Chapter 20

Jian Ning’s complaint finally caught Huo Lin’s attention.

Huo Lin was on the phone, but when he turned around, he saw his mother sitting up, supported by the chubby child next to her. He was petrified on the spot.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

The petrified prince didn’t move at all, his eyes fixed on his mother, who was looking at him. He doubted if he was having an illusion or still dreaming at the moment.

It’s impossible.

How could his mother wake up?

Reason told the little prince that he couldn’t believe what he was seeing, but emotions made him call out in a hoarse voice with red eyes, “Mom.”

The Emperor, who was still listening on the phone: “?”

The tone of the Emperor became more and more severe: “Caesar, it’s useless to call your mother. As the heir to the empire, you act recklessly like this, it is-“

“My mother woke up.”

Huo Lin interrupted his father’s severe reprimand. He was breathing heavily and repeated, “My mother really woke up.”

The Emperor was completely furious.

His tone was cold, like a fierce beast whose reverse scale had been touched: “Caesar, you should not make this kind of joke with me.”

Even through the phone, the Emperor’s furious emotions could make people feel oppressed.

Jian Ning, who had heard it, touched his own head and muttered to himself, “Brother, Ningning is not scared.”

Seeing the child frightened, Huo Lin didn’t hesitate at all and hung up the phone.

He threw down the communication device and ran to the coffin in a few steps.

Queen Ai Wei lifted her hand to massage Ningning’s head. She had been silent for a while, and her voice sounded a bit hoarse when she finally spoke: “I’m sorry, Ludwig’s temper seems to have gotten worse.”

Ningning, whose head was touched by his beautiful aunt, felt like his head had become fragrant.

Although he really wanted to hug his aunt, his little brain turned, and he thought he should let his brother hug the beautiful aunt first.

Ningning could wait in line!

The thoughtful Ningning pointed to his brother and introduced him to the beautiful aunt. “Auntie, hug my brother!”

Ai Wei withdrew her hand from touching Ningning and looked at Hou Lin with a gentle and anxious gaze. When she gave birth to her child, her body had just suffered heavy injuries from the war.

In order to give birth to the child smoothly, she had exhausted her mental power.

In all these years, she had never been involved in her child’s growth. Therefore, when she faced her beloved child, her heart was full of self-blame and, at the same time, full of love.

“Xiao Lin.”

Ai Wei suppressed her anxious feelings and spoke softly, “I’m sorry, I woke up too late.”

Huo Lin shook his head.

He couldn’t say a word at this moment. Looking at his mother’s face, tears fell from his swollen eyes, and his voice was choked, “Mom.”

He opened his arms and hugged his mother tightly.

Ai Wei felt the warmth of her son in her arms, and her beautiful eyes also shimmered with tears.

The mother and son held each other tightly.

Jian Ning, who had watched for a few seconds, tilted his head, and the next second, he also opened his own chubby arms and hugged his brother and aunt together.

The big adult and two small children hugged like this.

After an unknown amount of time, Huo Lin, who still hadn’t had enough of the hug but was embarrassed to continue, pushed himself back a bit. He turned his face, intending to wipe his eyes, but Ai Wei had already wiped his little face first.

Jian Ning followed suit and stood on tiptoe, using his chubby little hands to wipe his brother’s face. His little hands were dirty, and the dust on them was wiped onto his brother’s face.

“Ah?”

The little guy, who was getting dirtier and dirtier as he wiped, stopped in confusion.

Ai Wei was amused by him and laughed. After she finished laughing, she picked up a handkerchief from her belongings and wiped both little faces and hands.

While wiping his hands, Huo Lin, whose emotions had calmed down a bit, asked with a voice that he thought was calm but was actually a bit shaky, “Mom, do you want to go back to the palace with me?”

Ai Wei responded naturally with a “Hmm.”

If she didn’t go back, the baby she had risked her life to give birth to would be treated strictly by Ludwig.

In the past two years, she hadn’t been oblivious to what was happening.

She could hear her own child come to her to complain, and several times she was so angry that she almost overturned the coffin.

And then there was the phone call just now. With her good hearing, Ai Wei heard every word of their conversation.

But these accounts would have to be settled with Ludwig after they returned. For now, she just wanted to have a good talk with the little ones in front of her.

“Mom, did Ningning wake you up?”

Huo Lin was very clever, and compared to a certain baby who couldn’t even give up milk formula powder right now, his brain was more agile. “The first time Ningning saw you, he said you were just sleeping.”

Ai Wei looked at the well-behaved curly-haired little child, and she seemed to want to say “Hmm,” but hesitated for some reason.

“Xiao Lin,” Ai Wei asked, “Can you tell me everything about how Ningning ended up here?”

Huo Lin didn’t hesitate and replied, “Sure.”

He was a good storyteller and recounted everything clearly from when Ningning fell into a coma, to when he needed Phoenix Feather Stone, and when he woke up from it. However, Jian Ning, who was still too young at the time, didn’t remember it clearly.

