Chapter 61 (First published on Jinjiang Literature City)
Chapter Sixty-One
Lin Rong didn't know if it was because she was too tired from her period or because Pei Zan stayed up too late, but she slept very soundly. When she woke up, the sky outside the window was bright and the camel bells on the eaves were clear and crisp.
Lin Rong pulled up the loosely tied straps of her dress and inadvertently caught a glimpse of a string of wet red kiss marks on her shoulder. She knew that Pei Zan had once again taken advantage of her while she was asleep to relieve himself.
Fortunately, there was no snow or dirt left on Lin Rong's hands, feet, legs, or core.
When Pei Zan had finished playing, T would bring a wrung-out cloth and clean her up.
"We'll arrive in Liangzhou today," Lin Rong thought as she went downstairs, when she suddenly smelled a bitter medicinal scent.
She looked over in surprise and saw Pei Zan standing tall and elegant in the lobby of the inn.
Pei Zan had just finished drinking his medicine and casually placed the earthenware bowl on the table.
The guards and soldiers were in the shop, riding horses and driving carriages. The inn had already been cleared out by the officials of Western Wei, and no one could observe Pei Zan's words and actions.
Lin Rong thought for a moment, then asked quietly, "Young Master, are you sick?"
Lin Rong was kind to everyone. Since she harbored no resentment towards Pei Zan, she wouldn't be at odds with him. Therefore, it was perfectly reasonable for Lin Rong to casually ask him about it when she learned he had taken medicine.
But Pei Zan hadn't received his wife's care in a long time, and hearing Lin Rong's worried question, a warmth rose in his heart.
“I am in good health and have no discomfort.” Pei Zan slightly curled the corner of his lips. “This is a contraceptive medicine that I had someone obtain from the Loulan witch doctor a few days ago. It is specially for men to take… I will take the medicine every month so that you will not be in danger of becoming pregnant. Lin Rong, if you are interested, you can come to me for relief at any time.”
Pei Zan only recently learned that the princesses of the Western Regions countries liked to keep male lovers. In order to prevent the princesses from having too much fun with slaves and giving birth to children of low blood, some witch doctors in the tribe studied this and concocted a medicine that could help men avoid having children.
Women should not take medicine that could harm their health, and Pei Zan did not want Lin Rong to take those contraceptive medicines.
Having raised Yu Nu, he knew the intricacies of raising children. Since he was going to inherit the family business, one child was enough; there was no need for more.
Lin Rong glanced at the handsome Pei Zan, then hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.
Pei Zan thought he was very understanding and helped Lin Rong resolve all her worries.
Little did Lin Rong know that she was worried about Pei Zan, who was thinking: "...Pei Zan is so carefree if he doesn't drink the contraceptive medicine, but if he does drink it, I wonder how many times he will make a fuss at night. Will he even let anyone get any sleep?"
-
November, Liangzhou.
It snowed fresh today, and the world is covered in white.
As the year draws to a close, the powerful families and officials in the capital are visiting each other, exchanging greetings and making friends.
Some court officials even sent invitations to the Crown Prince, wanting to invite him to their homes to enjoy the plum blossoms and attend a banquet.
But Pei Jiashu kept his father's teachings in mind and did not leave the palace easily. Even though he was very bored sitting in the palace, he did not go out to play.
Pei Jiashu had heard the news of his parents' return to the palace early on. The Crown Prince, who usually didn't bother the palace servants, surprisingly urged the attendants today.
"Sweep the snow off the steps, it's not good if Mother slips and falls! Also, hang lanterns on the palace path, it gets dark at night, be careful not to let anyone fall!"
The little Pei Jiashu jumped around in the hall, looking around and giving instructions. His adorable appearance made the palace servants who were attending him unable to help but smile.
The curious maid even asked Uncle Feng, "Has Her Highness really returned to the palace?"
Uncle Feng laughed and said, "Of course! Let me remind you, serve him carefully. If you are negligent, His Majesty will surely take your heads!"
The eunuch would report to Pei Jiashu every fifteen minutes, informing him which palace gate and path the emperor's carriage had reached...
