"Wife, I want to eat meat” 《娘子，我要吃肉》Chapter 64

In the dark, both of Xia Fen’s legs kicked out, rushing into Xia Ling Mei’s embrace. His small body rocked in his arms for a little while, finally he grasped hold of her waist, rapidly breathing he climbed a little higher, then holding his mother’s neck, rubbing his head against hers over and over, repeatedly calling `mother`.

Xia Ling Mei held her son tightly, slowly exhaling. This small idiot was like a cat seeing fish when he sees his mother, no matter where, no matter what he was doing, he wouldn’t care, as if in his eyes apart from his mother there was no longer anybody else or anything.

“Speak in whispers, your daddy is sleeping.”

Xia Ling Mei turned her head to look at Wang Yun Feng on the bed. Maybe he was too tired, Xia Fen had made such a ruckus, Wang Yun Feng still slept very deeply. Bedding were kicked off, showing the arm he was half hugging, originally Xia Fen was lying in there, now it was already completely empty. It looks as if, these days that Xia Ling Mei hasn’t been here, Wang Yun Feng looked at his son very importantly.

Xia Ling Mei patted Xia Fen, this clever child was already very familiar with his mother’s moves, rumbling he climbed from the front of his mother to her back, still holding onto her neck and not letting go. From over her shoulders he saw Xia Ling Mei rearrange Wang Yun Feng’s lapel, arranging him into a comfortable position. Wang Yun Feng budged a little, seeming as if he woke up for a short while, probably thinking it was Xiao Bai coming to check on Xia Fen’s sleeping posture, he felt around the bed for a bit, directly coming across Xia Ling Mei’s wrist, muttering: “How can you roll from the bed to the floor.” Pulling her hand under the quilt, subconsciously tucking the quilt in, falling asleep again in a daze.

In the dark room, there wasn’t a sliver of light, but Xia Ling Mei could distinguish which ash-colour was his face, which was the quilt. Xia Ling Mei heartachingly extended her fingertip to touch his cheeks, his skin was rough, pushing down there was no feeling of plump flesh.

Xia Ling Mei examined Wang Yun Feng closely up down and everywhere once, then did she piggyback Xia Fen out of the room, turning into the side room next door. During the day this was where Wang Yun Feng’s trunks and baskets of junk were piled up, when Xiao Bai saw Xia Ling Mei had arrived, he hurriedly tidied up the bed in that room. Even if it’s the mistress, there was still no reason for him to be sweet with the master in the disaster region, it would not be good to attract suspicion and jealousy. Because it was Winter was coming, 

Xia Ling Mei had the shadow guards bring along some winter clothes, there were hers and Wang Yun Feng’s, the shadow guards were also concerned about their comrades here, they did not bring too little personal goods here, there was nowhere to hide it, everything was piled here, crammed in that only the bed was empty

Xia Ling Mei herself shook out a sheepskin cape, it wasn’t good to bring too luxurious items to disaster regions, sheepskin was both common and warm, and was sewn on the inside, on the outside it was a very common material, in truth it was warm. After carrying Xia Fen inside she immediately used the cape to wrap him up, Xia Fen was much more well-behaved in Xia Ling Mei’s arms than Wang Yun Feng’s. Compared to Wang Yun Feng, Xia Fen had been away from Xia Ling Mei for much longer, increasingly not willing to take half a step away from his mother, tightly shrinking into her arms not moving.

Xia Ling Mei stroked her son’s head, and pinching his cheeks, shoulders, chest, waist, hands and foot, even his bottom was not let off and was squeezed, even more heart-broken than compared to just before.

Wang Yun Feng was an adult, and was doing his job, it was certain the demanding work would make him lose weight. But her son who ought to have been free and unfettered on the outside unexpectedly came here to bear hardships, as a mother she couldn’t help be anxious. She had intentionally looked over the dinner before, even the third ranked maids at the residence ate better, her eyes nearly reddened on the spot. Everywhere around them were victims, she couldn’t say, but in her heart it really hurt.

“Mother!” Xia Fen moved around a little in her arms, yawning, “mother sleep with me.”

“I can’t, mother is only worried about you, wanting to see you. Just sleep with your father tonight, tomorrow I’ll come and join you.”

