Distracted like this, the eldest prince suddenly didn't know what to say. His lips opened and closed, but in the end, he pursed them tightly.
What could he say? What others said... wasn't wrong.
The eldest prince looked up at Qin Chu, noticing his slightly furrowed brows. The moment Qin Chu spoke, he felt like a convicted criminal and couldn't help but lower his head again.
"Qin Rui." The eldest prince heard Qin Chu call out a name.
He looked over blankly and nervously, only to see Qin Chu looking down at him and continuing, "What do you think of the name Qin Rui?"
"W-what?" The eldest prince was still somewhat confused. His heart sank to the bottom, then soared to the top. Qin Chu asked him what he meant by that question. Could it be what he was thinking?
Qin Chu simply picked him up and dipped his finger in water to write the two characters "Qin Rui" on the low table.
Before the water dried, he patiently explained to the eldest prince, "I didn't name you Qin Rui, but I think it suits you well. Qin is your surname, and Rui means auspiciousness, something very good."
The eldest prince was still somewhat taken aback. He was illiterate and only knew a few characters. He looked down at the words on the table, then looked up at Qin Chu, and asked, "Xiangrui, is it suitable for me?"
Qin Chu nodded, then told him about the farmer he had stayed with and the name he had seen on official documents, and said, "You need to conceal your identity, and using this name will prevent you from being completely untraceable. But it's not a unique name. Are you willing to use it?"
A surge of joy enveloped the eldest prince; he hadn't expected that Qin Chu's recent deep thought was actually about coming up with a name for him.
Without hesitation, the eldest prince nodded vigorously: "Yes, I'm willing! Anything you give me, brother, is unique!"
He nodded emphatically, then looked at Qin Chu with some trepidation to confirm, "Is this really the name for me? Will I be called Qin Rui from now on?"
The child excitedly spun around in Qin Chu's arms, which Qin Chu found quite amusing.
He had no talent for naming things, and after racking his brains, he came up with this name that he had seen before. He thought the meaning was quite good, but he never expected that the prince would accept it so happily.
He nodded to the eldest prince: "My name is Qin Chu, and your name is Qin Rui. You can continue to call me brother from now on."
Having received Qin Chu's affirmation, the eldest prince, who finally had a name, was completely relieved.
Unable to contain his joy, he kept repeating, "Qin Chu, Qin Rui. Qin Chu, Qin Rui..."
Then he buried his head in Qin Chu's arms again and finally laughed happily like an ordinary child his age: "We have the same surname!"
In this way, he and Qin Chu seemed to have some kind of unbreakable connection.
After laughing, he thought of Qin Chu's explanation of the name and turned to look at the words on the table, but unfortunately the water stains had already dried. He dipped his finger in water and tried to write it himself, but then, afraid of making a mistake, he tugged at Qin Chu's arm and pleaded softly, "Brother, teach me again! I'm sure I can remember it this time!"
This time, Qin Chu held his finger and wrote it on the table. He then saw the child holding his face and laughing as he looked at the two characters on the table.
He stood around the table laughing, and after the water stains dried, he wrote them down clearly again and again.
This kid learns quickly; Qin Chu only taught him once, and he truly memorized it completely.
After writing his name at the table for a while, Qin Rui looked up at Qin Chu, wrote the character "Qin" on the table with his finger, and then asked Qin Chu, "Brother, how do you write your name?"
Qin Chu didn't expect him to ask that, but he still wrote the character "Chu" on the table as instructed.
Qin Rui was clearly very interested. He leaned over the table and looked at it for a while, then wrote "Qin Chu" many times on the back. After a while, he looked up and asked, "Brother, my name means auspiciousness, so what does your name mean?"
Upon hearing this question, Qin Chu paused for a moment. He looked at the water stains on the table and remained silent for a while before explaining to the child in his arms, "Qin is my mother's surname, and Chu is my father's surname."
Qin Rui could clearly sense that Qin Chu was unhappy when he said this, so he turned around and threw himself into Qin Chu's arms: "Then, brother, we'll take our mother's surname?"
