Chapter 98 [VIP]
The Xiao family lived a lively and bustling life for the next few days.
Aside from eating and sleeping, all that was done was arranging for entertainers to perform at the mansion. Since there were no more inconsiderate people bothering them, they were even more at ease than last year.
When it got busy, Xiao Chuan finally found some time to take his three kids to take down the signs of those idiots whose signs had been smashed with rotten eggs by Mi Yao.
It can also be used as a hiking trip with the kids.
“From now on, when I’m not in the city, you can just protect your mother and come knocking on our door. Even if the sky falls, I’ll still be here.”
Xiao Chuan paused as he spoke, his gaze falling on the three boys, whose height and demeanor were somewhat different from a year ago.
"You are the same. If anyone bullies you, just fight them. If you can't beat them, call on your servants. I can cover for you."
Compared to a large number of unsuccessful scions of wealthy families, and with little support during his upbringing, he was at a disadvantage.
Whether he found it troublesome or had a dark thought in his heart, he never wanted to be anyone's support or let others depend on him for sustenance.
Xiao Shan and Xiao Liang were the responsibilities his mother pushed onto him. He found Xiao Yi in a village that had been massacred. Xiao Yi's wounds avoided vital areas, and after being rescued, he was still holding his already dead sister.
At that time, he was annoyed by Xiao Liang and Xiao Shan, two crybabies, and thought that Xiao Yi looked like he could take care of children, so he changed his surname and brought him to the Xiao family to be the older brother of the two children.
As it turned out, his judgment was correct; Xiao Yi did indeed do a very good job as the eldest brother.
If it weren't for Mi Yao's appearance, his relationship with these three children would probably have remained distant. He was stingy with any care for them, only ensuring that they could survive in the world.
"If Dad doesn't bail us out, who else does he expect to bail us out? Does the neighboring mansion like that snotty-nosed Liao Xiaolang?"
Faced with Xiao Chua's sudden seriousness, Xiao Liang crossed his short arms and looked at him suspiciously, "Father, why are you talking about things that are taken for granted?"
Xiao Shan nodded in agreement.
Compared to the two younger ones, Xiao Yi had a better memory. He could clearly perceive the changes in Xiao Chuan over the past year and understand his promise at this moment.
"Don't worry, Father. We will protect Mother and take good care of ourselves. With you and Mother here, no one will dare to bully us, and we will not take advantage of our power."
The last sentence is the key point: rather than being bullied, he feels that he should now take good care of his younger siblings and prevent them from going astray and becoming those bad kids who, because they are spoiled by their elders, don't treat others like human beings.
"With Dalang around, I feel much more at ease."
Xiao Chuan reached out and patted Xiao Yi's head. No matter how unpleasant the words he heard from the two younger ones, he could always hear a comforting word from Xiao Yi.
"But you don't need to focus all your energy on the two of them. You're not that much older than them."
Xiao Chuan added a sentence, and as soon as he finished speaking, he saw Xiao Yi look up at him with teary eyes, his eyes full of affection and joy.
Startled, Xiao Chuan began to wonder if he had looked at Mi Yao with the same foolish eyes when he heard her say nice things.
That shouldn't be the case.
At least he won't be a child, he'll only want to possess.
"I want to touch it too."
When Xiao Liang saw Xiao Chuan touching Xiao Yi's head, Xiao Liang leaned closer.
Xiao Chuan ruffled his hair haphazardly, then looked at Xiao Shan, thinking that she also wanted her head touched, so she came over and did the same.
Upon meeting his gaze, Xiao Shan covered her head, took two steps back, and her watery black eyes clearly said, "You are not worthy."
Xiao Chu: ...
I wonder how Mi Yao manages to be so patient with these kids on a daily basis.
Thinking that his wife had a hard time, Xiao Chuan was exceptionally patient during their nighttime exercise, starting with his hands and then his lips and teeth.
