Suddenly seeing Su Yaoqi, Lin Xiaoyue was a bit stunned.
"Little Four? How are you with Mr. Qi?"
After a brief silence, Lin Xiaoyue asked the question in her heart.
This kid was supposed to have escaped halfway after being kidnapped by soone her father hired, wasn’t he?
Su Yaoqi, looking a bit disheveled after wandering outside for a few days, glanced at Su Qing upon hearing Lin Xiaoyue’s voice and whispered, "I was kidnapped, luckily Seventh Uncle saved , or I’d be dead by now."
Lin Xiaoyue’s gaze shifted to Su Qing.
The man was wearing a purple robe with a round collar and wide sleeves. After hearing about the incident at ho, he rushed day and night, covering him in a layer of travel dust and fatigue.
At that mont, as his eyes t Lin Xiaoyue’s, the typically stern and rigid gaze of Su Qing softened, his voice was low and gentle, "Whatever it is, let’s talk inside first."
He then asked Su Yaoqi, "Do you want to return to the Pri Minister Mansion or co to our place for a visit?"
After the terrifying events of the past few days, Su Yaoqi was already scared out of his wits, and when prompted, he involuntarily trembled.
Hearing Seventh Uncle’s words, he didn’t think twice and said directly, "Wherever Seventh Uncle is, that’s where I want to be."
This statent carried a certain sense of dependency.
Lin Xiaoyue invited the uncle and nephew in, pondering whether Mr. Qi realized that those people were hired by her father.
After walking a bit, Su Qing turned around and saw that Lin Xiaoyue hadn’t followed, and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
This glance was so penetrating, it felt as if it could reach directly into the heart.
Lin Xiaoyue shivered slightly, quickly took two steps forward, shook her head, and said, "I was just thinking about whether you two want to eat first or bathe first."
Before Su Qing could speak, Su Yaoqi had already looked over, "Seventh Aunt, I want to bathe first."
Having been kidnapped for so long without a proper hot bath, he felt he was almost rotten.
Lin Xiaoyue imdiately instructed soone to prepare hot bath water for Little Four, and afterward, she personally found a set of clothes that Su Qing had not worn and sent them over.
Su Qing was sitting in the inner room, staring intently at the little girl in the cradle.
Lin Xiaoyue initially wanted to ask if he wanted soone to notify the Pri Minister Mansion that Little Four had returned, but seeing the man’s overly focused expression, she refrained from disturbing the atmosphere and quietly sat beside him.
Su Qing watched for a while, then bent down to pick up Ah Nuan.
eting her father for the first ti, the little girl was sowhat uneasy and began crying loudly.
Su Qing obviously hadn’t anticipated his daughter’s reaction, and his arms holding the swaddled baby slightly tightened, as if afraid of accidentally dropping her.
Lin Xiaoyue saw his subtle movents and recognized the nervousness.
It was the kind of cautiousness and tension that cos from suddenly having a daughter after being away from ho for months, beyond the initial surprise.
"Mr. Qi."
Lin Xiaoyue called to him softly.
Su Qing didn’t react; his gaze fixed unwaveringly on Ah Nuan’s little face.
Lin Xiaoyue smiled wryly, and said directly, "You’re holding her wrong."
Upon hearing this, Su Qing looked at Lin Xiaoyue, a hint of embarrassnt visible under his calm exterior.
Lin Xiaoyue took the child from his arms and demonstrated, then asked, "Do you understand now?"
Not hearing a response from the man for a while, Lin Xiaoyue raised her eyes, finding him looking at her with the sa gaze he used when looking at his daughter.
"Wh... what is it?" Not used to the unprecedented look he gave her, Lin Xiaoyue stuttered heavily, realizing her mind was a bit slow to catch up.
Su Qing remained silent for a long ti before slowly speaking, "I’m sorry, I ca late."
As he spoke, he pulled her and the child into his embrace.
Through several layers of clothing, Lin Xiaoyue heard the man’s strong, powerful heartbeat. Lowering her eyes, she looked at her well-behaved daughter in her arms, thinking of the hardships of childbirth and the helpless escape during the fire in the backyard that night, her throat constricted.
——
After bathing, Su Yaoqi, wearing Su Qing’s robe, appeared sowhat fluffy and oversized since he was not as tall as Su Qing.
Su Yaoqi didn’t plan to stay long at the Seventh House and intended to bid farewell to Seventh Uncle and Seventh Aunt.
When Jin Zhi entered the inner room to report, she happened to see Su Qing embracing Lin Xiaoyue and imdiately lowered her head, "Mr. Qi, Granny Qi, the young master has arrived."
Su Qing showed no embarrassnt at being caught by the servant and calmly said, "Let him in."
After speaking, he got up and went to the outer room.
Lin Xiaoyue placed the child back in the cradle and followed him out.
Upon entering, Su Yaoqi greeted with respect, "Seventh Uncle, Seventh Aunt."
Su Qing asked him, "Heading back?"
Su Yaoqi nodded, "After being kidnapped for so long, now that I’ve finally escaped, I should go ho and inform my parents as soon as possible."
"Have you decided how to explain it to them?" Su Qing inquired further.
"This..." Yaoqi paused for a mont, "Shouldn’t we tell the truth?"
