The journey from Huazhou to Qucheng, the fiefdom of Prince Yi, was smooth and took twenty days. It rained on the very night they arrived at Prince Yi's residence.
"It's really raining?" Hearing the sound of rain outside, Prince Yi threw off the covers, rushed to the window in the dark, and opened it in surprise.
Princess Yi, who had been wide awake, was startled by her husband's actions upon seeing her daughter.
Hearing the commotion, the maidservant quickly came over and lit the lamp.
"Your Highness, it's just raining, why are you making such a fuss?" Princess Yi sat up, and after speaking, she gestured to her maid to fetch water to moisten her throat.
“Ah Hui, you don’t know, three days ago on the road, Miss Hong said that it would rain tonight.” After saying this, Prince Yi turned to ask the maid, “It just started raining, what time is it now?”
After hearing the maid's reply, he looked even more incredulous.
“Your Highness, you yourself said she is very capable, so it’s not surprising that she can observe the celestial phenomena and predict the weather,” said Princess Shu Jinhui, who decided not to sleep anymore and sat on the edge of the bed.
The husband brought his daughter into the Prince's mansion in the evening. In the few hours between then and when he went back to his room to lie down, he talked mostly about the things that happened on the way with Hong Xiaoniang and the children.
“Ah Hui, what you said is true. However, you must have had trouble sleeping while I was away. Now that our precious daughter has been found, you should get a good night’s sleep and get some rest. We have a banquet to hold later.” Prince Yi turned to look at his haggard, thin wife with swollen eyes from crying. He quickly closed the window and returned to the bedside to gently persuade her.
Although he sent someone back to deliver the good news on the very day he confirmed that his daughter had been found, so that his wife could know this wonderful news as soon as possible and have some time to process it before returning, she still fainted from crying after seeing her daughter.
When I woke up, I still couldn't stop the tears. Everyone present, even the men, had red eyes.
The princess nodded upon hearing this, lay down on the bed, and sighed, "But I dare not sleep. I'm afraid this is just another dream, and when I wake up..."
Hearing his wife's voice choked with sobs, unable to continue, Prince Yi naturally understood her feelings at that moment: "It's not a dream, it's not a dream. Otherwise, Ah Hui, why don't you bite me?"
Upon hearing this, the princess, whose eyes were still wet with tears, was amused again. She lifted the sleeve of her nightgown, revealing several bruises.
"Ah Hui, one pinch is enough. If you're still not comfortable, pinch me instead." Prince Yi knew perfectly well where the bruises on his wife's arm came from, and he said with great concern.
"Pinch you? I'm afraid you'll pretend to be in pain to fool me. You've been fooling me for years," the princess said.
After her daughter went missing, the prince kept lying to her, saying that the people he sent out would be returning soon, and that there would definitely be good news this time. He did this countless times over the years.
Seeing his wife like this, Prince Yi took her hand and helped her to her feet.
"What are you doing?" the princess asked, puzzled.
“Since you’re worried and can’t sleep, let’s go to Yuheng’s room now and watch her sleep, so you can be at ease,” said Prince Yi.
Upon hearing this, the princess's eyes lit up immediately, but the next moment she pulled her husband's hand and sat back on the bed: "Let's not go. Our daughter must be tired from the bumpy journey. Let her rest well."
"She's tired? Ah Hui, you're mistaken. You have no idea how comfortable and carefree their lives are," Prince Yi laughed. The couple lay down side by side. Since they couldn't sleep, he would tell her more about what he had seen about their daughter.
This is also a good opportunity to lay the groundwork in advance, since I haven't told my wife yet that I've already promised my daughter that I'll continue to follow Miss Hong in a few days.
When he returned home, he felt it was inappropriate for his wife to be in that state. That night, when they returned to their bedchamber, she was still so uneasy that he dared not say anything more.
Even if her husband didn't say how good Na Hong was to their daughter, the princess knew that her daughter was being well taken care of after seeing her.
The fact that she was dressed well suggests that, as Granny Liu said, the other party had changed her clothes to something nicer after learning her identity.
However, a daughter's graceful, confident, and radiant demeanor cannot be changed in a short period of time.
And her daughter's delicate skin and glossy black hair couldn't have been developed in a short time.
However, my daughter has calluses on her palms. She said it's because she practices martial arts and holds knife hilts, sword hilts, and staffs. She also said that her mother asked Sister Feiyan to make hand guards for everyone to prevent their palms from getting calluses, but wearing those things is uncomfortable, so no one wants to wear them anymore.
Her daughter told her that she was learning needlework from her older sister Feiyan, and that the older sister was also teaching her and her younger sister to play the zither, and that she would play the zither for her later.
She was also told that her mother taught her to read, write, speak foreign languages, and do arithmetic.
Her master taught her martial arts, and now she's very skilled.
The princess knew that her daughter was telling her these things to put her mind at ease.
However, what the daughter doesn't know is that, as a mother, missing out on these years with her daughter is the biggest regret of her life. No matter how good she is to her daughter in the future, she can never make up for that void!
She wanted to tell her daughter that she didn't care whether her daughter could do needlework, play the zither, read, or write. She was content as long as her daughter was safe, healthy, and well. Her daughter didn't necessarily have to know those things.
...
Prince Yi's Mansion had prepared the West Garden in advance, and Hong Xiaoduo and her group of all ages moved in.
A separate room was originally prepared for Yaoguang, but the little girl has never lived alone before, so she doesn't sleep in the same room as Yuheng, but instead sleeps in the same room as Feiyan.
After taking a petal bath, Hong Xiaoduo went into her spatial dimension to dry her hair before going out to bed.
As expected of a royal residence, the bedding and blankets on the bed were all of the highest quality, and it was even specially scented with a delicate fragrance. Lying on it was both comfortable and relaxing, and Hong Xiaoduo quickly fell asleep.
Before going to sleep, she told herself not to stay up too late tomorrow.
Her biological clock is very sensitive; she can wake up early whenever she wants.
But when she opened her eyes and looked into the pitch-black room, huh? Had she woken up too early? It wasn't even dawn yet? What was wrong with her? Was it because she was staying in the Prince's mansion that she was so nervous?
Or was it because she was worried about Yao Guang's background and was about to meet Princess Yuening?
Never mind, it's not dawn yet, so I'll just keep sleeping.
I don't know how long I slept, but when I woke up again, it was still dark. Was it because the bed curtains blocked out too much light?
Hong Xiaoduo reached out and touched the bed curtains, pulling them aside slightly, but all she could see was still darkness.
Is it because I'm anxious that I can't sleep soundly?
Sleep, keep sleeping! Anyway, she always likes to sleep in late, and can fall asleep quickly whenever she wants.
When Hong Xiaoduo woke up for the third time, she looked around and found it still pitch black. She pricked up her ears and found the house quiet inside and out. Even though she loved to sleep in, she couldn't fall back asleep.
Something's wrong. It's definitely not her fault. Hong Xiaoduo threw back the thin blanket and sat up...
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