Chapter 385: 385. This master is not too cold

Translator: 549690339

Three days later, Chang’an came to inform Su Liang that Nian Ruting had died in the Heavenly Prison.

Although torture couldn’t completely break her, Chang’an handed Su Liang a copy of her confession. Duanmu Chen had already seen it and believed there was nothing of value in it.

Su Liang read it from beginning to end, finding it somewhat chaotic, possibly because Nian Ruting had already been on the edge of insanity and collapse. The confession included how Shaoyao had spared her life, when they went to Liang Country as master and disciple, and the purpose of coming back to Qian Country.

However, regarding the assassination on Lantern Festival night, Nian Ruting still claimed it was done by Shaoyao and had nothing to do with her.

Nian Ruting said she knew Nian Ruxue’s whereabouts and could help capture her in order to atone for her crimes with meritorious actions.

Su Liang shook his head and put down the confession. If Nian Ruting really knew where Nian Ruxue was, she would have either gone to kill her already or confessed it earlier instead of waiting until now. This was just her dying struggle.

What Su Liang was truly concerned about was the “someone” who wanted Gu Ling alive. Nian Ruting mentioned it, but she didn’t give any more useful information.

Duanmu Chen didn’t think too much about this either. Su Liang had told him about a mysterious force that seemed to be helping Situ Xie, and there could be many reasons for wanting Gu Ling alive. The simplest one might be that some woman was attracted to his beauty, which wasn’t too strange at all.

Duanmu Chen had already issued a secret decree in accordance with Su Liang’s advice three days ago, secretly sending reinforcements to Xuanbei City. Nian Jincheng and Lian Shun couldn’t leave Jiaye City, as it would be too obvious, and they were definitely being watched by Situ Xie’s informants. However, Ren Dong and his siblings, Bai Yang, could go. Their outstanding martial arts and assassination skills would also be useful in Xuanbei City.

One day, Zhengzheng was pushing a lovely baby carriage and playing with Gu Xiaonuan in the garden, while old Mu was shaking a rattle nearby, nodding his head with the beat and making Gu Xiaonuan laugh.

Suddenly, Zhengzheng saw someone behind a big tree not far away and immediately stopped, “Old Mu, there’s someone over there!”

Amid the noise of the rattles, old Mu took a step forward and stood in front of Zhengzheng and the baby carriage, his elderly eyes narrowed, “Who’s there? Show yourself!”

If it were an assassin, they wouldn’t dare to break into Su Mansion during broad daylight. If it were a thief, it was even more impossible.

The next moment, two people, one old and one young, walked out from behind the big tree. They looked quite similar to the combination of old Mu and Zhengzheng.

Old Mu felt that the old man looked familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

As for the kid… Old Mu’s gaze lowered, and he saw a big-eyed, adorable child looking at him curiously.

The old man was Ji Yuebai’s master, Lai Hong. Old Mu had indeed seen him in Su Mansion before, but only caught a glimpse of him entering Yuanming Pavilion from a distance and had never greeted him.

“We come from Yin Country,” Lai Hong let go of the little boy’s hand and saluted old Mu.

Old Mu was caught off guard, and the little boy slipped past him and ran over.

“Is this a little sister?” The little boy asked curiously, looking at Gu Xiaonuan in the baby carriage with sparkling eyes.

Zhengzheng frowned slightly, “Who are you? This is my little sister, not yours.”

The little boy grinned, “I’m from your family!” He raised his hand to compare Zhengzheng’s height, “I’m taller than you, so I’m your big brother!”

Zhengzheng looked speechless and was about to turn the baby carriage around and go back.

Old Mu had already learned the identity of these two visitors. Su Liang had mentioned that Gu Ling would have another disciple coming to live with them soon, and it must be this young prince from Yin Country, who indeed looked quite aristocratic.

Feeling a bit awkward by the conversation between the two children, Lai Hong hurriedly pulled his own disciple back, “Let’s go pay our respects to your master and mistress first.”

“What’s his name?” Old Mu asked.

The little boy answered, “My name is Ji Tianyang! My nickname is Xiaoshu!”

Zhengzheng blinked his eyes. His name was Wan Zhengyang, and their last characters in their names were the same. But why wasn’t Ji Tianyang’s nickname Tiantian or Yangyang?

“Because I love to climb trees,” Ji Xiaoshu explained with a grin.

