Chapter 478: Coming to the Capital
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Fan Zijin moved to Chen Guangdi’s villa with an expression that suggested they were extremely compatible in temperament and behavior. Fan Siwen had originally wanted to mediate the relationship between the father and son because of Qi Haoran’s words. Seeing this, he gave Fan Zijin some money and asked him to bring it along.
Fan Zijin was stunned for a moment before he accepted it without hesitation.
After moving to the villa to study and do papers with Chen Guangdi’s students, he was almost isolated from the outside world. However, every two days, he would sit down and listen to Chen Guangdi discuss the state affairs. He would always receive the latest news from the court. This made him feel like he knew everything that was going on in the world despite staying at home.
After Fan Zijin went to the villa, Qi Haoran stayed at home to accompany Mu Yangling. Since the matter had already been exposed, he no longer had to wake up early in the morning and pretend to go to court.
Four days later, Physician Sun confirmed that Mu Yangling was indeed pregnant. Qi Haoran immediately tipped the entire residence happily. He wished he could grow a tail on his tail and wag it so that everyone in the world would know.
When the news spread out of the Qi Manor, the strange thing was that many people actually sent Mu Yangling invitations. They either invited her out to play or invited her to their family’s banquet.
Qi Haoran rejected them all and said, “It’s not even three months yet. They’re too tactless. Besides, are you very familiar with them?” Qi Haoran picked out all the invitations that could be rejected directly.
Mu Yangling leaned against the couch and fell asleep. She had only started showing signs of pregnancy in the past two days. There were 24 hours a day, and 20 hours were spent sleeping and wanting to sleep.
When Qi Haoran saw that his wife was sleepy again, he really wanted to carry her to the bed. However, Rain ran in quickly. “Fourth Madam, Fourth Madam, good news!”
Mu Yangling instantly woke up. Qi Haoran glared at Rain, who shrank her neck and stood obediently at the side.
Mu Yangling leaned against Qi Haoran and asked, “What good news?”
Rain immediately smiled. “Young Master and the rest are here.”
Mu Yangling was stunned for a while before she realized who the young master she was talking about was. She widened her eyes and said, “Bowen is here? Who did he come with?”
Rain bowed happily and said, “Young Master Bowen, Teacher Liu, Miss Xiuhong, Young Master Lang came together. They’re outside the residence now.”
Qi Haoran also widened his eyes. “Why didn’t they inform us before they came so that we could pick them up?”
Qi Haoran draped a cloak over Mu Yangling and the two of them rushed to the Qi Manor’s entrance.
Bowen and the others were sitting in the carriage, looking at the Qi Manor’s plaque worriedly. “Do you think Sister will be bullied?”
Xiuhong frowned and said, “Who dares to bully my cousin?”
Liu Lang patted her hand. “There are many high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital. Control your temper and don’t cause trouble for Ah Ling.” Xiuhong nodded.
When Teacher Zhao saw this, he smiled and said, “Don’t worry. Miss Mu is a smart and wise person who has both ability and backbone. She won’t be bullied easily.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the Qi Manor’s door slowly opened. Seeing Qi Haoran and Mu Yangling stand side by side on the steps, Bowen cheered softly and lifted the curtain to jump down.
Mu Yangling grabbed Bowen, who was rushing over, and stroked his head. Smiling, she said, “Not bad. You’ve grown a lot taller.”
Liu Lang and Xiuhong also went forward to greet them. Qi Haoran went to greet Teacher Liu. “Teacher Liu, it’s been a long journey. Let’s enter the residence first.”
Due to the special relationship between the East and West Manor, Qi Haoran got someone to ask Madam Wu when she was free to meet Mu Yangling’s family, before bringing them back to Zhaohua Courtyard.
“Why are you guys here in the capital?”
Mu Yangling asked Bowen as she held Bowen and Xiuhong’s hands.
“Sister, Teacher is participating in next year’s Spring Quarter Examinations. Firstly, I wanted to come out and see the world, and secondly, I wanted to see you, so we came along.”
Mu Yangling stroked his head and said, “You’re still young. It’s not a bad thing for you to come out and see the world, but you have to guard your heart and not be blinded by the outside world. Remember, studying is your first priority now.”
“Sister, don’t worry. Although I’m outside, I’ve never left my textbooks behind. If you don’t believe me, ask Teacher. I’ve always been studying.”
Xiuhong nodded. “Bowen is very hardworking.”
Mu Yangling frowned slightly. “You read in the carriage? Didn’t I tell you not to do that? It’ll damage your eyes.”
“No, I study in the morning and evening. If I get bored in the carriage, Teacher will ask me to memorize books and even come up with some questions for me to answer. Teacher also said that although I’ve been out for a month, my improvement is no less than at home.”
This was the second time Bowen had praised himself. Mu Yangling stroked his head in amusement and praised, “Bowen is even more impressive than I imagined.”
Mu Bowen puffed out his chest proudly. After all, he was just an 11-year-old child.
After asking Bowen, Mu Yangling looked at Xiuhong. Seeing that her hairstyle was combed in the style of a woman, she glanced at Liu Lang and pulled the two of them to her main room to talk. She left the reception pavilion for Qi Haoran to entertain Liu Lang and Teacher Liu.
“Xiuhong, you’re married?”
Xiuhong blushed and nodded. She said shyly, “I married Cousin Liu Lang.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Mu Yangling complained slightly. They clearly communicated via letter every month.
“We set off as soon as we got married. Bowen said that he wanted to give you a surprise, so we didn’t allow our family to tell you. How is it, Cousin? Are you surprised?”
Mu Yangling tapped their foreheads. “You guys are too bold. You dared to travel by yourselves when you only brought along so few people. Now, the world is not peaceful and bandits are everywhere. This was the reason why I didn’t want you to follow me south back then. The way back was too far and too dangerous. In the end, you came over on your own.”
“Didn’t Teacher Liu bring us along?” Xiuhong hugged Mu Yangling’s arm and said, “Uncle even arranged eight guards for us. It’s not a small number. Nothing happened to us along the way.”
“It’s naturally best if nothing happens. However, if something happens on the way, it will be a big deal. You shouldn’t hope to get lucky.” Mu Yangling lectured them with a straight face.
She didn’t mind them going out to broaden their horizons, but it also depended on where it was. It was fine if it was Xingzhou Prefecture, Hanzhong Prefecture, and Jingzhao Prefecture, for it could be said that the bandits had no room to survive under Qi Xiuyuan’s control. However, after leaving Xingzhou Prefecture and heading south, there wasn’t a single area that was especially safe. Eight guards might seem like a lot to ordinary people, but it was nothing in front of hundreds or thousands of bandits.
Previously, in front of Teacher Liu, she did not want to give him the impression that she was too restrained towards the children, so she could only bring them to one side and lecture them alone.
“If something happens to you, what will happen to Great-aunt, Father, Mother and our younger siblings?”
Bowen and Xiuhong lowered their heads.
Spring entered and said with a smile, “Fourth Madam, Madam Wu sent someone to pass a message. She said that you haven’t seen your maiden family for a long time and asked you to spend more time with them. She hasn’t been feeling well these few days, so she won’t be meeting with them. It won’t be too late to meet up when you’re free in the future.”
Mu Yangling nodded and waved her hand nonchalantly. “Got it. Go down and tidy up rooms for Teacher Liu and the rest. They’ll stay here tonight..”
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