In March, Xiao Silai suddenly fell ill.
When Xie Shiguan heard the news and went to visit him, the kid was curled up on the couch, holding a hidden bag in his arms, his back resting on a long pillow, and he looked sick.
His Highness sat down beside the couch and reached out to brush away the limp hair hanging on his cheek. The boy's face was burning, his eyelids were swollen from crying, and the corners of his eyes and cheeks were red.
He was already so sick, but His Highness still wanted to use his face as dough to knead, which made Si Lai depressed. He opened his eyes, looked left and right, but could not see the shadow of Chen Que. He was about to cry again: "Where is Aye?"
As Shen Que was still pregnant, Xie Shiguan didn't want him to worry, so he kept it a secret from him.
"Isn't it the same if Grandpa comes to see you?" His Highness quickly grabbed the kid's pouting mouth and stopped him from crying. "If you cry again, I will stuff your mouth with the cotton diaper that girl used."
Thinking that he was used to being scared by him, he was not very scared at this moment. However, when he heard what His Highness said, it seemed that Aye would not come to see him anymore. The boy was suddenly filled with sadness, and his eyes were filled with tears.
Xie Shiguan ignored him and turned to ask the nurse who was guarding the tent: "Why did you suddenly have a fever?"
The nurse lowered her brows and replied, "I think it's because the weather has been getting warmer recently, and the young master likes to stay cool, so he often takes off his coat and runs outside. The servants chase him and put it on him, but he is so active that he takes it off again in the blink of an eye."
She was afraid that the master would punish her for this, so she answered the whole story in detail: "Yesterday evening, the prince sneezed a few times. The servants saw that he had a good appetite and did not have a headache or fever, so they did not take it too seriously. But he got a fever at night and refused to take the medicine he boiled. He just kept asking for his father."
It is hard to prevent such a young baby from getting sick and having a fever. Considering that the wet nurses and maids in the room were all brought from the old palace, they are all very careful and meticulous, so it cannot be blamed on them for being careless in this matter.
"Bring the medicine." After Xie Shiguan gave instructions to the maid beside him, he immediately released his hand that was pinching the boy's lips.
As soon as he was freed from his shackles, the kid started crying loudly, kicking hard with his two short legs, and no matter who came forward to comfort him, it was useless.
"Aye wuwu," he cried, "I want Aye..."
While he was still crying, His Highness simply lifted the rebellious kid into his arms, then held him tightly, pinched the kid's nose, and then winked at the nurse who was carrying the medicine: "Hurry up and feed it."
The wet nurse immediately understood, took out a small jade spoon, and poured spoonful after spoonful of food into the kid's mouth.
Si Lai was crying loudly with his mouth wide open. When the medicine was poured down his throat, bubbles gurgled. His crying was temporarily stopped, but tears were still falling.
The bowl of medicine was soon finished.
When Chen Que hurried over, the kid was crying so hard that his heart was broken. He finally saw his father. Si Lai quickly got up and threw himself into Chen Que's arms.
"What are you doing here?" His Highness said with a hint of reproach, "If Tao Yiru hadn't warned you, would you still be unable to bear the wind?"
"It's only a few steps away," Shen raised his hand to argue, "where is the wind?"
However, Shen thought he was not that weak. He was not at home when Shengsi came, and he did not have so many people to take care of him. He often disobeyed Tao Yiru's medical advice, but did not suffer any serious consequences.
The kid just cried so miserably that even though the doors and windows of the main room were closed, he could still hear it vaguely. How could he still lie still?
Xie Shiguan knew that he was stubborn. Now that he had seen the boy suffering, he naturally could not persuade him to go back. Therefore, he had no choice but to take off his outer garment and put it on the mute. He said to him unhappily: "You are even more disobedient than this kid. If you get sick again in the future, you will have to bear the consequences yourself."
After saying this, His Highness ordered the maids in the room to close all the small windows.
Just looking into Si Lai's tearful eyes, Shen Que felt extremely distressed. The kid rubbed against his arms aggrievedly, repeating the word "bitter" over and over again.
