Chapter 34 - 33: I Think I Miss Mom

Chapter 34: Chapter 33: I Think I Miss Mom

Xu Jing found herself lost in thought, unable to avert her gaze for a long moment.

The little child hiding in the alley seemed to believe she had left. He cautiously poked out half of his head again, and upon realizing she was still standing there, appeared startled, his long, curly eyelashes trembling suddenly.

This time, however, he did not look away; instead, he continued to gaze at Xu Jing.

His expression seemed to be both tense and frightened.

Xu Jing snapped out of her reverie, feeling somewhat puzzled. Did she look so scary? Why did the child wear such an expression?

After the broker left, she lifted the gauzy veil of her hat, and even though children didn’t really know how to judge beauty, her face wouldn’t be scary enough to frighten him, would it?

With the intention of building a good relationship with her future neighbors, Xu Jing turned to the child, bent slightly at the waist, and softly said, "Little one, whose child are you?"

The little child was taken aback, his expression appearing somewhat blank.

Seeing he didn’t speak for a long time, Xu Jing assumed he was shy. Her lips curved slightly into a smile as her voice grew gentler, "Are you lost? Tell me where you live, and I’ll take you home, alright?"

The little child still did not speak, only gazed at her dumbly, his eyes suddenly turning slightly red.

Xu Jing was a bit startled, thinking she had guessed right. The child was truly lost.

Such a small child, looking only four or five years old—if he were lost, how anxious and helpless he must be.

She couldn’t help but show some affection in her eyes as she attempted to step toward him. Seeing his lashes tremble again, but without any extreme reaction, she continued to slowly approach him, speaking as she walked, "Come out, and we can talk, alright? I’m not a bad person; I can help you find your family..."

However, before she finished her sentence, the child suddenly spun around and ran into the alley with a "tap, tap, tap".

Xu Jing was slightly stunned and instinctively quickened her pace. By the time she reached the entrance of the alley, she could only see the small figure of the child running off into the distance.

She stood there in a daze, once again falling into deep self-doubt.

Could it be that, in the eyes of children, she truly looked frightening?

At that moment, a female voice called out from not far away, "Madam, what are you doing there?"

It was Chunyang who had returned.

Xu Jing came back to her senses, lifting her head to look at the sky, which was already painted in broad swaths of orange. She said, "It’s nothing, it’s getting late; let’s go home."

On the other side, Xiao Huai’an kept his head down, running wildly, when he unexpectedly bumped right into Xianyun, who had come out to find him.

Xianyun, initially filled with anxiety, relaxed immediately upon colliding with the small figure in his arms. He quickly picked up the child, speaking with both anger and fear, "Little Lord, where on earth have you been? I only took my eyes off you for a moment, and you disappeared! I even kept it from the Lord so I could bring you along, and if I lost you, no number of lives would be enough to make up for it..."

Even though the Little Lord had a Hidden Guard following him, still... still, this sort of scare was too much!

"Xianyun."

The little boy in his arms seemed not to hear his endless grumbling, suddenly wrapping his soft little hands tightly around Xianyun’s neck, resting his small face on his shoulder, sounding rather forlorn, "I feel like I kind of miss Mom."

Xianyun was suddenly taken aback.

They all knew about the kind of life the Little Lord had while with that woman before. He would never forget the scars that covered the child’s small body when the Lord had just brought the Little Lord back. Some were light, some were severe, some were old, and some were new. The newest wound was even still bleeding!

He could hardly believe that a mother would treat her own child so brutally!

The Lord had initially left the Little Lord with that woman because he thought separating a mother from her child, whom she had borne through ten months of hardship, was a tragedy. Little did he know that, in this world, some people truly didn’t deserve to be mothers.

During his time with the Lord, the Little Lord never mentioned his mother. But how could such a young boy not miss his biological mother, even if she was as venomous as a viper? In the child’s heart, a mother was still special.

The Little Lord just didn’t speak of her, yet sometimes in his sleep, he would mumble "Mom" with a sobbing tone.

This was the first time that the Little Lord openly mentioned his mom in front of them.

And claimed... he missed her.

Xianyun felt a painful tug in his heart, as if something was pulling at it. Holding the small, warm body in his arms, he said, "Little Lord, don’t think about that woman anymore. She treated you poorly and doesn’t deserve to be your mom.

Didn’t you say you really missed the Lord? He’ll be off duty and back soon. I’ll take you to change your clothes, so you can meet the Lord, alright?"

Xiao Huai’an didn’t say a word, only pursing his small lips with eyes as if there were pests inside them, watery and stinging.

Of course, he knew Mom was bad, and he didn’t want to like her.

But he still missed Mom very, very much.

Yet, it seemed like his Mom had forgotten him.

Mom also seemed to have become gentle.

Only, not towards him.

The child that Mom did not like seemed to be only him.

Later, having received the news, Xiao Yi strode with a furrowed brow into his temporary residence in Anping County, directly passing by the little servant who had hurried over to greet him and swiftly heading to the back courtyard.

Hearing footsteps, Xianyun quickly came out from the doorway. Xiao Yi had not even reached him when he dropped to his knees with a "thud", trembling as he said, "I greet the Lord; the Little Lord... perhaps due to the long journey, has already fallen asleep."

Xiao Yi paused in his actions; when he resumed his steps, his movements became much quieter.

Without casting a glance at Xianyun, he entered the room and soon after walked out, cautiously closing the door behind him, giving Xianyun an icy glance, "Come over."

Xianyun immediately started shaking in fear.

He had hoped the Little Lord would plead for him, but who would have guessed the Little Lord had gone to sleep?

Little Lord, this may be our final farewell, but for your sake, Xianyun doesn’t regret it!

Xianyun, wearing an expression of heading to his doom, followed his Lord to a study room. Contrary to his expectations, the Lord did not immediately punish him but instead inquired about various matters during the journey.

Xianyun hurriedly answered each question. Eventually, Xiao Yi fell silent for a while before asking, "Was there anything unusual with Chang Xiao on the way here?"

Chang Xiao was Xiao Huai’an’s pet name.

Xianyun shook his head but then seemed to recall something, hesitating as he said, "The Little Lord was well-behaved throughout the journey; only earlier, I didn’t keep an eye on him, and he ran off. After I found him, he suddenly said he missed his mom..."

Xiao Yi was slightly taken aback; a certain emotion quietly flickered in his dark eyes. After a while, he said, "Go back. This isn’t like the Western Capital, with not so many servants. Take good care of the Little Lord."

Xianyun was overjoyed, instinctively saying, "The Lord doesn’t blame me for bringing the Little Lord here on my own?"

Xiao Yi’s brows immediately knitted in a frown, casting a cold glance at him, "You’ll owe me for that. Once we return to the Western Capital, receive one hundred lashes."

Xianyun: "!!!"

Why did he speak out of turn! Did he actually think that after the Lord’s visit to Anping County, he had become gentle?

One hundred lashes! He wouldn’t be able to get out of bed for the next month!

But Xianyun dared not say anything, agreeing silently with a tearful heart, then turned and left.

Shortly after he left, a shadow suddenly leaped out of the void, bowing toward Xiao Yi and saying, "I greet the Lord. Today, Miss Xu went to a clinic named Xinglin Hall and seemingly discussed some cooperation with the Cheng Brothers and Sisters who run it. Subsequently, Miss Xu saved a woman who suddenly fell ill with a very peculiar method."

Over these days, the person Xiao Yi had sent to Xu Jing’s side reported to him daily about her situation.

In previous days, she had been visiting different clinics, but today something else finally happened.

Xiao Yi was slightly surprised, asking in a deep voice, "A very peculiar method?"