Chapter 329 Madam, Young Master is Back
Xiao Mo and Qin Siyao walked on the streets of the capital.
Because the two women were so beautiful, especially Qin Siyao, who was stunningly beautiful, any passerby would stop and stare at them for a few seconds.
Xiao Mo and Qin Siyao didn't seem to care much about this.
However, Xiao Mo really didn't expect that after nearly seven years, the little girl who was only a teenager back then had grown up so much and become such a graceful young lady.
A girl changes a lot as she grows up.
That's a really good statement.
Qin Siyao never expected that the little boy from back then was only the same height as her, and she was even half a head taller than him at the time.
Now, he's only as tall as his shoulder!
When looking at him, I need to raise my head.
"What's wrong?"
Xiao Mo noticed that Qin Siyao kept looking up at him, so he asked.
"It's nothing," Qin Siyao shook her head. "It's just that you seem so tall, Xiao Mo. I used to be taller than you."
“Childhood is childhood, and now is now, so naturally they are different,” Xiao Mo said with a smile.
"Oh, okay." Qin Siyao nodded, not taking it to heart.
She thought Xiao Mo was fine the way he was now.
Moreover, in Qin Siyao's opinion, although Xiao Mo was much taller than before, he was still the same person and had not changed.
The two walked and chatted along the way, but most of the time Qin Siyao talked about what she had encountered over the years, such as how she was made difficult by her father and mother, how she learned music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and how she left the palace to start her own household.
Xiao Mo listened attentively from the side, nodding occasionally.
If Qin Siyao asked Xiao Mo about his military life, Xiao Mo would then answer a few questions.
Although the two sides had not seen each other for nearly seven years.
But the two sides are still the same as they were seven years ago—
She's always talking.
And he kept listening.
The only difference is that the little boy and girl from back then have grown up and reached marriageable age.
Not long after, Xiao Mo and Qin Siyao returned to the Xiao residence.
Xiao Mo led Qin Siyao directly to the backyard of the Xiao residence.
As Xiao Mo got closer to his mother's courtyard, his pace quickened.
At this moment, Qin Siyao stopped talking and just quietly stayed with him.
When Xiao Mo arrived at the gate of the courtyard where he had lived since childhood, looking at everything familiar in the courtyard and smelling the familiar aroma of food, Xiao Mo felt a sense of disorientation. He felt as if he had never left this place.
A short while later.
The maid Cui Cui brought the food out of the kitchen. When she saw a man standing outside the door, she was slightly taken aback and looked at him curiously.
She felt that the man was familiar, but she couldn't remember who he was.
"Aunt Cui, I'm back," Xiao Mo said slowly.
"Young Master? Is that really you?" Cui Cui's eyes lit up suddenly, and she hurriedly called out towards the kitchen, "Madam, the young master is back! The young master is back!"
As Cui Cui finished speaking, a woman walked briskly out of the kitchen while wiping her hands.
Looking at his mother, who was nearly forty years old, Xiao Mo stared blankly, as if time had never left the slightest mark on her face.
It seemed that her mother was still the same as before she left, without any change.
Zhou Ruoxi walked up to her child. Looking at the child, who was taller than her, her eyes were veiled with a thin mist. Her small hands gripped her sleeves tightly, and her gaze never left Xiao Mo for a moment.
It was as if, for this mother, her long-awaited child had finally returned; everything felt like a dream, as if it were all unreal.
"Mother, I'm back," Xiao Mo said slowly as he looked at his mother.
"Mmm." Zhou Ruoxi nodded, tears welling in her eyes, her small hand gently stroking the child's cheek. "You've lost weight."
"I haven't lost weight," Xiao Mo said with a smile. "It's just that the child has grown taller, so he looks thinner."
"Young Master, Madam knew you would return to the city as soon as you came back, so she got up very early and prepared a welcome feast for you. Please come and eat!" Cui Cui said happily.
"good."
Xiao Mo responded and sat down on the stone bench with his mother and Qin Siyao.
Xiao Mo ate the food his mother had cooked. It tasted the same as before, without any change, nor did it need to be changed.
"Eat slowly, it's like you're starving in the military camp." Zhou Ruoxi sat to the side, constantly adding rice to her child's plate.
"No food in the army camp tastes as good as Mother's cooking." Xiao Mo smiled. "Why doesn't Mother eat?"
"Eat." Zhou Ruoxi poured Xiao Mo a bowl of soup. "But Mother would rather see you eat, Mo'er."
"Then the child should eat more." Xiao Mo chuckled, like a child, and buried his head in his rice.
After an incense stick had burned, Xiao Mo had eaten and drunk his fill. Zhou Ruoxi brewed a pot of tea for him and asked how he had been living in the army all these years.
To put his mother's mind at ease, Xiao Mo naturally said that he was doing well, without mentioning at all the times he was almost killed by training in the military camp or the times he almost became someone else's merit on the battlefield.
Just as Xiao Mo was having a good time catching up with his mother, Eunuch Li from the palace arrived outside the courtyard.
When Eunuch Li saw that the princess was also there, he was taken aback for a moment, but he didn't pay much attention to it and pretended not to see her.
"Zhou Ruoxi of the Xiao family receives the imperial decree."
Eunuch Li cleared his throat and shouted in a hoarse voice.
"Your Majesty, I accept the decree." Zhou Ruoxi knelt on one knee, and Xiao Mo and the others also bowed in greeting.
"The third wife of the Xiao family, Zhou Ruoxi, gave birth to outstanding talents who are pillars of the nation. She should be highly praised and honored to demonstrate her virtuous example."
"You are hereby granted the title of First-Rank Imperial Lady, and bestowed with a pheasant-embroidered crown, befitting the glory of this imperial decree. May you continue to cultivate virtuous conduct, forever enjoy this abundant blessing, and live a long and prosperous life."
"Your Majesty, Zhou Ruoxi, accepts the imperial decree."
Zhou Ruoxi accepted the imperial edict.
"Congratulations, Madam. From now on, your status in the Xiao family will be equal to that of the First Madam," said Eunuch Li with a smile.
"Thank you very much, Eunuch Li." Zhou Ruoxi gestured to Cuicui.
Cui Cui immediately understood, took out some gold, and secretly slipped it to Eunuch Li.
"Alright, then I'll head back to report. Please don't see me off, Madam. With your current status, I really can't accept your presence."
"Take care, sir."
Zhou Ruoxi still insisted on seeing him off for a few steps, and then watched Eunuch Li leave.
Xiao Mo stood to one side, lost in thought.
Xiao Mo was naturally delighted that his mother had been granted the title of Lady of the Imperial Decree. From now on, his mother would no longer be a concubine in the Xiao family, but would have a status equivalent to that of the principal wife.
And he was no longer a son of a concubine.
However, Xiao Mo felt that His Majesty was deliberately elevating his status, as if he wanted to do something big.
"Young Master Xiao"
No sooner had Eunuch Li left than a maidservant walked into the courtyard.
"And who are you, young lady?" Xiao Mo asked.
"Reporting to young master, I am a maid from the Second Prince's residence. The Second Prince asked me to inquire whether you are free tonight, as His Highness wishes to host a welcome dinner for you."
(End of this chapter)
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