Chen first wiped his face with a handkerchief, and when he heard the crying gradually stop, he took out a small bag of pine nut candies from his body like a magic trick. He put the bag in Silai's arms. Silai knew that there were delicious things in Aye's bag, so he stopped crying immediately.
Then he took out a pine nut candy from there. It was crystal clear amber in color and looked like a small rice dumpling. Silai stared at the candy and opened his mouth subconsciously.
Shen smiled, then immediately put the candy into his mouth.
"Is it still bitter?" Shen Que raised his hand and asked.
Si Lai shook his head with satisfaction. After eating the candy, most of the grievances in his heart disappeared.
Most children love sweets, but Shen was afraid that his child would get bad teeth, so he usually didn't indulge him in eating candy, and only allowed him to have two pieces after a long time.
"Dissolve it slowly," Shen warned him, "don't swallow it whole."
The kid nodded obediently, shaking his head and smiling: "Si Lai knows."
Seeing that the kid had finally settled down, Xie Shiguan stepped forward and said, "Okay, I'll watch over here, you go back to the house first."
Hearing that he wanted to drive Chen Que away, Si Lai's face suddenly became bitter again, and he pulled Aye's hand into his arms: "I don't want Aye to leave!"
"I've already given you a hug and candy to eat," His Highness said in an unquestionable manner. "How can I sleep in the middle of the night if you want me to take care of you?"
Shen Que tilted his head and used his free hand to lip-read: "I'll stay here with him all night."
The little girl didn't recognize anyone at the moment. As long as she wasn't uncomfortable being held, she would be willing to be coaxed by anyone. When he came to the main room, he asked Xiaobao's wet nurse to look after her first. It should be okay for her to be away from him for a night.
"No," His Highness said without thinking, "You haven't recovered yet. What if you get sick?"
Seeing that the mute was indifferent, Xie Shiguan simply said, "If you get sick and pass it on to that girl, all three of them will be sick. How can I take care of them alone?"
As he expected, Shen Que was a little shaken as long as the little girl was mentioned. Xiaobao is still very young now. If she gets sick, it will be difficult to take medicine. Shen Que heard at the beginning of the year that a child of a personal guard in the outer palace died of fever for several days in a row, so he dared not be careless at this time.
"I'll wipe Si Lai's body," Chen Que discussed with His Highness, "Let's coax him to sleep before we leave."
Xie Shiguan then took a step back and told the maids to bring in a basin of warm water. He did not allow the mute to touch water, so he took the trouble to wring out the cotton towel and handed it to him.
After wiping off the stickiness on his body, the kid naturally felt much more comfortable. He lay in Shen Que's arms and fell asleep soon.
Chen Que leaned over and gently tucked the kid into the mattress. Then he put his forehead against his and felt the temperature. He realized that Si Lai's face was not as hot as before, so he felt relieved.
"Go back," Xie Shiguan urged him again, "I am here to guard you, what else do you have to worry about?"
It was precisely because His Highness was guarding that Shen Que felt uneasy. The reason was that His Highness's grandfather had a long criminal record, so bad that even the wet nurses and maids who served Si Lai could not stand it and complained to him behind His Highness's back.
Shen took off the outer garment that was draped over his body and put it on His Highness again. Then he reminded him worriedly: "If he sweats at night, wipe him with warm water. He just gave him medicine. Be careful not to let him urinate on the bed..."
"Got it," His Highness embraced him and slowly pushed him out, "Don't worry, besides me, aren't there others in this room?"
Shen was bullied to the door by him, and looked back at the small couch where Si Lai was sleeping, and then turned his back to others and whispered: "Your Highness, don't bully him again today, don't make him cry."
His Highness did not admit that he had bullied the kid, and said stubbornly: "How could I have done that? It's obvious that the kid is too delicate to be teased."
Shen couldn't do anything about him, and just as he was about to turn around and walk out, His Highness held his shoulders and arms, pressed them against the door panel and kissed him.
The wet nurse and maids were all in the room, but Shen was afraid that they would see him, so he blushed very hard. Fortunately, when he looked over His Highness's shoulder, he saw that they were all gathered around the couch and not looking over here.
"Go to bed early," Xie Shiguan held his lower back, "Don't worry about this, do you hear me?"
