Chapter 181 I fell in love with the lady at first sight
Qin Yanzhou saw Dai Li again as the sun was setting. His mother had changed her clothes; the cheap blue dress from the Huang family was nowhere to be seen, and her mother-of-pearl white dress shimmered in the sunset.
He looked Dai Li up and down, and his heart was completely at ease. He first called out "Mother," and then called out "Father" to the tall man walking behind Dai Li.
We haven't had dinner yet, but now the three of us are eating at one table.
After the meal, Dai Li said to her son, "Zhouzhou, come with me, I have something important to tell you."
Qin Yanzhou was puzzled and quickly glanced at Qin Shaozong, only to find that the latter's expression was normal and nothing could be discerned. After his mother finished speaking, he also stood up.
Dai Li returned to her room first. She stood by the door watching her son come in, then peeked out and saw Qin Shaozong also coming, so she didn't close the door immediately.
After a hearty meal, he strolled leisurely.
Seeing Dai Li looking at him, the man curled his lips. As he entered the room, taking advantage of Qin Yanzhou's blind spot, he touched Dai Li's stomach and whispered, "Why did you eat so little for dinner, Madam? Are you saving room for something else to eat later?"
Dai Li's first reaction was to look at her son. Seeing that Qin Yanzhou was oblivious, she pinched the man's waist and said, "Can't you be a little more serious in front of the younger generation?"
He said meaningfully, "It seems that what the lady is thinking of is not just an ordinary late-night snack. Great minds think alike."
Dai Li: "..."
A flush rose to her face, and Dai Li simply ignored him, turning to the young man standing by the table. "Please sit down, Zhouzhou."
The mother and son sat across from each other at the table.
Qin Shaozong sat on a soft chair not far away, holding a letter that appeared out of nowhere, clearly not intending to participate in their conversation. Dai Li ignored him and began to brew tea.
As winter approaches and the temperature gets colder day by day, drinking hot tea can be very comforting.
After placing charcoal under the pottery stove and starting to boil water, Dai Li looked at Qin Yanzhou opposite her and said, "Zhouzhou, last time I didn't say anything to you and just let you leave the North with me. It was my own decision, and I apologize to you."
Qin Yanzhou was about to speak, but Dai Li raised her hand to stop her, signaling her to finish.
Looking at her tall, imposing son across the table, Dai Li sighed, "You've grown up. You're no longer ignorant. As an adult, you have the right to know your future and the choices you want to make. No matter what my reasons were back then, it would have been wrong not to tell you."
"I have never blamed you!" Qin Yanzhou couldn't help but say.
Dai Li smiled and said, "I know, but these are two different things. Just because we've been treated leniently doesn't mean we can pretend nothing happened."
The man not far away had put down his letter at some point and was looking at them with deep eyes. The woman sitting by the table was wearing a mother-of-pearl white dress. Her profile was beautiful and serene, as if she was radiating a soft and warm glow.
In Qin Shaozong's memory, he had never heard an apology from his parents or grandparents.
The ruler is the guide for his subjects, and the father is the guide for his son.
Even among blood relatives, superiors always have unquestionable authority to command subordinates.
Right is right, and wrong is also right!
Subordinates must obey their superiors without any other consent. This is one of the "Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues," and is considered a fundamental principle of Heaven.
However, upon seeing this scene before him, Qin Shaozong suddenly understood why Qin Er, despite living a life of hardship for ten years, still miraculously possessed a kind side to his personality.
A bright, high-hanging moon illuminated him.
Qin Shaozong knew that he had completely inherited his father's toughness. No matter where he went wrong in his life, he would never bow down to his children, because he could not accept anything other than the "Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues" without even a little thought.
But at this moment, looking at her gently apologizing to her son, Qin Shaozong strangely felt that it was not only not incongruous, but also quite attractive.
"...Zhouzhou, putting aside the factors related to me, do you want to go to the battlefield yourself?" Dai Li asked.
The topic suddenly changed, and the young man was slightly taken aback, but he quickly nodded, "I was thinking about it."
