178. Xue Lang’s Gifts II

Third-person POV

During his one hour of nap, Xue Lang sometimes would suddenly scream and sweat a lot. And at the end of his sleep talking, he would apologize with such a pitiful tone. Hong er felt a pang on her heart and couldn't leave him alone.

She sat beside the bed and would gently pat his chest to calm him down from his nightmare. She also whispered 'It is fine. Mother is here to protect you.' And Xue Lang would fell back into his deep sleep again.

Xue Lang woke up and he didn't know that he had been sleep talking during his sleep. Hong er didn't ask him any question as she didn't him to remember those frightening memories of him. She pulled him closer to her and put on a white tunic that she had embroidered for day and night.

Xue Lang looked at the tunic and didn't see anything special about the tunic. It was indeed beautiful but compared to the embroidery that he had seen on the clothes he wore before, it was incomparable.

Hong er: "Mother made this for you. Mother's embroidery skill is not that impressive but still can make some simple animals and patterns. What do you think? Do you like it ?"

Knowing that it was personally made by Hong er, his heart immediately filled with warmness and love. He nodded his head vigorously and clutched the tunic tighter around his body. Hong er smiled gleefully and reached out to take off the tunic which earned a reluctance expression from Xue

Lang.

Hong er: "Mother needs to add a few more decorations. Don't worry, this will be yours."

Xue Lang: "En."

Xue Lang stared at his tunic being taken away with eyes full of sadness. Hong er sighed with a smile and ruffled his hair.

Hong er: "Don't be sad. How about we enjoy the scenery in the Floating Lotus Pavilion?"

Xue Lang: "En!"

Xue Lang really liked to go to the Floating Lotus Pavilion and sat there dazedly together with his beloved mother. But since he got a magical weapon as a gift from his father, he needed to practice harder and more diligent to master the weapon so his father would praise him and be proud of him in front of his subjects.

Hong er sat on the side of the pavilion with her back leaned on one of the wooden pillars. Since the pavilion was spacious enough for 4 people to do training, Xue Lang decided to practice his new weapon in front of his mother and ask for her opinion.

Hong er's eyes stayed on the tunic that she was embroidering and hummed the melody that she always hum. Xue Lang swung his ice scythe along the happy melody and felt his heart was in peace. Hong er abruptly stopped humming and commented without looking up.

Hong er: "Your feet position is wrong, you bent it too much."

Xue Lang quickly fixed his position and continued when Hong er hummed the melody again. This went until Weisheng came to the pavilion to look for them and heard that she was humming to the usual melody. A warm smile appeared on his lips and disappeared as fast as it comes.

He approached them and intensely watched Xue Lang's moves which made Xue Lang more nervous. Seeing that Xue Lang was quite tired from the previous activity, Weisheng stopped him and told him to sit in front of him.

(A/N: This is not that important but they were sitting on the wooden floor with their leg crossed. Typical Asian people. Lol.)

Weisheng: "What do you feel when you use it?"

Xue Lang: "It feels really light and it is very easy to control."

Weisheng: "En. Try to control it only with your magic."

Xue Lang: "Yes."

Xue Lang stood up and took a few steps back. He looked fixedly at his scythe and released his scythe so now it floats in the air and lightly swayed side to side. Xue Lang knitted his brow and the scythe moved accordingly to what he previously did.

Weisheng could clearly see that Xue Lang didn't have the agility and creativity in using his magic. He couldn't show him an example as he didn't have any other element besides dark element. Then he glanced at the tranquil woman beside him, he nudged her arm and gave her signals with his eyes. Hong er immediately understood what he meant and turned her attention to Xue Lang. 

Hong er: "Xue Lang, you have to be quick and precise in moving the Qi in your body. I will give you an example and Huayun will also give you an example of how to control your Qi as she had more experience in using ice element."

Hong er glanced at Huayun and nodded her head. Then with just a little movement of the needle in Hong er's hand and Huayun's finger, the vast lake behind them was frozen within a second. Xue Lang stared in awe and more impressed in how the two women managed to stay expressionless even after using such a large amount of Qi.

Xue Lang: "Wow! Imperial Mother, Huayun auntie, how can you freeze the lake so precisely without any frost on the wall beside the lake?"

Hong er and Meiyun quickly retracted their magic before the flower and fishes in the lake die and Hong er melted the ice with her fire magic.

Hong er: "We, Elite forces, have to have keen eyes. Just with a glance, one has to remember the anatomy of the place thus one can escape quickly and safely from the place."

Xue Lang: "Hoo~"

Hong er: " And everything in this world has its own Qi, however sometimes the Qi is too small that we can't detect it. So we spread the ice's Qi by following the flow of the water's Qi. Understand?"

Xue Lang: "En. This son understood."

Huayun silently stepped forward and spoke with her head bowed to them.

 Huayun: "Your Majesty Empress, the sky had gotten quite dark. It will damage your eyes if you continue to embroider."

Weisheng: "En. Continue it tomorrow."

Hong er: "En."

Hong er passed the tunic to Huayun and stood up at the same time as the father and son. They went to their room to have their dinner.

.

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*The next day, in the afternoon

A maid walked up to Hong er and bowed her head.

Maid: "Your Majesty Empress, Miss Ming Yu from Huang family came for a visit."

Hong er didn't reply for a moment and nodded her head.

Hong er: "En. Let her wait in the main hall."

Maid: "Yes, Your Majesty Empress."

Not long after, Ming Yu was guided to the main hall by the previous maid. Meiyun and Huayun helped Hong er to comb her hair and changed her casual clothes to more formal clothes Then Hong er entered the main hall gracefully with the Yun sisters following behind her.

Ming Yu quickly stood up from her seat and greeted Hong er. Hong er sat on her throne and told Ming Yu to rise.

Hong er: "On what occasion does Miss Huang have to visit Ben Gong?"

Ming Yu nervously pinched her finger and lowered her head.

Ming Yu: "This lowly one wants to thank Your Majesty Empress for helping me with the case one month ago. This lowly one couldn't find a reason to meet Your Majesty Empress to give my gratitude. And since Da Qi is showered with great news of Your Majesty Empress's pregnancy, this lowly one thought to give Your Majesty Empress a few gifts."

Ming Yu took the basket from the table beside her and handed it to Huayun. Huayun unveiled the basket and saw two pairs of baby shoes and two sets of baby clothes. Hong er smiled when she saw how meaningful the gifts were.

The embroidery on each piece was extremely detailed and thoughtful. Since Ming Yu didn't know what gender the baby would be, therefore she made both male and female baby clothes. The thread was not the expensive nor rare one, rather it could easily be found in any market and commonly used by commoner. However, the magnificent handwork overshadowed the cheap-looking thread.

Hong er: "Ben Gong can see your sincerity from this gift. But Ben Gong also can see you have motive behind this."