The life of the Xianyu family through books

"I'm exhausted!" Yan Yu lay sprawled out on the kang (a heated brick bed), spread out in a large "X" shape.

The kang (heated brick bed) was built by Yan Lao Er with someone's help, and the whole family is used to sleeping on it.

After tidying up the armor her daughter had taken off, Li Xuemei then began to strip off her clothes.

Yan Yu raised her arms and kicked her legs, cooperating perfectly.

"Da Bao, come on, have some water." Yan Lao Er served tea and water from the side.

Yan Yu gulped down a bowl of tea, still wanting more, and drank two more bowls before finally feeling her parched throat soothed.

"Can't you drink water in front of the emperor? Look how thirsty my daughter is." Although Yan Lao Er had been to the palace a few times, he was not qualified to be in front of the emperor and had no practical experience.

"The tea served to the Emperor was excellent, always at the perfect temperature. But you can't drink too much, or you'll have to change clothes all the time." Yan Yu was a little listless, as she was quite tired from accompanying the Emperor today.

"It's not that I'm overthinking it, but even though he doesn't say much, every sentence seems to have multiple layers of meaning. His questions have made my brain spin like crazy. I want to say a lot, but it also seems like I haven't said anything at all. I want to sneak in some personal agendas, but I have to do it subtly. Ugh, I also have to deliberately reveal some of my thoughts occasionally. It's so difficult. This day has been so hard!"

The chubby boy started rolling around on the kang (a heated brick bed), yelling and screaming.

Yan Lao Er comforted him from the side, feeling sorry for him: "We won't go anymore, let Da Ge take the lead."

Yan Yu stopped rolling, raised her legs high and then lowered them, using the force to sit up.

"We still have to go. Others wouldn't even have this opportunity." Her round little face was full of seriousness: "Tomorrow, we'll continue to trick the old emperor into going."

Yan Lao Er: "Huh? Why are we going again tomorrow?"

Li Xuemei also looked over with questions in her eyes.

"Didn't you chat enough today?" Yan Yu crossed her legs, looking like she was eager to hear my detailed explanation. "The old emperor has his own sources of information, but he still wants to know about the situation in Guanzhou from me, including major and minor battles, people's livelihoods, all aspects, and... the Prince of Ying."

Li Xuemei said knowingly, "Emperors are all very suspicious; they even have to ask others about their own sons."

“We’ve moved into the Prince’s mansion, so he can’t possibly believe anything you say, right?” Yan Lao Er was puzzled.

"Let him decide for himself." Yan Yu proudly raised her head. "Father, you know me, I'm so popular, the old emperor loves to hear me talk."

She spoke of her heroic performance on the training ground today.

"...I gave it a little demonstration, and the old emperor's gaze towards me changed completely. He immediately wanted to recruit me into the Imperial Guard, but I didn't agree."

Yan Lao Er was proud: "That's right, everyone loves our Da Bao!"

"I mentioned wanting to go to the Five Cities Garrison, and the old emperor agreed, but only verbally; there hasn't been an official decree yet." Yan Yu smiled, her eyes narrowing. "I really like this government office; there's nothing in the capital that they can't interfere with."

"The Beijing Public Security Bureau!" Yan Lao Er recalled his daughter's summary.

Yan Yu nodded, "Working under Brother Pan is considered a lateral transfer for my rank. The military merits I earned in Guanzhou should be rewarded together with the Duke of Dingguo after he returns to the capital."

"Doesn't that mean you'll get promoted once the Duke of Dingguo returns?" Yan Lao Er exclaimed excitedly.

"Hehehe! Of course, by then I'll be the one with the highest official rank in the whole family!"

The chubby boy did a Superman flying motion.

Yan Lao Er clutched his chest in agreement and exclaimed, "Ouch! The father is being crushed by his daughter! The younger generation is leaving the older generation on the beach!"

Yan Yu laughed nonstop.

Li Xuemei sat down next to her, smiling as she helped her daughter undo her hair, gently combing through the strands and lightly massaging her scalp.

Yan Yu groaned contentedly. "My medals are half thanks to my mother!"

"What about me? What about me?" Yan Lao Er leaned closer, his face close to Yan Lao Er's.

“Since Father has asked so sincerely, then I’ll give Father a small share too!” Yan Yu said with a grin.

"Great! Da Bao!" Yan Lao Er was so happy that he went to fetch water to soak his daughter's chubby little feet.

The little sprout, unfazed by its new surroundings, rolled over, its mouth slightly open, and began to snore rhythmically.

Li Xuemei asked in a low voice, "Have they all been caught?"

She was asking about the people who attacked and killed Yan Lao Er and his group in Xiaozhuang outside the city.

“Not a single one escaped,” Yan Yu replied.

If the King of Han cannot be touched, then cut off his henchmen first.

"Okay, be careful when you go out," Li Xuemei instructed.

She wasn't being overly worried; when it comes to personal safety, you can't be too careful.

The capital city was not the Guanzhou Prefecture they were familiar with.

Therefore, Li Xuemei understood and agreed that her daughter wanted to go to the Five Cities Garrison, rather than the Imperial Guard which was closer to the emperor's power.

“In the future, when our family goes out, we’ll take the cat with us to hide, and when we go out in a cart, we’ll use our own donkeys and horses.” Yan Yu said seriously, “Finding the place where the poison was made in the capital really gave me a big shock. These past two days, I’ve been thinking about why this poison was tested in the capital. The most likely reason is that they wanted to poison the poison in the capital because it’s convenient and easy to do so under the cover of darkness.”

"If it's not targeting a few people, but spreading poison over a large area, the wells throughout the city would be a good place to do it, but to be honest, it's unnecessary."

The common people in the city would draw water from public wells, but wealthy families would dig several wells on their own, close their doors, and have servants patrolling at night, making it difficult to poison them.

It might sound cold-blooded to say this only applies to ordinary people being poisoned, but the truth is, not many people at the higher levels really care.

Yan Yu analyzed the situation calmly.

"Another possibility is that poison was applied to the weapons. With just a tiny cut, the enemy could be killed in the shortest time and at the lowest cost."

"After some deduction, I've realized that poison is best suited for assassination and small-scale operations, such as—seizing power!"

"Bow and arrow, darts, and..." She made a gesture of making a fist with her fingers and puffing out her cheeks to blow air. "A blowgun!"

Yan Yu sighed, "The capital is so dangerous. I could have gone to the Imperial Guard with its easy job, but I didn't choose it. Instead, I'm going to join the more demanding and tedious Public Security Brigade to serve at the grassroots level. I'm not afraid of hardship or fatigue. I'm determined to dig out all that dirty, stinking, and shameful stuff and restore a clean and blue sky to the capital!"

"Hahaha! My awareness is too high!"

Li Xuemei interrupted her daughter's silly laughter.

“Your father said that many of the abducted children have been brought back. The remaining children are from far away and their parents are still on their way. But there are still many children who were sold from orphanages, and these children have nowhere to go for the time being.”

Yan Yu thought for a moment and said, "I'll talk to Brother Pan and we'll put these children under the management of the Five Cities Military Command for now. We'll figure something out once I officially take office."

Since we know there are problems with the Salesian Bureau, we cannot return the child.

Logically, the Kyoto Prefectural Government should be the main responsible department.

However, judging from the actions of the Kyoto Prefecture these past two days, one cannot be at ease. (End of Chapter)