Blutbefleckter Tod - Kapitel 25
Lu Ziqi's lips curved upwards: "Okay. You too." Wait for me to come back...
Author's Note: Comrade Huo is the epitome of—showing off his sleeves but leaving nothing behind~
P.S.: The weather's gone crazy, I've caught a cold, feeling really down...
Chapter Twenty-Seven: A Princess Arrives
Huo Nan came in a hurry, and left in a hurry, waving his sleeves and leaving only a pile of dust behind...
Lu Ziqi has been gone for almost a month now.
She sent two messages along the way, saying she would return soon. Song Xiaohua also sent clothes twice, saying everything was fine.
It's windy and cold again. If he doesn't come back soon, I'll have to ask someone to bring him some thick autumn clothes.
As Song Xiaohua was taking in the blankets, she glanced at the somewhat gloomy sky. "Hopefully it rains at this hour," she thought, "or the losses will be huge." Sigh, for thousands of years, the idea of relying on the heavens for sustenance hasn't changed much. She wondered if humans were simply too useless, or if the heavens were just too powerful.
During this period, Song Xiaohua's days were busy yet uneventful.
No wonder she does housework, takes care of children, raises dogs, practices calligraphy, and does beauty treatments...
She felt her cooking skills had improved significantly. Although Lu Ling thought it was still inferior to his father's, it was still edible, and Song Wuque seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. To be honest, this dog truly lived up to its reputation as a large wolfhound from the grasslands; it was easy to raise and grew incredibly fast. In just over three months, it already weighed over ten kilograms, and Lu Ling could no longer carry it around. Moreover, it ate far less than the dog…
Traditional Chinese medicine's internal and external conditioning approach is quite effective. In addition, regularly preparing nourishing soups and multigrain porridge, eating all-natural, green foods, and breathing clean, unpolluted air, one feels refreshed every day, with a healthy waist, legs, spirit, hands, feet, and skin...
As for the progress of her calligraphy, it seems to be inversely proportional to her beauty results...
When she had nothing to do, she would teach Lu Ling arithmetic.
I don't need foreign languages, and I certainly don't need computers. As for poetry and prose, I don't remember much to begin with. Besides, what if I accidentally stumbled upon the works of Yue Fei, Li Qingzhao, or Nalan Rongruo? If they were to circulate, wouldn't their names become irrelevant? Plagiarism is shameful; plagiarizing the works of historical figures is a crime punishable by divine retribution…
So after thinking it over, it seems that all I know is basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, which I can teach to kids. Anything more advanced, like multivariable equations or calculus, I've long forgotten. Anyway, those complicated things aren't relevant right now, so I'll just do some simple math exercises to develop their intelligence and stimulate their thinking.
Occasionally, when the mood strikes, he might tell Little Radish Head fairy tales, sing nursery rhymes, or recite children's songs.
Song Xiaohua felt that she was becoming more and more adept at playing the role of a stepmother, and was beginning to integrate into the role and fall in love with it.
Every morning, Song Xiaohua would accompany Lu Ling to the study to say good morning to his biological mother, standing aside and listening to the little guy ramble on about what he did and ate yesterday, and what he dreamed about last night.
At this time, Song Xiaohua would usually stare at the silent memorial tablet, not thinking about anything, just lost in thought for a while.
'Zitong', Ling'er's biological mother.
'Tong'er', his deceased wife.
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After almost a week of overcast skies, the rain finally broke out. Fortunately, Aunt Zhang said that the crops had been mostly harvested, so the rain wouldn't cause any major harm.
In other words, Lu Ziqi is coming back.
The sky was overcast, but Song Xiaohua had been in a good mood for the past two days.
Humming a couple of lines from "Tian Mi Mi" while cooking, or belting out "Shuang Jie Gun" while sweeping the floor, makes me feel like I've been injected with chicken blood, bursting with energy I can't contain.
Lu Ziqi from her family is coming back soon, her man, oh ho ho...
"Mother, is Ling'er's drawing really bad?"
Lu Ling was quite frustrated by Song Xiaohua's sudden strange laughter. After all, what cat looks like that?
"Let me see." Song Xiaohua took the painting with a grin: "It's alright, but it would be even better if you added some blue watercolor!"
The drawing she taught Lu Ling to make was of Doraemon, a character who would definitely lose every time he played rock-paper-scissors...
"Starting tomorrow, I'll teach you how to draw a mouse. The mouse's name is 'Mickey Mouse'."
"Is it because he always steals rice?"
