The Prodigal Son

When Qin Yu returned to his residence, it was already completely dark.

"Thirteenth Young Master, why are you back?"

Upon seeing Qin Yu return, Qi Dachui couldn't help but widen his eyes dramatically.

They looked like they'd seen a ghost.

"This is my home, can't I come back?"

Qin Yu was both amused and exasperated, and joked, "Are you going to kick me out of the house on behalf of the old man?"

"No, no!"

Qi Dachui waved his hands repeatedly, "When His Majesty sent someone to deliver the rewards this afternoon, he said that you would probably have to stay in the palace for several days. I didn't expect you to come back so soon."

Several days?

Qin Yu's face twitched violently.

Damn it!

That she-devil was definitely up to no good!

Do you really want to lock yourself in the palace for several days?

He really suspected that this female devil had some kind of special fetish; she felt uncomfortable if she didn't torment him for a day.

Despite his initial grumbling, Qin Yu quickly snapped out of it. "You just said His Majesty has already sent someone to deliver the rewards to your residence?"

"Yes, yes, it was delivered this afternoon."

Qi Dachui nodded in agreement, then continued rambling on, "General Yuan and the others also came to the manor. They thought you wouldn't stay long and were going to invite you for drinks. But when they heard you were going to stay in the palace for several days, they took their leave after a short while, saying they would set off for Dieguan early tomorrow morning and would invite you for drinks again another time..."

As the two were talking, Luo Qingyi and Nan Que'er also came out from the inner room.

Upon seeing Qin Yu, the two women looked surprised and asked the same question as Qi Dachui.

Mentioning this, Qin Yu looked relieved, as if he had escaped a disaster: "Don't even mention it! It's all thanks to my quick thinking! Otherwise, I might have really been detained in the palace, and might not have been able to go home until the end of the year!"

He then recounted the intricate details of the palace affairs to the group, focusing on the key points.

Nan Que'er's lips curled into a mischievous smile as she teased, "In my opinion, His Majesty isn't assigning you any tasks; he clearly wants to keep you in the palace and find an opportunity to have you serve him in bed!"

"Shh! Don't talk nonsense!"

Luo Qingyi's expression changed slightly, and she quickly patted Nan Que'er's arm gently. "How dare you make such a joke? If this gets out, our entire Qin family will be in trouble!"

Reminded by Luo Qingyi, Nan Que'er realized that she had spoken without thinking, and immediately stuck out her tongue playfully, suppressing her joking expression.

"Qingyi is right. We shouldn't say such things carelessly."

Qin Yu reached out and casually put his arm around Nan Que'er's waist, his domineering aura surging: "If you dare to talk nonsense again, I'll spank your ass until it's rotten!"

Although he sometimes did indeed lust after Zhao Luan's body, it was just a shameless fantasy.

He dared not hope that Zhao Luan would take a liking to him.

Nan Que'er leaned lightly against him, her eyes sparkling with coquettishness, and said in a sweet, coquettish voice, "I know I was wrong, and I will never dare to say such things again."

"That's more like it."

Qin Yu smiled with satisfaction and then released his arm around her waist.

Luo Qingyi watched the two flirting and interrupted with a helpless laugh, "Stop being so lovey-dovey here. You haven't eaten yet, have you? We all thought you were really going to stay in the palace for several days, so we didn't wait for you to have dinner. I'll go to the kitchen and prepare some food for you right now..."

"Stop bothering."

Qin Yu waved his hand and said with a smile, "Yuan Dingguo and the others are setting off for Dieguan tomorrow. I'm taking Da Chui over to have a few drinks with them as a farewell dinner."

After the battle in Min, Yuan Dingguo and his men were already considered his trusted confidants.

They were heading to Dieguan before the Lunar New Year, so they should have a proper send-off ceremony and celebrate the New Year together in advance.

There are also some important matters that I need to discuss with them privately.

After giving Luo Qingyi and Nan Que'er a few words of advice, Qin Yu led Qi Dachui and turned to leave the mansion.

Watching Qin Yu's departing figure, Nan Que'er quietly tugged at Luo Qingyi's sleeve, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "Aren't you worried at all? Look at His Majesty... that person's posture, he's clearly trying to steal our man!"

"What's the use of worrying?"

Luo Qingyi pulled Nan Que'er into the courtyard, her face full of helplessness. "If that person really has such intentions, what can the two of us do to stop him?"

Nan Que'er had mentioned this matter to her during the day.

At first, Luo Qingyi thought it was just worrying unnecessarily, but upon closer examination, it wasn't entirely impossible.

But the other party is the Emperor, and if he really sets his mind on someone, not even Qin Fumeng can stop them, let alone the two of them!

These are things they have no say in. Worrying about them will only cause them more trouble. They might as well just enjoy the days they have with Qin Yu.

If that day ever comes, it's not too late to make plans then.

"Why couldn't we stop it?"

Nan Que'er puffed out her cheeks, looking indignant. "Fine, she can be the boss, and we'll be the concubines! I won't hand her over!"

Upon hearing this, Luo Qingyi couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle helplessly.

Should we go big or small?

She's so naive.

He was an emperor, whose status surpassed that of all others. How could he possibly share a husband with them?

If things really come to that, being able to keep your life safe and sound would be an immense blessing.

……

"Thirteenth Young Master, His Majesty wouldn't have really taken a liking to you, would he?"

On the way to the inn where Yuan Dingguo and his group were to be settled, Qi Dachui suddenly asked with a gossipy look on his face.

Qin Yu's body stiffened, and he almost fell off his horse.

After a long while, Qin Yu finally came to his senses, looking at Qi Dachui with a speechless expression. "Where did you learn all this from? Your head is full of nonsense! What, are you lovesick? Which girl have you taken a fancy to? I'll go and play matchmaker for you!"

Ugh!

What a misfortune for our family!

No, it's a problem with family values!

The once thick-browed, big-eyed, simple-minded man is now almost like an old lady at the village intelligence station!

Most likely, they were corrupted by Nan Que'er!

Hmm, I'll give Nan Que'er a good spanking when I get back tonight!

No, no.

Qi Dachui shook his head repeatedly, chuckling sheepishly, "I just felt that His Majesty treated Thirteen Young Master a little differently..."

"nonsense!"

Qin Yu rolled her eyes at him. "You think she's forgotten about the monkey stealing the peaches? She's just trying to find new ways to torture me! Also, you can say these things in front of me, no, you can't say them in front of me at all. No matter where you heard the rumors from, you'd better keep them to yourself!"

With Da Chui's personality, if we don't put some constraints on him, he might accidentally let something slip.

If he were to say these things to the she-devil's face one day, things would get really messed up.

Hmm, we'll have to hold a family discipline meeting later to curb this unhealthy gossip trend!

"oh."

Qi Dachui scratched his head and shut up, saying nothing more.

They traveled in silence until they finally arrived at the post station.

Qin Yu's arrival surprised and delighted Yuan Dingguo and his men. "General Qin, you're done so quickly? We really thought you'd be busy for several days!"

"That's right! Don't you even know who I am!"

Qin Yu arrogantly raised his head. "Come on, let's go to the city and find a good place to have a few drinks!"

"good!"

Yuan Dingguo readily agreed, then asked in a low voice, "Should we invite those other guests as well?"

"I have something to tell you today, but it's inconvenient to bring those people along."

Qin Yu shook his head and smiled, "When we get to Dieguan, you can have a good drink with those guys!"

Yuan Dingguo was slightly taken aback, then nodded knowingly...