After waking up early, Hong Xiaoduo sensed that Tian Shu's mood was a bit abnormal. Thinking back to what happened the night before, she guessed that the child must have been overthinking things again.
"Tianxuan, you stay in the room with them and don't let them wander off. I'm going to check on the stables, and we'll go eat when I get back." After giving these instructions, Hong Xiaoduo headed towards the stables.
As soon as you enter, you see Tian Shu sitting beside a horse and a donkey, resting his chin on his hand and lost in thought.
"Tian Shu?" Hong Xiaoduo called out to him first.
After Tian Shu came to his senses and looked at her, he quickly stood up: "I was thinking of waiting until they finished eating before going back."
Hong Xiaoduo walked over and sat on the bench, gesturing for him to sit down as well: "Come on, let's have a chat."
Tian Shu sat down as instructed, somewhat flustered, unsure of what she wanted to say. He placed his hands on his knees, nervously clenching and unclenching them.
"Tell me, what's wrong? What's on your mind?" Hong Xiaoduo asked directly.
Tian Shu shook his head hurriedly upon hearing this, but after meeting her gaze, he quickly lowered his head again.
"Don't you want to talk about it? Then I won't ask." Seeing his reaction, Hong Xiaoduo made a move to get up and leave.
"I'll say it." Tian Shu subconsciously reached out and tugged at the hem of her clothes.
Hong Xiaoduo sat back down, expressionless, not looking at the child, but only at the horse and donkey eating hay. She had to admit that good hay was good. Ever since they started eating good hay, the two of them had started to have shiny fur and were visibly much stronger.
“You were angry last night, but I’m not sure why,” Tian Shu said in a very soft voice.
Fortunately, the only sound coming from the stable was the chewing of hay; otherwise, Hong Xiaoduo might not have been able to hear it clearly.
"That's really true," Hong Xiaoduo thought to herself, looking at the child. "This child is too sensitive."
"Tian Shu, I can tell you that my anger last night had nothing to do with you. It was my own problem that I was a little annoyed. I can't possibly explain everything to you."
I'm a normal person with my own things to do, so it's perfectly normal to experience joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. Can you please stop making wild guesses every time you see me having an emotional fluctuation?
Tian Shu, in my heart you are a smart, sensible, and responsible child. You take good care of your younger siblings and are a responsible older brother.
You've done very well, so now I only have one request for you: stop trying to figure out what I'm thinking. Just remember what I've said several times before: since I've brought you all along, I won't abandon you until I find the most suitable and reliable person to entrust you with.
I've said what I needed to say. Whether you can listen to it or not is up to you.
"Alright, let's go, the younger siblings must be hungry." Hong Xiaoduo said, standing up and leaving.
Since the old curator Luo Chengshi has already begun to decipher his father's key, the possibility of her suddenly disappearing without warning is very small. If she cannot complete the mission of Old Luo and his team, she probably won't be able to go back.
Therefore, she no longer needs to give the child any precautions in case he suddenly disappears one day.
"Can't you really keep taking us with you? I can make them change their way of addressing you, and stop calling you 'Mother,' okay?" Tian Shu caught up and asked.
Seeing Tian Shu's pleading and expectant eyes, Hong Xiaoduo felt a pang of pity, but still said, "The possibility is slim."
The possibility is slim? That means there's still hope, right? The flame that Tian Shu had been trying to extinguish suddenly reignited.
"By the way, if they don't call me 'Mom,' what are you planning to teach them to call me?" Hong Xiaoduo asked curiously. "Is it 'Sister'?"
Tian Shu immediately blurted out, "Master, can I call you Master? We'll follow you and serve you for the rest of our lives. Although we're still young and there's not much we can do, we'll grow up."
Looking at Tian Shu's serious expression and tone, Hong Xiaoduo was certain that this address and this plan were something he had been thinking about for a long time.
She naively thought that even if he didn't dare call her "sister," he would at least be her aunt or something.
Unexpectedly, it was the master?
If being her child wasn't working, she simply relegated herself to the position of a servant?
"You little brat, alright. Fine, you can keep calling me 'Mom' then." Hong Xiaoduo stared at Tian Shu speechlessly for a long time, refraining from giving him a flick on the head, and said through gritted teeth.
Then she turned around and strode away. She had no choice but to let the child do as she pleased.
Seeing her leave in annoyance, Tian Shu's little face crumpled up and she was almost crying. She wanted to go back to the stable, but she was afraid that if she really did that, how would she face her in the future?
She held back her tears, took a deep breath, and quickly followed.
"Mother, what's wrong with eldest brother?" Yaoguang asked as soon as she saw the two of them.
The other children also noticed that Tian Shu's mood was off, but they didn't dare to ask.
When Hong Xiaoduo heard Yao Guang ask this question and looked at the expressions of the other children, she realized something. She turned around and saw that Tian Shu's eyes were indeed red.
"He saw that the horses and donkeys liked to eat that fodder, so he kept giving it to them, and I scolded him for it." Hong Xiaoduo couldn't tell the truth, so she just made up an excuse to get by.
“Brother, that’s not right. Even if the horse and donkey like to eat, you can’t give them too much. They’ll get sick from eating too much.” Tianquan spoke first, and the others nodded in agreement, thinking that Hong Xiaoduo was right.
As they walked out with Hong Xiaoduo, they followed behind, quietly comforting Tian Shu.
For breakfast, I had beef patties, steamed egg custard, and chicken soup wontons.
This breakfast was quieter than usual. Hong Xiaoduo didn't try to cheer him up by giving Tian Shu a meat pie or something. After all, he needed to digest and think about what she had told him in the stable.
"Mother, look." Just as they were finishing their meal, Kaiyang pointed to the people walking past outside the restaurant.
Hong Xiaoduo took a look and saw that they were several bodyguards, one of whom was named Dazhi.
Why did it take them so long to get here? Hong Xiaoduo was a little puzzled. Suddenly, she wondered if it was because of the rain over the past two days? But that shouldn't have taken so long, right?
"Dazhi?" Hong Xiaoduo got up and went outside to call out.
Regardless, they did send us good fodder and even gave the children roast chicken, so it wouldn't be right to treat them like strangers.
Hearing his name called, Dazhi stopped and turned around, only to see Hong Xiaoduo. He was first surprised, then happy, and went to greet her: "Young lady, it's you! Where are they?"
"They're still eating inside. By the way, how come it took you so long to get here?" Hong Xiaoduo asked.
It would have been better if she hadn't asked. But as soon as she did, Dazhi looked like he had nothing to say: "Don't even mention it. I didn't check the almanac properly before we left for this mission. After we parted ways last time, we were caught in the rain for two days straight. Several of my brothers caught a cold and fell ill. We even overturned a car."
Ah, that's really bad luck. Hong Xiaoduo felt a little guilty. If she had mentioned that it was going to rain before they set off, whether they believed it or not, at least she wouldn't feel like this now.
"How is the person who fell ill? Are they feeling better?" Hong Xiaoduo asked...
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