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In recent days, the Regent Prince’s residence had been shrouded in a tense and gloomy atmosphere. The servants moved about with trepidation, constantly on edge as they went about their duties.
It was all because His Highness had been moody and unpredictable lately, his expression perpetually dark and stormy.
He had also been making frequent trips to Zhaoyu Prison, each time returning with the stench of blood clinging to him.
It was truly terrifying.
At this moment, in the main courtyard of the Regent Prince’s residence—Wangchuan Courtyard—Feng Xiaohan lay in bed, restless and unable to sleep.
Lately, strange things had been happening. Whenever he drifted off to sleep, a chubby little girl with a comically large head and stubby limbs would appear and call him “Father.”
His own eyes were perfectly healthy, yet he could see her. He could see her clearly, yet he couldn’t touch her. It was bizarre.
In the past two nights, however, that little girl hadn’t appeared again. Feng Xiaohan was beginning to wonder if he was having hallucinations.
The more he thought about it, the more agitated he became. He sat up and took a sip of the calming soup that had long since gone cold.
Lying back down again, drowsiness slowly crept over him, and Feng Xiaohan began to drift off.
“Father, I’m back from work!” a soft, milky voice called out to him.
Feng Xiaohan looked at the little girl dressed in a pink ruqun, her face beaming with joy.
She was here again.
Feng Xiaohan didn’t feel like acknowledging her.
“Father?” The little girl leaned in close, gazing at her Father’s handsome face.
“Father is so good-looking.”
“You’re the most handsome person I’ve ever seen.”
Feng Xiaohan gave a cold snort. This child had good taste, at least.
“Father, why are you ignoring me?” The little girl reached out and poked his handsome face.
Feng Xiaohan could actually feel her touching his face.
Such audacity.
“Father, are you angry? I didn’t mean to not come see you.” The little girl began explaining herself, her voice full of grievance.
“Father said I was a liar and didn’t give me any silver coins, so I had to go to work. I’ve been working diligently these past two days, that’s why I didn’t come to see you.”
Listening to her explanation, Feng Xiaohan recalled the first time he met this little bean sprout.
This little bean sprout had asked him whether he would recharge her silver coins—hmph, only a fool would fall for that.
Wasn’t it clearly a scam?
The little girl glanced at her Father’s expression. Shuishu had told her: if Father wouldn’t recharge her silver, then she’d have to earn money on her own.
She was still young. Even though she had many older brothers and sisters, uncles and aunties helping her, she still worked slower than the others. It had taken her two whole days to earn a single tael of silver.
“Father, please don’t be angry anymore. I bought you some Shuishu flowers.”
The little girl took out a bundle of blue Shuishu and held it out to her Father.
“These cost me half a tael of silver—an entire day’s wages!”
“So Father shouldn’t be angry anymore.”
Feng Xiaohan turned his head to look at the large bundle of blue Shuishu flowers.
A whole day’s work for just half a tael?
She spent half a tael to buy him flowers, which meant she only had half a tael left.
Feng Xiaohan reached out and took the flowers.
“Thank you.”
Seeing her Father accept the Shuishu, the little girl gleefully spun in circles on the spot.
“Does Father really like the Shuishu? Then I’ll work hard to earn more and buy more for Father.”
Feng Xiaohan looked at the vibrant colors. Ever since his eyes had been poisoned and rendered blind, his world had become nothing but darkness.
But ever since this little bean sprout appeared, he could briefly see a vivid world again—in his dreams.
“What kind of work are you doing?” The cold, detached voice drifted into the little girl’s ears.
“I help Big Brother move books, help Uncle plant vegetables, and even help a rich Big Brother deliver gifts to pretty Sisters…” The little girl sat cross-legged in mid-air, counting her jobs on her tiny fingers.
“Heh, you really do a bit of everything,” Feng Xiaohan chuckled lightly.
“I’m too little to be an official worker, so I can only do odd jobs like these,” the little bean sprout sighed.
“Father, I’ll work hard to earn money to buy medicine for you. Then you’ll be able to see again someday!” The little girl’s spirit quickly reignited.
Her soft, chubby face was once again filled with determination.
Feng Xiaohan dismissed her words as childish nonsense.
