Chapter 70
The news that his father would be in charge of the expedition made Li Xu Yan feel very proud. In the whole of Da Yanguo, which married Ger could be in the limelight outside their home or even fight enemies on the battlefield? Emperor Father’s love for Jun Father is very unique.
Thinking of this, Li Xu Yan’s face slightly changed. He remembered how when Qi Gui Jun had threatened to commit suicide, his father had sent guards to timely rescue and protect Qi Gui Jun. What kind of feelings does Emperor Father have for him? First, he destroys his whole family, then, he pampers him in the Zi Chen Palace. Isn’t this too hot and cold? Now that Qi Gui Jun has adopted Six Princes, how will this impact himself and Jun Father?
Li Xu Yan had a worried frown, he looked up and saw Six Princes carrying a new book satchel into the Royal study, spreading out the valuable ink and paper on his table.
Li Xu Yan walked over and pointed at the black and blue fingerprint marks on his jaw, he asked in surprise, “Six imperial brother, who did this to you?” Everyone now knew that prince brother had killed four people in the Zi Chen Palace. Everyone had thought that he was cowardly, but now everyone knew that he was hiding behind clumsiness.
Li Xu Yan thought that Qi Gui Jun would value him more after seeing his true nature. But judging by his injured jaw, Qi Gui Jun should be very dissatisfied with him.
That’s good.
Gao Min had told him countless times, when you meet a stronger person, don’t feel threatened by them and try to get rid of them, that might cause you to lose an excellent helper. The best move was to win them over first, if you couldn’t win them over, that’s the time to get rid of them.
Six Princes now had value, so he needed to be won over. Even if he wasn’t capable, he still had value as Qi Gui Jun’s son. Qi Gui Jun had inexplicably won his Emperor Father’s trust and favor, and that made Li Xu Yan feel very uneasy.
Li Xudong covered his jaw and shook his head, “Nothing, I was attacked by a few slaves.”
“How could a slave be bold enough to hurt a prince’s face?” Li Xu Yan obviously didn’t believe him, he sighed and gently said, “If there is any difficulty in the future, imperial brother just has to find me and Jun Father, we will not ignore you.”
You won’t ignore me? Where were you when I needed help in the past? Which of the other concubines and princes can go against you and your father? Is this how you plan to win me over? The world praised the father and son’s charity, benevolence, grace and military achievements, but in his view, they couldn’t even hold a candle to his Jun Father.
Li Xudong pretend to feel grateful, but inside he was laughing.
The rest of the princes and their followers arrived and made him feel even more disdain at the hypocrisy. Before, these people wouldn’t even pay him any attention, but now, they warmly called out his name in greeting. This all changed because he was the son of the favored Qi Gui Jun, even if he never achieves anything, his future was already set.
Also, because he’d punished the servants that were bullying him, the Emperor finally noticed the awkward positions of the other princes and had begun rectifying the inner palace. He’d brought everyone some relief, so naturally, he was very popular in the Royal study room.
Li Xu Yan was also very popular, but the flattery was all false. The reason the other princes were in such a dilemma was because him and his father were so favored, but how could they go against Li Xu Yan? So, they all secretly hated him while they tried to gain his favor.
Qi Gui Jun’s family was destroyed, his situation was tragic, even if the Emperor was paying attention to him, his favor did not outweigh the Emperor’s favor of Li Xu Yan and Gao Min.
Li Xudong felt the change in his status, but he didn’t feel any joy or pride. It doesn’t matter what other people think of him, it matters that Jun Father doesn’t feel disappointed in him. He was more attentive in class, handed in all his work, memorized all his articles and recited them over and over. He didn’t put down his books and brush until the lunch break.
The attendants carried in some lunch boxes, but Zi Chen Palace’s attendant was particularly eye-catching. He’d brought in the biggest food box, it looked very heavy.
“Why is there so much?” Li Xudong looked surprised at the five-layered food box.
“This was personally prepared by the Lord. He said that His Majesty has a big appetite and needs more food than the average person, so he was afraid you wouldn’t have enough to eat.” The attendant smiled while he neatly unpacked the layers and placed them on the desk. A rich aroma instantly filled the air, causing everyone to take a closer look.
“Jun Father cooked it?” Li Xudong opened his eyes wide in astonishment. Jun Father looks weak, but was actually very strong, yet when he’d hit him with the whip, the force was very light, he’d held back. To think such a powerful person, who usually never did any housework, would personally cook for him….
Li Xudong was happy, then he felt a little shy. His appetite was indeed really big, he could eat much more than ordinary people, but because of this, he was afraid whenever the palace servants had punished him by deducting his meals. When he’d moved to Zi Chen Palace, he didn’t want Qi Gui Jun to look at him in disgust, so he’d tried to control his appetite, but Jun Father actually noticed.
His presence in Qi Gui Jun’s heart was bigger than he’d imagined.
Thinking of this, Li Xudong felt full even though he hadn’t eaten, he was full of happiness.
