Fog Returns to the Capital

Chapter 97 It's just that the people are different.
The moment Li Wu heard that voice, her body stiffened abruptly.

Without thinking, she retreated behind the wall at the corner and hid with her back to them.

"mom!"

The little boy immediately responded, turned around and saw the familiar person, and instantly ran towards her.

The little boy's mother seemed afraid that he would fall, so she kept saying "Don't run" as she quickly went over to stop him, then squatted down and hugged him.

"Didn't your mother tell you that there would be many guests attending your 100-day celebration tonight, and that you shouldn't run around?"

The woman's voice was gentle.

Like gentle moonlight brushing across the shimmering sea, it gives people a sense of tranquility and comfort.

Even though more than a decade has passed, and her voice and appearance seem to have become vaguely blurred, the moment I hear her voice, the image of her sitting by my bed and singing lullabies to me when I was a child slowly emerges from the depths of my memory.

It became exceptionally clear.

The gentleness of that time seems to be the same as the gentleness of now.

It's just that people are different.

Li Wu's hands, hanging tightly at her sides, were clenched so tightly that her neatly trimmed nails dug deep into her palms. It was unclear how much self-control she had used to prevent herself from making any noise or crossing any boundaries.

"But the bracelet that Grandpa gave me to play with got caught on it by accident."

The little boy turned around and pointed with his little finger to the string of Buddhist prayer beads hanging on the branch.

The woman doesn't need to speak.

One of the servants who had come with her to find the little boy was very perceptive and took the initiative to carefully take down the string of Buddhist prayer beads hanging on the branch.

Then, he knelt down and handed it back to the little boy.

"The old man has worn this Buddhist prayer bead bracelet his whole life, but he was willing to take it off and let the young master play with it. This shows how much the old man loves the young master."

The maid was quick-witted and seized the opportunity to say a few flattering words.

"You must take good care of the things your grandfather gave you, and never lose them, understand?" the woman said softly.

"Know it!"

The woman picked the little boy up from the ground only after he had tightly gripped the Buddhist prayer beads in his hand.

As she carried him back, she gently instructed him, "You're not allowed to run away alone from your aunties' sight anymore, understand?"

"Zhouzhou, you can hear me! You can hear me!"

It must have been because he was exposed to it from a young age that the little boy raised his hand and made a salute to indicate that he had heard.

Even though his fingers were very small, he still managed to hold them tightly together, and they looked quite proper.

The woman couldn't help but smile, raising her hand to pat the little boy's head. "Zhouzhou, be good." "Mommy, I just saw a pretty older sister!"

The little boy wrapped his arms around the woman's neck and whispered in her ear.

You say all the older sisters are beautiful.

The woman knew her son well, and said gently, "Didn't your father teach you that all girls should be praised in a gentlemanly manner?"

"no!"

The little boy retorted, "That older sister is really, really pretty, just like my mom!"

……

……

The sound of their conversation gradually faded into the distance.

Just as the last bit of the melody was about to disappear.

Li Wu, who had been hiding around the corner, couldn't resist and turned around to come out.

Almost at the same instant.

The figures of the mother and child disappeared completely.

As far as Li Wu could see, there was only an empty courtyard.

A biting winter wind swept through, swirling up a few withered leaves from the ground, which drifted in the air as if they had lost the protection of a large tree.

Li Wu didn't even see her last glimpse of her back.

Just like when she was a child, on the night she abandoned Li Wu and left alone.

Li Wu pretended to be asleep with her back to her, and thus failed to see her departing figure.

Li Wu stood there, watching for an unknown amount of time.

After a while.

Li Wu turned around to go back.

But don't want to.

Li Wu looked up, and her gaze suddenly stopped.

Xu Xiling stood not far behind her, watching her for who knows how long.

"Xu..."

Li Wu smiled at Xu Xiling, just about to greet him. She'd only uttered one word when tears unexpectedly streamed down her face.