Pei Jiashu sat in front of the golden charcoal brazier, warming himself by the fire, the tangerines in his hands becoming scalding hot from the heat.
He put down the half-peeled tangerine and wiped the yellow juice from between his fingers with a handkerchief.
Pei Jiashu knelt on a passionflower blanket and examined the carefully selected calligraphy and paintings over and over again to prevent any mistakes or omissions; or he turned over the beaded jewelry in the boxes to check for any damage.
Before he could put the box away, a familiar, clear, and cold voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Yu Nu?" It's Pei Zan who's back.
Pei Jiashu stiffened and turned around somewhat nervously.
He looked around timidly, fearing it was all a dream.
Fortunately, Pei Zan did not return alone; he did bring back a woman.
Pei Jiashu looked up at the woman.
The woman had dark hair and a rosy face, with peach-like cheeks and an apricot-shaped face. Although her clothes were not luxurious, the patterns on her dress were pale yellow and green willows, making them extremely bright and beautiful.
Especially her gentle and beautiful eyes; the moment she saw Pei Jiashu, the corners of her eyes curved upwards, and her lips curved into a smile, clearly showing her joy.
My mother's appearance hasn't changed at all; she looks exactly like the portrait.
Pei Jiashu's nose felt both sore and painful, his eyes were burning, and his vision was blurry.
He wanted to introduce himself clearly, to politely present the calligraphy and painting to his mother, and to leave her with a good impression of being intelligent and well-behaved at their first meeting.
But when Pei Jiashu actually saw his mother, his throat tightened, and he could only awkwardly manage to squeeze out, "Mother..."
Lin Rong saw the child wringing his hands, standing awkwardly in the hall. He glanced up at her, then lowered his head to wipe away his tears. Lin Rong felt both bitter and aching.
She quickly squatted down and hugged her soft, squishy son tightly.
Lin Rong curled the child into her arms, stroked the young man's back, couldn't help but rub his head and pinch his shoulders, carefully examining his bone age to see if he had truly been raised by Pei Zan to be plump and healthy.
Pei Jiashu's anxiety and unease vanished completely in Lin Rong's warm embrace.
His chest felt sore, and he stretched out his two thin arms to hug his mother's neck.
Pei Jiashu stubbornly lowered his head, buried his face in Lin Rong's shoulder, and sobbed softly.
Pei Jiashu wasn't usually a crybaby, but for some reason, he embarrassed himself in front of his parents today.
"Does Mother miss Yunu? Where has Mother been all these years? Does Mother not like Yunu, so she abandoned me?"
Pei Jiashu wanted to get an answer from Lin Rong, because he was afraid that his mother would disappear again.
Upon hearing this, Lin Rong didn't know what to say.
She simply hugged the child tighter and gently comforted him, "Mother misses Yunu very much. Mother loves Yunu the most."
Pei Jiashu hadn't recited any texts for Lin Rong, nor had he shown her any of his calligraphy or paintings, yet he still received this praise from her. His chest swelled with joy, and he was so happy he didn't know what to say.
Seeing the mother and son embracing and shedding tears, Pei Zan's expression softened. He rubbed his son's head and said, "From now on, your mother will stay with Yunu. She won't leave."
Pei Jiashu peeked out from Lin Rong's embrace and asked excitedly, "Really?"
Lin Rong smiled but did not reply.
She simply reached out and used her thumb to wipe away the tears on Pei Jiashu's face, sighing, "Our Yunu is growing more and more beautiful as she grows up."
Who would have thought that a wrinkled little baby would grow tall and strong like a bamboo pole, eventually becoming such a well-behaved and beautiful child?
Pei Jiashu smiled shyly upon hearing his mother's praise.
He realized he had lost his composure and was too embarrassed to snuggle into Lin Rong's arms and wipe away his tears again.
The child squeezed out of Lin Rong's embrace, thought for a moment, and then held her hand tightly again.
"Mother, I'll take you to your bedchamber. I've left you many gifts, and I can even recite a book for you!"
Pei Jiashu was, after all, the crown prince of a country. It was really embarrassing for him to cry when he first met his mother.
