Chapter 133 Little Bone is Back
Song Jiyun stood at the door, neither too close nor too far, with a polite smile on her face. "My great-aunt knows that Brother Xian has arrived and is waiting for me at Songhe Hall."
Song Jiyun stood there gracefully.
If Yao Shisan were here now, he would be astonished that the arrogant and rude Miss Song had become such a different person.
Zhou Congxian neither looked at her nor responded to her.
Looking at his father, who was still holding onto the reins, he said, "Father, don't forget, His Majesty doesn't necessarily need Zhou Congxian by his side."
His Majesty has promoted just as many people as he has purged the capital.
New rich.
Anyone can be one.
The Duke's eyes softened for a moment, and he loosened his grip on the reins.
Zhou Congxian had only been in Beijing for a quarter of an hour when he left without even going home.
The Duke watched his son's retreating figure, his lips slowly tightening.
He became increasingly silent after the deaths of Jiang and Fu'er.
His son has grown into the image he envisioned, but he is also drifting further and further away from them.
He turned to look at Song Jiyun, who was still standing at the door.
"Who let you out?!"
The Duke showed no kindness towards the daughter who had almost become his daughter-in-law.
If it weren't for the old lady's insistence on protecting her, there would be nowhere for her to stay in the mansion.
Song Jiyun bowed humbly, "My great-aunt has been missing my brother Congxian for a long time. She has only just recovered a little, and I was just afraid that she would be anxious waiting for me."
The Duke flicked his sleeve and said, "Your brother is not here. From now on, you will still be called the Heir Apparent, just like everyone else."
Song Jiyun's expression remained unchanged; he simply became more respectful.
"yes."
The Duke flicked his sleeves and entered the mansion without giving Song Jiyun another glance.
Song Jiyun bowed deeply, his manners impeccable and his demeanor humble; no one could find fault with him.
She is now called Miss Biao, but in the old lady's courtyard, she is no different from a head maid.
Until the Duke's footsteps stopped.
She slowly got up.
There wasn't a trace of anger.
Not a bit impatient.
It was as if the reprimand from before had not been directed at her at all.
Only her hands, clasped together in front of her abdomen, with their slightly white fingertips, seemed to reveal a hint of her emotions.
When Zhou Congxian rushed to the city gate, the soldiers guarding the city all thought they were seeing things.
They just went in, why are they out again?
"Woof woof".
Zhou Congxian's ears twitched slightly, and he abruptly stopped his horse.
"Woof woof!!"
Now it's much clearer.
He looked toward the source of the sound.
A yellow figure rushed over like lightning!
"Little Bone! Where are you running to! Apply the medicine!"
He was being chased by Ji Xiaoman, who couldn't even outrun it.
Zhou Congxian had just squatted down when Xiao Gutou pounced on him, its wet, hot tongue licking his hand.
"Your Highness!"
Ji Xiaoman recognized the person who had been tackled by Xiao Gutou and greeted him with delight.
Zhou Congxian hugged the little bone with its golden fur, pinching its cheeks, and a surge of joy at having found something he had lost.
"Thank goodness, you're still alive!"
Ji Xiaoman squatted down, holding Xiao Gutou's injured leg and scolding, "You haven't recovered yet, and you're running around again!"
Zhou Congxian then noticed that Xiao Gutou's legs were trembling.
"What's going on? The steward of the manor said..."
He couldn't bear to say that word.
"When Little Bone came to me covered in blood, I was quite startled!"
Ji Xiaoman skillfully applied medicine to Xiao Gutou, then secured his leg with wooden sticks, carefully wrapping all the sticks with white cloth.
"I don't know what happened to Xiao Gutou. Since you weren't in the capital, I've been taking care of him. It's just that his leg trembles when he runs around too much."
As if to comfort the two of them, Little Bone first licked Ji Xiaoman's hand, and then turned to lick Zhou Congxian's hand.
Zhou Congxian rubbed Xiao Gutou's head. "Then come with me. Fu'er misses you."
I don't know if it understood, but it tilted its head back and barked several times in a row!
Zhou Congxian looked into its bright eyes and said, "Let's go find Fu'er."
He tied the small bone to his body with a piece of cloth.
They arrived in the capital in less than an hour.
Zhou Congxian is gone.
They left with a dog.
Inside the imperial city.
His Majesty has just come out of the Empress's bedroom.
More than forty palace servants from the Fengyi Palace were kneeling in front of the palace.
Everyone was trembling with fear.
The Empress has miscarried; this was His Majesty's first child.
"Kill them all."
His Majesty uttered a single word, and immediately cries of grief echoed throughout the Phoenix Palace.
His Majesty turned to look at the trusted female official beside the Empress.
"Including you."
The female official collapsed to the ground, her face turning deathly pale.
His Majesty clenched his right fist and coughed a few times. Eunuch Tian immediately stepped forward to help him up.
As the palanquin began to move, His Majesty had just stepped out of the Phoenix Palace when Eunuch Tian waved his hand, and a squad of imperial guards immediately rushed in.
There weren't many screams heard before the entire Fengyi Palace was wiped out.
It seems the emperor was furious because he had lost his first son.
In reality.
This was solely to cover up the Empress's scandal.
When Eunuch Tian learned of this, he broke out in a cold sweat.
Even he didn't get a whisper of it, yet His Majesty had everyone wiped out! He didn't give the Empress any chance to react at all.
The current Empress is merely a figurehead.
