When He Xulan returned from handling state affairs, he noticed the complete silence in the hall, which made him furrow his brow slightly. He immediately strode into the hall.
As soon as he entered, he locked eyes with Yi Yefeng. Yi Yefeng motioned for silence and pointed toward the high-backed chair next to the tall vase.
Underneath the chair, a small round bottom was sticking out.
“Where could he be? Why can’t I find him?” Yi Yefeng said in a serious tone without any expression.
He Xulan quickly realized what they were playing at and rubbed his forehead with slight exasperation. The child was playing hide-and-seek but hadn’t quite grasped the concept—Xueya was hiding under the chair with his bottom sticking out, thinking that as long as he couldn’t see anyone, they wouldn’t be able to see him either.
Feigning seriousness, Yi Yefeng searched other parts of the room, purposely avoiding the high-backed chair. After a while, He Xulan watched as Xueya crawled out cautiously. He looked around carefully, saw that Yi Yefeng had his back turned, and that He Xulan was watching him. Xueya gestured for silence as well, then crawled back under the chair, sticking his round bottom out once again.
He Xulan couldn’t help but stifle a laugh, covering it with a cough.
Yi Yefeng finished searching the hall, glanced at the round bottom still sticking out, and then headed toward the door. “Could he have hidden outside?”
Once Yi Yefeng left the hall, Xueya quickly crawled out from under the chair, his little legs running fast to the table. He grabbed the silver coin from the table, shouting excitedly, “I won! I won! I got the silver!”
At this point, Yi Yefeng returned to the hall, pretending he had just found Xueya. However, his acting skills were lacking—actually, it was more his lack of facial expressions than his acting. His face remained as stoic as ever. “Hmm, you won.”
But Xueya didn’t notice anything off. He happily examined the silver coin before turning to Yi Yefeng and saying, “Now it’s my turn to find you. You hide and leave a new silver coin on the table.”
Yi Yefeng complied, and Xueya turned around, burying his face in his folded arms, and started counting.
“One, two…”
He had only reached two when Yi Yefeng lightly pushed off the ground, leaping up to the rafters. Not only that, but he hid in a corner so well that even if Xueya looked up, he would never be able to spot him.
He Xulan watched all of this unfold: “…”
When Xueya finished counting, the first place he checked was the high-backed chair where he had just hidden. Of course, Yi Yefeng wasn’t there—there was no way he could fit under the chair. After searching around and failing to find him, confusion spread across Xueya’s little face.
Xueya surveyed the room again, locking eyes with He Xulan. This time, instead of gesturing for silence, he ran over to He Xulan.
He grabbed one of He Xulan’s fingers and whispered, “Brother, where is Uncle Black hiding?”
He Xulan coughed again when he heard “Uncle Black.” Turning his face away to suppress his laughter, he crouched down and said, “If I told you, wouldn’t that be cheating? That wouldn’t be fair.”
Xueya pouted, tugging at He Xulan’s finger, and whined, “Please tell me, just this once.”
He Xulan, enjoying the soft feeling of his little hand around his finger, smiled but stayed silent. Seeing that He Xulan wasn’t going to help, Xueya pouted even more and, unable to find Yi Yefeng, reluctantly said, “If I give you half of the silver I win, will you tell me?”
“Half?” He Xulan teased, “What if I want all of it?”
Xueya’s pout turned into a frown. “No! No! If I give you all of it, then I won’t have any left.”
He Xulan continued teasing, “You’re so little, what do you need silver for? Give it to me, and I’ll buy you something tasty.”
“I’m not going to buy food. I’m going to give it to my mom,” Xueya replied in his bright, innocent voice, tightly clutching the silver coin he had “won” from Yi Yefeng.
He Xulan was caught off guard, then smiled gently at Xueya. Without a word, he quietly pulled a jade pendant from his waist and flicked it toward the rafters.
A soft sound echoed, and Yi Yefeng came tumbling down from above. Before hitting the ground, he flipped himself upright, landing smoothly.
The landing was so quiet that Xueya didn’t notice. Yi Yefeng caught He Xulan’s eye and, without a word, hid behind a nearby pillar.
Once he was hidden, He Xulan said to Xueya, “I’m not sure where he is, but there aren’t many places big enough for him to hide in this hall. Why don’t you take another look around?”
After circling the hall, Xueya finally found Yi Yefeng.
They played a few more rounds, and when He Xulan saw Xueya’s head dripping with sweat, he decided it was time to stop. He sent Yi Yefeng back to the training grounds and carried Xueya off for a bath.
After the bath, He Xulan realized he hadn’t brought Xueya’s clothes. Since Huang Gonggong wasn’t around today and He Xulan didn’t want anyone else handling Xueya’s clothes, he wrapped him in a spare robe for the time being. Once they returned to the bedroom, He Xulan left Xueya on the bed to fetch his clothes.
As soon as He Xulan left, Xueya wiggled out of the robe and crawled around on the bed, noticing the small drawers on the side of the bedframe. He blinked in curiosity and crawled over to open one of them.
When He Xulan returned, he saw Xueya holding a crimson silk dudou with a golden magnolia pattern, trying to wrap it around himself.
“Guan Guan, that’s not something you should be touching!” He Xulan hurried over, trying to take the dudou from Xueya. But Xueya wouldn’t give it up, pouting and pleading with him.
“I want to wear it. It’s so pretty.”
He Xulan’s expression turned complicated, and his ears reddened slightly. “No, you’re too young to wear that. Be good, wait until… wait until you’re older.”
Xueya tilted his head in confusion. “But this is for kids to wear, right?” He held the bellyband against himself. “It fits me perfectly.”
The bellyband barely covered his knees.
“It doesn’t fit. This isn’t for children to wear,” He Xulan said, holding up a different outfit. “We’ll wear this one. Look, it has ducks on it.”
Xueya was still confused. “It’s not for kids? Then who wears it?” He lifted the dudou, his little hands stretching it high. “It doesn’t even cover your bottom. Adults wearing this would be so embarrassing!”
