179 – The Death of Du Shi

After the bath, White Spot and Golden Fur knew how to use qi to dry their furs. Looking at their energetic, clean, and refreshing appearances, Qin Ruiqi and Lei Ruilin loved them even more and embraced them.

Lei Ruilin looked at Qin Mian pleadingly, “Dad, I want to sleep with Golden Fur at night.”

Qin Mian nodded, “Sure.” After White Spot and Golden Fur had cultivation, lice and other things couldn’t get close to them. It was fine to let children sleep with them for a night.

After dinner, Qin Mian laid a thick rug on the floor of Lei Ruilin’s room. After the two children had a bath, they jumped on the rug happily and had a tussle with White Spot and Golden Fur. When Qin Ruiqi and Lei Ruilin were younger, most of the time, Qin Mian and Lei Tie were too busy to take care of them. It was White Spot and Golden Fur who took care of the children. Therefore, Qin Ruiqi and Lei Ruilin’s feelings for White Spot and Golden Fur were extraordinary deeper. In White Spot and Golden Fur’s hearts, the two little masters were also particularly important. Both of them obediently let Qin Ruiqi and Lei Ruilin embrace and knead them. When two children were about to fall because they ran too fast, they would be dragged up back in time.

Qin Mian told the two children not to play until late at night and then went back to his room with Lei Tie.

Lei Tie had bathed. He was dressed only in his nightclothes, leaning on the head of the bed with a book in his hand.

Qin Mian went into the washroom and saw the clean nightclothes on the chair beside the bathtub. He knew who put them there; he gave a wee of a smile. After he took a quick bath, he came to the side of the bed and pounced on the reading man.

Lei Tie pecked on his lips, put the book on the cabinet on the bed, and lay down with him.

Qin Mian pressed on Lei Tie’s body and lightly rubbed his leg with Lei Tie’s, “I’ll also go to the Palace tomorrow. [We] don’t know what Emperor Xiaohui is up to. I’m not at ease if I don’t follow.”

“En. I’ll pick you up when I come back from the Court.” Lei Tie’s hand stroked into his nightclothes…….

The next day, when Lei Tie came back from the Court, Qin Mian, Qin Ruiqi, and Lei Ruilin had packed up some snacks for Emperor Xiaohui and put them in a round food box. White Spot and Golden Fur also had dressed up. White Spot wore a black and red striped twill vest and a red bowtie around its neck – it looked purely proud and elegant. Golden Fur also wore clothes, which was a sleeveless blue round-neck shirt that just perfectly wrapped its huge body – it looked mighty, elegant, and unconventional.

After Lei Tie changed his clothes, the family of six went out together. Qin Mian and Lei Tie rode horses; Lei Tie carried the food box with unknown weight in his hand. Since White Spot and Golden Fur had come to the Capital, it was impossible to keep them in the space or the State Defender Duke Establishment all the time. Qin Mian intended to let the people in the Capital get used to their existence. Thus, he let Qin Ruiqi and Lei Ruilin ride on White Spot and Golden Fur respectively.

It was not surprising that humans could tame wolves and bears. There were animal trainers in the Capital, who often performed with all kinds of animals. However, it was strange that two horses, one wolf, and one bear could coexist so harmoniously without being specially controlled and even dressed like a human – people couldn’t help but feel strange. On both sides of the street soon gathered a large group of people with strange looks on their faces.

With a smile on his face, Lei Ruilin kept waving to the crowd on both sides. He even hinted at Qin Ruiqi with his eyes, signaling him to wave.

Qin Ruiqi’s eyes flashed a helpless look so similar to Lei Tie. Taking White Spot and Golden Fur into consideration, he waved his hands nonetheless. His appearance of waving hands with that small wooden face not only made people love it but also made them amused.

The people looked at the lovely appearance of the two little brothers – one was smiling and the other was expressionless – and waved to them happily.

Qin Mian’s eyes overflowed with smiles.

It was not good to cause blockage on the street, so he and Lei Tie raised the whips to let the horses trot up. White Spot and Golden Fur hopped easily and followed after them.

