For Guan Zhiyue, the welcome ceremony at Nanding Foreign Languages ​​College was a perfect success, especially since the eyes of the students were shining with joy.

"Let's go! It's rare for us to leave the palace today, let's go to my house to change our clothes first, and then go shopping." Guan Zhiyue said to Li Qiji in a slightly coquettish tone.

Li Qiji put his left hand on his hip, revealing his arm, and gestured for Guan Zhiyue to link arms with him.

Guan Zhiyue looked up at Li Qiji and happily took his arm. The two of them headed towards the gate of the School of Foreign Languages ​​under everyone's gaze.

"With a wife like this, what more could a husband ask for?"

Lord Li stroked his beard, watching a couple walking towards the sunlight. What a blessing this perfect couple is for the Southern Pacification!

"I truly envy such an emperor and empress! If I had a wife like that, my life would be complete," said a young man standing nearby.

Many of the scholars were already married. After seeing the affection between the emperor and empress, and thinking about their own wives, they felt unbearably guilty. Many of them were poor scholars who had studied hard for more than ten years, only to find it all in vain and they were still nothing.

"Yue'er, where would you like to go for a stroll?"

Guan Zhiyue thought for a moment and said, "Let's go home first. I haven't seen my grandparents in a long time."

Li Qiji nodded knowingly and gestured to Hua Quan to prepare some gifts for the visit. After all, he was someone's son-in-law, so shouldn't he bring something for his father-in-law's family?

If you go empty-handed, wouldn't that give them something to use against you?

He is still the king of this country. If he doesn't set an example, how can others be expected to follow suit?

"Okay, let's go for a walk after we finish visiting them. I see the streets are quite lively today."

Guan Zhiyue had this intention, so how could she possibly let this good opportunity pass by! Of course, she wanted to have some fun, just like an ordinary modern couple or a newlywed couple.

The two of them agreed to go shopping and see a movie together. Although they could forget about movies in this day and age, they could still dream about going shopping!

——

Guan Mansion.

"Greetings, Your Majesty and Empress."

The guards standing at the gate, seeing the imperial carriage stop at their gate, quickly knelt down in unison to pay their respects. Li Qiji, without looking to the side, said, "Get up!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After the guards stood up, they stood in neat rows at the door. Guan Zhiyue and Li Qiji strode into the courtyard without needing to be announced.

Upon hearing the servant's report, the family steward, Uncle Guan, hurriedly ran towards Li Qiji, but he hadn't even reached the front yard yet!

Guan Zhiyue saw the butler, who was covered in sweat from running, and couldn't help but shout, "Uncle Guan, slow down!"

The man called Uncle Guan looked up and saw, to his surprise, the Emperor and Empress were heading towards the backyard!

"Oh dear, this old servant greets Your Majesty and Your Majesty the Empress. May Your Majesty be blessed and Your Majesty be blessed!" Uncle Guan knelt down with a thud.

Guan Zhiyue released Li Qiji's arm, quickly stepped forward to help Uncle Guan, who was kneeling on the ground, up, and said with a smile, "Uncle Guan, please get up."

Uncle Guan is fifty-four or fifty-five years old this year. He is a veteran who retired from the battlefield. Since there was no one left in his family, he was brought back by Guan Hongsheng to be his housekeeper.

The Guan family also had a female housekeeper, known as Sister-in-law Ming, who was married to Uncle Guan.

When the original owner's mother was alive, she treated this couple very well. The two of them regarded the Guan family mansion as their own home and were very loyal to the Guan family. They never had any disloyalty. A couple could have faked their relationship, but they still chose to be loyal.

"This old minister pays his respects to Your Majesty and Your Majesty the Empress."

"Your Majesty, please forgive me for being late in receiving you. Please do not blame me!" Guan Shang rushed over with He Shilian and immediately knelt before Li Qiji.

Li Qiji quickly stepped aside, bent down, and helped Guan Shang and He Shilian up. He said very respectfully, "Grandpa Guan, I apologize for disturbing you."

Guan Shang quickly waved his hand and said, "Your Majesty, you are exaggerating. Please take a seat!"

Li Qiji followed Guan Shang into the hall. He Shilian stepped forward and pulled Guan Zhiyue up and down, looking her over carefully. She said with great satisfaction, "Yue'er, it's been a long time. Grandmother missed you very much. I'm glad to see you're alright."

