The next morning, Feng Yinwan was woken by a chubby little hand patting her face.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw the little dumpling perched by the bed, his dark eyes bright and round. Seeing that she was awake, a hint of joy immediately appeared.
"Mother, you're finally awake!"
"Chenchen?"
Feng Yinwan frowned.
She had returned late last night and only managed to fall asleep after the fourth watch. Being woken up so early in the morning was truly giving her a headache.
Glancing at the sky, which was not yet bright, she mumbled,
"Why are you up so early?"
This little fellow usually loved to sleep in, yet he was actually changing his ways today.
Saying that, she turned over, ready to go back to sleep. But the little hand tugged at her blanket, his voice exceptionally firm.
"Mother, it's not early. It's almost Chen Shi (7-9 AM) now, and we'll be having breakfast soon!"
"Breakfast?"
Feng Yinwan was stunned.
Breakfast was such a foreign concept to her; she hadn't touched it in eight hundred years.
She sat up, half-asleep, just to eat a couple of bites of food? It would be much easier to swallow a pill directly.
That's what she thought, but considering her son was still growing and shouldn't develop bad eating habits.
Therefore, she bothered to open her eyes and spoke with restraint,
"Good boy, you go eat. Mother isn't hungry. Mother will sleep a little longer."
Feng Jinchan refused, "How can that be!"
He looked at her worriedly, his little face stern.
"Mother, Uncle Wang said that skipping breakfast is bad for your health, and it's very strict here. If you miss the time, you'll have to wait until noon to eat again. You'll be very uncomfortable if you go hungry."
"Mother, get up quickly, let's go together!"
He perched by the bed, his little mouth chattering away, like he was reciting scriptures.
Feng Yinwan couldn't stand it anymore. She sat up, pressing her forehead in alarm.
"Stop talking, I'll go!"
Feng Jinchan's little face lit up with triumph, and he turned to get her shoes.
The consequence of being forcibly woken up was that Feng Yinwan sat in the dining hall, but her soul was nowhere to be found.
She listlessly ate a couple of mouthfuls of congee before yawning. Beside her, Feng Jinchan's eyes darted around, and he put down his bowl and chopsticks.
"Mother, I'm done eating."
Feng Yinwan had been waiting for this exact sentence.
As soon as she heard it, her sleepiness vanished in an instant, and she got up immediately.
"Since you're done, let's go back. Hurry, hurry."
Before leaving the room, she had deliberately left the bed warm. It should still have a hint of heat, perfect for a second nap!
She pulled Feng Jinchan and walked quickly. But after taking only a couple of steps out of the dining hall, she ran into a figure in black who was heading towards them.
She frowned and pretended not to see him, walking past.
Behind her, Feng Jinchan diligently followed her pace.
"Mother, wasn't that Uncle Wang just now..."
Feng Yinwan: "Was it? Mother was still sleepy and didn't see."
Feng Jinchan: "ᓫ(°⌑°)ǃ"
Finally back in the courtyard, Feng Yinwan kicked off her shoes and was about to lie back on the bed, only to find her son chasing after her with a book.
"Mother, Mother, it's morning reading time. Please watch me while I recite my book!"
The thick book was shoved into her hands, and Feng Yinwan's head ached.
"You recite your book... What does that have to do with me sleeping!"
Of course, she stopped herself just in time and tried to smile kindly.
"Good boy, go find Jian Ye to watch you. Mother is a bit tired and wants to take a short nap."
Feng Jinchan's face instantly fell.
"This is my first time reciting a book. Don't you want to hear what I've learned?"
"Or... Mother doesn't care about my studies at all."
His tone was dejected, and his eyes looked incredibly wronged.
Feng Yinwan was extremely ashamed. She gritted her teeth and got off the bed again.
"How could that be? You recite."
She was sleepy in the morning, so she hadn't eaten much of the food. Coupled with being made to study by Feng Jinchan for half the morning, Feng Yinwan felt lightheaded, as if she was about to transcend.
Finally, after her stomach rumbled for the nth time, she could bear it no longer and put down the book, which she had only flipped through one page of.
Feng Jinchan's gaze followed her.
"Mother, where are you going?"
"To find something to eat, I'll be back soon."
She said that and walked towards the table in the outer room. As Feng Jinchan expected, she quickly returned after only a second.
"Where are your snacks? There are none??"
Her reply was her son's loud "No."
The little fellow looked up at her with a serious expression.
"Uncle Wang said that children eating pastries can cause cavities, so he asked Uncle Xiao Qi to take them all away."
Taken away!
All of them!
Feng Yinwan was dizzy with hunger, her chest almost touching her back.
But then she thought that this was, after all, in someone else's manor, so she endured it.
Just as she was about to go out and tell Jian Ye to prepare something to eat, her son's crisp voice sounded from behind her again.
"Mother, the kitchen doesn't serve food after breakfast, and it's not lunchtime yet."
Saying that, he carefully took out half a pastry from his pocket.
"If Mother is hungry, eat this first. It's been two days, though..."
He handed over the half butterfly pastry, on which faint teeth marks could still be seen. It was the half that Feng Jinchan had left from that day.
The little fellow held the half pastry as if it were a treasure, his chin slightly raised, revealing his slightly thin face.
Feng Yinwan, who finally noticed something was amiss, felt a sharp pain in her heart.
"Have you been like this for the past few days?"
She had wondered why the little fellow's temper had changed for no reason.
So, he had suffered so much here!
He couldn't bear to finish a single pastry, look how pitiful the child was!
She reached out and picked up the butterfly pastry. Feng Yinwan pursed her lips. Before she could speak, she heard him say again,
"Mother, this pastry was forced on me by that woman. I didn't want to eat it originally, but..."
That woman, of course, referred to Yun Shu.
After hearing this, Feng Yinwan's anger flared even more.
No wonder Yun Shu could take advantage of the situation; this was all the fault of that scoundrel Ye Tinglan!
This was how he educated his child?!
The more Feng Yinwan thought about it, the angrier she became. She slapped the butterfly pastry onto the table and yelled outside.
"Jian Ye, get in here!"
When Qi Xuan arrived, he happened to meet Feng Yinwan, who was coming out of the room with a cold expression.
Seeing her about to leave with Feng Jinchan, he cupped his hands, "The prince is going to teach the young master calligraphy today, and I was just coming..."
Feng Yinwan: "Teach what crap!"
Dare to mistreat her son; this matter was not over!
Hearing this, Feng Jinchan nervously tugged at her sleeve, "Mother, if we don't go, Uncle Wang will be angry."
This look only intensified Feng Yinwan's anger.
"Let him be angry! Come on, what do you want to eat? Mother will take you to eat to your heart's content today!"
This was unbearable!
Qi Xuan saw this and quickly tried to intervene, but he was blocked by Xi Wen and Jian Ye from behind.
When he looked up again, the figures of the two, one big and one small, had already disappeared from the courtyard.
"Mother, where are we going?"
Stepping out of Prince Mo's manor again after several days, Feng Jinchan was incredibly excited.
Feng Yinwan pursed her lips and was about to speak when a carriage quietly stopped nearby.
On the lantern hanging from the eaves, there was a character "Yun" embroidered in gold thread.