Yan Congze, having cried himself out, leaned against Sun Qinglian and fell asleep.
The nanny beside them let out a sigh of relief, "The young master has finally fallen asleep after crying for so long; this servant was terribly worried."
"You’ve worked hard," Sun Qinglian, stroking her obedient grandson’s hair and holding the little one in her arms, felt a wave of contentnt as she noticed how his features resembled those of her daughter.
Had he resembled Xiao Pingfeng more, Sun Qinglian would have felt an indescribable discomfort at this mont.
From ancient tis, the elderly have always had their particular considerations and attention to facial features and surnas.
Sun Qinglian cradled little Xiaocong in her arms, then arose and entered the house, where she reclined on a soft couch, gently rocking him. She smiled at the following nanny, "You’ve been tired all day; go rest first."
The nanny, flattered, replied, "This servant isn’t tired." To co across such an understanding and kind family was truly a blessing for people like them.
Seeing that the nanny did not wish to leave, Sun Qinglian compromised, "Then sit down and keep company for a chat."
The nanny sat down obediently, but was still sowhat restrained, not daring to fully seat herself on the stool.
Sun Qinglian let it be, patting little Xiaocong’s back. With a soft hum, he sank into an even sweeter slumber.
"When Wanqing was very young, I used to hold her just like this," Sun Qinglian fell into reminiscence, "Back then, she was much chubbier than Xiaocong, so heavy to hold."
mories of the past brought a smile to Sun Qinglian’s eyes.
"Chubby and fair, her little arms like lotus node sections, and pretty. Her older brother loved taking her out to play, showing her off to everyone, boasting about his good-looking sister," Sun Qinglian recalled with sparkling eyes, "Those were really good tis."
The nanny listened quietly by the side, becoming more relaxed and less stiff.
"She was very clever when she was little. Once, when the other won in the house were rarely gossiping, we thought she was too young to understand anything. Turns out, she rembered everything," Sun Qinglian couldn’t help laughing.
"And then what happened?" asked the nanny, her eyes curling with amusent.
"One day, that lady ca over to visit, and before she left, she tried to amuse her. Wanqing said," Sun Qinglian imitated Yan Wanqing’s tone, "My mother said that there is too much gossip in your house, and she forbids from playing there."
At this point, both Sun Qinglian and the nanny burst into laughter.
Startled by the laughter, Yan Congze stirred in Sun Qinglian’s arms. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand, and the nanny also tried to suppress her amusent.
"Quiet, quiet," Sun Qinglian gestured with her hand.
"What happened next?" asked the nanny, still smiling with curiosity.
Sun Qinglian curled her lips, "What else could happen after that? Thanks to her, our families stopped visiting each other. Later, that lady spread no small number of rumors about , but nothing really ca of it. After all, her father was the Duke who steadied the nation, holding such high authority that no one dared to trouble our family."
"So, you see, from her I learned that you must not think that children are too young to rember things; they are actually too clever," Sun Qinglian said with a sense of realization.
After that, when she had other children, she beca much more cautious.
She never talked about anything in front of the children for fear that they would rember.
"Right, I must have soone find Wanqing and tell her that her son is missing her and that she must co ho tonight," Sun Qinglian suddenly rembered sothing important, and the nanny cheerfully stood up to relay the ssage.
After delivering the ssage, Sun Qinglian told her to go rest, and this ti the nanny did not insist on staying.
The autumn sunlight was just right, streaming through the window lattice and into the room.
Sun Qinglian cradled Yan Congze in her arms, gently rocking and humming an ancient lullaby. With each gentle pat on his back, Yan Congze slept sweetly and peacefully, the scene so beautiful it hardly seed of this world.
If the master were still alive, he would certainly adore this child as well.
Sun Qinglian stared at the sunlight spilling onto the floor, her mind drifting aimlessly.
Unfortunately, there were no ifs or maybes.
All she could do was try to live a little longer, just a little longer, to watch these children grow up, and then a hundred years later, go to et him and tell him about these young ones.
...
With envoys from Chu Kingdom arriving uninvited, Qin State saw an influx of unfamiliar faces in recent days. Concerned that this might be Xiao Pingfeng’s doing, Qin Wu instructed Yan Hongzhao to strengthen the guard in Jinyang City, with patrols day and night, almost changing shifts every ti a cup of tea was brewed. The Imperial Palace was even more tightly guarded inside and out.
"All the dancers have been safely sent back," Yan Hongzhao reported to Qin Zhen, her expression unworried, "but Lu Yanluo, who followed Song Huaxu back, is currently unaccounted for."
Qin Zhen put down her brush, looked at the black words on the white paper, and nodded, "If we don’t know where she is, then let’s wait a bit more. After all, a living person can’t just disappear into thin air."
She remained composed, then crumpled the freshly practiced calligraphy into a ball and tossed it into the wastepaper basket beside her.
"Does the Pri Minister perhaps know where Lu Yanluo is?" Otherwise, why be so calm.
Qin Zhen glanced at the overly curious eyes of her younger sister and curled her lips slightly, "It’s only midday now, has Song Huaxu appeared yet?"
"He has not. Last night he wasn’t seen leaving, and this morning the Maids who entered did not see anyone in the room," Yan Hongzhao reported honestly.
"If he doesn’t want to be seen, naturally no one will see him." Not at all surprising.
"However—" Qin Zhen’s eyes twinkled mysteriously as she slowly stood up: "This is an envoy specially appointed by the Chu Kingdom, our Qin State cannot afford the slightest negligence. Go and have soone look for him."
She paused, her smile deepening, "Search conspicuously!"
The bigger the fuss, the better.
Qin Zhen also joined the search party, pretending to be frantically scurrying about in the palace. Eventually, in a remote room, she found Lu Yanluo, in disheveled clothes, crying pitifully, and the Idle King, sleeping like a dead pig.
"Pri Minister, wuwuwu..." As soon as Lu Yanluo opened her eyes and realized the Idle King was sleeping beside her, she imdiately wished to gouge out her eyes.
She had always favored the attractive and well-learned; her usual patrons had to pass her personal scrutiny.
Now that the Idle King had taken advantage, she felt a desire to seek death.
Lu Yanluo collapsed crying at Qin Zhen’s feet.
Awakened by the intense stares of the crowd, the Idle King raised his head to et Qin Zhen’s half-smiling gaze and quickly pulled the bedding up.
"How dare you! Who allowed you to co in?"
The Idle King had not slept well last night, so he had moved to a secluded wing. Who would have guessed that by midday, Qin Zhen would arrive with a crowd to disturb his sweet dreams.
Qin Zhen scoffed coldly, "An envoy from Qin State has gone missing. Does the Idle King have any knowledge of this?"
"How... how would this king have any knowledge!" The Idle King had just woken up, his mind still muddled.
"If the Idle King has no knowledge, then why is the dancer who served the envoy in your room!" Qin Zhen accused loudly and scornfully.
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