Wang Siqi was a poor but talented man, with no relatives left in his hometown. Shen's family were local gentry in Hangzhou, so it was feasible for Wang Hongbo to be raised by them.
Junshu has already visited the Shen family and expressed his hope to find an opportunity to slowly tell the child about his thoughts so as not to upset him. He also told him about Shen's dying wish that Wang Hongbo and Wushuang would get married.
Knowing the prestige of the Marquis of Runan's family, and seeing Jun Shu's polite demeanor, considerate nature, and lack of arrogance, coupled with having watched Yang Shi grow up and understanding her straightforward and kind nature, the Shen family assumed their daughter would be exceptional. They were very optimistic about this marriage. Furthermore, a son-in-law is like a son to them, and Jun Shu, for the sake of his daughter's future happiness, would do his best to nurture her. They believed that having Wang Hongbo grow up under Jun Shu's care would only bring him good fortune. Therefore, they agreed to entrust Wang Hongbo to Jun Shu and his wife for temporary care.
Upon hearing the devastating news, Wushuang was shocked and saddened. She lost her footing and tumbled down the stone steps.
Junshu heard the commotion and came out to check. He saw his little daughter lying sprawled on the bottom of the steps, clearly stunned by the fall. Her mouth was open, she was about to cry but hadn't, and she looked particularly cute with her silly expression.
He quickly stepped forward, picked up Wushuang, and lifted her sleeves and trouser legs to check if she was injured.
Fortunately, Wushuang was small and not afraid of falling. Apart from scrapes on her palms and a bruise on her knee, she had no other injuries.
"Shuangshuang came to show Mother my handwriting. Brother Bo said it was beautiful..." Wushuang sobbed. The paper, which she had been clutching in her hand and with one half under her bottom when she fell, was now crookedly torn in two.
"It's all broken, boohoo..." Wushuang cried, her little face drooping.
"It's alright, you can still see it. Don't cry, sweetie." Jun Shu coaxed his daughter, picked up the two pieces of paper, and carried her and the paper into the house, placing them on Yang's bed.
After applying the medicine in Yang's room, Wushuang pretended not to know anything and coaxed her younger brother for a while before returning to the west wing.
Wang Hongbo had just finished his second homework assignment when he looked up and saw Wushuang walking in with a pout.
"Shuangshuang, what's wrong? Why are you unhappy after going out?" Wang Hongbo asked, puzzled.
Wushuang climbed onto the bed, rolled up her trousers, raised her little hand, and showed her injuries to Wang Hongbo: "Brother Bo, I just fell down the steps and I'm all hurt. It hurts so much."
What truly upset her wasn't the fall and injury, but her parents must have had their reasons for not telling Wang Hongbo about it; she couldn't cause trouble behind his back.
"Don't be afraid, Shuangshuang. Blowing on it will make it stop hurting." Wang Hongbo first blew three breaths on each of Wushuang's two little hands, then leaned down and gently blew on her knees a few times, looking up and asking, "Is it any better?"
What a wonderful child, so sensible and considerate, yet his fate was so cruel, losing both his parents at a young age.
Wu Shuang, recalling her past life, was overwhelmed with emotion. With tears in her eyes, she nodded, rushed over and hugged Wang Hongbo tightly, saying in a childish voice, "Brother Bo, if you treat Shuang Shuang well, Shuang Shuang will treat you well in the future and promise to treat you like her own brother!"
Wang Hongbo hugged Wushuang back and said, "I've always considered you my own sister!"
That night, the two, who had just recognized each other as brother and sister, did not go back to their respective rooms, but instead slept together on Wushuang's canopy bed.
When Chu Yao arrived, he saw the two little ones cuddling together, fast asleep.
Chapter Index 55|3
Chapter 55:
Chu Yao was aware that Wang Hongbo, the orphan of Wang Siqi, the Director of the Maritime Trade Office, was temporarily residing with the Marquis of Runan at the Governor-General's residence. ( No pop-up ads) He admired the warm hospitality and righteousness of Jun Shu and his wife towards their old friend's son, but... Wu Shuang's enthusiasm to the point of letting Wang Hongbo sleep in her bed made him unable to feel happy at all.
With a gloomy face, Chu Yao took out a Lingguang Guard token from his pocket, used the end of the token away from his palm to pry open Wang Hongbo's short hand that was resting on Wushuang's waist, and then reached out to grab Wushuang, who was sleeping on the inside of the bed.