The child, eager to impress Lin Rong, naturally wanted to take her to his bedchamber and show her his treasured possessions.
Lin Rong had been away from Pei Jiashu for five years. Feeling hesitant to get close to him, she expected to face her son's resentment and questioning, and was prepared to patiently coax him.
Unexpectedly, the child was well-educated by Pei Zan. Although he missed his mother, he was not angry at all about his mother abandoning him. After crying, he made up with Lin Rong as before.
Lin Rong also wanted to spend more time with Pei Jiashu. She glanced at Pei Zan and asked softly, "Should I go keep Yu Nu company?"
Pei Zan nodded: "Go ahead, I'll have someone prepare the meal."
After saying that, Pei Zan gave his son a cold look, his tone carrying the unique authority of an elder: "Your mother has just returned to the capital after a long journey. Be sensible and stop bothering her. Play for at most a quarter of an hour before coming to Chunhua Pavilion for a meal."
As the weather grew colder, Pei Zan, fearing his son would catch a cold, moved the meals to the Chunhua Warm Pavilion, which had an underfloor heating system.
Pei Jiashu listened to Pei Zan and obediently agreed.
On her way to the bedroom, Lin Rong bumped into Uncle Feng.
When Uncle Feng saw Lin Rong, his eyes reddened. He sighed and asked, "Where have you been all these years, Your Highness? Are you alright?"
Lin Rong replied with a smile, "It's all good, I didn't suffer any hardship."
Looking at Uncle Feng's gray hair, Lin Rong suddenly realized that five years really is a long time.
Uncle Feng looked at the mother and child with affection: "Ah, it's good that you're back. It's so nice for the three of you to live a peaceful life together."
After a few casual words, Lin Rong was led away by Pei Jiashu again.
Upon arriving at the bedroom, Lin Rong surveyed the bedding and furniture inside.
The furniture was all made of precious rosewood and mahogany, and the bedding in the bed curtains was soft and made of the finest silk.
Taking two more steps closer, Lin Rong saw a painting of a beautiful woman hanging on the wall, stamped with the personal seal of the two characters "Yuheng".
The woman in the painting has black hair and rosy lips, and is bright and charming. She is riding a scraggly horse amidst rolling waves of grass, with a determined look in her eyes, and galloping towards the distant mountains.
The painter's skill was superb; with just a few strokes, he was able to depict the woman's expression while riding a horse with remarkable realism, even capturing the folds of her clothes fluttering in the wind with perfect precision.
With just one glance, Lin Rong could recognize that this was the scene of her escaping at night on Sesame.
Pei Zan truly had the leisure to leave behind the paintings and calligraphy for his son, which happened on the night the two quarreled the most... If Pei Jiashu knew that Pei Zan was also in the painting, holding an arrow and planning to hunt down his mother, one wonders what Pei Jiashu's reaction would be.
Lin Rong sighed helplessly and decided to keep the matter a secret so as not to shatter her son's beautiful fantasy of "the two parents being a loving couple".
Pei Jiashu handed Lin Rong a lumbar support pillow, and then brought her some sweet and delicious snacks and a cup of tea.
Once Lin Rong was settled, Pei Jiashu laid out the beaded jewelry in front of her one by one for her to choose from.
"Does Mother have any hairpins she likes? Yu Nu has been saving them for a long time before finally collecting a few boxes."
Lin Rong touched it left and looked at it right, saying repeatedly, "Mother likes it all, thank you Yunu."
Pei Jiashu clapped his hands excitedly, his big, dark eyes filled with admiration for Lin Rong.
Lin Rong was speechless for a long time when she saw the mountains of gold and silver jewelry.
Lin Rong found it hard to imagine how a five-year-old child could miss his mother every day, patiently save up her belongings, and carefully put them into a box one by one.
For the past five years, even though Lin Rong missed Pei Jiashu, she dared not think of him all the time, fearing that the pain of longing would break her.
Even a strong adult like her deliberately forgot about her son, not daring to suffer the pain of unrequited love, but Pei Jiashu dared to endure the pain every day, thinking of Lin Rong day after day...
