Chapter 676, the final extra chapter: More than two hundred days without a holiday!
Even as night deepened, the Hall of Diligent Governance remained brightly lit.
Inside the hall, Xuan Ting and Li Junping sat on a small low table, each holding a piece of roasted corn that smelled delicious, and ate it with relish.
Li Junping took three bites, chewed and swallowed them down in one gulp, before letting out a long sigh: "Finally, I got to eat this."
Then, he frowned in dissatisfaction: "This corn, even when sent to the capital, doesn't taste as sweet and delicious as it does in the wilderness."
As he spoke, he picked up another glass of wine and drank it all in one gulp: "This wine is also..."
Then he picked up a piece of dried meat and chewed it. "This isn't as good as my mother's. And this instant noodles are just not as good either."
As he said this, he picked up a large mouthful of cooked instant noodles with his chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth, finishing the whole bowl in one go. Then, holding the bowl, he gulped down two mouthfuls, even drinking the broth clean.
Xuan Ting's lips were stained with black from eating, and he was still licking them. He glanced at him with disgust and couldn't help but roll his eyes: "How come I can't taste anything different about this corn? If you don't like it, then don't eat it!"
"You dragged me to eat this in the middle of the night?"
As he said this, seeing that Li Junping had finished his noodles and was already reaching for his own bowl with his chopsticks, Xuan Ting's eyes widened immediately: "Hey! This is mine! Go eat your own!"
After saying that, he protected the bowl and started eating. With each bite, his eyes narrowed in comfort.
"Your Majesty, is it delicious?"
Li Junping looked at Xuan Ting with a smile.
Xuan Ting looked at him suspiciously: "Of course it's delicious. It was grown by Aunt Nuan, how could it be bad?"
"It's delicious, that's all that matters." Li Junping smiled and said, "Give me a few days off, and I'll bring you the freshest ones when I get back."
He had only spoken half a sentence when, in the next second, a piece of corn was stuffed into his mouth.
Li Junping glared resentfully at Xuan Ting, took the corn out of his mouth, and slowly approached Xuan Ting with a sinister look: "Your Majesty, I haven't had a day off for over two hundred days."
Xuan Ting: ...He knew it! He insisted on having a midnight snack in the middle of the night, saying he wanted to give him a surprise. So this was what he was waiting for!
"Li Junping, doesn't your conscience hurt? Do you think you're the only one who hasn't had a day off?" As he said this, Xie Liangchen, carrying several roasted sweet potatoes, walked over and placed them on the table, then sat down with the two of them. He immediately said, "Look, Minister Xie hasn't had a day off for a year and a half. The last time he had a day off was when the old Grand Tutor broke his leg. I granted it, and did he complain about it?"
"That's because he's foolish, Your Majesty. I need a fake one. Besides, he took more than ten days off last time!"
With huge dark circles under his eyes, Xie Liangchen looked at the two of them in disbelief after hearing their words.
"No, how dare you even mention this?"
If it weren't for those two, and that Fusheng, who insisted on keeping watch while he went to the Grand Preceptor's residence to steal wine in the middle of the night, would he have gotten his ankle hit by the Grand Preceptor's stone? Would he have been in such a sorry state? Back in the Great Wilderness, he stood tall and never stole anything, let alone acted like a rat in the street! Besides, if he hadn't been afraid of being recognized by the old Grand Preceptor because of his injured face, how could he have had more than ten days of leave?
Besides, was he on leave? They still came to his own residence, did just as much work as they could, and even with their limp, they still had to prepare meals for these two!
Now, at this time, don't their consciences hurt when they say such things? Huh?
Grinding his teeth, he picked up an ear of corn to eat, but the next second, he noticed that someone had taken a bite out of the elm wood in his plate.
In an instant, Xie Liangchen's face turned even darker.
Xuan Ting and Ping'er, feeling somewhat guilty under his gaze, both avoided his eyes.