At the gate of the Palace, four palace attendants had been waiting for a long time. As soon as they saw the big wolf and bear from a distance, they inwardly trembled. Upon clearly seeing the two children sitting on the back of the wolf and bear, they calmed down.

“Greetings, State Defender Duke and Lady of the State Defender!”

“Don’t stand on ceremonies.” Lei Tie and Qin Mian jumped off the horses and passed the reins to a palace attendant.

Another palace attendant said respectfully, “State Defender Duke and Lady of the State Defender, His Majesty is in the imperial garden. Please follow this servant.”

Lei Tie instructed another palace attendant, “You go report to His Majesty first.”

After saluting, the palace attendant ran away and informed the emperor that White Spot and Golden Fur were not sent in a cage.

Qin Ruiqi and Lei Ruilin jumped off White Spot and Golden Fur’s backs and landed smoothly.

When Qin Mian’s family arrived at the imperial garden, they were shocked to find that almost every zhang [3m] in the garden stood an upright, fully armed Imperial Guard, staring at White Spot and Golden Fur on alert.

White Spot and Golden Fur seemed not to notice – their gaits were still calm and unhurried.

In the spacious quadrangle pavilion, gauze curtains on the eaves fluttered. Emperor Xiaohui, the empress dowager, and the empress were all here. Qin Mian thought to himself that the empress and the empress dowager’s skins were much better than when they met last time. It was obvious that they already used the beauty cream he gifted.

Besides them, there was also a young miss in the pavilion about 16~17 years old and looked six points similar to Emperor Xiaohui – she had a pair of shrewd eyes. She was holding onto Emperor Xiaohui’s arm intimately. At the sight of White Spot and Golden Fur, there was a look of surprise in the young miss’s eyes and an expression of itching to do something on her face. This was Princess Duanning, who was 16 years old. She was favored by Emperor Xiaohui because her looks were similar to Emperor Xiaohui.

Qin Mian made White Spot and Golden Fur lie down and went forward with Lei Tie and his two sons to give a salute.

Emperor Xiaohui laughed in a clear loud voice, “Rise.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Emperor Xiaohui beckoned Yuanyuan and Manman, pretending to be angry, “Yuanyuan and Manman, didn’t you promise to see Uncle Emperor? What took you so long?”

Yuanyuan and Manman walked over without fear and each leaned close to him on both sides.

“Forgive us, Uncle Emperor. My Didi and I have just entered Dongyang Academy. It took some time to adapt,” said Qin Ruiqi.

Lei Ruilin added with a smile on his face, “My Gege and I made snacks for Uncle Emperor.”

“Oh? Present it. Did Yuanyuan and Manman make them by yourselves?” Emperor Xiaohui put his arms around them. The joy on his face didn’t seem to be fake.

The empress dowager, the empress, and Princess Duanning had carefully looked at Qin Ruiqi and Lei Ruilin – this was not surprising. The two children themselves were lovable. They weren’t afraid to face so many noble people. They had such courageous hearts at a young age that anyone would come to love them more.

Just then, a palace attendant took the food box from Lei Tie and presented it to Eunuch Li.

Eunuch Li opened the food box – there were three layers. Emperor Xiaohui, the empress dowager, the empress, and Princess Duanning all showed a look of wonder. The first layer was a rice bowl-sized cake, with a rich aroma and bright colors, a total of nine pieces; the second layer was an attractive pizzeria, which was also nine pieces; the third layer was double-layer steamed milk custard, which was also nine pieces. The snacks on each layer were quite distinct from each other. The six on the left were beautiful, and the three on the right were not very good-looking.

Lei Ruilin gave a toothy smile to Emperor Xiaohui in embarrassment, “These ugly ones are made by Gege and me. The others are made by Dad.”

Emperor Xiaohui laughed and patted his small shoulder, “It’s fine. The ones that Yuanyuan and Manman personally made must be delicious.”

