Chapter 152 [VIP]
Before long, everyone in the backyard woke up. Wang Ying dressed and rushed over. Seeing the soldiers at the door, her heart pounded. She hadn't expected this young girl to be of such high status.
Lin Sui explained to Marquis Wuping in a low voice how they met Xiao Qing'er. It wasn't that they brought her back on their own initiative; rather, the child climbed onto the carriage herself.
Li Mu was somewhat incredulous. His daughter was only four and a half years old, and when she stood up, she was only a little taller than the carriage. How did she manage to climb up there?
Just then, the ice truck was parked in the yard. When Xiao Qing'er saw that he didn't believe her, she struggled out of her father's arms and ran over to demonstrate it again.
She climbed onto the cart little by little, stepping on the wheels and clinging to the shaft, then grabbed some straw and covered herself with it.
Li Mu was both amused and exasperated by his daughter's antics. He stepped forward and pulled the little girl off the car, saying, "Why did you climb onto someone's car for no reason? Don't you know your father has been looking for you like crazy?"
Xiao Qing'er couldn't speak, she just looked at him with a pitiful expression.
Lin Sui, watching from the side, felt sorry for her and quickly said, "My lord, don't be anxious. Let's talk things out. She doesn't seem like a naughty child. Perhaps she has her reasons."
Upon hearing this, Qing'er burst into tears, turned around, and threw herself into Lin Sui's arms, sobbing softly.
This child has been motherless since he was a child. Li Mu spends most of his time in the military camp and usually lives in the mansion with his grandmother and a wet nurse.
Even though Li Mu loved her very much, he was still a man after all. At most, he could only buy her some delicious food and fun things, but he couldn't meet her emotional needs.
Now, being so gently held and comforted in Lin Sui's arms, she felt even more heartbroken and clung tightly to Lin Sui's waist.
Lin Sui gave Marquis Wuping a reproachful look, which made Li Mu scratch his head awkwardly, as if he had done something wrong.
After finally calming the child down, Li Mu bowed and apologized to the two gentlemen, saying, "In a moment of panic, I broke into your esteemed residence. I hope you two gentlemen will not take offense."
Wang Ying dared not blame him and quickly said, "It's good that the misunderstanding has been cleared up. Lord Marquis, please take the child and go back to rest early."
Li Mu took his daughter from Lin Sui's arms and gave him a deep look. "Thank you very much, Lin Xiaolang, for taking care of Qing'er."
Lin Sui bowed in return, "I haven't thanked you yet for your help last time, Lord Marquis."
Wang Ying also remembered this matter, her gaze sweeping over the two of them, and a thought suddenly popped into her mind: these two are actually quite a good match!
It was getting late, so Li Mu didn't linger any longer. He carried the child and left the Chen family with his men.
Wang Ying and Lin Sui also went back to their bedrooms to sleep. Before going to bed, Wang Ying even went to the experimental field for a walk, wondering how Chen Qingyan was doing now.
*
Lying in the examination hall, Chen Qingyan was also thinking about him. Today was the first session, and the exam mainly revolved around the Four Books and Five Classics, including one five-character eight-line poem and four essays on the interpretation of the classics. Each question on the Four Books in the first session required more than two hundred characters, while the questions on the interpretation of the classics required more than three hundred characters. The exam also included one question on imperial edicts, judgments, memorials, and proclamations.
The first exam lasted three days. You were to type out the questions on the provided scratch paper within those three days and then transfer them to the actual exam paper on the last day.
Chen Qingyan didn't write much during the day. He mainly read all the questions carefully and made a rough draft in his mind. He had a good memory, and he could basically remember all the questions after reading them. He would write down the answers the next day after he finished solving the questions.
Chen Qingyan used a cloth-wrapped flatbread as a pillow, looked at a corner of the sky outside, and could hear the snoring and teeth grinding of the neighbor's son. It was a novel experience.
