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, Youyou 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, "Youyou has 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...
如妃心裏難受的不行，想問問，可又不忍心孩子回想起那些不愉快的經歷，便壓下心中翻湧的情緒，一言不發，動作輕柔無比地幫他擦洗幹淨。
給小男孩擦幹身上的水，換上幹淨的寝衣，也不給他穿鞋，輕輕将他抱回了寝殿。
季瑾悠正趴在床上，探着小腦袋往這邊看，一見二人出來，她一骨碌坐起來，把地方讓開。
十七跟着呂昭儀時是自己睡一屋，如妃想着孩子今兒遭了這等大事，擔心他害怕，打算讓他先在寝室靠窗的榻上睡幾晚，等他熟悉一些，再住到偏殿去。
可眼下，她改主意了。她決定這幾晚讓他跟着自己和悠悠睡，兩個孩子一個三歲，一個也不過才六歲，也不用講究那麽多了。
金杏已經拿了一盒傷藥上來，如妃接過，撸起小男孩的袖子，先給他把胳膊上的傷塗了，随後又給他背上和腿上也塗了。
季瑾悠看着那些傷，又氣又心疼，站在一旁不停地問：“十七哥哥，疼不疼？”
十七搖了搖頭：“不疼。”
騙人，都青紫成那樣，怎麽會不疼。季瑾悠很想罵人，也很想打人。
小男孩安安靜靜，任由如妃給他擦藥，等如妃仔細擦完，他還恭恭敬敬道了謝，懂事得讓人心疼。
如妃将小男孩抱進懷裏拍了拍，“好孩子，以後在母妃面前不必如此見外。”
十七點點頭，說好。
見兩個孩子面上都帶了倦色，如妃張羅着歇息，十七行了一禮，說了句兒子告退，作勢就要下地。
還不待如妃說話，悠悠一把拉住他，看向如妃：“母妃，哥哥和我們睡好不好，悠悠想和哥哥睡。”
如妃也是此意，笑着拉過小男孩：“偏殿還沒收拾妥當，這陣子你就先在這裏睡。”
十七面上顯出不安，眼中又閃着期盼：“這、這行嗎？”他從記事起，就是一個人睡的。
季瑾悠拽着他的胳膊往床裏走，按着他坐下，兩只小手叉着小胖腰，兇巴巴道：“悠悠說行就行，躺好。”
十七被唬得一愣一愣，乖巧躺好，兩只小手緊緊貼着褲腿，躺得筆直。
季瑾悠嘿嘿笑了，又走到如妃另一側，也躺好，随後小手拍拍床中間：“母妃躺這裏。”
見小姑娘安排得明明白白，如妃撲哧一聲笑了，在中間躺下去，一手攬過一個。
季瑾悠湊過去，在如妃臉上親了一口，如妃笑着還了一口，小姑娘嘿嘿笑了，伸着小胖指頭指了指床裏，悄悄說：“母妃，你也親親哥哥。”
如妃笑着說好，轉過頭去，在乖巧躺在她胳膊上的小男孩臉上親了一口。
她親慣了悠悠，可剛才還真沒想起要親親十七，既然決定養他，也決定把他當親生的，那往後怎樣對悠悠，便也就怎樣對他吧。
冷不丁被親了一口，十七一呆，随後小臉蛋通紅。從他懂事起，好像從來沒有被人這樣親過。
季瑾悠爬到如妃身上，看着這一幕，咯咯咯笑了，伸着小手指着他：“母妃，再親一口。”
如妃看着十七又驚又呆又害羞的小模樣，也覺着有趣，便依着悠悠又親了一口。
這下小男孩羞得把臉埋到了如妃胳膊上，惹得如妃笑出聲，悠悠更是笑得在如妃身上打起滾來，沉甸甸的壓得如妃直哎呦。
悠悠笑鬧了一會兒，倦意襲來，直接趴在如妃身上就睡了過去。
十七身心疲憊，不多時也陷入沉沉的夢中，只不過睡得極其不安穩，一會兒猛地抖一下胳膊腿，一會兒又嗚嗚哭幾聲，一會兒又喃喃喊着母妃。
如妃聽得心情沉重，将小男孩往懷裏摟了摟，單手輕輕拍着他，直到深夜才睡去。
隔天一早，季瑾悠精神滿滿醒來，醒來時就見十七坐在床邊看着她發呆。
小姑娘小身子一扭，坐起來，小手在他面前晃了晃：“十七哥哥？”
十七回神，摸了摸小姑娘亂蓬蓬的小腦袋，“小九你等等，我去喊如妃娘娘。”
小男孩一早就醒了，自己穿好衣裳，自己收拾妥當，随後就乖乖站在那裏，不敢亂走，也不敢亂動。
如妃為了讓他盡快融入環境，便交給他一個任務，看着妹妹，等妹妹醒了便去喊她。
