For a moment, many thoughts flashed through Xia Xi's mind; guesses, doubts, and a little nervousness that he couldn't control. He walked slowly in front of his younger son, squatting down he took what was in his hand and carefully observed it. Soon he was convinced that he wasn't wrong. Although Concubine Yu wasn't favored, this golden hairpin was passed down to her by her maternal family, it wasn't a vulgar product, it was once produced by a famous artist. Every piece of jewelry had a different style, there would never be repetitions. Although Xia Xi didn't hold it often, he couldn't count how many times he looked at it, he remembered every detail clearly, and there was no mistake.
This golden hairpin was definitely the one given to him by his mother.
But he had already given it to Cai Huan back then, why did it appear here?
His expression was too solemn, the small prince was puzzled. He shook his hand and asked, "Ah-Ma, what's the matter? Your face is a bit scary."
Xia Xi came back to his senses, he reluctantly adjusted his expression and asked, "Yue'er, where did you get this thing?"
The small prince said, "Here, in my father's cupboard. There's so many things, but this one was the most beautiful. I want to give it to my grandma, my grandmother will look good wearing it." His mouth was very sweet, but Xia Xi couldn't laugh now, he looked at the place where he was pointing and saw that there were many things inside. They were all knick-knacks and all familiar. After a closer look, he found that everything was stuff he had handled before.
For example, the bellyband he made for Chu Lan, a sachet he made, a poem that he copied for him, the painting that he painted that wasn't very good, and so on. There were lot of things that Xia Xi thought had been thrown away long ago that were all kept inside, and they were all very well preserved. It wasn't difficult to see the master's care for them. Xia Xi's heart trembled again when he saw a handkerchief among those items. He closed his eyes and stretched out his hand to take the handkerchief.
This handkerchief was from the Xia kingdom, it was brought with a box of things that princess Xia Hui once gave him, she gave him about ten. The texture of each handkerchief was very good, but the embroidered patterns weren't very beautiful. This was Princess Hui's craft. Because Chu Lan was jealous, Xia Xi didn't use them frequently. That day, to hide the golden hairpin, he used that handkerchief.
Xia Xi looked down at the two things in his hand, and asked softly after a while: "Yue'er, was the golden hairpin wrapped in this handkerchief?"
The small prince nodded, "Yes. The golden hairpin is very beautiful, but this handkerchief's a bit ugly. Who embroidered the bug?"
Xia Xi murmured: "It's not a bug..." He suddenly felt a little weak, the gears in his mind turned a few times, but all of it was very confusing, so he wanted to ignore it. He quickly wrapped the golden hairpin as it was, stuffed it back, and closed the cabinet. He then pulled up his youngest son and said, "We should go back, or else we won't be allowed to come here anymore in the future, you know?"
The small prince hurriedly said: "My father allowed me to come in."
Xia Xi took him out while saying: "Your father allowed you to come in so you could read and write, not for you to rack through his things. Don't tell your father about today's matter, alright?"
The small prince hummed vaguely. Xia Xi's mind was occupied and didn't tell him much. After returning to his quarters, he felt a little tired. His heart seemed to be blocked by something, making him restless, uncomfortable and exhausted. In the evening, he felt even more uncomfortable and anxious. When he thought of seeing Chu Lan later, he felt like he wanted to escape.
Do you want to ask him? Asked why those two things appeared in his study? If only the golden hairpin was there, Xia Xi could still comfort himself that Chu Lan had redeemed it for him. But even the handkerchief was there, he felt that this hypothesis might not be true.
After all, the handkerchief was an object of the Palace, but because the embroidered flower was too ugly, it had no value in pawning. If it falls on the ground, most people would just directly step on it directly and won't even pick it up.
And the reason why those two things were together must've been because they were taken directly from Cai Huan, right? Or, did the maid not give those things to Cai Huan after all, but directly presented them to Chu Lan?
But the maid was close to him, and she didn't look abnormal when she came back, she shouldn't have...
Xia Xi pondered about it and thought up every reason, yet no answer made him feel at ease. He didn't know how long it took, but suddenly a figure leaped into his arms and happily shouted: "Ah-Ma, Ah-Ma."
Xia Xi subconsciously opened his arms to catch the offender, it was his eldest son who threw himself into his arms. The little Prince was already seven or eight years old. It was the age of when he changed his teeth. When he laughed, the gums of his front teeth were exposed. It wasn't ugly, but rather cute. Xia Xi looked at his sweaty white face and gently wiped off the sweat with a kerchief, he asked, "Where did you go play? You're all sweaty."
The little Prince said: "I went to shoot arrows with my brother, my father also went and praised me today." He was inexplicably excited, his eyes were shining brightly. Xia Xi was infected by his emotions and couldn't help but smile, he asked, "What did your father praise you for?"
The little Prince hadn't answered yet when another voice came from both far and near, "He drew his bow cleanly today and had a good posture, so I exaggerated a few words."
