Chapter 215

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Protagonist:

Shen Yao

In the eighth month, after the Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet, the weather turned cold, and the grain seeds planted earlier had all matured smoothly.

For these new grain crops, Qi Chen could be said to have exhausted his mind, even personally going out to watch the harvest.

He was gone for a little over three days; when he returned, windblown and dusty, Shen Yao could tell at a glance from his expression and state that his harvest had been abundant and his mood excellent.

"Chen'er"

Children grow day by day, changing rapidly.

Qi Chen still wanted to harvest wool from Qi Haochen, so he naturally treated his eldest son with even greater care.

"Father King"

Qi Haochen grinned, revealing the few newly grown millet teeth.

Father and son met and simply praised each other, then one handed over money and the other handed over goods — each with a bright future ahead.

Shen Yao: ……

"My Lord, Chen'er is still young in years."

As Qi Haochen's birth mother, Shen Yao naturally knew her son was different from others.

Qi Chen had not concealed this from her either; in fact, he was eager to pull Shen Yao into trying to have two more children.

The eldest has such talent; who knows, the second and third might have it too.

Shen Yao agreed with a face of incomparable shyness, but took no action behind the scenes.

In her words, her children were already enough; slowly cultivating them into talents was the key — otherwise it would be like the bear picking corn in the proverb, picking one ear and dropping another, ending up empty-handed; what would be the point?

"Chen'er is already over two years old; in a few more years he should begin his primer studies.

Yao'er, you must not dote on the child too much; proper cultivation from a young age is what matters."

Qi Chen felt his own enlightenment at age six had been somewhat late; compared to some of his brothers and sisters, he still fell short in effort and innate talent, a matter that had always left him regretful and often sighing with frustration.

Now that his own eldest son possessed such talent, Qi Chen would not let things drift no matter what.

"Chicken baby" — this kind of thing is common whether in modern times or ancient times.

Shen Yao lowered her eyes to look at her son, oblivious, hugging a pile of treasures and smiling with narrowed eyes, and thought: truly a foolish child, welcome the bitter days to come.

……

They say bitter days, but it is really just an upgraded version of the heir-apparent cultivation routine.

Qi Haochen is Qi Chen's son, and also the future heir of Luoyang Mansion.

Qi Chen naturally had to pour in one hundred and twenty percent of his heart and blood to cultivate him in all directions; otherwise, if the fine mansion fell into decline, Qi Chen would likely be angered to death.

Shen Yao had already been promoted to Wang Fei as she wished in the second year after arriving at Changzhou Prefecture.

Although due to her origins, Shen Yao's reputation outside was not very good.

But Qi Chen did not care; especially after Qi Haochen turned three and began to display his own intelligence, Qi Chen felt that being able to marry Shen Yao must have been the blessing of ancestors and accumulated virtue — everyone else could only hide in dark corners, envy and jealousy in all forms.

"Hahahahaha"

A string of laughter drifted in from outside the door; Shen Yao, wearing an embroidered long skirt, knew without looking up that it was Qi Chen's voice.

Ever since returning to the capital for the New Year festival last year, Qi Chen's mood had been unexpectedly good.

Whether it was the crop seeds Qi Chen presented, or his clever son who let him shine, both earned Qi Chen ample attention.

People all have self-esteem; Qi Chen is a person, and naturally no exception.

"My Lord"

Shen Yao went out, smiling broadly, and saluted the entering Qi Chen with greetings.

Qi Chen reached out to support Shen Yao, gently reminding her there was no need for courtesy — between them, where would such empty rites be needed?

"Rites cannot be abandoned; this concubine does not wish to make things difficult for My Lord," Shen Yao pulled Qi Chen back to the bedchamber to sit down, then asked why he was so happy — had the rewards promised from the capital arrived?

Qi Chen reached out and lightly scratched the tip of Shen Yao's nose. "Yao'er is clever and sharp.

My imperial brother still regards fraternal bonds; this time he not only sent many rewards, but also designated Guangping Prefecture and Dongchang Prefecture, adjacent to Changzhou Prefecture, as my fiefdom."

These two places border Changzhou Prefecture; the three parties form a dog's-tooth pattern, mutually defending each other.

Only, compared to Changzhou Prefecture which still has some mineral resources, Dongchang Prefecture and Guangping Prefecture have nothing at all — utterly ordinary, not ranking a name in Qi State.

But no matter how unranked, they are still prefecture-level lands, with hundreds of thousands of commoners living within. To gain two more prefectures' tax revenue for nothing — no wonder Qi Chen laughed so loudly.

"This concubine congratulates My Lord; with two prefectures added, will My Lord need to tour them soon?"

With new territory, Qi Chen as the master would have to show his face no matter what — not for anything else, simply to make an appearance.

Qi Chen stroked his chin; he planned to set the time for half a month later, conveniently taking his wife and son along.

A family must be whole; as for his daughter Qi Yingyue, whose presence had always been low — her health had improved, but long-distance travel would still be hard to adapt to, and she would easily fall ill.

Currently Qi Yingyue was still being carefully nurtured in the mansion's back courtyard; even because of her health, Qi Chen did not consider finding her a husband at the normal age for a woman.

Shen Yao naturally had nothing more to say on this; whether Qi Yingyue married or not did not hinder her in the least — Qi Chen was not short of money, spoiling a daughter for a lifetime was more than enough.

"My Lord, this concubine wishes to bring Cheng'er and Ying'er along on this trip.

They are both grown; Cheng'er likes martial arts, Ying'er likes quiet. Especially Ying'er, this concubine—"

Shen Yao had not finished speaking when Qi Chen simply took over the thread, telling her not to worry.