Lai Hong: … Actually, Ji Tianyang’s original nickname was Jingjing, given by Ji Yuebai. During her pregnancy, Ji Tianyang was very “active”, so Ji Yuebai hoped that her son would not be too disruptive after he was born. However, as soon as Ji Tianyang could walk, he would run around and try to climb trees whenever he saw them, acting like a little monkey. So they simply changed his nickname to Xiaoshu because calling him Jingjing didn’t make any sense and was too comical…

Zhengzheng then asked, “Were you hiding behind the tree just now because you wanted to climb it?”

Ji Xiaoshu nodded, “That tree looked great, I wanted to climb up and take a look, but my master caught me!”

Lai Hong was genuinely embarrassed and explained that their visit was a secret, so they didn’t enter through the main gate but rather the back door through the garden. They had also informed Gu Ling in a letter beforehand. Ji Xiaoshu’s “tree climbing addiction” flared up, and as Lai Hong was catching him, they were spotted by Old Mu and Zhengzheng.

Old Mu laughed heartily, “Great, kids should have fun! Come to our house and play as much as you want!”

Ji Xiaoshu ran over to the baby stroller and curiously looked at it, asking Zhengzheng if he could try pushing it.

Zhengzheng was not very willing, but considering they were guests from afar, it would be impolite to refuse, so he moved aside and suggested pushing it together with Ji Xiaoshu.

The next moment, Ji Xiaoshu pushed the stroller forward, and Zhengzheng let go, falling a step behind.

“Stop!” Zhengzheng chased after him, “Give me back my sister!”

Ji Xiaoshu ran even faster, “She’s my sister!”

Gu Xiaonuan was drowsy in the stroller, not caring what the childish boys were fighting about…

Old Mu watched Ji Xiaoshu’s retreating figure, thinking that his house was about to get even livelier.

When Su Liang saw Old Mu accompanying Lai Hong to find her, she wondered, “Where’s Xiaoshu?”

From outside came Zhengzheng’s voice, “I’m one month older than you!”

Another even louder voice replied, “I’m half a head taller than you!”

Su Liang looked outside the bed, only to see Zhengzheng confronting another little boy, with Gu Xiaonuan sleeping soundly in the stroller in between them.

It seemed Ji Xiaoshu was indeed a bit taller than Zhengzheng.

Zhengzheng said solemnly, “My master said I’m the eldest disciple!”

Ji Xiaoshu smiled with raised eyebrows, “Eldest senior brother, please take care of me from now on.”

Zhengzheng was dumbfounded. Weren’t they fighting about who got to be the boss? What’s this kid’s angle?

The next moment, Ji Xiaoshu grabbed Zhengzheng’s arm, “Big brother, I’ve just arrived and don’t know anything here. You must take good care of me. Now, I’m hungry!”

The last three words were spoken emphatically and confidently.

Su Liang couldn’t help but smile. Ji Yuebai’s son was lively and clever, very cute. He had wrapped Zhengzheng around his finger right away.

However, Zhengzheng quickly recovered and told Ji Xiaoshu, “You have to listen to me then.”

Ji Xiaoshu nodded, “No problem!”

But later, countless incidents proved that Ji Xiaoshu did listen, but not completely. He let things go in one ear and out the other. It wasn’t easy being the eldest senior brother!

When Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu brought Xiaonuan back to the Yuanming Pavilion, Lai Hong, holding a teacup, coughed twice to remind Ji Xiaoshu of their agreement on the way here, to behave well.

Ji Xiaoshu then obediently walked up to Su Liang, and then, jumped into her arms and affectionately said, “Mother!”

Lai Hong: …Now I have a feeling that once I send him away, I won’t be able to take him back…

Su Liang smiled and rubbed Ji Xiaoshu’s head, “Are you hungry, Xiaoshu? What do you want to eat?”

This kid had very fair skin and a lively expression, with a hint of natural cunning.

“Delicious,” Ji Xiaoshu said, sniffing the aroma from Su Liang’s body, and suddenly feeling a little upset, “I miss my mom.”

Su Liang sighed softly. Ji Xiaoshu was the biological son of Ji Yuebai’s original wife, but she passed away due to illness when Ji Xiaoshu was just three years old. The current Empress of Yin Country is not Ji Xiaoshu’s mother.

Before Su Liang could console him, Ji Xiaoshu laughed again, “Where’s my Master? My dad told me he’s the most handsome man in the world!”

