Chapter Thirty-Eight
Yan Shujin saw that her father valued Mr. Li, which is why she took the initiative to take on the task. She didn't naively think that by helping Mr. Li once, he would be grateful and wholeheartedly help her in the future. She just wanted Mr. Li to have a good impression of her so that he would be slightly more inclined to favor her and her brother when things happened in the future.
The benefits may not be immediately apparent, but they prove to be the most practical in the long run.
Yan Shujin knew that their father would have many more children in the future, some born to her mother, and some born to other women.
It wasn't just Xu; there might have been other women as well.
But Yan Shujin felt that even if it was her mother's younger brother, she could never love him the way she loved Gui Ge.
Gui Ge is different. It seems that he is not only her younger brother, but also her responsibility. She watched him grow up from such a small child. He was a child who would only whimper when hungry and would not even cry loudly. He would hide any good food and wait for her to come back so they could eat together.
Yan Shujin felt that it was like her father and uncle. The two were brothers, but one was the emperor and the other was a prince. Their identities were different.
They may have other younger brothers in the future, but there can only be one heir apparent.
Yan Qiyu is now the heir apparent, but he is only the heir apparent.
Yan Shujin wanted to help her younger brother protect his position and not let another brother take Yan Qiyu's place, because she had a feeling that if someone else became the heir, then Guige would not be able to live.
Help Mr. Li and get him to favor Yan Qiyu; this will be very beneficial for Yan Qiyu in the future.
Yan Shujin didn't tell Yan Qiyu these thoughts. Yan Qiyu was still happy to be able to help Mr. Li, so she obediently followed Yan Shujin and said, "Luo Zhengyao is really bad."
Yan Shujin said in a low voice, "Besides this Brother Gui, what else did you see?"
Yan Qiyu thought for a moment and said, "Sister, that family dared to treat Sister Li like that because they thought Sister Li's family had fallen on hard times, right?"
"right."
Yan Qiyu said, "Then I must be very capable in the future, so that no one will dare to underestimate my sister."
Yan Shujin smiled and said, "Alright, then I'll wait for you to make something of yourself, Brother Gui, and then no one will dare to look down on me."
Yan Qiyu chuckled, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "But my sister is definitely more capable than me."
“That’s different,” Yan Shujin said. “You want to be capable so you can be my support, and I also want to be capable so you can be my support. It’s because we both care about each other.”
Yan Qiyu said, "Yes, and we are both capable now, which is more impressive than having only one person capable."
Yan Shujin agreed wholeheartedly, saying that one can never have too many of these things: "A single tree cannot support a mountain."
When the two returned to the main courtyard, Yan Zhili had already returned. Liu Qin was talking to Yan Zhili about Madam Qi. When she saw the two, she waved for them to sit down.
Yan Zhili asked, "What happened to Mr. Li?"
Yan Qiyu recounted the events in general terms, emphasizing, "It was really bad."
Yan Zhili frowned. Mr. Li was someone he thought highly of, and he hadn't kept the fact that he had brought Mr. Li to his residence a secret. The Luo family couldn't possibly be unaware of this. Rather than wanting to humiliate Mr. Li, it was more like they were testing his attitude.
Yan Shujin said, "Father, I want to do something about it."
This matter definitely needs to be addressed; the question is how to address it.
Yan Zhili asked, "What are you planning to do, Sister Bao?"
“I’ve heard Mr. Du mention the Luo family. When my uncle attacked the capital, the Luo family was among those who helped open the city gates,” Yan Shujin said. “So when it came time to reward merit, the Luo family received a lot of rewards, and now they are even appointed as Vice Ministers of the Ministry of Rites, a third-rank official position.”
Yan Zhili nodded.
Yan Shujin said, "But my father is a top-ranking official, which is enough to crush their family."
Yan Zhili was amused and said, "That's not how it's calculated."
Yan Shujin smiled and said, "I think this matter shouldn't be made public, and it's not appropriate for Father to get involved."
Yan Zhili said, "Then how do you think we should resolve this?"
"Father, give me ten guards," Yan Shujin said. "You don't need to worry about the rest."
Yan Zhili raised an eyebrow.
Yan Shujin said, "I will go to the palace tomorrow and tell my uncle about this."
Yan Zhili nodded and said, "You should discuss it with your uncle first."
However, he did not immediately agree to the matter of the guard.
Yan Shujin thought this was no difficult task, and she smiled especially sweetly.
Yan Qiyu was somewhat envious. He also wanted to go and deal with Luo Zhengyao, but his sister didn't seem to want to take him along, which was truly a sad thing.
After the father and daughter finished talking, Liu Qin said, "Bao Jie, isn't your dress a little short?"
Yan Shujin was stunned for a moment and tugged at her sleeve: "This was just made, I just put it on."
Liu Qin said, "Stand up so I can take a look."
Yan Shujin got off the ground and walked around in front of Liu Qin.
After carefully examining it, Liu Qin smiled and said, "It is a bit short, Sister Bao has grown taller."
Yan Shujin is clearly thirteen, but she has never been very tall. She looks so thin and small that people would believe she is seven or eight years old. Liu Qin has always worried that it is because Baojie did not eat well and did a lot of work when she was young that she has not grown tall.
Liu Qin said, "I was worried that Bao Jie wouldn't grow tall enough, so I'll have someone make her clothes a little bigger in the future."
Yan Zhili stood up, walked over to Yan Shujin, compared her height to hers, and said, "I didn't notice it until Qinniang said so, but she has really grown quite a bit taller."
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