Chapter 102 Three Rules Re-established
Cao Cao raised his robe, tore off a large piece of cloth from his white undergarment, and handed the clean cloth to the old woman.
I stared intently at the small lump of flesh that the old woman was holding, baring my teeth and claws, shouting, "Give it back to me! It's mine! Give it back to me! It's mine!" After a struggle, I collapsed helplessly to the ground.
"Xiaoxiao..." Cao Cao hugged me, his voice even a little hoarse.
I was powerless to shake off his hand, and could only look around pleadingly, shouting incoherently, "Zhao'er... Zhao'er... Baozi can't be a stillborn baby, he can't! Give Baozi to me... give him to me..."
Zhao'er, who had just hurriedly drawn water from the lake, was startled to see me with my hair disheveled. She didn't even notice the water spilling from her hands. She instinctively and obediently snatched the small lump of flesh from the old woman's hand, took off her own coat, carefully wrapped it up, and put it in my arms.
I held my breath and looked at the tiny person in my arms. He was so small, so fragile...
Her little face was wrinkled and pink, a bit ugly, but...so cute.
However, his eyes were still closed. He clenched his tiny pink fists, remaining motionless and not crying.
Sunlight filtered through the dense foliage of the forest, casting a golden-pink hue on his rosy cheeks, like an angel's halo.
“Baozi…” I touched his little face, it was warm, and then I checked his breath with trembling hands. “Baozi, Baozi… he’s breathing! He’s breathing!” I looked up in ecstasy, but saw the old woman’s cold eyes.
"He shouldn't have shown up," the old woman said, looking at me as if sighing.
I froze. Who was she? Did she know I wasn't from this era?! Could it be... just because I'm not from this era... that my steamed buns have no right to survive?
"Baozi, Mommy knows you're alive. Open your eyes and look at Mommy. It was so hard for Mommy to give birth to you..." I lowered my head, tears falling onto his rosy little face. "Listen to Mommy's promise, I'll never make things difficult for you again. I'll do whatever you say..."
"Baozi..."
"Baozi, open your eyes and look at your mother..."
Tears streamed down my face as I murmured to myself, "That tiny life that has been inside me for nearly ten months, he is my child, my family..."
As I was murmuring to myself, I suddenly felt a slight warmth on the tip of my index finger. I was startled and opened my tear-blurred eyes to see a pair of bright, sparkling eyes. Those eyes were as black as jade and as beautiful as the stars in the sky. Those star-like eyes were staring intently at me, and a small, pink mouth was sucking on my fingertip with a soft, sucking sound.
"Bao...baozi?" I was stunned and couldn't come to my senses.
Subconsciously, I gently scratched his chubby, pink chin, and the little guy actually giggled.
I was stunned for a long time, then I started laughing like an idiot. As I laughed, tears streamed down my face.
"You wretched child." A cold voice came from the old woman.
My heart sank slightly, and I instinctively hugged the steamed bun tighter.
“When you can cry out in pain, that pain is not really pain. There is a kind of pain that makes you so painful that you can’t even cry out. When you can cry, that is not really sadness. There is a kind of sadness that makes you unable to even cry…” The old woman spoke softly, saying some seemingly plausible words, “This child should not have not appeared in my life. Let me take him away.”
I lowered my head and remained silent, stubbornly holding the steamed bun. Looking into the little guy's eyes, which were as clear as black jade, I gently pressed my forehead against his, my gaze so tender it seemed as if you could squeeze water from them.
I will never abandon you, never leave you alone, never.
I will cherish you and protect you, because... you are a child with a mother.
"Where did this crazy woman come from? My child is not someone you can just take away!" Cao Cao's voice rang out calmly, yet it was indescribably cold.
"Prime Minister! Wen Chou has been slain! Yuan's army has fled in disarray!" Xu Chu rode up from a short distance away and reported.
Cao Cao gently draped his outer robe over me, then lifted me up in his arms, carrying the little bun I was holding close.
"Pass down the order to retreat to Guandu."
"yes!"
I was held in Cao Cao's arms, but I only looked down at the little bun in my arms. That tiny life was so incredibly miraculous. The pain of just being on the verge of death seemed so insignificant at this moment.
Those crystal-clear, black eyes blinked at me, so pure, like those of an angel.
But... he didn't cry?
Isn't it said that all newborn babies cry?
"This little thing isn't crying?" Cao Cao's soft laughter suddenly came from above. "My child is indeed extraordinary."
Extraordinary?
I curved my lips into a smile, stretched out my hand, and gently slapped Baozi's pink and tender little bottom.
My little dumpling wrinkled its nose, blinked its black, jade-like eyes, and then opened its tiny mouth and burst into tears. It cried so hard, as if it were accusing its mother of breaking her promise. She had just sworn that she would take good care of it, protect it, and never bother it again... but in the blink of an eye, she changed her mind.
Hehe, this is just a small punishment to warn them. They actually ignored our "three rules" and just jumped out of the battlefield like that. So, integrity is very important, right? You broke your promise once, and I broke my promise once, so we're even.
So... let's make a new agreement, and this time, we must keep our word.
First, you must grow up healthy and strong...
Second, you must grow up healthy...
Third, you must grow up healthy and strong...
Silently, I held his little hand and gently pressed my fingerprint on it. If you dare to break your promise again, see how your old mother punishes you!
I gently stroked his little face with my hand and said softly with a smile, "See, he cried... Baozi is very ordinary, nothing extraordinary. He's just an ordinary child, so... he will grow up healthy and happy like an ordinary child."
Cao Cao was speechless. To prove that Baozi was ordinary... she actually...
He was wrong... The truly extraordinary one was the woman in his arms... What exactly was going on in her head...?
"If you don't let me take him away now, you'll regret it later... You'll experience what true heartbreak is." The old woman behind me suddenly spoke.
I froze slightly, then buryed my head in the sand like an ostrich, ignoring everything.
That old woman looks like a child trafficker, Baozi. Let's ignore her, okay?
Baozi blinked and then smiled sweetly at me again.
Right, you think so too? I pouted, leaned down, and kissed him. And so, I stole Baozi's innocent first kiss. Hehe…
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