440. It’s All Liu Suifeng’s Fault! (II)

Translator: Storm in a Teacup

Only then did Long Xiaoyuan clearly see the weariness on s.h.i.+ Qingzhou’s face.

Long Xiaoyuan was taken aback, his heart aching. He quickly pulled s.h.i.+ Qingzhou into his arms.

“Qingzhou? What happened? Tell me.”

s.h.i.+ Qingzhou took a deep breath, but he didn’t say anything. There was impatient anger in his eyes, as if he was suppressing something. Long Xiaoyuan was more surprised at sight of this. What could anger s.h.i.+ Qingzhou to this extreme?

Long Xiaoyuan thought about it carefully. There were only two people capable of doing that.

One was himself, the other was s.h.i.+ Qingshan.

Hadn’t Qingzhou just come back from visiting s.h.i.+ Qingshan?

After figuring it out, Long Xiaoyuan pulled s.h.i.+ Qingzhou into his arms and kissed him gently.

“Qingzhou, is there something wrong with your father?”

As expected, s.h.i.+ Qingzhou stiffened.

Long Xiaoyuan instantly understood.

“So, there is something wrong with your father. Tell me. What’s wrong?”

Looking at Long Xiaoyuan’s concerned eyes, s.h.i.+ Qingzhou slowly told him about s.h.i.+ Qingshan in a tense voice.

s.h.i.+ Qingzhou pursed his lips tightly. “I don’t understand what my father is thinking!”

Long Xiaoyuan smiled at s.h.i.+ Qingzhou’s depression.

s.h.i.+ Qingzhou squinted when he saw Long Xiaoyuan smile. “What are you laughing at? Is this funny?”

“You…” Long Xiaoyuan flicked s.h.i.+ Qingzhou’s forehead.

“I’m laughing at you. You are so smart, but you are being foolish.”

s.h.i.+ Qingzhou frowned. “What do you mean?”

Long Xiaoyuan smiled. “Don’t you understand why your father says he doesn’t want the baby?”

“No, I don’t understand.” s.h.i.+ Qingzhou said in depression.

Long Xiaoyuan sighed. “Your father is doing it for you.”

s.h.i.+ Qingzhou was taken aback. “For me? How is this possible?”

“Why not?” Long Xiaoyuan rolled his eyes. “The outsider sees the most of the game. Your father makes this decision because he doesn’t want to put you in a difficult position with me. Look, you are the Empress, and your father is a great general. Both of you are well respected and dignified, but there will be no descendants in the s.h.i.+ family. Besides, you don’t have any cousins. In other words, even if the s.h.i.+ family is a dignified and favored family, its glory does not last. However, with a child and an heir, it is totally different. The s.h.i.+ family will continue to exist. In that case, as time goes on, the s.h.i.+ family would become a powerful family in the Imperial City. It would undermine the rule of the emperor. Your father is afraid of me, worrying that you would have a hard time. He hopes that you would live a happy life with me.”

Long Xiaoyuan’s words shocked s.h.i.+ Qingzhou, whose heart was trembling.

After a while, s.h.i.+ Qingzhou wiped his face. “You’re right. The outsider sees the most of the game. My father doesn’t hesitate to hurt himself to protect me. It is ridiculous of me not to understand his good intention. I’m not a good son.”

“Qingzhou, don’t say that.” Long Xiaoyuan was displeased. “I’m not telling you this to make you feel guilty.” s.h.i.+ Qingzhou smiled. “I know.”

Long Xiaoyuan pinched s.h.i.+ Qingzhou’s lower lip. “I tell you this to put those funny ideas out of your head.”

s.h.i.+ Qingzhou took a deep breath. “I’ll go to see Father tomorrow and make it straight with him.”

“Don’t be a fool. It’s of no use.” Long Xiaoyuan smiled. “Your father will only think that you are trying to console him.”

s.h.i.+ Qingzhou paused and frowned. “Then what shall I do?”

Long Xiaoyuan smiled. “It’s easy. I’ll go and tell him. He will definitely believe me.”

s.h.i.+ Qingzhou paused and frowned. “But…”

Long Xiaoyuan held s.h.i.+ Qingzhou’s hand. “Come on. I have to straighten this out. Don’t argue with me. Besides, I want to see your father.”

Long Xiaoyuan’s serious expression silenced s.h.i.+ Qingzhou.

Long Xiaoyuan smiled. “Did you rush back all the way? Have you taken a bath?”

s.h.i.+ Qingzhou shook his head, his voice a little hoa.r.s.e. “No.”

Long Xiaoyuan immediately took s.h.i.+ Qingzhou’s hand. “Let’s go take a bath.”

s.h.i.+ Qingzhou looked at Long Xiaoyuan and raised his eyebrows. “You haven’t bathed yet?”

“Yes.” Long Xiaoyuan grinned. “I took a bath already, but I want to serve you.”

He stressed the word ‘serve”, which made s.h.i.+ Qingzhou speechless.

In the end, Long Xiaoyuan managed to take s.h.i.+ Qingzhou to the bath.

