Chapter 68 Youzi, You've Got It Wrong
Ever since Lu Zhaoyi was pulled out of the pond, the little boy has been suppressing his emotions and has not cried since.
This earth-shattering howl was filled with helplessness and grievance that could not be expressed in words.
Ru Fei felt sad when she heard this. She hugged the little boy and kept comforting him in a gentle voice: "Good boy, it's okay, it's okay."
Ji Jinyou felt the same way, tears welled up in her eyes, and she also coaxed him from the side: "Don't cry, brother. Mother and Youyou will treat you well in the future."
Jin Xing and Hai Tang, who were standing nearby, also felt extremely uncomfortable watching the situation. Jin Xing squatted on the ground, stretched out her hands to hug her little master, while Hai Tang turned her back and wiped away her tears.
The little boy nestled in Ru Fei's arms and cried loudly for a long time, until he was tired of crying. Then he slowly stopped, sobbing and stood up. He lifted his sleeves to wipe his face, looking shy and embarrassed.
Haitang fetched some water, and Concubine Ru wet a handkerchief and gently wiped the little boy's face.
Seeing that Seventeen was still nervous and restrained, You squeezed over, tilted her little face, and stretched out her little hand: "Mother, Youyou wants to wipe it too."
Concubine Ru reached out and touched her little nose, saying lovingly, "Okay, mother will wipe it for Youyou too."
"Youyou, don't wipe your face. Youyou, wipe it for your brother." Ji Jinyou stretched out her little hand to take the handkerchief, turned around and walked in front of the Seventeenth Prince, tiptoed and rubbed his face twice.
The seventeenth prince saw that the little dumpling was exhausted and bent down.
Ji Jinyou wanted to imitate Concubine Ru's gentle manner and wipe for a while longer, but it was too tiring to raise her arms, so she wiped twice and stopped. She took Shiqi's hand to the basin and washed his hands, saying, "Brother Shiqi, have you had dinner?"
The seventeenth prince nodded, his childish voice a little hoarse from crying: "I ate, I ate."
Seventeen had dinner in Chongde Hall tonight. In the past, Lu Zhaoyi had repeatedly warned him that as a bastard-born prince, he must not act unruly in front of His Majesty and the Empress.
Although the little boy had learned that Lu Zhaoyi was not his biological mother and that she did not love him as sincerely as he thought, the years of indoctrination were deeply engraved in his mind. He had not dared to eat much in Chongde Hall before. He just held the bowl and carefully ate the dish in front of him.
At that time, Emperor Wen Zhao and the Empress thought that he was in a bad mood and had no appetite. They tried to persuade him, but seeing that he still couldn't relax, they left him alone.
But after a series of shocks and several bursts of crying, the little boy was already hungry.
Ji Jinyou tilted her head to look at him, and seeing that his eyes were evasive but he licked his lips inadvertently, she knew that he probably didn't eat enough.
She turned around and looked at Concubine Ru, sticking out her belly, "Mother, Youyou is hungry. Youyou wants to eat."
If the little girl can see it, how could Concubine Ru not see it?
She secretly sighed at Youyou's understanding, touched the little girl's round belly, and said with a smile: "Okay, mother will go make you food, you play with your brother for a while."
As he said this, he stood up and prepared to go to the kitchen to see what ingredients he had so that he could make something for the two children.
Concubine Ru would go to the kitchen to cook for Youyou from time to time. The little girl liked to sit beside her on a small stool. Watching her busy and cheerful figure, she felt warm and happy.
Not wanting to miss it this time, she took the Seventeenth Prince's hand and dragged him out: "Seventeenth Brother, let's go help Mother."
Hearing the little girl's childish words, Ru Fei and Jin Xing all laughed. Every time the little girl said she would help, she was always busy and nagging, and every time she helped, it was more trouble than good, either knocking over the wash basin or the water basin.
Ji Jinyou knew what everyone was laughing at, so he chuckled twice and said in an unconvinced way, "You have help this time. Brother Seventeen can help me, right, brother?"
Seventeen had just cried too hard and was still a little dazed for a moment. When he saw the little girl shaking his hand and asking him a question, he didn't respond and just nodded and said yes.
