Chapter 285 Nothing Can Be Done
"This child is truly blessed."
Before the New Year, He Ran came to the mansion for a short visit, bringing many New Year's gifts for the children.
She held her two-year-old son, who was growing increasingly chubby, and couldn't put him down.
"Look at him, so cute and chubby-cheeked."
He Ran asked Meng Shilan curiously.
"I usually call him Fatty Xi, I've never heard of her real name before."
Meng Shilan was watching Shuang'er organize the gift list when she heard this. She looked up and her gaze fell on the child.
"He doesn't have a formal name yet."
"This child has been chubby since he was little, but he doesn't like to smile. He always looks like a little old man with his brows furrowed."
"So I thought I'd call him 'Fat Joy,' wishing him a life filled with joy and carefree happiness."
This name contains a mother's simplest and most sincere hope.
He Ran couldn't help but smile upon hearing this.
"I see, that's a very auspicious meaning."
She teased the little one in her arms again, "Have you thought of a proper name for the child?"
Meng Shilan shook her head, a faint smile playing on her lips.
"Let his father come and get it."
One sentence brought a slight silence to the room.
Zhou Congxian accepted the order and rushed to the border. More than three months have passed since then.
More than a hundred days and nights.
Meng Shilan would occasionally count the days carefully in the quiet of the night.
It was as if he had vanished from the world, never receiving a single letter.
Even just a simple greeting.
Meng Shilan lowered her eyes, quietly suppressing the fleeting bitterness in her heart.
...
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, it was just getting light.
The entire capital was still bathed in the first rays of the new year's dawn when the gatekeeper of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion announced that the Seventh Prince requested an audience.
Meng Shilan was somewhat surprised.
Shouldn't he still be in the palace at this time?
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a figure in sapphire blue swept in like a gust of wind.
"Aunt Meng! Fu'er! Happy New Year!"
Xiao Lin was dressed in a brand-new royal blue brocade robe, with snow-white fox fur trim on the collar and cuffs, which made his red lips and white teeth appear even more striking, and his spirits soar.
The eunuch Yuanbao, who followed behind him, was carrying a huge vermilion lacquered and gold-painted food box.
Xiao Lin opened the food box as if presenting a treasure, and piled all the contents onto the table.
"This is a gold ingot that my imperial brother bestowed upon me!"
"These are newly made pastries from the palace, a hundred times tastier than those from outside!"
"And this too, a luminous pearl from the Western Regions, it glows at night!"
He carelessly stuffed those treasures, which ordinary people could never even see, into Fu'er's hands, his face displaying an unyielding domineering air.
"It's all yours!"
Holding a bunch of shiny things, Fu'er looked at Meng Shilan with some confusion.
Meng Shilan smiled helplessly and said to Xiao Lin.
"Your Highness is very kind."
Xiao Lin waved his hand, clearly indicating that he was not there to give a gift.
His eyes sparkled as he looked at Fu'er, full of anticipation.
"Fu'er, I'll take you to see something even more fun and exciting!"
Upon hearing the word "lively," Meng Shilan's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
She looked warily at the young prince in front of her, who seemed to thrive on chaos.
"Seventh Prince, today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, the beginning of the new year."
"That's not good, what kind of trouble will we cause again?"
She deliberately emphasized the word "caused trouble" a little.
Xiao Lin's face immediately fell, showing a hint of youthful grievance and resentment.
"When did I cause any trouble!"
He stubbornly retorted, but then, as if remembering something, his momentum weakened, and he muttered under his breath.
"Don't worry, it's just to see fireworks, really! I promise!"
Looking at his confident demeanor and then at the fleeting longing in his daughter's eyes, Meng Shilan finally softened.
She thought about it, but she was still worried.
"Guo Fan."
She called out.
Guo Fan, who had been silently guarding the door, immediately stepped forward and bowed.
"Miss."
"You should go with them."
"Make sure to take good care of them."
...
Xiao Lin did not take Fu'er to those crowded and bustling places in the city.
He led her out of the city and to a deserted wasteland on the outskirts of Beijing.
The winter wilderness was desolate.
A thin layer of unmelted snow still covered the withered yellow grass stalks.
Looking at the desolate scene before her, and then at the small, dark box being carried off the carriage, Fu'er's face was full of confusion.
"Where are the fireworks you mentioned?"
Xiao Lin proudly raised his chin and pointed at the box.
"Look, it's right there."
It wasn't a firework at all, but a solid gunpowder box that had been repeatedly coated with tung oil and black lacquer.
Xiao Lin looked at Fu'er, a hint of melancholy in his eyes.
"Originally, I wanted to ask my elder brother to let me see the Empress Dowager during the New Year."
"I want to show this to the Empress Dowager."
"Unfortunately, my elder brother still refuses."
He pursed his lips, as if trying to shake off his disappointment.
"Fine, I'll just pull it out and show it to you!"
Looking at the black box, Fu'er was reminded of some unpleasant memories, and involuntarily took a small step back, her little face filled with worry.
"This...it won't explode into pieces again, will it?"
She asked in a low voice.
Last time, Xiao Lin confidently declared that he would show her a "skyrocket."
Before the firecracker could even reach the sky, it exploded on the spot, sending wood chips and dirt flying everywhere and nearly injuring people.
When the embarrassing incident was mentioned, Xiao Lin's face turned bright red.
In front of Fu'er, he showed a rare bit of the childishness that one would expect at his age, and snorted angrily.
"nonsense!"
"I've already improved the fuse; this time it's absolutely foolproof!"
Yuanbao, standing to the side, was terrified. He had tried to persuade his master many times, but the master insisted on going his own way.
He couldn't help but grimace as he stepped forward and advised again, "Your Highness, perhaps you should stop playing around."
"If something really happens, even if I had a hundred lives, I couldn't bear the responsibility!"
Frustrated, Xiao Lin kicked Yuanbao in the leg.
"So verbose!"
"If you're afraid of dying, then get the hell out of here!"
Yuanbao stumbled from the kick, but dared not say another word. He could only retreat to the side with a worried expression, silently praying to all the gods and Buddhas in his heart.
Fu'er watched Xiao Lin skillfully inspect the fuse, her eyes filled with curiosity.
Why are you so obsessed with making this illicit drug?
Xiao Lin paused for a moment.
He raised his head and looked at the gray sky in the distance, his gaze becoming somewhat distant.
You don't understand.
He said in a low voice.
"In everyone's eyes, I am a high-ranking member of the imperial family, His Majesty's own younger brother. No one can control me, and I can do whatever I want."
"But actually..."
There was a hint of melancholy in his voice.
"There's nothing I can do."
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