Invigilators continued to patrol at night, working in three shifts, 12 hours a day without stopping, thus eliminating the possibility of cheating.
The next morning, the candidates gradually woke up, hastily wiped their faces with a damp cloth, and continued answering the questions.
*
Li only learned the next morning that the child had been taken away. Upon learning that she was the daughter of Marquis Wuping, she exclaimed, "See what I told you? That child was clearly well-cared for; she was clean and adorable. It's just a pity she can't speak."
Fang Ling said, "Your Excellency speaks slowly, but you don't seem to have any problems. Perhaps you'll be able to speak in a couple of years."
While eating, everyone chatted about Marquis Wuping. Having lived in the prefectural city for a long time, they had heard some gossip.
During their last trip to the mountain to worship Buddha, Madam Li and Fang Ling heard Madam Liu mention Marquis Wuping and learned that he earned his title by risking his life.
Fang Ling said, "This person has had a tough time. Born as an illegitimate son, he was disliked by his parents and sent to the army for training at a young age. He finally made it through, but was tricked by his mistress and married such a fickle woman. Only this child stayed by his side."
This was the first time Wang Ying and Lin Sui had heard of such things; no wonder they rushed over so frantically last night. Luckily, the child climbed onto the car himself; if someone else had taken him, they might have been stabbed to death…
After finishing their meal, Wang Ying and Lin Sui went to open the shop as usual. The Li family's ice would still need to be delivered for six more days. Wang Ying reminded the two of them to be careful next time they delivered ice, so that they wouldn't bring back another child.
There were two ice shops in the morning, and Wang Ying didn't order much. She wrote down the addresses and had someone deliver the ice to them in the afternoon.
At noon, Qingyun came to deliver lunch. While eating, Wang Ying suddenly brought up Marquis Wuping, "Brother Sui, what do you think of Marquis Wuping?"
Lin Sui paused with her chopsticks, looked up and thought for a moment, then said, "He's an upright and good person. When we found him about Manager Wei's matter last time, the Wei family immediately came to apologize. I suppose he was helping us behind the scenes."
Qingyun chimed in, "I heard he broke into our house last night with a lot of soldiers, which nearly scared the gatekeeper, Xiao Fang, to death."
Wang Ying, also a father, deeply understands this: "It's probably because I'm too anxious. The child is so young and can't even talk yet. If Yuanbao were to disappear, I'd probably be even more anxious than him." Back then, Yuanbao secretly went to play in the experimental field, which nearly scared him to death.
Why did you suddenly bring him up, sister-in-law?
Wang Ying said, "I was thinking of trying to set you two up."
Lin Sui's eyes widened. "No, no, don't joke like that. If someone hears us, they'll definitely laugh at me..."
"How could that be? You divorced him, and he also divorced his wife. Although he is a few years older than you, he has status and ability, so they are a good match."
"The Marquis of Wuping would never be interested in me, sister-in-law, please don't say anything more." Lin Sui, her eyes red, got up and left.
Wang Ying didn't know what she had said wrong, so she scratched her head and looked at Qingyun, saying, "Don't you think they're a good match?"
Qingyun shook her head, "What kind of status does Marquis Wuping have? How could our family possibly be worthy of him? With his status, let alone finding a young woman, he could marry even a young lady or gentleman from a prominent family..."
Wang Ying suddenly realized that she had forgotten that this was ancient times, where class identity was deeply ingrained.
Not to mention that Lin Sui had been divorced once, even if he had never been married, given his status, he would not be able to marry Marquis Wuping and become a young master in the Marquis's household.
"I was too naive. I'll go apologize to Sui-di right now." Wang Ying got up and went to the backyard, where she saw Lin Sui squatting under the eaves, secretly wiping away tears. It was a heartbreaking sight.
"I'm sorry, my sister-in-law was just talking nonsense, please don't take it to heart."
Lin Sui quickly stood up and said, "It has nothing to do with you, sister-in-law. I know you're doing this for my own good."
