Chapter 702: Chapter 702: Plan Ahead
Xue Changgui shuddered and cautiously replied, "The master’s kindness to me is as heavy as a mountain, without the master, I would have been thrown into the Mass Burial Mound to feed the wild dogs long ago."
Xue Ping leaned forward, staring into Xue Changgui’s eyes, not missing a single expression, "Now, I am asking you to do something, are you willing?"
Xue Changgui immediately knelt down and bowed, "My life belongs to the master, just command me, even if it costs me my life, I will surely handle the matter you entrust."
"Good, truly my most trusted man." Xue Ping slapped the desk and slowly revealed a smile.
He stood up, walked over to him, and personally helped him up with both hands, "Yuyu has now been driven out of the Xue Residence, and it is unknown how he is doing outside. From today onwards, you shall follow him, protect him, and take him far away."
Xue Changgui looked up in surprise, "Master?"
How come this does not sound like the master who is ruthless when driving people away?
Xue Ping squinted, a sharp gleam crossing his eyes, "No need to ask more, just do as I say."
Xue Changgui quickly bowed his head, "Yes, I will listen to everything the master says."
Xue Ping squinted for a while, making sure there was no problem with the person, before he finally exhaled deeply.
Turning around, he picked up a box that was placed on the desk and handed it to Xue Changgui, saying, "Nobody in the mansion must know about this. Sigh, Yuyu has never suffered in his life, you should go now, don’t even prepare a travel bag, just leave through the back door."
At this moment, he was like an old father caring for his son, showing a tender fatherly heart.
Xue Changgui, puzzled, took the box hesitantly.
Seeing into his thoughts, Xue Ping directly said, "I will take care of your parents, wife, and children for you. As long as I live, they won’t be mistreated a single day, go now."
Xue Changgui felt completely reassured, he held the box and directly knelt down to bow deeply, banged his head in respect, and without another word, stood up and walked quickly out of the study towards the back door.
He knew his own master was worried that the third young master wouldn’t fare well outside, thus he hurried to go after him.
After walking far from the study, he finally opened the box and found it was filled with silver notes and scattered broken silver, all very well-prepared.
Back in the study, Xue Ping fell back into the shadows, exhausted, worried about how the person would handle it, yet unable to harden his heart fully.
All he could do for his son was just this much.
He muttered to himself, "Son, today your father teaches you the last lesson, life is more important than anything else, if..."
What if, he didn’t say, but in his mind, if the Xue Family was safe, this son would naturally be acknowledged back. If the Xue Family was in trouble, then it would be as if the Xue Family had never had this son...
Inside Star Palace.
The Emperor, after hearing the report, coldly said, "The old rogue really plays good tricks, does he really think I won’t mind? Let him be for now, and when the day comes, what does removing him from the family tree matter?"
Mocking over, he ordered, "Since the old rogue is already aware, send a message; let Cao De and Shen Shi be prepared to act quickly."
"Yes." A person in the darkness quietly disappeared from the hall.
The Emperor picked up a piece of paper from the desk, brought it to the candle to ignite it. The handwriting, strikingly similar to that of Xue Ping’s, burned quickly and turned into ashes in the flame.
After handling the official matters, the Emperor glanced at the sky; it was getting late, just as he was about to leave, his eye caught the sight of the book "Complete Collection of Encouragement-to-Learn Poems."
Hmm, there it is, he hadn’t yet closely examined the grand plans and the century-long child rearing strategies of his Little Concubine, very well then.
He sat down again, opened the book, and began to read page by page, continuously marveling, thinking to himself that his Little Concubine was truly adept at losing herself in trifles.
Look at this, the plans for the unborn child from age three onwards, what to play with each year, even down to the month, were all carefully noted—rowing on the water, slingshotting, collecting bird eggs, and so forth, everything was included, even turning the Imperial Garden into a playground, specifying what could be played where.
She even made projections in there, that when the child reached a certain age, they could learn to ice skate together once the ice in Huaqing Pool was solid enough in winter. She particularly urged the child to grow up quickly because if she couldn’t wait, she might just learn it herself.
Ha~ his Little Concubine, truly intriguing, definitely capable of learning on her own.
If she dares to learn, he could have people fill in Huaqing Pool right then and there!
The Emperor read with gritted teeth, his heart pounding and his head throbbing, yet in the end, he also found it extremely amusing, both annoying and funny, feeling quite helpless.
It wasn’t until Zhang Qing came to report, entering to tell him that the Main Hall of Canglan Court had been arranged, and his Little Concubine was waiting for him to join her there.
Only then did the Emperor close the notebook, sighing in his heart.
The book was definitely not to be returned to her, better to keep it with him for now to see what happens.
What should he do about this?
His worst fear had come true, his Little Concubine not only wanted to have fun herself but also intended to include their unborn child in her plans.
Moreover, she took it very seriously, treating play as a serious matter, this he saw very clearly yet didn’t understand her rationale.
Previously it was his mother-in-law who was troubled, now it was his turn.
His Little Concubine was already enough of a headache for him, if she taught another to follow her example, he truly didn’t know what to do.
He suddenly remembered when initially, his Little Concubine promised him ten things, now nine remained. In the past, no matter how much he wanted to reprimand her, he never used those nine promises, preferring to save them for a critical moment, and wasn’t this critical moment now upon him?
The Emperor walked and thought all the way, calculating how to use those nine promises, and calculated over and over but they were still not enough, his Little Concubine had too many ideas...
Upon entering the gate of Canglan Court, and without having walked far, he saw someone waiting for him.
His heart warmed instantaneously, and he quickly walked towards her, thinking of taking off the cloak on his body to wrap around her, meanwhile saying, "Why are you waiting here? How long have you been here? Are you cold?"
Lian Hua shook her head, her eyes twinkling like stars, "My Lord, I’m not cold, I’m actually quite warm, really, touch and see."
As she spoke, she stopped the Emperor’s movement, placing his large palm on her face.
The Emperor pinched gently, feeling the warm and tender skin, and then felt reassured.
Lian Hua then continued with a smile, "Steward Zhang left already, and I knew you would be coming back soon, indeed, I timed it just right. I came out not too long ago, don’t believe me? Ask Xiao Linzi."
The Emperor looked toward Xiao Linzi.
Xiao Linzi immediately said, "To His Majesty, indeed, the master had just come out, having drunk half a teapot of hot water before venturing out, warm and sweating all over, restless, thus she paced circles in the Side Hall. It seemed as if she found the Side Hall lacking, murmuring many words, her voice was too low and from a distance, this servant could only hear something about wanting to change something, the rest was unclear. Just then Nanny Qi said, ’Girl, if you want to go out, then go, you’re making this old servant dizzy...’"
Lian Hua sheepishly interrupted, "Oh, Xiao Linzi, that’s enough, no more talking."