Chapter 995 He is also my son
"Twist! Twist, twist, twist!"
The childish voice grew increasingly urgent, and the smile in that gentle voice deepened: "Don't rush, the meat is freshly cooked, it's still piping hot. Look, isn't it still steaming?"
"Twist and twist..."
The urgent voice finally lowered in a wronged tone after being gently comforted.
Then, a gentle laugh rang out from inside the tent.
The sound made Ashina Zhuxie's ears burn, and the fingertips that touched the tent flap felt as if they had been pricked by a needle. His whole body trembled, and his breathing became heavy.
Those inside the tent immediately sensed something: "Who's outside?"
"..."
Ashina Zhuxie took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and went inside.
Although it was a tent set up by the Turks during their march, once you step inside, the furnishings are nothing like what you'd expect from a lightly equipped army, or even the furnishings of a Turkic tent. Instead, they're all Han Chinese furniture and utensils, giving off a homely atmosphere.
A screen divided the tent into inner and outer sides. The inner side was naturally a private space with a bed, while the outer side had an exquisitely carved red lacquered low table, as well as blankets, crescent-shaped stools, and a bed specially sent from Luoyang. The reason for the slow progress of the army was self-evident.
Of course, the most important reason is the presence of two people, one big and one small, sitting on the tatami mat.
The adult among them was Lei Yu.
She was still tall and beautiful, but the sharp and resolute temperament she once possessed had been replaced by a special mature charm. She had become accustomed to wearing Turkic clothing, but in the past year, she had started wearing Han Chinese clothes again. Because it was getting hotter as she got closer to Xia Prefecture, she changed into a light red, thin long robe, which made her look even more plump and beautiful, like a rose in full bloom.
The moment Ashina Zhuxie pushed open the door and entered, the gentle smile in her eyes vanished completely, replaced by indifference and coldness, just like the receding tide.
Ashina Zhuxie's expression returned to calm and hardness as he walked up to her with his hands behind his back: "Has He Du not eaten yet?"
Upon hearing the name "He Du," the other little one on the bed immediately raised his face, grinned, and chuckled at him, saying in a clear voice, "Da da."
This was a chubby, round child, about a year old, with fair skin, but two unnatural blushes on his cheeks from the wind, which made him look quite cute. His eyes were round and big, with particularly large pupils, and when he looked at people, it seemed as if he could see into their souls. Every time Ashina Zhuxie met his gaze, in addition to feeling fond of him, a strange, inexplicable panic would well up in his heart.
But upon seeing him, Ashina Zhuxie immediately smiled.
This expression, which he wasn't very good at, only came naturally and gently when he was with this child. He stepped forward and, before Lei Yu could stop him, picked the child up from the bed and lifted him high above his head. The child loved this gesture and immediately kicked his legs excitedly, letting out a joyful laugh: "Haha, hahahahaha."
Ashina Zhuye, not content with that, tossed him up into the air and caught him again, teasing him, "Flying, flying!"
He Du screamed and laughed excitedly, and the two of them, one big and one small, had a great time playing together.
Lei Yu stood up, frowning, and said, "That's enough!"
Hearing her words, Ashina Zhuxie stopped and took the child back into her arms. Before she could hold him properly, Lei Yu snatched him back. The child played for a while and then broke out in a sweat. She could only take out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead and nose. Ashina Zhuxie walked to her side, smiling, but then said coldly, "What's wrong? Can't I even play with my own son for a while?"
Lei Yu paused in wiping away the sweat, then continued wiping the child's soft, sweaty hair, saying, "He just drank some meat broth; you'll make him vomit if you do this."
Ashina Zhuxie's expression softened slightly.
He walked around Lei Yu and sat down facing her on the other side of the bed. Turning his head, he saw a tray on the table next to the bed, containing freshly cooked meat that had been cut into small pieces but was still steaming.
Ashina Zhuxie asked, "Have you eaten?"
Lei Yu said, "Not yet."
"Go eat first."
“I ate after I finished feeding He Du.”
"Go eat first."
"..."
Seeing that she didn't respond, Ashina Zhuxie continued his actions, suddenly grabbing her wrist. Lei Yu was startled and immediately tried to pull her hand back, but found that the other's hand was like an iron clamp, impossible to break free from. She frowned, but never looked up to meet the eyes of the person so close to her. Only after a moment of silence did she put down the handkerchief in her hand and say, "Let go of me, I'm going to eat."
She agreed, but Ashina Zhuxie did not immediately let go; instead, she gripped his hand even tighter.
Just as Lei Yu's wrist was about to be burned by the scorching heat of his palm, he finally released her. Lei Yu breathed a sigh of relief, immediately got up and went to the door, instructing her maid to bring lunch. A short while later, the maid brought over freshly cooked meat soup and a bowl of steaming soup noodles. Lei Yu sat down to the side and slowly began to eat.
She ate very slowly, not because she was afraid of burning herself, but more like she didn't have much of an appetite.
Sitting on the couch, Ashina Hedu, who had been drooling over the fragrant pieces of meat, became even more drooly after seeing his mother start eating. He cried out pitifully towards the meat on the plate, "Twist, twist..."
Ashina Zhuye stared at Lei Yu for a while, then looked down at him when he heard his son's voice and said with a smile, "Come, Father Khan will give you meat to eat!"
As he spoke, he drew a small curved knife from his waist, stabbed a piece of meat from the plate, and put it into his mouth.
Upon seeing this, Lei Yu immediately put down his chopsticks: "Stop!"
Ashina Zhuxie stopped abruptly, then rushed over, picked up He Du, and looked at him warily: "What are you trying to do with that knife!"
Ashina Zhuxie frowned: "I'll give him meat to eat."
"We have chopsticks to eat meat."
"We Turks eat meat and use knives."
"How old is he?"
“When I was a child, even younger than him, the adults would use a knife to feed me meat.”
“That’s you, this is my son, he doesn’t need it.”
Ashina Zhuxie's thick, dark eyebrows furrowed into a knot. He slowly stood up, his tall figure like a mountain, casting a shadow that instantly enveloped Lei Yu.
He said, "He is also my son."
"...!"
As if struck by lightning, Lei Yu was startled, while He Du, who was being held tightly in her arms, was completely bewildered. He opened his eyes wide to look at her, then at Ashina Zhuxie, his small face showing utter confusion.
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