Worried that Dai Li wouldn't believe him, Qin Yanzhou added, "Mother, I think I can never live that kind of peaceful, uneventful life again."
Those ten years were like a red-hot iron, scorching his fair skin and leaving scars that would never fade. His personality and lifestyle had undergone a complete transformation; he was now accustomed to bloodshed and a life of ups and downs.
We can never go back to the way things were...
However, compared to the numbness of being a puppet before, he now has comrades-in-arms and brothers he can entrust his back to. Every battle, big or small, no longer brings him the exhaustion of "just getting through another day," but an indescribable sense of accomplishment.
Dai Li's eyes stung for a moment, and she quickly lowered them. "Do you remember the concerns I mentioned to you at Xinglong Post Station?"
Qin Yanzhou nodded and said he remembered.
Since his mother brought up the matter herself, he had a feeling that what they were going to talk about next was this "concern".
No, saying "talk" might not be accurate; there must have been a solution, otherwise the mother wouldn't be so calm.
“Your father means that he wants you to take over his job in the future,” Dai Li said in a low voice.
Qin Yanzhou's eyes widened. He subconsciously looked at the man not far away, only to see the man get up and walk over, then sit down next to his mother and casually pick up the teapot to boil water and pour it into a cup.
"What you say, Madam, is true. I did indeed have that plan. One reason I had Wugong teach you other subjects was to see how well you were doing in your studies, and it turned out to be alright. And you led about twenty men to burn down the Xuzhou army's granary, which is not bad either," Qin Shaozong said calmly.
He rarely praised people, and often his words were unpleasant. Getting a "not bad" or "not bad" from him was a rare treat in the eyes of Bai Jianping and others.
“But Qinian…” Qin Yanzhou didn’t know what to say. He wanted to ask if Qinian knew about this, and whether Qinian would accept it.
"Qin San has his own path to walk," Qin Shaozong said calmly. "Even without you, this burden wouldn't be his to bear. He probably had a premonition about this a long time ago."
Steam rose from the cup. Qin Shaozong stared intently at the person opposite him, his gaze sharp as a blade. "This is power, and also a responsibility. The greater the former, the heavier the latter. It can decide the lives of ten thousand people, and in the future, you will always have the hatred of the nation in your heart and the worries of the court weighing on your brow. Qin Er, do you want to take it on?"
It's not a matter of whether I'm willing or not, it's a matter of whether I want to or not.
It's one thing for him to be devoted to Qin Yanzhou, but if Qin Yanzhou himself lacks the courage and determination, then all his mutual consent and personal desires will have to be put aside.
The steaming water vapor seemed to form a thin veil, or perhaps a mirror.
Qin Yanzhou seemed to see many things in the mirror: fluttering red flags, canteens that never lacked food, dilapidated thatched huts, emaciated starving people, and corpses lying exposed in the wilderness.
He seemed to hear what his teacher had said before:
"A scholar cannot lack ambition and perseverance, for his burden is heavy and his journey is long. To take benevolence as one's own responsibility, is that not a heavy burden? To strive until death, is that not a long journey? Cherish joy. In this life, one must do something meaningful so as not to have lived in vain. If one day you have the power to change the world, I hope you will be brave, not afraid, and not retreat, and realize what you once said: 'May the country be prosperous and the people at peace, and may everyone live in their own way.' You are not fighting alone; you have me and many others who are willing to help you by your side."
At that time, Qin Yanzhou did not understand the latter part of his teacher's words, but now, when the question "Do you want to continue?" was uttered, everything became clear.
The faint confusion in the young man's eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by unwavering determination. Qin Yanzhou stood up and bowed deeply to his parents, who were separated by a table. "Thank you for not abandoning me, Father. I will do my utmost to shoulder this responsibility and will never let you and Mother down."
"Don't thank me so quickly, there's something else I haven't told you yet." Qin Shaozong beckoned him to sit down, then looked at Dai Li beside him.
Dai Li and he exchanged a glance, and she knew what it was about.
It's a major life event, marriage!
Dai Li was conflicted. On the one hand, she felt that arranged marriages were outdated and that her son should spend his life with the person he loved. On the other hand, she knew very well that Qin Changgeng's rise to power was closely tied to his marriage alliance with the Shi family.