The little boy was so obedient. He said yes to everything he was asked, and was very cautious, as if he didn't have any opinions.
Concubine Ru sighed when she saw this, but she also knew that the child had been treated like that for so many years and it would take him a while to recover. There was no rush and she could only take it slowly.
Ji Jinyou also noticed it, and after thinking for a while, he decided to divert his attention and stop him from thinking about other things, so he held up four fingers and asked, "Brother Seventeen, what is this?"
Seventeenth Prince: "...Four."
Ji Jinyou jumped up and down twice and said happily, "Wow, Brother Seventeen, you are so awesome."
The little girl's tone of flattery was too exaggerated, and it looked so fake. She must be coaxing a child. Ru Fei and the others couldn't help laughing.
The seventeenth prince also smiled. He couldn't tell whether it was genuine or not, but it was the first time that someone praised him so loudly and openly.
In the past, His Majesty disliked him and frowned every time he saw him. The Empress never looked at him much, and Concubine Kang... Even Lu Zhaoyi repeatedly warned him to be careful and not to cause trouble.
He had never heard anyone praise him so passionately. Although his little sister was a little naive and thought she was great just because she could count to four, he was very happy in his heart.
On weekdays, the little boy was restrained by Lu Zhaoyi, and he himself was afraid of everything. Apart from studying and practicing martial arts, he never took the initiative to interact with other brothers and sisters. He was not good at dealing with people and didn't know how to get along with this little sister.
But he wanted to be nice to her.
The little boy looked at the little girl who was jumping and laughing happily, thought for a while, hesitated and stretched out a hand, touched her little head clumsily, then quickly retracted his hand and put it behind his back as if he had done something wrong.
Ji Jinyou saw that he wanted to get close to her, so she chuckled and stood on tiptoe to touch his head.
The anxiety on the Seventeenth Prince's face finally faded away and he began to smile.
Concubine Ru was worried before. Although Xiaojiu had always been well-behaved and sensible, she was really afraid that the little girl would lose her temper because she had a brother who would compete with her for her mother's favor.
Seeing that the two children were interacting well, she felt relieved. She left Jin Xing outside to watch and went into the kitchen.
Ji Jinyou took Shiqi's hand, swayed, and followed him in. He also took out his own small stool, put it on the ground, and let Shiqi sit on it.
Seeing that there was only one person, Shiqi gave way again. The two children pushed back and forth, and finally Ji Jinyou pulled him to sit on one half.
Seventeen moved back, trying to give Youyou more space, but when he stood up, the bench lost balance and Youyou sat on the ground with a small buttock.
The little girl was stunned for a moment, then she got up, patted the dust off her butt with her two little hands, and giggled.
Concubine Ru and Jin Xing were picking vegetables, and they couldn't help laughing when they saw this scene.
When the Seventeenth Prince saw Youyou fall, he was frightened at first. He was afraid that she would cry if she was hurt, and he was also afraid that Concubine Ru would blame him or even drive him out.
Just when I was feeling anxious and wondering whether I should kneel down and apologize, I saw my chubby sister get up by herself, her belly shaking with laughter, looking so adorable.
And Concubine Ru was not unhappy at all, she actually laughed along.
After a moment of shock, he felt warm inside and couldn't help but laugh. He stepped forward to pat the dust off the little girl and apologized softly, "I'm sorry, sister. I made you fall."
Ji Jinyou showed him her small, fleshy hands and said, "Youyou is too fat, it's not your fault." After saying that, she pulled him to sit next to her.
It was hot in the summer and there was no meat left in the small kitchen, so Rufei made vegetable and egg noodles for the two children. She gave most of it to Seventeen, and only a few noodles and some vegetables in Youyou's small bowl, and a poached egg for each child.
It was already late, so there was no need to waste time and I just let the two children eat at the table in the small kitchen.
This was the first time for Seventeen to eat in the kitchen. He was surprised and felt it was very novel. He ate slowly in small bites at first, but when he saw Youyou eating with big mouthfuls, he slowly relaxed and finished the noodle soup in a short while.
Ji Jinyou finished eating a little later, and imitated Shiqi and drank up the soup at the bottom of the bowl. Then he held up the empty bowl to show him and laughed.
