Chapter 180: Is Xiao Fu Bao Disliked? The Whole City Loves Me With Their Lives
**Chapter 180: Returning to the City**
Prince Qing was amused by Master Hanshuang and sighed helplessly, "I'm not compassionate towards anyone; I just don't trust the methods you use. I'm worried that others might learn from you and end up harming innocent people."
In response, Master Hanshuang shook his head helplessly. "Does His Highness not trust me?"
Prince Qing waved his hand, "Not at all."
Seeing this, Master Hanshuang smiled, "Then please rest assured, Your Highness."
Although the Prince of Qing didn’t get any answers, his curiosity was piqued. After some thought, he couldn’t help but ask again, "What methods are you using? I really want to know."
Master Hanshuang smiled slightly at him, "Ordinary methods, the kind you often see in rural areas."
Prince Qing: …
Ultimately, he didn’t get any clear answers, but he didn’t press further. Instead, he discussed with Master Hanshuang about sending gifts to Suisui, saying, "That child just arrived in the capital and has nothing. I still owe her a life-saving grace, so I want to give her something to bolster her confidence."
When the mountain landslide happened, Master Hanshuang had already returned to the capital ahead of schedule with the criminals. He learned the specific situation later from his subordinates.
Now hearing the Prince of Qing mention it, Master Hanshuang nodded, "Indeed, we should send some gifts to express our gratitude. I will accompany His Highness to choose; gifts selected personally carry the most sincerity."
Having someone to consult was certainly welcome for the Prince of Qing.
Meanwhile, Suisui, who was being thought of, was having a blast. She was running around, picking a lot of wildflowers.
Song Kuan's skills were indeed impressive; he made a beautiful flower crown for Suisui. Although she didn’t look in a mirror, the mixture of colorful wildflowers looked delightful together.
Suisui took off her favorite little hat and put on the flower crown, twirling around happily.
After a while, Suisui thought that since Song Kuan made her a flower crown, she should pick more flowers to give back to him.
With this thought, Suisui started running even faster. She began picking flowers without being picky, just grabbing whatever she saw.
The two children ran around crazily all afternoon and ended up being carried down the mountain because they were too tired.
After having dinner and a quick wash, they went to sleep without even waiting for a bedtime story.
It was impossible for her to wake up in the middle of the night to listen to a story.
She even fell into a light snoring, and Qi Wangfei, hearing it from the side, couldn't help but laugh, "This child is exhausted. All right, let's pack up and rest."
After a good night's sleep, the next day was sunny again.
The weather had been overcast the previous day, and they thought it might rain.
In the end, it didn’t, and today turned bright and sunny.
Seeing the clear sky, Qi Wangfei was quite pleased.
She got up early and started organizing everything because they were going back to the residence today. They also planned to stop by the Song residence to visit family and introduce Suisui.
Since they needed to hurry back to the city, they had breakfast and packed up to head down the mountain.
After a fun-filled afternoon yesterday, Song Kuan was feeling quite happy. However, thinking about going back to classes with the tutor made the young boy feel a little down.
Despite his gentlemanly appearance, he was actually not very good at studying.
However, when he found out he could share a carriage with Suisui back to the city, he became excited again.
The carriage swayed gently as it went down the mountain and into the city, finally arriving at the Song residence just before noon.
The Song residence was located on Xuanwu Street, not far from Zhuque Street where the Qi’s residence was.
Qi Wangfei had sent someone back early to deliver the message that they would be visiting.
So, the Song residence was already prepared.
Upon receiving the news that they had arrived, the old matriarch, Madam Song, personally led the people to welcome her daughter back home.
Once Qi Wangfei and Suisui, along with Zhou Shi and Song Kuan, got off the carriage, Madam Xie brought people over to greet them. Qi Wangfei returned the greetings and then led everyone toward the courtyard.
After taking their seats, Qi Wangfei noticed her mother’s dark circles and gently asked, "Mother, have you not been sleeping well these past few days?"
Madam Song didn’t hide it, lightly sighing, "I don’t know what the Ministry of War has been so busy with. Your father hasn’t returned for two days. I’m worried if his old bones can handle it."
Master Song was the deputy minister of the Ministry of War, and the marquis of Fuguo intended to retire at home in the next couple of years, so a series of work transitions were ongoing.
Of course, this process involved other government duties as well.
Master Song was not young either; he was already over fifty.
So, it was understandable that the old matriarch was worried.
After Qi Wangfei comforted her mother with a few kind words, the old matriarch nodded with a smile. Then her gaze turned to Suisui.
She was incredibly curious about this child.
When Suisui first arrived in the capital, Qi Wangfei sent a message back to say that she would be raising another child, and the old matriarch was immediately curious about her.
The information sent back by Qi Wangfei was not complete, and the old matriarch didn’t want to inquire further for fear of gossip.
Now that she saw the child, her curiosity was only heightened.
Looking at the little girl’s round eyes, the old matriarch’s expression stiffened for a moment, and her heart skipped a beat.
She wanted to ask but was worried it might not be good for the child to hear, so she quickly adjusted herself and smiled, "So this is Suisui? Come here, let your grandmother have a look."
Although the old matriarch’s expression had been a bit odd earlier, she adjusted quickly and meant no harm.
Upon hearing this, Suisui looked up at her mother and, receiving Qi Wangfei's approval, walked over obediently. "Hello, grandmother, I am Suisui."
Her soft voice, combined with her round eyes and adorable expression, instantly melted the old matriarch’s heart.
Even though she had some previous concerns, she instinctively felt that it was impossible for this child to be anything but good.
She reached out to lovingly pat Suisui's head, smiling as she asked her how she had been eating, sleeping, and if she was having fun.
These were all ordinary inquiries for a child.
Suisui answered each question cutely.
After asking a few questions, the old matriarch signaled for someone to bring out a box of gifts for Suisui.
Of course, Suisui was hesitant to accept and instinctively turned to her mother.
Seeing the little girl’s slightly panicked expression, Qi Wangfei smiled at her, her voice soothing, "This is a gift from your grandmother for your first meeting. Suisui, you can accept it."
Zhou Shi, standing nearby, also encouraged, "Yes, yes, it’s from your grandmother. Just accept it. Your second aunt also prepared some gifts, and your eldest aunt…"
When she mentioned the eldest aunt, Zhou Shi hesitated for a moment and then explained with a smile, "Your eldest aunt hasn’t been feeling well, so she’ll come to play with Suisui another day when she’s better. Is that alright?"
►►CLICK HERE FOR ADVANCE CHAPTERS◄◄"IF YOU LIKE THE TRANSLATIONS, CONSIDER SUPPORTING US ON PATREON."
Comments
Post a Comment