Little Zhizhi didn’t dare use force. Her little hand pulled at a corner of the card, and after 1 minute of dragging, she finally pulled out the card that had been folded into three.
Si Zhiruo stared blankly at the card’s current state. Her little mouth pouted. It wasn’t that the card was that important, but it was the first time someone else had given her something. Little Zhizhi still cherished it very much.
There was a little thing constantly making small movements. My eyelids trembled, and my dark eyes slowly focused on one spot.
Si Zhiruo saw that her mom was awake and held up the white card, placing it before her eyes to complain aggrievedly.
“Hmm, it’s an anime card.” I pinched a corner of the card. “It’s a bit wrinkled.”
“What happened?”
Si Zhiruo threw herself into my arms and complained softly again, “Mommy squished it.”
I chuckled. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because Mommy was sleeping. I couldn’t talk and disturb you.”
Since the card was already ruined, the Little Dumpling didn’t play with it anymore, instead hugging her favorite Mommy.
“When we go back to the human world, I’ll buy you a whole box,” I said with a smile.
“Mm.” Si Zhiruo narrowed her eyes comfortably.
When she was tired of playing, she wanted Mommy’s embrace. When she wasn’t tired, she preferred to run wild in the palace alone.
I smelled the milky scent on my daughter. Thinking of Su Liumeng’s suggestion from yesterday, I tentatively said, “Baby, do you know there’s a strong smell of milk on you?”
Si Zhiruo tilted her head, her eyes looking dazed. “Milky scent?”
“Zhizhi is still a baby right now, so of course there’s a smell. That’s very normal.”
I continued gradually, “Don’t you think it’s a bit too strong?”
Si Zhiruo was even more confused. “I’m not even 1 year old for another 1 week. Isn’t it normal for it to be a bit strong? What exactly does Mommy want to say to Zhizhi?”
The Little Dumpling looked at her mother’s gradually serious expression. Her heart skipped a beat for some reason, and a bad feeling was spreading.
I coughed and decided to reveal my hand. “Baby, look, you’re already so big. Mommy decided to wean you early. Eating until you’re 1 year old is enough. Many babies are weaned at just a few months old.”
Si Zhiruo was like she had been struck by lightning.
How could this be? Mommy had accepted her suggestion just a few days ago and agreed to wait a while before weaning. Why did she suddenly change her mind? Could there be a bad person gossiping behind her back?
“I don’t want to.” Si Zhiruo’s eyes were already moist. Her little hand gripped the corner of my clothes and wouldn’t let go. She raised her small head and looked at me with a lethal, shimmering gaze, appearing pitiful and pleading. “Did Mommy listen to a bad person? Zhizhi isn’t even 1 yet. How can you wean me so early?”
‘That heart-melting look. I can’t take it.’
I could only harden my heart and look away, clearing Su Liumeng of suspicion in the process. “No one else instigated it. I simply felt it was about time. Besides, breastfeeding is very troublesome, and there’s a persistent smell of milk. How can you become a big kid without weaning?” I pinched her little face and tempted her, “Once you’re weaned, our family’s Little Princess Zhizhi will be a fragrant and soft little girl…”
Si Zhiruo pouted, indicating she didn’t want to accept this theory.
She was still a baby. Once she grew up, she would naturally be fragrant and soft. There was no rush.
Seeing that my daughter had not moved for a long time, I felt a bit strange. I reached out to lift her head from my chest, and her tear-stained face entered my heart. My heart skipped a beat, and an unexplainable panic spread.
“Don’t cry, don’t cry.”
It would have been better if I hadn’t comforted her. Once I did, the little one’s tears broke through the floodgates, and she let out a heartbreaking wail.
“Bad Mommy!”
“You promised me just a few days ago. Now you’re notifying me of the result without even discussing it with me!”
“How can you just go back on your word a few days after agreeing to someone?”
She was heartbroken, as if she had been betrayed. Little Zhizhi was not mentally prepared at all to be the one given up on.
I kept reaching out, trying to wipe the little one’s tears. Zhizhi just kept her neck stiff and cried, ignoring what everyone else was doing. The tears flowed more and more.
“No weaning, no weaning,” I could only lie and change my tune. “Eat for another half a year. We’ll wean at 1 and a half.”
Si Zhiruo sniffed, finally looking less aggrieved. She reached out her little hand and pressed the side of her head against me. “Mommy can’t bully me either.”
“No way, how would I dare bully my Little Princess?” I just wanted to hurry up and soothe my daughter. “Mommy will explain. I wasn’t just notifying you of the result; I was suggesting it to discuss it with you.”
“Mommy didn’t break her word.”
Si Zhiruo let out a hiccup. “Really?”
“Really.”
“Mm, I misunderstood Mommy.” Children cry quickly and recover quickly. Now there were only tear stains, and she was no longer as sad as before.
She bit her fingertip, her beautiful eyelashes wet. Big-eyed children are the most adorable. Si Zhiruo’s eyes were very large, flickering as if they held the stars of the sky. Her exquisite face was as cute as a doll, always attracting the gaze and attention of adults instantly.
I lightly patted my daughter’s back to help her breathe. A child’s trachea is still small; they need their backs patted even when drinking milk to avoid choking, let alone after crying so hard. Naturally, she would be out of breath.
Si Zhiruo was very well-behaved now, letting me pat her back. However, her little hand kept gripping my clothes, lacking security.
Usually at this time, as soon as I woke up, the little one would disappear instantly. Today she was exceptionally clingy. She didn’t want to go out to play anymore, insisting I carry her out.
I took out a wet towel and wiped her wet eyelashes and little face clean. Looking at her slightly red eyes, the little one shyly buried her face on my shoulder, not letting me look any longer.
“Do you want to wear shoes?”
The little one shook her head, her voice still muffled. “Don’t want to wear shoes.”
I rarely indulged this habit of hers. Since my daughter had just cried, I naturally wanted to follow her wishes as much as possible to make up for it. If she didn’t want to wear them, she didn’t have to. If her feet got dirty, they could just be washed.
I carried my daughter out of the hall. Si Zhiruo lay on my shoulder, watching the maidservants coming and going nearby. Her large eyes blinked constantly, her gaze filled with curiosity about unfamiliar things.
“Mommy, what are these people doing?”
I thought for a moment. “They’re changing shifts. Since we woke up, it’s time for them to change shifts.”
In such a large palace, it was impossible to have few people; they wouldn’t even be able to keep it clean.
Si Zhiruo nodded, her little hand holding my shoulder, and stopped talking.
“Madam.”
“Eldest Miss.”
The nearby maids all stopped to salute.
Si Zhiruo thought about her mom’s recent actions, how she had been trying to feed her normal food. ‘Has Mommy wanted to wean me for a long time? Or was it that someone else proposed this suggestion first, which finally made Mommy make up her mind?’
Si Zhiruo clenched her small fist. The thought that someone might be gossiping in secret made her absolutely furious.