Wang Ying reached out and wiped away his tears. "Our Lin Sui is so handsome and kind. He deserves to be the best man in the world. It's because others are blind that they don't like him."
*
At the Marquis of Wuping's residence, after Li Mu brought his daughter home last night, the child had been sullen and unhappy, unable to eat, and ignoring anyone when asked questions, which really worried him.
The child didn't eat anything at noon, only drank half a bowl of porridge, and didn't eat a single steamed bun.
When the wet nurse came over to speak, Li Mu put down the military book in his hand, his brows furrowing into a knot.
He got up and went to the backyard, where he saw his daughter sitting under the shade of a tree watching the puppy, while his mother was leaning back in a recliner, already snoring.
That's how it is when you get old; you fall asleep all the time.
The maid standing beside him was about to wake the old lady, but Li Mu waved his hand to signal her not to. "I'm taking Qing'er out to play for a while. Tell Mother when she wakes up."
"yes."
Li Mu held his daughter's little hand and said, "I heard you didn't eat anything at noon, but did you not like the food?"
Xiao Qing'er shook her head.
"Do you want to eat something else?"
Xiao Qing'er shook her head again.
Li Mu stopped, squatted down, and looked his daughter in the eye, saying, "Is there anything on your mind that you can tell your father?"
Li Qing'er hesitated for a moment, then pointed to the red silk ribbon on her head.
"It's so beautiful, did your wet nurse do it for you?"
Xiao Qing'er shook her head incessantly, like a rattle drum.
Li Mu was worried that his daughter would shake him dizzy, so he quickly pressed his hand down on her. "Okay, okay, so you really like this red silk?"
Qing'er's eyes lit up, and she nodded emphatically.
"How about Dad takes you to buy some more?"
The light in Qing'er's eyes vanished in an instant, and she shook her head, walking back dejectedly.
Li Mu was in a dilemma. He was a famous general who could see through the enemy's troop deployment, but he really couldn't figure out his daughter's thoughts!
Suddenly remembering how well her daughter had gotten along with the young man from the Lin family yesterday, she suggested, on a whim, "How about I take you to see that brother from yesterday?"
Qing'er jumped up and shook Li Mu's hand repeatedly, her face flushed with excitement.
Li Mu was also infected by his daughter's joyful mood, so he reached out, lifted her up, put her on his shoulders, and carried her out the door.
When they arrived at the ice shop, Wang Ying had just left. Since the shop wasn't busy, he took Qingyun to the woodworking shop to check on the progress of the dowry and to buy some fabric to make clothes for the family in the fall.
When Lin Sui saw the guests arrive, she got up to greet them, but when she saw that it was Marquis Wuping and his daughter, she didn't know what to say for a moment.
"Greetings, Lord Marquis."
"No need for formalities, Qing'er. Weren't you looking for this brother? Why don't you come over?"
Qing'er hid behind him, peeking out half of her face to examine Lin Sui. Because she couldn't speak, the child was very sensitive and was afraid that Lin Sui might be impatient with her.
Lin Sui smiled and waved to her, "Your name is Qing'er, right? That's a beautiful name."
Xiao Qing'er then shyly stepped forward, took Lin Sui's hand, and shook it.
Her little face was so adorable that Lin Sui took her for a stroll around the house, took out an abacus for her to play with, and taught her to read and write by looking at the account book, just like her sister-in-law taught Yuanbao.
Li Mu sat on the stool next to them, watching the two of them without moving, a feeling of indescribable happiness welling up in his heart.
A thought suddenly popped into my head: how wonderful it would be if Lin Xiaolang were Qing'er's father...
This idea grew stronger over time, until the shop closed, at which point Li Mu called his daughter home.
Qing'er waved goodbye to Lin Sui with reluctance.
Just then, Wang Ying and Qing Yun returned from the carpenter's shop and saw Marquis Wuping and the child in his arms, revealing a meaningful smile.
He thought to himself: "My mouth is truly blessed."
A note from the author:
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