“Grandmother, I heard that you were captured by those Turkic bandits at the border a few days ago. I couldn’t sleep at night and kept eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist prayers, just praying that Buddha would bless you to be rescued as soon as possible.”

"My poor Yue'er! Now that Grandmother has seen this, she can finally rest easy."

Guan Zhiyue was being pulled by He Shilian's arm, at a loss for what to do. She had never expected her grandmother to be so emotional!

"Grandmother, don't worry. Look, I'm back safe and sound. Besides, Father is still here. What loss could I possibly suffer?" Guan Zhiyue said with a grin.

Upon hearing this, He Shilian's previously cheerful face instantly turned stern. "Hmph, don't mention your two older brothers and your father to me."

Guan Zhiyue blinked her big eyes, what was going on! What heinous things had her father and two brothers done to make their matriarch so angry?

"grandmother...."

"Hmph, if your father were capable, why would he let you get arrested? What was he doing?"

Guan Zhiyue: "..." Ah! This is way too much to ask of someone!!!

The group chatted about other mundane family matters, and Guan Zhiyue then playfully said she wanted to go shopping. The elderly couple couldn't connect with the two young people, and Guan Hongsheng and the two children were in a military camp on the outskirts of Beijing, so they had no choice but to let Guan Zhiyue and Li Qiji leave.

After changing into ordinary clothes, the two went out from the back of the Guan residence and wandered aimlessly through the streets like ordinary women and farmers.

Guan Zhiyue was like a little hamster, buying things along the way. She bought delicious food all the way, and not only that, she also mischievously wanted to share something with Li Qiji.

The streets were bustling, selling all sorts of things, including food, clothing, household items, toys, and even various acrobatic performances—everything was dazzling to behold.

"I didn't expect Beijing to be so much more lively than it was a few years ago," Guan Zhiyue couldn't help but exclaim.

Li Qiji looked at Guan Zhiyue, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "It's all thanks to you, Yue'er. If it weren't for you, the common people would still be living a precarious life!"

Guan Zhiyue sighed and said nothing, but felt that what Li Qiji said seemed to make sense.

The two walked and stopped, and when they reached the entrance of an alley, they heard voices, crying, pleas for mercy, and sighs coming from inside.

"What's going on?"

Li Qiji held his breath and listened carefully for a moment. He then raised his hand to his lips and pulled Guan Zhiyue behind him as a shield. He crouched down and glanced into the alley.

There were seven or eight fat men surrounding a woman.

The woman was holding a swaddled baby in her arms, and the faint sobs were coming from inside.

The woman was covered in mud, her hair was disheveled, and her face was stained with traces of blood and dirt. The skin exposed outside her clothes had turned bluish-purple.

"What's going on?" Guan Zhiyue couldn't see, so she could only tug at Li Qiji's clothes, signaling him to tell her what was happening.

Li Qiji gestured lightly, then explained the situation to Guan Zhiyue before saying, "You stay here and hide. I'll go clean up this trash."

Guan Zhiyue nodded to indicate that she understood. Li Qiji stood at the entrance of the alley, his posture upright like a god descending from the sky, and said in a deep and magnetic voice, "Under the emperor's nose, how dare you act recklessly?"

Upon hearing this, the seven or eight burly men all turned to look at Li Qiji, who was standing alone at the alley entrance. The eight burly men turned to face Li Qiji in unison, and in perfect unison, they all shook their well-developed pectoral muscles and biceps.

Li Qiji drew his soft sword directly from his waist, looked at the people in front of him, and a contemptuous smile appeared on his face, making everyone feel the mockery.

"Overestimating yourself!"

Eight muscular men swarmed forward and began a fierce battle in the narrow alley. Guan Zhiyue moved through the gap to the woman's side.

"My benefactor, I am nearing the end of my life. I hope you can raise my daughter. I..." The woman coughed repeatedly, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

“Benefactor, I have no family left, only this daughter who was born and has no family. I hope you can take good care of her.”

"Pfft~~"

Before the woman could finish speaking, before she could even look away, she had no strength left and collapsed to the ground, her eyes unable to close for a long time.

Guan Zhiyue was holding a baby in swaddling clothes. Didn't she check the almanac before going out?

This is like becoming a mother unexpectedly after leaving home, or Li Qiji becoming a father unexpectedly after leaving home!