Xuan Ting coughed lightly and turned to look at An Dehai beside him: "Hurry up and roast two more ears of corn for Xie Qing."
"Yes, that's right."
Xie Liangchen took a deep breath, downed a mouthful of apricot wine, and finally calmed down. He looked at Ping'er and asked, "Why do you want to take a vacation again? Didn't you just take one recently?"
"If he leaves, won't I be exhausted?" Xie Liangchen snapped out of his daze and stared intently at Ping'er.
Ping'er downed her wine cup in one gulp: "Xiao Er, Baozhu, and A Yue are all taking care of their parents. Princess Chi Shu also went to the Great Wilderness for a break. The Imperial Advisor said that he plans to retire there and will not return to the capital unless necessary. Even Fu Sheng has gone back to the Great Wilderness. In this world, I am the only one who has not taken care of my parents. I am unfilial."
"Your Majesty, I haven't been home for over two hundred days!"
As Ping'er spoke, she took a sweet potato from Xie Liangchen's hand and placed it in front of Xuan Ting.
Xie Liangchen blinked twice, then handed the sweet potato in his hand to Xuan Ting: "Your Majesty, I haven't been back for over four hundred days. But if he takes a day off, I should take one too. I'd be happy to go back and see him."
"Tsk!" Ping'er shoved Xie Liangchen aside: "Why are you meddling in this? Get out of here."
"What? I want to take a break too! If you take a break, I'll take one!"
Xuan Ting glanced at this, then at that, looked at the things on the table, and slammed the bowl down.
"More than two hundred days? More than four hundred days? Do you think you've had a hard time?" The two nodded subconsciously, but after nodding, seeing Xuan Ting's bad expression, they shook their heads.
Xuan Ting gritted his teeth: "I haven't been back since I ascended the throne!!!"
"Did I say that? Huh? Did I say that?!"
"I also want a day off, but who should I ask for leave from?"
Upon hearing this, Ping'er and Xie Liangchen both fell silent.
The two exchanged a glance.
"Your Majesty, please have a sweet potato."
Ping'er said.
Xie Liangchen placed a freshly roasted corn in front of Xuan Ting: "Yes, Your Majesty, please eat more."
Now that you mention it, it seems like the emperor is more pitiful.
The three of them huddled together on the small table again, munching on the food in their hands.
Someone sighed.
Xuan Ting said, "They haven't seen us for so long, do they miss us a lot?"
Ping'er: "You must be quite busy, right? None of the younger ones are quiet. The second brother almost made himself mute from the poison he concocted the other day. Baozhu's martial arts skills have improved a lot, and she tries to ambush people every day. I heard even Father fell for her tricks. And Xuan Yue, I don't know why, is practicing cooking now, but she doesn't have much talent. I heard she almost burned down the house. Mother and Father must miss me very much, right?"
If he were home, he would definitely have dealt with those mischievous kids properly.
Upon hearing this, Xie Liangchen silently lowered his head and ate a sweet potato.
In short, probably no one will miss him.
"Sigh, I wonder if our parents have received our letter yet."
As she spoke, Ping'er gazed at the enormous moon and let out a long sigh.
Achoo!
Li Rong sneezed loudly, then took the thick stack of letters from Chi Heng's hand, pinched his brow, and said, "Why are these two children writing so many letters? Is the court so idle? We should find them more things to do in the future."
Chi Heng responded listlessly.
I think so too.
Then, she glanced at Li Rong and said, "Rong, I'm not trying to be mean, but can't you take good care of your sister-in-law? Anian and I have been back for six or seven days, and I haven't seen Anian at all. Can you ask your sister-in-law to give Anian back to me? It's so rare that little rascal at home was taken out to play by Xiao Baozhu. I was even thinking of having another one."
As he said this, he bumped Li Rong's shoulder.
Upon hearing this, Li Rong's forehead veins throbbed twice.
"Ah Nuan. Ah Nuan went to help Uncle Zhang's horse give birth next door. She wasn't with your princess at all!"
