The children in the carriage were all staring warily at the old man at the carriage door. When they heard him say that, they all looked nervously at Yaoguang in Hong Xiaoduo's arms.
My little sister has a huge sweet tooth, so don't be too easily tempted!
“I’m not going. My mother will buy me pretty clothes and delicious food. It’s okay if she doesn’t buy them; I don’t have to eat them. Father, you don’t have any children. Why don’t you go back and ask Mother to have one? You’re a high-ranking official; it’s not like you can’t afford to raise them.”
"It's no use if you like me. I... I wet the bed, I wet the bed every day." Yao Guang was anxious and scared. She wrapped her little arms tightly around Hong Xiaoduo's neck in her arms and shouted at the kind-looking person at the door with wide eyes.
His voice was so trembling with excitement that it almost split open.
The youngest child was shouting what she considered the harshest words. If it weren't for Wei Junpei's advanced age, Hong Xiaoduo would have almost burst out laughing.
Wei Junpei's face darkened, and he told him to go back and have a child with his wife!
"My lord, it's getting late, let's set off." The head guard, Yin Qingyun, couldn't bear to listen to or watch any longer, so he quickly stepped forward to persuade him.
Although Yao Guang was small, her voice was quite loud; it was impossible for any of the guards present not to hear it.
She wanted to laugh but felt it was inappropriate, and at the same time felt very sorry for her elder. The elder was an upright and incorruptible official who was not afraid of the emperor's power to speak frankly and criticize those treacherous officials without fear of intimidation or threats. But now he was being talked down by a four-year-old girl and was speechless and helpless.
Wei Junpei sighed and looked at Hong Xiaoduo: "It was my fault for forcing you to do something you couldn't have. In that case, farewell, and I hope we can meet again someday."
"May your journey be safe and successful, my lord. Tian Shu, set off." Hong Xiaoduo was not good at polite words.
Seeing that Wei Junpei had stepped aside, Tian Shu then tugged at the donkey with his whip, and the cart started moving.
Seeing the old man's forlorn expression, Tian Shu felt a little sorry for him. He hadn't expected that the little girl's mouth, besides being greedy, could be so greedy at crucial moments!
As the donkey cart receded further and further from view, Wei Junpei's heart remained unsettled. That young woman and those children had taught him a lesson.
He was initially disheartened by the emperor's incompetence and inability to distinguish between loyalty and treachery, and disappointed by the corrupt officials in the court who disregarded the people and embezzled public funds. He felt that his years of persistence were ridiculous, which led him to resign in despair.
However, looking at these uneducated children who have suffered hardships at a young age, yet are able to stay true to themselves in the face of wealth and know what they want most, regardless of whether they will regret their choices when they grow up, Wei Junpei felt that he was inferior to them at this moment.
In that instant, Wei Junpei felt a sudden sense of clarity. He put his hands behind his back, raised his head, straightened his chest, and turned around, saying, "Turn the car around and head back to Beijing."
Did he become an official for wealth and status? No, it was for the people and for the country. Everything he did was not for the person on the dragon throne.
How can you back down and want to give up just because he makes you feel disheartened?
Resigning from office and retiring to a secluded life is easy, but can one truly remain oblivious to worldly affairs after resigning? No!
So why run away? He just wants to go back to the capital, back to his position. He can't change much, but as long as he stays there, at least those corrupt officials won't have an easy time!
I was worried about what my master would do and how to comfort him, but now, listening to his tone and seeing his state, I breathed a sigh of relief. My master is alright. On the contrary, he is the same master he used to be.
Inside the donkey cart that had already gone some distance, Hong Xiaoduo patted her neck and little arm: "Yaoguang, if you don't let go, I'm going to have trouble breathing."
"Huh? Oh." Yao Guang then released her arm and quickly patted Hong Xiaoduo's chest gently.
The children nearby couldn't help but laugh.
"You're still laughing, you silly girl. You're giving up a life of wealth and luxury. Just don't regret it when you grow up." Hong Xiaoduo nodded at Kaiyang, who was grinning beside her.
Kaiyang shook his head: "I don't want any life of luxury, I'm fine as I am now."
Hong Xiaoduo looked at the little one in her arms and tapped her nose: "You, you're really something else, you dare to say anything." She almost sent the old man away on the spot.
In order to avoid going, they even resorted to self-deprecating humor, using bedwetting as an example!
"Hehe." Yao Guang chuckled smugly, her adorable appearance making Hong Xiaoduo unable to resist giving her a kiss, which made Yao Guang laugh even more happily.
The other children nearby were incredibly envious, but they couldn't very well ask their mothers for a kiss too!
The man driving the donkey cart outside never stopped smiling.
So, as long as they didn't want to and didn't agree, she wouldn't force them to be given away!
An hour and a half later, we arrived at a town called Fengling. Although it was also a town, it looked bigger and more impressive than the previous towns of Mopan and Liushu.
There were no city gates, but there were guards checking travel permits.
Tian Shu jumped off the carriage shaft, took the reins, and walked inside. Heeding Hong Xiaoduo's advice, he first looked for an inn. However, the two inns on the main street were already occupied, so he had to look for one at a slightly more remote end of the street.
Hong Xiaoduo meant that if there were no shared dormitories, they would want rooms with two beds each, so that four people could share one room, and two rooms would be enough.
The reason for doing this was not to save on the cost of two guest rooms, but because the children were young and she was worried about them being scattered around.
Tian Shu, with his sweet tongue, asked an old lady selling things by the roadside and found an inn in a back alley.
The back alley was rather deserted, and business was much worse; the small shop happened to be empty.
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