Unexpectedly, Wang Hongbo was not a deep sleeper, and he woke up as soon as he moved.
A small nightlight was lit in the corner of the room. Although the light was dim, it was enough for Wang Hongbo to see a strange man standing in front of the bed. The man was reaching out his evil hand to Wushuang, who was sleeping soundly and unaware of anything.
"You...who are you?" Wang Hongbo sat up with a jolt, facing Chu Yao, his two small arms stretched out diagonally downwards, like a mother hen spreading her wings to protect her chicks, blocking Wushuang's way. "What do you want to do to Shuangshuang?"
"I am Chu Yao, the Prince of Ying and Commander of the Lingguang Guard." Chu Yao raised one eyebrow, revealing his identity without any concealment. (Read the latest chapters at qiushu.cc)
"Nonsense! How could the renowned Lingguang Guard sneak into a girl's boudoir in the middle of the night!" Wang Hongbo didn't believe him and made a bold yet reasonable guess about Chu Yao's "true" identity: "You must be a kidnapper! You're a big bad guy who's here to kidnap Shuangshuang and sell her for money!"
Judging from his clothes and appearance, you should know that he couldn't possibly be a low-life kidnapper.
Chu Yao scoffed inwardly, too lazy to waste time arguing with a clueless brat. He simply took out the token he had just put back in his pocket and handed it to Wang Hongbo: "Take a good look, this is the token of the Lingguang Guard."
Wang Hongbo took it and examined both sides carefully, as if doing homework, before asking, "I've never seen the Lingguang Guard's token before, how do I know if it's fake?"
I didn't expect the little guy to be so vigilant.
Chu Yao's eyes twitched slightly. He made up his mind not to get entangled with him any longer. He formed his right hand into a knife and gently struck Wang Hongbo on the back of the neck.
Wushuang was awakened by the sound of the two talking. She rubbed her eyes and sat up in a daze, just in time to see Wang Hongbo slump down. She yawned half-awake and asked, "What happened to Brother Bo?"
"It's nothing. He was sleepwalking just now. I happened to come in and saw him, so I just led him back to bed," Chu Yao lied without changing his expression. "Don't disturb him. Let him sleep peacefully. Let's go over there and talk."
After saying that, he picked up Wushuang, walked around the screen, and went to the mahogany couch under the window.
Wu Shuang was fast asleep when she was snoring softly on Chu Yao's shoulder after just a few steps. When she was shaken awake, she sat on the couch and stared blankly at Chu Yao.
Chu Yao had a lot of questions he wanted to ask, such as why she was reborn, what happened to her after his death, and whether she had found a way to clear her name after being wrongly accused by Lin Ruqing...
However, judging from her relentless pursuit of Lin Ruqing outside the examination hall that day, it seems unlikely that she did not.
He also wanted to ask how long she had lived, whether she knew what the situation in the capital was like afterward, which prince had inherited the throne, and so on.
However, looking at that chubby, innocent, and bewildered baby face, he couldn't utter a single question.
Wu Shuang snapped out of her daze, stood up, and threw herself into Chu Yao's arms. She whispered in his ear, "Chu Yao, please catch the murderer quickly! Poor Brother Bo!"
Even without being urged, Chu Yao would do his best to complete any task assigned by the emperor. However, Wushuang's words made him feel uneasy for some reason.
He thought she was being affectionate by throwing herself into his arms, but it turned out she was just whispering something to avoid being heard by Wang Hongbo.
Or perhaps she could simply use her youthful beauty to make him work harder? In the end, it was all for Wang Hongbo.
Chu Yao pushed Wushuang aside, straightened her up, and asked seriously, "How do you know about this?" He was good at reading people's expressions and could tell from Wushuang's behavior that Wang Hongbo did not know about this. Since even Jun Shu, the person involved, had not told him, how could he have told his little daughter who was not even five years old?
Wushuang fiddled with her fingers, glancing at his face, and deliberately feigned grievance, saying, "I heard it when I went to find my mother..." Afraid that Chu Yao wouldn't believe her, she raised her little hand to show him, the scrape she had sustained from falling down the stone steps during the day still not fully healed. "Look, I was so scared when I heard it that I fell down, it hurt so much! Luckily, Brother Bo helped me blow on it, and I felt a little better. Chu Yao, Brother Bo is so good to me, you have to help him a lot."
Chu Yao thought to himself: Wang Hongbo is good to her, but it doesn't benefit him at all. On the contrary, it makes him very unhappy. So why should he help him?