Chapter 81 Little Four Seasons' Wish
The old ancestor was determined to die.
The two adults each had their own worries, which caused little Siji, who lived next to them, to also have her own troubles.
Instead of snowing in Shijing, the wind picked up. The sky was covered with dark clouds, and the wind blew in gusts, just like the fluctuating moods of the four seasons.
The people of Shijing were suffering terribly. In the past, it was just cold all the time, but now it was hot and cold intermittently. The snow hadn't melted, and the wind was blowing, causing the windows and doors to creak and rattle, making the people of Shijing extremely distressed.
Duan Jiuyou and Di Jiang opened their eyes and immediately looked for Siji. The little guy knew he had caused trouble and had disappeared somewhere. Both the Ao Clan and the Huang Clan mobilized their forces but couldn't find the child. Finally, Di Jiang glanced at the rafters of his own house and found the naughty kid that everyone thought would definitely hide outside.
The child lay on the roof beam, looking at them listlessly, refusing to say a word.
Di Jiang and Duan Jiuyou couldn't figure out the child's temperament, so they could only sit below and wait in silence.
The child lay there until noon, then said with a pitiful expression that he was hungry.
Di Jiang narrowed his eyes, really wanting to grab her directly, but what if she cried? What if she got scared?
It's just cloudy outside right now, but it might rain, snow, or even hail later.
"Give her something to eat."
With the Lord of the Wasteland speaking, naturally someone would take the order and prepare.
The food arrived, but the little one still wouldn't obediently go down to eat. With a flick of her hand, she conjured a small basket with a rope tied to it. She lowered the basket down, grabbed one end of the rope, and said, "Put it inside."
The servants looked towards the Emperor's domain, while the Emperor looked towards the four seasons.
Dijiang's mother was strict in teaching him etiquette, always requiring him to have proper manners. He had to eat slowly and deliberately at the table, and eating while sitting on the roof beam was considered improper.
Duan Jiuyou saw that Dijiang wanted to control Siji, and stopped him before he could say anything, saying, "Listen to her, put it inside."
After speaking, he reassured Di Jiang: "Take it slow, what's the rush? Siji is already afraid of you, if you scold her again, won't she panic even more?"
The weather in the Ten Realms during this period is truly like a child's face; under such weather, people are either sick or resentful, as if a calamity has descended upon them.
Unfortunately, since they brought it in themselves, they have no choice but to "manage" it themselves.
The two patiently waited for Siji to finish eating, and then waited for her to put down her small basket so that the servants could clear away the bowls and chopsticks. Dijiang was about to speak, but Duan Jiuyou, worried that Siji was afraid of him, spoke first.
"Why are you unhappy? Although the weather in the Ten Realms is not good, you can improve it yourself. You have plenty of food and drink, and we've already made more than a dozen new outfits for you. If you have any needs or want anything, you can tell us, and as long as it's reasonable, we will satisfy you."
Siji lay on top of them, looking at them as if weighing her options in her mind. After a while, she said, "Really, you can ask for anything?"
Duan Jiuyou remained principled: "Tell me first. I can't expect you to pluck the moon and the sun from the sky, can I?"
The four seasons said, "I don't want any of that, I just—"
The little guy hesitated for a moment, then mustered his courage and said, "I just want a father and a mother."
Yesterday, when she went out, she met some children of the same age. The group played together and had a great time. One of the children even invited her to his home for lunch.
During the meal, the child's parents naturally asked her whose child she was. She suddenly became speechless, unable to say where she came from or what her parents were.
That feeling was very uncomfortable, as if she were an unattended wild child. She finished her meal under their sympathetic gazes, no longer in the mood to play, and no longer wanting to be among people.
But at her age, how could she bear the loneliness? After enduring several hours of solitude alone, she firmly resolved to want her parents back.
She wanted a pair of parents; with parents, she would have a place to belong and could have a home of her own, just like all other children.
