Chapter 87 In the days that followed, Xie Zhuo and…

In the following days, Xie Zhuo and Chisong were so busy they barely had time to breathe.

Xie Baoqiong often didn't see Xie Zhuo all day long, and they rarely had time together. The last time he ran into Xie Zhuo was when he went out to scout locations at night and bumped into him returning with stars in his arms, and he got a long lecture from him.

As for Chishong, he was even more elusive, appearing only briefly and never returning.

Xie Rongjing, who was just as idle as him, also took on some tasks, leaving him as the only one who appeared to be doing nothing.

The courtyard suddenly became quiet. The Su family had sent someone to deliver a visiting card, inviting them to their residence under the pretext of Xie Baoqiong.

However, since everyone was busy, it wouldn't be appropriate for Xie Baoqiong to visit alone, so the matter was eventually dropped.

With the other key figures in the courtyard nowhere to be seen, Xie Baoqiong naturally became the new queen.

With no one watching, Xie Baoqiong put the search for the real culprit on her agenda.

When Xie Zhuo caught the returning "cat" on the wall of the courtyard for the third time, he finally turned cold.

With a cold expression, he caught the figure that jumped off the wall, but instead of gently brushing it aside as he had done the previous two times, he carried the person back to the room.

Xie Zhuo put down the "cat" that had settled in its arms, took a step forward, and blocked the person in front of the wall.

Even after Xie Baoqiong's back pressed against the cool wall, she only looked up at Xie Zhuo with a strange expression, her sensitive nose failing to detect any impending storm.

Xie Zhuo's expressionless gaze fell on that face that resembled his own but had an added air of bewilderment.

The stains, picked up from somewhere while playing, clung to his childish face in scattered smudges, while the wispy strands of hair on his head swayed in the wind, making him look just like a patterned raccoon dog.

According to his colleagues, this kind of cat is used to running away from home, often causing him great distress and headaches.

Xie Zhuoyuan had only heard about it as an amusing anecdote, but when it happened to him, he realized that it was truly unpleasant to experience.

His colleague's tearful lament struck him through the passage of time.

“My son Ta Xue has always been pampered. He only eats the belly meat of the best sea bass. What will we do if he goes out and gets hungry?”

"There are so many stray cats outside. Ta Xue has never been in a fight before. What if she can't beat them and gets bullied?"

"My snow-covered pet is so beautiful, what if someone has malicious intentions?"

...

Although Xiao Bao isn't a picky eater, although Xiao Bao only ran away for an hour or two, although Xiao Bao is exceptionally skilled, although Xiao Bao is very clever...

However, all of this, though, cannot outweigh a single "but".

He couldn't bear the possibility of that happening.

Xie Zhuo straightened his tone, his eyes coldly fixed on Xie Baoqiong, who was lazily yawning:

"Stand still."

Xie Baoqiong straightened up, but reached out her hand to Xie Zhuo: "Dad, I'm sleepy."

For the first time, Xie Zhuo did not readily accept Xie Baoqiong's outstretched hand. His arms hung limply at his sides, and he spoke with a stern face:

"Dad's sleepy too."

"Then let's go back to sleep early." Xie Baoqiong said, raising her hand to rub her eyes.

Before his hand could even touch his eyes, Xie Zhuo grabbed his wrist and pulled him away, then took out a handkerchief and wiped his smeared face.

The clean handkerchief was stained black. Xie Zhuo realized he had lost his earlier composure, pinched his now-pale cheek, and softly scolded:

"You're used to manipulating your father."

The hand that had been pinching his face for a while before letting go, and by the time Xie Baoqiong came to her senses, Xie Zhuo had already regained his cold demeanor and reminded him to stand properly.

The stone, bewildered by the human's change of expression, stood there in shock.

"Qiong'er, do you know why you're standing here?" Xie Zhuo suppressed the pity in his heart. He had already lost his composure, and if the pity in his heart overflowed, tonight's lesson would probably end inconclusively.

Fortunately, Xie Baoqiong nodded somewhat in agreement, though her words, though heartfelt, were not entirely cooperative:

"I know, Father told me to stand here."

That's right. Xie Zhuo controlled his emotions and tried to keep his tone calm:

Why did Father make you stand here?

Xie Baoqiong's eyes were filled with confusion as she stared at Xie Zhuo, hoping to find the answer on his face. She looked like an abandoned kitten with droopy eyes, looking pitiful.

Xie Zhuo remained silent, looking back at him indifferently.

“Because… I was caught by my father.” Xie Baoqiong hesitated before speaking.

The child still answered without question, but Xie Zhuo could tell from the child's deliberate pauses that the latter probably understood the reason but was still avoiding it.

His tone wasn't exactly harsh, but it was very firm:

"Qiong'er, you can't run away..." (This is a mistake.)

"Can't I even run away from Father?" Xie Baoqiong tilted her head slightly in confusion, her innocent eyes cutting off Xie Zhuo's words.

Xie Zhuo paused for a moment. Xie Baoqiong usually had a naive and immature air about him, but he also noticed that his child was quite quick-witted and perceptive at certain moments.

He is proud that his little one possesses these qualities, but sometimes he is troubled by them, like now.

Xie Zhuo carefully considered his words before speaking:

"That depends on what it is."

He was very happy, even hoping, that Xie Baoqiong would seek his protection, and if possible, that she could stay under his wing for life, protected from all the storms of life.

But it's obvious that this is impossible. He can solve some of Xie Baoqiong's problems, but in the long course of life, there are always some things that Xie Baoqiong needs to face on her own, such as today's conversation, and the matter of climbing over the wall to leave home.

"What happened today?" Xie Baoqiong refused to say what happened, but she had already stammered and pressed herself against him.

