Chapter 35 Mother and son.
From that day on, Lingyi was filled with both trepidation and anticipation, enduring Qin Lie's unpredictable temper, and wholeheartedly waiting for her birthday to arrive.
A few days before her birthday, Qin Lie indeed summoned Qin Huan from Jizhou, along with his other three children, Qin Xu, and Granny Shen.
Qin Xu scolded Qin Lie: "You were so careless to take so long to inform your family after suffering such a serious injury."
Qin Lie said, "I deliberately delayed until now because I was afraid you would worry. You have heard from the doctor that as long as you rest for a few more days, you will recover. It will not delay my archery and attacking cities and territories. You can rest assured."
Qin Xu said, "My father and I know your temperament, but my grandmother was worried and insisted on coming with me. My father had to persuade her in many ways before she stopped him."
Qin Lie said to Granny Shen, "Now that you've seen it, you should be at ease. Go back and tell Grandmother that I will return to Jizhou once I've fully recovered. However, I'm afraid I won't be able to go back for the New Year. Fortunately, the children have all come, so I might as well let them stay with me until the New Year before I leave."
Granny Shen said, "That's right. When I came, the old lady specifically instructed me to watch over you until you were fully recovered before I left. I was planning to spend the New Year here anyway."
Qin Lie said, "That won't do. I have nothing to do here, but my grandmother can't be without you for even a day. You should go back as soon as possible."
Qin Xu also tried to persuade him, and seeing that Qin Lie was in good spirits and that apart from his right hand being temporarily immobile, he was really not in any serious condition, but she was still worried about the elderly lady, so she reluctantly agreed.
Qin Xu and Granny Shen stayed here for two days.
Qin Lie had been fighting on the front lines for the past few months, while Qin Xu was handling government affairs in Jizhou. Even though they were both in the royal palace, there were many people and things to deal with. The two brothers hadn't spent time alone together like this in a long time. They slept side by side at night and talked a lot about the current situation in the world and the officials in Jizhou.
Granny Shen then helped Qin Lie organize the rules of the manor.
After the two left, the four children remained in the house.
Qin Lie sent someone to bring Lingyi back from outside the mansion, and she continued to live in the courtyard next door.
He rarely had this period of leisure. In the morning, he would instruct his two sons in martial arts, and in the evening, he would examine their studies. He was quite strict with them.
He was very lenient with his daughter, though he required her to read and write, but only to broaden her horizons and help her understand principles. He never made any other demands, let alone blamed her.
Seeing that the two seven- or eight-year-old children had not rested for a single day since arriving in Huangzhou, they had to practice martial arts before dawn and do their homework by lamplight at night.
Lingyi couldn't help but think that Huan'er would be like this when he grew up, and said to Qin Lie, "They are still young, why be so strict?"
Qin Lie said, “When I was their age, I was already riding and hunting with my grandfather. They grew up in the care of the women in the inner courtyard and were too spoiled. Besides, they come from wealthy families. If they are not strictly disciplined, they may become spoiled brats and ruin the family business. On the other hand, the girls will get married in the future. If they are always suppressed and become weak and obedient, they will inevitably be bullied in other people's homes.”
Lingyi said quietly, "So you know that girls will be bullied after they get married, yet you still treat me like this."
She sees Huan'er every day now, and while she is happy, she also feels heartbroken because she has missed so much of her child's growth, and she knows that they will be separated again soon.
Qin Lie scoffed, "You've fallen to this state because your father is incompetent and your brothers are useless; it has nothing to do with anyone else. Liu Jingrou, do you know what's happening to the princesses in the capital these days? Your seventh brother, in order to counter the Song family, has been trying to win over various states, sending all the princesses in the palace to marry into other states. Even the youngest, the thirteen-year-old twentieth princess, has been married off to a half-buried governor of Jiangzhou. Without me, would you be living a comfortable life? Or would you rather be like your sixteenth sister, having children and then going to Zhuozhou to be on equal footing with the Song family's daughters, becoming Xie Yu's concubine?"
Lingyi lowered her head silently, but her eyes seemed to have dried up; she couldn't shed a tear for herself or for her sisters.
Before she knew it, it was her birthday. No one celebrated, except Qin Xiaoshan, who instructed his servants to make a bowl of longevity noodles.
Lingyi ate half of it but couldn't eat anymore, so Qin Lie took it away and ate it all up. This scene was very familiar.
Lingyi couldn't help but ask, "When we first got married, did you disapprove of my extravagance? Is that why you ate my leftovers?"