After he bathed s.h.i.+ Qingzhou, Long Xiaoyuan took s.h.i.+ Qingzhou to the big bed.

Long Xiaoyuan knew that s.h.i.+ Qingzhou was tired from the journey, and he understood his bad mood.

Although s.h.i.+ Qingzhou was feeling better, he was tired.

Therefore, Long Xiaoyuan did not disturb s.h.i.+ Qingzhou. Instead, he let him go to sleep.

In fact, he was tired as well.

Long Xiaoyuan and s.h.i.+ Qingzhou slept well through the night.

The next day, Long Xiaoyuan and s.h.i.+ Qingzhou left early in the morning.

It would take more than half a day to travel from Ronghua City to the border.

And they had to speed up in order to make it.

Therefore, Long Xiaoyuan and s.h.i.+ Qingzhou were not slow in their journey, and they only took a few Shadow Guardians with them. They didn’t even tell Liu Suifeng and Ouyang Chuan.

However, Long Xiaoyuan did not give any orders to hide it from Liu Suifeng.

If he asked about their whereabouts, Shadow Guardians would tell him.

After they reached the border, Long Xiaoyuan and s.h.i.+ Qingzhou went straight to s.h.i.+ Qingshan.

After s.h.i.+ Qingshan led them to his tent, he knelt down to salute.

Long Xiaoyuan quickly pulled him up.

“We’re family. Father, you are embarra.s.sing me.”

Although Long Xiaoyuan had addressed s.h.i.+ Qingshan this way a few times, but s.h.i.+ Qingshan felt ill at ease every time. He didn’t dare to respond. Long Xiaoyuan said, “Qingzhou, it’s not easy for me to see Father. I want to talk with him about something. Please go out first.”

s.h.i.+ Qingzhou nodded.

s.h.i.+ Qingshan was a little uneasy, not knowing what Long Xiaoyuan was going to say to him.

However, Long Xiaoyuan felt a home.

Long Xiaoyuan casually took a seat and then patted the place next to him. “General s.h.i.+, sit down.”

Although s.h.i.+ Qingshan was uneasy, he went over and sat up straight.

Long Xiaoyuan looked at him and smiled.

“General s.h.i.+, I’m going to tell you something.”

“Your Majesty, please speak.”

Long Xiaoyuan smiled. “I have made a will in the Imperial City.”

s.h.i.+ Qingshan turned pale at the mention of making a will, almost got to his feet in shock.

Long Xiaoyuan held s.h.i.+ Qingshan’s arm. “General s.h.i.+, don’t get upset. I like to tell you about the content of the will.”

s.h.i.+ Qingshan paused slightly.

Long Xiaoyuan smiled and told s.h.i.+ Qingshan his will.

s.h.i.+ Qingshan turned white. “Your Majesty, you can’t do this!”

“Can’t I?” Long Xiaoyuan raised his eyebrows. “Why not? You are Qingzhou’s father, the father of my beloved, the grandfather of my son. With these ident.i.ties, why do you think we can’t do this?”

s.h.i.+ Qingshan wanted to say something, but Long Xiaoyuan continued.

“Father, I also want to tell you that I will only have Qingzhou for the rest of my life. I won’t allow Qingzhou to have any child with any women, but I don’t want the s.h.i.+ family to end like this. Qingzhou and Mother are looking forward to the arrival of this child, so I won’t allow you to give up this child in any case!”

s.h.i.+ Qingshan opened his mouth in surprise.

Long Xiaoyuan smiled. “Father, you should believe in my feelings for Qingzhou. Even though the imperial family does not seem to have any true feelings, this was not an absolute truth. Father, I’ve promised you, so please trust me once. What do you think?”

s.h.i.+ Qingshan blushed, not knowing what to say.

Long Xiaoyuan smiled. “Father, I take your silence as a yes. Don’t worry, Father. The s.h.i.+ family’s glory is definitely not temporary. As long as the s.h.i.+ family doesn’t make any big mistakes, I promise you that the s.h.i.+ family will always exist.”

s.h.i.+ Qingshan was on the verge of tears.

The s.h.i.+ family had been loyal for several generations. Finally, they got what they had been waiting for.

‘G.o.d blesses our family!’

His lips trembling, s.h.i.+ Qingshan knelt down. “Your Majesty, thank you very much for your kindness.”

Long Xiaoyuan smiled and helped s.h.i.+ Qingshan up. “So Father, can you keep the child now?”

s.h.i.+ Qingshan said awkward, “I was being stupid.”

Long Xiaoyuan smiled. “Now, I’ll tell you what has happened now. I need your cooperation in some matters.”

“Okay,” s.h.i.+ Qingshan said seriously, “Your Majesty, please speak.”

Long Xiaoyuan nodded. “I come here for two people. One is Wu Ronghan, and the other is Lord, who is at war with of Northern Barbarians.”

Long Xiaoyuan told him about the two men in details.

He also mentioned his preliminary plan.

s.h.i.+ Qingshan nodded repeatedly. “That’s good, but…”

It took them half an hour to finish their discussion.

