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Chapter 7: Can You Hold a Baby?
Chapter 7: Can You Hold a Baby?
Lu Xingzhou fell into deep thought and said, "Lu Grand Marshal kept the fact that he had a child even more secretive than your fake death. Not a hint of news has leaked out before this."
He paused, and then continued, "It's not that he deliberately hid it, but rather, when it comes to matters concerning him, no one can find out anything if he doesn't want them to."
Lu Lingxiao frowned. "What about the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"
Lu Xingzhou sighed. "The Embroidered Uniform Guard has long become his pawns."
Lu Lingxiao couldn't believe it. "How could that be...?"
The Embroidered Uniform Guard was directly commanded by the emperors of the past, and they only took orders from the Son of Heaven.
Lu Xingzhou looked out the window at the night sky with a complicated expression. "At that time, His Majesty was just a child under the age of ten. Lu Grand Marshal took over the Embroidered Uniform Guard under the pretext of the emperor's young age, saying that he would return the authority of the guard to the emperor when he came of age to rule."
Lu Lingxiao coldly said, "Do the ministers actually believe such nonsense?"
Lu Xingzhou replied, "So what if they believe it or not?"
Lu Lingxiao fell silent, unable to refute his father's words.
He never expected that in just five short years, Lu Grand Marshal would have already gained so much power in the court that he could cover the sky with his hand.
Lu Xingzhou continued, "He controls the court, but the military power does not lie in his hands. I suspect that the purpose of his banquet tomorrow is to win over the credit of the border officials who have returned."
Lu Lingxiao was stunned. "For the sake of a banquet... he actually went so far as to create a child? Is this man so absurd?"
Lu Xingzhou, much calmer than his son, said, "He has done even more absurd things in the past. Never mind, we need not concern ourselves with his family affairs. Let's focus on how we should respond at the banquet tomorrow."
Lu Lingxiao clenched his fists, his voice filled with righteous indignation. "Father, when I received the emperor's order to go to war, I swore before the ancestral tablets that I would only be loyal to His Majesty in this life. I will never collude with traitors and rebels! When the time is right, I will surely eliminate this scourge for the Great Zhou and for His Majesty!"
As they exited the study, the father and son duo ran into Meng Qianqian, who had just come out of Lu Xingzhou's wife's chamber.
Meng Qianqian bowed to Lu Xingzhou and said, "Father."
Lu Xingzhou nodded. "Have you come to see your mother?"
"Yes," Meng Qianqian replied.
Lu Xingzhou turned to his son and said, "You and Qianqian head back to the Sea Peach Court and get some rest early. Tomorrow will be a busy day."
The meaning of his words could not have been clearer.
Lu Lingxiao glanced at Meng Qianqian and said to his father, "Son understands."
Of course, Lu Lingxiao had no intention of staying the night at the Sea Peach Court, but feeling guilty towards her, he decided to escort her back first to save her face in front of the servants.
However, as soon as they stepped out of the main courtyard, Meng Qianqian said, "I'll head back to the Sea Peach Court by myself. You may do as you please, husband."
Lu Lingxiao was taken aback.
His mother's injury had not fully healed yet, so while she could walk around the mansion, she would not be attending the banquet.
Meng Qianqian had been a widow for these past few years, and apart from looking for the missing Madame Lu, she rarely left the mansion. Thus, the Second Madam had planned to accompany Meng Qianqian to the banquet.
But for that to happen, the Second Master would also have to attend.
Unfortunately, the Second Master detested social gatherings, and he had slipped away with his bird cage, nearly infuriating the Second Madam to death.
Among those invited to the banquet was also Lu Xingzhou's colleague, Minister Liu.
Since Minister Liu lived near the Lu family and happened to be heading in the same direction, Lu Xingzhou decided to ride in his horse-drawn carriage, using the opportunity to discuss countermeasures along the way.
Meng Qianqian and Lu Lingxiao rode in the same carriage.
Just as Meng Qianqian and Ban Xia arrived at the carriage, they found Lin Wan'er and Lu Luo already inside.
Lu Lingxiao cleared his throat and said, "Wan'er wanted to buy some fabric to make clothes for the child, so it's on the way."
Lin Wan'er, dressed in plain clothing, exuded a delicate and elegant aura. Her long, black hair was partially pinned up with a white jade lotus hairpin, leaving a few strands hanging loosely.
She remained silent, her eyes cast downward as she sat by Lu Lingxiao's side, looking demure and pitiable.
Meng Qianqian gave her a cold stare.
Ban Xia's expression darkened. Her young mistress rarely went out, and now that she was finally going out with her master, this vixen had tagged along!
Ban Xia huffed indignantly, "Master! There's only one seat left in the carriage, it's not enough!"
Lu Lingxiao looked at Meng Qianqian and said, "Wan'er is pregnant, and Lu Luo needs to take care of her. Let Ban Xia stay."
Ban Xia's eyes widened in anger. "If I stay, what about my young mistress?"
Lu Lingxiao assured her, "I will take care of your young mistress."
