bookrandom Chapter 263 Ritsu Pavilion, We're Home
Chapter 263 Ritsu Pavilion, We're Home
Half a month later, at Shili Pavilion in the capital.
There were too many people entering the city, so Lin Shu and her companions had to rest at the Shili Pavilion, which was not far away.
Lin Shu sat on her horse, looking at the towering city walls in the distance and the winding queue of people waiting to enter the city.
She couldn't help but recall the scene when she first came here last year, when she was only accompanied by Amu, Ayun, and Huanzhi. Thinking of this, her heart couldn't help but drift to the Lin Mansion in the city.
She wondered how her husbands were doing. She hadn't seen them for almost half a year, and she really missed them terribly. And then there were the children; in the blink of an eye, she had five. Being away from home for so long, she wondered if they had grown distant…
"Snapped……"
Just then, a crisp slapping sound came from not far away, abruptly interrupting Lin Shu's thoughts.
Lin Shu turned her head toward the source of the sound and saw—
In the Shili Pavilion, Ling Huanan turned her face slightly to the side. Xue Wen glared at her with a flushed face, his lips trembling slightly. He was clearly very angry, and he hadn't even completely lowered his hand that had been hitting her.
Lin Shu glanced around and noticed that everyone was glancing at that direction intentionally or unintentionally. She chuckled to herself: "I wonder what that peacock Ling Huanan did to offend his father, making him so angry!"
Seemingly embarrassed and annoyed that his husband had publicly humiliated him, the dignified Prince Dingbei, upon noticing the curious gazes around him, sharpened his eyes and spoke in a frosty voice: "Isn't anyone doing anything?"
The guards of the Prince of Dingbei, who had been listening intently, quickly lowered their heads, pretending to be very busy, but not knowing what they were busy with.
Ling Huanan was satisfied. When he turned around again, he found that his deputy and a silly-looking little guy (Ji Wan) were pretending to tie up the horse, but actually they were eating melons with their heads down.
Then, her dangerous voice rang out again: "Hmm?"
The lieutenant quickly snapped out of his daze, coughed awkwardly twice, and, with a clear intention of covering his tracks, began to give orders: "Look, look, is this what you were looking at? That one, I'm talking to you... you go feed the horses... you over there..."
The bodyguard (sometimes speechless): "...".
"Hmph!" Ling Huanan snorted coldly, then lowered his head and tried to coax Xue Wen, but Xue Wen, already quite angry, blushed even more. He couldn't help but point at the other man and shyly utter a few words:
"You shameless scoundrel! Shameless! You old...you have no shame!"
Upon hearing this, everyone began to suppress their laughter. Even Lin Shu, looking at Ling Huanan's cold yet fawning face, couldn't help but laugh out loud, but no one dared to utter a sound.
"Hahaha...haha...my stomach...hahaha...I'm dying of laughter..."
Uh……
There are still some incredibly audacious people, and one of them is the simple-minded Ji Wan.
She was the closest to him and naturally heard Ling Huanan say, "Does your hand hurt? Let me blow on it for you..." She couldn't help but laugh.
Xue Wen wished he could disappear into a crack in the ground. This Shili Pavilion was where the two of them had pledged their love, and he had come here to reminisce about the past.
To his surprise, that shameless old man Ling Huanan secretly kissed him in public. He wanted to push him away, but in his nervousness, he ended up slapping him instead. But the other man kept spouting nonsense...
Thinking of this, Xue Wen glared at Ling Huanan resentfully before getting into the carriage on his own.
After Xue Wen left, Ling Huanan regained his usual icy demeanor, stepped out of the pavilion, glanced sideways at Ji Wan who was smiling with tears welling in her eyes, and asked in a low voice:
"funny?"
"Haha... Of course it's good..." Before she could finish laughing, Ji Wan suddenly realized what she was doing and immediately stopped laughing. Looking at Ling Huanan, who looked like he was about to kill her, she forced out a smile that was more like a grimace: "Good... It doesn't seem funny."
“But I see you’re smiling very happily.” Ling Huanan squinted and leaned closer to her.
Ji Wan was almost in tears. How was she supposed to answer that? She glanced around and when she saw Lin Shu, she quickly gave her a pleading look.
Lin Shu smiled and shook her head, indicating that she couldn't help her.
