Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family

Chapter 814: Chapter 814: Robbed!
 

Di Yelei didn’t return until late, and when he did, he carried with him the strong smell of alcohol.

Despite her desperation to immediately inquire about the situation in court, Liu Sisi forced herself to suppress the urgency in her heart. She hurriedly ordered someone to bring water and to attend to Di Yelei as he washed up.

“Are the children all asleep?”

Di Yelei seemed a bit drunk, swaying slightly as he walked. He looked at Liu Sisi with a sincere smile.

“All the children went to bed one after another, except Chou Chou, who was particularly fussy. In the end, it was little Xiao Xiao who was sensible and took him away.”

Liu Sisi spoke while continuing to make the bed without interruption.

Such trivial matters as making the bed could have been done by the servants, but Liu Sisi was used to doing things by herself and had not changed her ways.

When Di Yelei came out from the bathroom, hearing her, he also smiled, “Chou Chou is such a clingy little guy; he’s really quite adorable.”

“Rather than calling him adorable, it’s more fitting to say he’s mischievous. He plays all day long, forgetting himself. Unfortunately, I’ve been so busy lately with no time to spare. Once this busy period is over, I must teach him properly,” Liu Sisi said with a bit of a headache.

“What’s wrong?”

Such Liu Sisi was unfamiliar to him.

“It’s Chou Chou’s weight and gluttony…”

Liu Sisi didn’t hold back and shared her troubles, “Previously, during the three-year mourning period when we observed vegetarianism, I didn’t notice anything unusual. But ever since the mourning period ended and we started eating meat, it’s like he’s become a different child. He can’t be without meat for three meals a day, and his weight has been rapidly increasing. Now, he not only has a little tummy, but there’s also a ring of baby fat on his chin. If it wasn’t for having Xiao Xiao to contrast with, I might not have noticed…”

Although Xiao Xiao was young, he was an extremely disciplined child. His daily routine of eating and living was very regular. In contrast, Chou Chou was both gluttonous and lazy, and compared to Xiao Xiao, he was worlds apart. No wonder Liu Sisi felt troubled.

Listening to such incessant chattering, watching Liu Sisi’s face grow softer under the lamp light, Di Yelei couldn’t help but laugh; he casually sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Don’t worry. The child is still young and can’t discern beauty from ugliness by himself. Once he grows up and becomes sensible, it will naturally get better.”

“I do hope so, but I fear that he will still be so gluttonous when he grows up.”

Liu Sisi sighed, yet her heart was very pleased.

Now that Ye Lei had returned, she naturally felt happy. However, since Di Yelei came back, he had been unable to catch a moment’s peace, barely visible from morning to evening, busy all day long. She hardly had the chance to talk with him. Now that he was finally back home, the best topic seemed to be their children.

“Even if he’s gluttonous, it’s not a big deal. When he’s a bit older, we’ll arrange for him to learn martial arts. After a few years, his body will be muscular and solid, and his health will be better too…”

But upon mentioning martial arts, Di Yelei’s smile tightened slightly on his face.

Liu Sisi opened her mouth, hesitated for a moment, but then brought up Mrs. Gan’s visit today.

“She said she came to visit on Prime Minister’s orders… and then she started talking about the situation in court. She talked intermittently about quite a lot until very late before she left… ”

Di Yelei got up, took Liu Sisi’s hand, and sat next to the bed, “The situation in court has indeed been quite chaotic lately. With wild ambitions from the northern barbarians, covetous eyes from the Jin Dynasty to the west, pirates occasionally pillaging the coastal areas to the south, and internal… with both internal strife and external threats, His Majesty’s health has been declining over the years… The court ministers have been very aggressive, one after another presenting memorials, pressing for the Crown Prince to be appointed…”

Though his words were fragmented, Liu Sisi still understood Di Yelei’s meaning.

“Wasn’t the former Crown Prince confined to guard the Imperial Mausoleum for life without permission to return to court? Even before his deposition, there were clamors for the establishment of a new Crown Prince; this…”

“The Emperor’s will is unfathomable! Now, there are still four princes remaining in the capital city. What exactly His Majesty is thinking, wondering which prince he intends to appoint as Crown Prince, no one can say for certain… Moreover, the recent incident involving Marquis Cibai has left His Majesty even more restless, struggling to formulate a decree.”

Di Yelei’s words were very somber, so low that Liu Sisi, who was right beside him, could hardly make them out.

A thought suddenly crossed Liu Sisi’s mind. Were the four princes left residing in the capital because His Majesty was indecisive in his heart, or was he deliberately letting them engage in a dog-eat-dog struggle?

Reflecting on it, she found her own thoughts incredulous, and Liu Sisi quickly shook the ideas from her mind: “Regardless of the Emperor’s will, on the day of the sacrifice to heaven, we should return the jadeite ring to His Majesty as early as possible, and extricate ourselves from the situation sooner to avoid trouble when the time comes…”

“I’m afraid it won’t be that simple.”

With that, Di Yelei collapsed onto the head of the bed, his eyebrows shadowed with an unrest that he couldn’t dispel: “Haven’t I been coming home late these past two days? In fact, I’ve been meeting with the Seventh Prince and the Fifteenth Prince…”

“They’re moving so quickly?”

Liu Sisi was somewhat astonished! But after considering the successive assassination attempts she faced upon her recent entry to the palace, such haste did not seem so strange anymore.

“What do you think their target is?” Without waiting for Liu Sisi to reply, he continued, “They all want to get their hands on the little jadeite ring that you hold. By the way, you must keep that ring safe, do not take it out until the moment it must be handed over.”

Although that thing was harmful, at the same time, in a critical moment, it could also be a lifesaver!

Liu Sisi glanced at him sideways, her eyes shifting: “I’m not a three-year-old child, I naturally understand.”

“What would I do if you were a three-year-old child?”

Di Yelei laughed muffledly with glee, and with a swift pull, he directly yanked Liu Sisi over. Amidst her cries of surprise, he flipped her beneath his body.

Instinctively, Liu Sisi stretched her hands forward in an attempt to push him away, but she could not move his heavy body.

“Stop it, you’re so heavy, and you smell strongly of wine…”

Liu Sisi instinctively whined, turning her head away.

“Really? Do I smell of wine, or could you be mistaken?”

Di Yelei chuckled lowly, teasing her deliberately, bringing his face close to the nape of her neck, trailing kisses down her throat.

“Don’t… hmm…”

Despite her intention to refuse, as his hands fanned the flames, her breathing gradually became unstable. The hands that had been pushing him away slowly turned into an embrace, unconsciously tilting her face away to avoid the scent of alcohol.

A spark can start a great fire, and Liu Sisi’s consciousness became increasingly blurred, passively sinking into the lead of his desire…

At that moment, Di Yelei was ready to strike, his large hands slowly caressing her creamy skin, as if he couldn’t wait to meld her entirely into his own body.

In the midst of their tangled emotions, they heard a flurry of messy footsteps outside, accompanied by some hushed whispers, but shortly after came an urgent knocking: “Old Master Marquis, Princess! Something’s happened, thieves have struck in the Young Master’s courtyard!”