"After years together, Cheng'er and the others may not have the reality of father and son with me, but they have the affection of father and son.

As for Ying'er's marriage, I have a plan in mind — I just don't know what kind of outstanding young man Yao'er wants to find?"

Not to mention anything else; just with Luozhou Prefecture and Changzhou Prefecture, Shen Yao could completely pick whatever she wanted.

As long as Shen Yao nods on her side, Qi Chen can see this marriage through.

Who made Qi Chen the local despot of these two prefectures? Even though Luo Zhou Fu has been under the Emperor's name for several years now, Qi Chen's words still carry weight.

But however effective he may be, Shen Yao knows well the harm of becoming a resentful couple.

A melon twisted off the vine isn't sweet; compared to one-sided longing, it is mutual affection or each having their own designs that makes for a stable life.

"Your Highness, let Ying'er decide this matter herself; I think that regardless, as long as she is happy, I will not oppose it too much."

Shen Yao acted especially open-minded in front of Qi Chen, but once Wei Ying was called out alone by her mother, the mother and daughter had a new set of words regarding the candidate.

"Mother, I'm not in a hurry," she is only sixteen and can wait another two years.

Shen Yao looked at her daughter, who resembled her own face; mentioning this matter, she still wanted to have a plan in mind, "It is you who will live this life; Mother and Your Highness are merely suggestions, and the final decision is yours."

In a few days, we will set off for Dongchang Prefecture and Guangping Prefecture.

You will accompany us then; you can go see things, there is no need to rush.

Shen Ying nodded upon hearing this; to say she had no ambition was impossible.

Although memories of childhood gradually blurred, the hardships of life were still etched in her heart.

If she could start over, she would still look forward to life at the Qin Wang Fu.

People's subconscious minds seek benefit and avoid harm; everything is good at the Qin Wang Fu side, compared to the bitter days of Qing River Town and Qing River Village, only a stupid person would choose the latter.

Leaving the courtyard where Shen Yao was, Shen Ying did not return but turned to find Shen Cheng.

Shen Cheng, who had just finished practicing swordsmanship, was sweating all over; seeing Shen Ying come over, he was puzzled.

Only after Shen Ying finished speaking did Shen Cheng realize and make a sound of understanding.

"I am at the Changzhou Military Camp; I don't know the situation in Dongchang and Guangping, but Luo Zhou is not peaceful. If you want to look, just check these three places."

These past few years, Qi State was not exactly stable, but compared to the surrounding small states, it was already Heaven.

Shen Cheng entered the military camp at fourteen; after two years of tempering, he had already climbed to the position of Colonel.

He had some soldiers under him; occasionally he would go out to suppress bandits, and his whole body exuded a fierce and murderous aura.

Shen Ying did not have the shyness of an ordinary girl; she calculated her own situation and felt she could match some talented young men.

"In a few days, Mother and Your Highness will go to Dongchang and Guangping Prefectures; then you and I will both follow."

After speaking, Shen Ying looked up with bright eyes fixed on Shen Cheng; the implied meaning was obvious—she needed her older brother's help.

Shen Cheng:...

Shen Cheng scratched his head to indicate he would pay attention, but people in the military camp mostly know the face but not the heart; if someone caught his eye, he would need to examine them even more carefully.

Shen Ying smiled and told Shen Cheng to rest assured; she was not so muddled as to lose her senses at first sight; she just wanted to say hello in advance, and it would also facilitate screening personnel for confirmation later.

Early morning, outside the door there were the neighing of horses and carriages.

Shen Yao changed into a long skirt with a broken-branch flower pattern, her hair coiled into a bun and placed behind her head.

Shen Ying followed beside Shen Yao; the mother and daughter sat upright inside the carriage, while Shen Cheng rode a horse ahead.

As for Qi Chen and Qi Haochen father and son, they were on the carriage at the very front.

Originally Qi Haochen wanted to come over, but was refused by Shen Yao with the excuse of being a man of honor; the reason was that this child was too mischievous, and riding in a carriage was not comfortable to begin with; Shen Yao did not want extra trouble.

Shen Ying covered the corner of her mouth and smiled like a little flower cat, "Mother says this, Chen'er must be heartbroken."

Qi Haochen, though young, had been mischievous and ghostly since childhood.

Shen Cheng and the other children all liked their youngest younger brother.

Their birth mother said it well; they were of the same mother, blood brothers, the closest people in this world.

Shen Yao waved the round fan in her hand; a breeze brushed past, blowing the stray hairs at her temples.

"He's just a child, always worrying about this and that; it's just right for him to stay with Your Highness more," Qi Chen needs someone like Qi Haochen with a flexible mind to assist him in handling official business; after all, he is his own son, and I believe Qi Chen won't be angry.

Shen Ying laughed and swayed left and right, almost falling and bumping her head; after great effort she stopped laughing, and Shen Ying's speech was somewhat broken.

Shen Yao helplessly fanned her, "Is it really that funny?"

Shen Ying made a sound of agreement and nodded, feeling that these ordinary conversations were extremely interesting.

Shen Yao raised an eyebrow, "Haven't asked what you think; after thinking for several days back home, do you have any candidate in mind?"

Shen Ying lowered her head, her hand touching the jade bracelet on her wrist, "Daughter feels that one should not be bound by birth and ancestry; the primary thing is that one's own character must pass muster."

Everything else can be negotiated, except character; Shen Ying lowered her head and drooped her eyes; she did not want to suffer her birth mother's hardships again.