With a solid gulp, the little child’s face wrinkled from the overpowering medicinal taste, causing the onlookers who were spectating to feel a twitch in their eyelids.
As expected, a few seconds later, the little child, whose
face was contorted from the unpleasant taste, burst into loud cries, just as
they had anticipated.
“Ningning won’t drink it.”
The little child’s hand loosened, but fortunately, Ai Wei was
prepared and promptly brought over a bowl to catch the medicine.
With teary eyes from the terrible taste, the little child
waved his small hand, adamantly refusing to take another sip.
Unperturbed, Ai Wei calmly asked, “Ningning, who was it that
said they would drink the entire bowl?”
Ningning hesitated for a moment before crying even louder,
“It was, it was Ningning who said it.”
Upon hearing this, Ai Wei freed one hand to wipe his tears
and then continued her devilish rhetoric, “Since Ningning himself said he would
finish it, shouldn’t you bravely drink the soup now?”
Ai Wei’s words sounded reasonable.
However, the little child looked at the bowl and still didn’t
want to take another sip.
“Auntie.”
With teary eyes, the little child acted spoiled and pleaded,
“Can Ningning not drink it?”
Ai Wei hardened her heart and refused, “No, you can’t.”
Even if it was the Queen, they had to follow Dr. Jean’s
instructions regarding the medicine.
The little child wasn’t giving up. He climbed off the sofa
and pressed his wet face against Ai Wei’s, planting a smooch on her cheek.
Before, if Ningning kissed Auntie, she would be more lenient!
The little child’s intentions were all written on his face,
melting Ai Wei’s heart, but her words remained firm.
With Ai Wei’s insistence, the little child, despite trying
everything in his power, ended up crying and drinking the entire bowl of
medicine.
The group of people around him, relieved to see him finally
finish the medicine, collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
However, the same trick couldn’t be used again. Dr. Jean
prescribed these herbal medicines to be taken once a day for a week.
After successfully “persuading” the little child to drink the
medicine, Ai Wei promptly passed on this task.
“I’ve fed him the medicine for the first day. Tomorrow, it’s
your turn.”
After feeding the medicine, Ai Wei wanted to hold the chubby
little child, but he twisted his body and refused to let her.
Seeing this, Ai Wei sighed and handed this task to someone
else.
Others looked at the queen, then at the pitiful little child
cuddled in his brother’s arms. Their scalps tightened, and they didn’t want to
take over the duty.
“Ai Wei, you’re so gentle and patient. You should feed
Ningning. It suits you best—”
“Shut up.”
Ai Wei interrupted Ludwig’s words, glaring at him. “Your
praise won’t work. Tomorrow, you will be the one to feed the medicine.”
Ludwig: “...”
Ludwig was caught off guard and became the successor. His
face even froze a bit.
“Ai Wei.”
Ludwig’s brain quickly spun, and soon he came up with an
excuse. “I just remembered that I have some urgent official matters to attend
to tomorrow. I might not have time for breakfast.”
“It’s fine. Ningning doesn’t have school these days. When
you’re handling your affairs, just hold him. You’ve done it before.”
Indeed, Ludwig had previously held the little child on his
lap while dealing with official business.
The conversation between the couple was left undisturbed by
the others.
Especially Ling Qi, who had seen the chubby little child’s
expression while taking medicine before. Even if it was Zhan Xi who fed him,
the little child would cry and refuse to let his father hold him for several
days.
This thankless task was now taken over by His Majesty the Emperor
himself. Ling Qi only needed to quietly watch the little child by the side.
Under Ai Wei’s forced order, it was up to Ludwig to figure
out how to feed the medicine tomorrow.
“Ningning, big brother has to go to school now.”
Listening to his parents’ words, Huo Lin gently pinched
Ningning’s soft cheek and whispered, “I’ll play with you when I come back from
school.”
The little child took a day off from school, but Huo Lin
didn’t.
“Big brother can’t skip school.”
Still sitting on his big brother’s lap, the little child held
onto his hand and looked at him with pleading eyes, not letting him go.
“Ningning, do you want to eat the candy melon seeds at the
entrance of our school? I can bring them for you when I come back from school.”
Candy melon seeds, it’s a snack that Ningning had eaten
before!
Upon hearing the words “candy melon seeds,”Ningning, who
didn’t want his big brother to go to school just now, actively climbed down
from his brother’s lap and brought his school bag over.
“Goodbye, big brother!”
The little child handed the school bag to his big brother,
then waved his little hand to bid farewell.
Huo Lin: “...”
Huo Lin understood that he was not as important as a bag of
candy melon seeds.
Ningning, who easily forgot punishment after being treated to
food, bid farewell to his big brother and went to see his father.
Ludwig went to attend to official matters, and Ai Wei
couldn’t carry the little child, so she had to accompany Ludwig and leave.
Ling Qi carried Ningning and returned to the room to see Zhan
Xi.
Time passed little by little.
Ningning, who didn’t go to school, was having a great time
playing in the palace. Instead of being taken back by his father, he stayed in
the palace with his father and Uncle Ling Qi.
Fortunately, the palace was spacious enough, and the three of
them didn’t feel crowded at all.
After waking up, Zhan Xi had already spent plenty of time
cuddling with his little child.