When Xia Xi heard this voice, his heart trembled again. He raised his head hastily and met Chu Lan's eyes. The tall man walked over in stride, with regal spirit all over his body, but his attitude was gentle, and his face was full of smiles when facing him. Xia Xi secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his appearance. He shouldn't have known what happened this afternoon yet.
Soon his youngest son also went in, it was rare for the family of four to get together for dinner. After the two children both turned five years old, they had their own palaces with their own maidservants. They generally didn't eat in the same place, but the youngest son lived closer to him, and the little Prince was farther away.
Of the two sons, the older one always wanted to stick to Xia Xi, the younger stuck to his father, he even dared climb onto Chu Lan's lap and sit there while eating, asking him to feed him. Chu Lan seemed to be in a good mood, he cut some meat to feed him. The little Prince was envious, but he didn't dare to mention it. Xia Xi's mind was wandering and didn't notice this scene. It wasn't until Chu Lan called him that he recovered and asked, "What's the matter?"
Chu Lan chuckled, "Jin'er looks like he wants to be hugged by me. Hold Yue'er first, I'll hug him."
Xia Xi took the child over but was a little surprised. He knew that his husband wasn't very satisfied with their eldest son. Today, he praised him and hugged him, what happened?
The little Prince was obviously surprised but also very excited, especially when he was carried onto his father's lap, his cheeks became red. Chu Lan brought another piece of meat to his lips and said, "Do you want me to feed you?"
The little Prince looked at Xia Xi in a panic and when Xia Xi nodded, he opened his mouth and swallowed the piece of meat. He was very happy, so he couldn't help but directly ask after a while: "How come father's being so kind to me today?"
Chu Lan raised his eyebrows and said, "What? Do I usually treat you badly?"
The little Prince shook his head quickly, but he couldn't hold back his words because of his young age and said, "Father, you treat my brother better."
Chu Lan said: "How is that possible? I'm not partial. Your Ah-Ma can testify, right?" The little Prince looked at Xia Xi, and Xia Xi nodded gently. He said softly: "It's the same."
Chu Lan stroked his son's face, his voice softened a lot and he said, "I just have stricter requirements on you. You're the future heir of our Barbarian clan. If you want to bear this responsibility, you must have the corresponding ability. That's why I want to train you well, and hope that you can become an indomitable man in the future to protect the people of this country."
Perhaps his father was too gentle today, the little Prince also asked about the worries in his heart: "Does the father think I can really become that kind of person? I... I'm too weak, I didn't even dare kill the little wolf. Won't my younger brother be better?"
Chu Lan said sternly: "You either don't dare or can't bear it. The difference between the two is very big. Jin'er is very good, he'll definitely be able to take on this big responsibility. Even the great witch doctor said that you're a man of heaven. After all, you were almost never born but passed such a disaster safely. What else are you worried about?"
The little Prince never knew about this, so it immediately aroused curiosity, he asked: "Why? Did something happen to Ah-Ma?"
Xia Xi's heart tightened, he raised his head to look at Chu Lan and found that he was also looking at himself. He knew in his heart that he had already known about what happened that afternoon. Chu Lan said, "Back then, there was a wicked person who wanted to kill your Ah-Ma. If she had succeeded, you wouldn't be who you are today, nor your brother. Even your Ah-Ma's life would be in danger." He chuckled again. "It was Chun'er who prevented this disaster, so I made a marriage contract with him. I promised that when you grow up, you'll marry him as your Queen."
When the little Prince heard this, his face turned red, he couldn't remember the other questions he wanted to ask anymore. The small prince asked, "The wicked person who wanted to kill Ah-Ma is too hateful. She should be killed and fed to the dogs. Father, did you kill her?"
When Xia Xi heard this, his face turned pale, he subconsciously went to look at Chu Lan again. Chu Lan didn't look at him this time, instead, he gently squeezed his son's flushed cheek and said lightly: "I have killed those who dared to harm your Ah-Ma, how could I let them go."
The small prince clapped his hands and said, "Yes, this kind of villain should be killed. They actually wanted to harm Ah-Ma and us. It's too dangerous, I almost disappeared with my brother."
Chu Lan smiled, looking down at the eldest son on his lap and asking, "What about Jin'er? Do you think that wicked person should be killed?"
The little Prince thought for a while, he then nodded and said, "They should be killed."
Chu Lan had a happy smile on his face, his tone was cheerful, "Why? Didn't you refuse to kill even that little wolf?"
The little Prince solemnly said: "The little wolf hasn't committed any evil yet, but that person had already committed an evil deed and had a heart full of malice, so they should be killed. This is what my Ah-Ma taught me, Ah-Ma, was what I said right?"
Xia Xi listened stiffly to their conversation. When his elder son asked him, one couldn't even see what kind of torment he had gone through. Seeing the two lovely faces, Xia Xi's heart slowly fell. He whispered softly: "Jin'er is right."
<b>______</b>
<b>PastTimer: Three more chapters to go! I like translating this sort of chapters the most I always burn through them so quickly.</b>