Mi Yao's originally bright eyes were now misty with tears. She didn't know why he had suddenly resorted to such special methods, but since he was serving her, she wouldn't be foolish enough to interrupt, no matter how surprised she was.
Pinching Xiao Chua's back couldn't relieve the stimulation from the unusual touch, so Mi Yao couldn't help but grab Xiao Chua's hair, her fingers repeatedly digging into his hair strands. She wiped the moisture around her hair roots, trying to blame the itching on his coarse hair.
To avoid having an unpleasant odor on his head, Xiao Chua acted quickly and decisively.
Mi Yao stared blankly at Xiao Chuan's Adam's apple bobbing. During their eye contact, she had a bad feeling and buried her face in the blanket.
She nervously clutched the quilt, expecting Xiao Chuan to find her. But there was no movement for a long time. When she looked up, she found that Xiao Chuan had already gotten out of bed and was rinsing his mouth with a cup of fragrant tea.
Seeing that Xiao Chuan not only had tea in his mouth but was also tilting his head back to let the tea go deeper into his mouth while rinsing, Mi Yao's shyness faded, replaced by a disgruntled arrogance: "What kind of attitude is this? Is the taste that bad? Why are you rinsing so thoroughly?"
Even her toes smell sweet, so there's no reason why her place should smell awful.
"Madam, you're innocent! I swallowed it all."
Xiao Chuan found it amusing. She was afraid he would kiss her with the same mouth he had used to serve her, and she huddled under the covers, trembling with fear. She was also unhappy when he rinsed his mouth carefully, feeling that he was disgusted by her.
So she can be disgusted?
But to him, calling it celestial nectar or jade dew wouldn't be wrong, anyway...
"How about I try again, this time?"
Xiao Chuan looked eager and showed no sign of reluctance, but Mi Yao knew that if she nodded, he would definitely pass the flavor into her mouth this time, so she wrinkled her nose and shook her head.
"I firmly believe that Xiao Lang will not despise me."
"Tsk."
Xiao Chuan pinched her nose, "My lady is beautiful in every way, how could your husband possibly dislike her?"
"Um."
Mi Yao raised an eyebrow at him without any politeness, her eyes full of smugness.
Xiao Chuan smiled and hugged her: "Huhu."
Her breath brushed against her ear, and Mi Yao responded. Then she heard Xiao Chuan's low, husky voice calling her name again. Knowing that he had nothing to say and was just calling her name randomly, she ignored him.
Even if she just makes random noises, Xiao Chuan still wants to interact with her. If she ignores him, he'll tickle her.
"Hahaha, you're so annoying..."
Mi Yao tried to escape, but Xiao Chuan caught her and brought her back to the bed. Looking at his hungry brown eyes, she knew that he had ulterior motives. However, he was patient and didn't serve the main course. He just suppressed her and tickled her.
He didn't just target the armpits, he even went to the navel, a place with thin skin.
Mi Yao smiled, tears streaming down her face, and collapsed onto the soft couch. "You're a madwoman..."
Xiao Chuan, who was scolded as a madman, admired the blush rising on Mi Yao's fair skin. After a moment, he said, "I'll be leaving in a few days. This trip will be quite long, but I will return safely."
Xiao Chuan originally intended to please her to the extreme and then tell her about it when she was both happy and tired.
But now he feels it's better to say it now.
He's not going away forever, he's just going out for a while. Why did he have to start a fight when she was too weak to argue, leaving her with no outlet for her anger?
Gao Ji, the military governor of Youzhou, took advantage of the Khitan attack to request troops from Shangjing. After receiving support from the military governor of Hedong, his entire family was safe and sound, but the military governor of Hedong lost two of his generals.
Now that Youzhou, Pingzhou, Yingzhou, and Tanzhou have been occupied by the Khitans, and Gao Ji has retreated again and again, it is only a matter of time before the Khitans digest the remaining prefectures and counties.
This information comes from before the Lunar New Year.