Six or seven days?
What is he showing off?
He hasn't been very affectionate with Ah Nuan this month!
Do we need to have another one?
He glanced at Chi Heng with a sinister look, realizing how much he had been exposed.
Chi Heng didn't realize there was anything wrong: "Huh? What did my wife do?"
"Your wife? She went to play mahjong with Aunt Liu and the others next door."
The old man, lying in his rocking chair, heard this, removed the lotus leaf from his face, and glanced at the two of them: "Young man Li, I'm not trying to criticize you, but Chi Heng is already planning to have another child, and you haven't had a single one yet?"
Xinbo sat beside the old man sharpening his knife. After listening to his words, he nodded very seriously: "Yes, you should hurry up too."
Fusheng was squatting there eating corn when he heard this. His eyes darted around, and he immediately bent down to rummage through the medicinal herbs. He pretended to be very busy, but his ears were already perked up. No matter what he heard, wouldn't he make those people green with envy if he went back and told them?
Li Rong was stunned. Before he could speak, Chi Heng leaned in close with a cheeky grin.
"I'm not trying to be mean, but stop focusing on your work. Look at yourself, all unkempt. What woman would like that?"
As he said this, he snatched the huge basket from Li Rong's hands: "Pay more attention to your image so you can attract your sister-in-law's attention. Women are all like that. Make sure she doesn't want to leave the house when she sees you in the future."
Li Rong frowned and glanced at himself.
His robe was slightly dusty, and the hem was indeed a bit dirty from running around the house. The upper layer of his shoes was also worn through. Was he really so unkempt?
"Yes, I think that makes sense."
The old man said with a smile.
Turning his head, he saw Xiaoli wagging her tail as she came over, and he smiled broadly: "Our Xiaoli is really capable."
As he said this, he got up and stroked Xiaoli's tail.
Xiao Li had let out a haughty neigh, seemingly understanding the old man's words, but the next second, upon seeing Li Rong, she snorted and turned to run away in a sorry state.
Big Black, who had been sunbathing in front of Uncle Xin, sensed the tense atmosphere and immediately moved behind the old man. He then stole a glance at Li Rong.
Li Rong noticed that everyone was looking at him, especially the culprit, Xiao Li. If it weren't for her, would A Nuan be so busy now? So busy that he couldn't even see her. For a moment, the veins on his forehead throbbed again.
"General!"
"General, we've arrived."
As they were talking, Lu Zhong's rough voice was suddenly heard.
As everyone looked, they saw Lu Zhong riding quickly, followed by Huo Xiao.
The two dismounted, their faces beaming with smiles.
"General, I've arrived. This time it's all for Xiao Li. Hehe, General, everyone knows Xiao Li is incredibly capable, how about we breed her with our warhorses?"
As Lu Zhong spoke, he went to the well and gulped down two mouthfuls of water. After taking a comfortable breath, he added, "I'll trouble you, sister-in-law, to help with the delivery. You don't know, I'm so envious of General Wan's divine steed."
"Exactly." Huo Xiao also smiled broadly. "Xiao Li deserves the credit. This is truly a rare and excellent steed. What's even rarer is its strength and ferocity!"
After they finished talking, they noticed that the courtyard was unusually quiet.
Even the usually talkative Chi Heng kept her mouth shut, her eyes wide open.
"To breed?"
Li Rong's steady voice rang out: "Shall we have A Nuan deliver another baby?"
Huo Xiao sensed something was wrong and immediately fell silent, on guard. Lu Zhong, however, simply nodded: "Yeah!"
Li Rong suddenly curled the corners of his mouth.
"It's been a long time since we brothers have practiced together."
"I don't need it," Huo Xiao said, sensing something was wrong, and immediately tried to run away. Then, someone grabbed the back of his neck by the shirt.
Turning around, Huo Xiao saw Li Rong's forced smile and immediately forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.
"It's just a practice session, what are you afraid of? Hehe, I really miss the days of sparring with the general, come on!" Lu Zhong rubbed his fists together, eager to fight.