Ji Wan cursed Lin Shu inwardly for being disloyal, then looked at Ling Huanan ingratiatingly and replied, "Then...is it funny?"
The atmosphere suddenly froze, and everyone looked at Ji Wan with expressions of 'hero, what courage!'
Ling Huanan was taken aback upon hearing this, only then realizing that the other party was answering his earlier question. He looked the other party up and down and said with certainty, "From the Grand Tutor's family?"
Ji Wan nodded blankly.
Ling Huanan merely glanced at her with a rather complicated expression before walking past her on his own, preparing to continue coaxing Xue Wen, without bothering to argue with her.
Ji Wan was puzzled and quite shocked. Could it be that her grandmother's power had surpassed that of the Prince of Dingbei? Her grandmother was truly unassuming...
Little did she know, Ling Hua Nanfang was actually sympathetic to the fact that the Grand Tutor and his deceased daughter and son-in-law were all highly capable strategists, yet they had given birth to such a useless heir. This made her hesitate to punish him, so she let him off the hook!
What's surprising is that some people just can't get rid of that punishment!
As soon as Ling Huanan's figure disappeared, Ji Wan went up to Lin Shu and the others, took Lin Shu's hand, and imitated Ling Huanan's tone: "Does your hand hurt? Let me blow on it for you... hehehe!"
What the heck is 'hehehe'?!
Xu Jingyun couldn't bear to look at her. She exchanged a glance with Lin Shu, and both of them could see in each other's eyes: They were incredibly stupid!
Only Shen Lin and Ye Feng, whose thought processes were equally peculiar, joked and laughed with her...
"That girl from the Ji family, if she's so funny, then laugh! From now on, she's not allowed to stop. After we return to the manor, I will send my deputy general to the Grand Tutor's residence to supervise her."
Ling Huanan's cold voice came from Xue Wen's carriage, followed by a whip that lashed the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
Shen Lin and Ye Feng quickly moved away from her, whistling as if they didn't know her.
Ji Wan glared at the two of them, and was about to say that she didn't want to laugh right now when Ling Huanan's voice came again: "Laugh."
Helpless, Ji Wan could only laugh as she walked into the city, being treated like a fool. For a long time, she would probably want to cry whenever she thought about laughing!
The groups parted ways from the central street. Ling Huanan took Xue Wen and Zhu Yu back to the Dingbei Prince's Mansion first; Xu Jingyun stayed at the post station as an envoy; while Lin Shu, Ji Wan, and the other three took Feng Xin to the palace to report back...
By the time they emerged from the palace, the sun had already set! (Of course, Ling Huanan's deputy general had been waiting for Ji Wan at the palace gate, seemingly intending to accompany her back to the residence to oversee things...)
Lin Shu took her leave first, eager to return home.
Lin House.
The gatekeeper, seeing Lin Shu return, excitedly greeted her:
"My lord is back! That's wonderful! The young masters will be overjoyed to hear this. I'll go and inform him right away."
After saying that, the gatekeeper jogged off, intending to deliver the message before Lin Shu.
Lin Shu immediately stopped her, saying, "Wait, there's no need to announce it."
The gatekeeper paused, then jogged back. Thinking that Lin Shu probably wanted to surprise the young men, he didn't insist and just dutifully guarded the gate.
Su Mu's courtyard.
The husbands had just finished their meal and gathered in Su Mu's courtyard to chat and pass the time.
Su Mu gave An Si and the chubby boy sitting opposite her, who was teasing An Si, a hawthorn strip each to aid their digestion.
The chubby boy ate it in a few bites, then rested his chin on one hand and pinched the chubby cheeks of An Si, which were just like his own, with the other. Seeing that there was still more than half of the hawthorn strip in An Si's hand, he looked around and, taking advantage of his brothers' inattention, secretly took a big bite...
With a stern face, Xiao Ansi looked at the hawthorn strip in her hand, which was only about the thickness of her little finger. She sighed helplessly like a little adult and skillfully handed over the remaining bit.
This shows that this is not the first time!
The chubby boy laughed happily, saying between bites, "She's such a good daughter to Daddy! I wonder when Lin Shu will return..."
Before he could finish speaking, he saw chubby little Ansi across from him frown, suck in his stomach, then tuck his chubby hands into his pockets and excitedly shout:
"mother!!!"
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