AMLFS Chapter 33

Chapter 33: A Glimpse of Azure Cloth

Chapter 33: A Glimpse of Azure Cloth

Since the Chancellor regarded Song Huaixi as a thorn in his side and a barb in his flesh,

Then he would grant the Chancellor’s wish and find a pawn to divert his attention.

The Chancellor believed that he was merely infatuated with beauty and had no real affection for Song Huaixi.

Now, the person before him was even more beautiful and could more easily convince the Chancellor.

Although Liang Xiuzhu didn’t understand the intention behind this, he obediently complied.

As long as he could stay in the Ning Wang Mansion, he could ensure his mother’s life was safe.

Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district instructed Deputy General Sun to settle Liang Xiuzhu in a side hall in the backyard.

He also told Liang Xiuzhu that without his permission, he was not allowed to step out of the courtyard.

This meant he was being confined to the side courtyard. For his mother’s sake, Liang Xiuzhu accepted without complaint.

Deputy General Sun knew that the Prince’s intention in doing this was simply to avoid letting Song Huaixi know and causing unnecessary misunderstandings.

On the other side, upon learning that the youngest son of the Liang family had been left behind by Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district, the Chancellor was relieved.

He knew that there was no way Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district could be so infatuated as to lose his mind over a simpleton.

He had seen the youngest son of the Liang family; his appearance was absolutely stunning. It was only natural that Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district would be attracted to him.

Looking at the message sent by Liang Xiuzhu in his hand, the Chancellor finally dispelled his concerns.

He believed that now that Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district had Liang Xiuzhu, his disgust for Song Huaixi was only a matter of time.

When that time came, he wouldn’t even need to take action himself.

At this moment, Song Huaixi, who should have been the one being disliked, was lying in Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district’s arms, reading a comic book, with Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district occasionally feeding him snacks.

Song Huaixi complained that the soft couch in the study was too hard. The carved backrest hurt his back. He wanted to lie down to read, but supporting himself on his elbows for too long was also tiring.

So, he simply pulled Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district, who was reviewing documents, onto the soft couch.

He nestled into his arms, placed the book in his hands, and comfortably leaned against the human-shaped soft pillow as he read his comic book.

Interrupted from his work, Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district wasn’t angry.

Suppressing a smile, he patiently turned the pages for him, sitting with him on the soft couch to look at the comic book.

The room was quiet, with only the occasional crackling sound from the stove.

“Huaixi, why do you like reading comic books so much?” Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district asked, flipping through the beautifully illustrated comic book in his hands.

He had noticed that he always looked at picture books with only illustrations and had never seen him read any other books.

Song Huaixi was focused on the comic book, but upon hearing his words, he became a little dejected and replied, “I don’t know how to read, so I can only look at comic books.”

“You don’t know how to read? Huaixi, haven’t you ever attended school?” Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district raised an eyebrow, pulling him up to sit.

“I have.”

Remembering past events, Song Huaixi’s expression darkened. He was born with deficiencies, making it very difficult for him to attend school. Things that others could understand after hearing them once, he had to ponder many times to understand.

The teacher also didn’t have much patience with him.

The school was full of children from official families, and when they realized that Song Huaixi was naturally slow-witted, they joined together to ostracize and tease him.

The Song family didn’t have much status in the court, so everyone teased Song Huaixi even more unscrupulously and rampantly.

After returning home, Madam Lin discovered the bruises on his body and realized that her precious son was being bullied at school.

Later, seeking justice was also unsuccessful because the other party had power and influence.

That period of time had always been a shadow in Song Huaixi’s heart, and it was also from that time that he hated being called “little fool” by others.

Afterward, Song Zigen also thought of a solution, hiring a tutor to teach him at home, but Song Huaixi was very resistant to studying.

So, they stopped forcing him.

Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district understood the course of events from his fragmented words, reaching out to stroke his head, his eyes filled with pity.

“Very well, if you want to read, I can read to you.”

“Really?” Song Huaixi’s eyes lit up. “I want to hear stories about monsters.”

“Monsters?” Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district pondered for a moment, then got up and took a book from the bookshelf. “I don’t have stories about monsters, but I have gazetteers from various provinces that should touch on some. Would you like to hear them?”

