Chapter 183: You Must Have Gone to the East Sea to Pick Someone Up
Old Master Gu and Zhan Yi rose, their minds a complete muddle. They didn’t know if they had misheard or if the Emperor had gone mad; his generosity with the rewards was staggering.
"Miss Xiang, it’s getting late. We should be going. I must hurry back to the palace to attend to the Emperor," Mr. Li urged.
Ye Qianning nodded. "Old Master Gu, Old Master Zhan, I’ll be on my way. You two should hurry home, too. Don’t forget to eat the apples."
With that, she lowered the carriage curtain, and the carriage began to move forward slowly.
In the instant she lowered the curtain, Ye Qianning caught a glimpse of a white-robed figure out of the corner of her eye. It was Qian Fanji!
’He was waiting outside the palace gates for half the night, too?’
Ye Qianning was puzzled but didn’t dwell on it. It was a fair distance from the palace gates to the General’s estate, so she lay down on the soft chaise to get some rest.
’I’m too young, overweight, and exhausted. My eyelids have been feeling heavy for a while now. Once I get back to the estate, I need to get some sleep before I do anything else...’
Old Master Gu stared after the carriage, still unable to process what had happened. "You get so many rewards for beating up Prime Minister Gao?"
"Apparently so." Zhan Yi couldn’t think of any other reason.
After thinking for a moment, Old Master Gu chuckled and joked, "If I’d known it was this easy, I would’ve gone and beaten up Prime Minister Gao myself."
"If you did it, you wouldn’t be getting rewards. You’d have to pay a price," Zhan Yi said with a laugh.
"Ah, that little girl is really something else," Old Master Gu said with a wistful chuckle.
"Well, of course. Just look whose granddaughter she is," Zhan Yi said smugly.
Old Master Gu found this strange. "How did the little girl suddenly become your granddaughter?"
"She is my granddaughter. Look at her. Aside from being a little chubby, doesn’t she bear a strong resemblance to my eldest daughter?"
Old Master Gu had met the Zhan family’s eldest daughter before. Comparing them closely, he could see there really was a resemblance.
When it came to Zhan Susu, everyone in the Capital City knew of her. She had been the city’s foremost beauty and scholar, incredibly famous in her day.
It was just a pity she married a man from the martial world and was rarely seen in public thereafter.
"Father."
A somewhat frantic voice called out.
Zhan Yi turned his head to see a carriage galloping toward them from a short distance away. In the blink of an eye, it had arrived.
Zhan Chi jumped hurriedly from the carriage, followed closely by a frantic Mrs. Zhan.
Zhan Yi looked at the mother and son who had been gone and now suddenly reappeared, his eyes full of questions. "You went to the East Sea to pick someone up, didn’t you."
"Father, this is no time for jokes! We just got back and heard that the little fatty took people to the Prime Minister’s estate yesterday and beat Prime Minister Gao’s entire family half to death! The Emperor sent for her in the middle of the night. What’s the situation now?" Zhan Chi was so anxious that sweat beaded on his forehead.
"Just got back? You really went to the East Sea?" Zhan Yi couldn’t figure it out. They were just supposed to pick someone up from the General’s estate, what took them so long!
"Oh, for heaven’s sake, old man! Is this really the time to be splitting hairs?" Mrs. Zhan couldn’t be bothered with him and turned to get back on the carriage. "Son, let’s go. We’re going to the palace to find your second sister."
"Right, right." Zhan Chi turned to follow.
"Why are you looking for your sister? I’m not finished talking! Get back here."
"Our granddaughter’s safety is more important! Who has time to listen to you ramble?" Mrs. Zhan climbed into the carriage.
Zhan Yi sighed and walked to the front of the carriage. "She’s fine. Our granddaughter is fine."
"Really?" Mrs. Zhan was skeptical. With the kind of rumors flying around the streets, how could she possibly be fine?
"Father, did you go into the palace?" Zhan Chi asked.
"No, but the girl just left the palace. Mr. Li himself is escorting her home."
Mrs. Zhan and Zhan Chi exchanged a glance. Zhan Chi asked tentatively, "She’s really all right? The Emperor didn’t punish her?"
"Not only is she fine, but the Emperor was delighted and rewarded the girl with a Life-Extending Pill and an Imperial Palace Pass," Zhan Yi said, feeling a fresh wave of shock as he recounted the events.
"A Life-Extending Pill and an Imperial Palace Pass? What in the world happened?" Zhan Chi was well aware of how precious both items were. ’He gave them both to the little fatty?’