AMLFS Chapter 104
by VolareSun Shu, seeing his lack of reaction, felt a sinking feeling in his heart.
Normally, loud crying andFuriousing would be considered normal in such situations. It was the silent ones he feared most, as they were the trickiest to deal with.
Sun Shu nudged Liang Xiuzhu’s arm beside him, winking: “You caused this, hurry and coax him!”
Liang Xiuzhu, receiving the signal, began to sweat on his forehead. He had only intended to cause trouble for Sun Shu.
He hadn’t expected it to turn out like this…
“That… Consort, Prince’s departure on this campaign… there was really no choice… After all, the battlefield is dangerous, and the Prince was just afraid you’d worry, wasn’t he?”
Liang Xiuzhu squatted down, racking his brains, intending to use reason and emotion to persuade him.
Song Huaixi lowered his dull, round eyes, clearly very sad. He sniffled, barely managing to hold back the tears that threatened to spill over.
Seeing that he finally showed some reaction, Liang Xiuzhu was overjoyed.
Just as he was about to say something more, Song Huaixi interrupted him, “I know, Zhao Fangye and I made a promise. I will obediently wait for him to come back.”
Having said that, Song Huaixi began to pace back and forth inside the tent. Looking at the items displayed inside, he felt a sense of emptiness in his heart. It was as if a big hole had been smashed out of his heart.
Touching the chair Zhao Fangye often sat on, looking at the pen he often used, Song Huaixi only felt a surge of bitterness rise to his nose.
He was clearly still by his side yesterday.
Sun Shu and Liang Xiuzhu felt bad in their hearts seeing him so sad. But they didn’t dare to offer comfort easily, fearing they would only make things worse.
Sun Shu felt he wasn’t good with words, while Liang Xiuzhu simply felt guilty.
The two silently watched Song Huaixi hug the cloak Zhao Fangye had left behind and slowly walk out.
Zhao Qiongwan and Song Lianyu, who had rushed over anxiously, happened to see Song Huaixi walking out with the cloak in his arms, his face listless and not crying his heart out as they had imagined.
They were both stunned for a moment.
“Brother, Sister-in-law.” Seeing them, Song Huaixi stopped and called out, “Why are you here?”
Lin Rugui and Song Zigen were both old and couldn’t handle the strain, and when they heard that they couldn’t hide it from Song Huaixi, they were so anxious that they specifically sent them over to comfort Song Huaixi.
The two exchanged a smile, stepped forward, and took his arms, one on each side, saying, “Aren’t we just afraid you’d be bored alone, so we came to find you to play? Let’s go, let’s go to Mom and Dad’s place for lunch.”
Song Huaixi wasn’t in high spirits and said dully, “I’ve already eaten.”
“Oh dear, then go keep Mom and Dad company.”
And so, the two sandwiched Song Huaixi and went to Lin Rugui’s tent.
When people are sad, the most important thing is to avoid being alone.
Seeing that Song Huaixi had come, everyone tacitly didn’t dare to mention the matter from this morning. Lin Rugui had someone serve him a bowl of Osmanthus Sweet Cheese.
Song Huaixi’s dull, round eyes lit up slightly when he saw the sweet cheese in front of him.
“Zhao Lu said you didn’t eat much, this is made with milk bought from the neighboring town, try it quickly.” Lin Rugui smiled and handed him the sweet cheese.
Song Huaixi obediently took the spoon, scooped up a spoonful, and fed it into his mouth. The silky smooth and sweet sweet cheese dispelled some of the bitterness in his heart.
But he still didn’t say much, his dull, round eyes drooping. Everyone didn’t force him, knowing that he needed to digest his emotions himself.
After eating for a while, Song Huaixi, watching Chun Hua busy in the tent, asked, “What is Sister Chun Hua doing?”
“Oh.” Lin Rugui remembered that she had forgotten to tell him: “Deputy General Sun has found us a house, and we will all be moving there early tomorrow morning. Later, I’ll have Zhao Lu pack up for you as well.”
