Sitting in the place of honor, King Yu, who was eating elegantly, glanced at Lu Ye, cleared his throat, and said, "Lu Ye, this King wishes to be the godfather to your four children." A godfather was also a father, and it could somewhat fill the void in his heart.
Upon hearing this, the sounds of bowls and chopsticks abruptly ceased again.
Except for Granny Zhong, who understood the intricacies, and Grannies Wu, Du Min, and Feng Pingyuan who inexplicably disliked King Yu, everyone else secretly marveled. The four little masters were indeed little lucky stars. As soon as they were born, a prince wanted to voluntarily be their godfather. Wouldn't those four little masters then be princesses? Wouldn't they then be servants to the princesses?
My goodness, this elevation in status was several levels higher.
However, Lu Ye's internal alarm bells were ringing. Was this dramatic man trying to snatch his cubs? His cubs only needed him as a father; they didn't need any godfathers or wet godfathers. "I apologize, King Yu, my cubs have no intention of recognizing a godfather."
King Yu's eyes narrowed, and he slammed his chopsticks onto the wooden table, "Recognize him or not, you must! This King is determined to be your cubs' godfather, and that's final!"
The scene immediately fell into silence.
Everyone stared blankly at the scene unfolding before them, their breathing becoming cautious.
Lu Huo had just taken a bite of a biscuit. Before he could fully bite down, the biscuit dangled from his mouth, still connected by a thread.
His great-grandfather was truly bold, daring to refuse King Yu on the spot.
It was said that when King Yu went mad, he would even dare to beat himself.
Seeing the fiery glares exchanged between the two and their fists clenched so tight they creaked, Ji Chenghe immediately burst into laughter and smoothed things over. "Oh, Your Highness King Yu, Brother Lu, recognizing godparents is a major event. It requires the consent of the cubs' mother, Sister Sheng. How about Brother Lu asks Sister Sheng for her opinion tonight, what do you say?"
A moment later, both men nodded with cold expressions.
"Then, let's eat first. Come, come, eat! This meal is so delicious!" Ji Chenghe enthusiastically invited them.
He had figured it out. These two stubborn donkeys were only as docile as lambs in front of little Sister Sheng.
Therefore, if little Sister Sheng agreed to the cubs recognizing godparents, Brother Lu would naturally agree as well. If little Sister Sheng did not agree, King Yu would surely sulk, but he would never do anything to harm little Sister Sheng. However, if Brother Lu confronted him so directly and angered King Yu, King Yu would definitely not let him off easily.
Thus, to solve the problem, one had to grasp the key point.
Ji Chenghe felt quite clever. As he ate, his eyebrows danced, and he appeared spirited and full of pride.
That evening, Lu Ye discussed the matter with Bai Sheng.
Bai Sheng smiled and looked at Lu Ye, "Husband, what harm do you see in King Yu becoming our cubs' godfather?"
Lu Ye thought for a moment. He couldn't quite articulate it. It seemed there were no disadvantages, but rather many advantages.
In fact, the only thing he couldn't accept was King Yu's too-deep involvement in his and Bai Sheng's family, which inexplicably gave him a sense of unease.
But, if it was just because of his own insecurity that he would deprive his children of the right to be genuinely loved by more people and affect their fortune, wouldn't that be too selfish?
Lu Ye hugged Bai Sheng. "I'm sorry, my dear. I was too petty. King Yu becoming the cubs' godfather has many benefits and no disadvantages. I was just... just... afraid he would affect our relationship."
Bai Sheng gently stroked Lu Ye's cheek with her hand, her gaze tender yet firm. "He will never affect our relationship. As long as you and I are steadfast in our commitment to each other, in fact, no one can affect our relationship. If you love me, then trust me."
Lu Ye raised his head and looked at Bai Sheng affectionately. "My dear, I trust you. You are my one and only, now and forever. Besides you, no other woman can enter my heart."
Bai Sheng: "Husband, it's the same in my heart. Unless you change your mind. Husband, if, I mean, hypothetically, one day... you fall in love with someone else, I will turn and leave without hesitation, and I will take the four cubs with me."
Lu Ye's eyes immediately reddened. "Besides you, I love no one else. Don't you dare speak of leaving me again, not even hypothetically!"
Hearing Bai Sheng mention leaving, Lu Ye felt his heart shatter.
Bai Sheng smiled playfully, "If you fall in love with someone else, I will leave. My affection is only for those who are worthy."
"You! You're still saying it!" Lu Ye was so angry that he silenced her with his lips.
At breakfast the next morning, the result King Yu received was that Bai Sheng had agreed to become the godfather to the four cubs.
Since Bai Sheng agreed, could Lu Ye disagree?
King Yu glanced at Lu Ye, looking triumphant. He immediately had A Qiu bring out four heavy, golden longevity locks and personally placed them around the necks of the four cubs.
This dramatic man... this was all planned, wasn't it! Lu Ye rolled his eyes at him.
Fortunately, the four cubs were held horizontally by their wet nurses, and the longevity locks rested on their chests without drooping. Otherwise, the cubs' heads would definitely not be able to lift up.
After all, these longevity locks were made with great sincerity, truly showcasing King Yu's wealth, extravagance, and the foolish generosity of a wealthy landlord.
Each longevity lock had characters melted onto it, namely "One, Two, Three, Four."
This way, the four cubs wouldn't get confused when they wore them later.
Grannies Wu and Du Min exchanged a knowing glance and said nothing. King Yu was indeed treating Xue Sheng and her cubs well now. Who knew if he would... in the future?
Alas, that was a matter for the future. What would happen in the future would be addressed in the future.
Granny Wu banished the worries about the future from her mind.
The servants in the house once again marveled at the four little ones, their chubby necks adorned with shimmering gold, as they had fallen into a nest of good fortune.
With the protection of the little masters, they would surely be blessed with abundant fortune in the future.
The capital, the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace.
"Zheng Wei!" The Empress shouted angrily as soon as she stepped over the threshold of the Eastern Palace.
Zheng Wei, the chief guard of the Eastern Palace, immediately came out and knelt before the Empress with one knee bent, his fists clasped. "Your humble servant Zheng Wei pays his respects to Her Majesty the Empress!"
With the Crown Prince still in the Imperial Clan Court, the Empress frequently came to the Eastern Palace to oversee affairs.
The more than twenty elite guards she had dispatched to Red Bud Hill had been gone for fifteen days, and not a single piece of news had been sent back. Traveling from the capital to Tianshui Town by fast horse took only five or six days. Even with time for travel back and forth, this was more than enough.
These servants were too audacious to be so negligent in their duties!
"Has there been any news from those more than twenty elite guards?" The Empress suppressed her anger as much as possible.
Zheng Wei's face paled in panic. "Not... not yet. Perhaps they encountered some unforeseen circumstances."
The Empress was furious. "Unforeseen circumstances? Those are my meticulously trained elite guards! There are more than twenty of them, and they were only sent to kill a few commoners. What unforeseen circumstances could there be?!"
Zheng Wei immediately said, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Your humble servant sent carrier pigeons yesterday, asking those in Taosha Commandery to quickly investigate the reason. We should know the outcome within three days at the latest."