Chapter 998 Heartwarming Daily Life (Jingkong Fan)
The three children were tired from playing.
Xiao Cong was the first to fall asleep in Duke Anguo's arms. Little Xiao Xuan, held by Shangguan Yan, was also very sleepy, his little bald head bobbing up and down like a chick pecking at rice.
Xiao Yan wanted to light a few more firecrackers, but unfortunately the battery was used up, and she dragged her small body weakly to Gu Jiao's side.
She was too tired to walk any further, so Gu Jiao picked her up.
Duke Anguo said gently, "Let's send the children back to sleep first. His Majesty should also rest."
Shangguan Yan nodded, looked at Xiao Xuan, who was sleeping soundly in her arms, with affection, and wrapped the cloak around his body tighter: "It's freezing cold, we should go back."
Actually, the twins are usually quite robust and don't get sick easily, even in wind and rain. It's just that Xiao Xuan is weak and needs constant care.
"Your Majesty, let this old servant do it." Wu Sixi was about to take the child from Shangguan Yan's arms and send it back to Xiao Heng and Gu Jiao's bedroom.
The drunken Shangguan Qing suddenly put down his wine jug and strode towards the two of them: "Alright, alright, I'll take over. You go back with my mother."
Shangguan Yan looked at her son suspiciously, very worried that he might break her precious child while drunk.
Shangguan Qing is a natural drinker; he gets drunk quickly but also sobers up quickly. Otherwise, how could he have single-handedly drunk a whole table of relatives and friends under the table at Xiao Heng and Gu Jiao's wedding?
"Don't worry, he won't get hurt. I have no children, and I'm counting on him to take care of me in my old age!"
Shangguan Yan glared at him fiercely again: "After the New Year, you must choose a principal wife for me!"
Shangguan Qing touched his nose dejectedly.
When you've had too much to drink, you start talking nonsense, bringing up the wrong thing of all.
He laughed and said, "Okay, okay, I'll choose, I'll choose! I'll listen to Mother! I'm the best boy!"
Upon hearing this, Shangguan Yan knew he was just making excuses for her. She shook her head helplessly and said, "I should just knock you out with a stick and throw you into some ravine. Let's see if you're as lucky as your brother and get picked up by one of my daughters-in-law."
Shangguan Qing: ...Mother, you're not serious.
With Xiao Cong in his left hand and Xiao Xuan in his right, Shangguan Qing escorted the person back to Zhaoyang Palace.
Gu Jiao carried Xiao Yan and escorted Duke Anguo to the palace gate.
Now that Duke Anguo could move freely, he looked at Gu Jiao and the little one perched on her shoulder and sighed, "I told you not to send her off, but you insisted on sending her so far in the strong wind. What if Yan'er gets cold?"
Xiao Yan lifted one eyelid: "Grandpa, I won't get cold."
Duke Anguo chuckled.
Xiao Yan was the strongest and most energetic of the three children, and she seemed to have never been sick since she was a child.
But he still dared not be careless.
"I'll leave you here. I'm off."
"Goodbye, Grandpa." Xiao Yan waved her little hand at her mother while nestled in her arms.
Duke Anguo smiled indulgently, turned around and got into the carriage.
Gu Jiao looked down at the little one in her arms: "Alright, let's go back too—"
Before the word "palace" could be finished, Xiao Yan closed her eyes, started snoring, and fell asleep instantly.
It's really not easy to have made it this far.
Gu Jiao smiled and thought, "Kids are so much fun."
She carried Xiao Yan back to the palace.
Meanwhile, Shangguan Yan returned to her own palace.
She sat in front of the dressing table, and a young palace maid came forward to take her hair out.
She looked at herself in the bronze mirror and pressed her aching temples.
Wu Sixi thoughtfully stepped forward and asked, "Your Majesty, are you tired?"
Shangguan Yan said with a smile, "I'm getting old, and I'm not the same as when I was young. I remember when we were at the imperial mausoleum, Qing'er always tried to come up with all sorts of creative ways to stay up late on New Year's Eve, and before we knew it, it was the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year."
Wu Sixi hurriedly said, "Look at what you're saying, how old are you?"
Although he is over forty, His Majesty has a naturally superior bone structure and does not look old at all. On the contrary, he is very charming. His eyes, though sharp, are also clean and clear.
Shangguan Yan smiled. As an emperor who held the power of life and death, she did not care about her appearance.
Wu Sixi hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
"What's wrong now?" She saw Wu Sixi's expression in the bronze mirror.
Wu Sixi smiled awkwardly, glanced at the little palace maid who was undoing Shangguan Yan's makeup and hair, and said, "This servant will do it."
Shangguan Yan raised her hand indifferently.
The young palace maid understood and tactfully withdrew.
As Wu Sixi removed the hairpin from Shangguan Yan's hair, he chuckled dryly, "Lord Yanshan... has sent New Year's gifts again. Would Your Majesty like to take a look?"
In fact, as early as the year Shangguan Yan ascended the throne, Lord Yanshan had requested to relinquish his royal status. The memorial was held up in the cabinet for several years, and Shangguan Yan had not approved it.
