The Royal’s Little Lady

As soon as Gu Sui’er was fished out by Jiang Zheng, all the people gathered around them. The eldest Young Madam’s expression was tense as she loudly instructed one of her maids to call the doctor. Even the Old Madam and the Madam rushed over after hearing the commotion.

 

Gu Sui’er was wrapped in a soft cloak and carried to the TingZhu Courtyard by Jiang Zheng and another guard. The others also followed them.

 

She felt more at ease once her body was laid on the bed and covered with the warm and soft quilt. As she lay there blankly, she recalled everything that had just happened.

 

The Old Madam’s hand trembled when clasped her hand: “Sui’er, you must be alright ah. If something happens to you, how will I face Ah Heng!”

 

Worry and concern were also pasted on the Madam and the two Young Madams’ faces. Nanny An was even more anxious. Beads of sweat rolled down her face as she looked at her nervously.

 

Gu Sui’er looked at them. She really wanted to say that she was alright.

 

But when she moved her lips, her voice came out extremely soft.

 

Without seeing any other way out, she tried to squeeze out a little smile to comfort them.

 

Seeing that she was trying her best to console them even in this situation, tears started streaming down the Old Madam’s face. She looked at Gu Sui’er’s pale little face sadly.

 

“A sin, a sin! How could ZhaoYang be this reckless and wild! Why did such a thoughtful girl like Sui’er encounter such a thing! This won’t do, I have to speak to the Emperor about this!”

 

As she was talking, the doctor arrived. Everyone helped the crying old lady to step aside and wipe her tears.

 

After checking her pulse for a long time, the doctor assured them of Gu Sui’er’s well-being. However, since she fell into the water this time, he was afraid that she might have caught a cold. So he prescribed her some medicine as a health supplement.

 

While he was writing the prescription, everyone else surrounded the delicate woman lying on the bed. The situation turned chaotic once again, making Gu Sui’er feel weary. She raised her hand and stroked her belly, feeling the little tadpole move around gently.

 

Her little tadpole was an active child. It usually kicked her hard with its little hands and feet or arched its little head or little butt against the surface of her belly.

 

Maybe the little tadpole knew that she got spooked t0day. Probably this was why it was being especially gentle with her. Today’s movements were like a butterfly flapping its wings lightly and flying across her belly.

 

She closed her eyes and fell asleep slowly.

 

*************************

 

Gu Sui’er’s dreams today were not at all beautiful. Rather, they were unnerving and many terrifying scenes flashed around her. For a while, she was wrapped in a pale golden light, and for a while, the ice-cold lake water swallowed her up.

 

Suddenly, she was sitting in the carriage that had come to take her away again.

 

The bumps she experienced along the way, the remote and strange place that was covered in dust…

 

In the midst of this long and bumpy journey, she finally opened her eyes.

 

Blurry. She felt as if her eyes were covered with a layer of fog. After a while, the fog gradually dissipated and she saw the vague silhouette of a man.

 

She thought for a while, did she even enter the Marquis’ Mansion or not? Was she awake or was she in a dream?

 

“Is… Is it you, third Master?”

 

As she asked this question, she heard her own voice. It was terribly hoarse as if caused by someone rubbing sand and stone together. It was unpleasant.

 

The man didn’t reply.

 

As the haze in her eyes caused by her long nap gradually disappeared, her vision cleared and she saw the person in front of her. It was indeed Xiao Heng.

 

He was holding a bowl in his hand as he leaned over her from the side.

 

“Drink this.”

 

Hearing this, Gu Sui’er was about to sit up hurriedly.

 

Xiao Heng didn’t let her get up. He took a pillow and placed it under her head.

 

When he leaned over and lifted her head, she could feel the gentle force exerted by his big hand. It was just right.

 

Xiao Heng let her lie on her side and picked up the bowl again. He scooped out a spoonful of the porridge, preparing to feed her.

 

She opened her mouth and the porridge entered smoothly. It was a sweet and fragrant red date porridge.

 

She raised her eyes and looked at him.

 

“Hm?” Xiao Heng took another spoonful and brought it to her lips but it was obvious that she wanted to ask something.

 

“Where’s Nanny An?” She asked in a low voice.

 

When he actually fed her personally, she felt somewhat overwhelmed and uncomfortable.

 

“Do you want Nanny An to feed you?”

 

Xiao Heng glanced at her. With this one glance, he could immediately see through her mind.

 

Being stared at like this, her heart was in turmoil.

 

“Although it’s troublesome, it’s better if the third Master feeds me…”

 

She didn’t know how to know his thoughts. However, after these days of getting along and by what he said when he kissed her that day, she vaguely felt that since he wanted to feed her, she should stop looking for Nanny An.

