Yu'er always ignores Xizhi, and when I go to hug Xizhi, he makes a fuss.
"Yu'er, go play over there."
Xi Zhi doesn't like rice cereal, and Su Ling can only eat a little bit. I also have to breastfeed them. If Yu'er sees this, he will definitely feel disappointed.
When I gave birth to him, I didn't have enough breast milk, so he couldn't drink it himself. We had to hire a wet nurse. When I gave birth to Xizhi and Suling, I didn't have much breast milk either. It only increased later, so I was able to breastfeed.
"Mommy~ Hug me~" Yu'er started to get irritable. He grabbed my skirt, neither moving nor letting go, and had a fierce little expression on his face.
Mother came over, held him in her arms, and gave him a rattle to play with. After Yu'er was attracted by the rattle, I took Xi Zhi to the inner room at the back to breastfeed.
Xi Zhi is very well-behaved when nursing and is usually very easy to manage. As long as Yu Er doesn't cry or slap his face, he won't fuss. Su Ling cries more than him.
When I finished breastfeeding and went outside, Yu'er and Wan'er had already gone out to play. Wan'er is going to see Xiren tomorrow, and I'm debating whether or not I should go see her.
The house had been ransacked. This was the Ji residence. Besides my father's people, there were also people secretly arranged by Xie Yuancheng outside. If the house could still be ransacked, did that mean Xie Yuancheng had misjudged the situation again, and one of his subordinates had betrayed him?
The more I thought about it, the more panicked I became. When I was in bed, I went to the study to find my father. He was now a sinecure official, so he was either in his room or in the study.
"father."
"Ying'er is here." My father was practicing calligraphy, so I walked over and waited for him to finish before speaking.
Dad put the calligraphy copybook aside, washed his hands, and wiped his handkerchief.
"What's wrong? You didn't bring Yu'er with you and came over by yourself."
"Father, this morning Yu'er pulled my hair. I was planning to go back to my room to comb my hair into a new bun, but I found that my room had been ransacked. There are so many people protecting it in the mansion, and it was still ransacked."
"Xiao Zhang told me about this. He said no one entered the mansion. Has anything been stolen?"
"Father, nothing is missing, but Yu'er's things were rummaged through. He is weak and he is very particular about what he uses and eats. His little pillow was turned over, as he sleeps with it every day."
“I’ll investigate personally.”
"Father, wait a minute. I was just thinking, besides the traitor, has Yuan Cheng been betrayed three times in the manor? If something like this happens again, I'm afraid he might do something irrational in a fit of anger."
Father sat in his chair: "I've thought about that too, but they've all been with me for many years. Yuan Cheng's secret guards are also in the manor; they've been with him for many years as well."
“The traitor Yuan Cheng didn’t tell me last time, but I think it must be someone he knows, which is why he didn’t tell me.”
"He is the steward of the Ninth Prince's mansion. He has been helping the Crown Prince deliver messages. Fortunately, he was not involved in Ruowei's wedding, otherwise you might not have been able to leave the Ninth Prince's mansion."
I clenched my fists. "Is that butler very capable? Could he betray Yuancheng?"
“He stayed in the Ninth Prince’s residence for many years.” Father sighed. “His son was doing things in Linyang, and he held a very important position. Back then, it was the father and son who helped bury the Ninth Princess’s body. I never imagined that everything would change in just over ten years.”
I slumped down beside him. So that's what happened. No wonder Xie Yuancheng didn't say anything; he must be feeling terrible.
“I’ll go investigate right away. Although Father’s skills aren’t what they used to be, he’s much more experienced than Yuan Cheng in investigating traitors.”
“Yu’er was making a fuss in the middle of the night, and he helped soothe her to sleep, but he hasn’t come back yet.”
My father comforted me from the side: "This is his teacher. I've met that old gentleman before. It was his plan that allowed us to escape. You can rest assured."
"Dad, I had another dream."
My father's eyes widened as I told him what would happen in a few days. He couldn't believe it at all: "How did you know that Yuancheng would secretly take you away the night after tomorrow? He said he was worried that you would be sad, so he planned to pack you up and take you away in the middle of the night while you were asleep."
"Dad, am I still your daughter? He wants to pack me up and take me away, and you actually agreed."
“Ying’er.” Her father sighed beside her, “Yuan Cheng had no choice. Now Da Zhao is in the hands of the Emperor and some people. If he wants to clear the name of the Ninth Prince, he can only find other ways. Brother Cui is also in danger now. We can’t watch him get into trouble like this.”
"What's wrong with Uncle Cui?"
“These are all matters of the court. Yuan Cheng originally planned to send you back to Linyang with Ruowei, but the road to Linyang has been blocked, so we have to take the road through the Western Regions and the Northern Desert. However, Su Ling and Xi Zhi are too young to be taken with us, so we can only leave them in the mansion for the time being.”
"It's that serious? I stay home with my child every day and I didn't even know."
My father gave me a booklet and some calligraphy samples: "When Yuancheng comes back, I'll discuss it with him. It's best to leave later and take another route."
"Father, I don't want to practice calligraphy. I can't even concentrate on it right now."
"You have to practice, even if you don't want to. I'm sending you out to investigate the ransacking of the house. You stay here and practice your calligraphy. Oh, by the way, we ran into Princess Chequ outside the city the day before yesterday. She's currently staying at Yingxian Tower."
"Caiwei?" Before I could even speak, my father left. They found Caiwei, but the people from Chequ Kingdom didn't take her away.
I was still debating whether or not to go to Yingxianlou with Wan'er, but now I'm not. I'll go with her tomorrow and take a look.
Looking at the calligraphy practice book on the table, I resignedly began to write. I couldn't leave until I finished. I should have brought Yu'er to find my father; that way, I wouldn't have been punished by having to write.
The booklet has twenty pages, and I've only written ten pages before my hand started to ache.
"Mother~ Hehe." It's Yu'er! How could he come to the main hall like this!
"Yu'er!" I ran over and patted his little bottom: "You've been so naughty, you're not allowed to come here again!"
If he runs around recklessly and encounters bad guys coming to the Ji residence, won't he be arrested?
When Yu'er saw my fierce expression, she immediately wiped away her tears and cried very sadly.
The mother rushed in: "Ying'er, how could you be so mean to him? I brought Yu'er here. He was struggling to get down to see you, so I let him come first and watched from behind."
Yu'er cried even harder, and I felt embarrassed. I quickly comforted my son, "Yu'er, be good. It's Mommy's fault. Let Yu'er get a beating."
I reached out to let Yu'er hit me, but he turned away and ignored me. I leaned in and kissed him, trying to appease him: "Yu'er, don't cry. Mommy will take you to eat something delicious, okay?"
Yu'er then looked at me and patted my face. He wasn't very strong, so I just let him pat me.
"Ying'er, why were you so angry just now?" Her mother picked up Yu'er and carried her over.
"Mother, there's a reason." I asked Qiao'er to take Yu'er outside for a while, and then briefly explained the situation to my mother.
"How could this happen so suddenly?" Mother was also unaware; those two grown men really did a good job keeping it a secret.
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