Chapter 566: Getting Along
Editor: Atlas Studios
Qi Xiuyuan carried Little Treasure to the reception pavilion with a smile. As he walked, he turned around and said to Li Jinghua, “Call Sister-in-law and Little Bear over for dinner.”
Seeing that he was getting along well with his son, Li Jinghua was delighted. She quickly smiled and agreed.
Little Bear could already walk unsteadily. He seemed to enjoy walking very much, so ever since he learned how to walk, he had been determined not to be carried and insisted on walking by himself.
Even if Zhaohua Courtyard and Zhaode Hall were closely located, the food would have already turned cold by the time this kid walked over. Therefore, Mu Yangling ignored his struggles and carried him quickly to the entrance of Zhaohua Courtyard’s reception pavilion. Seeing that her son was about to burst into tears, she put him down.
Little Bear staggered to the threshold and leaned on it. Although he was clumsy, he quickly put his right leg on it and crossed the threshold in an instant. When his entire body flipped over, he straightened his body unsteadily and walked towards Little Treasure.
Qi Xiuyuan witnessed the entire process.
Hence, he saw a child with a slightly red nose staggering towards him (Little Treasure in his arms).
Qi Xiuyuan looked at Little Bear’s head and then at the threshold below his lower chest. He couldn’t help but frown. “Why did you let the child walk over by himself?”
Coupled with Little Bear’s aggrieved look, one would think Mu Yangling was a stepmother forcing the child to walk over by himself.
Mu Yangling said, “I carried him to the door before putting him down. If we don’t let him walk this last part, we can forget about eating tonight.”
At the side, Li Jinghua explained, “Little Bear’s limbs develop quickly and he likes to walk. After he learned how to walk, he refused to let anyone carry him anymore. He won’t even let anyone support him and insists on walking by himself.”
Qi Xiuyuan looked at him in surprise and said with a smile, “This kid is like his father. Haoran was like this when he was young.”
Little Bear had already walked up to Qi Xiuyuan. Without looking at him, he tugged at Little Treasure and pointed at his mother as he babbled.
Little Treasure nodded from time to time. No one knew what they were talking about.
Qi Xiuyuan placed Little Treasure on his right knee and Little Bear on his left knee, letting the two children sit facing each other.
Little Bear only glanced at Qi Xiuyuan curiously, then seemed to be very satisfied with this sitting posture. Now that the grievance and anger on his face had disappeared, he held Little Treasure’s hand and began to talk about other things.
After listening carefully for a long time, Qi Xiuyuan realized that he still couldn’t understand a word. With an embarrassed look, he pinched Little Bear’s face and said, “Little Bear, call me Uncle.”
Little Bear called out in a mispronunciation twice. Seeing that the adult in front of him was still asking him to call him ‘Uncle’, he unhappily slid down his leg and ran towards his mother.
Used to it, Mu Yangling explained to the stunned Qi Xiuyuan, “Big Brother, this child is not patient enough. He only attempts to learn a word twice and is impatient to try any more than that. It takes him some time to learn a new word.”
“In that case, when will he learn to speak?” Qi Xiuyuan frowned. “You can’t spoil the child too much.”
“Don’t worry, Big Brother.” Mu Yangling waved her hand readily and said, “This kid is dull. He won’t learn new words unless you introduce them to him one by one. When I talk to him, I always refer to myself as ‘Mother’. Also, I try to mention the words ‘Father’, ‘Aunt’, ‘Brother’. After hearing these terms a few times, he’ll definitely understand what they mean.”
Qi Xiuyuan smiled and didn’t mention this topic again.
Under Li Jinghua’s arrangement, the servant girls and maids started serving the food.
Little Treasure’s main food now was steamed egg custard and some minced meat. He ate the food with relish and drank less milk these days.
Ever since Little Bear secretly ate his brother’s minced meat, he was no longer willing to drink milk. Every day, he looked at his brother’s bowl with teary eyes, making Mu Yangling’s heart ache. So, she began to feed Little Bear some minced meat.
