Chapter 261: Snatching My Sister
Chapter 261: Snatching My Sister
Su Su obediently followed her mother, the consort, to the bathroom.
Upon their return, after a quick wash and donning her little hat, she paid her respects to the Empress Dowager.
By now, it was already afternoon. If they intended to stay for dinner, the Qi King's family would have to return to the palace soon.
Even with plans to return home, it was best to set off early to avoid any mishaps on the night road.
Thus, the Qi King's wife, accompanied by Su Su, paid their respects to the Empress and engaged in conversation for a while before preparing to depart with their entourage and the generous gifts from the Empress and the Emperor.
The Qi King had also wrapped up his chat with the Emperor.
When they arrived earlier, they had come in just one carriage.
Now, as they prepared to leave, another carriage followed behind, loaded with gifts from the Empress, the Emperor, and various palaces.
There were quite a few items, including some that the Qi King had boldly begged for.
The happy family of three set off for home.
Having slept for an hour, Su Su was full of energy and played with paper cicadas in the carriage with her father.
The space in the carriage was limited, making it a bit cramped for the father-daughter duo to play comfortably.
Nevertheless, the happiness of the child was the most important.
Even sitting still and fiddling with the paper cicada, Su Su found it immensely enjoyable.
The carriage swayed gently as they made their way back to the mansion.
Upon their return, the Qi King took Su Su to play while the Qi King's wife tended to the gifts from the palace, ensuring they were properly stored.
These gifts belonged to Su Su, and the queen had no intention of storing them directly in the mansion's treasury, a decision supported by the king.
Of course, the gifts from the Empress to Ren, the secondary wife, would be sent to her separately.
Thinking of Ren's likely less-than-enthusiastic reaction upon receiving the gifts, the Qi King's wife felt a sense of powerlessness.
However, with the gifts already bestowed and the Empress sending her people to accompany them back to the mansion in a grandiose manner, it would be difficult to refuse without causing potential offense to the Empress.
In the end, the Qi King's wife dispatched Autumn, one of the maids, to deliver the gifts to Ren.
Today, the young masters hadn't gone to the estate to practice horse riding and archery.
So, when the Qi King and his family returned, the young masters were well aware of their arrival.
And then, they couldn't sit still any longer.
My sister is back!
Who could possibly stay put now?
Moreover, they had previously discussed modifying the little wooden horse, and now, many of the detailed parts had already been completed by Feng Xuancang and Feng Xuanjie working together, leaving only the final assembly pending.
With the anticipation of completing the assembly that very night, they were thrilled and even more restless.
At this moment, Su Su was with her father, scooping up ornamental fish.
These fish weren't particularly tasty, but they were fun to play with.
So, the Qi King scooped them up with a net, only to release them back into the pond, all for the sake of hearing Su Su's applauding praise: "Father is so amazing!"
"Wow, Father is amazing!"
...
The Qi King was lost in the repeated praises of "Father," nearly losing control of himself!
The ornamental fish in the pond were scooped up again and again.
Alas, they had no mouths to speak, or they might have expressed their gratitude to the Qi King, their playful savior.
Not to kill, but to play.
Even the lives of fish mattered!
Alas, no one seemed to care.
The Qi King played with great enthusiasm, and Su Su, in her innocence, thought her father was incredibly skilled.
So, she clapped incessantly, and thus, a vicious cycle began.
At this moment, Ren, the secondary wife, bid farewell to Autumn with a smile.
As she watched Autumn walk away, Ren's expression changed.
Her face reflected a mix of emotions for a while before she spoke in confusion to Sun, one of the maids attending to her: "What could this mean?
Ren, the secondary wife, couldn't help but grumble to herself as she watched the maid, Autumn, walk away. "What is she trying to do? Have I been acting up lately? She's definitely reprimanding me! It has to be a reprimand!"
"Ugh, this is so annoying!"
"What do I have to do with their generation's affairs?"
"I'm the one feeling wronged here!"
...
The stream of complaints from the secondary wife, Ren, continued unabated.
Maid Sun, who was attending to her, was equally perplexed by Ren's reaction. After pondering for a while, she tentatively offered, "Perhaps it really is a reward? You stood up for Young Lady Su Su, and there's no denying that. The Empress Dowager must have heard about it."
Even if the Empress Dowager hadn't inquired, the Queen would surely sing her praises to the Empress on her husband's behalf.
Hearing Maid Sun's interpretation, Ren couldn't quite believe it. "Are you sure it's a reward and not a reprimand?" she asked softly.
After asking, she heaved a long sigh. "This is so annoying. Why can't she just leave me alone? It's bothersome that she's suddenly paying attention to me. I feel so troubled!"
Maid Sun, unsure of how to comfort her mistress, could only offer words of reassurance.
That night, Ren found herself unable to eat dinner properly due to her preoccupation with the Empress' unexpected gift.
Su Su, on the other hand, had spent some time scooping ornamental fish with her father, and by now, the fish looked rather exhausted. Finally, the Qi King relented and stopped scooping them up.
As it was almost dinnertime, the Qi King scooped Su Su into his arms and headed back to wash up and prepare for the evening meal.
Meanwhile, Feng Xuanjie and the others couldn't contain their excitement any longer. As soon as they were dismissed from their lessons, they rushed over en masse.
Even the sturdy frame of the Qi King struggled to withstand the onslaught of his eager sons.
In the end, Su Su was lovingly snatched away by her brothers, leaving Feng Xuanjie and Feng Xuancang to take the lead in assembling the little wooden horse with the prepared parts.
This wooden horse was different from the rocking horse they had made before.
This one...
Had wheels and could run.
It was easy to push back and forth without much effort.
Aside from its somewhat odd shape, it was actually quite impressive.
With the brothers working together in harmony, the assembly progressed swiftly.
Although Su Su didn't understand the process, she watched in awe as the pile of scattered parts was transformed by her brothers' skillful hands into the little wooden horse she had seen before. Her eyes widened, and she exclaimed, "Wow, brothers, you're amazing!"
"Third Brother is the most amazing!"
"Fourth Brother is so cool too!"
...
The little girl might have been young, but she knew how to butter them up.
Su Su doled out praise to each brother in turn, from the third to the seventh, leaving no one out.
The brothers were absolutely delighted by her compliments, and Feng Xuanjie even scooped her up in his arms, beaming with joy.
During their time back in the capital, Feng Xuanjie had been eating and sleeping well, resulting in some additional weight gain.
On top of that, he hadn't neglected his daily exercises, ensuring he maintained his strength.
While his height still made it impossible to carry Su Su horizontally, thanks to his improved strength, he now found it much easier than before.
One could say that he had become quite adept at picking her up and carrying her away.
The Qi King, on the other hand, was squeezed to the sidelines, with no opportunity to insert himself into the assembly process.
He even tried to squeeze through to help his sons, but to no avail.
Feng Xuanbo was especially cunning, constantly distracting his father with chatter. "Father, you're so tall..." "Father, you're so strong..." "Father, look over there..." "Father, what do you think about that?"
The Qi King felt his head spinning from Feng Xuanbo's incessant chatter.
Finally, he gave up and found a spot to sit down, content to watch the children at play.
The Qi King thought to himself that as a mature adult, he shouldn't be competing with his children for Su Su's attention.
Besides, he had spent the whole day with her, so perhaps it was only fair to let his sons have some time with their sister...
He reluctantly conceded.
The Qi King gritted his teeth as he thought about the situation.
(End of Chapter)
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