“I want to hear them.” Song Huaixi nodded, sitting next to him with an expectant look on his face.

Taking the book, he chose some interesting local anecdotes and told them to Song Huaixi.

Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district’s voice was low and magnetic, making the stories captivating. Song Huaixi leaned in his arms, listening intently.

After this day, Song Huaixi stopped reading comic books and often came to Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district with books, asking him to read to him.

However, Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district was busy with many affairs and sometimes couldn’t get away, so he suggested that he go to school to learn to read. That way, he could read books himself.

Holding the book, Song Huaixi was very hesitant. “I… don’t want to go…”

Seeing his resistance, Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district pulled him into his arms. “This time, no one will bully you. Spring is coming soon. I have to go to court to handle affairs and won’t be at the mansion much. Won’t you be bored staying alone in the Ning Wang Mansion?”

Nodding, Song Huaixi did feel a little bored. There were only a few things he could do all day.

Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district coaxed him gently, “If you go to the academy, you’ll have more people to play with, and then Huaixi won’t be bored.”

Although Song Huaixi was born with deficiencies, Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district didn’t want to keep him cooped up in the Ning Wang Mansion like a canary, raising him to be useless.

He could understand the Song family’s love for their son, but in his view, being ignorant of the world was not a good thing, as it meant he lacked some other possibilities.

Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district hoped that he could distinguish right from wrong and have his own judgment.

As an independent person, rather than just staying in the Ning Wang Mansion, being a dodder flower that could only depend on him.

Listening to his description, Song Huaixi was somewhat yearning. Since he was little, because of his own condition, his parents had restricted his activities.

Having grown up so much, he had only stayed in the Song Mansion and the Ning Wang Mansion, occasionally being able to go out to the streets to play.

If the people at the academy wouldn’t bully him, he would be very willing.

Seeing his expression soften, Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district lowered his head and looked at him tenderly, saying, “Give it a try. If you don’t like it, we’ll come back, okay?”

“Okay…” Under his gentle gaze, Song Huaixi nodded.

Ever since agreeing to go to school with Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district, Song Huaixi had been a little afraid.

He was still somewhat fearful of school.

On this day, he didn’t go to the study but played with Little Wolf in the backyard.

Seeing that Song Huaixi was a little depressed, Qing Shan and Qing Yang stepped forward and suggested, “Does the Wangfei want to have a snowball fight?”

Shaking his head, Song Huaixi sat down in the pavilion, watching Little Wolf frolic in the snow.

The puppy was growing fast, having grown a lot in the blink of an eye. Qing Shan and Qing Yang were also feeding it well, making the puppy round and chubby.

After running for a while, Little Wolf bit off a twig and brought it back, placing it on the ground, its eyes looking expectantly at Song Huaixi.

Song Huaixi didn’t understand what it meant, turning to look at Qing Shan and Qing Yang. “What is Little Wolf doing?”

“Oh! Haha.” Qing Shan realized. “Little Wolf wants to play fetch with the Wangfei.”

Qing Shan often played this game with Little Wolf, and Little Wolf was familiar with it. It was inviting Song Huaixi with the twig in its mouth.

Song Huaixi became interested, picking up the twig and throwing it far away. The puppy shot out like a sharp arrow.

It bit the twig in the snow and brought it back to Song Huaixi, wagging its tail vigorously.

They played like this for a while, and Song Huaixi felt a little cold but didn’t want to go back yet. Qing Shan and Qing Yang then said they would go back to get him some food and clothes.

Little Wolf, on the other hand, was tireless, holding the twig and looking at him.

Song Huaixi bent down and threw the twig towards a secluded corner of the courtyard.

He wanted it to run further away.

Little Wolf happily ran over, but this time, it didn’t come back for a long time.

A little puzzled, Song Huaixi stood up and walked towards the direction it had gone. “Little Wolf? Where did you go?”

Passing through the courtyard, Song Huaixi saw a crack in a courtyard door hidden behind the trees.

Little Wolf squeezed out of the courtyard door, revealing a pair of eyes, barking at him.

It turned out it had fallen into the threshold and couldn’t climb out.

Song Huaixi stepped forward and picked it up, about to get up. In his sight appeared a glimpse of azure cloth.