Chapter 197 Returning home, Tun Tun forgot...
When I left home, osmanthus blossoms covered my head; now, eight months have passed.
The bright sun hung high overhead, its light warm yet scorching. Zhang Ting dismounted, squinting slightly from the intense sunlight. She quickly wiped away her sweat and handed the reins to a servant.
There was originally another group of people, but she ran fast and left them all behind. "When Lady Zheng comes back later, tell her to come see me first."
The servant bowed and led the horse back to the stable.
She walked straight in, and before she even entered, she heard the joyful laughter of children coming from the courtyard. Their innocent and carefree laughter was like clear spring water seeping into her heart, sweeping away all her fatigue, and she couldn't help but smile.
The little pig's grunting is kind of cute.
As soon as she stepped through the archway, a round, chubby little dumpling rushed up to her and even ran over her foot. "Can't catch him, can't find him!"
Zhang Ting's black boots instantly left a finger-length footprint, which was dusty and gray.
The culprit lost its footing and "ouch!" fell to the ground with a thud, fluttering its thick eyelashes blankly, as if it hadn't yet reacted.
Zhang Ting smiled and reached out to pull her.
Tun Tun turned her hands behind her back, refusing to let her touch her, and stared at her warily, feeling that this person's sudden appearance was very suspicious, yet also felt very familiar, but she couldn't remember where she was.
With great effort, Tun Tun rolled over and scrambled to her feet. She calmly dusted herself off and asked in a childish but fierce voice, "Auntie, where did you come from?"
Zhang Ting almost thought she had misheard. What did the little piglet just say? Her gaze swept over the servant beside her, only to see the servant's shoulders shaking with laughter.
The heartless brat has forgotten his own mother.
Tun Tun didn't hear an echo for a long time. Her eyebrows furrowed into a knot, and her chubby cheeks puffed out. What an impolite old woman!
With her mother not around, her temper grew stronger. She put her hands on her hips and said rudely, "You're asking me a question! Do you know where this is?" She was both cute and fierce, and very domineering.
The little guy still had a clump of dust on his face, and he stood there with an air of arrogance, looking just like a fierce little tabby cat.
Zhang Ting found it amusing and teased her, "I heard that your household has acquired a four-year-old child, who is extremely unruly, so I have come to take him away."
A blank look appeared on the little girl's face, and a huge question mark popped into her mind: A four-year-old child? Isn't she the only little one in the family?
Her eyes widened, she jumped back a big step, and accused, "Is it your child? You want it! You're not allowed to have it! A child belongs to its parents."
Zhang Ting sighed, "I'm an adult, a child's refusal won't work on me." As he spoke, he reached out to take her hand, "Little pig, come with me to live a hard life. We'll farm during the day and carry bricks at night. I won't let you be idle."
“You’re not coming, kid!” The little guy was terrified by her description of the hard times and shrank back in fear.
A moment later, her clever little head snapped back to reality, and she glared with her big, dark eyes: "You're a kidnapper! You want to abduct a child! You bad guy!"
Tun Tun was so angry that her face turned red and hot, almost steaming, and she turned into an angry little pig.
Tun Tun vowed to teach the bad guys a lesson!
Zhang Ting, having succeeded in her evil scheme, grinned from ear to ear. When that round, plump head bumped into her, before she could even react, she was caught completely off guard and took the blow from the 'filial daughter,' and then nothing happened to her.
The round, bulging 'ball' was pressing against her calf, and her two little feet had dug a small hole in the ground from her sprint. It was clear that the angry little pig had used all her strength.
Well, commendable courage, he almost hurt her.
The little guy got tired from bumping around and plopped down on the ground, panting heavily, still emitting a faint milky scent.
She gasped for breath and said, "You bad boy, if I can't beat you, I'll... I'll bite you to death!" With that, she lunged at him, baring her sharp little fangs.
Zhang Ting's expression changed drastically. This child has always had good teeth!
He simply grabbed her and pulled her in front of him; the two of them, one big and one small, stared at each other.
Zhang Ting lectured her: "With such a big temper, you'll be in big trouble if you run into someone like me!"
“You’re in trouble now.” Tun Tun replied, not panicking at all when she was caught by the bad guys. Instead, she instinctively swung her legs and started swinging on a swing.
The more she played the game, the more addicted she became, and the more familiar she felt with it. A strange look of surprise appeared in her eyes, and a silvery laugh escaped her lips.
The elderly mother looked completely bewildered: "..." I'm truly speechless.
Where's the vigilance? Where's the aggression? Why are you still playing along with the enemy?
The elderly mother was completely baffled. She took the child into the house, while the other person became even more excited.
As she passed by, servants greeted her, but Zhang Ting paid them no heed. The little thing in her hand was restless and almost swung her to the ground, scaring her pale.
After finally managing to grab the piglet by the collar, she gave it a good spanking. "Are you still going to wobble around like that?"
Tun Tun covered her tortured buttocks with both hands, pouted with a wronged look, and her big, dark eyes quickly welled up with tears.
Zhang Ting glanced at her sideways.
Tun Tun shrank her neck, like a mouse seeing a cat, and immediately stopped crying.
He smacked his lips and muttered a complaint in a low voice: "You bad boy, you vicious brat."
Zong Suyi heard the noise inside and thought that Tun Tun was causing trouble again, but unexpectedly bumped into her beloved whom she had not seen for several months.
Time seemed to stand still.
His gaze was fixed on that figure, and he held his breath. The whole world seemed to blur, fade, and go out of focus in an instant, except for her, who remained clear.
