first brought back to the palace.

If she remembered correctly, Xiao Lanchun said that when the guards patrolling the enclosure first discovered him, they did not know his identity. They just thought he was a wild child born and raised by nature. They thought it was strange, so they captured him as a "good omen" and planned to present him to the late emperor as a gift.

Just like presenting an elephant or a leopard, a sword made by a famous craftsman, or a coral ornament, little Xiao Jingting was just an "object" used to curry favor with the superiors.

Disobedient wild children are like disobedient lions, monkeys, and elephants in the circus. They are whipped, scolded, starved, kept cold, and tortured... After all, humans have countless ways to make them obedient.

Xiao Jingting never mentioned these past events in front of Lu Zhiwan.

Lu Zhiwan had never thought about these things before.

Until now, looking at Xiao Jingting's eyes filled with wildness and resistance, her heart ached, and she explained to him softly: "It's hard for me to tell you what happened for the time being. But believe me, I won't scold you, let alone hit you..."

He looked at her, unconvinced.

"Why?"

That slightly childish voice rang in his ears again, and Lu Zhiwan's eyes widened slightly.

What on earth is going on with this sound?

"I bit her."

The voice was brief but clear: "She should have beaten me, like those people did."

Lu Zhiwan could now completely determine where this voice came from—

It was incredible that she could actually hear the voice of Xiao Jingting, whose mental state had regressed to that of a five-year-old!

From the time he woke up until now, in just a short while, so many incredible things have happened - she wanted to say to the original gravity, how many surprises do you have that I don’t know about!

After the shock, Lu Zhiwan looked at the handsome and mature face in front of him, coupled with the cute child's voice in his mind, and felt both funny and an indescribable pity.

"I won't hit or scold you, because..." She said softly, her dark eyes full of sincerity: "I love you."

Xiao Jingting seemed to be stunned, slowly loosened his teeth, frowned at her, and murmured: "Love..."

"She said she loved me?"

"What is love..."

"Yes, I love you."

Lu Zhiwan nodded and smiled at him: "You love me too, but you are sick, so you don't remember a lot of things, and you don't remember me..."

At this point, a trace of disappointment flashed across her face, but she quickly cheered up and looked at him with her dark eyes: "It's okay, we can get to know each other again. I believe that if you fell in love with me the first time, you can fall in love with me the second time!"

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Lu Zhiwan, and I'm your..."

She wanted to say concubine, but after a moment's hesitation, she changed her words and said, "Your wife."

Although she is not his legal wife yet, he said yesterday that he wanted her to be his queen - to round it off, it can be considered as him proposing to her.

"Wife...?" Xiao Jingting frowned.

"It's someone who is very close, very loving, and very trustworthy."

Lu Zhiwan didn't want to explain too much about marriage to a man with the cognition of a five-year-old, so he just looked at him and said, "Just know that I will protect you and love you just like Yue Niang, and I will never hurt you."

Xiao Jingting: "..."

"Why?"

Lu Zhiwan: “…”

How did this bastard become full of questions?

"Why are there so many whys and whys in love?" Lu Zhiwan said nonchalantly, but seeing those dark eyes still fixed on her, she could only say, "Because you've always protected me, loved me, and kept me from getting hurt."

She pointed to the wound on his body and said, "The wound on your back was caused by protecting me."

Xiao Jingting looked in the direction of her finger, and frowned as if he felt pain belatedly.

"Should I trust her?"

"But she doesn't look like a bad person."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhiwan thought to himself, not only does she not look like a bad person, she is clearly a beautiful and kind-hearted fairy.

But she also knew that it was not easy to gain his trust so quickly.

"You just woke up and are still weak. You need to rest more." She gently helped him lie down, her tone extremely gentle: "I'll get you some food, and by the way, let Grandpa Sun come and check your wound."

"Who is Uncle Sun?" Xiao Jingting asked.

"He is our savior."

Probably knowing that the soul of a five-year-old child had transformed into his body, Lu Zhiwan couldn't help but pinch his face: "Be good, I'll be back soon."

This frivolous action made Xiao Jingting frown.

"Hate."

Lu Zhiwan's rosy lips curled up.

He knew it was annoying, and he used to pinch her like this all the time. Now, things have changed, and retribution has come.

I got up and went outside. The sky outside was already full of red clouds, gorgeous and beautiful.

The faint smile on Lu Zhiwan's lips also disappeared.

What exactly caused Xiao Jingting to be like this? Can he be cured?

If the disease cannot be cured, the emperor will only have the mental capacity of a five-year-old. Wouldn't the imperial court be in turmoil? It would be a serious problem whether the emperor could keep the throne.

"Miss Lu, why are you standing there in a daze? Is something wrong?"

Aunt Sun drove the chickens back home and saw Lu Zhiwan standing by the door, looking worried. She couldn't help but ask, "Is your husband still awake?"

Lu Zhiwan came back to his senses: "I'm awake. But..."

After a pause, she said embarrassedly, "Auntie, is there any food on the stove? I'll bring him some... and I'll trouble you to take another look at his injury later."

"Oh, you're awake!" Aunt Sun smiled. "There's food. I've left a pot of rice porridge on the stove. I'll go get it for you."

"Thank you, Auntie."

"You're welcome."

Soon, Lu Zhiwan walked into the house carrying rice porridge and an egg.

Xiao Jingting originally wanted to eat by himself, but he had a shoulder injury and could not move easily, so he had to put on a sullen face and let Lu Zhiwan feed him reluctantly.

Lu Zhiwan blew on the spoon and handed it to his mouth: "Ah."

Xiao Jingting pursed his thin lips, looked into her bright and smiling eyes, and finally opened his mouth.

Lu Zhiwan smiled and said, "Our Ah Yin is really obedient."

Xiao Jingting: "..."

"Is she soothing the child?"

The corners of Lu Zhiwan's mouth curled up, isn't it just coaxing a child?

After feeding him a whole bowl of rice porridge mouthful by mouthful, Lu Zhiwan peeled an egg for him, muttering, "Eating eggs is good, it replenishes nutrition and helps the wound heal faster."

"land……"

Xiao Jingting spoke in a hoarse voice, wanting to call her name, but he felt a little uncomfortable. His long eyelashes twitched twice: "When will you take me to find Yue Niang?"

Lu Zhiwan was startled. He peeled off the thin film of egg white and handed it to him: "When your wound is healed, someone should come to pick us up in a few days. Then I will take you to find Yue Niang..."

"Really?" He raised his eyes and looked at her.

“…”

The man's eyes suddenly became so innocent and clear that it was really difficult for her to act.

There's always this illusion of a big bad wolf kidnapping children...

Lu Zhiwan shook his head. Taking him back to the capital to see Yue Niang’s grave wouldn’t be considered breaking his promise, right?

Get familiar with him for a few days and let him trust you, then explain other things to him.

With a plan in mind, she raised her head and smiled at him: "Really."

"She's lying to me."

Lu Zhiwan: “…”

Do you have to be so smart?

"Ayin, I can swear that anyone can hurt you, but I won't."

Her tone was sincere, and she tentatively extended her pinky finger and touched his hand. Seeing that he did not shy away this time, she became bolder and reached out to hold his hand: "You are my husband. We agreed to be together for the rest of our lives. Have you forgotten?"

Xiao Jingting glanced at the hand she was holding: "..."

"It seems I'm not lying this time."

"Just trust her for now."

"If she lies to me, I'll bite her throat out."

Lu Zhiwan's eyelids twitched twice, and she looked at the handsome man in front of her who lowered his eyes and spoke little, and couldn't help swallowing.

Good man, he is so cruel at such a young age!