Night.
After seeing Su Miao off to rest, Di Ronghua strolled alone through the Imperial Garden, the gentle night breeze carrying the faint scent of crabapple blossoms.
She plucked two flowers absentmindedly. Then Jiangjiang came running toward her. “Pretty Mama!”
A smile curved Di Ronghua’s lips as she bent to scoop her up. “So, are you happy Mama came to see you?”
“Yeah! But… is Mama leaving soon?”
“She…” Di Ronghua’s heart ached. “She’ll come back. If Jiangjiang misses her, I’ll take you to see her later, okay?”
Jiangjiang thought it over, a little sad. “Okay…”
Just then, a figure in dark robes approached from the distance. To distract her, Di Ronghua blurted, “Jiangjiang, do you know who that is?”
“Big Brother.”
“…”
So much for correcting that.
Di Ronghua sighed. “Sweetie, Mama’s man is Daddy. So who’s Pretty Mama’s man?”
Jiangjiang’s eyes lit up. “Pretty Daddy!”
Di Ronghua’s expression twitched subtly. “So smart.”
“So he’s… Pretty Mama’s man?”
“Yes.” She’d rather not be Xiao Hanjin’s aunt again.
Jiangjiang nodded, half-understanding.
“Oh…”
As the man reached them, she tilted her head up, hesitated, then called out in a soft, sweet voice, “Pretty Daddy!”
Xiao Hanjin froze.
His large, defined hand had stretched halfway toward her but stopped midair. His eyes darkened several shades. “What?”
Di Ronghua sniffed, frowned, and stepped back. “Xiao Hanjin, why do you stink so bad?”
His gaze remained fixed on Jiangjiang’s face. “Jiangjiang.”
Jiangjiang pouted, aggrieved. “…Did I get it wrong?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed several times before he rasped, “No… Did Su Miao teach you that?”
Di Ronghua’s mood soured instantly, feeling her good intentions wasted. “Jiangjiang, let’s ignore this stinky guy.”
Before she could finish, she hoisted Jiangjiang and turned to leave.
“Ronghua!”
With a low shout, Xiao Hanjin strode forward and pulled her into his arms.
Di Ronghua’s brows shot up as she shrieked, “Xiao Hanjin, you reek—don’t hug me!”
His eyes dimmed, a hint of grievance seeping into his tone. “You said I couldn’t see you until I found the medicine. I found it.”
So he thought that gave him a free pass? Who said he could hug her?!
But…
Her expression turned odd, her eyelid twitching. “You didn’t… dig it out of the trash, did you?”
Xiao Hanjin’s gaze sank. “Where else would I have thrown it?”
Di Ronghua, “…”
Oh. Right. If it were still in the palace, that’d be “putting it aside,” not “throwing it away.”
So this guy refused to take perfectly good medicine, only to roll around in garbage to retrieve it and pop it in his mouth?
Goddamn lunatic.
“Ronghua.” As she started to squirm, his low, hoarse voice brushed her ear. “Just now… did Jiangjiang call me Daddy?”
“What else?” She huffed. “A ghost?”
“Where’s Su Miao?”
“…What do you want with her?”
Xiao Hanjin paused. “She’s taken care of Jiangjiang all these years and even handled this for us. I need to thank her properly.”
Di Ronghua’s freshly calmed face twisted again.
“Xiao. Han. Jin.” She ground out through gritted teeth, “Did your brain roll through the trash too?”
“Pretty Daddy.” Jiangjiang, unable to watch anymore, piped up in confusion. “Pretty Mama said you’re her man, so I should call you Daddy.”
Another jolt ran through him, his pupils constricting.