After hearing the whole story, Ai Wei’s eyes flashed with a hint of seriousness, but it quickly disappeared. She then asked, “Who else knows about Ningning using Phoenix Feather Stone?”

“Ningning’s dad, uncles, and aunts know, but no one else. I didn’t even tell my father,” Huo Lin said.

The secret he kept from his father showed that the relationship between the royal father and son wasn’t great.

Ai Wei patiently listened to him and smiled a little. “Xiao Lin, let’s keep the secret about Ningning and the Phoenix Feather Stone, okay?”

“Okay.”

Although Huo Lin didn’t know why they needed to keep it a secret, from the information he read, the Phoenix Feather Stone was either millions or billions of years old, and wasn’t a good stone.

It was used as a stone of inheritance by a previous royal family, but the entire family perished. Even though it saved Ningning and his mother, Huo Lin still instinctively felt repulsed by it.

After talking with Huo Lin, Ningning waited in line for Auntie to hold him. Finally, when Auntie came over, he eagerly opened his arms to be held.

“Ningning is a bit heavy, let me hold him,” Huo Lin said, worried that his mother wouldn’t have enough strength after sleeping for so long. So he moved closer and held the little chubby baby in his arms.

But Jian Ning saw him approaching and immediately buried his chubby face in the neck of the pretty aunt, pretending not to see his brother.

Ningning, who liked to be hugged, was usually held by his dad and uncles, who were all stiff and hard. Sister Hua Ya and the others were soft, but they couldn’t compete with the stiff dad and uncles, so they could only watch the child being held by them.

Now there’s a fragrant and soft pretty aunt, and the little child who liked to be hugged didn’t want to let go at all.

“Auntie, fragrant!”

“Auntie, hug me again!”

“Auntie, do you want to kiss me?”

Jian Ning’s little voice kept ringing, and his sticky little appearance almost melted the heart of a mother who had not properly raised her own child.

She held the soft and cute little child while asking Huo Lin, “Xiao Lin, were you as cute as Ningning when you were a baby?”

Huo Lin: “...”

Huo Lin told the truth, “I wasn’t cute.”

He was a child raised by his father, and in his growing-up years, he had never acted as cute as Ningning. When he was training, he never shed a tear, even when he bled.

Ai Wei frowned, recalling, “You were indeed very cute when you were born.”

At that time, Xiao Lin was not crying or making trouble, seemingly aware that his mother’s health was not good. Whenever his mother picked him up, he would cooperate and not let her exert too much effort.

When his mother kissed him, he would immediately smile.

Unfortunately, the cute little baby was only held for a short time before she could no longer hold him. Now that little baby was brought up strictly by Ludwig, which broke her heart.

They stayed in the tomb for a long time.

After Ai Wei stood up, she directly embedded the Phoenix Feather Stone into the bottom of the coffin. After embedding it, she covered it with other stones, as if to conceal it.

“Xiao Lin, Ningning, from now on, you should treat this stone as if it doesn’t exist. No matter what happens, don’t move it out again, okay?”

Although Ai Wei’s tone was gentle, it carried an unyielding meaning.

The two children nodded in unison.

Huo Lin wasn’t very interested in the Phoenix Feather Stone. Rather than studying it, he preferred to search for a way on how Ningning could be enroll in kindergarten.

“Okay, let’s go back.”

Ai Wei picked up her little child, Jian Ning, and walked out. It’s not that she didn’t want to hold Huo Lin, but the latter told her that he was already too big to be held.

They had only walked a few steps when Ai Wei noticed that her son was walking with a slight limp, and her gaze fell on his ankle.

Her expression darkened slightly. “Huo Lin, what happened to your foot?”

“I accidentally hurt it.”

It sounded really silly to sprain his ankle while getting off the spaceship, so Huo Lin, who wanted to maintain a good image in front of his mother, mumbled and refused to say the reason clearly.

Ai Wei, seeing this, subconsciously assumed that it was her husband’s fault.

She knew that Ludwig could be difficult to control when he was irritable.

Jian Ning saw that his brother was having difficulty walking and immediately struggled to get down to the ground. He walked up to his brother and opened his little arms, saying in a firm tone, “Ningning will hug Brother!”

He didn’t want to be hugged, but rather wanted to hug his big brother.

The little child with hugged his brother, who was several heads taller than him. The child’s thin arms tightly wrapped around his brother’s waist.

“Ouch!”

The little one exerted all his strength as if he was trying to nurse, even shouting a slogan to himself. But his chubby face turned red and he still couldn’t lift his brother up at all. He had been holding him for who knew how long.

The exhausted little one couldn’t stand anymore and sat down on the ground, taking a deep sigh. He looked up at his brother with a worried expression and said, “I can’t lift you.”

Huo Lin cleared his throat and lifted him up, saying, “Drink your milk well, and you will grow strong enough to lift me up.”

