amaotonovel Chapter 887: Separation is painful! Reunion is also painful!
Chapter 887: Separation is painful! Reunion is also painful!
As autumn deepens, golden chrysanthemums bloom proudly in the frost and the sweet scent of osmanthus lingers, yet there is always a sense of indescribable emptiness.
Ever since Xu Zize was ordered by the emperor to go south to Lingnan to supervise the rubber workshop and promote rubber tree planting, the mansion has become much quieter.
Xichun returned to the courtyard, and Feng Jiaojiao and Jing Mingyue were too busy to come.
Jin Jie'er had several fights with A Yao, and she won seventeen out of twenty-one against her half-sister A Yao. Now she is detained in Jing Mingyue Courtyard by Yin to help embroider wedding dresses, so she rarely goes out.
Feng Yaya naturally wanted to help her sister, so she hadn't been seen for a long time.
Jing Mingzhu, on the other hand, had been raised by a group of elders since childhood. She was well-behaved and sensible, and was very favored. She brought her maid and Yan Jie'er here every day, and still stayed for one or two nights every three or five days.
Being separated from Xu Zize for more than a month is enough for many things to change.
During the first few days, Jing Chunxi felt as if a piece of his heart had been dug out, with a cold wind blowing through it. He had no appetite and could not sleep well at night. He was always worried about the progress of his work and worried that he would meet with an accident. After all, his identity as the eldest prince would easily attract the remaining traitors and rebels against the party.
But she knew very well that she could not indulge in it forever, and could only learn to work hard to touch it.
Although Jing Qiurong recovered well after giving birth, she still needed to rest. Her triplets were still young, and Pu Ge'er only came back from vacation occasionally, and they still needed supervision and care in their studies and martial arts.
The four elders on both sides of the family are all very old, so naturally they have to fulfill their filial duties on behalf of their parents and younger brothers and sisters...
One by one, each task silently fell upon her shoulders. This heavy burden of responsibility forced her to quickly rein in her little girl's demeanor, the lively and energetic look in her eyes gradually giving way to a gentle calm.
She began to learn from her mother, calmly handling some household chores under the guidance of her mother and grandmother, and also learning the palace rules under the supervision of Nanny Zhou.
Occasionally, he would ask about Pu Ge'er's homework in detail. Although he was sometimes clumsy, he was extremely serious.
During the day, she spent most of her time in the warm room of the east wing, which was now the most lively and joyful place in the mansion.
The triplets, who are nearly a hundred days old, have grown up a little, and the red wrinkles they had when they were born have faded, becoming fair, tender and cute.
Heng'er and Ye'er look like they were carved from the same mold. Their eyebrows and nose are exactly like smaller versions of Xu Dingchun, so they also look like Prince Jing.
It is precisely because of this that Prince Jing and the old princess simply cannot let go of her. They come to visit her every day, holding her tightly and refusing to let go, and they smile much more often than before.
Zhaozhao is the treasure of the whole family and a little baby who can stay in his parents' bed at night.
Jing Chunxi sat on a soft couch by the window, watching the wet nurse feeding Zhao Zhao. The little one was being well-fed, no longer the frail kitten he had been when he was born. His face was round, his arms and legs were like lotus roots, and he was full of vitality.
She sucked hard and fast, humming with satisfaction. Just looking at her posture, it was clear that she was not a delicate girl. Her big, round, black eyes looked at the wet nurse for a while, then turned to Jing Chunxi, with extraordinary intelligence.
Looking closely, the outline of her eyebrows and eyes vaguely reveals the graceful beauty of her mother Jing Qiurong, and occasionally a certain expression of hers can be seen in her charm of her elder sister.
"Our Zhao Zhao is getting more and more beautiful as she grows older," Jing Chunxi couldn't help but reach out and gently touch her little sister's face with her fingertips, her heart softening. This little baby seemed to temporarily comfort her unbearable longing.
As he was speaking, the sound of a servant greeting him was heard outside the door. It was Xu Dingchun who had returned from court.
He was still an inspector of the Imperial Censorate. He was required to report for duty punctually every day, but his departure time was also very precise. One of his unshakable rules was that the first thing he did upon returning home was to visit his wife and daughter.
He didn't even have time to change out of his official robes before he strode into the warm room. His eyes fell precisely on the small swaddling baby, and the serious expression on his face instantly melted away, becoming extremely gentle.
