"Your Majesty, at noon today, the Divine Martial General left Baiyun Mountain with a child."
An hidden guard, who had been monitoring Xiao Shan, reported in the imperial study.
Emperor Mingde looked haggard, with dark circles under his eyes. Ever since he learned that Ling Yao had disappeared, he hadn't slept a wink.
"A child? What child?"
After so long, there was still no news of his imperial sister, and Xiao Shan had made no move, merely settling at the foot of the mountain without searching for her. Now, what did this have to do with a child?
"This subordinate dared not approach and could not see clearly. It looked like a little girl, very young, only reaching the General's abdomen."
It was a joke. The last person who got too close had their hamstring cut by the General and was crippled. Did he dare get closer?
"She seemed intimate with the General, clinging to his arm and acting spoiled. The General didn't get angry and even picked her up."
Fearing the Emperor's reprimand for his incompetence, the hidden guard tried to be as detailed as possible to show he hadn't been lazy and had indeed been monitoring diligently. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Emperor Mingde was somewhat impatient, yet he couldn't understand where this child came from. Bei Yue and Bei Shang were so young, and he had no other daughters. Why would he inexplicably hold a child?
Could he have some illegitimate children?
"Continue to follow from a distance. Do not disturb them for now."
He believed his imperial sister would eventually appear. How could she abandon Xiao Shan?
Therefore, as long as they followed Xiao Shan, that would suffice.
...
Xiao Shan and Ling Yao had left. She insisted on going to Xiangshan Water Pavilion to find those two little brats.
Having lived two lives, the first was burdened by his background, and this life was also due to her background, causing them to never be able to freely and leisurely see the world.
Now, having shed everything, he would follow her in everything.
However, there was no need to rush to see those two little brats. Qing He had already returned to the Tang Sect. With so many people at Xiangshan Water Pavilion, they were practically worshipping the two little ones, living a happy life.
He would rather take his little girl around first.
"Then let's go to Suiye first, to see where you were born."
She was very curious about what kind of place it was, what kind of people his parents were, and what kind of environment he grew up in.
"What's there to see? It's the same as any other village. After the flood, everyone left."
Actually, Xiao Shan had no feelings for that place. The most crucial thing was that the village lacked human warmth, and the village chief was not a good person, only knowing how to amass wealth. It was truly not as comfortable as living in Bozi Village.
He had never returned since he joined the army.
His parents and sister had all died in that flood. He was working for wealthy families outside. When he heard the news and returned, more than half the villagers had drowned, and the village chief had also drowned. The remaining people had fled, and the entire village was as quiet as a ghost town.
The reason for this was that the officials had embezzled money, and the water channels and sluice gates were damaged without repair, which led to the flood that submerged several villages.
He searched for a long time and only found his sister's body. The bodies of other villagers were also incomplete, gnawed by wolves from the mountain.
It was truly tragic.
After burying his sister and erecting a cenotaph for his parents, he left with three graves.
Later, when he met the conscription officer, the man said that the army provided enough food, so he joined the army.
Suiye County, Baiyang Village, was truly not a good place.
"I want to see it! Regardless of anything else, just the fact that the Divine Martial General came from there makes it no ordinary place!"
"Such sweet words!" Xiao Shan was amused by her.
"Then do you want to taste it?"
Ling Yao pouted.
Her lips were as tender and pink as candy, and her young, round face was as radiant as the moon. She had been so cute and charming when she was young. He had never seen her like this in his past or present life.
So, was this also a form of compensation?
"Don't do that." Xiao Shan tapped her forehead.
Her skin was so tender that it immediately turned red.
His grip was too strong.
Ling Yao covered her forehead, feeling wronged, and refused to move.
"Raising a daughter isn't this much trouble. What do you want this time?"
Xiao Shan proactively crouched down. "Come, I'll carry you."
Ling Yao didn't move. People passing by on the street would glance at them, thinking it was a child having a tantrum with her father.
However, this father and daughter looked nothing alike. How could such a fierce man have such a cute and beautiful daughter?
She must have taken after her mother, but who knew whose rose had been planted on cow dung.
Feeling uncomfortable with being stared at, Xiao Shan stood up and stood beside Ling Yao, blocking the line of sight. He bent down and asked, "My dear lady, what exactly do you want?"
She dared not be his "dear lady." He was her ancestor.
"A kiss."
"Impossible!"
"I knew it. Men like women with big chests and big butts. I have no attraction for you, and you won't even touch me."
Xiao Shan almost spat out a mouthful of blood.
With the face of a little child speaking like a resentful woman, how could he touch her? He had no special preferences!
"Be good, we're on the street. Don't make a scene."
"Look at your rough face, like tree bark. Do you think I'm fond of it!" Ling Yao rolled her eyes at him and walked forward.
Xiao Shan was angered. He was a bit dark, a bit rough, and compared to her, the contrast was a bit stark, but he wasn't like tree bark, was he?
This little thing was even more difficult to deal with than when she grew up.
Xiao Shan touched his face. Should he start applying some lanolin to nourish it, or would he become even rougher by the time he was forty?
He had only stopped for a moment. When he looked ahead, the little thing was actually chatting with a pale scholar and had accepted a candy from him.
"Don't eat anything randomly!"
His voice was stern. He hurried over and slapped the candy out of her hand.
The pale scholar was stunned. "This, this brother, I was merely..."
Then, he stopped, watching the man crouch down and kiss the little girl's cheek.
What was this man doing? In broad daylight, it was indecent.
"Brother, as the saying goes, a grown daughter avoids her father..."
But it seemed no one was paying attention to him. The father and daughter in front of him walked past him hand in hand.
Then, the little girl looked back and said sweetly, "He's not my father, he's my child groom."
The pale scholar was dumbfounded.
Hadn't this little girl been ruined for nothing?
Child groom.
She could really twist things.
Xiao Shan held the small, boneless hand in his, feeling powerless.
Forget it, child groom wasn't bad. He was truly afraid that she would suddenly call out "Dad!" on the street.
If he angered her, this little thing was truly capable of doing it.
Capital City
Emperor Mingde was furious every day listening to the hidden guard's reports.
The General bought a pinwheel for the little girl.
The General had his ear twisted by the little girl but didn't get angry at all.
The General carried the little girl on his shoulders to watch a play.
The General and the little girl left the inn. He asked the innkeeper, and they had stayed in the same room.
Emperor Mingde gritted his teeth, "Xiao Shan! What in the world are you doing?"
Are you really not looking for my imperial sister anymore?