Su Qing didn’t respond, his long fingers pressed against his brow bone, his expression unclear and obscure.
This Seventh Uncle seed even more profound and inscrutable than when he left the Capital six months ago.
Yaoqi didn’t dare to et Su Qing’s gaze, he lowered his lashes, "If sothing happens to , Father and Mother would definitely be very worried. When they ask later, I can’t lie."
Su Qing glanced at him and suddenly chuckled softly, "He has indeed raised you to be upright and proper."
Yaoqi didn’t understand why Su Qing suddenly said this, and then he heard Seventh Uncle continue, "Stay and have a al first, I will personally take you there later."
Yaoqi generally wouldn’t disobey the words of his elders. After thinking for a bit, he followed Jin Zhi to the dining hall for a al.
Su Qing glanced at Lin Xiaoyue, "Has Father-in-law entered the Capital?"
"He is at our house."
"As expected..."
Su Qing didn’t finish the second half of his sentence, he asked Lin Xiaoyue to eat first without waiting for him, then left the courtyard gate and went directly to find Father-in-law.
——
When Lin Fu saw Su Qing, his expression was not very good.
"These four years, is this how you’ve been taking care of my daughter?"
Facing Father-in-law’s questioning, Su Qing couldn’t bring himself to make excuses, "It is my negligence."
Lin Fu was very dissatisfied with Su Qing’s indifferent attitude, especially when he thought about the day he ca to the Capital, his daughter was forced to seek refuge at soone else’s house.
"I’ve already discussed it with Yue Niang, as soon as you return, divorce, I will take her back to Jizhou."
Su Qing was not angry; his lips curled into a smile, "If it were before, I would believe it, but now, if Father-in-law can take Yue Niang away, then I would agree to the divorce."
The words were quite arrogant; Lin Fu almost blurted out "you little bastard", "You can’t even handle your family affairs, what guarantees can you provide for my daughter’s future?"
Su Qing knew that Father-in-law was angry that the people from the Pri Minister Mansion had targeted Yue Niang, but he had no way to defend himself.
These influential clans were always like this; whenever there were interests involved, if you don’t sche against others, others will find ways to sche against you.
No matter how prepared he was, as long as he was far away in the border area, the people in the big mansion could always find opportunities.
Looking back at Lin Fu, Su Qing said, "If Father-in-law said such things four years ago, I might have retreated and not married. But now, Yue Niang has already had a child. If you break us up, wouldn’t it be a bit unreasonable?"
"Unreasonable?" Lin Fu’s face darkened, "When Yue Niang was forced to run out late at night holding the child to seek refuge at soone else’s house, why didn’t you stand up and talk about being reasonable?"
"Father, haven’t I said that this matter has nothing to do with Mr. Qi, he was transferred to the border area half a year ago."
Suddenly, Lin Xiaoyue’s voice ca from outside.
She knew her father wouldn’t easily let Su Qing go, so after leaving Ah Nuan with Jin Zhi, she planned to co over and take a look. Sure enough, as soon as she entered the courtyard, she heard her father scolding the son-in-law.
"Yue Niang, don’t cover for him." Lin Fu asserted himself, "So what if he’s at the border area, he could have left more people to protect you, couldn’t he?"
Lin Xiaoyue secretly glanced at Su Qing and found no trace of anger on the man’s face.
While Lin Fu was muttering, Lin Xiaoyue whispered, "My father is just worried, so his words might be a bit harsh. Mr. Qi, please bear with it."
Su Qing looked at her, "No problem."
After Lin Fu scolded for a while, he asked Su Qing to co up with a solution, either to divorce or to stay in the Capital to protect his daughter.
Hearing this, Lin Xiaoyue felt a bit helpless, "Father, now you’re being unreasonable, if Mr. Qi doesn’t take a field assignnt, what will we live on?"
To the wealthy Lin Fu, these words were akin to hitting a sore spot, "You want money? Co back to Jizhou with Father, and spend as much as you like."
"I don’t want a divorce."
"So you want to continue living a life of hiding and dodging in the Su Family?"
Lin Xiaoyue had nothing to say, so she could only look at Su Qing.
"The border area assignnts last for three years, it won’t be over quickly." Su Qing paused, then continued, "This ti, I will take both mother and daughter with ."
Lin Fu gave a cold snort.
If he had known earlier that the old lady would marry Yue Niang to soone like this, he wouldn’t have agreed at all.
Lin Xiaoyue didn’t bother with her father’s reaction and asked Su Qing, "Three years away on assignnt?"
Su Qing nodded, "This was just confird recently, I haven’t had ti to write and inform you."
Lin Xiaoyue pursed her lips, originally thinking that he wouldn’t leave after coming back, but who knew it would still be over two years longer.
"So, will you be ho for the New Year this ti?"
"I will," Su Qing asked directly in front of Lin Fu, "After the New Year, would Yue Niang be willing to go with ?"
Lin Xiaoyue never thought of divorcing; she just learned suddenly about going to the border area, considering Ah Nuan who was only a month old, she hesitated.
"Yue Niang, don’t be afraid," Lin Fu said, "If you’re unwilling to go, just say so, Father is here, this rascal can’t force you."
Lin Xiaoyue was originally hesitating, but upon hearing her father say this, she smiled, "Father, no matter what you say today, in the end, I have to follow my husband."
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