The Little King

33 | The Child

Translator: PastTimer

Editor: PastTimer

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Xia Xi was still Queen, his status was extremely noble among the  Barbarians. Even in the temple, others still had to treat him respectfully, but there were still many restrictions on him. For example, he couldn't enter or leave the temple's main hall, couldn't talk to other men who weren't priests, and couldn't do much rough work like Yue Ling'er. Xia Xi still insisted on helping, Yue Ling'er finally gave him some clothes and asked him to help make some clothes for the children in the "An 'Eryuan".

So Xia Xi and the maids around him got busy, not only making clothes but also shoes and some simple toys for children to use throughout the winter. Xia Xi's courtyard didn't allow men to enter, however, women were always permitted, whenever they stayed longer, a few girls from the An 'Eryuan would come to his abode to play together.

Almost all of the little girls were abandoned. The older ones were seven or eight years old, and the youngest ones were just over three years old. The children of the Barbarians were very cute, with big eyes and long eyelashes. Their jet-black eyes were always smiling, bringing a refreshing simplicity. When they first saw Xia Xi, they were a little scared. They only dared to look at him timidly, knowing that he was the King's Queen-wife, they would bow to him like adults. But after spending more time together, they discovered that Xia Xi was very gentle, that he gave them food and made warm clothes for them. It gave them a sense of intimacy and they liked being close to him ever since.

Xia Xi also liked getting along with them very much. The maids with him had been around him for many months, he didn't know if it was deliberate or because they didn't have a lively personality, but they refused to open their mouths except for the times when they were simply obligated to speak. Although Xia Xi didn't have a lively temperament, he couldn't help but feel a bit lonely, now that the children had arrived he was finally a bit more active.

Among the books he brought with him, there were several stories that he could tell children. The stories were novel, interesting, and full of fantasy, Xia Xi told stories to them in his free time. His understanding of the Barbarian language wasn't good and didn't know how to express some words, still, he stubbornly tried to stumblingly explain. Several children were eating the candy he shared, when they saw him struggling they didn't feel impatient, they stared at him with innocent eyes like they were encouraging him. After more than two months, Xia Xi still didn't make any progress, but his Barbarian became more and more fluent.

He once again let Lan Duo'er clean up two apples, cut them into pieces, and put them on a plate for the children to eat. Xia Xi noticed that one of the youngest children was missing and couldn't help asking: "What about A'Hua Hua? Did she not come?"

One of the older children bit the apple and said: "A'Hua Hua was picked up by someone, she won't be here anymore, she has a new father and mother." Her tone was ordinary, as if this was nothing extraordinary. Xia Xi was taken aback for a moment and went to see Lan Duo'er a bit at a loss. His reliable maid explained, "A'Hua Hua was adopted."

Xia Xi breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "It turns out that this is the case, that's also a good thing." The Kingdom of Xia also had places similar to the An 'Eryuan, where the children who were abandoned or orphaned were taken care of. After the children were raised, healthy boys would be adopted faster, it would generally be a long wait for either boys with physical illness or girls. Whether in Xia or in Barbarian land, a woman's survival was difficult, it was rare for girls to be adopted early on so Xia Xi was also very happy for A'Hua Hua.

A five or six-year-old girl suddenly said, "I really want to have a new father and mother." Her name was Yaya. Compared to the other girls, her face was a bit uglier and her hair was yellowish, too small, and too skinny. Her body was very thin, such a child wasn't pleasing in a crowd, so she was sent to the nursery soon after she was born and hadn't been adopted yet.