Adoption brings disaster

After the torture of the first day and the enjoyment of the second day, the third day is the return visit to the parents' home, which is also the last day of the promotion ceremony.

It is a great honor to return home. According to Chunyu and the others, it feels like one person's success brings prosperity to the whole family.

According to convention, the nobles would return home on their own, and the princes did not need to accompany them. However, His Highness the Seventh Prince insisted on following me back home, saying that he wanted to see what kind of good place could raise a good person like me.

Originally, it would be a great honor for the prince to return home with you, a favor you could never ask for. However, my identity is problematic, and I don't want this favor.

However, I couldn't find a suitable reason to stop His Highness the Seventh Prince from going back with me. Besides, I couldn't do anything about this kind of thing with His Highness the Seventh Prince, so I had no choice but to let him go back with me.

In this capital city, there are not many other things, but there are many officials. Although my father is a third-rank minister and can be considered a capable person, he is still not considered high enough in the capital city.

Besides, my father came from a humble background, and rice was expensive in the capital, so how could he afford to rent a good house near the imperial city? Naturally, the Minister's Mansion was far away from the imperial city.

Since the Minister's Mansion was far away and he couldn't miss the auspicious time, he had no choice but to get up early, get on the carriage prepared by the palace, and rush out of the palace.

"Your Highness the Seventh Prince and Your Highness Qianqiu are coming back. Open the palace gates quickly." Ah Da shouted proudly in front of the carriage.

General Lu was in charge of the palace defense. These guards were naturally more respectful to the Seventh Prince. After hearing what A Da said, these guards quickly opened the palace gates, stood respectfully on both sides, and respectfully escorted the carriage out of the palace.

The carriage was moving very fast, but my eyesight was very good. Although it was still dark, I could see two people in the corner at a glance. After looking carefully, I recognized one of them.

I saw Liu Shuiqing standing pitifully in the corner. He didn't look like a noble but more like a eunuch. I was curious for a moment, so I asked Ada to stop.

I got off the carriage, walked over to Liu Shuiqing, and asked, "Liu Shuiqing, are you leaving the palace? Why are you waiting at the palace gate so early?"

"It is important for Your Highness Qianqiu to return home. Don't miss the auspicious time." Liu Shuiqing didn't want to say more, but just urged me to return home quickly.

Liu Shuiqing is truly a gentleman. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that he has been wronged, but he doesn't seem to feel wronged at all. He is just trying to persuade me to go home quickly.

But the young eunuch beside him was an ordinary person. When he saw me asking, he muttered quietly, "It's these guards who are bullying my family. They say that guarding the palace is a heavy responsibility and we can't be careless. If we come too early, they won't let us go out, and if we come too late, they will make us go back."

Liu Shuiqing and I are both very powerful, and we both heard the servant's words clearly. Liu Shuiqing's face was slightly red, and he seemed a little embarrassed.

After hearing this, I knew why these guards were trying to embarrass Liu Shui, so I smiled and said, "If Lord Liu Shui doesn't mind, please come out of the palace with me."

Liu Shuiqing was about to refuse when the guard leader hurried over and said, "Your Highness Qianqiu, this is against the rules. Please have mercy and don't embarrass me."

I stared at him, not caring much. I just took out the jade token of the Zhenbei Palace and said coldly, "Are you still in trouble now?"

When the guard leader saw the jade token, he stopped talking, stepped aside, and looked at me with complicated eyes.

I ignored the look of the guard commander and pulled Liu Shuiqing into the carriage.

This delay almost made him miss the auspicious time, so he could not say much to Liu Shuiqing. He put Liu Shuiqing down not far from the palace gate and did not mention him again.

Speaking of which, A-Da and the others had something to say about this matter. Not long after Liu Shuiqing got off the carriage, A-Da said in a muffled voice in front of the carriage, "Your Highness Qianqiu, I have something to say. Even if Your Highness Qianqiu wants to punish me, I must say it."

"Shut up." Chongguang said coldly.

This matter must be explained clearly. I can't let Ah Da feel any resentment towards me. I patted Chong Guang lightly to comfort him, and then said to the outside, "Ah Da, come in and tell me."

As soon as Ah Da came in, he knelt down. Although he was kneeling, his back was straight, his eyes were a little fierce, and his mouth was pouted high. He looked like he was ready to die in response to the call, which was very funny.

"I know what you want to say. Do you want to talk about what happened with Liu Shuiqing just now?"

"This Liu Shuiqing is on the Crown Prince's side. How could you help an outsider and even hold the Prince's jade token? Could it be true, as the rumors say, that His Highness and the Crown Prince have something to hide?"

