Chapter 256: The Grace of Nurturing Outweighs the Grace of Giving Birth (Bonus Chapter for Tipping)
Sang Luo paused.
This child still thought he was dreaming.
Sang Luo didn't expose him, hugging Little Lion even tighter, murmuring, "I'm sorry, Mommy hasn't been there for you properly before. You've grown up so much, and Mommy hasn't participated in your growth…"
As she spoke, she couldn't continue. After thinking for a while, she decided to ask,
"Mommy came this time with the intention of taking you away. Is Little Sun willing to go with Mommy?"
Little Lion blinked, realizing that Little Sun was calling him, "Hefes…" He was very happy, and then, remembering something, he turned his head to look outside the door, saying to Sang Luo, "Mommy, wait for Father to come. Can we go out to play together?"
Sang Luo was stunned for a moment, then smiled and shook her head. "Your father is the ruler of a country; he needs to stay in the empire and do his own things. Is it okay if Mommy only takes you away?"
Little Lion hesitated, jumping down from her arms and taking two steps back, drooping his lion ears as he looked at her.
Sang Luo's arms paused slightly.
Little Lion didn't speak, but she knew the answer.
He chose his father.
Sang Luo was indeed somewhat surprised. Perhaps it was because she had never encountered this kind of thing before; she hadn't thought that her son would reject her.
In the past, the cubs were very attached to her, and she took it for granted that she was the most important biological mother to the children. If she asked the cubs to choose between Daddy and Mommy, they would definitely choose Mommy… She subconsciously jumped to conclusions, selfishly coming to take Little Lion away.
Think about it.
The grace of giving birth may not necessarily outweigh seven years of nurturing.
Dortu was the one who had always been by the child's side, loving him with all his heart.
Yet, only now did she know the child's name, what color Little Lion liked, what he liked to eat… She knew nothing at all.
It was only natural that Hefes wanted to stay and be with Dortu.
The father and son were each other's closest relatives.
Sang Luo was somewhat glad that she hadn't directly summoned her son over last time, but had instead made another trip to ask for his opinion, letting her know what her son was thinking.
She respected the child's choice.
"Okay, Little Hefes, then you stay obediently by your daddy's side. Mommy will come to see you again when I have the chance in the future, okay?"
"Okay."
Little Lion returned to her arms, happily nuzzling her.
Sang Luo pinched his furry cheeks with both hands. "Little Sun is the nickname Mommy gave you. Mommy really knows too little about you, I don't even know your name. Before, whenever Mommy missed you, I would call you Little Sun in my heart. When Mommy saw my good son for the first time, it was like I saw a cute little sun… Now Mommy also knows your name, so I'll call you Hefes from now on."
"Little Sun is a very nice name; Mommy can continue to call me that!"
"Okay, good son."
Sang Luo kissed him on the cheek.
The mother and son stayed together for a long time.
Seeing that the time was almost up.
Sang Luo said to Hefes, "Mommy should go too."
"Ah? Is Mommy leaving so soon?"
"Yes, Mommy has other things to do. When I'm free next time, I'll come see you again, okay?"
"…Okay."
Little Lion was reluctant to part.
Sang Luo instructed again, "Mommy came to see you this time, it's a little secret between us, don't tell Daddy, okay?"
"Why not tell Daddy?" Hefes asked, puzzled. "Daddy also misses Mommy very much."
"…If Daddy knows, Mommy might not come again." Sang Luo didn't know how to explain their relationship to the child. Their soul contract had long been dissolved, and they were no longer partners, but they were indeed the child's biological father and biological mother. With this layer of fostering relationship, she simply glossed over it with a sentence.
Little Lion was also smart and saw that Mommy was hesitant and didn't seem to want to talk about it, so he nodded blankly. "Mommy, don't worry, I won't tell Daddy. Then Mommy promise me that you must remember to come again in the future, don't make Little Sun wait so long."
"Okay, pinky promise."
Sang Luo looked down at Little Lion's paw pads again, unable to help but smile. She grabbed his thick, pink paw pads with one hand and pinched them, then pressed the center of his paw pad with the pad of her thumb. "Okay, that's it. Mommy and Little Sun have made a contract, I will come to see you soon."
She hugged the child and kissed him again, using her mental power to put him to sleep.
The carved Little Lion wood carving was placed between his crossed front paws.
Sang Luo looked at the sleeping Little Lion for the last time. After a moment, she took out her camera and took a few photos of him before leaving.
Dortu didn't come back early today. He had accumulated a lot of things these days and had to be busy for a while. He took the time to come and see if the child had eaten lunch.
Little Lion was also asleep… woken up by hunger.
He had a good dream. He had just gotten out of bed and stretched comfortably when the small wood carving rolled out from under him, almost falling off the bed.
He pounced forward, hurriedly grabbing the small wood carving. When he saw that it was a lifelike Little Lion, he blinked his beautiful, emerald-like beast eyes in confusion.
"Eh, did Father send this to me? It's so pretty, Father's craftsmanship has improved again."
Seeing that he always liked to play with wood carvings, Dortu also tried to carve wood carvings for him, but no matter how good the carvings were, in Hefes's heart, they could never compare to the charm of the little wooden figure that Mommy had carved with her own hands.
"Father!"
Hefes looked up and saw the man coming over, happily carrying the wood carving down the bed and jumping into his arms.
Dortu's handsome face carried a smile. Just as he was about to say something, he saw the wood carving in his mouth and suddenly froze.
After a moment, he reached out and took the lion wood carving, his deep voice carrying a hint of anger. "Who gave this to you?"
A serving servant walked over, kneeling down in fear. "This humble servant saw that the Little Highness usually likes that little wooden figure, so I secretly carved one for the Little Highness, wanting to please the Little Highness. Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
Dortu frowned and asked again, "Did you make this?"
"This humble servant knows his mistake, please punish me, Your Majesty!"
Hefes looked at the small wood carving, realized something, and suddenly said loudly, "Daddy, don't punish him, I really like this wood carving! Leave it for me to play with!"
Seeing that his son liked it, Dortu didn't say anything, waving for the beastman to leave.
"Okay, Daddy! I'm sleepy! I want to take a nap, don't disturb me!" Taking advantage of Dortu's inattention, Little Lion picked up the wood carving in his hand and jumped to the ground, running to the bed and pulling down the bed curtain.
Dortu came over to see if he had eaten on time. Seeing him so lively and jumping around, he was no longer worried. He still had a lot of affairs to deal with, so he went back to deal with them.
After the sound of the door opening rang twice.
Hefes rolled around on the bed excitedly, and then hugged the wood carving a little foolishly with his paws—this wasn't Father who gave it to him! Last night wasn't a dream!
It was really Mommy!
Mommy is still alive, Mommy didn't die!!
Mommy really came back to find him!!!
…
Outside, the palace fell silent.
The beast servant paused, a dark light flashed in his eyes. He looked around suspiciously, muttering, "Strange, wasn't I sweeping the yard? How did I come out of the palace… What did I just do?"
He scratched his head and left.
After Sang Luo finished the aftermath, she remembered what Si Ye had said before.
Bonus chapter~
Thank you babies for your tips, votes, comments, and support. Congratulations to this book for being promoted to the new helmsman "Yun * Duan"!
Still owe one bonus chapter for tipping~
Good night, babies, see you tomorrow~~