At this moment, Gu Ling appeared at the door, wearing an apron and holding a kitchen knife.

Ji Xiaoshu’s eyes widened, “Ma…Master?”

“Come here,” Gu Ling said indifferently.

Ji Xiaoshu immediately hid behind Su Liang, “Is Master going to chop me?”

“Come here,” Gu Ling repeated.

“Go ahead, he was just cooking something delicious and forgot to put down the knife,” Su Liang explained.

“Master can cook? That’s amazing. Unlike my dad, who only knows how to eat.” Ji Xiaoshu ran towards Gu Ling and respectfully greeted him with a bow, “Master, your disciple greets you.”

“Hmm,” Gu Ling nodded, and reached out. Everyone thought he was going to pat Ji Xiaoshu’s head, but he instead grabbed the collar of Ji Xiaoshu’s shirt, lifted him up, and walked out.

Lai Hong: …He thought Ji Yuebai’s way of raising his child was already outrageous enough, but what on earth was Gu Ling doing? Was this how they raised children in his family?

Lai Hong turned his head to look at Gu Xiaonuan in the baby carriage and noticed her appearance, his eyes immediately softened, and he smiled at Su Liang, “Your love is truly beautiful.” As for Ji Xiaoshu, Lai Hong was only responsible for bringing him here. Ji Yuebai had told him to return to Yin Country immediately after he dropped off Ji Xiaoshu because he had other matters to attend to and didn’t need to stay and watch over Ji Xiaoshu here.

Lai Hong felt that with Su Liang, the wife of the master, present, he could rest assured. Besides, Zhengzheng was there to be Ji Xiaoshu’s playmate, a child who appeared to be well-behaved and sensible. As for letting Ji Xiaoshu learn martial arts, that was only secondary; the most important thing was for him to be happy.

Ji Yuebai now had other children, all of whom had mothers. He had mentioned before that Ji Xiaoshu liked to climb trees and hide when no one was paying attention, just to attract his attention.

However, regrettably, Ji Yuebai was an emperor, and he had too many matters and people to attend to, leaving him without enough time and energy to accompany this most cherished son of his. After Ji Xiaoshu entered the palace, Ji Yuebai found him even more unhappy. Upon receiving Gu Ling’s letter stating that he agreed to accept Ji Yuebai’s son as his disciple, Ji Yuebai, after much deliberation, decided to send Ji Xiaoshu to live with Gu Ling and Su Liang for a while.

It wasn’t that Ji Yuebai didn’t care about this son and wanted to dump him on someone else; rather, he thought that letting Ji Xiaoshu experience a change of environment and adjust his mood would be better for him, treating it like an education trip combined with a vacation. As for Gu Ling and Su Liang, Ji Yuebai completely trusted their character and admired their abilities.

Ji Yuebai had even investigated the connection between Zhengzheng and Su Liang, and thus believed that Gu Ling and Su Liang would definitely be good at dealing with children.

As for whether Ji Xiaoshu would want to return later and when he would return, Ji Yuebai planned to let him decide. If Ji Xiaoshu expressed his wish to return home, Gu Ling and Su Liang would certainly send him back.

However, Ji Yuebai certainly didn’t expect that Ji Xiaoshu was now sitting properly on a small stool, helping Gu Ling start the fire.

“Master, why am I lower in seniority than Wan Zhengyang? I’m taller than him,” Ji Xiaoshu asked in his not-so-well-behaved manner.

Gu Ling replied indifferently, “It’s based on arrival.”

“Alright. Then why can Master cook? My dad can’t,” Ji Xiaoshu asked.

Gu Ling responded while cutting vegetables, “Why don’t you know how to cook?”

Ji Xiaoshu was taken aback, “I haven’t learned.”

Gu Ling replied nonchalantly, “I have learned.”

Ji Xiaoshu scratched his head with the small branch in his hand, that’s it?

Ji Xiaoshu’s stomach growled, and he said weakly, “Master, I’m so hungry.” This Master was indeed good-looking, but he was also very aloof and strict, making Ji Xiaoshu a bit afraid. He really wanted to find the sweet-smelling, gentle wife of his Master instead!

Gu Ling handed over a plate of freshly-fried steamed buns, the golden-brown crust still steaming and fragrant.

Ji Xiaoshu’s eyes lit up as he stood up and dropped the branch. He reached out to grab the plate but then frowned and showed his dirty hands to Gu Ling, “Master, my hands are dirty.” He seemed to be requesting to be fed.

