Chapter 663: Pain

Editor: Atlas Studios

When Qi Haoran carried the child out, his expression was slightly dark. It was only when he saw Mu Yangling not far away that he restrained the gloominess on his face and carried Little Bear over with a smile.

Walking behind him with a dark glint in his eyes, Fan Zijin was about to say something when he saw Mu Yangling hugging Little Bear and kissing his face. The rare tenderness on her face made Fan Zijin suppress his thoughts. In the end, he didn’t say anything.

“What did you say to the abbot that took so long?” Mu Yangling asked.

“Nothing much. I just asked for a few safety talismans.” Qi Haoran handed the safety talismans to Mu Yangling.

Mu Yangling said in surprise, “You believe in this? I’ll get a maidservant to make a few pouches and hang them up later.”

Qi Haoran pouted and said, “Can you delegate such tasks to a maidservant? Make it yourself.”

Mu Yangling put away the safety talisman and said, “As long as you don’t mind it being ugly, I’ll do it.”

Only then was Qi Haoran satisfied. He raised his chin reluctantly and said, “I don’t care if it’s ugly. After all, I chose to marry you.”

Qi Haoran looked at Little Bear and sighed slightly. If it was difficult, so be it. After all, he was his father. No matter how difficult it was, he had to find a doctor to treat his illness.

However, when he saw his lively and active son, Qi Haoran’s heart ached. Even if his son wasn’t a dragon among men, he couldn’t fare too badly. How could he not even know how to speak?

Seeing that Qi Haoran’s eyes were slightly wet, Fan Zijin sighed in his heart and stepped forward to block him slightly. He said to Little Madam Xia, “Go take a walk in the temple with Sister-in-law. Cousin and I will stroll around nearby.”

Little Madam Xia bowed slightly and went forward to hold Mu Yangling’s hand. She said with a smile, “Ah Ling, accompany me to the back of the mountain, will you? Little Bear, are you willing to play with Auntie?”

Little Bear responded with a babbling sound and ran towards the back of the mountain while holding the hands of the two adults. Mu Yangling turned around and glanced at Qi Haoran. She suddenly felt a little sour and uneasy, and she couldn’t help but exert more strength on the hand that was holding Little Bear.

When Fan Zijin saw that they had left, he patted Qi Haoran’s shoulder and said, “Alright, since you don’t want her to know, keep away the tears in your eyes. Didn’t Master Hui Qing also say that the child is probably just learning to speak at a slightly later age? Tell Eldest Cousin about it later. We’ll find a doctor who’s good at treating children.”

Qi Haoran lowered his eyes. “If we don’t even know what illness it is, how can we treat it?”

Fan Zijin was furious. “Why are you so certain that Little Bear is sick?”

“Ah Ling said that Little Bear called her ‘Mother’ before. It’s been more than a year, but he hasn’t spoken again.” Qi Haoran vaguely believed that Little Bear had become like this after suffering a fright. Hui Qing also said that there was nothing wrong with Little Bear’s voice, and Imperial Physician Wang couldn’t find anything wrong with him either.

He had observed more than once that when he taught his son to speak, the kid would always open his mouth and try to learn, but he would always not be able to make any syllables. That was why he would say something that they did not understand. It seemed like he was complaining or angry.

Qi Haoran did not know that in the future, there would be children who would have mental disorders after being traumatized. However, his thoughts matched exactly that.

But did Little Bear really have a psychological barrier because he’d suffered a fright back then?

Because medical technology was limited currently, no one could give an answer.

Mu Yangling sat on the stone bench and looked at Little Bear, who was squatting on the ground and occasionally catching one or two green insects from the grass at the side to show off. She forced a smile.

Little Madam Xia patted her hand and asked gently, “What’s wrong?”

Mu Yangling shook her head slightly and lowered her eyes without saying anything.

Although Qi Haoran and Fan Zijin did not say anything, the three of them had grown up together. Putting aside Fan Zijin, she knew what Qi Haoran was thinking based on his behavior. When he came out, the expression on his face was not right. In fact, his eyes were even filled with tears.

Qi Haoran had always prided himself on being manly. What could possibly make someone like that cry?

The only two times were because of her.

However, they were now husband and wife and got along harmoniously. Just now, only Fan Zijin and Little Bear were inside with him.

If it was because of Fan Zijin’s health problems, Fan Zijin would not have that expression. Thus, it must be about Little Bear.

What was wrong with Little Bear?

Looking at her son, who was yanking at grass and picking flowers everywhere and being annoyingly active, it was clear that his body was as strong as an ox. The only problem was that he could not speak.

He did not know how to speak!

Mu Yangling’s heart tightened. Little Treasure was a smart child, so there was no need to compare with him. In order to understand the growth of a child more accurately, Mu Yangling had once sent a subordinate to do a questionnaire. Combined with what the imperial physician said, the conclusion was that a child could usually call “Father, Mother” when they turned six to seven months old. When they turned about one year old, they would speak simple words. At two years old, their language would be rich to a certain extent and they could express their thoughts coherently…

Back then, when Little Bear called her “Mother”, he was more than seven months old. After that, he didn’t really speak anymore.

Mu Yangling had always felt that her son was just slow in learning languages. He was lively, cheerful, smart, and good at fighting. He could cry and make a fuss. Given all that, it didn’t matter even if he learned to speak later. However, from the looks of it, that didn’t seem to be the case. At present, Little Bear was already two years old…

Mu Yangling felt her heart ache. However, when she saw Qi Haoran coming over to pick them up with a smile, Mu Yangling couldn’t say anything she wanted to ask previously.

She stood quietly beside Qi Haoran and watched as he placed his son on his neck. “Let’s go eat vegetarian food then head down the mountain to rest.”

Mu Yangling nodded slightly and felt that it was better to leave the question until they got home.

When they went down the mountain, everyone was a little silent. By the time they returned to the courtyard, they were no longer in the mood to play. Mu Yangling coaxed Little Bear to sleep before asking Qi Haoran bluntly, “Is there a problem with Little Bear?”

Qi Haoran was stunned. Seeing that he still couldn’t hide it from Mu Yangling, he could only say, “Abbot Huiqing couldn’t find out either. I asked Imperial Physician Wang to take a look. He also said that there’s nothing wrong with Little Bear’s throat. Perhaps he just needs time.”

“He did call me ‘Mother’ before. I thought that he’d cried out ‘Mother’ in a moment of fear. Do you think it’s because he suffered a fright at that time? But at that time, the doctor said that Little Treasure was, in fact, more greatly frightened. Also, Little Bear only had nightmares for two days before he became lively again…”

Seeing that Mu Yangling’s eyes were filled with tears, Qi Haoran hurriedly hugged her and said, “Maybe not. Perhaps our son just learns to speak later than other kids. I’ll write a letter to Big Brother and ask him to find us a highly skilled physician. On top of that, we’ll teach him slowly. I’m sure everything will be fine.”

Mu Yangling leaned into Qi Haoran’s arms and couldn’t help but bite his clothes to stop the whimpering from escaping her mouth. Tears streamed down her face.

Qi Haoran’s heart ached. He looked at his son, who was sleeping with his limbs spread out on the bed, and pain flashed across his eyes.

Mu Yangling wiped her tears and straightened her back. “Let’s find a local doctor ourselves. I’ll go back and find a few more friends for our son to play with and slowly teach him how to speak.”

Chapter end