Concubine Ru stepped forward, wiped the mouths of the two children, and led them back to the house. Jin Xing brought water for the two children to rinse their mouths. Concubine Ru then carried Youyou to the bed, and then asked Jin Xing to help Seventeen take a bath.
Jin Xing was halfway through washing when she came out with red eyes, "My Lady, please go and take a look."
Ru Fei was stunned: "What's wrong?"
Jin Xing sighed heavily and whispered, "The Seventeenth Prince is covered in wounds."
Ru Fei's face darkened. She put Youyou down and asked Haitang to look after her. She got up, put on her shoes, and walked quickly to the clean room.
Ji Jinyou wanted to go and take a look, but thinking that Seventeen was a boy, he would probably be shy if she went over to see, so she had to sit on the bed and wait obediently.
When Concubine Ru entered the purification room, she saw the little boy sitting in a wooden tub with his head lowered, wiping himself with a towel in his hand, and his movements were very skillful.
Concubine Ru slowed down her pace, walked over gently, touched his head, and smiled calmly: "Will mother help you?"
Seventeen raised her head and nodded obediently, politely and respectfully: "Thank you, mother."
Concubine Ru took the towel and slowly wiped him, first wiping his arms and then asked him to stand up. The little boy did as he was told obediently.
When the little boy stood up with his back to her, Ru Fei's throat choked and tears instantly welled up.
The Queen had previously mentioned to her the incident of Concubine Kang beating and scolding Seventeen. She also looked at Seventeen's arms and thought there were only a few marks from being pinched.
But I didn't expect that there were patches of purple bruises on Seventeen's back and thighs, with different shades of color, new bruises covering old ones...
Ru Fei felt very upset and wanted to ask, but she couldn't bear to let the child recall those unpleasant experiences, so she suppressed the surging emotions in her heart, said nothing, and gently helped him clean.
She wiped the water off the little boy's body, changed him into clean pajamas, and without even putting shoes on him, she gently carried him back to the bedroom.
Ji Jinyou was lying on the bed, leaning her head over to look this way. When she saw the two men coming out, she sat up and made way for them.
When Seventeen was with Lu Zhaoyi, he slept in a room of his own. Concubine Ru thought that the child had gone through such a big thing today and was worried that he would be scared, so she planned to let him sleep on the couch by the window in the bedroom for a few nights first, and then move him to the side hall when he was more familiar with the place.
But now, she changed her mind. She decided to let him sleep with her and Youyou these nights. The two children were three years old and six years old, so there was no need to be so particular.
Jin Xing had already brought up a box of medicine. Ru Fei took it, rolled up the little boy's sleeves, and applied the medicine to the wound on his arm first, and then to his back and legs.
Ji Jinyou looked at the injuries, feeling angry and distressed. She stood aside and kept asking, "Brother Seventeen, does it hurt?"
Seventeen shook his head: "It doesn't hurt."
Liar, it's so purple, how can it not hurt? Ji Jinyou wanted to curse and hit him.
The little boy was quiet and let Concubine Ru apply the medicine on him. When Concubine Ru finished applying the medicine carefully, he thanked her respectfully. He was so sensible that it made people feel distressed.
Concubine Ru held the little boy in her arms and patted him, "Good boy, you don't have to be so reserved in front of your mother in the future."
Seventeen nodded and agreed.
Seeing that the two children looked tired, Ru Fei arranged for them to rest. Seventeen bowed, said "Son, take your leave", and made a gesture to get up.
Before Concubine Ru could say anything, Youyou grabbed him and looked at Concubine Ru: "Mother, brother, can you sleep with us? Youyou wants to sleep with brother."
Concubine Ru also had the same idea. She smiled and pulled the little boy over and said, "The side hall has not been cleaned up yet. You can sleep here for the time being."
Seventeen looked uneasy, but his eyes were full of anticipation: "Is this okay?" He had been sleeping alone ever since he could remember.
Ji Jinyou pulled his arm towards the bed, pressed him to sit down, put her hands on his chubby waist, and said fiercely: "It's okay if Youyou says it's okay, lie down."
Seventeen was frightened and lay down obediently, with his two little hands pressed tightly against his legs, lying straight.
