Crowned by the Treacherous Big Shot

Chapter 801: Chapter 657: Bustling

Lu Yuan and Chen Long brought the Old Lady back to the Governor Mansion.

The servants were even more excited to see the Old Lady than they were to see the Grand Commander.

After all, compared to the fearsome Grand Commander, the Old Lady who loved to play leaf cards was much more lovable.

"Alright, alright, everyone gets a share."

The Old Lady distributed the preserved fruits and nuts she had gathered from the Wanping Princess Mansion one by one.

And she also handed out some of the gambling winnings she got from Princess Wanping.

Definitely not by cheating!

The servants were all smiles, overjoyed that the Young Madam, Young Miss Zhaozhao, and the Grand Commander had all returned home, and now even the Old Lady had moved back from the Princess Mansion.

The Governor Mansion was livelier than the New Year.

"Where’s Qianqian?"

The Old Lady asked with a stern face.

"Old Lady!"

Tan’er flashed in front of the Old Lady.

The Old Lady pressed her palm on her forehead, refusing her approach.

Then, the Old Lady asked expressionlessly, "Whose little black egg are you?"

Tan’er: "..."

"Great-Grandmother."

Meng Qianqian walked down the steps with a light gait.

"Be careful!"

Nanny Li was so scared that her soul almost left her body, "You’re carrying twins now, it’s not like before."

Ban Xia said, "Nanny, don’t worry at all, Miss even dealt with a very formidable Pavilion Master while she was pregnant!"

Nanny Li’s face darkened.

Ban Xia realized she slipped up and said with a flashing glance, "I didn’t say anything! Uh... Tan’er... did you call me?"

"I didn’t call—"

Ban Xia walked out, covering Tan’er’s little mouth, and dragged her away.

"Ban Xia, what are you doing?"

Tan’er pulled her hand away.

Ban Xia awkwardly said, "I misspoke."

Tan’er asked puzzledly, "You misspoke, why should I run away?"

Ban Xia said bitterly, "Isn’t it... because I panicked? What to do? I leaked out Miss’s fight, soon Nanny Li will nag Miss, and will scold me for not taking good care of Miss."

Tan’er folded her arms, "I thought it was something big? Isn’t it normal to get scolded?"

Ban Xia: "..."

Nanny Li wanted to immediately ask Meng Qianqian for clarification, not to mention the past at the border, but now that she was pregnant, how could she still shout and fight?

But the Old Lady was there, holding Meng Qianqian, complaining bitterly, including but not limited to her various "painful experiences" at the Princess Mansion.

Meng Qianqian saw the elderly lady looking radiant, articulate, and energetic, walking briskly, and knew that Princess Wanping had taken excellent care of her.

"Qianqian, you’ve been gone so long, I’m bored to death, why are you back only now? Was Witch Mountain fun? Where’s Little Piggy?"

The Old Lady’s words rushed like a torrent, as if wanting to say everything she hadn’t said to Meng Qianqian for several months.

Meng Qianqian chuckled, "Zhaozhao’s asleep, tomorrow morning when she wakes up I’ll take her to Tinglan Garden to accompany Great-Grandmother, I miss Great-Grandmother too..."

The two chatted for a long time.

Lu Yuan and Chen Long sat quietly in the room, answering only when asked, otherwise just listening on the side.

Lu Yuan had long been accustomed to this kind of daily life.

For Chen Long, though, it was a rare experience.

He surprisingly didn’t find it boring.

When the Old Lady grew drowsy, it was near midnight.

He frowned.

He couldn’t believe he spent half the night listening to an elderly lady’s family talk.

By plan, he should have been instructing Meng Lang in martial arts tonight.

-

This time back in the Capital City, Meng Qianqian wasn’t in a hurry to visit various relatives and friends, nor did she go to the palace to pay respects to the Supreme Emperor.

Lu Yuan also stayed home, idle like a carefree crane.

The Governor Mansion kept its doors closed, and the news of their return to the Capital City did not leak out.

The two of them enjoyed a rare period of quiet days at the mansion.

Nanny Li was very pleased.

She knew Meng Qianqian’s nature too well, out of ten days she could not sit still for eleven, either visiting this house or stopping by another.

It’s not that she loved the hustle and bustle, but that she had too many things to handle.

This time, able to rest peacefully at the mansion without distraction, was truly rare.

Amidst the busyness, Yu Li returned to the Governor Mansion once.

He studied at the Imperial College and would return to the Governor Mansion during his monthly sabbatical.

At first, he came to accompany the Old Lady, then after the Old Lady was taken to the Princess Mansion, he would visit there.

He thought this time would be no different from usual, unexpectedly he not only saw the Old Lady, but also saw his long-lost cousin and cousin-in-law.

Yu Li was overjoyed.

This was the happiest trip back to the Governor Mansion for him.

And then very quickly, he noticed another familiar face: "Meng Lang?"

Meng Lang, while biting into a crisp, sweet, and juicy peach, said expressionlessly, "I’ve been standing in the garden for ages, and only now you notice."

Yu Li, embarrassed, scratched his head, "I... I was just focused on talking with my cousin."

Meng Lang turned to Lu Yuan and said, "Aren’t you jealous?"

Lu Yuan: "Chen Long, he needs to be dealt with."

Meng Lang’s hair stood on end, and he ran away with his head covered, "Just joking around, do you need to get that guy to beat me up?"

One fierce little girl wasn’t enough, now there’s the strict teacher Chen Long too, when will his miserable days end!

