Chu Lian laid back down in bed and looked up at He Changdi, “Hubby, what nickname should we give the little guy?”
“Whatever you like.” He Changdi tugged the blankets over her and poured some honey water for her. He fed it to her carefully.
Chu Lian was in high spirits over the nickname. It was rare to get this chance, so she definitely wanted to give their son a fun and interesting nickname.
Actually, she still hasn’t rested enough. Once she finished her lunch and drank some nourishing soup, she drifted back to sleep.
When He Changdi came out of the bedroom, he was met with the sight of Laiyue waiting anxiously outside.
Laiyue whispered something into He Changdi’s ear, immediately causing a change in his expression. He gathered Chu Lian’s servants together and handed down some orders with a cool face. After that, he went into the room to look at Chu Lian once more before hurriedly leaving with his men.
In the blink of an eye, Chu Lian had already been on bed rest for a week.
It was now the middle of December. The weather in the capital was getting colder and colder. The winter winds were like blades trying to pierce their way into the bodies of the people.
After a good rest over these seven days, Chu Lian could now get out of bed and walk a little with someone else’s support.
She wasn’t able to breastfeed Little Stone in the end, she just produced too little breast milk. Little Stone would only be able to have one or two mouthfuls before it ran out. Seeing that they couldn’t continue this way, she gave up and left Little Stone to the nursemaids.
Pebble was the little heir’s nickname, chosen by Chu Lian.
The little fellow was fierce and demanding when drinking milk. He wouldn’t stop until he had his fill and his cries were especially loud. Since his temper was as rough and hard as a rock, Chu Lian had called him Little Stone as a joke. The maidservants had joined her in calling the baby Little Stone, so Chu Lian decided to give him that nickname in the end.
During these seven days, Little Stone had finally grown out of that red, flushed skin that his parents had commented on and he had become a cute, fair and chubby baby.
It took about that much time of staring for Chu Lian to finally discern that he really did have some features where he resembled He Changdi, especially his nose and ears.
When he smiled, he looked absolutely like his father.
Senior Servant Zhong had the best understanding of this, as she had seen He Changdi when he was young. She would often joke that Little Stone was exactly the same as his father had been as a baby.
However, the happy and harmonious atmosphere in the rural estate couldn’t reach the hostile situation in the capital.
Although it was close to the end of the year, there was no air of celebration to be found anywhere in the capital.
The weather was desolate and the citizens were tense.
During the week that Chu Lian had been in confinement to recover from the birth, He Changdi hadn’t returned at all. He had only sent two letters back in secret.
From the contents of the letter and the tense atmosphere in the capital, Chu Lian could guess at how bad the situation was at court.
Every day, whenever she played with her son, she would be filled with worry for He Changdi.
On the sixteenth of December, Yuan Zhong’s army suddenly appeared outside the capital!
On the seventeenth of December, the news that the emperor was gravely ill spread from the palace!
This night, Chu Lian teased Little Stone for a while. After he fell asleep, she had the nursemaid carry him to a side room.
Just as she had laid down, there were two muffled sounds from the courtyard outside.
Chu Lian perked up her ears, but she couldn’t hear anything after a long while. Thus, she ignored it. He Changdi had posted guards and their family’s soldiers outside on watch, so there shouldn’t be any problems.
However, just as she was about to shut her eyes and sleep, Wenqing and Wenlan came running in a panic.
Chu Lian sat up and frowned, using her expression to prompt them silently.
Wenlan was panting for air, “M-Madam! Assassins have come! The guards couldn’t stop them!”
What!
Chu Lian’s mind exploded with shock and alarm. When she finally regained her senses, she hurried towards the side room immediately.
“Little Stone!”
Wenqing and Wenlan followed right after her. However, when they wrenched open the door to the side room, they saw one of Little Stone’s nursemaids being held tightly by a tall man in black.
The nursemaid was so frightened that she was crying outright. However, she was still dutifully holding on to Little Stone in her embrace. The baby was still sleeping soundly in his swaddle.
Chu Lian instantly froze to the spot. Wenlan held on to her and kept her standing, while Wenqing stood in front of them with her sword drawn.
She questioned coldly, “Who are you! Let go of Young Master!”
The man holding the nursemaid didn’t even twitch.
While Chu Lian’s face was still deathly pale, in this time of danger, she became icily calm instead.
She narrowed her eyes, a sharp and sombre glint clear in her gaze. While her voice was still soft, her tone was so cold it could make her enemies tremble.
“Xiao Bojian! Reveal yourself!”
Wenqing was still shielding Chu Lian behind her. Chu Lian was only wearing a thin robe with a plain cloak she had hurriedly pulled on. She looked both simple and elegant, giving off the air of a fragile flower, but her back was as straight as bamboo.
An imposing expression was fixed on her pale face.
There was the sound of a man’s chuckling resounding from the door, with a hidden sense of delight.
A man whose beauty outshone any woman slowly stepped out from the darkness into the dim circle of light cast by the lanterns around them..
Tall and slender, cloaked in a black cape, the man’s hair was pulled up high into a jade crown, leaving his smooth forehead bare.
Xiao Bojian raised a single eyebrow and closed the distance between him and Chu Lian in a few strides, “Lian’er, I knew you would guess that it was me.”
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