Xia Xi was still Queen, his status was extremely noble among the Barbarians. Even in the temple, others still had to treat him respectfully, but there were still many restrictions on him. For example, he couldn't enter or leave the temple's main hall, couldn't talk to other men who weren't priests, and couldn't do much rough work like Yue Ling'er. Xia Xi still insisted on helping, Yue Ling'er finally gave him some clothes and asked him to help make some clothes for the children in the "An 'Eryuan".
So Xia Xi and the maids around him got busy, not only making clothes but also shoes and some simple toys for children to use throughout the winter. Xia Xi's courtyard didn't allow men to enter, however, women were always permitted, whenever they stayed longer, a few girls from the An 'Eryuan would come to his abode to play together.
Almost all of the little girls were abandoned. The older ones were seven or eight years old, and the youngest ones were just over three years old. The children of the Barbarians were very cute, with big eyes and long eyelashes. Their jet-black eyes were always smiling, bringing a refreshing simplicity. When they first saw Xia Xi, they were a little scared. They only dared to look at him timidly, knowing that he was the King's Queen-wife, they would bow to him like adults. But after spending more time together, they discovered that Xia Xi was very gentle, that he gave them food and made warm clothes for them. It gave them a sense of intimacy and they liked being close to him ever since.
Xia Xi also liked getting along with them very much. The maids with him had been around him for many months, he didn't know if it was deliberate or because they didn't have a lively personality, but they refused to open their mouths except for the times when they were simply obligated to speak. Although Xia Xi didn't have a lively temperament, he couldn't help but feel a bit lonely, now that the children had arrived he was finally a bit more active.
Among the books he brought with him, there were several stories that he could tell children. The stories were novel, interesting, and full of fantasy, Xia Xi told stories to them in his free time. His understanding of the Barbarian language wasn't good and didn't know how to express some words, still, he stubbornly tried to stumblingly explain. Several children were eating the candy he shared, when they saw him struggling they didn't feel impatient, they stared at him with innocent eyes like they were encouraging him. After more than two months, Xia Xi still didn't make any progress, but his Barbarian became more and more fluent.
He once again let Lan Duo'er clean up two apples, cut them into pieces, and put them on a plate for the children to eat. Xia Xi noticed that one of the youngest children was missing and couldn't help asking: "What about A'Hua Hua? Did she not come?"
One of the older children bit the apple and said: "A'Hua Hua was picked up by someone, she won't be here anymore, she has a new father and mother." Her tone was ordinary, as if this was nothing extraordinary. Xia Xi was taken aback for a moment and went to see Lan Duo'er a bit at a loss. His reliable maid explained, "A'Hua Hua was adopted."
Xia Xi breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "It turns out that this is the case, that's also a good thing." The Kingdom of Xia also had places similar to the An 'Eryuan, where the children who were abandoned or orphaned were taken care of. After the children were raised, healthy boys would be adopted faster, it would generally be a long wait for either boys with physical illness or girls. Whether in Xia or in Barbarian land, a woman's survival was difficult, it was rare for girls to be adopted early on so Xia Xi was also very happy for A'Hua Hua.
A five or six-year-old girl suddenly said, "I really want to have a new father and mother." Her name was Yaya. Compared to the other girls, her face was a bit uglier and her hair was yellowish, too small, and too skinny. Her body was very thin, such a child wasn't pleasing in a crowd, so she was sent to the nursery soon after she was born and hadn't been adopted yet.
Xia Xi felt sour when he heard her sigh. He stretched out his hand and gently touched her hair, saying softly: "Don't worry, Yaya, one day it'll be fulfilled." The eldest child just said: "I don't want to be adopted, if I were, I won't be able to see Your Highness." She had a physical defect, one leg was lame, so there was almost no possibility of being adopted.
As soon as she spoke, the other three little girls also agreed. Xia Xi's lips curved and he asked them to sit around the charcoal basin, he then began to continue telling them an unfinished story from the day before. The group of children reluctantly left when they heard the evening bell, Xia Xi sent them out the courtyard, watching them walk away. He was about to go back inside when he suddenly noticed a small figure standing in the corner hugging themselves from the corner of his eye. A pair of eyes stared at him, standing out starkly.
Xia Xi had been to the An 'Eryuan several times. The children would all spontaneously run towards him. The guards didn't stop them because they saw that it was only girls. He thought all the girls in the An 'Eryuan had come, but he didn't expect that there was one he hadn't seen before. The other party looked only four or five years old, a bit shorter than most children of the same age, the braids on her head were a bit messy. Xia Xi stopped and smiled at the little girl, he then asked in Barbarian, "Do you want to eat candy too? There's still some in the house, come in and eat."
"Sugar" was a rare thing in the Barbarian country, especially in this temple so far away from the bazaar where children rarely eat even a piece a year. Xia Xi had a lot of sweets, although he himself didn't know why there were so many, but as long as he asked Lan Duo'er, Lan Duo'er would get it, and the little girls who came to him would get a sugar cube almost every day.