Xia Fen pursed his lips: “I don’t like him, I want mother.”

Xia Ling Mei flicked his nose: “You don’t like daddy but allow him to protect you? Fen Er don’t fuss, mother has something to do tonight, tomorrow morning I’ll come find you again, you can’t be an annoying troublemaker.”

When is Xia Fen willing to honestly behave. In accordance with his former behaviour, Xia Ling Mei in any event hated to scold him, if there was something wrong he would just act cute. Consequently, Xia Fen struggled a little while in Xia Ling Mei’s arms, using all his strength he forced his mother onto the bed, he crossed his legs together, hugging her with both arms: “I want to sleep with mother!”

Xia Ling Mei stared, turning him over she placed him on her knees, brushing aside the cape she pulled down his trousers, hitting her hand on her son’s bottom. A speedy sound, like a thunder exploding in the night, both resonant and ringing.

Xia Fen was shocked, almost crying out loudly. Granted Wang Yun Feng had spanked his bottom with a chicken feather duster, why is the mother he loves the most hitting him as well? Mother has been led astray by the cheap father! You are…en, according to the crown prince’s theory: villains colluded together, husband and wife follow each other’s bad example! Specialising in bullying their own son!

Xia Fen sobbed completely broken-hearted sprawled on the bedding, even though there wasn’t a single tear, but his heart was genuinely wounded. He still didn’t dare to make a noise, because mother was still staring at him in anger. Why was mother angry? He was obviously the person who was beaten, mother looked like she was the one who suffered. 

According to Juan Shu’s teaching: This is the way of the world, bully intolerable!

Xia Fen had been with this Wang family of bookish hypocrites for a while, inevitably he also learned a lot more, when they wanted something in a daydream some certain words couldn’t help but be spoken, appearing to be of great talent.

Xia Fen feeling aggrieved was carried back to Wang Yun Feng’s room by Xia Ling Mei, then once again squeezed back in Wang Yun Feng’s arm, compared to the continuous affection from when she rushed over, when she left it was simply unfeeling, she didn’t even turn her head to look at Xia Fen once.

Xia Fen bore into Wang Yun Feng’s arms, mother is too bad, mother is too brutal, mother doesn’t love Fen Er…again shrinking into the warm chest, putting the sole of his feet into his cheap father’s inner clothes, putting his father’s arms around his waist.

Wang Yun Feng deeply asked in a muddle: “Where did you go just now?”

Xia Fen quietly: “To wee wee.”

Wang Yun Feng simply didn’t suspect him, hugging his son tightly not leaving a gap: “Sleep.”

When his eyelids fluttered, Xia Fen thought: mother even hit her own son, cheap father must have often been beaten?

Xia Ling Mei truthfully had something to do that night. At first she had only thought Wang Yun Feng’s body was slightly weak, but after seeing him did she then discover he had lost a terrible amount of weight. Wang Yun Feng was unlike Xia Ling Mei and Xia Fen, he was a weak scholar, hitting pressure points was simply to use in a sudden outburst against enemies, usually he very rarely trained his body, and with the old wounds over these few years, arriving at Zhuozhou, heavy humidity, and tiring, if he didn’t take care of his health sooner or later he will be serious ill. Moreover the unexpected Xia Fen, the father and son did not know how to look after people, if they collapsed, Xia Ling Mei would be scared half to death.

However, seeing the father and son sleeping together, her secret worries during her journey here was reduced. At least, with Xia Fen here, Wang Yun Feng wouldn’t let his imagination run wild like the old housekeeper said. The power of relatives, to Wang Yun Feng it was immense. And cannot be excluded, with Xia Fen by his side, even if Wang Yun Feng’s body collapse his spirit would still not collapse, he would protect his son with his last breath.

Therefore, the over worried Xia Ling Mei could no longer bear to see Xia Fen’s acting spoiled, wholeheartedly wishing it would be slightly better if her son would depend on Wang Yun Feng even more.

Late at night she ran to the little kitchen, Hei Zi who had not revealed his face at all had long ago complied with her order to go hunt pheasants and hares in the mountain forest, it was winter, a lot of animals were hibernating, he searched everywhere for prey, and accidentally catch a female bear deep in the mountain. He didn’t kill the mother bear, only knocking the bear out, then from her chest cut a little opening to take out some bile, after he applied herbal medicine then released it.