Upon hearing this, Qin Chu couldn't help but let out a short laugh. This kid is quick to recognize family; he not only acknowledged him as his older brother but also his mother.
Hearing Qin Chu laugh out loud, Qin Rui finally felt a little relieved.
He was very happy, extremely happy, so he didn't want Qin Chu to be unhappy.
He looked up as if to say something, but then he saw Qin Chu looking out of the carriage.
A moment later, there was a gentle knock on the carriage wall, and a clear, pleasant voice came from outside the curtain: "General Qin, may I come in?"
"Enter."
Qin Rui turned his head to look at the carriage curtain and saw the young man who had just brought them water lift the curtain and enter the carriage.
After entering, the man looked up and smiled warmly at Qin Chu, then placed a plate of pastries on the table. This time, he didn't leave immediately but sat down opposite Qin Chu.
"My surname is Su, and I am the team's physician. I saw that you had a child with you, General, and I thought the child would like them, so I brought some pastries over." As she spoke, Physician Su stretched out her hand to the person opposite her.
Although he was traveling with a caravan, he was dressed in a flowing, wide-sleeved robe, and every move he made looked ethereal.
Qin Rui stared at Doctor Su in front of him with his dark, round eyes.
He had never met this person before, but he felt a strange sense of familiarity about him, an unpleasant kind of familiarity. Moreover, he disliked the way this person looked at Qin Chu.
Thinking this, Qin Rui, who was originally standing in Qin Chu's arms, turned around and climbed onto Qin Chu's lap, blocking most of the doctor's view.
Qin Chu, however, thought the child was just being affectionate. He glanced at the plate of snacks on the table and figured it was something a child would like. Aside from the few candies they'd eaten on the way with him, the boy hadn't had anything like this since he started following him.
After Noah confirmed that the pastries were fine, Qin Chu nodded to the doctor opposite him: "Thank you."
Then he reached out and took a pastry, handing it to Qin Rui.
Qin Rui didn't want to eat the food the doctor had brought, but then she thought that the doctor wouldn't dare to poison her in public, so she decided to take a bite of the good stuff.
After confirming that everything was alright, he took the pastries and handed them to Qin Chu with both hands, saying, "Brother, you should have some too!"
Watching the two brothers interact, the doctor was overjoyed by Qin Chu's earlier thanks, as this was the first time Qin Chu had spoken to him so kindly.
It was indeed worth all the effort he put into obtaining the identity of a young man.
Doctor Su was about to strike while the iron was hot and try to get closer to Qin Chu to protect him on the battlefield. But as soon as he opened his mouth, the child opposite him interrupted him as if he had timed it perfectly.
Qin Rui smiled and said in a sweet and soft voice, "Thank you for the pastries, Doctor Uncle."
"It's such a pity, isn't it because my brother doesn't like sweets?"
The doctor's face turned green immediately upon hearing the repeated use of "brother" and "uncle," and he almost couldn't help but point at the eldest prince and unleash a torrent of abuse. However, remembering that this was the child Qin Chu was with, he forced himself to suppress his anger.
He forced a smile and continued, "General, you've been traveling such a long way with your child, do you need me to take your pulse?"
Qin Rui did not immediately refute these words.
Although he had a vague sense of crisis and absolutely could not let this person touch Qin Chu, he was also worried that Qin Chu's health might be compromised after enduring so much hardship.
Qin Chu, however, declined the doctor's suggestion: "No need, I'm fine."
Qin Rui was very happy, and then sweetly declined, "I don't need it either. My brother took very good care of me. Thank you, Doctor Uncle."
Qin Chu glanced down at him but didn't say anything.
The doctor was so angry about the way he was addressed that he vomited blood again.
He tried to speak several times but couldn't get a proper conversation. He was often interrupted by the bratty kid on the other side as soon as he opened his mouth. The doctor could only watch helplessly as the two kids huddled together, feeding each other pastries.
The doctor's eyes nearly popped out when Qin Chu occasionally lowered his head, and he was incredibly envious.
He thought, "No, I have to get my hands on this NPC this time."