Eunuch Tian took one last look at the plaque of the Phoenix Palace, then quickly caught up with His Majesty's palanquin.
"Your Majesty, it's all clean now."
"There is one more thing. Lord Zhou went to the capital, but the old lady of the Duke's mansion was critically ill and called him back. When Lord Zhou returned to his doorstep, he learned that the old lady had recovered, so he left without even entering the house."
His Majesty opened his eyes, which had been feigning sleep, and then softly hummed in agreement.
"For Zhou Qing's sake, let's tolerate the Duke of England for now."
Eunuch Tian immediately bowed his head, "Your Majesty is magnanimous."
He then continued, "General Meng, the Duke of Zhenguo, has already submitted more than a dozen memorials."
His Majesty remained silent.
Along the long palace path, only the soft rustling of footsteps could be heard.
Eunuch Tian followed closely beside the sedan chair, even his breathing was soft.
Your Majesty has been on the throne for five years, and the Empress Dowager controls the government. Your Majesty seems to have no interest in politics and doesn't concern himself with it.
Until the beginning of the year, His Majesty seemed to have changed, yet also seemed unchanged.
The emperor's mind is hard to fathom.
Even he dares not presume to guess the Emperor's will now.
His Majesty did not utter a single word until his palanquin arrived at the Hall of Diligent Governance.
Eunuch Tian secretly instructed a young eunuch to deliver a message.
"Go to the palace gate and tell General Meng that I am powerless to help."
"yes."
The little eunuch dashed out in a flash.
*
"Mother, is Father not coming back?"
Fu'er now considers this place her home.
"Even my mother doesn't know."
Yao Shisan bent down to support Xiao Pangxi, who took unsteady little steps and drooled as she wobbled toward her sister.
She quickly glanced up at her daughter.
"Now, Mother, Little Fatty, Uncle, Sister Shuang'er, Uncle Wei Xun, Aunt Ran, Uncle Zhuo, and also Xiulian, Xiuzhou, Aunt Zhang, so many people are here. Aren't you happy?"
"I'm so happy! But Daddy isn't here."
Fu'er's idea was simple: not a single person could be missing.
She liked everyone.
Wei Xun was the first to protest, "Fu'er should call Shuang'er 'Auntie'."
Shuang'er is the older sister, so isn't that a generational difference between them?
He Ran protested second, "Call her aunt! All that food we've been feeding her for nothing!"
The bookworm is still too thin-skinned.
Only by reinforcing her status as her aunt can she ensure that the bookworm won't escape her fate in the future.
"Woof woof!"
Everyone was stunned for a moment. "Where did that barking come from?"
Only Fu'er reflexively looked towards the screen wall at the main entrance.
"Little Bone".
"Fu'er, Little Bone is someone else's dog in the capital..."
"Woof woof woof!!—"
Yao Shisan just handed the little chubby boy over to the wet nurse.
A yellow figure rushed in, heading straight for Fu'er.
"There's a dog!"
The change was too sudden, and the dog was too fast!
He Ran's expression changed, and he rolled to the side with Fu'er in his arms, avoiding the big yellow dog's attack.
"Little Bone!"
Fu'er, who was in his arms, started dancing and gesturing excitedly.
Little Bone licked Fu'er's feet, then slowly licked her hands.
Its tail was practically wagging in the air!
"Mother! It really is Little Bone!"
When Yao Shisan took Fu'er away, Xiao Gutou was still a puppy, and meat had to be cut into pieces for it before eating.
It has now grown into a big dog!
From the capital to Dingxian.
How did it come about?
Yao Shisan subconsciously looked towards the door.
Zhou Congxian walked in, looking travel-worn.
Yao Shisan was shocked. Why did he come back? If it weren't for Old Madam Zhou's critical illness, even if he didn't need to serve her, shouldn't he have stayed in the mansion for a while longer?
The first thing Zhou Congxian did upon entering was to immobilize Xiao Gutou's injured foot.
"You can't run anymore today."
"Daddy, is Little Bone hurt?"
Fu'er had already gotten down from He Ran's arms and was now hugging Xiao Gutou's neck, gently stroking it.
Zhou Congxian nodded, "Little Bone can't run too much now, otherwise he won't be able to walk."
He knew the nature of dogs well, so he only let Little Bone play with him for a short while each day.
Fu'er was a little sad. "Little bone doesn't hurt. I'll blow on it for you."
Then she looked at her mother and asked, "Mother, could Grandpa Sun treat Little Bone?"
Yao Shisan looked into his daughter's eyes and said, "Okay."
She didn't know if Uncle Sun could treat dogs. She sent someone to invite him, but he hadn't returned yet; Doctor Sun had gone up the mountain to collect herbs.
At night, Little Bone fell asleep at Fu'er's feet.
They hadn't seen each other for a year.
I recognized them all at a glance.
When Fu'er brought Little Bone back from the temple fair at Baima Temple, she already regarded Little Bone as her closest companion.
Yao Shisan never expected that Zhou Congxian could raise a dog that everyone else disliked so well.
They even brought it all the way from afar.
"Thanks."
She thanked him sincerely, and then asked about Madam Zhou's condition, saying, "How is Madam Zhou's health? You should stay at home for a while longer."
Zhou Congxian said, "Grandmother is fine; His Majesty has ordered the imperial physicians to treat her."
Everyone had the leisure to look after him, and his father was beaming with joy.
It doesn't look like there's a sick person in the house at all.
"I just didn't protect the little bone properly, and my father had someone beat its leg."
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