Chapter 357 Arrogant Protective of His Child (First Update)

Marquis Xuanping was superior to everyone else in both rank and status. Once he was recognized, no one dared to stay in the shed to avoid the rain anymore, and they all rushed out with their umbrellas.

Everyone rushed to hold umbrellas for Marquis Xuanping, but Marquis Xuanping glanced at them impatiently. The rain was already heavy and he couldn't see the road clearly, and now this group of people was blocking his way.

"Get out of the way!"

With a sharp shout, the crowd trembled at the murderous aura that he had inadvertently unleashed, and they all retreated to the sides!

The shacks here are one after another, and even Marquis Xuanping doesn't know which one is Xiao Liulang's residence.

But ultimately, it wasn't this place where this group of people rushed out all at once.

He walked to the side.

“They’ve rebelled,” Xiao Liulang said weakly, clinging to his back.

Marquis Xuanping paused, then ran off in the other direction. When he reached the third shed, Xiao Liulang said, "We've arrived."

The shack was rudimentary, without even a decent table. The bed was made of benches and planks pieced together. If Grand Tutor Zhuang were here, he would be heartbroken at how terrible the living conditions were for his grandson.

When Marquis Xuanping was fighting, he spent ten or fifteen days lying in the trenches, gnawing on tree bark and eating grass roots. He slept in cowsheds and squatted in stables. His son should not have been spoiled. He should have been thrown into the mud pit to make him crawl and roll around.

He couldn't understand why Princess Xinyang raised Xiao Heng so meticulously, treating him like a porcelain doll.

It was pretty, but it couldn't withstand even a single finger from him; he was afraid he'd crush the little thing to death if he even touched it.

There were two beds in the shed, one with a mosquito net and the other without.

"Where is your bed?" asked Marquis Xuanping.

Xiao Liulang pointed to the one outside that didn't have a mosquito net.

Marquis Xuanping carried the person to the bedside, thought for a moment, and then called over an official outside: "Bring a chair over!"

Yes! Yes!

A vice minister from the Ministry of Revenue agreed and personally went to the shed used as the main hall office to bring out a bamboo chair.

When Marquis Xuanping carried the man into the room, everyone had a vague idea of ​​his identity. When Marquis Xuanping placed him on a chair, that guess was confirmed.

Xiao Liulang.

It really was Xiao Liulang!

It was already strange that Marquis Xuanping would appear here on a rainy night, but it was even stranger that he had carried Xiao Liulang back on his back.

Judging from Xiao Liulang's appearance, he seems to be injured.

What exactly happened?

Everyone was completely bewildered. Apart from the official who brought the chair into the room, no one else dared to enter rashly.

The Minister of Revenue and Prince An approached.

"Lord Xiao..."

Before the Minister of Revenue could finish his greeting, the Marquis of Xuanping interrupted him coldly: "Wooden bucket! Hot water!"

The Minister of Revenue opened his mouth in astonishment: "...Yes, I will take care of it right away."

Strictly speaking, the Minister of Revenue is not a subordinate of Marquis Xuanping. However, Marquis Xuanping is a first-rank military marquis personally appointed by His Majesty, with a distinguished status and noble title. He is not someone that a third-rank minister can neglect.

The Minister of Revenue had a brand-new, unused large wooden tub brought over and ordered the patrol officer to boil water.

They came here for disaster relief and farming, not for a vacation or to enjoy life. Therefore, they did not bring any servants to wait on them. They paid for their own meals, which were prepared and delivered by the villagers.

The remaining trivial matters were handled by officials of lower rank.

While waiting for the hot water, Marquis Xuanping began to help Xiao Liulang remove his wet clothes.

Xiao Liulang looked resistant. Marquis Xuanping turned to Prince An and the group of officials standing at the door looking around and said, "He's shy. You all go out!"

No one dared to disobey, and they wisely left.

Prince An asked, "Do you need any help?"

"No need," Marquis Xuanping refused without hesitation.

Perhaps everyone here would give Prince An face, but Marquis Xuanping would not. It's not that he has a problem with Prince An; it's true that he and Grand Tutor Zhuang are rivals, but he's not petty enough to argue with a junior.

He simply treated Prince An the same as everyone else.

However, this kind of impartiality was seen by many as a sign of disrespect towards Prince An.

Those who hadn't gone far pricked up their ears, wanting to hear what was happening inside. However, Prince An said nothing, but silently went out, not forgetting to close the door behind him.

"Prince An, what is the relationship between Lord Xiao and Marquis Xuanping? Why does Marquis Xuanping seem to know him so well?"

On the way back, an official from the Ministry of Revenue asked Prince An about the matter.

“I don’t know either.” Prince An was not familiar with this official from the Ministry of Revenue, so he did not discuss the relationship between Xiao Liulang and Marquis Xuanping with him.

