When Song Yihuan woke up the next day, it was already broad daylight. Ji Lingchuan hadn't gotten up yet. Instead, he was sitting on the bedside, holding her in his arms and looking through the clothes she had embroidered and altered for Xiangxiang.
The patterns on the clothes were all embroidered by her stitch by stitch. Her embroidery skills were so proficient that they were comparable to those of the best embroidery and brocade workshops in the capital.
Song Yihuan woke up but didn't get up in a hurry. Instead, she nestled closer into the man's arms and asked,
"How did you coax Xiangxiang into calling you 'Daddy' yesterday?"
Ji Lingchuan glanced at her and said, "We're father and son by blood. He already regarded me as his daddy in his heart without any coaxing."
Song Yihuan said, "Don't I know him well? You must have bribed him with something nice, which is why he switched sides."
Mentioning Xiangxiang, Song Yihuan remembered a very important question.
Frowning, she said, "Speaking of which, I faked my death and escaped back then, but this time I'm going to Yu State to marry as Princess Yanyun. If I take him back to the capital, how should I explain his identity and origin to the world?"
Ji Lingchuan said, "There's no need to explain. You're the noble princess of Yanyun. You don't need to care about others' gazes and scrutiny. Moreover, even the emperor has never said anything. Who are they to comment?"
This remark was extremely overbearing, but it was precisely this that made Song Yihuan smile happily.
That's right. Now she had the confidence and was no longer afraid of others gossiping behind her back.
The man's strong arm encircled her slender waist, and his fingers rubbed gently at her waist. "How did you make a living during these years of living in seclusion among the common people? Embroidery or copying books?"
These were the skills he knew she relied on for survival before.
He knew she was good at embroidery. In order to find her whereabouts, he specially asked people to keep an eye on the embroidery patterns circulating in embroidery workshops all over Yu State. Apart from finding a few that were somewhat similar in the hands of a Mrs. Wang in Dog Tail Alley, there were no other leads.
And that Mrs. Wang said that her embroidery skills were taught by a beautiful girl. The girl once disguised herself as an old woman and stayed in her house on the pretext of spraining her waist.
Ji Lingchuan regretted it deeply when he found out. He did manage to trace it to Mrs. Wang's house back then, but he didn't go any further due to propriety. As a result, he missed her.
Later, he sent people to check the bookstores all over and collect the works of the copyists hired by each bookstore, but there was still no clue.
She seemed to have truly disappeared from this world.
Song Yihuan heard the hint of grievance in his words. Her lips curled up as she said, "Speaking of this, I have to thank Big Brother Ling for the silver he rewarded me and Father back then."
"The reward we received was enough for us to buy a small house among the common people and live a worry - free life. Father was never one to sit idle. He would often go out to sell noodles or do some carpentry work to earn some silver. Since we didn't have to worry about food and drink, I didn't need to earn money by embroidering or copying books."
Ji Lingchuan remembered that after he solved the case of the old canal in the capital back then, knowing that she was short of money, besides the reward from the yamen, he gave her an extra three hundred taels of silver note. He couldn't help but feel annoyed.
It seemed that it was he who had inadvertently driven her to make up her mind to escape. Thinking about it now, he really regretted it!
But if he had to do it all over again, he was afraid he would still do the same.
Fortunately, fortunately, after so many years, he had found her again.
"You once said you would embroider a piece of clothing for me, but you were so determined to leave back then that you only left a half - finished product. Shouldn't you make it up to me?" Ji Lingchuan said, holding Xiangxiang's clothes.
Song Yihuan rolled over and lay on his chest. Her eyes curved contentedly. "I know. I'll embroider another one for you. This time, I guarantee I won't break my promise."
The next moment, he flipped her over. The man grabbed her slender waist and laughed, "One is not enough! For each of the four seasons—spring, summer, autumn, and winter—you should make one. Clothes, belts, boots, and even sachets and fan faces. I should have everything that others have."
Holding her hand and pressing it against his chest, he looked at her deeply and lovingly. "Take a good look. Has my size changed at all compared to four years ago?"
Song Yihuan was so embarrassed. She never expected him to be so vulgar in this regard. He was nothing like the cold - faced heir who used to be silent and only focused on physical actions during their nights together.
The young couple was being lovey - dovey, lost in their own world.
Fortunately, everyone knew that the two had just reunited and had endless things to say to each other, so they didn't disturb them.
As for Xiangxiang, he wasn't a very clingy child. Knowing that he wasn't allowed to disturb Ji Lingchuan and Song Yihuan, he pestered Feng Tingyun and Song Yixuan to play with him. Since Qi Lei was in good health now, he could also talk to him. So Xiangxiang didn't feel bored at all.
However, during the family dinner at night, he seemed to think of something. He raised his small hand with effort and used his not - so - proficient chopstick skills to pick up a piece of meat and put it in Song Yihuan's bowl. He said seriously,
"Mother, you should eat more so that you can give birth to younger brothers and sisters."
Song Yihuan was caught off guard and choked on his words. Covering her lips, her face turned bright red from coughing. She looked at Xiangxiang in surprise. "Who... who taught you to say such things?"
Xiangxiang immediately betrayed the instigator and pointed at Feng Tingyun. "Big Brother Tingyun said so. He said that when Mother and Father are together, they're going to give Xiangxiang younger brothers and sisters. Mother is very hard - working, so she should eat more."
Song Yihuan cast a glance at him. Strangely enough, although Feng Tingyun couldn't see, he could sense Song Yihuan's mood at the moment. There was no trace of shame on his face. Instead, he said, "Sorry. I'm blind, but my hearing is better."
This meant that he had overheard Ji Lingchuan whispering to Song Yihuan last night about having a few more children.
"Feng Tingyun!!!"
As a result, Ji Lingchuan couldn't enter Song Yihuan's room smoothly that night. She angrily chased him out. Her face was as red as a rosy cloud, making her look even more charming, but the words she said were extremely heartless:
"Before our wedding, you're not allowed to come near my room! If you cross the line, I'll take Xiangxiang back to Yanyun and never see you again!"
With a "bang", the door closed in front of him, almost hitting Ji Lingchuan's nose.
He rubbed his nose awkwardly and turned around. He saw Feng Tingyun standing under the persimmon tree in the yard like a hermit immortal. "General Ji, although you're Xiangxiang's biological father, as her elder brother, I'll always stand by Huan'er's side. If she's wronged in Yu State, I'll come and take her back myself."
"Yanyun is her strong backing."
Ji Lingchuan was furious. The veins on his arms bulged as he tried his best to suppress the jealousy in his heart.
He said coldly, "Then I won't trouble Brother Yun. I, Ji Lingchuan, will protect them mother and son."
After saying that, he picked up Xiangxiang and turned to go to Song Yixuan's room.
After he left, Feng Tingyun slightly lifted the corners of his lips. He was in a very good mood.
Sure enough, Yu State was more interesting. But... now that he was the lord of Yanyun, he couldn't stay in a foreign country for a long time. It was time for him to leave.
Listening to Xiangxiang happily calling "Daddy" in the room, Feng Tingyun sighed wistfully.