Gulan sighed. She had never thought that after more than a decade of education and several decades of military experience, she would one day be able to so easily accept the rules of survival in this world. But what can we do? If we want to survive here, we must learn to adapt.
Looking at her son, Gulan said earnestly: "Son, it is difficult for people to live in this world, especially for the poor. So in order to survive, there will always be helplessness of one kind or another. No one wants to sign a contract to sell their bodies. Some people have no choice, and some are forced by life."
AnAn looked at his mother, not quite understanding what she was saying.
Gulan: "Do you remember Baodan?"
AAn nodded, "I know, he is Daya and Erya's younger brother."
"Great, that's him. If Baodan wasn't smart enough and got kidnapped by bad guys, he would have no choice but to live his life. If he was lucky, he would be sold to someone else as a son. If he was unlucky, he would be sold to a wealthy family as a servant, or even sold to a black workshop or black mine. The ending would be very tragic."
At this point, Gulan thought of AnAn's helplessness and that short and miserable life that she saw on the light curtain, and for a moment she looked at het son with heartache.
AnAn seemed to understand a little bit. He was captured by the bad guys and had no choice.
"Are Daya and Erya forced by life?" AnAn was about to get it.
"I guess so." Gulan nodded.
The situations of Daya and Erya are a little special. It can be said that they were forced by life, but they were also somewhat beyond their control. Although she intended to leave the two children behind, their fate was also decided privately by their parents.
"So, they also have to sign a contract to sell themselves?"
"Yes, this way Dad won't worry about them betraying their master, son. Dad is not saying this because he doesn't trust them. The two sisters are very good children. Dad just wants to take the initiative in his own hands. You are still young now and may not understand what Dad is saying, but you will understand it naturally when you grow up."
AnAn nodded. There were indeed many things he didn't understand, but what his mother said must be right.
"Come on, accompany Dad for a walk in the yard, and then practice martial arts with Dad." Gulan pulled her son up.
Gulan slept for a whole afternoon and ate right after getting up. She still feel weak. Neither the mother nor the son noticed that there was no outsider around them at the moment, and they still addressed each other as "Dad" in the conversation. She have completely accepted this word subconsciously.
...
To the palace.
As Xiang Yunqi, who was having a party with students, walked out of the restaurant, he saw Deng Yuan waiting outside and knew something had happened.
He is the most capable people of his mother, and he would not show up unless something went wrong.
Deng Yuan, who was waiting outside for "Young Master", hurried over to greet the Second Young Master when he saw him.
"If you have something to say, let's talk in the carriage." Xiang Yunqi glanced at him, then said goodbye to the students with a smile, turned around and got on the carriage with a gloomy face.
Deng Yuan followed.
"Tell me, what happened?" Xiang Yunqi closed his eyes and pinched his eyebrows to ease the effects of the alcohol.
"Sir, the eldest son is back."
"What did you say?" Xiang Yunqi paused, opened his eyes, and looked at Deng Yuan with a sinister look.
After being looked at, Deng Yuan quickly lowered his head.
"How could he come back? How could he come back?!" Xiang Yunqi clenched his fists, his face gloomy.
"When did you get back? How do you look?"
"Sir, I came back before noon and nothing seems to have changed." Deng Yuan said quickly.
"Haha…nothing has changed…you are worthy of being my good brother…" Xiang Yunqi put away the gloomy expression on his face and sneered.
"What is the matter that makes mother so impatient that she asks you to wait for me?"
"I don't know. The princess said that you should go directly to see her when you return."
Nodding to Xiang Yunqi and closing his eyes, Deng Yuan carefully shrank into the corner of the carriage, not daring to make any noise.
When Xiang Yunqi opened his eyes again, the carriage had stopped and arrived at the gate of the palace. After getting off the carriage, he walk fast straight to his mother's yard without stopping.
At this moment, Princess Xiang has returned to normal and her room has been tidied up. The moment the "Mother Concubine" saw the Second Young Master come in, the servants guarding the room filed out one after another, and the Momo (like Head Maid, maybe) Qiuxiang stood guard at the door.
"Qi'er is finally back." Seeing his son, the princess stood up excitedly.
"What happened? Mother doesn't look well." As soon as Xiang Yunqi came in, he noticed that his mother's face was not right.
Princess Xiang's eyes turned red at her son's caring words, "Qi'er, your father seems to know about that incident. He even warned me specifically, saying... saying..."
When Princess Xiang thought of the way the prince looked at her at that time, she couldn't help but feel a little scared. After being married for more than ten years, she knew that the prince was not joking.
"Don't be afraid, mother. Sit down and talk slowly." Seeing that something was wrong with his mother, Xiang Yunqi quickly helped her sit on the couch and poured her a cup of hot water.
"Drink some water."
Princess Xiang felt better after drinking the water handed to her by her son.
"Mother, I did that very secretly. There would be no evidence. How did father know about it?" Seeing that his mother had calmed down, he spoke to his mother.
"It must be Xiang Yunjin. Your father looked very unhappy after he left. Qi'er, your father is not stupid. He doesn't need any handle... We all underestimated his importance in your father's eyes." When Princess Xiang said this, a trace of resentment and hatred appeared in her eyes. How could this scourge be so devastating? From childhood to adulthood, no matter how much harm was done to him, he could not be killed.
"Isn't it okay before? Hasn't father always been very cold to Xiang Yunjin?"
"That's because your good brother has never complained to your father. It's true that the crying child gets the candy. But the fact that he dares to complain also shows that Xiang Yunjin has grown strong and is confident that he can deal with us." Princess Xiang said angrily, holding the spare cup tightly in her hand.
Upon hearing this, Xiang Yunqi's face darkened and his eyes became gloomy.
"What did Father say?"
"Your father clearly told me that there will only be one heir in this life, and that is Xiang Yunjin. He also warned me not to do anything to Xiang Yunjin. If anything wrong, it will be blamed on me. My son, Xiang Yunjin cannot be touched for the time being, at least not before I figure out what is going on. Otherwise, if I anger your father and depose your mother, that would be the least of my problems. You will also be implicated by then."
"Mother, can we really not move?" Xiang Yunqi was unwilling.
"Qi'er, no one wants to take action against him more than I do, but we are not sure we can kill him with one strike. Over the years, mother has tried everything, including poisoning, assassination and framing, but he has always been able to dodge them. This time, your father has given me a clear warning, so we can't take action now."
Suppressing the anger in his heart, Xiang Yunqi took a deep breath and looked at his mother guiltily, "Mother, your son has wronged you."
"You are my mother's life. I'm doing this for my own son. But your father is angry these days, so he won't pay any attention to me. Your father likes you, so you should coax him more. When he's no longer angry with me, I'll slowly find out the reason."
Princess Xiang was actually feeling confused. It was understandable that she couldn't bear to see her own son in danger, but the prince was really cold towards Xiang Yunjin. Logically speaking, without solid evidence, he shouldn't have warned her directly given his temperament.
"I know. I will do as you say, mother." Xiang Yunqi agreed readily, but he didn't agree in his heart. If he really liked him as a son, why didn't he leave the position of crown prince to him.
"Okay..." Princess Xiang finally felt relieved at her son's understanding.