It was already past dinner time, but Xiao Shitou still didn't wake up. Ding Shengkang sent someone for the second time to tell him that it was late today and that Xiao Shitou should go to see him early tomorrow morning.
After everyone left, An Ran went to the small stone courtyard and looked at her son's sleeping face, which made him lose weight. My nose is sore and tears are about to fall again.
She took two deep breaths and patted her son's face.
"Little Shitou, get up and eat quickly. Let's go to bed after eating. Mom is still waiting for you to eat together." ?.?????.???
An Ran called three or four times before Little Shitou slowly woke up.
When he opened his eyes, he saw his mother's smiling face, and Xiao Shitou lazily called out to her. Then he rested his head on An Ran's lap, buried his face in his mother's abdomen, and breathed a deep sigh of relief.
An Ran smiled and said, "Okay, get up quickly, I've heated up the food for you twice."
At this time, Ding Ziheng also ran in. Seeing that his brother was awake, he jumped on the bed and said, "Brother, you're awake. Look, my mother has made a lot of new clothes for you. Get up quickly."
Xiao Shitou looked to the side and saw that there were indeed several pieces of clothing neatly folded and placed on the chair.
An Ran smiled and said, "Get up. Mom will wait for you outside."
An Ran walked outside the door and heard the two brothers playing in the house.
When the two brothers arrived at the main courtyard, An Ran saw that they were wearing the same color clothes. Ding Ziheng hurriedly ran to An Ran and said, "Mom, I helped my brother choose this. It looks good."
An Ran touched his son's head and looked at Xiao Shitou's tall body and resolute and handsome face. From a distance, he looked more and more like his father.
"It looks good. My son looks good in whatever he wears. Come and sit down and see what mother has done for you."
When Xiao Shitou took a look, it turned out that his mother still loved him the most. They were all his favorite food. There was a bowl full of fish fillets. This one was the tenderest and smoothest. He and his dad both loved it.
There were also two large plates of dumplings, a large cup of soup, and a few side dishes left. It looked like Aunt Chen had specially cooked them for him.
An Ran pushed the cup of soup forward, "Drink this first. It has been stewed for more than an hour. I can't eat anything too greasy on an empty stomach. I will stew braised pork for you tomorrow."
Little Shitou smiled, picked up the spoon and started eating. He knew that this was a medicinal meal specially prepared for him by his mother, who had occasionally made it for him in the past.
Ding Ziheng had already had dinner at his grandfather's place. Seeing that his brother was eating well, he asked Sister Chen to get a pair of bowls and chopsticks, and ate some fish fillets and a few dumplings.
He ate little, and when he saw his elder brother's bowl was empty, he was busy picking up food for him. Little Shitou was very impressed by his younger brother's enthusiasm.
After dinner and tea, Sister Chen asked everyone to go down, leaving only mother and son in the room.
"Little Shitou, why did it take so long this time? Did something happen to you?"
Xiao Shitou stood up, knelt down to An Ran and said, "Mom, I almost got into big trouble this time."
An Ran hurriedly pulled up the little stone and said, "Tell mom what's going on. Mom has been worried about this, so if you come back now, the matter has been resolved, right?"
Xiao Shitou lowered his head in shame and said, "Mom, dad helped me settle it."
An Ran was stunned, "Your father, did your father go to the border?"
Xiao Shitou nodded and slowly told An Ran the truth.
It turned out that Ding Changhe received a hint from the emperor and knew that something was happening on the border when he entered the palace on the second day of the lunar month, so he cooperated with the emperor and put on a play for the regent. He disguised himself and left the capital the same night he arrived at the hot spring village.
An urgent message was sent out on the road, and an urgent order was given to summon his subordinates and secret guards, and led a hundred people straight to the border.
It turned out that the regent had placed people in the mission to secretly guide the people of Little Stone. Xiao Shitou was young and energetic, and he wanted to make more contributions, so he had a conflict with a group of people.
During the pursuit, he fell into a trap and was trapped in the valley. When the emperor's people realized something was wrong, they hurriedly sent an urgent message to the capital.
Why was Ding Changhe so relieved about Xiao Shitou leaving the frontier alone? Because in addition to the people on the surface, Xiao Shitou also had secret guards from the Black Tiger Camp. Even the emperor had placed people around him.
The emperor is not stupid. Ding Shengkang is old, and Ding Changhe has the final say on many things. But Ding Changhe is not so easy to handle, and the small stone is different. Ding Changhe can still be controlled by holding the small stone, but the emperor's people also mainly protect the small stone.
Knowing that Xiao Shitou was in danger, Ding Changhe led his men to run thousands of miles without stopping and rushed to the border.
Fortunately, it was not a large-scale conflict. He was trapped in the valley and could barely hold on. The people around Xiao Shitou were also very capable, so they lasted for a long time.
Together with the secret guards of the family who stayed on the border, they worked together to rescue the besieged people from the valley.
After a short rest, let Xiao Shitou lead the secret guard to retreat first, while he took the rear. He also ordered his generals to create chaos, and then got rid of the opponent's pursuit.
Until then, Ding Changhe also understood that the regent still had no intention of letting him go. The regent couldn't get evidence that Ding Changhe killed his eldest son, so he wanted Xiao Shitou to die on the battlefield.
Xiao Shitou followed Ding Changhe's order and took the secret guards all the way back to the capital. When he entered the capital, the emperor had already received the letter.
An Ran touched her son's face distressedly and said, "Isn't there a saying, victory or defeat is a common thing for a soldier. You are young, so it's not surprising that you have lost several battles. Your father can't win every battle. As long as you don't win every battle in the future, Just make the same mistake again.”
Xiao Shitou blinked and waited until the fog in his eyes dissipated, then whispered, "My father should have delayed my return by a day or two. I lost a lot of his men this time. I think he will be disappointed in me."
An Ran smiled and said, "That's all. Just because you have little experience, you are more...