He finally understood, he shouldn’t have come to the Capital City!

This isn’t the Capital City, this is his pit of fire!

Treasure Piggy had reached the age of tearing tiles from the roof every day, climbing trees, and picking fruits.

She picked other fruits and it was fine, but she actually wanted to pick dates.

Nanny Li held her chubby little hand: "The date tree is full of thorns, you can’t climb it."

"I want to climb."

Treasure Piggy said.

Nanny Li: "It will hurt."

Treasure Piggy shook her head: "I’m not afraid."

She secretly wore her mother’s Heavenly Silkworm Silk Armor.

Nanny Li could certainly tell what she did.

That supposedly impenetrable little jacket was deliberately left on the bed by the young lady.

The little one thought she took it without anyone knowing, yet she didn’t realize the young lady watched the whole time from outside the window.

"And the gloves."

Treasure Piggy fished out a pair of silver thread gloves from her pocket, "Nanny, put them on."

Nanny Li put them on for her with an incredibly complex feeling.

The little jacket was one thing, it was loose on her body, just like wearing oversized clothes.

But the silver thread gloves, she couldn’t possibly wear them.

"Alright, let’s go pick other fruits, the dates aren’t ripe yet."

Nanny Li tried to persuade Treasure Piggy away.

"I want this one."

Treasure Piggy insisted.

Nanny Li called over Nanny Wan, giving her a look: "Miss Zhaozhao wants to climb the date tree, with so many thorns, can it be climbed?"

Nanny Wan frowned, looking at the date tree full of little thorns, and after a while, a brainstorm: "I get it! Leave it to me!"

Nanny Li nodded with relief.

Then, Nanny Wan disappeared.

When she returned, she had a sharp sickle in her hand.

Nanny Li was full of confusion: "What are you..."

Before she could finish, Nanny Wan took the sickle and swiftly chopped off the thorns from the date tree.

Loulan Palace.

A Loulan Dark Guard, who was recalled from You State, knelt in front of the Loulan Queen after exhausting eight horses to death.

"Your Highness!"

He kowtowed in salute.

The Loulan Queen, with a hunting eagle perched on her arm, gazed at him coldly: "Only you returned? Where is the Third Prince?"

The Dark Guard said tremblingly: "The Third Prince...the Third Prince...was killed!"

The Loulan Queen’s hand paused over the hunting eagle, and her eyes flashed with murderous intent: "What did you say?"

The hunting eagle sensed the killing intent and flapped its wings to fly away.

The Dark Guard trembled all over: "The Third Prince...the Third Prince met...the First Prince in You State..."

The Loulan Queen stepped by step approached him, looking down at him: "The First Prince?"

Her voice was not loud, but it carried a chilling sharpness.

The Dark Guard felt as if a sharp knife was pressed to his heart: "I misspoke! It’s Shang Xu! A traitor of Loulan!"

After he finished speaking, he glanced at the Queen surreptitiously to summon courage.

He saw a face of unrivaled beauty, yet cold as frost.

Even upon hearing the tragic news of her son’s death, she still managed to remain unflustered.

The Loulan Queen asked word by word: "Are you saying it was Shang Xu who killed my son?"

"Yes!"

The Dark Guard sweating profusely said, "Protector Li also died..."

"He had to die of course."

The Loulan Queen said coldly, "Since Shang Xu let you return, did he leave any message?"

The Dark Guard marveled at the Queen’s intelligence and wisdom, it’s no wonder she took over state affairs after the Loulan King fell ill.

"Shang Xu asked me to convey a message to the King, ’He’s...back for revenge’!"

The Loulan Queen gazed toward Great Zhou, her eyes gradually darkening.

"Queen."

After the Dark Guard withdrew, her close female envoy softly advised, "If you’re sad, just cry it out."

The Loulan Queen expressionlessly said: "I don’t need such useless things."

She went to the Loulan King’s bedchamber.

Just at the door, she heard a series of suppressed coughs.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty."

It was Eunuch Hong assisting the Loulan King with soothing pats on the back.

The Loulan Queen paused her steps and entered the bedchamber only after the coughing stopped.

"Your Majesty, the Queen is here."

Eunuch Zhao said softly.

The Loulan King lay feebly on a thickly cushioned bed, in the midst of the hot summer of June, yet he was wrapped tightly in blankets.

He lazily lifted his eyelids, as if wanting to take a look at his Queen, but then powerlessly closed them again.

The Loulan Queen glanced at the bowl of medicinal soup in Eunuch Zhao’s hands, did not offer to feed the medicine herself, and only spoke calmly after he finished feeding:

"Your Majesty, there’s news about Shang Xu."

The Loulan King finally reacted, with difficulty turning his head to look at her.

The Loulan Queen said solemnly: "Back then, after the Shang Family was annihilated, he fled to Yumen Pass, joined the Prince Chu Mansion, and became one of Chu Grand Marshal’s Twelve Guards. This was confirmed and is indeed true. Not long ago, he appeared in You State."

"What does the Queen want to say?"

The Loulan King asked in a hoarse voice.

The Loulan Queen said: "As the eldest son of His Majesty, now that His Majesty is bedridden, he should come to see his father."

The Loulan King sneered: "His father is Shang Jue."

The Loulan Queen seemed not to hear his words, raised her eyes, and looked into the eyes of the Loulan King that had become more aged and weak due to severe illness:

"I want to go to Great Zhou on behalf of the King to bring Shang Xu back to Loulan."