Dai Li herself wasn't sure how much of what Qin Changgeng said about the two young people having feelings for each other was true.
Qin Shaozong's original intention was for her to talk to her son, since she was much gentler than him and had always been very concerned about Qin Er's marriage.
After waiting and waiting, he noticed that she was fiddling with her fingers, which were unusually red from being congested with blood.
Well, if we wait for her to speak, she won't be able to say anything by the time the rooster crows tomorrow. It's still up to him to come.
Qin Shaozong reached out and grasped Dai Li's hand under the table, stopping her from further torturing those poor fingers. At the same time, he asked, "Qin Er, what do you think of Shi Rongrong as your wife?"
Without any preamble or buildup, he went straight to the point, quite decisively.
Dai Li was startled and subconsciously turned to look at Qin Shaozong.
Qin Yanzhou was stunned, looking somewhat at a loss.
Qin Shaozong held only Dai Li's hand and did not look at her. Seeing that the young man did not answer, he asked again, "Then let me ask you another question. Do you dislike Shi Rongrong?"
This time, Qin Yanzhou reacted and slowly shook his head.
Qin Shaozong gave a light "hmm," and said, "You have no powerful family to back you up, which is one of your weaknesses. Normally, this weakness would be fine, but since you will be shouldering heavy responsibilities in the future, it cannot be ignored."
Feeling the delicate hand in his palm moving as if trying to break free, Qin Shaozong inserted his fingers into her clenched fist from below, skillfully unfolding it, and then gently caressed her soft palm with his rough fingertips.
However, Qin Shaozong remained calm on the surface. "I once made a three-point agreement with my wife, one of which was that I would not arrange your marriage. Therefore, I am not asking you to marry Shi Rongrong immediately, but merely making a suggestion. Anyway, you don't dislike her, and she is in love with you. The Shi family is the family of my younger sister's husband. The Shi family elder was once my father's right-hand man, and there are many outstanding members in the family. They are just right to help you."
Qin Yanzhou's pupils narrowed for a moment, "She felt something for me..."
"You've come of age, and that's all I have to say. Go back now; your mother and I need to rest." Qin Shaozong said, then shooed him away.
Qin Yanzhou got up and left.
As soon as he left, Qin Shaozong immediately smiled and said, "Madam, Qin Yanzhou definitely has something on his mind."
Dai Li felt that something was amiss, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. "Why do you say that?"
“I just said so much, and all that kid heard was that she was in love with him.” Qin Shaozong pointed to the teacup on the opposite table. “And the tea has been sitting for so long, yet he hasn’t drunk a drop. What else could it be but a distracted and inattentive attitude?”
Dai Li looked across at the other side, and sure enough, her son's teacup was still full.
Logically speaking, whether you are a guest or not, you should drink all the tea offered by others before leaving as a sign of politeness.
"I understand. Love arises without warning. I never knew I would fall so deeply in love with you, Madam." Qin Shaozong poured the tea.
Dai Li couldn't help but say, "You don't love me at all, you're clearly lusting after me."
Qin Shaozong laughed and said she was talking nonsense.
"I'm talking nonsense?" Dai Li grabbed his arm, making him face her. "Back at the Jiang residence, wasn't it you who wanted to sleep with me the moment we met?"
"Then I can only say that I fell in love with Madam at first sight." Qin Shaozong smiled and did not forget to boast, "I must say that I have a very sharp eye and I found the best one at a glance."
Dai Li brought up old grievances with him, "How dare you say that? I was terrified of you back then!"
Qin Shaozong reached out and pulled her over, letting Dai Li sit on his lap. He looked at her carefully and said, "Back then, Madam told me one lie after another. I only saw that you were full of courage, but I didn't see what you were afraid of."
Dai Li muttered, "It's scary."
"It was my fault, I will make it up to you tonight, with interest." Qin Shaozong suddenly picked her up and carried her to the bed.
Author's Note: What Dai Dai felt was off was that Lao Qin had used a fallacy of semantics. [glasses]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
