Chapter 699 Raising Children
Qiao Qinghe didn't offer any words of comfort; she simply sat quietly beside him, watching him cry. She couldn't quite describe the feeling in her heart.
Does it hurt? A little, but not much.
Is it pitiful? It seems a little, but not much.
She felt nothing about the death of the deposed crown prince. Even the hatred she once harbored had long since faded into the river of time.
Therefore, there was no joy or happiness that should have come from the death of the enemy and the avenging of a great grudge.
At this moment, the slight pity and tenderness felt were only directed at the three children.
Especially the youngest, Li Lan, who is barely three years old.
Suddenly losing her parents, the two older brothers who stayed by her side were people who hated her.
Judging from Li Lan's fearful attitude towards the two, and listening to Li Ze calling them "little annoyance" repeatedly, one can tell what kind of relationship these three siblings used to have.
But thinking about it, it's understandable.
If it weren't for marrying a woman from the Zhong family, Li Rui and Li Ze's biological mother wouldn't have died.
If it weren't for the Zhong family's support giving the deposed crown prince hope, he wouldn't have taken such a desperate step as to launch a rebellion.
If he hadn't rebelled, even if the Jiangnan incident had occurred, he would at most have been deposed as crown prince. As long as he retained his status as a prince, he could still live a life of luxury. He might even have had a chance to make a comeback in the future.
The deposed crown prince, who was only imprisoned, must have regretted it too.
Otherwise, the two children wouldn't have followed suit and developed such a strong aversion to their stepmother's younger sister.
Li Rui cried bitterly, but it didn't last long.
It's clear that this is a child with a strong will.
"Madam, may I ask who wants to kill us?"
Qiao Qinghe pulled herself out of her thoughts, looked at the child in front of her, and shook her head with mixed feelings. "The Dali Temple and the Jingzhou Prefecture are investigating. There are no results yet."
After a pause, Qiao Qinghe added, "Don't worry, I'll let you know when I have the results."
"Thank you, Madam." Li Rui bowed deeply and thanked her respectfully.
After a moment of silence, he continued, "The old lady said before that the three of us siblings were given to her by the emperor."
Qiao Qinghe nodded: "Yes. His Majesty has instructed me to take care of you three siblings for the time being. The exact duration is yet to be determined."
"It certainly won't be less than three months."
This time, Li Rui did not hesitate and bowed deeply, saying, "Then I will trouble you to take care of me, Madam."
"Don't worry, Madam, I will take good care of my younger siblings and try my best not to cause you any trouble."
Qiao Qinghe personally helped them up, saying, "From now on, treat this place as your own home. If you need anything, just tell the old woman and servant who take care of you."
After thinking for a moment, Qiao Qinghe added, "The poison in your bodies hasn't been completely neutralized yet, and you still need to take your medicine on time every day. But it won't affect your daily life."
"At your age, you brothers should already be in school, right?"
“I’ll hire a tutor for you in a few days.”
Hopefully, they'll be busy and won't have time to dwell on their parents' deaths.
"As for Sister Lan, I'll keep her with me for now."
"She's young and seems a bit shy."
“I happen to know quite a few kids her age, so I’ll let her play with them.”
A hint of embarrassment flashed across Li Rui's face.
He knew that Old Madam Qiao must have realized that Li Lan was afraid of them, but she didn't say it outright just to save face for the brothers.
"Then thank you very much, Madam."
Although it's not good to leave one's younger sister in the care of others, they were all living under someone else's roof, and neither he nor his second brother had any experience in taking care of their younger sister.
Most importantly, my younger sister is afraid of them! She's just afraid she won't want to live with them.
Therefore, entrusting the younger sister to the care of the old lady is the best choice.
After exchanging a few more words, Li Rui took his leave and returned to his west wing.
In the days that followed, Li Rui and Li Ze lived in the west wing, while Li Lan moved to the main room with Qiao Qinghe.
Qiao Qinghe originally intended to have the side room cleaned up for Li Lan to live in.
As a result, the little girl woke up in the middle of the night and saw Qiao Qinghe, which frightened her so much that she cried loudly.
Later, Qiao Qinghe had a small room partitioned off in her own house for Li Lan to move into. As a result, Li Lan woke up crying twice in the middle of the night.
He only felt at ease after confirming that Qiao Qinghe was sleeping just a few steps away from him.
Because Li Lan lived in the main room, that little brat Li Yiqian made a fuss a few times, saying he wanted to live with the old ancestor.
They were all rejected without hesitation.
Fortunately, he didn't cause any trouble, but he still played with Li Lan in the main room until very late every day, and wouldn't let anyone carry him back to sleep until he was sleepy.
Every morning, as soon as I wake up, I run to the main room.
He woke up the old lady, woke up the new girl, then had breakfast with them, and after breakfast, he dragged Li Lan along to play...
After he became completely familiar with Li Lan, he started taking her to play with Qiao Zhen and the Jin Yu siblings.
As time went by, Li Lan gradually became friends with the children of the Qiao family, and she was no longer as timid and reserved as when she first arrived.
When she sees Li Yiqian, she will take the initiative to go up to him, hold his hand, and call him "little brother".
When she met Qiao Zhen and the others, she would obediently call them Aunt Zhen, Aunt Yu, and Uncle Jin.
Unlike Li Yiqian, she wouldn't stubbornly call people "sister" or "younger sister."
Li Yiqian initially wanted to correct Li Lan, making her call Zhen Jie'er "younger sister" and Qiao Yu "older sister" like he did.
As a result, Li Lan naturally listened to Qiao Qinghe and not him.
After two unsuccessful attempts to correct the situation, Li Yiqian finally gave up.
Because every time he corrected Li Lan, the adults would correct him.
Not only did he prevent Li Lan from calling him, he even tried to make him call her.
So the little guy stopped correcting him.
From then on, the two called each other by their own names.
The children played together carefree, while Qiao Qinghe, just as she had said, quickly invited several tutors back for the Li Rui and Li Ze brothers.
Yes, not one, but several.
Some teachers taught academic subjects, while others taught music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. There was even one who taught martial arts.
Anyway, the two brothers never have a free moment from morning till night.
Of course, Qiao Qinghe didn't really want to tire the children out, so the gentlemen were all very considerate.
Fill the children's time so they don't have time to think about other things, but don't make them too tired.
At first, Li Ze tried to resist and cause trouble, but Li Rui suppressed him with force.
Even if he's two years older, he's still the elder brother!
Li Rui knew that Qiao Qinghe was doing it for their own good, so he always cooperated and even took the initiative to take on the responsibility of disciplining his younger brother.
So, the older kids caused a few minor incidents, but nothing serious happened.
Meanwhile, Qiao Qinghe kept an eye on the children's movements while also keeping an eye on what was happening outside.
The case of the deposed crown prince and his wife being poisoned is also progressing step by step.
After confirming that the deposed crown prince's family had been poisoned, the officials of the Jingzhou government immediately contacted the old woman who was responsible for delivering their meals every day.
However, when they arrived, they were too late. The old woman had already hanged herself inside the house.
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