Palace maid Shuoning

(One)

The boat gently bumped against the shore and anchored on the opposite bank.

Bao Zhong landed first, turned around and stretched out his hand, intending to help Jiang Shuoning off the boat.

Jiang Shuoning glanced at the outstretched hand, but did not touch it.

She gathered her skirts together and cautiously stepped from the cabin onto the shore, her toes barely touching the ground.

Bao Zhong slowly clenched his fist, which was suspended in mid-air, and silently withdrew it.

The shore was quiet and deserted.

"Shuoning." He gazed at her retreating figure as she lifted her skirt and ascended the steps, and spoke softly.

"Let Ya Ya stay at the Xie residence; it will lighten your burden."

Jiang Shuoning paused, but did not turn around. He simply responded with a faint "hmm" and continued climbing the steps.

Bao Zhong stood there, hesitating several times, but finally couldn't hold back the words in his heart and whispered:

"Shuoning, can we... go back to the way things were before? No, I'm not forcing a reconciliation. I just want to go back to how things were at the beginning. I won't keep clinging on like this."

I understand that I hurt you deeply in the past, and I truly don't want us to remain so distant and estranged.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shuo remained on the fourth step.

She raised her head, composed herself, took a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly, trying her best to hold back her emotions, but her eyes uncontrollably welled up with tears.

So she slowly turned around and looked down at Bao Zhong, who was standing below.

"Baozhong, we can't go back. This is the limit of what I can bear."

From now on, we will each go our own way, protect ourselves, and safeguard our common goal. That will be enough.

Baozhong, you don't need to feel guilty towards me, nor do you need to have any regrets.

In this life, we will always experience many things and endure much suffering. More than a decade of friendship is something I cannot easily dismiss.

It's true that I love you, but it's also true that we've hurt each other.

I cannot ignore the old scars on my body just because I still have love in my heart.

I think I should learn to cherish myself before loving someone else. You should too; let go. Only by letting go can you truly begin anew.

Now I can stand calmly before you, but it would be a lie to say that I am not in pain.

This relationship almost killed me. I only have this remaining half of my life left.

Baozhong, I still love you, but I tell myself every day that I can't love you anymore. It hurts too much.

I don't know how to regain my former energy and spirit. Now, I'm like an empty, numb shell. I have to keep finding things to do; once I'm idle, my thoughts become uncontrollable, almost driving me to madness.

I fear being alone; whenever I'm quiet, tears well up for no reason. I feel like I'm sick, but I can't quite put my finger on what's wrong.

Baozhong, please forgive me. This time, I choose to cherish myself and don't want to get entangled with you anymore.

I only wish you peace and happiness for the rest of your life. Whoever you marry in the future, I will sincerely wish you well. I only hope you are well.

As soon as she finished speaking, she turned around, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and quickly climbed the steps without looking back.

Bao Zhong stood frozen in place, not moving an inch.

Her words just now were like dull knives, repeatedly cutting into his heart.

He stared blankly at the empty steps, her words still echoing in his ears.

Half-dead, an empty shell, afraid of being idle, and afraid to love again.

His shoulders slumped slowly, his chest aching so badly he could barely breathe.

He always knew that he had hurt her in the past, but he never expected that the relationship would torment her to this extent.

He wanted to catch up with her, to speak up and explain, to tell her that he was willing to do anything to heal those wounds.

But his feet seemed to be nailed to the ground, his throat was tight, and he couldn't utter a single word.

Shuoning is right.

More than a decade of love and hate has left deep scars that cannot be easily erased by his desire to go back to the past.

The evening breeze rustled through the grass and trees on the shore, and he was all alone.

He was overwhelmed by boundless regret and a sense of powerlessness.

He looked up into the deep night, his eyes filled with pain, and let out a heavy sigh.

(under)

The night market was brightly lit and bustling with people, creating a lively and vibrant atmosphere.

Huo Xiao held three strings of bright red candied hawthorns in his hand, slowly squatted down, looked at the little one in front of him with eyes full of doting affection, and then deliberately teased her:

"Come on, call me 'Daddy,' and this candied hawthorn is yours!"

Upon hearing this, Ya Ya's little brows furrowed tightly.

She stared at the three tempting strings of candied hawthorns, couldn't help but swallow hard, then puffed out her cheeks and glared angrily at Huo Xiao:

"A scholar can be killed but not humiliated! My father said that a person must have backbone!"

You think you can trick me into calling you "Daddy" with candied hawthorns? I'm not falling for it! If you don't give me any, I'll go tell Mommy that you're bullying me and trying to take advantage of me by making me call you "Daddy"!

Huo Xiao hurriedly reached out and grabbed her retreating back, pulling the little girl in front of him. He raised an eyebrow, both amused and annoyed.

"You already have two fathers, what harm is there in having another father who loves you? Look at me, I'm not bad-looking, isn't it a good thing to have another person pamper and protect you?"

Ya Ya frowned even more deeply and asked in a childish voice:

"There can only be one mother! You want to be my father? Are you trying to steal my mother away?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a familiar voice rang out from behind him:

"We've finally found you."

Upon hearing the sound, Huo Xiao slowly stood up. He was taken aback to see Jiang Shuoning arrive so quickly, but a secret, indescribable joy quietly welled up inside him.

"Mother!"

Ya Ya immediately turned around, threw herself into Jiang Shuoning's arms, pointed her little finger at Huo Xiao, and complained with a wronged expression:

"He bullied Ya Ya! He even tried to coax me with candied hawthorns, insisting that I call him 'Daddy'!"

Upon hearing this, Huo Xiao's face immediately showed a hint of embarrassment. He raised his hand to scratch his head and quickly explained, "I was just teasing her."

Jiang Shuoning remained calm, took a string of candied hawthorns from Huo Xiao's hand, bent down, and handed it to the little girl:

"Eat up. Now Uncle Huo and I will take you back to the Xie residence."

Ya Ya immediately wiped away her tears, took the candied hawthorn, bit off a hawthorn, and turned to Huo Xiao with a playful face.

Seeing this, Huo Xiao pursed his lips helplessly.

Jiang Shuoning took Ya Ya's little hand and walked towards the Xie residence.

While munching on a candied hawthorn, Ya Ya skipped and hopped forward, tilting her little face up and excitedly telling Jiang Shuoning:

"Mommy, Uncle Huo is so amazing! He carried Ya Ya and they flew up in a flash!"

Jiang Shuoning smiled faintly and nodded gently, reminding him, "Don't talk while eating candied hawthorns, or you might choke."

Ya Ya tilted her head back and chuckled.

Huo Xiao stood beside her and handed her another string of candied hawthorns: "I bought too many, you should try some too."

Jiang Shuoning calmly took the hawthorn, bit off a piece, and said softly, "It's so sweet."

Huo Xiao also took a bite of the candied hawthorn in his hand, glanced at her sideways, his eyes filled with a smile, and felt that the hawthorn in his mouth tasted even sweeter.

"elder brother……"

Huo Shanshan suddenly appeared out of nowhere and ran towards us quickly, with Xi Niu following behind her.

As she ran closer, she spotted Jiang Shuoning and was slightly taken aback. Her gaze then fell on the little girl beside her, and her eyes widened suddenly.

She immediately squatted down in front of Ya Ya, gently pinched her soft cheek, and said with a smile:

"Oh, it's this adorable little baby again! May I take him home to play with for a few days?"

Upon hearing this, Ya Ya immediately spat the hawthorn seeds in her mouth directly onto Huo Shanshan's face, crisply rejecting the offer:

"I don't want to go back and play with you!"