Even after he said that, the other party didn't move, looking at him with a defensive posture. Xia Xi thought for a while, raised his foot, and walked over. After only two steps, the other party ran away, leaving him looking at a small figure.
This happened several times, and Xia Xi couldn't help being disheartened. After telling the story to Yaya and the others, he couldn't help but ask: "Have all the girls in the An 'Eryuan been here?"
The fixed number of children in the nursery wasn't large, because although many children were admitted, they may be adopted in the next few days. The eldest child said: "We've all been here." Xia Xi was a bit confused and described the appearance of the strange child to them, after speaking, Yaya said loudly: "His Royal Highness is talking about that weird kid, he's Xia folk, not one of us here." When she finished speaking, an older child covered her mouth and glanced at Xia Xi with a little panic. Only then did Yaya remember that the Queen who had treated them very well was also a Xia person and panicked.
Xia Xi smiled slightly, "So that's it." This time, after he saw the little girl behind the pillar, he asked in Chinese: "It's cold, I still have some sugar here, do you want to come in and eat it?"
The other party stood in a stalemate, still cautiously staring at him with a pair of black eyes. Xia Xi had good eyesight and noticed that she gulped, slowly approaching her. In the past, she would flee after seeing Xia Xi take two steps, but this time she didn't run. Xia Xi walked to her slowly, and after carefully looking at her, he knew that she was definitely Xia, because she looked different from the Barbarian children.
The little girl was very delicate, her complexion was white, but were are some smudges on her cheeks, there's no blush that was characteristic of Barbarian women, her lips were very thin, and probably because of the cold weather, was a little pale. Seeing her hair still messy, Xia Xi was very distressed.
There had always been a rift between the two countries, he didn't know how she got here. She must've been living badly, and might've also been bullied by others, plus, she probably didn't understand the Barbarian language. Xia Xi squatted down, keeping his eye level equal with the girl's and asking softly: "You understand what I'm saying, don't you?"
The little girl didn't speak, she held the post tightly with both hands, obviously extremely nervous. Xia Xi thought of Yaya saying that she never talked, thinking maybe she was dumb, so he changed to a softer tone, "It's cold here, come back to the house with me. Can I give you some candy?" He stretched out his hand to touch her, but the other party took a step back defensively, her eyes were wary, Xia Xi retracted his hand and smiled: "You come with me." He walked into the room, walking a few steps, and looking back. The little girl was obviously somewhat hesitant, but after a while, she stepped forward and followed.
Xia Xi deliberately slowed down, fearing that she wouldn't be able to keep up, and walked into the courtyard. When the other maids saw him bringing other people in, they didn't respond, they still did their own things but the little girl seemed to be afraid of them, she slowed down and somewhat shrinked back. Xia Xi said: "Don't be afraid, they're all good people and won't hurt you." The little girl then followed him again into the house.
Xia Xi asked her to sit down and wanted to give her candy, but when he saw her dirty hands, he asked Lan Duo'er to heat a pot of water and washed her hands little by little with a cloth towel. He said: "You can come in the future, don't be afraid of me, don't be afraid of other people." He also washed her face. The little girl didn't speak, her eyes were still fixed on the candy next to him. Xia Xi laughed a little. When her hands were finally clean, he put the candy on her palm. The little girl was in a daze and quickly held the candy to her mouth, sticking out her tongue to lick, then lick, and lick again...
Xia Xi felt distressed and wanted to find something else for her to eat, when he came back, he found that she had run away. After a few more times, the little girl finally didn't fear him as much. She was always dirty, the Barbarians lacked water and the locals didn't like to bathe. It was normal for children to take a bath every ten or eight days, unlike Xia Xi, who took a bath almost every day no matter how cold it was.
He had just came out of the bath that day, the little girl was waiting outside the yard again. Xia Xi brought her back, unavoidably smelling a peculiar smell from her body, thinking that she herself probably didn't know how long she hadn't bathed. He let Lan Duo'er prepare some hot water to bring in, and then took out new clothes that he made specially for her, wanting to bathe her. Xia Xi expressed his intentions, and when he saw her motionless, had to undress her. He positioned his hands on her robe, but the little girl struggled violently, she was very resistant. Xia Xi felt helpless, and said warmly: "Bathing is good for your body. You probably haven't washed for a while. If you don't take a bath for a long time, your body will be prone to problems. The hot water's very comfortable, I'll wash you slowly, alright? You can eat two pieces of candy."
Hearing the word "sugar", the little girl's struggling movements stopped. Xia Xi knew she was willing, so he continued to undress her. When he took off her pants, Xia Xi's eyes fell on her crotch, he was taken aback.
How come there's a birdie?
Looking down a little more, Xia Xi became shocked.
The child in front of him was actually an intersex person like him.
Xia Xi slowly recovered from his consternation, thinking of what Yaya had said at the beginning, he finally understood what the "weird" from the child's mouth meant. He was bit little uncomfortable, and while bathing the child, he thought that reason for her abandonment was probably because of her physique?