Lin Wan'er tugged on his sleeve and shook her head at him, then signaled to Lu Luo with her eyes, indicating for her to get off the carriage.
Lu Luo complained, "Miss, how can I leave you alone when you're in this condition?"
Lin Wan'er used sign language to convey: "The shop is not far, you can walk there."
Lu Luo reluctantly got off the carriage.
Ban Xia frowned, "Hmph!"
Meng Qianqian and Ban Xia boarded the carriage and sat opposite Lu Lingxiao and Lin Wan'er.
No one spoke during the journey.
Before long, the carriage stopped in front of a fabric shop.
Lu Lingxiao helped Lin Wan'er out of the carriage.
Ban Xia panicked, "Guye!"
Lu Lingxiao's gaze drifted past Ban Xia and landed on Meng Qianqian's calm and serene face, "I'll accompany Wan'er to choose some fabric first. We'll leave once Lu Luo arrives."
"Guye, Guye!"
As Ban Xia tried to detain him, Lu Lingxiao held Lin Wan'er's hand and lovingly entered the shop.
Ban Xia was so angry that she burst into tears.
The capital during winter was extremely cold, and the biting cold wind cut through the curtains like knives.
Meng Qianqian had fallen into the water during a thunderstorm, and in addition to frequent headaches and nightmares, she had also become exceptionally afraid of the cold.
Her hands and feet quickly froze.
Unfortunately, the heavens seemed to be against her, as a flash of lightning ripped through the gloomy sky, followed by a torrential downpour.
The only oil-paper umbrella in the carriage had been taken by Lu Lingxiao.
So he knew it was going to rain.
Ban Xia looked at Meng Qianqian's body, slowly freezing, and cried out of worry, "Young Mistress..."
Meng Qianqian remained calm, "First, let's find a place to take shelter from the rain. Wu Ge, you can take a break too, don't worry about the carriage."
The horses didn't mind the rain; they wouldn't be harmed by it.
As for the carriage, in Meng Qianqian's eyes, not a single person was more important than it.
"Yes, First Madam!"
The coachman gratefully bowed.
Their lives as servants were not worth much, and only the First Madam treated them like humans.
The two of them entered the fabric shop, but Lu Lingxiao and Lin Wan'er were nowhere to be seen.
Ban Xia and the coachman borrowed umbrellas from the shop owner and went their separate ways to look for Lu Lingxiao.
The owner smiled and asked, "Young lady, what relation are those two from earlier to you? They seemed so loving!"
Meng Qianqian replied, "My husband and his concubine."
The owner was left speechless.
As the rain grew heavier, the number of pedestrians on the street gradually decreased.
Suddenly, Meng Qianqian heard a heart-wrenching cry.
"Boss, do you have any children?"
"No."
Meng Qianqian stood up and placed a piece of crushed silver on the counter, "I'll borrow an umbrella."
She held up an oil-paper umbrella and went out the back door, resolutely stepping into the rain.
In the rain-soaked alley, bodies were strewn across the ground.
Several burly guards stood in the rain, their auras dripping with killing intent. Blood flowed down from the tips of their knives, mixing with the rainwater to form a meandering blood river on the ground.
They wore flying fish badges and embroidered spring knives—they were members of the Jin Yiwei.
The only Jin Yiwei who hadn't drawn his knife stood stiffly, holding a wailing infant, his expression more painful than if he had been stabbed.
Not far away, a man in purple clothing used his iron-clad hand to choke a young woman, pressing her against a cracked wall without an ounce of gentleness.
"You can't kill me... I'm the mother of your child..."
Before the woman could finish her sentence, the purple-clad man twisted her neck, ending her life.
"This governor wants to kill, regardless of who you are."
His voice was extremely pleasant, but it carried an innate coldness, dangerous and arrogant.
The purple-clad man took out a clean white handkerchief, wiped his iron-clad hand, and threw it into the muddy bloodstained water.
At this moment, the Jin Yiwei holding the baby spoke up, "Sir, what about the baby...?"
The purple-clad man didn't answer but turned around and strolled towards Meng Qianqian.
A mountain-like killing intent enveloped her.
He lifted her oil-paper umbrella and smiled, "What did you see?"
The Jin Yiwei guards immediately became alert. Someone was approaching? They hadn't even noticed! The purple-clad man's tall figure blocked Meng Qianqian's view.
Meng Qianqian held the crooked oil-paper umbrella and replied, "I didn't see anything."
The purple-clad man raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"
The Jin Yiwei guards tightened their grip on their embroidered spring knives.
They had to silence her!
The purple-clad man smiled and asked, "Do you know how to hold a baby?"
Meng Qianqian answered, "I do."
The purple-clad man didn't turn around but lifted his hand slightly.
The Jin Yiwei guard understood and immediately handed the crying infant, whose face was turning purple from wailing, to Meng Qianqian.
Strangely, the baby stopped crying as soon as it was in Meng Qianqian's arms.
(End of Chapter)
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