The doctor maintained a perfect smile, watching Qin Rui eat his snacks and shaking his head to advise, "Be careful not to get thirsty if you eat too much."
As he spoke, he leaned forward, picked up the kettle on the side, and poured two cups of water into the cups.
As he poured water, he gently lifted his sleeve, inadvertently revealing his snow-white wrist. A red birthmark on his wrist was half-hidden in his sleeve, barely visible.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, he abruptly put down the kettle, staggered back down, gripped his wrist tightly, bit his lip, and looked timidly and anxiously across the room: "I...I..."
Despite his outward panic, the doctor was secretly pleased, thinking that now, unless the two people opposite him were blind, they would be able to see the birthmark on his hand.
He is now a precious young man, and the army does not allow young men to enter. If Qin Chu sees him, whether he opposes it or feels sorry for him, he will have a deeper conversation with him.
The eldest prince is also a boy, and he will definitely feel a sense of kinship with him, which will also be helpful to his main quest.
Thinking this, the doctor stared at the person opposite him, hoping to see a shocked or angry expression.
However……
Across from me was a guy who had his birthmark dug out, and another guy who was actually a man. Although both of them saw his birthmark, they didn't show the same shock that ordinary people have when looking at a national treasure.
The two, one big and one small, watched the doctor trembling across from them, initially puzzled, then tacitly averting their gaze.
Make a sound! Make a sound!
The doctor was extremely anxious, but neither of the two people opposite him seemed to have any intention of bringing it up.
After waiting for two seconds, the doctor finally saw Qin Chu extend his hand. He thought Qin Chu was going to grab his wrist to examine him, and his heart pounded with excitement. He subtly extended his hand, which had the birthmark on it, forward.
But Qin Chu's outstretched hand only stopped on the table. Then he picked up a glass of water and held it to Qin Rui's lips, asking, "Want some?"
Doctor: ...
Doctor: Is this the time to drink water?
Unable to shake any longer, the doctor slunk off the carriage. As he got off, he couldn't help but wonder if he had revealed himself too subtly and Qin Chu hadn't seen it.
Qin Chu didn't take the doctor seriously at all, but Qin Rui gave him a wary look, but seeing that Qin Chu didn't care, he was pleased and didn't say anything.
The caravan stopped to rest that evening, and they finally had their first hot meal in over ten days. Then they could finally crawl into the enclosed carriages and get a good night's sleep.
Qin Chu entrusted the surrounding environment to Noah and rested for a while while holding the child.
He got up in the middle of the night, intending to get up quietly without waking Qin Rui, but as soon as he moved, his arms were held tightly, and when he looked down, he met the child's sleepless eyes.
"Brother, where are you going? I want to go too!"
Qin Chu stared at the child for two seconds. Qin Rui didn't rub his eyes or yawn, clearly not because he was woken up.
He frowned as he recalled Qin Rui saying he didn't sleep at night.
But Qin Chu didn't say anything and got off the carriage with Qin Rui.
The convoy's encampment was quiet; everyone except the night watchmen was resting. Beside the encampment was a large, barren forest; the branches were bare, but the trunks stood strong.
A sky full of stars, their twinkling light casting a dreamlike glow over the barren forest.
Now that there were no outsiders around, Qin Rui's daytime excitement returned. Holding Qin Chu's hand, he shuffled forward. He wasn't afraid of the cold; he simply wanted to stick close to Qin Chu since he was up in the middle of the night.
Qin Chu let go and let him play by himself, telling him not to go too far, and then turned around to deal with the problem. But when he looked down, he saw that the little brat was still standing next to him, staring at him.
Qin Chu: "...Why are you standing here instead of playing?"
Hearing his words, Qin Rui laughed and teased Qin Chu, "Could it be that you're a girl, brother?"
Qin Chu: "..."
Very well, you've gotten bolder, daring to use his past words to retort to him.
Qin Chu made no attempt to prove to Qin Rui that he was a boy; he simply reached out, picked him up, and hung him on a tree.
Qin Rui: "..."
When he grows up, he'll be able to easily pick up Qin Chu and hang him on a tree.