Children don't understand anything.
The child only knows that if even he doesn't remember his mother, one day, his mother will be forgotten by everyone.
-
At night, the family of three sat down to eat.
Although people in Liangzhou eat a lot of flatbread and noodles, Pei Zan was from the south and preferred white rice. He always had a regular meal at one of his three daily meals.
From then on, Pei Jiashu's tastes became eclectic from a young age. He could eat half a flatbread, half a bowl of rice, and even three or four lamb ribs.
Lin Rong didn't know what Pei Jiashu's temperament was like, so she didn't know where to start when she wanted to serve him food.
"Yu Nu, what do you like to eat? Do you have any dietary restrictions?"
Before Pei Jiashu could speak, Pei Zan rolled up his sleeves and added dishes to the mother and son's plate.
"The boy is tough and doesn't have many dietary restrictions, but he's a glutton and has a sweet tooth, so we have to be careful to prevent him from overeating and getting an upset stomach."
Pei Jiashu blushed at his father's words. He coughed lightly and put the largest piece of roasted mutton into Lin Rong's bowl.
"Mother, eat more meat so you can grow taller."
Pei Jiashu didn't know what Lin Rong liked to eat, but Pei Zan would always put meat dishes in his bowl to coax him to eat more and become stronger. Since he wanted his mother to eat and drink well, he naturally put all the best meat dishes in Lin Rong's bowl.
After finishing his meal, Pei Jiashu wiped his face and cleaned his teeth, then followed Uncle Feng back to the palace to bathe and change clothes.
The child, dressed in his brand-new undergarment and draped in a long fox fur cloak, came to play with Lin Rong.
Pei Jiashu hadn't seen Lin Rong for a long time, so he clung to her tightly, afraid that if he looked away for even a moment, Lin Rong would disappear again.
He took Lin Rong's hand, hesitated for a moment, and asked her shyly, "Mother...can I sleep with you?"
Pei Jiashu had never seen how other people's parents lived. In his memory, he always slept with his father. Now that he wanted to sleep with his mother, he naturally had to leave Pei Zan behind.
Lin Rong looked down at her son's expectant little face, reached out and pinched his chubby cheek, and said with a smile, "Okay! Yu Nu won't kick people when he sleeps at night, right?"
Pei Jiashu quickly said, "I won't kick him! Father said I'm a good sleeper, I can't kick him!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Rong was somewhat surprised: "You still sleep with your father at night?"
When she used to work as a servant in the Pei family, she saw the servants in the inner courtyard serving the young master of the mansion. When the young master went to sleep, it was mostly wet nurses and old women who accompanied him, rarely causing their masters any worry.
Even the wives rarely slept with their sons, let alone the men who were always out socializing and attending banquets.
Pei Jiashu nodded: "Every night, I come to Father's Funing Palace to sleep, and I rarely sleep in my own bedroom."
Lin Rong thought for a moment and then smiled and said, "Then Mother will sleep with you in the bedroom tonight."
Before Lin Rong could lead her son away, the palace gates swung open, and a cold figure walked in from afar. The man had his hair tied up with a jade hairpin, and his blue robes fluttered in the snow. It was Pei Zan, who was also washing and changing clothes.
Pei Zan approached, glanced at the mother and son, and understood.
This is to go to the East Palace to rest.
Pei Zan walked towards Pei Jiashu, stood behind the child, and took advantage of Lin Rong's inattention to give him a light kick.
Pei Jiashu shuddered, realizing what was happening: "Mother, Yu Nu can't sleep without Father to keep her company."
Lin Rong didn't see the father and son's subtle actions, but she remembered how clingy Pei Zan was at night, always wanting to hold her tightly in his arms. Lin Rong's back was sore from sleeping, and she didn't want to share a bed with Pei Zan. Today, thanks to Pei Jiashu, she could temporarily avoid him, which was perfect.
Lin Rong teased her son with a smile, "Yu Nu, do you want to sleep with Mother or Father?"
Upon hearing this, Pei Jiashu seemed to have encountered a great dilemma. He looked at his father, whose expression was indifferent, and then at his mother, whose expression was gentle, and hesitated.