Ah Da came up with such a big hat, which really made me speechless. However, I had my own reasons, so I didn't get angry. I just looked at His Highness the Seventh Prince and said, "What do you think, Chongguang? I stopped you from talking a lot yesterday."

The Seventh Prince was clearly unhappy, and said sternly, "This scholar is the best at deceiving people. I think that Liu Shuiqing is definitely not a good person. Don't let him fool you."

Hearing this, I couldn't help but laugh. I leaned back on the cushions and asked, "One of you thinks I'm protecting Liu Shuiqing like this because of the Crown Prince, and the other thinks I'm being deceived by Liu Shuiqing and therefore look at him differently. Haven't you ever considered that I'm doing all this for His Highness the Seventh Prince?"

Ah's brain wasn't working well, and he couldn't figure it out after thinking about it for a long time, so he just stiffened his neck and said nothing, his eyes full of disbelief.

Chongguang was smart. After hearing what I said, he was a little shaken, but he didn't believe it. He just asked me to continue.

"You know, the world's mouths are like knives that kill. You may be having a good time making things difficult for the Sixth Water Lord today, but one day the civil servants will write that the Seventh Prince is narrow-minded, takes his anger out on others, is lacking in virtue, and is unfit to be a king. Ah Da, do you still think I did something wrong?"

I didn't care what Ah Da's reaction was and continued to say to His Highness the Seventh Prince, "I'm not familiar with the Crown Prince. I treat you like my own son and don't want to compare you with him, but you just can't do as well as the Crown Prince in this matter."

My words were powerful and made His Highness the Seventh Prince a little angry, but once the words were spoken, there was no way to take them back.

I feigned some irritation and said, "Whether the Crown Prince is sincere or just seeking fame, he praises me so often that people think he's broad-minded. But looking at your actions, let alone how these officials might exaggerate, everyone will think you're taking your anger out on Liu Shuiqing. How will the world view you then?"

This teaches a child not to be constantly vicious. Seeing Chongguang deep in thought, my tone softened. I leaned over, hugged His Highness the Seventh Prince, and said, "I know you disdain such intrigues, but the world is like this, and there's nothing we can do about it. I'm your lover, and I can't watch you get bruised and battered by the knife of the world. Even if you resent me today, I still have to say this: think twice before you act, and don't tell others about bad things."

Ah Da stiffened his neck and wanted to say something, but I said quietly, "Isn't the plague the best evidence? Or has the scar not healed yet and you've forgotten the pain?"

It is an indisputable fact that when the Seventh Prince was infected with the plague, I stayed with him regardless of life and death. It is also unquestionable that I am loyal to the Seventh Prince.

Thinking of this, Ah Da no longer suspected me. Thinking of his own overstepping of the bounds today, he kowtowed and confessed his guilt again and again, and did not mention it again.

After hearing these words, the Seventh Prince naturally agreed and said in a soft tone, "Gossip can melt gold. Qianqiu is right."

Having said that, he naturally wanted to strike while the iron was hot, and said, "Order them to stop making things difficult for Liu Shuiqing in the future, and give those civil officials more insignificant favors, so that everyone in the world will know about the Seventh Prince's ability."

It is said that when doing things, you don’t feel how long it takes. Look, I just told Ah Da some things and comforted His Highness the Seventh Prince for a while, and Ah Er outside came to report that we had arrived at the Minister’s residence.

I am now a noble in the royal family, and the minister dare not neglect me. Naturally, he came early with his wife, concubines, children, and a group of servants to wait at the door.

There are no regulations regarding returning to one's parents' home. I have never liked extravagance and only like convenience and speed, so I left the palace with only two guards and a carriage. This made my good father think that there was a grudge between me and Chongguangxin, and he looked down on me.

When the carriage arrived, they did not kneel down to greet it, but stood there respectfully.

When the Seventh Prince saw me, his eyes were downcast and he said nothing. He just helped me get off the carriage and stood next to me.

I wanted to take a step back to show my respect to His Highness the Seventh Prince, but His Highness the Seventh Prince held me back.

Ah Da and his men stood on both sides, holding precious swords. The scene was so ferocious and murderous that the servants in the Minister's Mansion were so frightened that they were silent and dared not move.

The Seventh Prince glanced at everyone coldly, frightening the Minister so much that he dropped to his knees and hurriedly saluted.

The Seventh Prince ignored everyone and walked inside.

"I didn't know that His Majesty the Seventh Prince was coming. I am sorry for being impolite. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me." The Minister was so frightened that he could hardly speak clearly.

