The carriage suddenly fell silent.
Song Yi'an's long-taut nerves finally relaxed, and sleepiness naturally washed over her. Seeing the young man close his eyes to rest, she silently found a corner furthest from him, hugged Xiao Bai, and fell into a deep sleep.
After midday, the carriage had already left the city; they were on their way back to the Capital City after being summoned by the Emperor.
When Fu Xihe opened his eyes again, a dull pain still lingered in his forehead, but he had finally recovered from the sharp agony he had felt just moments before.
As he looked up, this was the scene he saw: a person and a dog curled up pitifully in the corner.
He lifted the side curtain, his voice sounding slightly weary: "Qing Dynasty, where are we?"
"Replying to Your Highness, we will arrive at the Capital City by tomorrow."
Fu Xihe rubbed his throbbing temples and ordered: "After we enter the city, arrange for someone to take the little one to find her family."
Qing Dynasty acknowledged the order, but catching sight of his master's pale complexion, he couldn't help but whisper: "Is Your Highness's head illness acting up again? Do you need to take some Carefree Powder?"
Upon hearing the words "Carefree Powder," Fu Xihe's brows knitted together sharply, his expression filled with disgust.
"I do not need that stuff." His voice turned cold.
"Carefree Powder" was a formula specifically developed by a certain imperial physician in the palace for his head illness.
At first, taking one packet did indeed alleviate the head illness and even brought a sense of floating euphoria, but by the fourth or fifth time, the required dosage became larger and larger, otherwise, it would not achieve the medicinal effect.
What was even more terrifying was that once he stopped using it, a bone-deep, heart-wrenching craving would emerge, leaving him weak and his mind scattered.
He had once seen an adult man who had taken Carefree Powder for a long time; he had become skin and bones, neither human nor ghost, with tears and snot covering his face, repeatedly crying out for "Carefree Powder."
Ever since then, he would rather endure this excruciating pain than touch that medicine again.
Qing Dynasty, watching from the side, felt anxious in his heart; the dark circles under the Third Prince's eyes were growing heavier.
Because of his chronic head illness, he couldn't get a full night's sleep even once a month when it was severe, and sleeping for two hours at a time had become a luxury.
Yet, as long as he took the Carefree Powder, the head illness would be relieved in no time, and he could have a peaceful sleep, but His Highness was stubbornly resistant to the Carefree Powder.
No matter how much the imperial physician tried to persuade him, he refused to take it.
Fu Xihe said nothing more, lowered the curtain, leaned back against the carriage wall, and closed his eyes to rest, though his brows remained furrowed.
I do not know how much time had passed when Song Yi'an was awakened by the fragrant smell of roasted meat. She rubbed her eyes and discovered that the carriage was empty and not moving.
A long, loud rumble came from her stomach; Song Yi'an was hungry, so hungry she felt like her chest was touching her back.
For several days, her stomach had been filled only with hard flour cakes that could break teeth, without a drop of oil or meat.
The smell of meat outside was an irresistible temptation to her stomach, which had been empty for several meals.
Song Yi'an hugged Xiao Bai, carefully climbed to the edge of the carriage window, poked her little head out, and peered outside.
The sky had already turned completely dark. The imperial guards had built a fire around the carriage and were roasting prepared wild rabbits over it. Grease dripped down, making a sizzling, enticing sound, and the aroma wafted from there.
Song Yi'an swallowed her saliva. What a plump, delicious rabbit! Just imagining the bite of meat made her mouth water uncontrollably.
Just looking at it wouldn't put the meat in her mouth.
So, she decisively hugged Xiao Bai, jumped out of the carriage with agile movements, and trotted on her short legs toward the direction of the Fairy.
Fu Xihe was sitting on a stone by the campfire, holding a book on military strategy, reading it half-heartedly by the firelight, his brows carrying an inescapable weariness.
Song Yi'an crept up to his side and tugged on Fu Xihe's hem.
Fu Xihe sensed movement behind him and turned his head to see the little one looking longingly at the golden, oily roasted rabbit over the fire, her drool almost spilling out.
Fu Xihe's eyes flickered. He put down the book in his hand, feeling a desire to tease her.
He tore off a rabbit leg and waved it in front of Song Yi'an. Sure enough, wherever the rabbit leg moved, the little one's soul followed, her big, round eyes staring straight at it.
"Want to eat?" he asked deliberately.
Song Yi'an nodded vigorously, her stomach rumbling uncontrollably.
Fu Xihe held the rabbit leg higher and said with a smile, setting a condition: "Call me Big Brother, and I'll give it to you."
Song Yi'an called out without hesitation: "Big Brother."
Never mind Big Brother; even if he asked her to call him the Jade Emperor right now, she would say it without a second thought.
This soft, sweet "Big Brother" made Fu Xihe's heart tremble inexplicably.
His fingertips paused. Looking at the dirty but bright-eyed little face in front of him, a question suddenly flashed through his mind: are all little sisters in the world this cute?
Song Yi'an got the rabbit leg as she wished and immediately began to gnaw on it.
The rabbit leg was roasted crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with delicate meat and a faint salty taste on the skin. Although the seasoning was lacking, after experiencing the material scarcity of the apocalypse and being extremely hungry, this was nothing short of a delicacy.
Song Yi'an's mouth was stuffed full, her cheeks bulging like a little squirrel.
Fu Xihe watched her wolfing down the food, his fingers itching to pinch those bulging cheeks, but seeing her dusty face and the grass clippings in her hair, he suppressed the urge.
He was a germaphobe, and since there were only imperial guards accompanying him back to the Capital City and no maidservant, he couldn't clean the little one up immediately.
Fu Xihe rested his chin on his palm, watching the little one eat happily, and had a sudden thought: "Why don't you stop looking for your family and come be my little sister instead? I'll ensure you have plenty to eat and drink in the future."
He would be leaving the palace to establish his own household anyway; if there were such a little one in the residence, it surely wouldn't be too lonely.
Upon hearing this, Song Yi'an was stunned, not knowing whether to swallow the rabbit meat in her mouth.
She wouldn't have sold herself for a rabbit leg, would she? With wolves in front and tigers behind, having just escaped the clutches of a human trafficker, had she walked straight into a tiger's den?
Qing Dynasty, standing to the side, pricked up his ears and was dumbfounded. Since the Noble Consort passed away, the Third Prince rarely showed a pleasant face to anyone, let alone teasing someone like this.
He immediately looked at Song Yi'an in a new light, thinking to himself that if His Highness really liked her, it wouldn't be a bad idea to bring her back to the residence to raise.
Song Yi'an chewed, swallowed the rabbit meat, tilted her head, and thought for a moment: "Fairy... Big Brother, are you very lonely?"
The smile on Fu Xihe's face vanished instantly. Could even a little child see through his thoughts now?
"Forget it if you don't want to." His expression turned cold, and he picked up the book again.
The Fairy's mood changed faster than turning a page; Song Yi'an sighed at her own inability to keep up.
The Fairy looked only two years older than her brother. Song Yili was always gentle, but the Fairy was so fickle; truly, a Fairy's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea.
In the middle of the night, bean-sized raindrops began to pelt down, and in an instant, it turned into a torrential downpour.
This night, however, welcomed an uninvited guest.
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