Long Xiaoyuan thought for a moment and lowered his voice. “Father, do you think the Shadow Guardians outside can hear me if I talk?”

s.h.i.+ Qingshan immediately understood his meaning and quickly said. “No.”

Long Xiaoyuan nodded. “Okay. I want to tell you about Ouyang Chuan. Father, you don’t have to persuade me. Just do as I say.”

s.h.i.+ Qingshan paused slightly and said slowly, “Your Majesty, please speak.”

Long Xiaoyuan looked down. “Ouyang Chuan has been enchanted by Lord. If we want to free him, we have to let Ouyang Chuan complete the mission given by Lord. Although we can do some tricks about it, it has to look real. I intend to take a risk. Father, if I unfortunately get killed by Ouyang Chuan, stop Qingzhou from killing Ouyang Chuan. If Ouyang Chuan only hurt me and I survive, you have to stop Qingzhou. You can’t let him kill angrily.”

s.h.i.+ Qingshan turned pale. “This is too risky.”

Long Xiaoyuan raised his head. “Yes, Father, it’s too risky, but this is the only way. Ouyang Chuan and Liu Suifeng have done too much for Qingzhou and me. Liu Suifeng even saved the whole city several times. Besides, they are my friends. How can I let anything happen to them? I can’t allow my beloved one to hurt my friend on my account. I make this choice myself. I can share life and death with Qingzhou, but I can’t let him hurt our most important friend.”

s.h.i.+ Qingshan took a deep breath. “Is there no other way?”

Long Xiaoyuan shook his head. “I also hope that there would be another solution, but for now, there is none.”

s.h.i.+ Qingshan pursed his lips tightly. “Your Majesty…”

“Father, I’ve said this is my decision. Please support me. In addition, please be a good general and Regent. Of course, none of us want that day to come.”

“Your Majesty, you will definitely pull through safe and sound.” s.h.i.+ Qingshan slowly knelt down. “I’ll do as you say.”

Long Xiaoyuan smiled. “General s.h.i.+, please get up.”

After half an hour, Long Xiaoyuan finally came out of s.h.i.+ Qingshan’s tent.

s.h.i.+ Qingzhou had been waiting for a long time. When he saw Long Xiaoyuan coming out, he hurriedly went up to greet him. “How is it?”

Long Xiaoyuan immediately smiled. “I convinced him of course.”

s.h.i.+ Qingzhou let out a sigh of relief, but he rolled his eyes at Long Xiaoyuan. “Yeah, I don’t have to worry about anything if you deal with it.”

“That’s true.” Long Xiaoyuan laughed,” Qingzhou, do you want to go in? You can talk to your father. We are leaving soon.”

s.h.i.+ Qingzhou thought about it, but finally he shook his head. “No.”

Long Xiaoyuan was confused, “Why?”

“s.h.i.+ Qingzhou said, “Because there is no need. I understand what’s on my father’s mind now.”

“Okay.” Long Xiaoyuan shrugged. “Shall we go now? It’s not good to stay long here. I don’t want to cause any trouble to your father.”

“Okay.” s.h.i.+ Qingzhou nodded. “Let’s go back to the Yamen of Ronghua City as soon as possible.”

Long Xiaoyuan smiled and held s.h.i.+ Qingzhou’s hand. “Let’s go.”

s.h.i.+ Qingzhou nodded. “Okay.”

The two of them hurried back, but they took the carriage on the way back. In the carriage, Long Xiaoyuan and s.h.i.+ Qingzhou enjoyed tea.

Although the road was a little b.u.mpy, it didn’t affect Long Xiaoyuan’s mood.

s.h.i.+ Qingzhou stayed with him.

Long Xiaoyuan sipped tea and ate desserts. Sometimes he even fed s.h.i.+ Qingzhou. Time flew.

They were expecting a.s.sa.s.sins. Although they didn’t take many Shadow Guardians with them, Long Xiaoyuan was not worried.

No a.s.sa.s.sins appear all the way from the border to the Yamen.

No one appeared!

Long Xiaoyuan was regretful about this.

After the two of them got back to the Yamen and sat down on the chairs in their room, Liu Suifeng and Ouyang Chuan came over.

However, Ouyang Chuan was in a low spirit. Even Long Xiaoyuan could notice his pale face.

s.h.i.+ Qingzhou also glanced at Ouyang Chuan.

Long Xiaoyuan said in surprise, “Ouyang Chuan, what’s wrong? Doesn’t Liu Suifeng let you sleep at night? He has gone too far.

I told you that you can’t pamper him. You should ignore him and keep him off your bed.”

A short silence fell upon the room.

A moment later, s.h.i.+ Qingzhou cleared his throat. “Don’t talk nonsense.”

Long Xiaoyuan said confidently, “How can this be nonsense? I see that Ouyang Chuan doesn’t rest well, and he looks terrible. It is clear that he doesn’t sleep well at night. There is only one reason. Who else could it be apart from Liu Suifeng?”

Everyone was speechless. s.h.i.+ Qingzhou did not know what to say.

Liu Suifeng didn’t know if he should defend himself.