Qin Lie said, “The soldiers on the front lines are starving, and the people in the drought-stricken areas are resorting to cannibalism, while the princess in the capital is so extravagant and wasteful. I knew then that the fate of the Great Han Dynasty was sealed.”
He spoke bluntly, and Lingyi did not try to refute him.
With her nephew declaring himself emperor in Zhuozhou and her elder brother holding down the reins in the capital, how could the Great Han Dynasty be considered to have run its course?
These words will only make us a laughing stock.
She then asked, "When will the Prince of Dingbei declare himself emperor?"
Qin Lie stared at her for a moment, then curled his lips into a smile and asked instead of answering, "What makes you say that, Princess?"
Throughout history, those who win the hearts of the people win the world. How could Lingyi, who has been among the people for so long, not see it clearly?
She said softly, "The country and its people have always belonged to the capable. On the day Your Highness reigns over the world, I only hope that the general will remember our past relationship and preserve some of the late Crown Prince's bloodline."
Qin Lie's smile turned mocking: "The princess has someone else in her heart, and she only feels disgusted by me. When have we ever had any past feelings for each other?"
here we go again.......
Lingyi was exhausted. She had been so desperate to die that she had said all sorts of hurtful things, and this person still held a grudge and would mock her from time to time.
He'd said it so many times these past few days that she was immune to it, but ignoring him would only make him angrier. She figured out a way to deal with it and brazenly said, "General, you naturally have no lingering feelings for me. It's just that I'm deeply in love with you, but I can't get what I want, and I'm tossing and turning all night trying to get rid of it."
He glared at her, and she looked back at him innocently.
In the end, Qin Lie gave in, turned around and went into the bathroom, saying in a harsh voice, "Come in and serve me a bath!"
When he was bedridden and unable to move, he didn't need her. Now that he's mostly recovered, he's become more demanding.
In reality, he had been able to write with both hands since childhood, and he was more skilled at wielding a sword with his left hand than his right. Eating and bathing with one hand was no problem for him either. He just wanted to torment her.
When Lingyi entered, he was already sitting in the bathtub, the water up to his chest. She only needed to use a towel to wipe his upper body, avoiding the wound.
As she wiped his body, he leaned against the tub, closed his eyes, and relaxed and indifferent. After she finished wiping him, she draped the towel over the rack. There was a whooshing sound of water behind her. When she turned around, she saw him standing up naked. His erect penis was grotesque and terrifying, completely at odds with his relaxed and indifferent demeanor.
Lingyi couldn't help but bite her lip and glare at him—there were bath towels and clothes by the tub, which he usually dried himself off and put on before coming out.
But he was shameless, looking at her with the same innocent expression she had just given. This time, Lingyi was defeated and fled the bathroom as if she were running away.
Qin Lie stayed in the washroom for a while before coming out. The wet nurse brought Huan'er over, and Lingyi was guiding him as he walked.
Qin Huan was born thin and small, but now he has grown into a robust and chubby boy with two little teeth. He drools when he opens his mouth. He is still a little over ten days away from being a year old, but he can already walk unsteadily. However, he is a bit lazy and will not get down if no one coaxes or teases him. He only wants to be carried.
Lingyi held a rattle drum in front of him and coaxed him to walk forward step by step with his arms outstretched. He walked unsteadily like a drunk little man, which Qin Lie found amusing.
As the child walked forward a little, Lingyi would step back a little. After walking seven or eight steps, perhaps due to exhaustion, Qin Huan fell to the ground and immediately burst into tears.
Lingyi was heartbroken and rushed over to help him up, holding him in her arms and comforting him.
He kept crying, and seeing Qin Lie frowning beside her, the wet nurse mustered her courage and said, "How about... I try?"
Although Lingyi was unwilling, she did not want the child to continue crying. As soon as Qin Huan snuggled into the wet nurse's arms, he stopped crying, lay on the wet nurse's shoulder, and grabbed the wet nurse's clothes. He looked very attached to her.
Lingyi watched from the side, her heart aching, her expression somber.
The wet nurse could see her disappointment and comforted her, "The young master is just sleepy. I'll take him to sleep and come back when he wakes up."
Lingyi forced a smile: "Okay, thank you for your trouble."
After the wet nurse took Qin Huan out, Qin Lie said, "When a child falls, he should get up on his own, but you all hug and hold him."
Normally, Lingyi might have argued back when she heard him say that, but now she was so sad that she didn't want to talk.
Seeing her like this, Qin Lie felt very impatient and, unusually, did not let her serve him in the room during the day.
Taking this opportunity, Lingyi went to the courtyard where Qin Huan lived.
As the wet nurse said, Qin Huan had already fallen asleep.