It was the Vice Minister of Revenue who had just brought a chair for Marquis Xuanping who spoke up: "A few months ago, there was a rumor in the capital that the current top scholar in the imperial examination looked very similar to the late Marquis Zhaodu. Marquis Xuanping even went to see him..."

Halfway through his sentence, the Vice Minister of Revenue realized he had almost spoken out of turn. After all, he was an official and should not have criticized His Majesty in front of his colleagues and officials of the Hanlin Academy.

He coughed lightly and changed "went to see His Majesty" to "went to see him specifically."

It refers to the day Xiao Liulang took the imperial examination, when Marquis Xuanping got up very early to support him.

This matter once caused a great uproar, leading many people to believe that Xiao Liulang's title of top scholar was obtained improperly and that he only topped the list because of his relationship with the Marquis of Xuanping.

"So it's because Lord Xiao looks like his deceased son..." the Ministry of Revenue official murmured.

Everyone was surprised to learn that Marquis Xuanping had come to visit Xiao Liulang.

"What a coincidence! He wasn't injured earlier or later, but he was injured like this as soon as Marquis Xuanping arrived? And we had to carry him all the way back..." another person muttered.

These words were practically accusing Xiao Liulang of scheming and deliberately trying to gain the sympathy of Marquis Xuanping.

"I never would have guessed he was this kind of person."

"How could you not have noticed? Have you all forgotten how he's been winning over the villagers these past few days? His cunning is something we can't even begin to match!"

"Shh, keep your voice down, don't let Marquis Xuanping hear us, or we'll both be in deep trouble!"

"Let's disperse!"

Prince An did not participate in the discussion. He knew that Xiao Liulang had gone to the mountains to gather herbs, but he had no idea why he was injured or why he had encountered Marquis Xuanping.

He went to Wu Yang's place; he'll probably have to squeeze in with Wu Yang tonight.

Inside the shed, Marquis Xuanping quickly stripped off Xiao Liulang's shirt, but when he went to pull off Xiao Liulang's pants, Xiao Liulang clenched his belt and refused to let him do it.

Marquis Xuanping frowned and clicked his tongue: "What's wrong?"

“You go out too, I’ll do it myself,” Xiao Liulang said.

Marquis Xuanping looked him up and down and chuckled, "After falling like this, do you still have the strength to come?"

He wouldn't have been able to rip off his shirt if he had the strength; he was holding onto his belt tightly, but he was actually rejecting him more with his eyes.

Marquis Xuanping said, "You are my son, what haven't I seen of you? When you were a child, you ran around the yard naked..." He looked at his trousers, "Let me tell you, I've not only seen you, I've also played the zither!"

Xiao Liulang, who wished a bolt of lightning would strike him down: "...!!"

The wooden bucket and hot water were prepared. Marquis Xuanping did not call anyone into the house, but brought the large wooden bucket and hot water in himself.

Xiao Liulang was struggling to undo his belt, and he was too weak to do so. After a long time, he simply threw the man into the hot water.

The rain seemed to have extinguished all the recent heat and brought a touch of early autumn coolness. Xiao Liulang's body was ice cold until he was soaked in hot water and gradually warmed up.

Xiao Liulang was taking a bath in the shed when Marquis Xuanping went to fetch water, intending to take a cold shower before returning to the carriage to change his clothes.

He wasn't familiar with the area, and only vaguely remembered that a large group of people had come out of the largest shed, perhaps where they fetched water.

He went to the shed that served as both a main hall and an office.

Everyone was there, including Lord Gu, who had brought a large amount of food with him. The room was filled with the enticing aroma of meat and crispy pastries.

Everyone stared at Marquis Xuanping in astonishment, looking completely bewildered.

Marquis Xuanping glanced at the crowd and immediately understood. He had assumed the group was discussing important official business, but it turned out they were just eating and drinking.

The Minister of Revenue asked, "Would Lord Xiao like something to eat? These were all bought from the capital by Lord Gu's men."

Marquis Xuanping narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Marquis Gu inside the room.

Everyone else was there, but her son-in-law, Xiao Liulang, was not.

Okay, that's great.

Lord Gu was unaware of the relationship between Marquis Xuanping and Xiao Liulang. He was wondering how Marquis Xuanping had gotten involved with that poor boy when he met Marquis Xuanping's intimidating gaze.

A sudden jolt went through his heart.

The rain stopped in the latter half of the night, and the next day was a bright and sunny day. The morning light was faint, the sky was clear and blue, and the air was filled with the earthy smell and the fragrance of flowers and grass that had been moistened by the rain.

The disaster relief and agricultural tasks have been successfully completed. Everyone packed their belongings, planned to grab a quick bite, and then head back to the capital.

But to everyone's surprise, when they pushed open the wooden door of the shed, a mouthwatering aroma of meat buns wafted out, and everyone's mouths watered.

"Did you make steamed buns today? The villagers knew we were leaving, so they specially made big meat buns?"

"These meat buns smell so good!"