Gu Ling placed the plate on the cutting board and continued cutting vegetables, “There’s water over there. Wash your hands yourself.”

“Oh.” Ji Xiaoshu pouted. He knew he should wash his hands, but he was too hungry and wanted to eat right away, plus he still had to tend to the fire later.

Ji Xiaoshu washed his hands, took a handkerchief from his bosom, wiped them, folded the handkerchief and placed it on a small stool, then ran over to the chopping board and picked up a hot, freshly fried dumpling, taking a bite.

It was filled with juicy meat, and the crust was crispy. Ji Xiaoshu thought it was delicious and quickly finished it, asking Gu Ling, “Master, can I have another one?”

Gu Ling shook his head, “No.”

Ji Xiaoshu immediately hung his head, silently turned and walked over to the little stool, picked up the handkerchief in his hand, sat down, and stared at the fire in the stove.

The next moment, Gu Ling walked over, told Ji Xiaoshu to get up, and move aside.

Ji Xiaoshu stood up with the stool and watched as Gu Ling picked up a pair of iron tongs, bent down and pulled a lump of charcoal out of the stove.

Ji Xiaoshu pursed his lips and kept quiet, glancing at the doorway, wanting to run out, but thinking about how Gu Ling had dragged him over with a cleaver in his hand, he worried he might get hit if he ran out…

Seeing Gu Ling crack open the charcoal, Ji Xiaoshu smelled a tempting sweet scent and couldn’t help but swallow. Was that actually something to eat?

The next moment, Gu Ling looked over, and Ji Xiaoshu immediately stood up straight.

“Come here,” Gu Ling said.

Ji Xiaoshu silently approached, and the closer he got, the more alluring the scent became.

Then, Gu Ling handed Ji Xiaoshu the roasted sweet potato he had just cracked open and placed in a small bowl.

Ji Xiaoshu’s eyes widened, was it really something to eat? He had never seen such a thing before, it was amazing that it had come out of the fire.

Ji Xiaoshu put down the stool, took the small bowl, and Gu Ling handed him a small wooden spoon with a cute little carved rabbit on the handle.

Ji Xiaoshu touched the rabbit’s ear and quickly shifted his attention to the roasted sweet potato, scooping a bit with the spoon and putting it in his mouth. The sweet potato was fragrant, tender, and melted in his mouth.

“So delicious!” Ji Xiaoshu’s eyes squinted with happiness.

This sweet potato was specially sent by Aunt Bai from Su Family Village before the Lunar New Year, and there was only one left. Gu Ling had originally planned to roast it for Su Liang, but decided to give it to Ji Xiaoshu as he had never had it before.

With only the skin of the sweet potato left in the bowl, Ji Xiaoshu placed the bowl on the chopping board, looking at the dumpling Gu Ling had not allowed him to eat a second time, feeling not so hungry now. He turned to see Gu Ling ladling something out of the pot, and smelled a different kind of fragrance.

So, when Ji Xiaoshu sat down on the small stool again, he had half a bowl of milky white fish soup in his hands.

After finishing the fish soup, Ji Xiaoshu let out a comfortable sigh, “That was so good.”

Gu Ling took the bowl and asked Ji Xiaoshu, “Do you still want a dumpling?”

Ji Xiaoshu blinked and shook his head, “Nope.” It turned out his master didn’t let him eat a second dumpling not because he was stingy, but because there were more delicious things to eat!

“Go out and play,” Gu Ling waved his hand.

Ji Xiaoshu was stunned, “Master, didn’t you catch me just to make me tend the fire?” At the time, Gu Ling seemed so scary, as if he had finally caught a little child to tend the fire and wouldn’t let him go.

Gu Ling tapped Ji Xiaoshu’s forehead with his finger, “Didn’t you say you were hungry?”

Ji Xiaoshu blinked again, “Master, you heard me telling my senior brother I was hungry and caught me to have something delicious?” He had waited for a while after coming in because… the dumplings were too hot right out of the pot? The sweet potato wasn’t done roasting yet, and the fish soup hadn’t finished cooking!

Gu Ling didn’t answer and turned back to cutting vegetables.

Ji Xiaoshu hesitated for a moment, darted over, and hugged Gu Ling’s leg from behind, before darting off and running away shouting, “Mom! Help! Master is going to hit me!”

Gu Ling: …