Zhu Weizhen personally taught Zhu Qingruo how to read, and only let her practice one big calligraphy article every day, and the rest of the time he just let her play leisurely in the yard.
The courtyards of Qianhua Palace are layered and perfect for playing hide and seek.
Zhu Qingruo ran around in the yard with the baby in her arms, and soon found the maids who had deliberately exposed themselves.
Seeing that she was out of breath, Jinhua couldn't help but worry, and hurriedly walked over to wipe her face and hands, pointing to the rockery stones in the corners and telling her to be careful.
Zhu Qingruo nodded obediently, handed the baby in her arms to her, and said crisply: "The baby is sleepy, you hold her. I hide it so they can't find it."
Jinhua wanted to hide with her.
Zhu Qingruo covered her mouth and smiled: "No, no, no."
Zhu Weizhen frowned slightly when he saw her guarding Zhu Qingruo every step of the way: "Let her have fun for a while. You guys are looking too closely."
When Jinhua heard this, she quickly retreated.
The palace maids led Zhu Qingruo out of the courtyard. Everyone turned around and faced the wall to count.
Zhu Qingruo covered her mouth and snickered. She was very good at hiding. She walked through the courtyard and around the corridor, squatting and hiding in the shadow behind the pavilion.
Soon, someone came over, called a few times and then left.
Her small one squatted in the shadow, waiting and waiting.
Slowly, happiness turned into uneasiness, and uneasiness turned into fear.
Zhu Qingruo walked out of the dark corner and looked left and right, but there was no one there.
She ran towards the moon arch, but there was still no one there.
"Aunt Jin... Aunt..."
Zhu Qingruo held the hem of her skirt with both hands and stood there, not daring to run forward anymore.
A small person, staring blankly.
"Hey! Little one."
Suddenly, someone spoke.
Zhu Qingruo turned around timidly and saw a tall figure, long and dark, in his eyes.
She has always been resigned to life, and her lips are flat and ready to cry.
Wei Li stood a few steps away, perfectly invisible in the shadows.
He had been quietly observing her, looking her up and down.
She has grown up a lot.
Wei Li walked towards her slowly with his hands behind his back, wearing a black robe with shining gold embroidery.
"aunt……"
Zhu Qingruo cried, and her small facial features wrinkled up.
Wei Li frowned, his eyes sharp, as if he was a little upset by her crying.
"Don't cry!"
He blurted out, his voice low, like a command. As a result, Zhu Qingruo cried even louder after he was so cruel. She turned around to run away, but Wei Li reached out and grabbed her back.
Her soft body, wet face, and big black eyes were full of grievances.
Wei Li had never held a child before, and he didn't dare to touch her with force. After weighing it, he had to squat down and talk to her: "Lost?"
Zhu Qingruo nodded aggrievedly, tears falling down.
"Don't cry. Crying is the most useless thing when you are in trouble."
He said in a cold tone again.
Zhu Qingruo pursed her lips and asked in a sweet voice, "Who are you?"
Wei Li raised his eyebrows and asked instead, "Have you seen the Hydrangea Cat?"
"cat?"
Zhu Qingruo was in a daze, with her hands huddled in her sleeves, still very afraid of him.
Wei Li smiled evilly: "Want to see them? They are just like you, small, soft, and have big eyes."
"Mother...I want mother."
Zhu Qingruo spoke weakly, which sounded heartbreaking.
Wei Li frowned unconsciously, a ray of light shot out from his cold eyes, and said to himself: "I want it too."
"Let's go, I'll take you back."
Wei Li didn't want her to cry anymore.
Zhu Qingruo looked at his tall back and followed him hesitantly.
Wei Li led her to the corridor leading to the pavilion and stopped walking forward.
Not far away, someone called urgently: "Your Highness, Your Highness, where are you?"
Zhu Qingruo subconsciously ran forward two steps, then suddenly looked back at Wei Li.
"what's your name?"
Wei Li raised the corners of his mouth, said nothing, and just waved his hand towards her.
He turned and left, neatly.
Zhu Qingruo was quickly found by everyone.
This long game of hide and seek has come to an end.
Jinhua's eyes were so anxious that her eyes were red. He picked her up and examined her carefully, fearing that she might get a scratch or get hurt.
Zhu Weizhen prepared the pastries and called Zhu Qingruo over.
She pretended to be concerned and asked where she had gone.
Zhu Qingruo didn't recognize the north, south, east, and west, and raised his hand to point outside the courtyard door. He couldn't explain clearly what he wanted to say.
Zhu Weizhen touched her head: "Don't run so far in the future, or you won't get lost."
Zhu Qingruo was obviously a little frightened. He languished all afternoon and didn't speak much.
In the evening, Xu Zhihuai's heart suddenly thumped when he heard that Zhu Qingruo had been missing for a while while playing hide and seek.
She hurriedly hugged her daughter, trying to be as gentle as possible and not showing any anxiety, and asked her: "Did you have fun this afternoon? Do you miss your mother?"
Zhu Qingruo grabbed a corner of her clothes and pressed her tightly into her arms: "I miss my mother so much."
"Are you lost?"
"Um……"
"Then who found you?"
"I went back by myself."
Xu Zhihuai continued with a worried heart: "Wow, my An'er is so awesome. She even got lost without crying."
"I cried……"
"It's okay if you cry. Come on, give me a kiss, mother."
Xu Zhihuai kissed her forehead gently and comforted her softly: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Mother will never let you get lost alone again. This palace is too big, An'er will be scared, right?"
Zhu Qingruo said with a sweet voice, "I hid, but they didn't find me."
"Well, where did An'er hide?"
"A dark place."
"Aren't An'er afraid of the dark?"
"Afraid."
Xu Zhihuai pondered for a moment and then said: "Then don't go there again, don't go to dark places."
"Um……"
Zhu Qingruo yawned tiredly.
"There's a dark man there."
Xu Zhihuai's eyes darkened, and he raised his eyes to look at Jinhua. Seeing that she also understood something, he panicked and covered his pounding chest with both hands.
"An'er, what kind of dark person?"
"Someone told me not to cry..."
Zhu Qingruo became more sleepy as she spoke.
Xu Zhihuai understood everything. She gently patted her daughter and looked at Jinhua and said, "This hide-and-seek is really deep."
Zhu Weizhen never does useless work, and today she arranged everything for Wei Li.
He came back and he also saw Zhu Qingruo.
What does he want to do next?
After thinking about it, there seems to be only one answer, he will not "let" them go.
Jinhua patted her chest, unable to catch her breath.
The eldest princess did an incredible job.
At the same time, Zhu Weizhen looked at the expressionless Wei Li and said calmly: "Is the afternoon hide-and-seek fun?"
Wei Li sneered: "Thank you, Your Highness."
He laughed at her for asking knowingly.
Zhu Weizhen smiled half-heartedly: "It's not easy for a small ball of flesh and blood to grow into a human form. Xu Zhihuai took good care of her, very well."
Wei Li remained silent, his eyes cold and stern.
He didn't like hearing the name "Xu Zhihuai" from her mouth.
Zhu Weizhen continued: "You can always remember her childish appearance today, but you will never be allowed to appear in front of her without permission in the future. There is a difference between superiority and inferiority. She is already your master."