Chi Heng and Huo Xiao looked over as if they were looking at an idiot.
Sure enough, a short while later, a pig-like scream was heard.
Chi Heng tiptoed, turned around, and took advantage of the moment when no one was looking to run away.
However, he was grabbed by Huo Xiao the next second.
I don't know who offended the general, but it's definitely better to have one more person get beaten up than one less.
Then
Another person's wailing voice came from inside the courtyard.
The sounds rose and fell, creating a lively and bustling atmosphere.
So much so that when Jiang Nuanzhi returned home that evening, Chi Heng, Huo Xiao, and Lu Zhong saw her from afar and almost burst into tears.
Chi Heng's eyes were red: "Sister-in-law, you're finally back."
Huo Xiao sniffed: "Do you know what kind of life we've been living while you're gone?"
Lu Zhong pouted: "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law!"
Jiang Nuanzhi was so frightened that she took several steps back.
"Hey~ It's only been a short time, where did you guys learn such a low-class manner?"
Everyone: "."
Not only was he beaten by the general, but now he's also being disliked by his sister-in-law?
However, the next second, when they turned around and saw Li Rong staring at them calmly, the three of them immediately shrank back. In the blink of an eye, they disappeared.
Jiang Nuanzhi looked completely bewildered: "What's wrong with them?"
Li Rong walked over and took the medicine box from Jiang Nuanzhi: "They must be so happy to have arrived in the Great Wilderness, right?"
Jiang Nuanzhi: "Huh?"
Li Rong: "Yes."
"Ah Nuan, are you tired today?"
"Ah, things are fine today. Uncle Zhang's horse hasn't given birth yet, but it's in good health now, so it should be ready in the next couple of days."
"Okay, that's good."
Jiang Nuanzhi was taken aback: "Huh?"
Li Rong didn't say anything, but smiled and helped her tidy up the dry grass in her hair: "Eat first."
The bright moon hangs high in the sky at night.
Large beads of sweat slid down Jiang Nuanzhi's forehead. She gently bit her red lips with her pearly teeth and finally understood why Li Rong had been feeding her so much during the day. It turned out he was waiting for her here!
Feeling quite impatient from all the commotion, he kicked it.
Her foot had barely touched his firm, taut chest for a second when her ankle was gripped by a large, burning hand. In the moonlight, her leg was thinner than his arm, and Jiang Nuanzhi's breath hitched.
The next second, he collapsed completely. A hoarse voice rippled out beside my ear.
"Ah Nuan, it'll be soon, just bear with it a little longer, okay?"
Jiang Nuanzhi: "!!!"
fart!
Men, sometimes, really are born to tell lies.
However, now that her health has improved, it's about time she stopped taking the contraceptive soup.
The next second, she hooked her arm slightly, tilted her head back defiantly, and took a bite.
The moon casts heavy shadows, and the treetops sway gently. Amidst the chirping of cicadas, new life and bustle are quietly being conceived.
End of Side Story
[This concludes the extra chapters. Thank you all for your companionship during this time, my darlings. I love you all. You can't understand that kind of love, and I certainly can't explain it either. This time, it's really time to say goodbye. I'm someone who doesn't like to face farewells (it's like saying goodbye to characters, to familiar readers, to a period of time, to a part of life after finishing a story. It's very subtle, and then I inexplicably start to procrastinate). But all good things must come to an end, and it's time for my dear Anuan to say goodbye too. I don't know if this will be my last book. Right now, I'm really a bit lost, unable to see the road ahead or know how to retreat. So, I really can't promise you any future. If there's a next book, I'll definitely tweet about it right away, haha. Anyway, enough with the sentimentality. On the first day of November, I wish you all a prosperous, wealthy, sincere, and loving future! May you be as healthy as a roc spreading its wings and as strong as a dragon entering the sea! This farewell is long and arduous, my darlings, see you again in the future!]
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