Xie Zhuo accepted the child's stickers with a clear conscience, but his words were still as cold as frost:

"No whining allowed."

Xie Baoqiong blinked, puzzled, and whispered, "Is this how you act cute?"

Xie Zhuo heard it clearly, but his expression remained composed. Then he heard the child's tender voice grow louder:

"Does being cute work on Daddy?"

A soft cheek pressed against my chest, and words of injustice whispered in my ear.

The continuation of bloodlines is miraculous; even the most closed and hardened heart will be able to flow freely because of it.

Xie Zhuo had never thought of him as someone who was so easily moved to tears. He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again, his gaze falling on that incredibly similar face, and a hint of tenderness inevitably crept into his eyes.

Fortunately, Xie Baoqiong was looking down at that moment and didn't see it, otherwise tonight's conversation would probably have ended inconclusively again.

"Qiong'er." Xie Zhu forced himself to harden his heart, grabbed Xie Baoqiong's shoulders, and pulled the distance between them.

Xie Zhuo knew that tonight's conversation had gone off-topic. Before he could even say a word, the child in front of him was already unhappy. He was the one who should be angry.

But he was clearly showing signs of weakness, and his words were no longer as cold and hard as before:

"Do you know how worried your father is that you're running around like this?"

"Worry?"

Xie Baoqiong repeated the word in a tone full of doubt.

When he was in Sishui Mountain, he also ran around the mountains and fields alone, but Xiaochun and Senior Xin would not use this word, nor would they do it like Xie Zhuo.

He would occasionally part ways with them for a longer period than he had been away from Xie Zhuo, but when they reunited, they would not show the same look in their eyes as Xie Zhuo.

"Yes, I'll be very worried about you. Not just me, but Jing'er too."

Xie Zhuo was already at a disadvantage in the battle, but the person he was facing was not an enemy, but the continuation of his bloodline, his child. Victory or defeat was never the thing he needed to care about the most.

"But I was only out for a short while." Not even as long as he took a nap.

Xie Baoqiong lowered her arms, her attitude softening.

"Father knows, Father also knows Xiaobao is very capable..." Xie Zhu cut off any possibility of Xie Baoqiong's explanation, half-squatting down to look Xie Baoqiong in the eye:

"We haven't found the group of people we encountered last time. I can't accept anything happening to you."

The moonlight shone on Xie Zhuo's eyes, and his intense and straightforward emotions were no longer concealed, burning like flames, leaving Xie Baoqiong, who already felt guilty for being successfully ambushed, speechless.

He fled from this overwhelming emotion as if he were escaping, since everything was almost over anyway, and he was destined not to be the one to receive it.

Stones can also crack from excessively high temperatures.

...

Seeing the person remain silent for a long time with their head down, Xie Zhuo reflected on which of his words had been too harsh. He then pulled the person into his arms, lowered his face, and gently pressed his forehead against the person's.

"Dad didn't scold you. Don't run around like that in the future, okay?"

But Xie Baoqiong slumped her head and leaned on Xie Zhuo's shoulder.

Xie Zhuo sighed inwardly, gently patted the person's back, and walked towards the house:

"Xiao Bao is the best boy. It's Dad's fault for scaring Xiao Bao with a stern face just now."

After watching over the person until they fell asleep, Xie Zhuo quietly left the room.

As soon as she pushed open the door, she bumped into a familiar figure: "Jing'er, why aren't you asleep yet?"

Xie Rongjing waited for Xie Zhuo to close the door before speaking, "Is Qiong'er asleep?"

Seeing Xie Zhuo nod, he added, "I was worried that Dad would scold someone until they cried, so I came over to comfort them."

"Am I really that fierce in your eyes?" Xie Zhuo teased.

Xie Rongjing glanced at Xie Zhuo from head to toe, remaining noncommittal.

"Alright, you've been very busy lately, you should go back and rest early." Xie Zhu shook his head and urged him to go and rest.

"Father, you should rest early too." Xie Rongjing glanced through the half-open window at the now quiet room and returned to the room next door.

Watching the figure disappear, Xie Zhuo walked alone to the stone bench in the courtyard and sat down.

Before long, another figure suddenly appeared on the opposite side of the stone table, holding a small wine cup in his hand.

Xie Zhuo glanced at it and said, "Lord Chishong has quite the refined taste."

Chishong took a sip of wine, and the wine in the shallow cup overflowed again in an instant: "Watching Lord Xie teach his son is quite interesting. He coaxes him without scolding him at all." No wonder he raised such a troublesome little brat.

Xie Zhuo didn't reply, as he couldn't refute that. Instead, he asked, "How's your situation going?"

Getting down to business, Chishong downed the wine in his cup in one gulp, and the cup disappeared from his hand: "The polluted water veins have been roughly identified and drawn up. You can talk to the officials in Luozhou City; I don't want to deal with those people."

“They’ve been quite cooperative these past few days, and I’ve had people keeping an eye on them, so there haven’t been any major problems.” Xie Zhuo paused for a moment, “It’s just… there’s some trouble with the prefect.”

"Oh? Even Lord Xie has times when he finds things troublesome." Seeing that things were progressing smoothly, Chishong had time to tease Xie Zhuo.

Xie Zhuo glanced at him: "Lord Chishong is quite capable. Why don't you come with me to the Prefect's Mansion in a couple of days?"

...

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Author's Note: I originally planned to write a long chapter with the later plot and release it together, as I felt this part of the story would be more coherent and enjoyable. However, I've been dealing with things that piled up while I was sick these past two days, so I haven't been able to write much. I'll try to make the next chapter longer and finish the Luozhou City part of the story (unless I haven't finished it, then never mind [pigeon]).