Upon hearing this, the old lady sighed and said, "It's such a far place, and the child is so young; he's suffered along with them."
Zhang Zhaoci said with a smile, "Madam, don't say you're suffering. I think this fellow is having a pretty good time there. You don't know, there's construction going on everywhere in Hexi right now. They're short-handed, so they've invited some soldiers from Yanmen Pass to help. This fellow loves to watch people build houses. He always has a smile on his face when he sees someone, and people like to give him things when they see him. They tease him and tell him to hide the things. Over time, he's even learned how to hide things. If any of the little trinkets or odds and ends in the house are missing, just ask him and he'll find them."
When Xu Bai heard his mother say that about him, he was a little embarrassed at first. He just thought those little things were really cute. But then he thought, who would really laugh at him when he was only a few months old? He was at the age where he could act cute and do whatever he wanted.
Hearing Zhang Zhaoci speak of him like that, and seeing the old lady smiling at him, he picked up the jade ornament that was about the size of his palm. He had a small cloth bag hanging on his body, which Xu Zhi had made for him to put some handkerchiefs, bibs and other things he might need on a daily basis. He lowered his head and tried to stuff the small ornament into the cloth bag, but he couldn't get it in no matter what he did. He couldn't help but tug at Zhang Zhaoci's sleeve.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Zhaoci quickly snatched the small jade ornament and placed it on the kang table. Everyone in the room burst into laughter. Madam Zhu said with a smile, "Our Seventh Young Master really does resemble our Fourth Madam."
Zhang Zhaoci said helplessly, "I've already told you all that you should hide your things when you see my Bai-ge'er from now on. If you really hide them, I won't be responsible."
Madam Yao smiled and said, "Second sister-in-law, I usually just come to the old lady's place to freeload. But now that you mention it, is our seventh young master planning to plunder the entire mansion?"
Zhang Zhaoci laughed and said, "It's not that bad. This guy just likes shiny things, and he also likes jade like this."
Upon hearing this, the old lady stuffed the small ornament into Xu Bai's small cloth bag and said, "Our Bai-ge'er is a young master of great honor in the Marquis's mansion, so he should like these nice things. Here, this is a gift from your grandmother to you."
That ornament was quite valuable, and it was also the old lady's favorite item. Zhang Zhaoci wanted to snatch it back from Xu Bai and return it to the old lady. Xu Bai twisted his small body to prevent Zhang Zhaoci from taking it, but he stood up by holding onto the kang table, walked shakily to the old lady's side, and suddenly threw himself into the old lady's arms, hugging her and kissing her several times.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
