Chapter 271 Father and Son
Qi Shuo didn't seem to notice his mother's excitement and repeated his words.
"No!" Princess Jing's first reaction was to refuse. "Your father has no choice but to go because of the imperial decree. Why are you still volunteering to go?"
"My son is gone. He can take care of me, my father, and you can rest assured."
Princess Jing laughed in anger: "How can I be at ease? I should be twice as worried!"
Qi Shuo suddenly knelt down.
Princess Jing was stunned: "Shuo'er, what are you doing?"
"My father is going to the battlefield, and I, as the eldest son, am enjoying wealth and luxury in the capital. This is truly unfilial. I beg my mother to fulfill my filial piety."
Before Princess Jing could say anything, Qi Huan plopped down on his knees next to Qi Shuo and said, "My son has to go too. I can't let my father and elder brother go to the battlefield while my son enjoys life in the capital!"
Qi Qiong looked at her two kneeling brothers, and then at her mother whose face had turned black. After thinking for a while, she also knelt down, lifting the hem of her skirt.
"Qiong'er, are you going too?" When Princess Jing asked this question, she was already thinking about where she put the feather duster.
"Little sister, you are just causing more trouble." Qi Huan nudged Qi Qiong with his elbow and expressed his dissatisfaction in a low voice.
Qi Shuo looked at his brother silently.
This brat is the real troublemaker. After he kneels down like this, it will be more difficult for my mother to agree.
Qi Qiong rolled her eyes at Qi Huan, a sweet smile on her slightly raised face: "My daughter is powerless, so of course she won't go and cause trouble."
"Then why are you kneeling?" Princess Jing asked with a stern face, her rising anger subsiding a little.
Qi Qiong blinked innocently: "A daughter kneels to her father."
Prince Jing, who was sitting side by side with Princess Jing, was startled: "Why is Qiong'er kneeling to me?"
Qi Qiong smiled and said, "My daughter wants to ask you to rest assured, father. When you are not at home, I will accompany my mother well."
Prince Jing was so moved that he almost cried: "Qiong'er is so thoughtful."
Unlike those two brats, one gave him problems and the other caused him trouble.
The one who caused the trouble was naturally the younger son, and the one who created the problems was the eldest son.
Unlike Princess Jing who strongly opposed it upon hearing it, Prince Jing suppressed his father's instinctive love for his children and was moved by Qi Shuo's request.
The world has suddenly become chaotic, so it wouldn't be a bad idea for one of his two sons to go north with him to hone his skills...
More importantly, he saw determination and resolve in his eldest son's eyes.
"Shuo'er, have you thought about it?"
Princess Jing heard something was wrong and shouted, "Your Highness—"
Prince Jing faced Princess Jing's angry gaze and looked at his eldest son kneeling on the ground.
"I've thought it through. As a son, I've come of age, and it's time for me to take on responsibilities instead of relying on my father to shield us from the wind and rain all the time."
Father and son fighting together in battle is not just empty talk.
Now the north has become a sea of blood, and his old father is about to go north with the army. As a son, how can he remain indifferent?
"Since you've made up your mind, go ahead."
"Your Highness!" Princess Jing stood up anxiously.
Qi Huan rushed over and hugged Prince Jing's legs: "Father, if my elder brother and I can go, then let me go. My elder brother is not in good health-"
A light cough was heard: "Could it be that Second Brother has forgotten the beating he received before?"
Qi Huan's body froze, and he looked at his threatening brother in disbelief.
This couldn't be his gentle older brother. Could it be that the devil from his childhood has returned?
"Where did you learn this habit of flattering others? Stay away from trouble in the capital and avoid messy places, otherwise you will be punished by family rules when you come back!" Prince Jing kicked his youngest son aside with a sullen face.
This brat, if he stayed in the capital, would at most cause some minor trouble, but if he got into trouble on the battlefield, it would be a big disaster.
Under the double blow from his father and brother, Qi Huan had no choice but to shut up.
Although Princess Jing was extremely unwilling in her heart, once Prince Jing made up his mind on a major issue, she would no longer object. Of course, it was inevitable that she would be angry in private.
"Since your father has said so, your mother won't say anything. But have you ever thought about the second young lady of the Lin family?"
Qi Shuo lowered his eyes, hiding the sudden surge of emotion caused by Princess Jing's mention of Lin Hao: "My son will go and tell her."
Princess Jing sighed and was too lazy to look at her three troublesome children anymore.
The three siblings knew that their parents had more to say, so they left tactfully.
Walking out of the main courtyard, Qi Huan still refused to give up: "Brother, if you follow father north, there's no telling when you'll be back. It could be a year or two, or even three to five years. What about Miss Lin? I think you should let me go. I'm not engaged, so it doesn't matter where I go."
Qi Shuo glanced at him and said in a light tone: "You are not yet an adult."
Qi Huan was almost choked to death and said angrily, "Don't wait until Miss Lin starts crying before you regret it."
"My mother is in a bad mood, so please spend more time with her." Qi Shuo instructed Qi Qiong and went to the general's mansion.
"The prince is here to see the second young lady. Please come in."
As Qi Shuo's future son-in-law, he entered the general's mansion and was directly invited to the flower hall. Not long after, Lin Hao came over.
"If you come a little later, I'll be out."
"Going to the Lin residence?"
"Yeah. It's still a cold winter this year, and those beggars have a hard time." Speaking of this, a trace of worry flashed in Lin Hao's eyes.
When war breaks out, begging is a small matter. I am afraid that a large number of refugees will flock to the capital, and I don’t know what the situation will be like then.
"Is there something wrong?" Lin Hao asked curiously, holding the hot tea brought by the maid.
Qi Shuo glanced at the servants standing in the hall.
Lin Hao signaled the maid to leave and leaned forward slightly: "What's the matter? Tell me quickly, is there any change again?"
The Great Zhou is now under attack from three sides, and rumors are spreading one after another, some true and some false, causing panic among the people.
"It's my father, the king, who is going north to fight on the emperor's orders."
"Ah..." Lin Hao subconsciously tightened his grip on the cup, and after a moment he asked softly, "What about you?"
If Ah Shuo didn't go, he should be staying at Prince Jing's Mansion to accompany his father who was about to go north, and comfort his mother who was worried about her husband, instead of coming to the General's Mansion to find her.
A bony hand reached out and rested on the hand that was holding the cup.
The cup was hot, and his hands were even hotter.
"I'm going too. Oh well, I'm sorry."
Those eyes were black and white, filled with apology.
"I--" Lin Hao wanted to say I guessed it, but tears fell as soon as he opened his mouth.
Qi Shuo thought of his brother's words: Don't wait until Miss Lin Er cries before you regret it.
Ah Hao really cried.
He hurriedly took out a handkerchief from his bosom and wiped away her tears.
"I was wrong. I told you after I made the decision—"
The girl's eyes, washed by tears, seemed exceptionally clear: "A Shuo, I want to go too."
Lin Hao sighed heavily: "But I know it's impossible."
Because they couldn't be together, the person in front of her became her concern day and night.
When I think about the tormenting days that are about to come, I just want to cry.
"Ah Shuo, you're here to meet my grandmother and my mother?"
"Well, such a big thing should be told to the two elders."
"Let's go." Lin Hao stood up.
On the way to the main courtyard, Qi Shuo couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "Ah Hao, does it hurt when mother-in-law hits me?"
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