Chapter 209 What medicine did he take?

"The Water Conservancy Commissioner?"

Li Yao looked bewildered. "Isn't the Ministry of Works always in charge of waterway management? Is this to establish a special water conservancy department?"

Where did Father get this information? Is it reliable?

Marquis Anping nodded, smiling confidently.

"Don't worry about where I got the information; it's absolutely reliable."

He moved closer to Li Yao and lowered his voice, saying, "The reason His Majesty established a special water conservancy office is because a petroleum deposit was discovered at a bend in the Bian River."

Li Yao's voice suddenly rose in surprise.

"Ket oil? Good heavens!"

"Shh!"

Marquis Anping gestured for silence.

Li Yao quickly covered his mouth, looked around, and moved closer to his son.

The father and son's heads were almost touching.

"If we really had kerosene, wouldn't our Great Chu army be even more powerful?"

"Yes, that's why His Majesty attaches great importance to this matter. But I've heard that the oil is located beneath the Bian River. To extract the oil, the Bian River must first be diverted."

Li Yao suddenly realized.

"Diverting the Bian River requires specialized design, digging canals to divert water, and the project is lengthy and complicated. No wonder a special government office was set up to handle this matter."

Li Yao looked at Marquis Anping with a hint of shock in his eyes.

From his teenage years, his father had been holding a sinecure in the Department of Military Affairs under the Ministry of War, only occasionally going there to make an appearance.

He spent the rest of his time traveling or buying antiques and collectibles, and never paid attention to affairs of state.

I never expected that my father would be able to find out such a core secret.

Marquis Anping continued, "With the new government office and His Majesty's attention to it, you can imagine that the Ministry of Revenue will definitely approve a lot of silver."

Such a long and complicated project is bound to involve a fair share of kickbacks.

More importantly, I heard that the Waterway Commissioner's official rank has been set at the fourth grade, and he will be responsible for verifying the transport of grain—that's real power!

"If you can get the job of the Water Envoy, you will naturally suppress that rebellious son Li Mu."

Then I can find an excuse to remove him from his position as heir apparent, and in the future I can hand over the Marquis's mansion to you.

"Then you'll be in charge of the entire Marquis's mansion. Why would you need to worry about something as trivial as Madam Sun's affairs?"

Li Yao was very excited, feeling his blood boil.

“Father is right, but our family has never been prominent. I was just a sixth-rank prefectural judge in Nanyang. To suddenly rise to the fourth rank, I’m afraid…”

Marquis Anping revealed a confident smile.

"Don't worry, I've already arranged everything. As long as the plan goes smoothly, the position of Water Envoy is yours alone..."

*Smack*

The candlelight inside the room crackled, drowning out the voices of the father and son.

The night grew deeper, and the moonlight was completely hidden behind the clouds at some point.

Li Nanke was preoccupied with persuading his father to run for officialdom, so he didn't sleep well at night and got up early.

She urged Zisu to braid two braids for her, tie on her favorite red hair ribbon, and ran to Fanghua Courtyard early in the morning.

But they ended up empty-handed.

Li Mu went out early in the morning with a basket on his back.

"Your father said it's getting colder and the first snow will fall soon, so he left early this morning with his painting basket on his back."

They said they were going to Crescent Moon Mountain to wait for the first snowfall.

Seeing Li Nanke's disappointed look, Song Yi quickly explained.

Li Nanke stomped her feet in disappointment.

"Is Father waiting for Xue, or is he avoiding me?"

Song Yi reached out and gently rubbed her little face, saying softly, "Actually, when you fell into the water and were bullied by the princess last time, your father was so heartbroken that he couldn't sleep for half the night."

He was starting to waver. "Ke'er, give him a little more time. Mother believes he will make a decision."

Li Nanke pouted and sighed.

That's all we can do.

"Let's go have breakfast with Grandma."

The mother and daughter went to the main courtyard to have breakfast with Madam He, and Li Yao came over to pay his respects.

"I returned home in a hurry yesterday and was discussing the Sun family matter with my elder brother. I didn't have time to pay my respects to you, Mother. Please forgive me."

The son brought his mother some top-quality Maojian tea from Nanyang. He picked it himself in the tea garden and watched it being processed. Mother, please try some.

Li Yao respectfully presented two boxes of tea.

Madam He had Sun Mama take the call and said to Li Yao with a smile, "Second son, you're so thoughtful."

“It is a son’s duty to be filial to his mother. Mother, you flatter me.”

Li Nanke watched as He Shi and Li Yao talked back and forth, his eyes darting around.

She hadn't noticed it before, but now she realized that the relationship between her grandmother and second uncle had always been lukewarm.

For example, right now, my grandmother looks gentle and loving, but she doesn't seem as at ease with her father as she does with him.

My second uncle appears respectful and filial, but that's all he is; he's not as affectionate as my father is towards my grandmother.

Li Nanke couldn't help but wonder if his grandmother knew in her heart that his second uncle wasn't her biological son.

She then dismissed her own guess. If her grandmother knew that her second uncle was not her biological son, why didn't she go to find her own child? And why had she never mentioned this to her father?

In a daze, he heard Li Yao say again: "Regarding the Sun family matter, I think Father and Elder Brother handled it very well."

Sun is malicious and almost harmed Ke'er. She is truly unworthy to be a wife of the Li family. My son will personally deliver the divorce papers to the yamen for stamping and registration in a little while.

As Li Yao spoke, he turned around and bowed to Song Yi.

“What Sun did was indeed hateful. I apologize to my sister-in-law and Ke’er on her behalf.”

Even now, Song Yi still feels lingering fear when she thinks about how Sun harmed Ke'er.

But Sun is Sun, and Li Yao is Li Yao. She knew she shouldn't take her anger out on him, especially since he had apologized so humbly.

Song Yi pursed her lips. "My second brother is far away in Nanyang, so this isn't his fault."

A hint of guilt appeared on Li Yaowen's gentle face.

“Sister-in-law is very generous. Ke’er is my own niece. As her second uncle, I will love her even more in the future.”

He chuckled as he looked at Li Nanke and pulled a jade pendant from his pocket.

"This is a piece of Dushan jade that I brought from Nanyang. Ke'er, would you like to play with it?"

The jade pendant is transparent in color and has a warm and delicate texture. It is carved with a pattern of five blessings arriving at the door.

Eight-year-old Li Nanke naturally didn't understand the value of the jade pendant, but she had seen good things in her dreams, and this jade looked very valuable.

Li Nanke didn't answer, but tilted her head and looked at Li Yao carefully.

Unlike his father's handsome appearance, Li Yao was more refined and gentle, and his eyes always held a gentle smile when he looked at people.

Moreover, he was calm and composed in his actions and thorough in his work, which is why he was always well cared for by his grandfather.

But... something's not right, something's very wrong!

No matter how meticulous he was in his actions, she had already overheard outside the study last night that Li Yao had no intention of divorcing Sun Shi.

After a night, he seemed to suddenly understand something.

What medicine did Marquis Anping give him?

"What? Ke'er doesn't want to accept her second uncle's jade pendant, but is she still blaming her second uncle and aunt?"

Li Yao looked at Li Nanke with a smile, his voice tinged with guilt.

Li Nanke snapped out of her daze, reached out and took the jade pendant, then obediently curtsied and thanked Li Yao.

"Thank you, Second Uncle, but..."