Slowly, he ate all his food, then let out a comfortable sigh. In the past, because of hunger, his hands and feet always felt soft, so the riding and shooting practice in the afternoon was especially difficult, but now, he seemed to have endless strength.
After school, he excitedly rushed back to the Zi Chen Palace, and saw his father standing at the desk, fiddling with a few needles, and quickened his footsteps.
The man was bathed in a bunch of sunshine, his white delicate skin was nearly transparent, as if he was mist, just a touch would scatter him, making him disappear forever.
Li Xudong was shocked by this sudden idea and felt an inexplicable panic.
“Father!” He hurriedly called, his voice sounded choked.
“What?” The man didn’t look up, his voice was lazy, revealing his free and easy temperament.
“I, Teacher, arranged my homework, I have a few questions I don’t understand, Jun Father, can you help me?” Li Xudong quickly hid his panic and randomly found an excuse.
“I’ll take a look.” Zhou Yun Sheng put down the needles and cleared the desk.
Li Xudong spread the book in front of him and pointed to a few lines of text. Zhou Yun Sheng glanced at them, then faintly smiled and opened, “You really don’t understand this?”
Li Xudong nodded.
“Then why did I see you write down comments for this article last night? Your ideas and opinions were very unique.”
Li Xudong was stunned, his ears slowly turned red. Last night, Jun Father had only glanced at his essay once, only one look and he’d already memorized all his answers, just how smart is Jun Father’s mind? If Emperor Father didn’t repress him, just how dazzling would he be? Everyone says that Gao Gui Jun is a talented and outstanding commander, but compared to Jun Father, he is nothing!
Li Xudong never understood why his Emperor Father always favored Gao Gui Jun and had pushed Jun Father to this point. Jun Father is clearly the best person in the world. However, it’d be perfect if Emperor Father never noticed Jun father’s talent. It was enough for only him to know about Jun Father’s good points.
Zhou Yun Sheng didn’t know that his wolf cub’s worship for him had reached the point of blindness. He grabbed the wolf cub’s ear and asked, “In the imperial study, when the Teacher questions you, do you always say you don’t understand anything?”
Li Xudong didn’t dare lie, he hesitated before nodding his head. He’d learnt self-preservation after years of bullying, if he showed off his outstanding talent, the concubines would definitely try to pressure him. He didn’t want to be a tool.
But that was before. Qi Gui Jun had picked him up even when he was worthless and promised to take care of him. Even if Qi Gui Jun was pretending to love him, even if he was just using him, Li Xudong would still love him. Currently, he was worried that if he didn’t have enough value, Qi Gui Jun would abandon him.
Zhou Yun Sheng let go of his red ears and said, “Behave like your true self, don’t hide behind clumsiness. Even though I have no house to back me up, I can still protect you, so no one will pressure you. Remember, my son can be evil, he can be a saint, but he cannot be a punching bag. Even if you outshine Li Xu Yan and Gao Min tries to attack you, I have my ways to clean them up.”
Jun Father’s tone was very clear and light, but Li Xudong felt a powerful force, as if there was nothing in the world that could block his path. And he was only willing to show his strength to protect him. Li Xudong was overwhelmed by joy, he grabbed Jun Father’s clothes and eagerly nodded, his eyes slightly flushed.
“Don’t put on such a good-for-nothing expression. Go copy this article a hundred times, you’re not allowed to sleep until you finish. In the future, only ask me for help when you’re truly puzzled, no pretending.” Zhou Yun Sheng planned to raise Li Xudong into the future Emperor, he naturally needed to be very strict.
Li Xudong didn’t feel embarrassed, he spread out the paper and sincerely said, “I’ll copy it, I’ll copy it three hundred times. Jun Father can observe me.” He didn’t want to go back to the temple alone, he just wanted to stay by Jun Father’s side.
“Good.” Zhou Yun Sheng was very satisfied with his progress, he gentle touched his head, then continued fiddling with the needles.
Li Xudong copied the lines while repeatedly stealing looks at his father, he always felt like he couldn’t look at him enough. After copying the article fifty times, he put down the brush to take a little rest, then he looked at the cloth by Zhou Yun Sheng’s side, he asked, “Jun Father, you’re making clothes? Is it for Emperor Father?” After he said this, his eyes grew cold, he was disgusted by that so-called Emperor Father.
“Him? Is he worth my time?” Zhou Yun Sheng sneered, then wacked the wolf’s forehead and said, “This is for you, don’t look at it, it’s not finished yet.”
As a married Ger, the original Qi Xiujie was proficient at needlework, so Zhou Yun Sheng had inherited his skill. He thought that since he’d decided to raise the wolf, he’d honestly take care of him, so they could have a sincere exchange of affection.
Li Xudong was really touched, he blinked his suddenly wet eyes, and hugged Jun Father’s arms, unwilling to let go. At the end of the night, he ended up curled up at his feet, like a little wolf cub attached to their owner.
Zhou Yun Sheng laughed at this. He felt that this child was actually quite cute, raising him really was the right decision.