At this moment, he sat on a stone bench in the backyard with
Ling Qi, watching the chubby child hobbling and chasing after something on the
grass. He held a cup of tea in his hand.
Zhan Xi didn’t ask Ling Qi about the Duke’s mansion. He only
mentioned that the little child was mischievous.
“Dr. Jean said Ningning can engage in some moderate
activities. Do you think his current activities... are not quite appropriate?”
“He’s happy right now. Let him stop later.”
“Okay, I’ll follow your lead.”
The two adults continued sitting on the stone bench, watching
the young child. The child’s face turned rosy as he played with Fatty.
Eventually, Zhan Xi called him over and noticed that his back was all wet.
“My sweetie, be a bit more careful. If you hurt your foot
again, you won’t need to go to kindergarten.”
As soon as Zhan Xi finished speaking, the child’s eyes
suddenly lit up.
Zhan Xi: “...”
Zhan Xi, being an experienced father, quickly understood what
the little child was thinking. So, he changed his tone and said, “I misspoke.
If you hurt your foot, I’ll buy you a little wheelchair so you can go to school
in a wheelchair.”
The little child immediately pouted.
For the young child, these days spent recuperating at home
were extremely comfortable.
Late at night, when it was quiet.
Zhan Xi and Ling Qi were both sleeping on the same bed, with
the little child sandwiched between them.
The child was feeling a bit insecure now, afraid that if he
closed his eyes to sleep, Ling Qi would be taken away. So, he insisted on
calling Ling Qi to sleep on the bed with them.
On the left was his dad. On the right was Uncle Ling Qi, and
the little child was snugly nestled between them, feeling blissful.
If the bed wasn’t limited in size, he would have wanted Uncle
Lulu, Auntie Ai Wei, and his big brother to join them and sleep together with
Ningning.
Sleeping snugly between his dad and uncle, the little child
slept soundly, but the two adults had a hard time falling asleep.
Zhan Xi slept too much during the day, while Ling Qi wasn’t
accustomed to it.
In the darkness, the two remained silent, but Zhan Xi could
tell from the sound of Ling Qi’s breathing that he was not asleep.
Zhan Xi cleared his throat and asked, “Aren’t you sleepy?
Should I tell you a story to help you fall asleep?”
“Do you think I’m the same as Ningning?” Ling Qi responded in
a low tone. He slightly turned his face in Zhan Xi’s direction.
Unfortunately, in the darkness, he couldn’t see Zhan Xi’s
face clearly.
“Zhan Xi, aren’t you even a little curious?” Ling Qi suddenly
spoke up. “This whole situation started because of me.”
“Ling Qi, what happened in the past is in the past. If you
don’t want to bring it up, then don’t,” Zhan Xi interrupted him, not allowing
him to continue.
“If there were too many unhappy memories in the past, then
let’s not dwell on them.”
Zhan Xi’s words left Ling Qi silent for a while.
After a moment.
He spoke again, “Yes, you’re right. The past... is in the
past.”
He had already left the Duke’s mansion, and the things that
had happened before would not repeat themselves.
Ling Qi was lost in his thoughts when suddenly, Zhan Xi’s
hand reached over the small child in the middle and approached Ling Qi.
“Alright, close your eyes.”
Zhan Xi gently patted his back, just like how he would soothe
Ningning to sleep. It was a comforting gesture to help Ling Qi fall asleep.
Ling Qi’s ears turned red. He wanted to avoid this kind of
contact, but in the end, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to slowly drift
off to sleep.
That night, everyone slept well.
Except for Duke Cole, who was still lying in his hospital
bed, wide awake and in a bad mood.
“How dare Ludwig do this! How dare he lay a hand on me!”
Duke Cole’s chest heaved violently, as he couldn’t believe
that Ludwig had actually targeted him.
The interests of their noble families were closely tied to
the empire!
Ludwig had been ruling the empire for so long, how could he
make such a foolish decision to antagonize the noble families?
In Duke Cole’s mind, an image of that little child suddenly
flashed.
“No, it’s impossible.”
He tightly clenched the bedsheet in his hands and murmured,
“Ludwig wouldn’t...”
It was just a child, and not even an imperial one. No matter
how much Ludwig liked him, he wouldn’t go to such lengths for a mere child.
Moreover, Cole was certain that Ludwig had a deep bond with
the empress, and he wouldn’t have secretly fathered a child behind her back.
Rationally, Cole didn’t believe that Ludwig had targeted him
because of that child. But this rationality didn’t last long as doubt started
to creep in.
Even the most upright man couldn’t avoid making such mistakes
forever.
Just like himself, he had been deceived by that woman in the
past and ended up having a child who represented a stain on his life.
He despised that child, but Ludwig might not despise his own
offspring.
The more Cole thought about it, the more it made sense to
him. He even concocted a private story about Ludwig in his mind.
Ludwig had a secret child behind the empress’s back, but to
maintain his image of loyalty and devotion to her, he entrusted the infant to
someone else for upbringing.
Although Ludwig intentionally hid his relationship with the
child, he still cared about the child’s safety.
So, he took it out on Cole as a way to vent his frustrations.
Convinced that he had discovered the truth, Cole’s face
hardened with coldness.
Thanks for the update!! 😩😩
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