Now, he insisted on eating with a spoon by himself.
Qi Xiuyuan felt that the two children had been taught well. He looked at Little Treasure, then at Little Bear, before saying to Mu Yangling, “When I ascend the throne, Haoran will definitely come back. But since the war hasn’t completely subsided, I’m afraid he’ll be sent to the border again. It’s not good for the two of you to be separated for a long time. Besides, it’s better for Little Bear to have his father by his side.”
Mu Yangling’s eyes lit up and she asked excitedly, “Big Brother, are you sending us to Haoran’s side?”
Qi Xiuyuan choked. He was originally worried that Mu Yangling would not be willing to go to those war-torn and cold places, but now it seemed that he was overthinking.
Qi Xiuyuan paused for a moment and said, “Not now, but when Haoran comes back, he’ll have to lead the Qi family’s army. I don’t know when he’ll come back after he leaves the capital again. Little Bear will be two years old by then. Also, it’s time to give him a younger brother.”
Qi Xiuyuan blushed slightly when he said this because Li Jinghua should be the one to talk to Mu Yangling about these things. But since they were in a hurry, he could only say it himself.
Qi Xiuyuan said, “If you don’t want to follow him, I can arrange for two people to serve Haoran…”
Mu Yangling’s excited expression froze and she immediately said, “Big Brother, I’m willing to go.” Her attitude became even more determined.
Qi Xiuyuan: “…”
Mu Yangling’s expression turned serious as she said, “Since we’re husband and wife, we should advance and retreat together. Since you’ve already returned to the capital, I…”
“Then start making the arrangements first. When Haoran comes back to attend the coronation, you can follow him.” Qi Xiuyuan was afraid that Mu Yangling would ask to go to Qi Haoran immediately. Actually, if not for the fact that his brother was unwilling to take a concubine, he would have preferred Mu Yangling to stay in Lin’an City. After all, it was safer.
However, since Qi Haoran and Mu Yangling were opposed to the idea of the former taking a concubine, Qi Xiuyuan did not wish to interfere in the matters between the married couple. Thus, the best way was for Mu Yangling to take their child and join Qi Haoran in the army.
Overjoyed by the pleasant surprise, she became extra concerned about Qi Xiuyuan. “Big Brother, why are you constantly wearing a frown today?”
Li Jinghua’s heart skipped a beat. She looked up at Mu Yangling and saw that her eyes were filled with joy. She knew that Mu Yangling was still happy about what had happened just now. In fact, so happy that she actually asked about politics. She quickly stretched out her leg and kicked Mu Yangling secretly to remind her to be careful.
Mu Yangling blinked in confusion.
Qi Xiuyuan did not notice this. As Mu Yangling often discussed politics with them, he was used to it. Hence, he frowned and told them about the empty treasury. There was not a single cent in the treasury, and there was not much in the grain warehouse. If he wanted to organize the Imperial Court, he was afraid that there wasn’t even enough grain stipend to pay the officials’ salary for a year.
Li Jinghua started fretting. “Did they not collect taxes from all over the country last year?”
“The various places are doing their own things. The taxes have increased quite a lot for the commoners, but they’ve all been embezzled. Those people hold some power. If they’re told to hand the money over, I’m afraid there will be another commotion.”
Now that the situation had changed and his stance had changed, Qi Xiuyuan naturally had to act accordingly. Now that he was the master of this country, there were more things he had to consider.
“Have you chosen the date to ascend to the throne? If you choose to do so after autumn…”
“No.” Knowing what Li Jinghua meant, Qi Xiuyuan said with a frown, “After I ascend to the throne, I will definitely give a pardon and exempt the people from taxes so that they recover from the war. If we still collect taxes as usual, won’t we be following the old path of the Great Zhou?”
Mu Yangling nodded repeatedly and asked hurriedly, “Logically speaking, no matter how extravagant Emperor Jingyan was, it is impossible that the national treasury is completely empty. Did the Second Prince take everything away? But they only had tens of thousands of people, and we attacked Lin’an City suddenly. How could he be so fast?”