Fu Qichen, dressed in fine clothes, was about to leave.
Just as he was about to mount his horse, a lovely little dumpling came running over from the side, hugged his leg, and called out "Daddy" in a soft, sweet voice!
Fu Qichen froze, slowly lowered his head, and met a familiar face.
The little boy stared blankly at the young man above him, his little hands slowly loosening, and he staggered back two steps.
"You are... Jiang Huai?" Fu Qichen bent down to meet the little bun's cautious yet slightly bewildered face.
"You're not Daddy!" The little boy bit his finger and turned to pounce on another tall young man.
"Xi Hu!" Jiang Huai hugged An Yi tightly, glanced back at Fu Qichen, buried his head in An Yi's lap, feeling both shy and anxious.
A strange look flashed in Fu Qichen's eyes. He squatted down, waved to Jiang Huai, and said with a smile, "Huai'er, I'm your second uncle. We met at the cake shop yesterday, remember?"
Jiang Huai glanced back at Fu Qichen, but remained silent.
An Yi picked up Jiang Huai and said calmly, "Young Master Fu, my young master wishes to see the eldest young master. Please send someone to inform him."
Fu Qichen stood up and gestured for them to enter, saying, "Brother, you must be waiting. Please come in! Someone, take you both to Mingxuan Pavilion!"
The two entered the mansion and encountered Fu Ting on their way to Mingxuan Pavilion.
An Yi put Jiang Huai down and bowed.
Jiang Huai looked up at Fu Ting, and after a beat's delay, he called out "Grandpa" in a not-so-enthusiastic tone.
Fu Ting sensed something amiss, stepped forward, took Jiang Huai's little hand, and asked softly, "Isn't Huai'er happy to see Grandpa?"
An Yi said, "Young Master just mistook the Second Young Master for the Eldest Young Master, he's shy!"
Fu Ting smiled and led Jiang Huai toward Mingxuan Pavilion.
Jiang Huai only wanted to see his father. After seeing Fu Qiyuan, he smiled and happily rushed into Fu Qiyuan's arms.
"Father, let's go find Mother!" Jiang Huai said without hesitation when he saw his father.
Once he confirmed that his father hadn't abandoned him and that he could see him whenever he wanted, the slight awkwardness in his heart vanished, and he naturally started thinking about the country.
Fu Ting and his son Fu Qiyuan were both taken aback by Jiang Huai's directness.
We absolutely have to stay at the Fu residence for a meal!
Fu Ting began racking his brains to coax Jiang Huai.
"Huai'er, Grandpa has a little turtle, a koi fish, and a parrot at his house. Grandpa will take you to see them."
Jiang Huai didn't want to go. His new home had a huge pond, and the butler had told him that there was a pair of flying white cranes living in it, which he hadn't seen yet!
He held his grandfather's hand with his left hand and his father's hand with his right, and said warmly, "Grandpa, Father, let's go back to see the white cranes. Huai'er's new home has big birds that can fly!"
Fu Ting remained silent. Those were red-crowned cranes, bestowed by the Emperor; the manor did not possess any.
"Huai'er, would you like some snacks first? The osmanthus pastries made at Grandpa's house are delicious, would you like to try some?"
Jiang Huai asked softly, "Are egg tarts delicious? Huai'er wants to eat egg tarts."
Egg tarts...the manor doesn't have any!
Fu Ting took a deep breath, his voice becoming even softer, "Huai'er, stay and have lunch with Grandpa and Father before going back to find your mother, okay?"
Jiang Huai frowned, looking conflicted. "But Mother promised Huai'er that she would make Huai'er a lobster pizza for lunch!"
Lobster...and what's pizza?
Fu Ting looked at his son silently, his expression one of despair.
Looking at his son's somewhat troubled face, Fu Qiyuan steeled his heart and said, "Huai'er, you are a guest now. Do you understand the principle of 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do'? Grandpa would like you to stay with him a little longer and have a meal with him. It's not too difficult, is it?"
Jiang Huai opened his mouth, his bright black eyes looking at his grandfather and then at his father. His little face fell, and he said helplessly, "Then, then Huai'er will spend more time with Grandpa. If there's no more lobster pizza, can we have shrimp and egg custard?"
Fu Ting waved his hand happily, "Yes, yes, yes! Someone, tell the kitchen to make steamed egg custard for the young master at noon, and also prepare some of the freshest shrimp and crabs. If you don't have any, go and buy them!"
The butler responded and went to prepare, and Jiang Huai finally smiled.
Three generations of a family were strolling around the back garden of the Minister's mansion, while a group of servants hid in a corner and chattered amongst themselves.
"Is that really the eldest son of the young master?"
"It can't be fake! Look how much he looks like our young master!"
"But I heard that the young master's birth mother is just a lowly country girl. I'm afraid she wouldn't be able to enter our household, would she?"
"They already have a child, and the master and the eldest son like her so much, so it's not a big deal to bring that woman in as a concubine!"
"That's not necessarily true. Madam is determined to have Princess Yi'an as her daughter-in-law. Given Princess Yi'an's personality, how could she possibly allow the eldest son to take a concubine? I'm afraid this young master will also become a thorn in Princess Yi'an's side!"
"You're right, let's keep our distance...!"
Madam Cheng lay listlessly on the bed. Seeing that her son had not yet brought her tea and snacks, she asked the maid beside her.
The maid hesitated for a moment before telling the truth.
Madam Cheng's eyes lit up, and she eagerly asked her maid to help her out.
There was a small bridge by the pond in the garden. Jiang Huai held onto the railing with one hand and threw fish bait into the pond with the other.
Several plump koi carp leaped out of the water to snatch fish food.
Jiang Huai chuckled and pointed at one of the koi leaping out of the water, shouting to Fu Ting, "Grandpa, a big fish jumped up!"
Fu Ting summoned a tortoise by the artificial hill not far away, then turned to his grandson and laughed, "Huai'er is really amazing!"
When Cheng came around from the other side of the artificial hill, he did not see Fu Ting.
She walked up to Jiang Huai with a big smile and said, "Huai'er, I am your grandmother. Quickly call me grandmother."
Jiang Huai turned his head and glanced at Cheng Shi, said nothing, clapped his hands and left.
Madam Cheng anxiously reached out to grab him, "Huai'er, it's your grandmother! Come here and let your grandmother hug you!"
Jiang Huai nimbly withdrew his hand, put his small hands behind his back, and ran towards the artificial hill.
"Stop him!" Cheng shouted.
The maids following behind him hurried to catch Jiang Huai.
One of the maids was stronger. When Jiang Huai struggled to break free, the other maid stuck out her foot and tripped him. Jiang Huai stumbled and fell to the ground, and the little boy slid towards the pond.
With a "thump".
"Huai'er!" Fu Ting's eyes were bloodshot.
Immediately afterwards, there was another "plop" as Fu Qiyuan also jumped into the pond.
Jiang Huai was pulled out of the water by Fu Qiyuan and burst into tears.
Hearing the commotion, An Yi, who was hiding not far away, also flew over.
His face was ashen as he stared at Madam Cheng and the trembling maids beside her, and asked in a cold voice, "Who did this?"
Cheng's face turned pale, and she said anxiously and flusteredly, "No, it wasn't intentional. I just wanted to hug Huai'er, I didn't expect..."
Before Cheng could finish speaking, An Yi kicked the three maids into the pond, one after the other.
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