Ji Jinyou chuckled, then walked to the other side of Concubine Ru and lay down as well. Then she patted the middle of the bed with her little hand and said, "Mother, lie here."
Seeing that the little girl had arranged everything clearly, Ru Fei chuckled, lay down in the middle, and took one in each hand.
Ji Jin walked over and kissed Concubine Ru on the face. Concubine Ru smiled and kissed back. The little girl laughed and pointed her chubby finger at the bed, whispering, "Mother, kiss your brother too."
Concubine Ru smiled and said yes, then turned around and kissed the little boy who was lying obediently in her arms on the face.
She was used to kissing Youyou, but she hadn't thought of kissing Seventeen just now. Since she had decided to raise him and treat him as her own son, she would treat him the same way she treated Youyou in the future.
Seventeen was suddenly kissed, and was stunned for a moment, then his face turned red. It seemed that he had never been kissed like this since he was old enough to understand.
Ji Jinyou climbed onto Concubine Ru, looked at this scene, giggled, and pointed at him with her little hand: "Mother, give me another kiss."
Concubine Ru looked at Seventeen's surprised, dazed and shy look and found it interesting, so she gave Youyou another kiss.
The little boy was so embarrassed that he buried his face in Concubine Ru's arm, which made Concubine Ru laugh out loud. Youyou laughed even more and rolled around on Concubine Ru, pressing her heavily so hard that she cried out in pain.
After laughing for a while, he felt tired and fell asleep directly on Concubine Ru.
Seventeen was exhausted both physically and mentally, and soon fell into a deep sleep. However, his sleep was extremely restless. Sometimes his arms and legs would shake violently, sometimes he would sob a few times, and sometimes he would murmur and call for his mother.
Ru Fei felt heavy-hearted when she heard this. She held the little boy in her arms, patted him gently with one hand, and fell asleep late at night.
The next morning, Ji Jinyou woke up full of energy, and when she woke up, she saw Seventeen sitting beside the bed, looking at her in a daze.
The little girl twisted her body, sat up, and waved her hands in front of him: "Brother Seventeen?"
Seventeen came back to his senses and touched the little girl's messy head, "Xiaojiu, wait a minute, I'll go call Concubine Ru."
The little boy woke up early in the morning, dressed himself, and tidied himself. Then he stood there obediently, not daring to walk around or move around.
In order to help him integrate into the environment as quickly as possible, Concubine Ru gave him a task: to look after his sister and call her when she woke up.
The little boy performed his task very well. He sat by the bed and watched for nearly half an hour until Youyou woke up. He felt relieved and turned around to call Ru Fei to come in.
Concubine Ru praised the little boy so much that his face turned red and his eyes brightened. When Concubine Ru was helping Youyou get dressed, he actually took the initiative to help pull her sleeves and get her shoes.
Concubine Ru sat together with the two children and had breakfast. Since Youyou had a good appetite, Shiqi also ate happily.
After dinner, Concubine Ru wanted to go to Fengyi Palace to pay her respects. Such a big incident happened in the palace yesterday, and the Empress Dowager would definitely give her a lecture today, so she couldn't go late.
So she instructed Jin Xing and Hai Tang to take good care of the two children. She also specifically told them that they could go out and play, but not to go to the lotus pond again. Then she hurried out with the other two palace maids.
Seeing that the Seventh and Eighth Princesses did not come to play with her today, Ji Jinyou guessed that her two elder sisters must have something to do again.
She saw that Seventeen had been sitting there in a daze, and no matter what she suggested to play, he had no energy, so she thought of taking him out for a walk: "Brother Seventeen, how about we go and play with Brother Fifteen?"
Fifteenth brother is brave enough, let Seventeenth brother stay with him for a while, maybe he will become braver too. They both just separated from their original mothers, so they are in the same boat and should be able to chat.
Seventeen had no idea. Seeing Youyou say this, he nodded and said, "Okay."
So the two of them went out, and Jin Xing and Hai Tang hurriedly followed.
When they arrived at Jingming Palace, they saw that the palace gate was open, so Youyou led Seventeen in and went straight to the west side hall: "Brother Fifteen, are you there?"