Shen couldn't help but feel worried, but at this moment he nodded obediently: "If you can't stand it and want to sleep, send a maid to call me."
Xie Shiguan readily agreed and coaxed the mute back first.
In the second half of the night, His Highness dismissed all the maids and only left the wet nurse to sleep on the Luohan bed in the outer room.
The kid slept very restlessly. After a while, he was found lying on the quilt without paying attention. Xie Shiguan was afraid that if he made him cry, Shen Che in the main room would hear the noise and come to check on him in the middle of the night. Therefore, he did not do anything bad, but just gently stuffed the kid back into the mattress.
Not long after, Silai half-opened his eyes hazily: "Mom, I need to pee..."
"Can't you hold it in?" It was dark, and after enduring for so long, His Highness began to feel a little sleepy. "Wait until daybreak and go by yourself."
Thinking about it, he realized that the person lying beside him tonight was not his wet nurse, nor was it his father, but the evil grandfather who had done so many evil things. He endured the grievance and said, "But I can't hold it back any longer..."
Xie Shiguan had no choice. Since he had promised the mute to take good care of the kid, he couldn't go back on his word. So he stood up and carried the kid to find the chamber pot.
When he was taking off Si Lai's dirty clothes, His Highness discovered that he was sweating all over again. So after he finished peeing, Xie Shiguan asked for a basin of warm water and wiped the boy's body in a not-so-gentle manner.
For the first time, His Highness acted a bit like a grandfather. He probably felt hurt by his clumsy touches, but he didn't dare to retort.
Si Lai was a little afraid of the dark, and usually he would light a small candle in the corner of the room before sleeping. Today, His Highness asked people to blow out all the lights in the room. The boy was a little scared, but hesitant and dared not say anything.
After a long while, he finally mustered up the courage to speak to Xie Shiguan: "Grandpa, hold my hand."
His Highness didn't understand: "What?"
"Holding Silai's hand while sleeping..."
In the dark night, Xie Shigu could not see Silai's big blinking eyes and could not help but chuckle: "Are you scared?"
He was not afraid of the dark, but it was all because of the lies His Highness made up about monsters to trick him. He was so scared that he dared not even show his toes when he slept, for fear that his toes would be bitten off by the "monster under the bed" as his grandfather called it.
But Si Lai was also a little stubborn in his heart, and was afraid that Xie Shiguan would find fault with him and make fun of him, so he was a little unwilling to admit it, and only replied: "A little bit, just a little bit."
His Highness smiled and stretched out a finger for him to grab.
He was afraid that it was too late and he would regret it, so he quickly grabbed grandpa's index finger. Although he was not very old, he was very sensitive and he immediately felt that grandpa's smile just now was not a smirk, nor a mockery.
Taking advantage of this rare moment of warmth, Xiao Silai simply propped himself up from the mattress and quickly kissed his grandfather on the cheek.
In response, he was pinched on the cheek: "Go to sleep quickly, you are such a fuss."
…
It was just dawn that day when Shen Que came over quietly to take a look.
I saw that His Highness had taken up most of Silai's small couch, so that the kid had to sleep in the corner. Silai had already woken up by now, and was trying hard to pull the quilt up.
After finally pulling the small mattress up a little, Shen Que saw him draping most of the mattress over His Highness.
Shen smiled, Silai saw him and was about to shout, but saw Aye raised his index finger in front of his lips.
So he imitated Chen Que and gestured: "Aye, I'm fine, I don't feel uncomfortable anymore."
Shen came forward and felt his forehead with the back of his hand. It was indeed not hot anymore. "Come, Aye will carry you to have breakfast."
Si Lai nodded obediently and was about to throw herself into Chen Que's arms, but suddenly stopped, pulled Chen Que over, and pointed at Xie Shiguan's cheek.
So His Highness was in a daze, and only felt someone touching both cheeks. One side had the unique scent of Chen Que, and the other side was wet, as if it was stained with saliva.
I walked out of the house and went to the corridor.
"Grandpa held Silai's hand to sleep last night," Chen heard Silai whisper in his arms, "Grandpa is also a good grandfather..."
He curled his lips: "It's just a little bit bad."
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The story of a family of four ends~
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