 

Sure enough, after she said this, Xiao Heng’s expression relaxed. He held the bowl in one hand and scooped up the porridge with the spoon in his other hand, feeding her patiently. His movements were gentle and skillful, completely contradicting his cold and cheerless countenance.

 

This surprised her a little. Originally, he was the kind of man who would teach her poems like «Jiu Zhou’s Glorious Sword»1Please refer to Chapter 20.1 if you forgot about this.. She certainly didn’t expect him to understand the thoughts of a woman and do it so graciously.

 

After feeding her the small bowl of porridge, Xiao Heng put the bowl down on the table. Nanny An entered the room without making a sound, tidied up, and said: “Young Mistress just ate the porridge. According to the doctor’s instructions, she needs to take the medicine in half a shichen.”

 

Xiao Heng nodded. Nanny An bowed her head and left the room.

 

Xiao Heng helped Gu Sui’er take out the pillows under her body and let her continue lying on the bed.

 

Gu Sui’er remained silent, letting him do whatever he wanted.

 

After lying flat on the bed, she stared at him.

 

Xiao Heng tucked her under the quilt. When he raised his head again, he caught her staring at him with her calm and limpid eyes.

 

He was suddenly reminded of many things, such as the azure sky in the ninth month of the year and the splashing of clear spring water deep into the mountains.

 

The sun rises and sets, the seasons change, and the world and the life of the people in it, never stop. It changes with every passing moment. However, there would certainly be something that would not change. Even after many years have passed, she will still be there for him quietly, but eternally, 

 

Xiao Heng suddenly had the illusion that this woman would look at him with such clear and gentle eyes for a lifetime.

 

How long is a lifetime?

 

Xiao Heng lowered his eyes and said in a low voice, “I used to feed someone like this many years ago.”

 

From his tone, Gu Sui’er could vaguely discern that this was a serious matter. But since she had woken up from sleep, her heart was much more relaxed. She didn’t even feel surprised at his words. “En, what happened later?” She just asked softly.

 

Xiao Heng smiled bitterly: “Later, she passed away.”

 

Gu Sui’er was taken aback. She looked at him blankly. His dark eyes and his willow-like eyebrows were filled with endless sorrow and gloom.

 

This was the first time she felt such strong emotions from this man.

 

She wanted to ask him who that person was, but then she felt that he might not answer her.

 

After a moment of silence, Xiao Heng spoke again.

 

“How do you feel now? Are you still feeling cold?”

 

As she lay on the big crimson pillow, Gu Sui’er shook her little head gently.

 

“No.”

 

After eating that bowl of that porridge, her stomach felt nice and warm. Her body, also, felt much more comfortable; even her throat was no longer dry and hoarse.

 

Xiao Heng raised his slender hand and placed it on her forehead to check her temperature. It didn’t feel hot. Then, he reached into the quilt and touched her belly.

 

The little tadpole in her belly also moved timely.

 

“Maybe it was frightened today. The child isn’t kicking as much as before, but it is still arching.”

 

She didn’t know if she felt its tiny butt or its tiny head against her skin. It was just a lump of flesh in any case.

 

Xiao Heng’s hand also grazed over the plump little ripples on her belly.

 

After stroking for a while in silence, he raised his eyes and looked at her.

 

“Were you scared?”

 

“I…” Gu Sui’er shook her head: “I was not scared.”

 

When she fell into the water, she was alarmed, but then the gleaming light made her feel awfully warm, comfortable and also protected.

 

After that, Jiang Zheng appeared.

 

Xiao Heng gripped her hand tightly.

 

His long and slender fingers imprisoned her delicate hand in his hands: “Tell me how you fell into the water.”

 

“En…” Gu Sui’er nodded. She slowly started the events from the time Xiao Jin proposed to go boating.

 

“At that time, Nanny An and Qing Yue were guarding me from both sides. Qing Yue was on my left and Nanny An was on my right. When the Princess came over to talk to me, and the palace maids accompanying her shoved Nanny An out of the way. Meanwhile, the Princess leaned over to talk, and then I felt someone push me into the water from behind.”

 

Even though she had gone through this calamity, and she had slept so much, she still couldn’t figure out how it happened.

 

But she knew that the Princess was trying to harm her, or rather, the little tadpole in her belly.

 

“After I fell into the water, I started feeling very cold…” As Gu Sui’er talked about that time, she only felt that her body had plunged into that kind of coldness again. She frowned slightly and recalled the situation in the dream she had seen many days back.

 

“… At that time, a warm light enveloped me, and I stopped feeling frozen. Not only was it not cold, but it was also very warm, I was not afraid at the time. I felt that I would not die.”