As for why the memorial was not allowed, outsiders were unaware of the inside story, but Wu Sixi, as Shangguan Yan's confidant, knew a thing or two about it.
This Prince Yanshan is not a member of the Great Yan royal family. He is the child of the late Empress Dowager and a Turk. However, the late Empress Dowager was not the biological mother of the Emperor Emeritus. Therefore, he has no blood relation with Your Majesty.
For the first two years, Yeonsan-gun did not understand his intentions. He assumed that Yeonsan-gun was considering the uncle-nephew relationship with His Majesty since childhood and often sent letters and gifts.
Until one time...
He inadvertently bumped into Yeonsan-gun, who had come to the palace to visit His Majesty.
Lord Yeonsan pinned His Majesty against the desk, gazing intently at him, and said, "Shangguan Yan, I told you before, when we meet again, I will no longer be your royal uncle."
Good heavens, he only regretted not being blind and deaf, otherwise he would have been silenced.
Fortunately, His Majesty was merciful and did not mention killing him.
His Majesty pushed Yeonsan away, but whether it was because of his own interruption or because His Majesty had no interest in Yeonsan, he had no idea.
"No need, just put it in the warehouse," Shangguan Yan said calmly.
Wu Sixi opened his mouth: "Ah...this..."
Shangguan Yan looked at him coldly in the bronze mirror: "What do you mean 'what'? Just do what I tell you to do."
Just as Wu Sixi was at a loss for what to do, Shangguan Qing arrived.
Wu Sixi felt as if he had been granted a pardon!
Shangguan Qing strode inside: "I'll talk to my mother for a bit. Go and get me a bowl of hangover soup!"
"Yes! Yes!" Wu Sixi hurriedly withdrew.
With no one to take her hair off, Shangguan Yan had to do it herself.
Shangguan Qing hooked a stool with his foot and sat down next to her, tilting his head to look at her with a smile: "My mother is so beautiful! No other woman can compare!"
Shangguan Yan said indifferently, "Do you even need to tell me that?"
Shangguan Qing curled his lip and said, "Well, you're quite something."
"Are Cong'er and the others asleep?" Shangguan Yan removed the pearl hairpin from her hair.
Shangguan Qing hummed in agreement.
Shangguan Yan said, "Then what are you doing in my palace in the middle of the night? Did you drink too much and wander into the wrong palace?"
Shangguan Qing said frankly, "I heard that Lord Yanshan sent you a New Year's gift again. I'd like to see it."
Shangguan Yan calmly said, "If you want to see it, go see it yourself."
Shangguan Qing abruptly changed the subject: "He's a really nice person."
Shangguan Yan paused in removing her earrings, then looked at her son in the bronze mirror. Shangguan Qing was looking down at his new official boots.
She didn't ask Shangguan Qing how he knew. Shangguan Qing seemed unreliable, but he was actually very clever, and many things couldn't be hidden from him.
"Are you worried that I won't like it if you find me a stepfather? No way, I'm all grown up now, whether I have a stepfather or not won't affect me at all. Besides—"
He paused for a moment, then said, "Yeonsan-kun has been quite good to me. There are some things he doesn't want me to tell you, but I thought I'd tell you anyway. It's not to force you to accept anyone's feelings, but so that you know the whole truth and can then carefully consider your choices."
“When I was a child, I always liked to escape from the royal tomb and venture out into the world. Although I had guards with me, I always liked to go to dangerous places. Several times I escaped death thanks to Yeonsan-gun.”
“He’s often away from the capital, and people always assume he’s just traveling around. But most of the time he’s actually looking for me, but he can’t say it, for fear that his grandfather will find out and suspect you of colluding with him.”
He pulled a wooden dagger from his pocket.
There are several teeth marks on it, which were made by the woman who was about to give birth, underground in Ghost Mountain.
"He made it for me when I was seven years old."
"Also, when you were dealing with the Crown Prince, a lot of information about the Crown Prince's residence was leaked to your palace servants by him."
"So, if you're not accepting him because you're worried about me, you can put your mind at ease."
...
The next day, Xiao Heng paid the price for his betrayal of Jingkong; he woke up with a sore back and aching waist.
That kid is so heavy!
When I was little, I was so small that I always looked a year younger than my peers. How come I grew up to be so tall?
At thirteen years old, he was already taller than Gu Yan and Gu Xiaoshun, who were both fifteen!
Gu Jiao sat up, grunted, and looked at him: "With so many guards, you insisted on carrying them yourself. Did it hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt!" Xiao Heng immediately stopped rubbing his back and sat up straight, trying to save face.
Gu Jiao pursed her upturned lips, slowly pulled back the quilt behind her, revealing three dark, shiny little heads.
The three of them blinked at him.
Xiao Heng was taken aback when he heard Gu Jiao teasingly say, "Did you hear that? Father just said it doesn't hurt anymore, so we can go hiking today."
Xiao Heng: "...!!"
Hahahaha, I can't hold back anymore!
(End of this chapter)
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