小男孩把任務執行得很好，一直坐在床邊看着，足足看了小半個時辰，直到悠悠醒來，他才如釋重負，忙轉身去喊了如妃進來。
如妃把小男孩好一頓誇，直誇得他小臉通紅，雙眸明亮，當如妃給悠悠穿衣裳的時候，他竟主動上來幫忙拽袖子，拿鞋子。
如妃帶着兩個孩子坐在一處吃了早點，因着悠悠胃口好，十七被帶的也吃的香甜。
吃過飯，如妃要去鳳儀宮請安，昨兒宮裏出了那等大事，今兒皇後娘娘肯定要訓話的，她不好去遲了。
于是叮囑金杏和海棠照看好兩個孩子，還特意叮囑出去玩可以，但千萬不要再去荷花池那裏，随後便帶着另外兩名宮女，匆匆出門。
季瑾悠見七八公主今天也沒來找她玩，猜到兩個姐姐肯定是又有什麽事。
她見十七一直恹恹地坐在那裏發呆，不管她提議玩什麽，他都沒什麽精神頭，便想着帶他出去走走：“十七哥哥，咱們去找十五哥哥玩好不好？”
十五哥哥膽子夠大，讓十七哥哥和他多待待，說不定他的膽子也變大了。他們兩個又都是剛和原來的母妃分開，也算同病相連，應該可以聊得來。
十七沒有主意，見悠悠如此說，他便點點頭：“好。”
于是兩個人便出門，金杏和海棠急忙跟上。
到了景明宮，見宮門開着，悠悠便牽着十七走了進去，直奔西偏殿：“十五哥哥，你在嗎？”
“我在這呢。”十五的聲音從身後傳來。
季瑾悠回頭一看，好家夥，就見十五皇子雙腿勾着一條斜伸着的樹幹，倒挂在院中那棵大樹上，在和她招手。
這陣子宮裏大事頻發，十三皇子和十四皇子又挨了板子受了傷，文昭帝就免了幾個小皇子的功課，暫且不用去念書和練武。
十五皇子是個身體健壯，精力充沛的孩子，每日閑得發慌，又不想出門，免得看到別人異樣的眼神，便在院子裏爬樹，除了吃飯睡覺，剩下的大部分時間都待在樹上。
季瑾悠忙牽着十七皇子颠颠颠跑過去，仰着小腦袋，滿眼崇拜地看着他：“十五哥哥，你可真厲害，你能不能教教悠悠？”
聽着自家小主子這自不量力的話，金杏和海棠都極力忍着笑。
十五皇子一個利落翻身，騎到樹上，随後輕飄飄蹦到地上，認真打量一番矮墩墩的小姑娘，就見她圓胳膊圓腿，還都那麽短，便為難地搖了搖頭：“小九，你太……，太小了，等你長到哥哥這麽大，哥哥再教你。”
季瑾悠當然知道自己學不了，她也沒打算學，只不過她知道十五哥哥以前壓根瞧不上膽小的十七和十八，才想着提出一個要求，等他拒絕了自己，肯定會覺得不好意思，這樣接下來就不好意思拒絕她下一個要求了。
她耷拉着小腦袋，裝作十分失望的樣子：“那、那好吧。”
見可愛妹妹跨着小臉，十五皇子果然上當，愧疚之心頓起，一再保證等她長大一些一定會教她。
季瑾悠見機行事，把低着頭站在他身後的十七拉過來：“十五哥哥，那你教十七哥哥爬樹吧。”
男孩子如果會爬樹，那膽子就慢慢練大了。十七太乖了，要野一野才好。
果然如悠悠所料，十五皇子看到瑟瑟縮縮的十七時，一臉嫌棄地皺起了眉頭。
季瑾悠把十七往他面前一推：“十五哥哥，你那麽厲害，你教教他嘛，教教嘛。”
奶呼呼的小姑娘，甜甜地喊着他哥哥，十五皇子哪裏還忍心拒絕。
他又想起昨天宮裏發生的事，也同情起這個膽小如鼠的弟弟來，點了頭，對着十七說道：“你跟我來。”說罷，往樹根下走去。
十七從來沒爬過樹，有些害怕，眼神不安，牽着小九的小手不放。
季瑾悠推了他一把，老氣橫秋道：“十五哥哥願意教你，快去，好好學哦。”
十七猶豫了一下，走了過去，朝着十五皇子行禮：“請十五皇兄賜教。”
十五皇子頗為高冷地嗯了一聲，攀着樹幹，手腳并用，蹭蹭蹭爬了上去，先演示了一遍，随後跳下來問道：“你可看清了？”
瞧着十五皇子爬得十分輕松，看着也不難，十七皇子點點頭：“看清了。”
十五皇子往後退了一步，一指樹幹：“那你先試試。”
十七皇子應了聲好，走到樹幹前，學着方才十五皇子的樣子，雙手雙腳攀上去，動了兩下，整個人直接盤在了樹上，試了幾次都是如此。
十五皇子拍了下腦門，不忍直視。
季瑾悠看得好笑，怕打擊十七皇子的積極性，也沒敢笑，只在心裏和系統聊天：【統統，十七哥哥笨笨的。】
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.