 

“At this moment, Jiang Zheng showed up. I recognized him as soon as I saw him. He pulled me up and rescued me.”

 

Xiao Heng looked at her silently.

 

He knew that Jiang Zheng rescued her. He also knew that after she was rescued, she kept muttering Jiang Zheng’s name.

 

He lowered his eyes and asked in a low voice, “What kind of light was that? What did Jiang Zheng do?”

 

Gu Sui’er thought for a while and then shook her head: “No, it had nothing to do with Jiang Zheng, He only appeared later.”

 

She contemplated this question, and finally guessed: “This reminds me of the sun from that time…”

 

“The sun?” Xiao Heng knitted his eyebrows and looked at her skeptically.

 

After encountering this danger and passing out, she lay there without any energy. Her small face was deathly pale, creating a sharp contrast with her long and beautiful black hair.

 

It was like the white jade that people cherished.

 

“En…” Gu Sui’er had no choice but to continue. She spoke about the sun she had seen that day, what kind of dream she had, and how the sun entered her belly.

 

“Which day was that?” Xiao Heng’s expression is a little weird.

 

Seeing him being like this, Gu Sui’er was a little surprised. She tried hard and finally recalled it.

 

“It was the day when the matter with Princess ZhaoYang happened and the third Master entered the Palace. That day, after I fell asleep, I had a dream in which I was sitting in front of the window. I saw that the sun actually descended down the sky, dived in through the window, and got absorbed in my belly.”

 

Xiao Heng frowned for a long time after hearing this.

 

Gu Sui’er looked at him quietly. She had never seen him make such a solemn and cold expression before. It was as if he was thinking about a critical issue.

 

She didn’t dare say anything seeing his odd expression and just lying there on the bed.

 

After a while, Xiao Heng finally said: “These two things, the sun and the bright light in the water, you cannot tell this to anyone else. No one should know about this except you and me.”

 

Gu Sui’er nodded quickly: “I haven’t told anyone. I only told you.”

 

Xiao Heng watched her nod. Her white and tender little chin looked even more exquisite as it moved. He suddenly felt that she was indescribably cute, resembling a lovely little kitten.

 

He reached out and touched her chin, stroking it lightly with his long and slender fingers.

 

The woman’s eyes widened as she stared at him innocently.

 

Releasing her chin, his hands reached into the quilt. He closed his eyes, taking his hand all the way down to her belly and stopping there.

 

In the distant past, while Emperor TaiZong’s mother was doing farm work at the foot of NanShan, she suddenly felt exhausted and laid down to sleep on the nearby ridge. She also dreamed of the sun entering her belly. Soon after, she became pregnant with Emperor TaiZong.

 

Her dream… Is it what that meant?

 

But just when Xiao Heng had sunk into his thoughts, Gu Sui’er was at a complete loss. Her ears reddened with shame at the situation.

 

She didn’t know what was wrong with him and why he suddenly held her chin.

 

His hand looked slender and beautiful, but when it actually clasped her chin, she realized that it was really big.

 

He pinched her chin with his hand, as if he was playing with it.

 

Her body tensed as she looked at him with wide eyes, wondering if he was going to kiss her again.

 

But I drank the porridge just now. Will there be a bad taste in my mouth? If he finds it out, will he despise me?

 

Just when she had let her imagination run wild, his hand started going downwards.

 

Gu Sui’er didn’t dare to look at him again. She fixed her gaze on the beautifully embroidered canopy above the bed but all her mind was focused on his hand.

 

Unexpectedly, when his hands reached her bulging belly, it finally stopped moving.

 

She was a little expectant and a little scared as she blinked her eyes and looked at him doubtfully.

 

But seeing his dark and gloomy expression, she didn’t know what he was thinking.

 

“Third Master…” She whispered. She was ashamed, feeling she might be thinking too much but she still looked forward to it.

 

“En?”

 

Xiao Heng, who was lost in thoughts, raised his eyes and looked at her.

 

As soon as the two pairs of eyes met, her face flushed. It was like her cheeks were covered with two red clouds.

 

Xiao Heng frowned slightly: “Did you catch a cold? Are you running a fever?”

 

As he asked, he reached out and touched her cheek again.

 

Gu Sui’er’s mouth straightened. She busily shook her head twice.

 

She suddenly felt that she might have really thought too much.

 

Xiao Heng looked down at her aggrieved expression and misunderstood.

 

His slightly cool hand slowly slid across her soft and delicate cheeks. His eyes narrowed as he said in a low voice: “Those who wish to harm you, I will definitely let them pay.”

 

His tone was initially flat, but when he uttered the last two words, his voice rose and turned ice-cold.

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1Please refer to Chapter 20.1 if you forgot about this.