"I'm here." Fifteen's voice came from behind.
Ji Jinyou turned around and saw the fifteenth prince, with his legs hooked on a slanted tree trunk, hanging upside down on the big tree in the yard, waving at her.
There have been many major events in the palace recently. The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Princes were beaten and injured, so Emperor Wen Zhao exempted the little princes from their homework and they did not have to study or practice martial arts for the time being.
The fifteenth prince was a strong and energetic child. He was bored every day, but he didn't want to go out to avoid seeing other people's strange looks, so he climbed trees in the yard. Except for eating and sleeping, he spent most of his time climbing the trees.
Ji Jinyou hurriedly ran over with the Seventeenth Prince, looking up at him with admiration: "Fifteenth Brother, you are really amazing, can you teach Youyou?"
Hearing their young master's overconfident words, Jin Xing and Hai Tang tried their best to hold back their laughter.
The fifteenth prince turned over neatly and rode on the tree, then lightly jumped to the ground. He looked at the short and stocky girl carefully and saw that her arms and legs were round and short. He shook his head in embarrassment and said, "Xiaojiu, you are too... too young. Wait until you grow up to be as big as me, and I will teach you."
Ji Jinyou knew, of course, that she couldn't learn it, and she had no intention of learning it. It was just that she knew that her brother Fifteen had always looked down on the timid Seventeen and Eighteen, so she thought of making a request. If he refused her, he would definitely feel embarrassed, and then he would be too embarrassed to refuse her next request.
She hung her head and pretended to be very disappointed: "Well, then okay."
Seeing his lovely sister's smiling face, the Fifteenth Prince realized that he had been fooled. He felt guilty and promised again and again that he would teach her when she grew up.
Ji Jinyou seized the opportunity and pulled Seventeen, who was standing behind him with his head down, over and said, "Fifteenth brother, then you teach Seventeenth brother how to climb trees."
If a boy can climb trees, his courage will gradually grow. Seventeen is too well behaved, he should be wild for a while.
As Youyou expected, when the Fifteenth Prince saw the shivering Seventeen, he frowned in disgust.
Ji Jinyou pushed Seventeen in front of him and said, "Brother Fifteen, you are so awesome, why don't you teach him a lesson, teach him a lesson."
The bubbling little girl called him brother sweetly, and the fifteenth prince had no heart to refuse her.
He thought again of what had happened in the palace yesterday, and felt sympathy for his cowardly brother. He nodded and said to Seventeen, "Come with me." Then he walked towards the roots of the tree.
Seventeen had never climbed a tree before, and was a little scared. His eyes were uneasy, and he held onto Little Nine's hand tightly.
Ji Jinyou pushed him and said in a condescending manner, "Brother Fifteen is willing to teach you, go quickly and learn well."
Seventeen hesitated for a moment, then walked over and saluted the Fifteenth Prince: "Please teach me, Fifteenth Prince."
The fifteenth prince hummed in a rather arrogant manner, climbed up the tree trunk using his hands and feet, demonstrated it once, then jumped down and asked, "Did you see it clearly?"
Seeing that the fifteenth prince climbed very easily, it didn't seem difficult at all, and the seventeenth prince nodded: "I see it clearly."
The fifteenth prince took a step back and pointed at the tree trunk: "Then you try it first."
The seventeenth prince responded with a "OK" and walked to the tree trunk. He climbed up with his hands and feet, imitating the fifteenth prince's example. After two moves, he was directly coiled on the tree. He tried several times and it happened every time.
The fifteenth prince slapped his forehead, unable to bear to look at it.
Ji Jinyou found it funny, but she didn't dare laugh for fear of dampening Prince Seventeen's enthusiasm. She only chatted with the system in her mind: [No, Brother Seventeen is stupid.]
System: [Youzi, you were wrong. Seventeen was very powerful when he grew up. He was a young general with outstanding martial arts and good at fighting. However, he died in a battle with Dayao.]
The fifteenth prince was accustomed to hearing Tong Tong talk, but the seventeenth prince was hearing it for the second time. He was concentrating on practicing tree climbing when he suddenly heard the voice of this strange man. He was so frightened that he slid down from the tree trunk and sat down heavily on the ground.
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