Normally, Lingyi could only see Qin Lie when the wet nurse brought the child to his room, and that was only for a little over half an hour a day.
Looking at her child's peaceful sleeping face, Lingyi sat by the bed, tears silently streaming down her face.
The wet nurse knew her identity and felt sorry for her. She comforted her with some words, saying, "The old lady likes the young master very much. She asks me to bring him over to her to see every day. The gifts she gives him are more than enough to fill several boxes."
Lingyi asked, "Where are the others?"
The wet nurse said carefully, "Although the general is often away fighting, he always visits the young master when he returns to the manor. A few times when I took the young master to the old lady's place, we happened to meet the prince, who praised our young master for being so handsome, the only one of his generation."
Seeing that she could only come up with these ideas after racking her brains, Lingyi knew that apart from these three people, the rest of the Qin family completely ignored Qin Huan.
That makes sense. Not to mention that the Princess Consort and Qin Lie's sister-in-law hate the Liu family to the bone, even the Prince of Dingbei, Qin Xu, was seriously injured by the late Emperor and would never recover. It would be difficult for the couple not to hold a grudge, let alone love him.
Lingyi felt increasingly guilty and sad. If she had known this would happen, she really shouldn't have brought Qin Huan into this world.
Qin Huan, unaware of her inner turmoil, remained fast asleep.
As dinner was approaching, Lingyi had to leave. On her way back, she walked to the rockery and heard children arguing. Without thinking of anyone else in the courtyard, she assumed it was Qin Lie's three children.
Qin Lie could control the wet nurse, but he couldn't control the child's mouth, so he never allowed Lingyi to meet with them. Lingyi turned around and hid behind the artificial hill.
The three of them walked and argued, and Lingyi quickly understood what was going on.
It turned out that three ponies were delivered today, and each of the three men chose one, with a specialist teaching them how to ride.
Everyone was initially happy, but after returning from their ride, they discussed it enthusiastically. Aunt Liu's son, Qin Can, praised his pony to the skies, even naming it "Chasing the Wind." Qin Shuo, upon hearing this, thought that Qin Can's pony did indeed seem to run faster than his, and decided to trade with Qin Can.
Qin Can was naturally unwilling and felt very wronged: "You guys picked it first, and the last one was left for me. Why are you trying to take mine now?"
Qin Shuo felt a little guilty. "How about I trade you something else? The short bow that Father brought back last time, didn't you like mine? I'll give you the short bow when we get back, and you can give me the Wind Chaser in return, okay?"
Qin Can said, "You always pick first, and when you're tired of playing with it, you want to trade it for my horse. Let me tell you, I don't want a shortbow, and I don't want to trade my Chasing Wind horse for yours!"
Qin Shuo was displeased, but he still patiently asked, "Then... shall I add two more of the glass beads that my grandmother gave me?"
"No trade!"
Before Qin Shuo could say anything more, Qin Yinrong stepped forward, "Second Brother, if you refuse to trade, I'll just steal it and leave you without a single horse!"
Qin Can was furious: "You dare!"
"What do I have to be afraid of? My brother is the eldest son of the legitimate wife. Everything in this mansion originally belonged to my brother. He can have whatever he wants. What right do you have to compete with him?"
“I am also my father’s son! This horse was originally given to the three of us by him!”
Qin Yinrong said smugly, "But my mother is the madam, and your mother is just a concubine! My wet nurse said that Father doesn't like her at all, and he definitely won't like you either! Believe it or not, even if you complain to Father, he will only side with us!"
Finally, Qin Shuo and Qin Yinrong left together, just as he had hoped, leaving Qin Can standing there, crying his heart out.
His wet nurse comforted him, "Don't be sad. You won't be staying here for long anyway. When we get back, we'll find a better horse than Zhui Feng."
Qin Can cried and asked, "Then what's the use? He'll still try to steal it if he sees it!"
The wet nurse was speechless when asked the question, and sighed deeply: "This is fate. Who told you not to be born in the womb of the late madam? You can only endure it until you get married, have children, and live in your own residence. Then no one can bully you anymore."
Qin Can cried for a long time, and was still wiping away tears when she was led away by the wet nurse.
Looking at his back, Lingyi seemed to see Qin Huan a few years later, who would probably be even worse than him.
Moreover, Qin Lie is in his prime, and he will have a principal wife and countless concubines in the future. How could he only have these three sons?
In the inner quarters of a palace, when there is no shortage of sons, a son's status always depends on his mother's, either because his maternal grandparents' family is illustrious or because his mother is favored.
Qin Huan not only lacks both of these qualities, but he is also in an awkward position in both of them. It is unknown how badly he will be bullied in the future.
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