Fu Xin Ci saw it clearly, Bao Er truly liked Meng Xiao He. A child's liking is pure, without a hint of reservation.
Ke Er forgave Bao Er's mischievousness; she liked to see Bao Er happy.
...
Everyone stopped. Jiang Tou Er pointed to a relatively dry spot, telling the Meng clan members to rest.
The dark-faced man glanced over. Seeing that no one among them was being difficult, he led Nian Zi into the nearby bushes.
"Uncle Zhu Zi, Brother Nian Zi, where are you going? Can you take me along?"
"Yes, come here quickly." The dark-faced man and Nian Zi were there to find materials for the boys to make staffs. It was best for Qi He to follow; whatever small tree he fancied, they would cut it down, saving a lot of trouble.
Fu Xin Ci also wanted to go, to see if she could find any useful plants to grow in her space.
However, she was a girl. Although there were few concerns in this environment, a girl's limitations still restricted her from speaking up.
Qi He intended to take her with him, but glancing at the grass that reached his knees, he swallowed the words. He was afraid that snakes, insects, rats, and mice might be hidden beneath the grass, and it wouldn't be good if it scared Sister Fu.
He forgot that his Sister Fu had once fought a wolf.
"Sister, Sister, come quickly and look! There are grasshoppers here." Ever since reuniting with his parents, Yu Er felt that he and his sister were the luckiest people.
In his young mind, the only unfixable regret was that his grandmother couldn't be with them.
With his grandfather, parents, and sister present, and himself too, it was the best.
As long as their family was together, he feared nothing.
In everyone's eyes, Yu Er was much more active than usual. As soon as he got off the donkey cart, he saw grasshoppers on the grass. While his parents and grandfather were discussing serious matters, he called his sister over to help him catch grasshoppers.
"Okay, Sister will help you catch grasshoppers." Fu Xin Ci agreed to Yu Er, pulling Ke Er along with her. Ke Er was now very attached to her cousin.
Meng Xiao He, holding Bao Er, also wanted to follow, when she saw Xiao Mei Shi running over, holding up the hem of her skirt, out of breath.
"Meng..., ha." Xiao Mei Shi almost called Meng Xiao He by her given name. Seeing that everyone around was watching her, she quickly changed her address: "Cousin Aunt, Bao Er is also quite tiring to hold. You've been carrying him for this entire journey, you must be tired. Why don't you let me hold Bao Er?"
Hearing Xiao Mei Shi's words, Meng Xiao He was slightly stunned. She had been carrying Bao Er for over a month on this journey. Every day, she could barely walk in the end, her arms aching as if broken.
Whenever she wanted to let Xiao Mei Shi hold Bao Er for a little while, Xiao Mei Shi would roll her eyes, never agreeing to hold him, as if Bao Er were someone else's child, unrelated to her.
Today, Xiao Mei Shi voluntarily offered to hold Bao Er. Had the sun risen from the west?
Meng Xiao He couldn't help but look up at the sky. The sun was still hanging right in the middle.
Fu Xin Ci hadn't walked far. As Xiao Mei Shi ran towards them, she stopped. She watched Xiao Mei Shi's every move.
She said nothing, a slight curve of her lips, a hint of faint mockery rising in her eyes.
Seeing that her cousin hadn't moved, Ke Er also stopped. Turning back, she happened to see Bao Er struggling desperately after being snatched by Xiao Mei Shi.
Bao Er was anxious, his little face flushed red. He stretched his small hands towards Meng Xiao He, babbling loudly. He wanted his paternal grandmother to hold him, not his mother.
Or, his two paternal aunts could hold him too. Bao Er struggled even harder.
Xiao Mei Shi was not a patient person to begin with. Before the Duke's mansion had its accident, Bao Er was the treasure of the Duke's mansion. He had four wet nurses and at least eight maids and servants attending to him.
Handling Bao Er was hardly something she, the great contributor of the Duke's mansion, would do. She only needed to dress up beautifully and smile at Bao Er every day. The rest was all ordered to be done by the servants.
Occasionally, when inspiration struck, she would let the wet nurse place Bao Er on the large heated brick bed by the window for a while, which was considered good.
So, frankly, she didn't know how to take care of a child at all.
Seeing Bao Er struggling fiercely now, squirming in her arms, she almost couldn't hold him. The mother and son nearly fell to the ground together.
Xiao Mei Shi was not in a good mood. Seeing that Bao Er was not close to her, didn't want her to hold him, and kept trying to push her away, she became even more angry. She blamed Bao Er for being disobedient and, without thinking, raised her hand and slapped Bao Er.
The slap landed on Bao Er's little bottom. Everyone heard a crisp "crack," and Bao Er burst into tears. His cries were so loud, it seemed like he was calling everyone over.
Xiao Mei Shi hadn't expected her slap to be so loud, drawing everyone's attention. Her original intention was to scare Bao Er, to make him obedient, and then, when they set off, she could hold Bao Er and ride the donkey cart.
However, to her great surprise, the little strength she had actually made Bao Er cry. She couldn't understand it.
Bao Er cried even harder. She felt it was fake. When he was in the mansion before, Bao Er had never cried so loudly. Xiao Mei Shi selectively forgot what happened yesterday.
"Waa, waa." Bao Er cried even louder. He didn't want to be with this mother; he didn't like his mother.
Meng Xiao He, annoyed by Bao Er's crying, wanted to step forward and take Bao Er several times. However, she was still somewhat afraid of Xiao Mei Shi and didn't dare to come forward.
Fu Xin Ci couldn't stand it anymore. Although the original owner of this body wasn't very good with children, when she was with children, she would try her best to release the gentlest side of her nature when interacting with them.
And this selfish woman in front of them had no regard for Bao Er in her heart. Her showing affection to Bao Er now was merely to use him as a stepping stone to get a ride on the donkey cart and avoid walking.
Xiao Mei Shi hadn't realized that her little scheme had already been seen through by others. She still pretended to care for Bao Er, feigning an apology: "Bao Er, be good. Mommy didn't mean to hit you. Mommy just wanted to scare you, but I accidentally missed."
Bao Er didn't understand her meaning and couldn't cooperate with her to smooth over the unpleasantness. He was still crying out "a a a," as if complaining to someone that his mother had hit him.
"Um, Eldest Son's Wife, you should... give Bao Er to me. He's not comfortable being held by you like this," Meng Xiao He finally mustered up the courage and stammered out the sentence.
"Oh." Xiao Mei Shi hadn't expected this quiet woman, Meng Xiao He, to dare to snatch her child away.
She was already filled with anger from Bao Er's fussing, with nowhere to vent. This quiet woman had walked right into it, so she wouldn't be polite.
"I said why Bao Er isn't close to me. It turns out you, the quiet one, were instigating him."