Chapter 220: Chapter 206: Afraid Others Will Find Out I’m Your Husband? (Part 2)
Wen Wan entered Hongwen Academy in early February when she was twenty. To conceal the fact that she was married, she had to let down the woman’s bun she had worn for three years and dress like a young lady.
Having already given birth to a chubby little boy, Wen Wan, even after being a mother for a year, didn’t look much different from a young lady in appearance.
She was fortunate to have good timing. When she gave birth to Jinbao, both her family and her in-laws were relatively well-off, allowing her to sit through the postpartum month fully, with nutritional supplements uninterrupted.
Not long after the postpartum period, she went up to Beijing and became an official’s wife.
Nowadays, although there are no servants at home, many things require her as the official’s wife to do herself, but compared to the days right after she got married, it’s already much better.
Wen Wan’s parents both had good looks, so naturally, she wouldn’t be too different. With the pampering from her in-laws, even after being married for four years, once she lets her hair down, she still looks like a young lady.
On the day of entering school, early in the morning, Wen Wan personally gave her son a bath.
The little fellow was unusually obedient; apart from sneezing twice during the bath, he was not troublesome.
Wen Wan was afraid he’d catch a cold, so she didn’t dare bathe him too long. After hurriedly finishing, she dried him off and laid him on the bed to apply lotion.
The little guy, nearly nine months old, had already learned to stand independently.
While dressing him, he’d lift his legs when asked and stretch his arms when requested.
Wen Wan was crouching down to pull up his pants legs, completely unaware that the little guy’s hands couldn’t stay idle, grabbing a handful of hair to shove into his mouth. By the time she noticed, the little guy had already realized the hair was not tasty and was "puh puh" spitting it out.
Some of it was stuck with saliva to the corner of his mouth and wouldn’t come off no matter what.
The little fellow was uncomfortable, his bun-like face scrunched up in distress, using his hands to keep clawing at it.
After clawing for quite a while, discovering his mother’s angry glare, the little guy paused, then conveniently picked up a toy nearby and handed it to her, "Here, here..."
Ever since the night of the Lantern Festival, when he found out that being cute and pleasing worked, this trick had become his go-to strategy. Each time after angering his mother, he’d turn around and gift her something; his father’s bought toys were nearly all gifted away.
Wen Wan reached out to brush aside the hair from his mouth, then used a cloth to dry his drool, not accepting the little guy’s placation, and threatened, "If you keep being naughty, I’ll go to a place you can’t find and leave you to play alone at home."
The little guy couldn’t understand and handed over the toy again.
Wen Wan still didn’t want it.
The little guy simply sat down on the ground and played by himself.
Wen Wan: "..."
Song Wei had already asked Uncle Lin to harness the horse and carriage. After waiting for some time without seeing Wen Wan come out, he entered the room and saw mother and son sitting apart, Wen Wan’s face clouded with worry, while the little guy kept his head down, happily playing.
"Why aren’t you leaving yet?" Song Wei asked her.
Wen Wan glanced at her son, feeling a bit uneasy, "You have to go to the government office every day. If I go to the academy every day, it means neither of us parents has time to accompany him. Will the little guy be okay with that?"
Song Wei smiled, "We don’t live at Hongwen Academy. We still have to come home every night, right?"
Before Wen Wan could speak, he continued, "You can ask your parents to help take care of him during the day."
He paused, then changed to a teasing tone, "If you’re really worried, you can take our son to class with you."
"Oh my, Mr. Song, your mouth really has a way with words." Wen Wan clearly expressed her displeasure, "Why don’t you take him to the government office instead?"
Never mind that neither the academy nor the government office allows such young kids in, but even if they did, judging by the little guy’s current home-dismantling skills, within three days, both places would become "hell on earth."
Seeing her like that, Song Wei couldn’t help but laugh, "It’s getting late. It’s time to get ready to leave."
Wen Wan stroked her son’s chubby little face and gave him a smooch, telling him, "Baby, Mommy has to go to school. Come, how about a kiss?"
She pointed to her cheek.
The little guy blinked, leaned in closer.
Just when Wen Wan was expecting a big sweet kiss from her son, she felt a sharp pain in her ear.
The little fellow, teething and with itchy gums, was troubled about not finding anywhere to chew. As soon as his mother leaned in, he targeted her ear, biting down hard and refusing to let go.
Wen Wan was almost in tears from the pain; it was Song Wei who intervened and pulled him away.
The little guy didn’t understand that his mother was angry; he only felt his itchy gums relieved and was gleefully clapping his little hands and laughing.
Wen Wan rubbed her ear with one hand, raising the other to swat Jinbao’s bottom.
Song Wei didn’t allow it, hurriedly taking their son in his arms to dissuade her, "If you actually make him cry, you’ll be the one who feels bad. I see it’s not severely injured; just a little ointment will be needed, and it’ll be better soon."