"Itās what my dad said," thought Lele. He wasnāt stupid. Since the Emperor was the most powerful man, it made sense that everyone wanted to be the most powerful, but there was only one spot, so wouldnāt they fight for it?
The Emperor thought seriously. If people in the palace knew that he brought back a child, not to mention others, his very own sons would be the first to take action. He had brought Ye Ziāanās child to the palace simply because he found the child more interesting than the palace children, less rigid, but if something were to happen in the palace, that would be a disaster.
"Fine, I allow him to stay close to you," he said. Then, through the curtains, Lele saw that Ye Er had already brazenly joined the group at the back. "Iāve also brought your nanny for you."
"Nanny? I donāt have a nanny?"
It wasnāt until they reached the inn that Lele learned it was Sister-in-law Li.
In Yangshu Village, Ye Ziāan and Yang Chuxia had already found out that Ye Er had followed along, and Sister-in-law Li had been taken away as well.
Yang Chuxia thought it likely that Sister-in-law Li was taken to serve Lele closely. With both Ye Er and Sister-in-law Li there, both trusted people, she felt somewhat relieved.
But Yangyang was extremely unhappy, feeling that the Emperor had kidnapped his brother. He clamored daily about training hard in martial arts to rescue his brother.
"Alright, donāt worry anymore, Ye Er is with him. If anything happens, he will find a way to send us a message."
"Yes," Yang Chuxia nodded listlessly, and then asked, "When do you plan to depart?"
Speaking of this, Ye Ziāanās face, which had been gloomy these past few days, finally lit up with a smile, almost dazzling Yang Chuxia.
"Whatās the matter? Is there some good news?"
Ye Ziāan smiled, indeed it was good news, "He has allowed me to delay my trip to Shandong. As long as Shandong doesnāt fall into chaos, I can stay at home with you until the baby is born before leaving."
"Really?" That truly was good news. She believed no woman wished to be without her husband by her side when giving birth.
"Yes, I will send Ye Yi, Ye San, and Brother Li to Shandong in the next few days. This way, if something happens there, I can be informed in time."
This was a sort of compensation after the Emperor had given him a daunting task. Of course, this was originally compensation, but compared to him taking away his son, it hardly counted as such.
What he didnāt tell Xiaxia was that, fortunately, it was Lele who had been taken. The clever and alert boy could be somewhat trusted to look out for himself in the cutthroat imperial palace, but if it were Yangyang instead, he feared heād be too worried to sleep at all.
However, the task the Emperor had entrusted to him was far beyond his expectations.
The gold bar left by his mother turned out not to belong to the Luo Family, but to the imperial family.
And the very existence of the Luo Family was apparently to guard that object.
It was a tough mission indeed; not only did he have to take on the responsibility of guarding that item, but at the crucial moment...
"What are you so engrossed in thinking about?" Yang Chuxia nudged him, snapping him out of his reverie.
"I was just thinking, with Lele not at home, I need to let mom and dad know, although Iāll have to hide the real circumstances."
"Yes, I understand."
But when Ms.Wang heard what Ye Ziāan had to say, she nearly gave him a good beating.
"Iāve never seen parents as heartless as you two. Heās just a few years old, and you send him away to acknowledge a master? Canāt Brother An teach him? Whatās the use of him ranking so high in the examinations if he canāt even teach his own child?"
Yang Chuxia looked helplessly to the heavens; they werenāt heartless, it was that heartless man on the dragon throne.
"Ah, mom, please, donāt start on Brother An. Weāre also thinking of the childās best interests. Weāll bring him back soon enough."