They were all officials from the capital. Not all of them came from prominent families, and at least they weren't craving meat buns. However, perhaps because they had been eating vegetarian food for too long, they felt they could hardly resist the aroma of meat!

"No, this doesn't smell like ordinary meat buns, it's Zhou's! Their meat buns have a buttery and sesame aroma!"

"That's right! It's Zhou's big meat bun!"

Zhouji's large meat buns are extremely famous in Beijing, but they only make 100 baskets a day, and once they're sold out, they're gone, so it's hard to even buy them even with long queues.

The fragrance was coming from Prince An's shed.

"Could it be that Lord Gu sent someone to buy them again? Lord Gu is so thoughtful! He bought so many roast ducks and crispy chickens last night."

"They bought that for Prince An! We're just benefiting from Prince An's fame!"

"Looks like I'm benefiting from Prince An's favor again today."

The crowd chatted amongst themselves, eagerly heading towards Prince An's shed.

But when they arrived at the door, they were dumbfounded. There was no Prince An inside, only Marquis Xuanping and Xiao Liulang... and a young man in black.

On the table in front of the two were several large baskets full of steamed buns. In addition to steamed buns, there were also sweet fermented rice balls sprinkled with egg, scallion pancakes filled with donkey meat, and braised lamb spine so delicious that it would make the neighbor's dog cry with envy.

These are all the most distinctive dishes from Zhouji.

Everyone swallowed hard. Was it really okay to eat such a lavish meal so early in the morning...?

However, the three of them couldn't finish it all, so buying so much must be for sharing with them, right?

As expected, Xiao Liulang spoke calmly: "Did you beat the steamed bun seller to death?"

Who can eat all these steamed buns!

Marquis Xuanping raised an eyebrow and smiled: "Then let's split it up, Chang Jing."

Chang Jing walked over, picked up the steamed buns on the table, and left only one basket for Marquis Xuanping and Xiao Liulang.

Everyone was speechless with excitement as they watched Chang Jing walk towards them carrying steamed buns.

Then they saw Chang Jing walk past them expressionlessly.

Everyone: "..."

Chang Jing distributed the steamed buns to the villagers.

There was one left, and Chang Jing gave it to the village's big black dog.

So, the group, munching on pickled vegetables and cornbread, experienced firsthand what it meant to be worse off than a dog.

After breakfast, Marquis Xuanping packed Xiao Liulang up and put him in his carriage. Although Xiao Liulang protested strongly, his protest was in vain.

Everyone boarded the carriages of various government offices, and Lord Gu was surprised to find that the wheels of his carriage had been removed.

Lord Gu immediately flew into a rage: "Where are my cart wheels? Who did this?!"

The group sat in the carriage, looking at each other in bewilderment.

Isn't it obvious who did it?

Tell me, whose official rank or title is higher than yours here?

No one dared to utter a sound until Prince An spoke up: "If Lord Gu doesn't mind, please take my carriage back to the capital."

"That's all we can do." Lord Gu sighed, then got into Prince An's carriage. This son-in-law is truly good; he knows when to lend a hand in crucial moments.

Before he could finish saying those words in his heart, he heard a loud bang, and the wheels of Prince An's carriage were also removed.

No one saw anyone make a move; the two wheels rolled out of the carriage as if they had betrayed it.

The carriage crashed heavily to the ground, and Lord Gu's head hit the roof, instantly creating a large bump.

The Minister of Revenue was unwilling to get involved in this mess, but he had been entrusted with taking care of Prince An. However, he couldn't abandon his future father-in-law after taking care of Prince An, so he had no choice but to invite the two of them to his carriage.

Marquis Xuanping led Chang Jing out of Xiao Liulang's shed. Chang Jing was carrying Xiao Liulang's luggage and the medicinal herbs they had collected over the past few days.

The Minister of Revenue thought for a moment, then cupped his hands to Marquis Xuanping and said, "I beg Marquis Xuanping to spare her for the sake of Old Madam Xiao...

The mother of Marquis Xuanping, Lady Xiao, and the mother of the Minister of Revenue were cousins; strictly speaking, they were cousins.

"Alright," Marquis Xuanping replied.

The Minister of Revenue breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed that Madam Xiao's influence was still effective.

The next second, Marquis Xuanping kicked the wheel of the Minister of Revenue off the road!

He only said to show mercy, but he didn't say to show mercy on the ground.

When it comes to bullying people, Marquis Xuanping is a professional.

After these few performances, no one dared to invite Lord Gu to get on the carriage anymore; they all tucked their tails between their legs and slunk away.

Prince An was also powerless to help. He bowed to Marquis Gu and asked Wu Yang to find the wheels and install them before returning to the capital alone.

Lord Gu was left all alone on the edge of the field, with a wheeled carriage behind him, and even the horses had run away...

He felt as if the whole world had abandoned him.

Lord Gu, utterly dejected: Waaah~

(End of this chapter)