"Come, let daddy see if my Zhaozhao is well behaved today?" He took the child from the wet nurse's hands almost carefully, his movements were a little stiff but full of cherishment.
He held his little daughter in his arms as if she were the most fragile treasure in the world, and in his low voice he chattered incessantly to the baby who understood nothing, teasing her and causing Zhao Zhao to babble in response. This would make him smile so brightly that he didn't even bother to take a nap.
This appearance often made the old princess and Jing Qiurong laugh helplessly, and the servants also laughed in private, saying that the prince was so enthusiastic that "it was as if he was the only one in the world who had a daughter."
Jing Chunxi watched from the side, and while his heart was warm, the bitterness of missing her quietly spread again.
If I give birth myself in the future, I wonder what Brother Xiaokang will do... He probably won't be as considerate as Daddy, and his heart and eyes will be so full of family.
I wonder if he would be happy if he saw his family so happy.
She quickly lowered her eyes, her thoughts hushed, and turned to look at her two younger brothers in their cradles, carefully inquiring about their daily lives with her nurse. She filled every moment of the day with it, the physical exhaustion allowing her to sleep more soundly at night, temporarily forgetting the deep longing.
However, she could suppress her daytime thoughts with her willpower, but the person who was thousands of miles away could not even control his dreams.
It is late autumn in Lingnan, but the climate is still hot and humid, and mosquitoes are breeding. It seems like two different worlds compared to the cold autumn wind in the capital, where people have already started wearing thin coats.
I don’t know if it’s because there’s no maid accompanying him, but this time, Xu Zize really felt a lot of discomfort.
During the day, he had to trek through the mountains and forests to survey the terrain and soil, repeatedly negotiate with local officials on the location and construction details of the workshop, and even go deep into the villages to mobilize the skeptical people to plant rubber trees instead.
The affairs were numerous and arduous, and with the emperor's orders upon him, he had to be fully alert and demonstrate the decisiveness and competence expected of a prince. Physical exhaustion and mental tension left him no time for reflection.
But whenever night fell, when he occasionally stayed in a village at the foot of the mountain, outside the window he could hear the strange and noisy chirping of insects, and the air was filled with the damp smell of rotting grass and trees. The longing that had been forcibly suppressed all day would grow wildly like weeds, and would break into his dreams unscrupulously.
In the dream, it was all Jing Chunxi.
It was the charming smile she gave when she looked back under the peach tree, the warmth of her fingertips when she secretly pulled his sleeve, and the affection and shy response in her eyes when they hugged each other in the attic.
It was the night before they parted, the intertwined reluctance and passion of the two leaning against each other, the uncontrollable kiss between their lips and tongues...
The dream was so realistic that it was terrifying. The nights in the south were warm and even hot, which made the lingering feelings in the dream even more passionate and sticky, bringing waves of uncontrollable excitement and throbbing.
However, the end of extreme joy always comes with a sudden awakening.
The tent was completely silent, with only the beating heartbeat like a drum and the cold and sticky touch beneath his body reminding him clearly of the vanity of his dream and the loss of control of his body.
Xu Zize sat up abruptly, a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, his chest heaving violently. In the darkness, he clenched his fists in frustration, a complex mixture of extreme longing, physical embarrassment, and profound powerlessness instantly overwhelmed him.
Xier...his Xier...They haven't gotten married yet, but he has treated her like this in his dreams...But that longing is like poison. Even though he knows he shouldn't, he still enjoys it.
He stood up, put on his clothes, and pushed open the wooden window. The hot and humid wind from the south blew in his face, but it did not bring any coolness, but instead added to his confusion.
He looked at the dark sky in the north, where his deepest concerns lay.
This gnawing longing, and the awkwardness and embarrassment of dealing with the mess alone every morning, became a secret that he could never tell anyone else. It was more draining than dealing with the scorching heat and mosquitoes in Lingnan, or the complicated official duties.
He had to get used to it, get used to suppressing these burning thoughts and desires deep in his heart, forging them into colder iron and harder armor to complete his mission.
Because he is not only the maid's fiancé, but also the eldest prince with a mission. He must produce results faster so that he can return to the capital as soon as possible to see Xi'er, whom he has been thinking about.
He even thought that on the day of the arranged marriage, he would also formally propose to Prince Jing's Mansion and Earl Rong'en's Mansion like an ordinary family, and then bring her home with a grand ceremony.
At this moment, all the tenderness and longing can only be hidden deep in the long night of Lingnan, waiting for the return.
Separation is painful! Reunion is also painful!