Eunuch Li swallowed his saliva secretly, but he didn’t forget his duty. He was about to try it first, but he was blocked by Emperor Xiaohui. Eunuch Li hurriedly opened the emperor’s special cutlery box and handed him the silver spoon with both hands.

Emperor Xiaohui took the spoon, dug a piece of the ugliest cake, tasted it, and nodded, “En, delicious.”

Qin Mian admired Emperor Xiaohui’s courage – surprisingly, he didn’t worry that they would poison him.

Emperor Xiaohui did not act thusly until he thought about it clearly that Qin Mian and Lei Tie would not use their sons even if they wanted to harm him.

After eating, Emperor Xiaohui gave each of the small cakes to the empress dowager, the empress, and Princess Duanning. The three did not even look hesitant as they tasted the cake. Words of praise were uttered without ceasing.

Emperor Xiaohui gave another each to Qin Ruiqi and Lei Ruilin.

The few people ate until they were satisfied.

Qin Mian and Lei Tie stood by calmly.

After eating the cake, Emperor Xiaohui looked at the wolf and the bear which had been lying on the ground and looked very obedient. He asked Qin Mian how long he had kept them, what he usually fed them……

Qin Mian was afraid that Emperor Xiaohui would covet White Spot and Golden Fur, so he answered very carefully.

It was not known whether Emperor Xiaohui saw his (QM) worry so that he lamented, “For White Spot and Golden Fur to go find their masters from afar, their loyalty is commendable – more reliable than some people. Li Fushou, pass on Zhen’s order: henceforth, send some food to White Spot and Golden Fur every day.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Qin Mian didn’t know whether Emperor Xiaohui’s saying “more reliable than some people” had another meaning. He and Lei Tie just bent over to express gratitude.

“Reporting, Your Majesty. The Young Marquis is here.” A palace attendant came from a distance, stepped forward, and informed him.

Qin Mian looked at Lei Tie questioningly.

Lei Tie relayed it inwardly, “Zhangsun Yun, the father of the empress, was granted the title of Marquis of Weiyuan by His Majesty. The Young Marquis is the legitimate son of Marquis of Weiyuan – Zhangsun He, the younger brother of the empress.”

In a moment, a young man was seen coming with vigorous steps, wearing a jade crown and a purple robe.

Zhangsun He first greeted Emperor Xiaohui and the others.

Emperor Xiaohui was very gentle to Zhangsun He and beckoned him to get closer, “A-He, no need to be ceremonious. What brings you to the Palace today?”

When the empress saw that her younger brother received the emperor’s favor, the corner of her lips was filled with smiling expression and pride.

Zhangsun He looked at White Spot and Golden Fur and said with a smile, “I heard that the State Defender Duke had brought the beasts into the Palace. I was very curious, so I came to have a look.”

Based on the rank, his rank was lower than that of Lei Tie. After he said that, he saluted Qin Mian and Lei Tie.

White Spot arched its body slightly and growled in a low voice to Zhangsun He.

Qin Mian was very surprised. He quickly raised his hand and made a gesture. White Spot obediently lay down again.

Lei Tie promptly said, “Hope Young Marquis do not blame it.”

Zhangsun He made nothing of it. He said with a smile, “State Defender Duke and Lady of the State Defender Duke, we’ve met before.”

Qin Mian and Lei Tie look at each other, failed to understand so.

Zhangsun He looked at White Spot and smilingly said, “Back then, if nothing had happened, this wolf should have been mine.”

Qin Mian suddenly remembered, “It turned out that the man back then was Young Marquis.”

Emperor Xiaohui was curious, so Zhangsun He told about the matter of him catching White Spot by chance back then.

Emperor Xiaohui lamented at the wonder of fate.

Zhangsun He turned his head to look at Lei Tie and said, “State Defender Duke has better hurry back.”

Lei Tie’s expression turned cold, “Young Marquis, please speak bluntly.”

Zhangsun He sat down on the stone bench and said casually, “Before coming, I heard that your mother was killed less than a moment after she left the prison.”