Still, seeing how pitifully she worked and yet was willing to spend her hard-earned money to buy him Shuishu, he figured he might as well recharge some silver coins for her.
Just as that thought formed in Feng Xiaohan’s mind, a screen displaying a recharge interface suddenly appeared before his eyes.
Feng Xiaohan’s brows furrowed slightly. This… wasn’t really some kind of scam, was it?
When he tapped the recharge button, another window popped up with the message: Please enter the amount to recharge.
Feng Xiaohan entered one hundred tael.
After a while, the screen showed a prompt to recharge.
The little girl happily looked at her balance.
“Thank you, Father!”
So much money!
“I can go eat something delicious now.” The little girl joyfully bounced around.
“Father, wait here. I’ll go buy some medicine for you.”
Feng Xiaohan watched as the little girl disappeared from his sight, and his world once again turned to darkness.
She recharged the money and ran off—indeed, a scammer.
Fortunately, he hadn’t recharged a thousand taels.
Feng Xiaohan closed his eyes to sleep, his frustration fading away, and he quickly drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Feng Xiaohan woke up to a pleasant floral scent.
Who had placed flowers in his room?
“Qing’an.” Feng Xiaohan called for his guard.
Qing’an quickly pushed open the door and came in, lifting up the bed curtains.
“Prince, the young master has returned.”
“Let him in.”
“Yes.”
After a while, a figure cloaked in a white hooded cape walked in.
“Foster Father.” A soft voice came from under the white cloak.
“Wuhen, what brings you here?” Feng Xiaohan’s voice softened slightly upon hearing the voice of his adopted son.
“I heard that Father has been feeling upset lately, so I came to check on you.” A slender, jade-like hand emerged from the cloak, reaching out to support Feng Xiaohan.
Feng Xiaohan grasped his adopted son’s hand, feeling the numerous scars on it.
“Been having nightmares again?”
“Yes, it’s been raining a lot recently, so the dreams have been more frequent.”
“Hmm? Why did Father place flowers on the bed?” Wuhen looked at the blue flowers with confusion, admiring their beauty.
“What color are they?” Feng Xiaohan asked, his tone tinged with a hint of anticipation.
“Blue, like the color of the sky,” Wuhen described.
A shock flashed in Feng Xiaohan’s heart. In his dream last night, the little girl had given him blue flowers.
“Help me find a vase and take care of them.”
“Alright.”
Wuhen carefully gathered the flowers and placed them in a white porcelain vase, then assisted Feng Xiaohan in dressing and washing up, finally supporting him into a wheelchair.
“Today the weather’s clear. I’ll accompany Father for a walk.”
“Alright.”
Wuhen pushed Feng Xiaohan through the garden for a walk. In the garden, Feng Xiaohan was lost in thought about the little girl, while Wuhen observed his father, whose mood seemed heavy.
“Father, is something bothering you?” Wuhen asked softly, concerned.
“Been having nightmares lately.” Feng Xiaohan pressed his fingers to his forehead.
His cold, gloomy face showed signs of irritation.
What was that little girl’s return about? Why did she call him Father?
Was the world she came from a different one?
“I keep dreaming of a little girl who keeps calling me Father.”
Wuhen stared at him, his eyes widening in surprise, and fell silent for a while.
“Father, do you feel lonely? Maybe you want to raise a child. As the saying goes, what you think about during the day, you dream about at night.”
“I don’t want to raise a child. Raising the five of you has already been exhausting enough.” Feng Xiaohan rejected the idea outright.
Looking at the little girl’s appearance, she was only two or three years old. Raising such a child would be troublesome.
When he adopted Wuhen and the others, they were already around seven or eight, yet they were still difficult to manage.
So, he definitely wasn’t going to raise a two or three-year-old.
Wuhen chuckled softly and continued pushing Feng Xiaohan forward.
After having breakfast with his father, Wuhen left through the back door.
“Young Master, this is from the Prince.” Qing’an called out to Wuhen, stopping him.
Wuhen took the wooden box.
“Please thank Father for me, and ask Qing’an to take good care of Father. We won’t be able to return often.”
“Qing’an will certainly take good care of the Prince,” he replied. His life belonged to the Prince.
Wuhen held the wooden box, lightly tapping his toes as he leapt onto the wall, disappearing from Qing’an’s sight.