...Father can sleep in every day, but Mother can't always.
After thinking it over, Pei Jiashu quietly took Lin Rong's hand and said, "Of course, if Mother wants to sleep alone with Yunu, Yunu can try it too."
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Pei Jiashu suddenly lost his balance, stumbled, and fell into his mother's arms.
Lin Rong quickly steadied the child and asked him worriedly, "What's wrong?"
"fine……"
Pei Jiashu was kicked, but he didn't feel any pain. He just thought he had "betrayed" his father, which made Pei Zan very angry.
Seeing his wife's worried expression, Pei Zan gently comforted her, "Our son has not been raised and cared for by his mother for many years. It is common for him to be weak and have difficulty walking."
After hearing this, Lin Rong was speechless, feeling a pang of guilt, and affectionately patted Pei Jiashu's head.
But after hearing this, Pei Jiashu suddenly turned around and glanced at his own father: Huh? Didn't Father say a few days ago that he was too heavy to carry, as strong as a calf? Where exactly is he so thin?
Even though Lin Rong didn't allow Pei Zan to sleep with her, the man still followed her into the bedroom with a nonchalant expression.
With so many new masters suddenly appearing in the East Palace's sleeping quarters, the palace servants dared not be negligent in the slightest. They hurriedly took out thick and large bedding, lit the underfloor heating, and lit calming incense in the Boshan incense burner.
Lin Rong was afraid her son would roll off the bed, so she ruffled his hair and tucked him into the innermost part of the bed.
Before she could even pat the brocade quilt, Pei Zan had already sat down, occupying the outermost side of the bed.
Pei Zan insisted on sleeping with her, so Lin Rong couldn't say much. She could only move to the middle to make room for the man to lie down and rest.
That night, Pei Jiashu slept with his parents by his side and soon fell asleep.
Lin Rong knew that Pei Zan was sensible and wouldn't do anything in front of their son, so she ignored his embrace and turned over to sleep.
Once his wife and children were fast asleep, Pei Zan opened his narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes in the darkness.
Pei Zan turned slightly to the side, propped his head up with one hand, and gently moved his long fingers to Lin Rong's shoulder and neck, caressing her skin and carefully feeling the trembling pulse beneath her thin skin.
Lin Rong was fast asleep, her long, thick eyelashes curled and trembled with each breath. The moonlight streaming into the hall illuminated her fair skin, which was as smooth and lustrous as mutton fat. Her clothes were slightly loose, and one could vaguely see the faded burn scar on her shoulder.
Pei Zan traced Lin Rong's eyebrows and eyes with his fingertips, then, as if remembering something, he lowered his head and placed a kiss on the back of her neck.
He didn't wake Lin Rong, but just watched her quietly for a long time.
Lin Rong's body temperature was boiling, her breathing was long and steady, and her pulse was strong... she was not a cold corpse.
She is alive and well; she has not been separated from Pei Zan by death.
Tonight's events are no longer a dream.
At this moment, the hidden pain that had plagued Pei Zan's chest for many years finally dissipated.
He gradually came back to life and felt a sense of relief.
Pei Zan held Lin Rong tightly, locking her in his arms and imprisoning her against his strong arms.
This time, he will not let go.
Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait, here comes the red gem! =3=
Whatever happens after that, don't worry, Rong'er won't abandon Yunu. However, Pei Zan's pursuit of his wife will continue, but that's the last storyline. It will definitely be finished a month from now, so please be patient.
This is a piece of information that will be useful later; just take a quick look to familiarize yourself with it. The information is referenced from "The Positive and Negative Aspects of History": "At the beginning of his reign, Emperor Qianlong worked diligently to govern the country and focused on handling state affairs, leaving no time for sightseeing. It was not until the sixteenth year of his reign (1751) that the country was basically well-governed, and Qianlong began to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, Emperor Kangxi, and made his first southern tour. Six years later, he made his second southern tour."
When the country is at peace, the emperor sometimes goes on tours to observe the people's conditions and does not stay in the palace all the time.
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