Now, seven or eight days have passed. Mi Yao doesn't have the same rapid access to information as the military, but she can guess that the imperial court in the capital won't have an easy time this year.
Gao Ji probably made some kind of agreement with the Khitan, otherwise Youzhou wouldn't have fallen so quickly. He might have already taken the Hedong military governor hostage and attacked Shangjing.
"Where are you going?"
Mi Yao sat up. "To the capital, or to Youzhou?"
Going to the capital was to quell internal strife, while going to Youzhou was to drive out foreign enemies.
The former is acting, which is much easier in comparison, while the latter is several times more difficult.
The distance from Jiannan to Youzhou is too far. A long battle line would easily lead to problems in the rear. Moreover, Youzhou not only has Khitan troops, but is also Gao Ji's stronghold.
"On the surface, it's called the capital."
Since Xiao Chuan had spoken to Mi Yao, he had no intention of hiding anything from her: "In the land occupied by foreign tribes, the lives of ordinary people will be even more difficult than those of flood victims."
The main reason he was able to become Zhao Tianhe's adopted son was because of the merits he made in Yizhou.
Because Yizhou knew exactly what it would be like after foreigners occupied the land of Daxing.
During internal strife, the people suffered greatly, and only six or seven out of ten survived. When foreign tribes occupied a city, their first act was to massacre the inhabitants to celebrate. The surviving people were either enslaved or eaten.
Meeting Xiao Chuan's deep phoenix eyes, Mi Yao hesitated for a moment before finally speaking, "You need to be careful."
She knew Xiao Chuan's future direction from the very beginning, so she couldn't stop him from going just because the road ahead was dangerous, even if they might not see each other again for years.
If we're going to Youzhou, we can't just fight the Khitans. Since we've already done everything, we naturally need to take Youzhou over.
The distance between Jiannan and Youzhou makes direct resupply impossible; the only option is to forge a path.
Even if Daxing is currently falling apart, this path cannot be forged in just a few months.
Xiao Chuan said he would be leaving in a few more days, but Mi Yao already felt reluctant to part with him. When she thought about how he was telling her this now, she reached out and pinched his ear.
"You said you'd leave in a few days, does that mean I won't see you from tonight onwards? Even though you haven't left, you're so busy you can't even come home?"
He had been pinched, bitten, and slapped by her before, but this was the first time her ear had been pulled.
This feeling of a wicked daughter-in-law was novel to him.
But even though it was new, he wasn't foolish enough to show any longing. Instead, he cooperated by feigning fear of Mi Yao's ferocity: "I'll be a bit busy, but not so busy that we can't meet. Father might not send me over."
That's what they said, but they all knew that Zhao Tianhe would send him.
Zhao Tianhe's high regard for him does not mean he will protect him in Yizhou City and make him a stable and conservative successor.
First, Xiao Chuan lacked the ability to maintain stability. He was a military general who had to conquer the world with his fists. Without merit, he could not stand firm.
Secondly, Xiao Chuan is not Zhao Tianhe's biological son and does not have absolute ability, so why would Zhao Tianhe choose him instead of someone else?
“My brother is capable, and I’m not bad either. As long as you’re out there, the supplies from the rear will always be plentiful.”
When the conversation fell silent, Mi Yao suddenly spoke and made a promise.
Mi Yao met Xiao Chuan's gaze and thought that since she had already made such a boast, she might as well make it even bigger, as a reward for his service today.
"I'll take care of you, no matter how big your appetite is, I can afford it."
Xiao Chuan's lips curled up higher and higher. He knew all too well how heavy Mi Yao's promise was. Besides joy, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. If she hadn't responded to his demands for affection, she wouldn't have had to bear such a heavy responsibility.
"Huhu, wait for my return."
Holding them in my arms, all the words I wanted to say were reduced to this one sentence.
He believed he wouldn't be back too late.
Then he can elaborate on the thousands of words he hadn't said aloud.
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