Xia Ling Mei shredded the pheasant, strips of fowl and plain rice congee was boiled together with medicinal ingredients. The fowl’s bottom was especially left out to string together into a skewer to be fried, and with noodles, making mushroom steamed dumplings, thinking about it, she also threw  a few sweet potatoes into the open fire, hanging a medicine pot to boil medicine for Wang Yun Feng.

She asked Hei Zi to watch the fire in the kitchen, she herself returned to the room again to tidy Wang Yun Feng’s personal items. He didn’t have many winter clothes, now his health was poor, it was best for him to wear fur, but this would also make it easier for him to be criticised by people. Xia Ling Mei pondered over it, turning his middle layer clothing inside out, cutting another of her own rabbit fur cloak, sewing it into the belly, waist, shoulder and other such areas of the middle layer clothing, again making him several knee coverings that he could wear under his trousers, so people couldn’t see it. Adding two more layers to the sole of his shoes, putting rabbit fur into the insole. After doing the knees, she again did the hands and elbows, then made wrist protectors. Only she used three layers for the wrist protectors, the middle layer was rabbit fur, on the surface it looked like common material. 

After making it for her husband, she then had to do it for her son, busy continuously until early morning, only then did her eyes feel a light sting.

Compared to that father and son, at least she could still preserve the dignity of an official family, in order to not attract attention Xia Ling Mei, had removed all the golden hairpins on her, only wearing the clothes of a Jianghu married woman, not splendid but actually simply and practical. When she was in Beiding city, as long as she was awake she would definitely wear makeup, here she was natural without makeup, restraining the pampered rich woman’s attitude, only a little bit more neat and imposing than a common woman.

After she had tidied up properly, when she heard the sound of Wang Yun Feng leaving next door, that’s when she went to find Xia Fen. Xia Fen was already used to looking after himself, he didn’t need someone to worry about dressing him and eating, like an extremely wild young beast, a little bit too savage, but still didn’t need to rely on others, even more he didn’t have the usual arrogance of a child of an influential family.

Xia Ling Mei made Xia Fen wash his face and rinse his mouth, she swiftly cleaned that entire room, seeing that it wasn’t going to rain, she might as well put the quilt outside, by the dried up thin tree trunk and the wall she put up a bamboo frame to air out the quilt and other things.

The father and son personal matters were dealt with by Xia Ling Mei, Juan Shu and Xiao Bai did other things, running errands for Wang Yun Feng.

Waiting until Wang Yun Feng had organised his own family’s important matters, she then went to the kitchen to bring out the basket of food, going to the lobby.

There weren’t many people in the early morning, the smell of food wafted out from many of the houses, some people were carrying things in succession. The gap in the dam had long ago been repaired, the sun was out over these last days, the ground also gradually revealed moist earth, some villages on higher grounds were already safe and sound, the villagers who had received supplies to past the winter already wanted to go back. If there was still time, they could fix their houses before the new year, then rush to plough the fields in the spring, in time for the first harvest.

Xia Ling Mei stood at the courtyard entrance for a while, unexpectedly she saw that Hua family sedan. Could it be that Lady Hua has come again?

Xia Ling Mei grinded her teeth, Wang Yun Feng, you really believe you don’t attract love affairs?

Her original carefree mood immediately vanished like smoke in thin air. Xia Ling Mei strolled in along the broken rocks, before she spoke, she saw Lady Hua leaning in Wang Yun Feng’s arms in the inner hall, Xia Fen aggressively advanced at Hua Bao Xia waving the biggest long sword.

“You fox dare to seduce my daddy!” He shouted violently, shaking the village chief who hadn’t left tottering.

Xia Ling Mei stepped forward, stepping inside the threshold, she laughed sinisterly in front of everyone, exposing her sharp teeth like a vixen: “Lord Wang, you’re so lucky with woman!”

Wang Yun Feng suddenly lifted his head: “Ling… Ling Mei!”

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T/N: Sorry I have to leave you hanging for this week >_<