Jian Ning: “...”

The child’s chubby face wrinkled even more with worry.

What to do?

The child still didn’t want to drink milk, that’s not formula milk.

Finally, Ai Wei took her son’s hand and led him out.

When they reached outside, Huo Lin saw a neat army and a spaceship in front. The spaceship was painted pink with various cartoon patterns on its body.

“Hey, we’re back.”

Zhan Xi heard some noise behind him and turned around. He saw a woman holding Ningning and the little prince, and he felt that the other was a little familiar.

But for a while, he couldn’t remember where he had seen this woman before.

“Who are you?”

“Hello, I’m Ai Wei, Huo Lin’s mother.”

Ai Wei approached Zhan Xi and politely introduced herself.

Upon hearing her introduction, Zhan Xi looked confused and asked, “What? Who did you say you are?”

“Ai Wei, isn’t that the name of the Imperial Empress?”

Ai Wei smiled gently at him, her soothing tone calming him. “I think we can talk in the spaceship.”

Zhan Xi was the father of Ningning, and while Ai Wei knew he was not Ningning’s biological father, she could sense his love for the child.

After a brief conversation, Ai Wei asked Zhan Xi before she left, “May I take Ningning to play on the White Mist Star for a few days? The White Mist Star has the best schools, and I heard that you are selecting schools for Ningning.”

Zhan Xi was both intrigued and worried by Ai Wei’s proposal. He pursed his lips and said, “Ningning has never traveled alone before. Although he looks obedient, he may not be easy to handle.”

“Your Highness, the Empress, it might be troublesome for you to take him with you,” he added.

Ai Wei smiled. “I don’t think it will be a problem.”

Zhan Xi didn’t make a hasty decision regarding Ai Wei’s proposal. He picked up Jian Ning, asked him quietly for a while, and then agreed to let Ningning go.

Ningning, who had never been out, agreed to go and play with his brother.

Ai Wei and Zhan Xi agreed on a date and time, “I will bring him back in three days.”

Zhan Xi nodded in agreement.

After the agreement, Ai Wei took the two boys and boarded the military spaceship. When she appeared in front of the General of the First Army, he almost mistook her for an imposter.

But when Ai Wei arrived at the control panel, she proficiently verified her identity.

The General took out his communicator after seeing this.

Ai Wei glanced at him and said calmly, “Before I arrive at the palace, no one is allowed to tell Ludwig about my news on the ship.”

The general: “...”

The general looked at the queen, then thought about the emperor, and finally put away the communication device and prayed for the emperor in his heart.

The spaceship flew very fast.

The general had a lot of doubts, but he didn’t ask a single question.

Jian Ning sat on Ai Wei’s lap, playing happily with her. As they played, he suddenly looked up with his chubby face and asked in confusion, “Auntie, my brother has a mother, but I don’t.”

He was asking why he didn’t have a mother.

Ai Wei’s smile froze on her face, and her pale and slender fingers suddenly tightened.

She didn’t know how to answer this question.

Fortunately, the little child didn’t ask again. Seeing that Auntie didn’t answer, he didn’t continue to ask. He leaned against his beautiful aunt, swung his little feet, and boasted, “I have a dad!”

His dad was not mean at all, he was very good!

The little child who had just compared his dad with Uncle Lu in his heart was satisfied and thought his dad was the best in the world!

The military spaceship arrived at the emperor’s palace in just two hours.

Ai Wei didn’t want to enter the palace too ostentatiously. She hadn’t figured out how to appear in public yet.

“Xiao Lin, Ningning, Mom will take you on another road.”

“Okay!”

“Great!”

Ningning, who was visiting the palace for the first time, held Auntie’s hand and looked around. He thought the palace was very beautiful and had many flowers and plants, more than all the flowers and plants he had ever seen!

There were no vegetables, though.

Ningning watched and spoke like a little adult: “Brother, we need to grow vegetables!”

If there were no vegetables, how could they eat?

As they walked, Jian Ning let go of Auntie’s hand and explored the new world in front of him like an adventurer. Huo Lin walked slowly and stayed behind with his mother.

There were small animals raised in the palace.

Jian Ning saw a cat with keen eyesight, a fluffy white cat.

He exclaimed joyfully, “Kitty!”

The kitten was startled and ran away. Jian Ning chased after it without looking at where he was going.

After a few steps, he hit his head against an adult’s leg.

In that instant, the chubby little guy caught the long leg in front of him with quick reflexes, and his plump little butt sat on the other person’s shoe.

The little guy with a red forehead looked up with tears in his eyes.

“Waaah...”

“Don’t cry.”

Ludwig coldly stopped the young child’s cry after just one sound.

His imposing presence frightened the little child so much that he immediately shut his mouth, but the tears still rolled down his cheeks.

Unfortunately, the queen, who happened to be passing by, witnessed the scene of him intimidating the young child in its entirety.

 

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