The woman showed a somewhat relieved expression on her face. She stood up and walked to the corner, pointing at the marks carved on the brick wall. "I measured him just last month. He's still a child after all. Don't be too harsh on him."
Xiao Nanhui stared at the incision in the corner of the wall, which never grew taller, and nodded seriously, "Yeah, maybe Huan Ge'er is growing up too fast. I almost thought he was a little adult."
The woman's face finally brightened, and then she remembered something and pulled Xiao Nan back into the house.
The small house in the side yard was elegant and unique, but the windows were all sealed and the door was specially modified. Someone would come to lock it at night. The woman didn't know any of this, as she was already asleep at that time.
"Look, this is the belt I just wove today. Although I'm not very skilled yet, it looks pretty good." The woman took a brocade belt from the loom in the house. The patterns on it were intricate and beautiful, and it was obvious that a lot of thought went into it.
"It's really beautiful." Xiao Nanhui praised sincerely.
"That's right. I've tried several different weaving methods." The woman was also a little proud, with a girlish innocence that didn't match her age. "When I become proficient, I can weave a few more for Ah Heng and the others. Jin'er is still young and can't use them. But Ah Zhun can use them. He will have his coming-of-age ceremony in two years, and it will be perfect for making a waist belt. Do you think he will be much fatter than he is now by then? I can weave more, and if they are too long, I can cut them off..."
The woman was lost in her own thoughts, her delicate fingers moving through the pile of colorful threads, as if she had already made up her mind how to arrange her next belt.
Xiao Nanhui listened silently and quietly put the piece of brocade ribbon into his sleeve.
Aunt Dai, whose real name was Xiao Dai, was Xiao Zhun's aunt, the eldest sister of Prince Shuo Xiao Qing, and Xiao Zhun's only living relative. Fifteen years prior, during the Yu'an Incident, only two of the Xiao family's hundreds of members survived. When Xiao Zhun found Aunt Dai, she had been dumped in a dry well within the mansion, barely breathing. After a month, she awoke, her memory frozen in time at the day of the tragic massacre, a memory she had never left.
Xiao Zhun knew that Aunt Dai's escape from death must have been due to the other party's negligence. If the news that she was still alive spread, the people who wanted to kill her would come soon. For long-term considerations, Aunt Dai never left the yard since Xiao Zhun established his own mansion.
Besides Xiao Zhun and herself, only Chen Si, Du Juan, and Shrike knew of Aunt Dai's existence. They would take turns visiting the side courtyard to take care of her daily life and talk to her, year after year without interruption. These things weren't Xiao Nan's turn to go back home, but she used to harbor some fantasies and would always come secretly. She felt that if she talked more often, Aunt Dai would eventually remember something.
However, many years have passed, and Aunt Dai always talks about the same things without any emotional fluctuations. If it weren't for the scar on her face, Xiao Nanhui would often forget what had happened to her.
But Xiao Nanhui knew that there was one person who would never forget him, and that person was Xiao Zhun.
Xiao Zhun provided Aunt Dai with the best food, clothing, and other necessities, yet he himself rarely visited the side courtyard. Xiao Nanhui felt that he might be afraid of seeing Aunt Dai's face and feeling guilty. This was completely unnecessary. When the murder occurred, he was just a young boy, not yet fully grown. It was a rare opportunity for him to escape the disaster, and it was impossible to undo the misfortune that had already happened.
Of course, that's not possible now.
In the future, it will be even more impossible.
This is Xiao Zhun’s eternal pain.
Xiao Nanhui felt that if the Xiao family hadn't undergone such a dramatic change, Xiao Zhun would be even more carefree and cheerful, and would love to laugh more. Although Xiao Zhun was still gentle and cheerful now, Xiao Nanhui felt that his smile often revealed loneliness and restraint, as if it would dissipate with the wind.
Since he was sixteen, Xiao Zhun's happiness has always been short-lived.
If there is any way to help him get out of that shadow forever, Xiao Nanhui is willing to give it a try.
What he couldn't do himself, she was willing to do for him.
Xiao Nanhui squeezed the piece of belt in his sleeve and reaffirmed the idea in his mind.
Xiao Zhun once promised to fight on the battlefield all his life just for the emperor's heart.
The same goes for her.
But this man is not that man, she has always been loyal to only one person.
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