Chapter 95 The warmth in my palm seemed to...
The warmth of his palm suddenly seemed to turn into scorching hot coals. Xie Zhuo curled his fingers and fled in panic.
The cold evening wind blew across his face, dispelling the intoxicating warmth of the room and bringing him back to his composed demeanor as perceived by outsiders.
But only Xie Zhuo himself knew that the pounding of his heart was still echoing in his ears.
And then the sound of footsteps behind them completely disrupted their plans.
The moment he turned around, he subtly shifted his feet slightly to the side, blocking the draft from the disheveled figure at the doorway.
A small figure stood inside the door, two steps away from him.
He tried to speak, but his throat felt dry, and even the most eloquent mouth felt like it was stuffed with a wad of wet cotton, rendering him unable to utter a sound.
My gaze habitually lingers on the figure in front of me.
Normally, he barely reaches his chest, but now, whether it's because he's not wearing shoes or because of the distance, he looks even smaller. Xiao Bao is already shorter than other children his age, and now he looks even smaller.
In the past few days, my mind, which had been occupied by a series of trivial matters, has calmed down, and a sense of pity has emerged, like a spring with impurities, constantly gushing out a gentle stream.
Xie Zhuo's eyes shifted slightly, focusing his gaze on the petrified marks on Xie Baoqiong's skin, trying to shake off this inappropriate emotion and fill in the gap in his vision.
A deliberate coldness appeared in his eyes as he constantly reminded himself that the human form was merely a manifestation of a demon, and the form before him was just an illusion.
My violently beating heart seemed to gradually calm down, and the spring of water in my heart gradually froze.
All the tenderness and love I felt day and night were buried deep within, unable to surface.
His heart seemed to belong to him again.
Xie Zhuo calmed his breathing and spoke in a steady, emotionless tone:
"Who exactly are you? And what is your purpose?"
The sound was like solid ice, but beneath the thick layer of ice, cracks were spreading inch by inch in the dark.
Xie Baoqiong, who had impulsively chased after him, was staring blankly at Xie Zhuo's boots when she suddenly heard a familiar voice with an unfamiliar tone. Her face looked up with a blank expression.
Xie Zhuo's voice, like the damp weather after the rain, clung to him, leaving him feeling wet. It took him a long time to realize that Xie Zhuo would never coax him again.
The scent of gardenias still lingered in the center of my palm, but the gardenia tree in the yard had long since passed its blooming season.
Xie Baoqiong rubbed the hem of her clothes with dry fingers, trying to get the same smell on herself, while her eyes kept lingering on Xie Zhuo's face.
But he couldn't understand anything.
Xie Zhuo's exquisite face was like uncarved white jade, devoid of any outward emotion, showing no mercy. All the emotions inflicted upon him were coldly withdrawn as his identity was exposed.
His lips moved silently, as if to ask if he could pretend he didn't know, or if things could be the same as before.
But without that mask as a safety net, he couldn't utter a single word when the words reached his lips.
Finally, he could only lower his eyes and speak with a hint of self-abandonment:
“I am not Xie Baoqiong, I am Lin Mushi.”
Beneath the heavy self-deprecation lay a deep sense of grievance that could overwhelm both him and Xie Zhuo.
It was clearly Xie Zhuo, it was clearly Xie Zhuo who forced that title onto him, so why did his heart feel like he had eaten a bad fruit when things were restored to normal?
"I told you..."
He twisted the floral pattern on his clothes into a crooked shape, with overlapping wrinkles, no longer a complete circle.
Xie Zhuo's gaze met his, and he habitually reached out to smooth out the pattern that symbolized reunion.
But as soon as he raised his hand, he realized that the distance between them was only two steps, yet it felt like an insurmountable chasm.
They were no longer in such a close relationship, and he had no right to do these things.
The raised hand eventually fell back to its side.
The moonlight was soft and gentle. Xie Baoqiong stood in his shadow, the layers of shadows covering her mottled face, softening the inhuman strangeness on it, causing Xie Zhuo to be momentarily dazed.
His heart clenched suddenly, and at the same time, a feeling of regret filled his entire chest.
His rational mind told him that this was a mistake, and these emotions stemmed from the feelings he had placed on the figure in front of him.
As the truth comes to light and time passes, it will naturally fade away. He shouldn't have made the same mistake again and again. This feeling is wrong and irresponsible towards the person in front of him and towards his child, whose existence is uncertain.
But before he could react, his footsteps had already taken a step.
But the figure that was only a step away from him suddenly vanished and instead coalesced into a stone tablet half the height of a person.
A familiar, youthful voice emanated from the stone tablet:
"Lord Xie, I am a demon, transformed from the tombstone of Princess Huayang..."
After Xie Baoqiong explained his reasons for going down the mountain, the moment he regained his human form, the one-step distance between him and Xie Zhuo disappeared.
Xie Zhuo's hand hovered loosely beside his face, trembling slightly, his eyes filled with an undisguised mixture of astonishment and grief.
With Xie Zhuo leaning slightly forward, he was very close to Xie Zhuo's chest. Xie Zhuo's heartbeat was loud and clearly heard by him. It sounded very similar to the heartbeat he heard when he first talked to Xie Zhuo. It was a sad sound.
A hint of confusion flashed in his eyes. Was Xie Zhuo sad because of him?
The next instant, his nose caught the dampness in the air, a different kind of dampness than after the rain, mixed with a salty and astringent smell.
Then, there was the moist touch on my cheek.
A drop of water fell on his cheek.
He looked up, wondering if the roof was leaking.
But the moment he looked up, what first caught his eye was the glimmer in Xie Zhuo's eyes.
Round tears welled up in Xie Zhuo's eyes and rolled down his cheeks.