Song Huaixi didn’t say anything after hearing this. He just felt that ever since Zhao Fangye had gone to Hanzhou, their family had been moving around all the time.
Zhao Fangye was always leaving.
He didn’t understand the undercurrents in the court, nor did he understand imperial power. He just wanted to be with Zhao Fangye and his parents, older brother, and sister-in-law.
Clutching the cloak on his arm, Song Huaixi wondered if everything wouldn’t have happened if Zhao Fangye hadn’t gone to Hanzhou?
In the evening, after Song Huaixi returned, Lin Rugui and Song Zigen sat in their chairs. Song Zigen stroked his beard and said with some gratification, “Madam, have you noticed that our Huaixi has grown up?”
“What makes you say that, my husband?” Lin Rugui was a little puzzled.
“When he was little, whenever I went on a long trip, Huaixi would cry so hard, he couldn’t be consoled. Now look, compared to the last time the Prince went to Hanzhou, this time Huaixi is much more sensible.”
Song Zigen could see that Song Huaixi had shed his childishness and grown up.
Lin Rugui thought about it carefully after hearing this, and suddenly remembered something: “That’s right, it was the same when Huaixi was kidnapped and came back last time, he even comforted me. Ah, he’s really sensible.”
Back in his tent, Song Huaixi silently washed up, went to bed, and didn’t forget to bring Zhao Fangye’s cloak to bed.
Zhao Lu looked at the bed a few times with some worry, and only went out after seeing that Song Huaixi was lying obediently without crying.
Song Huaixi lay on the bed, the bedding still retaining Zhao Fangye’s scent. Just last night, the two of them were sleeping in each other’s arms, and today only Song Huaixi was left alone.
He suddenly felt that the usually warm bed had become cold, and he tightly hugged the cloak, as if only in this way could he draw some warmth.
In the middle of the night, Zhao Lu was guarding outside, when she heard a soft sob coming from the tent. She hurriedly went inside to check.
Song Huaixi was lying on the bed, his body curled up. His eyes were closed, his brows tightly knit, not knowing what scene he was dreaming of.
He was still shedding tears in his sleep, muttering to himself.
Zhao Lu was a little worried, she squatted by the bed and called softly a few times: “Consort? Consort, wake up…”
She called a few times, but did not wake him from his dream. Zhao Lu only heard him say something intermittently.
“I… promised… uh… to come back quickly…”
“Safe… Huaixi is obedient…”
As soon as Zhao Lu heard it, she knew he was missing the Prince. Looking at the tear stains on Song Huaixi’s face, she sighed and wiped them with her handkerchief with pity.
“Consort, the Prince will definitely return victoriously, don’t worry.” After saying that, she sat on the edge of the bed, gently patting his back, humming an unknown tune.
Just like she used to coax the little brother who was traveling with them when they were fleeing, in fact, in her eyes, Song Huaixi was like her own younger brother.
Watching him and the Prince being loving, Zhao Lu was also happy for them.
Under Zhao Lu’s comfort, Song Huaixi’s sobs gradually subsided, and his tear-stained eyelashes stopped trembling and slowly drifted off to sleep.
After Song Huaixi fell asleep, Zhao Lu carefully covered him with the quilt and tiptoed out.
Early the next morning, Song Huaixi and the others followed Sun Shu in a carriage to a nearby town.
The night before Zhao Fangye left, he had already arranged everything. Not only did he tell Sun Shu to find a courtyard in advance, but he also left two squads of personal soldiers to protect them. Fearing that Song Huaixi wouldn’t eat well, he even sent someone to grab a chef from the capital.
One must know that now that the two armies were at war, the passage of people and horses was very strict. The checks were very tight, and any carelessness would result in being arrested as a spy.
Liang Xiuzhu disguised himself as a cook and sneaked into the army, wanting to go to the capital with Zhao Fangye, but Sun Shu caught him and brought him back.