He stepped forward, gripped the door frame, and stared intently, not daring to blink, as if trying to make up for the months that had passed in a single glance. His gaze swept over her eyes, nose, and lips with an intense greed, eagerness, and speed, up and down, as if to confirm that this moment was not an illusion.
"My lady..." Her eyes welled up with tears as she called out, her voice filled with grievance.
Zhang Ting placed the 'object' in her hand on the ground, looked at him, and said calmly but firmly, "I'm back."
Zong Suyi's longing finally broke free. His eyes filled with tears, and he rushed into her arms, holding her tightly as if she would vanish into thin air at any moment and he would never be able to hold onto her again.
The familiar scent of soapberry reached his nose, and he felt his soul find peace. He said softly, "You're back." He rubbed his face against her clothes, pressing it against her pounding heart.
"If there's a next time, you must take me with you." He clutched her clothes tightly, tears streaming down his face. "Without you, every day feels like torture."
"My wife, please don't leave me..."
Zhang Ting gently stroked his trembling back, rested his chin on the top of his head, and said softly, "The matter in Yinzhou Prefecture is urgent. Next time, I will never leave you alone."
She cupped his face and pinched it, feeling a pang of heartache: "Xiaoyi has lost so much weight again."
Zong Suyi stroked her face and sniffed her slightly red nose. "You still criticize me? You've clearly gotten thinner..." Her heart ached, and she couldn't help but shed another string of tears.
“It’s nothing like being at home. You can’t eat or sleep well, and there are always people making things difficult for you…” He hugged her even tighter, as if he wanted to embed her into his own flesh and blood. “I miss her so much at home, but all I can do is stare at her anxiously.”
Zhang Ting comforted his back, saying, "I've made you suffer, my lord. It's my fault for being negligent." She kissed away the tears from the corners of his eyes, the salty taste making her heart ache and causing her great discomfort.
"For over eight months, a full two hundred and forty-three days, each day felt like a year. I missed you every single moment..." He buried his face in her arms, whispering his grievances, "I'm so afraid to sleep, so afraid to wake up and find my hand lying there, cold and icy..."
"From now on, as your wife, you won't have to be afraid anymore."
Something was tugging at their feet, but Zhang Ting and Zong Suyi didn't notice, gazing at each other with affection.
"Let go of your father...you bad guy."
Automatically blocking out background noise, Zhang Ting held her husband's hand tightly, saying, "I've been away from home for several months, and you've suffered so much with all the big and small things at home."
"As long as my wife has me in her heart, everything I've done is worthwhile." He looked at her with reddened eyes, his deep affection almost overflowing.
"Silly." Zhang Ting smiled, ruffled his hair, and said in a voice so gentle it was almost sedative, "Then wouldn't my husband have to be my slave for the rest of his life?"
Zong Suyi said impatiently, "Then I'm willing too, not only in this life, but in the next life and the life after that!" After saying that, he felt that this was very unreserved. His eyes inadvertently met hers, and he turned his face away as if he had been burned. His earlobes turned bright red, as if they could bleed.
His eyelashes trembled, but he couldn't help adding, "As long as you love me, I'm willing to do anything." This made him blush even more, and he buried himself in her arms to hide.
Zhang Ting smiled faintly, tucked the stray hairs from his face behind his ear, and was about to say something when she felt something hugging and nibbling at her, its legs wet.
That's such a spoilsport.
She calmly brushed the unidentified object away, first pressing it down with her foot, saying, "To be loved by my husband is the greatest fortune of a wife."
Zong Suyi was embarrassed. She twisted a strand of hair behind her ear with one hand and gave her a reproachful look. "Then remember to love me more."
"certainly."
"Waaaaah—"
Zong Suyi frowned in confusion, looking around. "Did you hear any strange noises, my lady?" The crying sounded so much like his little pig.
"I did hear it," Zhang Ting replied seriously, lightly loosening his foot and using it to lift the unidentified object off the ground, silently pretending nothing had happened.
Once free, Tun Tun smacked her lips and hid behind her father, complaining loudly, "Dad, she bullied me!" She rolled around on the ground, turning from a clean white glutinous rice ball into a dusty black rice ball.
The child's angry and aggrieved accusations did not provoke her protective father to stand up for her.
Unaware of what had happened, Zong Suyi brushed the dust off the piglet's head and lectured, "You're not allowed to talk to your mother like that. Your father taught you to be gentle, polite, and respectful."
With a bitter face, Tun Tun complained, "She's not the mother of the child, she's a kidnapper, a bad guy! The kidnapper is going back to be a little bitter gourd, the child is so pitiful."
Zong Suyi's face fell: "Little pig, you're not allowed to talk to your mother like that."
Tun Tun was unhappy, and said in a childish voice, "Hmph." She put her little hands in her pockets, turned her back, and pouted so much that she could hang an oil bottle on her lips.
Zhang Ting coughed twice, professionally trying to smooth things over, "Alright, Tun Tun is still little, she'll understand when she grows up." She touched her nose guiltily, staring at the little body on the ground, a wave of remorse rising in her heart for a moment, but it only lasted for a split second.
It's time for you to fulfill your filial duty, my good son.
"Xiaoyi, don't blame Xiaozhu. He's just a kid. How can he remember so many things, and how can he distinguish between different situations?"
Zong Suyi was deeply moved. He snuggled into her arms again, nuzzled against her, and sighed with deep emotion, "My wife, you are so good."
The older the child gets, the worse his temper becomes, often driving him to the point of vomiting blood. It's truly wonderful that his wife can tolerate Tun Tun's shortcomings.
Tun Tun looked at her father in disbelief, her eyes clearly displaying the word 'incompetent'.
The kid is already turning into a bitter gourd, why is Dad still siding with the bad guy!
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