Since she had arrived at the abandoned house, she was naturally a child of the abandoned house. The only two owners of the house were Duan Jiuyou and Di Jiang.
so--
She said to Duan Jiuyou, "I want Sister Duan to be my mother and Lord Huangzhu to be my father, but you both seem to have your own things on your minds and haven't decided to be together yet. How can you be my parents?"
It was very quiet under the roof beams; clearly, neither of the two "adults" had expected Siji to make such a request.
When Siji didn't get a response, she continued, "Back on Siji Ridge, Father was freezing to death. Mother carried him on her back and hugged him, and even used a knife to draw out his heart's blood bit by bit for him to drink. At that time, I felt that Mother must have loved Father. Even if she didn't, she must have considered him a very important person in her heart. Father had a deep-seated grudge against Tiansheng. When Mother returned to Tianjing, Father was worried about her safety and went to Tianjing alone from the Tenth Realm. It's clear that he was very concerned about Mother."
These four seasons are quite clever; regardless of whether Duan Jiuyou and Di Jiang acknowledge them or not, they changed their way of addressing them to "Father" and "Mother".
After saying that, he sighed again, looking very distressed.
"I really don't understand your adult affairs. You're practically inseparable, yet you each hold back, unwilling to take the next step. Can't you just be together?"
As soon as she was worried, the wind picked up outside. Di Jiang straightened his robe, which was being blown up by the wind, and no one could understand his thoughts beneath his cold and indifferent expression.
He didn't linger; to be precise, he had already walked up to Duan Jiuyou. However, whether or not they were together wasn't up to him; the person who decided their relationship was sitting right next to him.
She never responded to him; he advanced while she retreated, always just one step away.
The crystal goblet on the table was empty, and someone below refilled it with a sweet drink, I think it was called plum fruit drink, which Duan Jiuyou liked. He wasn't very quick-witted; he could only prepare one drink at a time. Preparing more than one would make him flustered. Now, he just followed her tastes.
It seems that my status is declining day by day.
He took a sip of his sweet drink and wondered how Duan Jiuyou would respond to Siji.
She always described their relationship as one of ruler and subject, and even though they ate and slept together, the explanation given to the outside world was that they were taking care of each other.
The most likely answer to the question of why Siji wants her parents is that she promised to find a more suitable fairy couple for the child.
"Father and Mother have been together for a long time. If you want your parents, from now on, I will be your mother and he will be your father. Wouldn't you be happy?"
—I didn't expect to guess wrong this time.
Duan Jiuyou gave the four seasons a very concise answer.
Di Jiang tightened his grip on the cup, then silently looked at Duan Jiuyou.
Those all-seeing eyes immediately understood that she was trying to stabilize the seasons, yet she still felt a fleeting, intense joy when she said, "We are together now."
This joy comes from the long wait and the most sincere expectation from the depths of my heart.
She always knew he wanted to be with her, but she only pretended to be naive in front of him. He hinted at it in every way and tried his best, but she readily agreed in front of Siji.
A self-deprecating smile slowly crept onto his lips. He understood better than anyone why she had acted so decisively.
Outside, wind and snow raged, and the people of the Ten Realms suffered every single day. Ingots were hard to earn; commoners outnumbered clans, and even charcoal was unaffordable.
Unfortunately, Siji couldn't control her emotions, and the only solution was to go along with her wishes.
So Duan Jiuyou accepted it. She showed him her great sense of righteousness, her willingness to "sacrifice" herself, and her prioritization of the people. She was truly an admirable ancestor of the Ao clan!
Why isn't Father saying anything?
Siji noticed that something was wrong with the Imperial Territory.
Di Jiang smiled faintly and looked at Duan Jiuyou.
"Have you thought this through? Once this title is agreed upon, it will spread throughout the entire Ten Realms. A simple title of godfather and godmother, through word of mouth, could very well turn Siji into our own flesh and blood. I haven't even married you yet, and you already have such a big child. This reputation won't sound very good."
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