Chapter 291
Children (1)
Xiangji Temple, surrounded by mountains and rivers, was a Buddhist temple that covered a vast land with pagodas and halls. Females in the capital were normally only allowed to visit a few places, so most females visited this temple to relax and have fun besides offering incense.
Around March, which was the start of the spring, the Xiangji Temple was full of peach blossoms, so Mrs. Zhu and the young ladies from the Zhu family decided to visit the temple, and out of convenience, they also invited Mu Mingtang to join them. Xie Xuanchen and Zhu Yanghong escorted the female relatives out, and as the ladies and Madams were admiring the flowers and chatting away, the two of them slowly followed behind them.
The singing of the birds and the fragrance of flowers which had wafted over the place gave everyone a pleasant feeling and a rare sense of ease. Although Xie Xuanchen and Zhu Yanghong could not appreciate the magnificent scenery as much as their female companions did, they unknowingly felt relieved in such a beautiful place.
“It has been a while, My Lord. How have you been doing?” Zhu Yang Hong casually approached Xie Xuanchen and asked.
Xie Xuanchen looked ahead and casually answered, “It’s okay.”
The meaning of those two words puzzled Zhu Yanghong for a while. Both his question and Xie Xuanchen’s response may seem casual to others, but both of them understood the real meaning of that question.
After a few moments of silence, Zhu Yanghong could not help but look at Xie Xuanchen and saw that his gaze was always fixed at a certain point in front of him.
Xie Xuanchen’s gaze was fixed at the direction of Princess An and Zhu Yanghong’s daughter, standing not far away ahead of them. However, Zhu Yanghong had the self-awareness to understand that Xie Xuanchen was actually gazing at Princess An and not his daughter.
Zhu Yanghong couldn’t help but think of Xie Xuanchen’s appearance before Xie Xuanchen got sick. At that time, Xie Xuanchen was full of youthfulness, heroism, and great ambitions. How could he have the time to marvel at the beauty of the flowers and the moon? But now, Xie Xuanchen was walking slowly under the beautiful trees which were emitting enchanting fragrance.
His brows still held a heroic spirit, but his eyes held an inadvertent gentleness, as if the aggressive sword was hidden in the scabbard, completely tamed.
The contrast between the present and the past immensely amazed Zhu Yanghong. It was also at this moment that made him feel more relaxed around his general, which made Zhu Yanghong talk and laugh with Xie Xuanchen about everyday life: “The prince has gained fame at a young age earlier than any hero from the history, and that age was really too young to make such great achievements. Now that the prince already has a family, and your illness has also been controlled, why don’t you consider having a child?”
Although Xie Xuanchen and Zhu Yanghong were there to accompany their families this time, Xie Xuanchen actually didn’t pay much attention to his former subordinate. But when Xie Xuanchen heard Zhu Yanghong say child, he was taken aback for a moment before asking, “You mean a child?”
Zhu Yanghong felt that as Xie Xuanchen was still a young man, he wanted to live with his wife alone for a bit longer, so they deliberately didn’t want to have children during this period. “This general knows that my Lord is still young to think about children. But life and death are impermanent in the army and we can’t predict what will happen the next moment on the battlefield. Anyway, after the Lord grows older, you will understand what this general is saying. Now is the best time to make plans for children and complete your family with Princess An.”
Xie Xuanchen, who had gone through all kinds of storms in his life, didn’t show any particular expressions, but there was a violent storm raging inside his heart after listening to Zhu Yanghong’s sudden words.
‘Is he urging me to have a child?’