Seeing the way he looked, Elara knew the child was still being stubborn.
It made sense. A child who had been abandoned since young and raised by beasts would not have survived this long if he could be easily controlled.
Elara acted as if she didn't see the child's fierce expression and released his pressure point.
The next second, the child immediately bent over, tensed his body, got on all fours, and dashed out.
First rule of survival in the wild, if you can't win, run.
From the moment he saw this woman, he had been frozen in place and unable to resist, carried all the way until now.
Haochen was filled with anger and unwillingness from being suppressed and controlled, but he also felt more fear inside.
He was very clear that he was no match for Elara, so the moment he regained his freedom, his first instinct was to escape.
But just as he reached the doorway, he suddenly felt like something had tied his feet.
He struggled hard several times but couldn't break free. He had to turn back, reaching for his restrained ankle while staring at Elara with fur bristling and body tense, letting out a roar that sounded both angry and threatening.
What surprised him was, there was clearly nothing on his feet, yet he could feel with certainty that they were bound.
Haochen couldn't help but reach down again and carefully touch his ankle, but still felt nothing.
But how could that be, he was clearly tied down and couldn't leave the room.
This woman was truly dangerous.
The child roared at Elara again, filled with rage and fear.
Elara sat calmly, ignoring the child's anger. Behind her, three strands of transparent spiritual energy extended out. One had already bound the child's leg, and the other two circled around him like a cat toying with a rebellious pet, floating invisibly around him.
Elara raised her hand to rest her face on it, watching the child leisurely with a slight smile.
You try again. If you manage to break free, I'll let you go. But if you can't, come back and eat your food, and stop thinking about running away.
The child bared his teeth and growled at her, but Elara felt like she was looking at the wild wolfdog she had once tamed in her past life.
That wild wolfdog had been strong and beautiful but very wild and hard to train, refusing to listen to any commands at first.
But after Elara personally trained it every day for half a year, that powerful and beautiful wolfdog became her most loyal companion.
Thinking of that old companion, Elara smiled. Her gaze toward the child softened slightly.
That afternoon, she had Uno bring all kinds of documents into the room. She reviewed them while watching the child try different ways to escape her spiritual tendrils, all of which failed.
By evening, when Elara finally finished her work and started feeling a bit hungry, the child was still stubbornly struggling against the invisible bonds.
Palace servants brought her a meal full of rare and delicious dishes. Elara told Uno to sit and eat with her, then tapped the child's bowl with her chopsticks. Come, eat first, then you can keep trying.
The child looked up and growled at her.
Fine, don't eat then.
If he didn't want food, Elara wouldn't force him.
He'd come looking for it himself once hunger set in.
Elara only called him once. When he didn't respond, she didn't bother again, and ate slowly with Uno.
But maybe the scent of the food was too tempting, or maybe the child had gone too long without eating. While they ate, he growled at them even more than before.
But Elara ignored him completely.
After the meal, she didn't have the servants save any food for him either.
She wanted the child to remember that if he missed mealtime, there would be no food. If he felt hungry, he'd have to endure it.
So after eating, Elara told the servants to clear away all the dishes. She read a few more reports, and when the sky outside turned completely dark, she stood up to wash.
At the same time, she pressed the child's pressure point again to immobilize him, had the servants lock him back up with heavy chains, and finally retracted her spiritual tendrils.
The child saw himself being bound and locked up again. His expression toward Elara grew fiercer and more wary.
Elara raised her hand and tapped his forehead with a smile. "Did you really think I'd spend the whole night playing with you? You may not want to sleep, but I need my rest."
Without caring how the child reacted, Elara reached out, picked him up again, placed him on the couch to the side, tossed a blanket over him, then returned to her bed. She ignored his angry and unwilling glare and closed her eyes to sleep.
Early the next morning,
Elara had just sat up when she saw the child, still locked and frozen on the couch, suddenly open his eyes and stare at her.
Compared to the vicious look he had yesterday, the child looked less energetic after being hungry all night. But his eyes still locked tightly onto her with deep suspicion.
Elara yawned as she sat up. After being helped by Uno to wash and dress, she ordered the palace servants to bring in breakfast.
She and Uno sat at the table. After sipping some meat porridge, Elara told the servants to unlock the chains on the child and release his pressure point. She then tapped his bowl with her chopsticks.
"Are you going to eat breakfast today, or starve yourself again?"
Having learned from yesterday, the child didn't immediately turn and run after being freed.
He stayed on all fours, tense all over, staring fiercely at Elara. Like a fluffed-up cat on high alert, he stared at her for a long while. Maybe realizing he couldn't escape and feeling extremely hungry, he cautiously moved inch by inch toward the table, taking half a quarter-hour to get there.
Then, when Elara and Uno looked down to eat, he suddenly reached out and grabbed a large meat bun, retreating ten steps in an instant. When he returned to the couch he had slept on and saw no one stopping him, he finally lowered his head. Still alert, he slowly took a bite of the meat bun.
Seeing him finally eat, a smile appeared on Elara's lips.
Good. He's finally willing to eat.
As expected, hunger breaks stubbornness.
The meat buns were made the way Elara taught, with thin skin and rich filling. The child took a cautious bite, then quickly finished the juicy meat inside. His eyes then shifted back to the rest of the buns on the table.
Elara looked down at her food and pretended not to see.
For the next half hour, the child repeated his tactic. Every time Elara and Uno seemed distracted, he would dart forward, grab a bun, retreat to his couch, eat, then wait for another chance to sneak back.
By the end of this sneaky breakfast, all the meat buns on the table were gone.
The child, finally full after days of hunger, went back to his small couch. He let out a small burp, and a trace of satisfaction and relaxation finally showed beneath his usually fierce and guarded face.
Elara tossed a cloth at him. "Wipe your hands clean. Or you won't sleep in a bed again."
Still savoring the delicious taste of the buns, the child was hit in the face by the cloth. He yanked it off and growled low at Elara, baring his teeth.
But knowing the difference in strength and being completely overpowered, the child still picked up the cloth unwillingly and began to wipe his hands.
Elara smiled again as she watched him.
See. He really can understand people. Yesterday, he was just being defiant. After being taught a lesson, he's finally starting to behave.
Over the next few days, Elara balanced handling state affairs and training the child.
Haochen at first wouldn't stop until he hit a wall. But after repeated discipline, he slowly began to behave. Eventually, even if Elara didn't call him, he would cautiously approach during meals and squat by her seat to wait for food. After being mentally restrained a few more times and lectured, he finally learned to sit and eat instead of grabbing buns and running.
The child's progress was clearly visible.
And over these days, Elara also brought order to the affairs of the Plumera Kingdom.