"Father and mother, please get up quickly."

The Seventh Prince didn't say anything, and Ada and the others were holding sharp blades and had unfriendly expressions. How could everyone dare to stand up?

I had no choice but to plead in a soft voice, "Your Highness, please be magnanimous and let them get up."

"They have completely forgotten their duties as rulers and subjects. The fact that they are kneeling here and dying today is a gift from me."

"Your Highness, please show some mercy and spare them." He begged the Seventh Prince with his mouth and coaxed him in his mind.

"If I hadn't come today, they wouldn't know how to humiliate you."

"How can I humiliate them? My status is much higher than theirs, and I have Ah Da and the others protecting me. It's just that I'm a little bit lacking in etiquette. And now they see that I have you backing me up, I'm afraid they must be regretting it. Besides, they are my parents and family after all. How am I supposed to deal with you making them kneel here? Or do you want me to kneel here and die with them?"

Seeing me say this, Chongguang had no choice but to say coldly, "Get up."

Everyone felt as if they had been pardoned, and when they stood up, they were all shaking like sieves.

I was just a fake young master who became a real prime minister by chance. I was also afraid that the Seventh Prince would know the truth, so I could only say, "Grandpa Butler, take the Seventh Prince to the courtyard where I used to live. I want to chat with my father and mother for a while."

Everyone was shocked, but what shocked them even more was that the Seventh Prince followed the butler to the courtyard where I was before without saying a word.

When we sat down in the side hall, we felt a little awkward, not knowing what to say. It was the Minister who broke the silence first, saying, "Why is His Highness the Seventh Prince here?"

"It's nothing serious. I just wanted to come and see where I grew up. Don't worry, Mom and Dad."

After saying this, we fell into silence again. The scene was very awkward. We could only hold the teacups and pretend to drink tea. From time to time, our eyes met, we smiled at each other, and then pretended to drink tea again.

The Minister drank his tea and mustered up the courage to say, "Your parents."

When I heard him say this, I was annoyed and frightened. I quickly interrupted him coldly and said, "Father, you've been frightened out of your wits. My parents are right in front of me. How can I have any other parents?"

The Minister also realized that these words were a capital offense. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Yes, yes, Yuan'er is right. I was too excited and said the wrong thing."

Seeing him so frightened by Chongguang that he was talking nonsense, I was speechless and said, "Father has forgotten again that I am not Yuan'er now, but Qianqiu."

"Yes, yes, you are now His Highness Qianqiu." The Minister swallowed nervously, "Do you remember the servant you used to know?"

"Of course I remember. How could I not remember Chen Jiu who died to save me?"

"Yes, yes, it's Chen Jiu who saved His Highness Qianqiu. His parents fell seriously ill and died a few days ago."

I still felt a little sad about their death, but it was only a little. I sighed and said, "Give them a proper burial."

After saying this, he fell into silence again. Fortunately, the Minister's Mansion was far from the palace gate, and I couldn't stay here for long. Soon, His Highness the Seventh Prince and I went back.

"I took a look around the yard where Qianqiu used to live today. Qianqiu has really changed a lot."

The Seventh Prince's casual words scared me to death, but I have no choice but to deny it. If he finds out that I am a fake, I will probably not survive for more than three seconds.

"Before I entered the cabinet, my mother arranged everything for me. Actually, I didn't really like many things in the courtyard."

"So you don't like it. I was thinking of asking A-da to renovate Qianqiu Pavilion according to your yard."

"Hahahahaha, no need. If you really want to make me happy, you might as well just give me money."

This was a joke I often made with my colleagues in my previous life. I don't know how I said it today, but I regretted it the moment I said it. I really speak too quickly.

But the Seventh Prince didn't think there was anything wrong. Instead, he took out a handful of banknotes and handed them to me, letting me spend them as I pleased.

"How come you have so many banknotes?"

"I originally wanted to give it to you as a reward, but they actually had the audacity to humiliate you like that. I was so angry that I forgot to give it to you."

I put the banknote away and said, "I love money, but I want you to be diligent and motivated even more."

"I will."

Although I didn't take the Seventh Prince's promise seriously, it didn't affect our current atmosphere of loving father and filial piety. We played around in the car for a while and soon returned to Qianqiu Pavilion. I am now a true prime minister.

After being a teacher for a long time, I no longer thought about getting promoted. This went on for more than ten days. Apart from the excitement of receiving the reward, the rest was just a large-scale event to me.

The event is over, and it’s time to live a simple life. I just hope that life can always be so simple, with fewer troubles.

Predict what will happen in the future, and listen to the next decomposition.