"Does it hurt? Mother will blow on it for you."
Er Bao's expression remained unchanged, as if he were not the one injured. He shook his head lightly, "It doesn't hurt."
"How can it not hurt? Look at these cuts on your hand, they're bleeding. You're just a child who endures everything and refuses to say anything."
Whether sweet or bitter, pain or joy, Er Bao endured it all, not letting anyone see. He had fallen so badly, yet he hadn't even cried, showing no sign of pain on his face. If it were Da Bao, who knew how much he would have fussed.
Feng Jin sighed helplessly. Who made this child have such a personality? He was exactly like Ling Mo Han. Coupled with a boisterous elder brother like Da Bao, Er Bao was bound to suffer some grievances in the future.
"Mother... not sore..."
As if afraid of Feng Jin's worry, Er Bao repeated himself word by word.
His serious expression amused Feng Jin into a helpless laugh. She reached out and stroked Er Bao's forehead. "Mother understands, you don't hurt. Mother will bandage your hand for you. Don't run so fast in the future."
Er Bao nodded. But when he saw the bandaged wound on his hand, the faint smile on his lips disappeared without a trace.
It was really quite ugly. And why did it need such a big tail? It was useless, just a big burden.
The more he looked at it, the uglier he found it. He reached out to tug at the big tail, but Feng Jin grabbed his hand.
"It's just been bandaged. Don't pull at it, or the wound will open and bleed again."
Feng Jin held Er Bao's restless hand and scooped him into her arms. She would hold him today, lest this boy get restless and hurt the wound again.
"Mother... ugly... ugly..."
Holding up his hand, which was bandaged like a zongzi, Er Bao pouted his little mouth, expressing his dissatisfaction.
Feng Jin's brow furrowed slightly. Now she knew why Er Bao had been trying to pull at it. She couldn't help but retort, "How is this ugly? It's so beautiful. Look at this specially tied bow, it's so cute!"
Er Bao's mouth twitched slightly. This was beautiful? This was cute? It was simply too ugly. With a dejected little face, he kept shaking his head to express his disagreement. "No... ugly..."
"Ugly what? It's clearly very beautiful. It's just that your aesthetic sense, like your father's, is wrong. Listen to Mother, and you'll be right. Understand?"
Her aesthetic sense, which she was so proud of, being rejected by her own son, immediately displeased Feng Jin. She forced Er Bao to accept it, hugging the reluctant Er Bao tightly and walking out.
Seeing this, Da Bao immediately scampered after them, not forgetting to say something to please Feng Jin, "This... is beautiful... Mother... want... want..."
A few words had Feng Jin beaming with joy. After speaking, Da Bao nuzzled Feng Jin's face and gave her a big kiss.
"My Da Bao is so smart and cute, knowing how to make Mother happy."
Feng Jin hugged Da Bao. Da Bao was so thoughtful, truly her little warm jacket. Then she looked at Er Bao, who was exactly like Ling Mo Han, looking like a tattered beggar's outfit with holes everywhere.
Er Bao was not moved in the slightest by the mother-son affection. Instead, he stubbornly insisted on tearing off the bandage wrapped around his hand. Such an ugly thing on his hand made him feel an eyesore.
Unable to persuade Er Bao, Feng Jin had to oblige and unwrap his hand, then re-bandage it.
Having gotten his wish, Er Bao's gloomy mood instantly lifted, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
"You stinking brat, you're just like your father."
"What have I done now to be compared to you with every word?"
As soon as he entered the courtyard, he heard Feng Jin scolding Er Bao and, of all people, including him.
He now understood. As long as there was the slightest bit of anything not quite right with these two little ones, it was all blamed on him.
Whenever he refuted, Feng Jin would use "genetics" to deal with him. After all this time, he still didn't understand what genetics was. He only knew that whenever the two little ones made a mistake, it was all his fault.
"You are their father, and naturally, he takes after you. Of course, he's like you."
The more she looked, the more Er Bao resembled Ling Mo Han, as if carved from the same mold, not only in appearance but also in personality.
"Whenever I see Er Bao, I can imagine what you were like when you were young."
Feng Jin glanced at Er Bao, then at Ling Mo Han, further confirming her thoughts.
The man ignored Feng Jin's words, but sat on a chair to the side and held Da Bao, who was running around wildly, in his arms. "Can't you be a little less restless? Running around non-stop all day. Aren't you tired? Look at your brother, how steady he is, unlike you..."
"What do you know? This is called lively and cute, very likable. Unlike you and Er Bao, you are both quiet as a clam, not saying a word for half a day."
After a pause, Feng Jin continued, "Didn't you go to court? Why are you back so early? Why didn't you go to Prince Jing's mansion today?"
"I didn't want to," Ling Mo Han said faintly. He couldn't go to Prince Jing's mansion every day.
Besides, spending too much time with Chu Chenyi would always affect his intelligence.
"That's strange. Usually, you two are inseparable. It's rare to hear you say you don't want to go..."
Feng Jin's tone was somewhat sour, and her gaze at Ling Mo Han was tinged with disdain.
"Talking to him for a few more words leads to useless things, all of which are nonsense."
"That's true..." For once, she agreed with Ling Mo Han's sentiment. It was true that Chu Chenyi always brought up useless topics.
"Speaking of which, His Majesty is truly pitiable. Which emperor in all the dynasties hasn't had a dozen or twenty sons? Yet he only has a few sons, and all of them are useless. Picking the best from the mediocre, only Chu Chenyi is presentable."
Feng Jin's tone was full of pity for Emperor Xuanwen. He had few sons to begin with, and they were all good-for-nothings. It was indeed difficult for him to choose an emperor from these few.
Chu Yanxi, his favorite and most favored, was even a two-faced scoundrel colluding with Xiliang. If Emperor Xuanwen knew about this, he would be so angered that he would die.
To have such a son was truly tragic. If she had such a child, she would rather have him strangled to death than be angered to death.