"Hmm...that's right! Ling'er is so smart! Mickey Mouse also has a good friend, a duck named 'Donald Duck'."
Wow! Ducks eat candy?
"Yes, just like Ling'er, he loves candied hawthorns the most!"
"Just like Wuque!"
The dog, who had been lying by the door staring blankly at the drizzling autumn rain with a frustrated expression, turned its head and let out two plaintive whimpers when it heard someone calling it. This rain had really made it feel pent up.
Just as Song Xiaohua was about to say something to comfort it, she saw it suddenly perk up its ears, then leap into the air and shoot straight out like a 'dog cannonball'.
Could it be...?
The door opened, followed by a short, startled cry. It was Lu Ziqi.
Song Xiaohua got up and rushed to the door, then stopped.
A sharp shout rang out—it was a woman's voice.
"Please, Your Highness, have mercy! This is my dog."
Princess?……
"What an unruly beast!"
Beast?!
Song Xiaohua grabbed Lu Ling, who was cheering and trying to rush out, picked up an umbrella by the door, and opened it: "Come on, let's go greet your old man!"
Holding Lu Ling's small hand, he stepped out of the house and called out loudly, "Song Wuque, come back!"
The 'dog cannonball' arrived in response, strutting proudly along Song Xiaohua's other side.
Through the fine, dense rain, two people could be seen standing side by side outside the wide-open courtyard gate, wearing raincoats and straw hats, a man and a woman. The man was tall and upright, and the woman was slender.
"Dongqing, please invite our guest in!" Song Xiaohua greeted him leisurely, and when they were still two steps apart, she let go of Lu Ling and watched him jump and leap into Lu Ziqi's arms with a smile.
"Daddy, Ling'er misses Daddy so much~" Lu Ling pouted, wanting to cry, but she held back in the end. She just clung tightly to Lu Ziqi's neck and rubbed against his neck: "Daddy, do you miss Ling'er?"
"Yes, of course I want to." Lu Ziqi picked up his son with one arm, feeling the warmth of the small body, and his heart had already melted into a pool of clear water.
"Alright, alright, it's raining heavily, be careful not to catch a cold if you get wet." Song Xiaohua's gaze shifted: "The child is ignorant and made this young lady laugh. Please come in and have a cup of hot tea to warm up."
"No need to be so polite. I just need to make sure Young Master Lu gets home safely." The woman looked her up and down: "You must be Young Master Lu's wife?"
"Exactly."
Lu Ziqi laughed and said, "Look at me, I haven't had a chance to introduce you yet. Yaoyao, this is Princess Xingping of Liao. Princess Xingping, this is my wife."
Song Xiaohua feigned surprise: "So you're a princess from a friendly nation? I'm so sorry for not greeting you properly. I hope the princess won't take offense."
The woman narrowed her phoenix eyes.
This ordinary-looking young woman was able to remain neither servile nor arrogant when suddenly faced with powerful figures. Even ordinary men could not remain so calm and composed. Could she possibly have some extraordinary background?
"No need to keep calling me princess. My name is Yelü Ping. Just call me by my name."
Lu Ziqi shook his head: "Princess, I'm afraid this is inappropriate."
Yelü Ping looked at him steadily: "Young Master Lu, you can call me Ping'er."
"this……"
Ping'er? I'm Wang Xifeng now!
Song Xiaohua gritted her teeth and gently interjected, "Dongqing, let's go inside and talk about it! Even if we adults aren't afraid of the cold, the children can't stand it!"
Yelü Ping frowned impatiently: "I said I don't need it!"
What the hell! It's none of your business if I'm talking to my man!
The world is so wonderful, yet I'm so irritable. This isn't good...
Song Xiaohua took several deep breaths before she managed to refrain from poking the umbrella directly at that arrogant, smug face.
"Princess……"
"Call me Ping'er!"
Lu Ziqi was respectful but unyielding: "Princess, your noble body is indeed not suited to stand in the rain for long. If anything happens to you, it would be my fault, and it would not be the way our Great Song Dynasty treats its guests."
"A guest?" Yelü Ping snorted coldly. "Fine! I'll send someone to inform you once I've found a place to stay. In the days to come, I'll have to trouble Young Master Lu to do his best to entertain me, his guest!" He turned to leave, then stopped as if remembering something. "Although absence makes the heart grow fonder, don't overindulge!"
Without further hesitation, he walked to his horse waiting outside the courtyard, mounted it cleanly and nimbly, and galloped away with several attendants, splashing mud everywhere.