Chapter 529 - Bestowed A Marriage 4

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Qi Qingyao said nothing more, and neither did Li Ruoxuan. He then quickly organized the documents on his table, noting that she was still silent. Once he was done, a thought entered his mind, so he asked it.

“Have you told the children about this?”

“...”

Qi Qingyao promptly lifted her head. She furrowed her brows then made her way out.

Li Ruoxuan watched her from the back as she left.

He stopped what he was doing.

After a while, he resumed looking through the documents.

By the time Qi Qingyao returned to the courtyard, the triplets had already resumed their studies with their teacher. She watched them from the door for a moment. The teacher concluded their lesson after teaching them a few words.

She made a gesture, signaling for the teacher to leave the small study first.

Once she entered, she sat down on the chair the teacher had previously sat in. The triplets surrounded her, hugging her arms coquettishly.

“Mommy, didn’t you say that we’d go out and play today?”

“About that…”

Qi Qingyao stammered for a moment before saying, “Mommy has something to discuss with you all for a bit.”

Dabao first said, somewhat disinterestedly, “Are you going to tell us we aren’t going out to play anymore?”

Qi Qingyao caressed Dabao’s head and replied, “No, it’s about something else ”

Dabao’s eyes lit up.

“Tell us!”

“...”

The children’s obedient and cute gazes left Qi Qingyao wondering how she was going to explain the complicated situation to the children simply and clearly so they could understand.

She was silent for a long time as the children became rather restless.

Dabao said, “Mommy?”

Erniu echoed, “Mommy…”

Xiaobao blinked. “Mommy, just what is it that you find so difficult to tell us?”

Qi Qingyao scratched her head, their questions leaving her a little confused. “It’s not that it’s hard for me to tell you. It’s just that this matter is really complicated, and I don’t know how to explain it, ” she responded.

Just then, Xiaobao patted his chest like a little adult. He looked at her with clear watery eyes. “Mommy, no matter what happens, Dabao, Erniu, and I will always stick by your side.”

Qi Qingyao felt like Xiaobao had a hidden meaning behind his words, so she tentatively asked, “Do you know what I’m going to tell you?”

Xiaobao answered honestly, “I don’t know. But you skipped breakfast this morning, and we know that you received an imperial edict in the front hall. Then, I heard from the others that Uncle Lu came here and had a long talk with you. After that, you and the State Preceptor talked a while more in the study.”

Qi Qingyao said with a smile, “What a sharp little boy you are.”

Dabao and Erniu looked at Xiaobao simultaneously with astonished gazes. Xiaobao looked at her solemnly and asked, “Mommy, did the empress give you an order… in that imperial edict?”

Dabao and Erniu’s gaze had now shifted to Qi Qingyao at the same time.

Stared at by three pairs of dark, watery eyes, Qi Qingyao was silent for a long time before she said, “The empress bestowed me a marriage.”

“...”

The triplets stared as their eyes simultaneously widened like copper bells. Their mouths were opened so wide that they could be stuffed with stewed eggs.

Dabao immediately asked, “Bestowed a marriage… Does that mean mommy has to marry someone?”

“That’s right.” Qi Qingyao nodded.

Xiaobao blinked his big eyes. His voice was like that of a child’s, but his tone was very serious. “Is it Uncle Lu?”

“How did you know?!” Qi Qingyao was so shocked she almost fell off her chair.

Xiaobao pressed his red lips together tightly. “Uncle Lu purposefully came here to see you, and you guys were talking for so long…”

Dabao and Erniu also looked at Xiaobao with stunned gazes. Xiaobao was the youngest among the triplets, but he was so smart. Mommy had obviously not even said anything yet, but Xiaobao had already managed to guess it. Their little brother was so awesome!

Xiaobao lifted his fleshy little hand and touched his chin. Looking like a little adult deep in thought, he asked, “But what is the reason? Why would you be bestowed marriage to Uncle Lu…”

“It’s because…”

Since Xiaobao had been able to figure out the essentials of the situation so quickly, and knowing that she could not hide this matter,?Qi Qingyao explained the situation, both its causes and its consequences, in a way she thought was quite succinct and easy to follow.

When she was done, she noted that the triplets looked dumbfounded.

Qi Qingyao said, “Though you guys are still young, you’ve gone through a lot. Mommy can explain the precedence and outcome of this situation again if you guys don’t understand.”

Xiaobao gulped. As he pondered, he said, “I kinda got it.”

With tears in his pitiful eyes, Dabao said aggrievedly, “But I don’t quite understand...”

Erniu also quickly raised her little hand up high.

She signaled that she did not quite understand either.

Qi Qingyao was about to repeat herself.

Unexpectedly, Xiaobao looked at both of them then turned around. He blinked his sharp, contrasting eyes and spoke.

“In other words, Uncle Si Jin is so powerful that he has even been dubbed the number one strongman of the continent—the most powerful of the powerhouses. But Uncle Si Jin and mommy have too good of a relationship, and you have taken the State Preceptor as your master. Mommy said that because the State Preceptor had mentioned his liking for her in the presence of the empress due to another issue, some nepotism may also be involved.