The crescent moon reflected in the sky looked just like a jade plate falling from the heavens during a time of family reunion.
Xie Baoqiong's pupils widened uncontrollably, completely reflecting the full moon.
The jade disc hanging high above his eyes suddenly made him not want Xie Zhuo to pluck the moon for him anymore.
Xie Baoqiong leaned her head forward, pushing against Xie Zhuo's hand that was loosely covering her cheek, buried her face in Xie Zhuo's chest, and opened her arms to hug the person in front of her.
He wanted Xie Zhuo, he wanted Xie Zhuo to continue to fuel his greed.
Tears continued to fall.
It smashed onto the bluestone bricks underfoot, and also onto the bluestone in front of it.
Xie Zhuo felt the body suddenly thrust into his arms and the force gradually tightening around his waist. His hands, which had been pushed away, went slightly numb, but he followed his heart and placed them on the fluffy head in his arms.
Forest stones, tombstones in the woods...
Yes, Xiao Bao had already revealed his identity.
It's always been him!
Did he really never doubt Xiao Bao's identity from beginning to end?
No, that's not it.
Xie Baoqiong's appearance was too rushed in both timing and manner.
And that face, so coincidentally similar.
Suspicion was his first reaction.
However, Xie Baoqiong's identity can only be found through her household registration and some simple information, which is enough to leave no room for error.
The best course of action would be to wait for Magistrate Xu, who is handling the same case, to finish his trial before sending someone to contact Xie Baoqiong.
If Xie Baoqiong is indeed a pawn used by someone with ulterior motives to deal with him, she will eventually appear before him smoothly under the arrangement of that person. At most, she will suffer some physical pain in prison and can be used to stage a self-inflicted injury in front of him.
However, for that tiny chance, he still managed to see Xie Baoqiong before Lord Xu began his interrogation.
In that instant, he spotted a dirty little child. The only thing on his face, covered in grime, was his pair of wet, clear eyes, as pure and innocent as a newborn calf's. They were the only thing that didn't resemble him.
Perhaps at that moment, his heart softened without him even realizing it.
In the art of war, winning hearts and minds is of paramount importance, but he lost the initiative at the very first meeting.
As a result, every subsequent move was off-target.
After Xiao Bao was led out of the cell, he realized that he had lost control of his emotions for a moment. In order not to be noticed, to hold the remaining ground, and to regain the initiative, he hurriedly glanced at the figure that made him feel defeated with just one look.
At the same time, I felt a sense of joy at the thought that even the smallest possibility could be amplified.
During the interrogation, Xiao Bao was even more... simple-minded (incredibly naive).
Or perhaps the disguise was so good that he couldn't see any flaws.
After a series of questions, he handled the situation with ease, and even had time to carefully appreciate the person in front of him, who was different from a portrait or an imagination, but a living person standing in front of him.
His mind went blank for a moment only when the safety lock was brazenly displayed.
In that instant, he realized that no matter what, the boy in front of him, or rather the person behind him, was inextricably linked to what happened back then.
He stopped the farcical interrogation and began to consider taking the man away.
Taking away an innocent person is not difficult; what needs to be considered is where to place Xie Baoqiong.
His initial idea was to send someone to place Xie Baoqiong in the manor or another residence in the capital.
After all, he didn't intend to involve Xie Rongjing in this game.
But when the carriage passed by Xiao Bao, he saw that lonely figure, so he still told the driver to drive the carriage to the place Xiao Bao was sure to pass and forcibly invite the person into the carriage.
Seeing Xiao Bao trying to escape, he subtly revealed their identities.
Deep down, I seemed to be even more certain of that possibility.
A hidden joy of gaining and losing something arose in his heart, but the fear of losing it also made him feel a bit despicable. Since it was delivered to him, he didn't care if it was a pawn or a real fool, he would keep it.
But in an instant, he heard the sound of rats stealing food from the carriage.
Looking up, I saw a large rat grinding its teeth.
He reached out to snatch the cornbread, but inexplicably kept it, even offering his own tea and snacks instead.
Xiao Bao ate happily, and some of his suspicions seemed to have been swept away.
But Xiao Bao withdrew his hand when he reached out again, and then coughed incessantly because of his words.
The tea he had just brewed was also given away as a loss.
Strangely, he felt no annoyance; instead, he began to enjoy the brief intimacy.
Xiao Bao couldn't avoid it in time, leaving only a trace of warmth in his palm.
Time slipped away amidst this turbulent emotion, causing him to miss the opportunity to instruct the driver to go elsewhere.
Or rather, he had already decided where Xie Baoqiong would go.
The move seems to have been another mistake.
In their subsequent interactions, Xie Baoqiong exhibited some eccentricities, but none of them were particularly offensive.
His growing suspicions were gradually diminishing.
Even when he noticed that Xiao Bao wasn't very skilled with chopsticks and could only grasp them simply during their first meal together, he didn't show any unusual reaction.
They even comfortably enjoy the life of raising young children.
A vivid, genuine feeling, a brief compensation for the time he had missed.
Even when the princess reminded him, he still allowed himself to consciously indulge in it.
Whether it's real or fake, does it no longer matter in that brief moment?
It was unclear when, but a different emotion crept into his scrutinizing gaze.
While examining Xie Baoqiong, he would also depict Xie Baoqiong's appearance to guess her past life, and feel sorry for Xie Baoqiong because of those past events that are difficult to verify.
Or perhaps it was on the day she first met Xie Baoqiong that the first thing she saw was a pair of wet eyes that looked completely unlike her own.
...
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Author's Note: —
Congratulations to Xie Zhuo for achieving the feat of crying at his wife's grave in front of his son (what a hell!).
—
My cold just won't go away. I was feeling dizzy when I wrote the last chapter, so I revised it today.
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