“Also, the Head Grand Secretariat, Uncle Jiang, frequently visited our home in Qingzhou City. Since we also saved him, he too treats us pretty well. That’s why the empress suspects that he likes Mommy! The premise is that the empress likes Uncle Jiang.

“The strongest people in Northern Liang are the grand masters. Back then, there was only one grand master, but now there are three. Mommy has a good relationship with two of these grand masters! Hence, the empress is a little jealous that Mommy is so capable and now wants to diminish her power.”

...

Qi Qingyao, “...” Goodness, he had explained it better than she could have ever had! At this second, Qi Qingyao was very interested in the child’s father since his genetics were clearly very important! Although Xiaobao was the only one out of the triplets who stood out, Erniu was not to be outdone either—her potential for cultivation surpassed that of ordinary people!

After an incense stick’s worth of time, Erniu and Dabao finally went “Ooh…” enthusiastically and a for a long time as they came to a sudden realization.

However, the two obviously still did not really understand what was going on.

While scratching his head, Dabao said, “But does marrying Uncle Lu diminish her power?”

Xiaobao replied in a thick nasally voice, “For the empress, it’s killing one bird with three stones!”

She finally noticed that there was an idiom that the little kid did not know. Qi Qingyao corrected him. “It’s killing three birds with one stone.”

Xiaobao said excitedly, “Right, it’s killing three birds with one stone! First, marrying Mommy off to Uncle Lu will ruin any chance of Uncle Jiang liking Mommy. Second, your relationship with the State Preceptor will be plainly that of a master-disciple and it’ll be impossible for there to be a future between Mommy and him. Third, if Uncle Si Jin likes Mommy, he willalso be heartbroken since mommy has been wedded! That’s all.”

Dabao and Erniu were still digesting Qi Qingyao and Xiaobao’s words. They did not make a sound.

Rubbing her chin with her thumb, Qi Qingyao looked at Xiaobao meaningfully as she said, “I suddenly feel like…”

“What?” Xiaobao, somewhat nervous, felt the hair on his body stand with the way his mommy was looking at him.

Qi Qingyao patted his shoulder and sighed with emotion. “I suddenly feel like your father is definitely a very smart person,” she said.

Xiaobao’s eyes shone. “Really?” he asked, looking as if he had discovered a new land.

Dabao on the other hand, asked, “Why do you say so?”

Qi Qingyao calmly analyzed, “That’s because Erniu has such a strong talent for cultivation and Xiaobao is not like any other four-year-old child, considering how smart he is... Only Dabao is a little stupid, like me! So, your father must be very great!”

She had thought that maybe the three kids would be interested in their father after she had said that, but the first thing Xiaobao said after listening to her was, “Mommy, don’t think about that man—it’s time to think about our new future daddy. Uncle Lu is also very powerful.”

Qi Qingyao, “...” This kid!

Hold on.

She found this a little hard to comprehend. “Don’t tell me you guys have just accepted it so easily??”

Xiaobao puffed his cheeks, looking like someone who should not possess as much maturity and wisdom as he did at his age. He said, “On the bright side, Uncle Lu is quite rich and treats us well. On the other hand, even if the Lu family doesn’t plan to treat us nicely, Erniu still has the State Preceptor as her master! So, I’m not scared if the Lu family treats us harshly. We still have a few anchors!

“On the flip side, considering Mommy and Uncle Si Jin’s relationship, the Lu family will definitely treat us all very well to please Uncle Si Jin. That’s because while the Lu family is very rich, they don’t have a grand master in charge. The moment Uncle Si Jin comes back one day and decides to live with the Lu family, it would be like the Lu family has acquired a grand master to guard them.

“That’s all!

“That’s why I think Mommy won’t be aggrieved if she were to marry into the Lu family—and neither would we!”

Qi Qingyao, “...” Seriously, this child. Where had his analytical ability come from? It seemed that his father’s brain was definitely more than adequate.

Erniu said in a disapproving tone, “Xiaobao, what about Mommy’s happiness?!”

Xiaobao’s eyes widened earnestly. “What happiness?”

Erniu said with a childish and cute expression, “It’s just like what Mommy said, if you’re going to get married, you have to choose someone you like! You can’t end up in an arranged marriage. The empress is now trying to push Mommy into an arranged marriage and crush the dissidents!”

Qi Qingyao’s cocked ears caught a certain word and exclaimed in surprise, “You even know the term ‘crush the dissidents’? Where did you learn that?”

“I heard it when the other people were chatting...” Erniu stuck out her tongue and made a face.

Xiaobao asked Qi Qingyao directly, “Mommy, do you like Uncle Lu?”

Why was this like an interview with a reporter? Abruptly questioned without warning, Qi Qingyao could only say, “I quite like him...”

“Erniu, you heard that? Mommy said she likes him.” Xiaobao looked like he had solved the problem.

Erniu also said goofily, “Mommy, if you like Uncle Lu and are willing to marry him, I think this is a prosperous occasion. Then, Erniu will congratulate Mommy.”

Qi Qingyao hurriedly made a stop gesture. “Wait, wait!!” She had actually been fooled by Xiaobao’s logic! Damn it!

The three little kids stared at her with adorably dumb looks. “??”