The three-year-old host decides to raise an emperor father for himself.

Chapter 304 Huh? Why aren't you at the yamen?

Then that cold glint was grasped by a small hand.

"Huh?" Xiao Lanxing blinked, looked at the dagger in her hand, blinked again, and blinked once more.

People quickly surrounded them, while others were pinned down on the other side.

Xuan Yuan Lan Jia was caught off guard. By the time she came to her senses, it was already over. All she saw was Xiao Lan Xing with one arm around Xuan Yuan Jing's neck and the other holding a dagger, seemingly about to drop it.

She was a little dumbfounded.

Xuan Yuanjing, however, glanced at her calmly and said, "Didn't you say you were going to take us to see the new store? Let's go, let's not stand here any longer."

Xuan Yuan Lan Jia opened and closed her mouth, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped herself. Finally, she composed herself and smiled as if nothing had happened. "Okay, Uncle, please come with me."

Xiao Lanxing handed the dagger to the approaching guard and turned to ask Xuan Yuanjing, "Father, is this an assassination attempt?"

Xuanyuan Jing replied calmly, "Mm."

She was utterly shocked: "Why?"

Xuanyuan Lanjia walked ahead to lead the way. Hearing this, she also quietly pricked up her ears, wanting to hear what it was all about.

Putting everything else aside, judging from her royal uncle's calm attitude, Xuan Yuan Lan Jia suspected that he already knew this would happen, otherwise how could he be so... wait, if he already knew, given her royal uncle's personality, how could he have let Xiao Lan Xing be in danger!

Although she was not skilled in martial arts, she was still smart enough to see that if Xiao Lanxing hadn't caught the flying dagger in time, it would have hit either Xiao Lanxing or Xuan Yuanjing, and there would have been some bloodshed.

Xuanyuan Jing is not a person who likes to gamble.

“There have always been many people who want Father dead.” Xuan Yuanjing spoke calmly, as if he were talking about a trivial matter. “Just now, someone must have recognized Father and acted on impulse. It’s nothing to worry about.”

Even if Xiao Lanxing hadn't grabbed the dagger, Xuan Yuanjing could have dodged it in time; his martial arts skills hadn't been lost.

Moreover, before the other party took action, Xuanyuan Jing had already heard their thoughts, which were out of place among others. However, due to the crowds and various sounds in the market, he did not immediately pinpoint their location.

Otherwise, before the other party could even make a move, a single glance from Xuan Yuanjing would be enough to have the people protecting them grab the person first.

However, due to his two years of bed rest and subsequent period of recuperation, outsiders now have doubts about whether Xuan Yuanjing is still as brave and fierce as he was back then.

Xuanyuan Jing thought this was fine; let them guess.

“He’s the son of an official who was purged last year. He should have been pardoned and released this year,” Xuan Yuanjing said calmly.

He remembered that face, though it looked much more weathered than he remembered, and the eyes weren't as bright as he remembered, but the person had indeed left a mark on Xuan Yuanjing's heart.

The assassin's father had worked in the Ministry of Personnel and was an accomplice in the corruption case of Zhu Chengming, the former Minister of Revenue. In addition, he also used his position to sell official posts and accept bribes. Under such circumstances, the fact that the other party had secretly fabricated evidence to frame Gu Mingxin seemed insignificant.

Despite having such a father, the young man was well protected by his family and had a good reputation among scholars and students in the capital for being upright, tolerant, gentle and polite.

When Xuanyuan Jing learned of this, he was also very surprised and wondered if the other party was too good at disguising himself, so he had someone investigate further.

It turned out that he was actually a scholar who was so pure and innocent that he was almost naive.

That's why it left such a deep impression.

But now it seems that without his privileged family background, the once virtuous man has turned from a pearl into a fish eye in just a few months.

Pity.

Xuanyuan Jing thought to himself.

He had originally thought that if this person remained upright, he might consider employing him after the amnesty.

However, it turned out that he had just made assumptions.

That’s all.

Xuan Yuanjing whispered the assassin's background to Xiao Lanxing, intending to remind the girl to be wary of the fickle nature of people's hearts, and that even those who were currently close to her could not be trusted without reservation...

Xuan Yuanjing didn't say anything more after that, because he knew that such words were unpleasant and would hurt the girl's feelings.

He didn't think those children were bad; he... he just didn't want his own child to be heartbroken in the future.

But when Xiao Lanxing heard this, he exclaimed, "Education is indeed very important. If he had taken a moral education class, he wouldn't have gotten so easily stuck on this issue! It was clearly his father who made the mistake first, but his father only dealt with it according to the law and later pardoned the innocent members of their family. He's educated; he must know right from wrong."

"But even so, he still blamed his father for the mistake, which shows that his thinking is flawed."

Xuanyuan Jing: "..."

Xiao Lanxing nodded firmly: "Daddy, we can't neglect ideological education!"

Xuanyuan Jing: "...You're right."

Xuan Yuan Lan Jia, who listened to the whole thing: ...

Well, pretty good.

The little girl is just fine like this.

She also needs to focus on her son's education when she gets back. Although Xuan Yuan Lan Jia feels that she has done a good job raising her child, Huo Wu Bing is only a few years old now, and there are still so many years to come. Indeed, education is a very important matter that cannot be neglected for a moment.

Afterwards, Xuan Yuan Lan Jia indeed took the father and daughter shopping, during which they ran into several acquaintances.

They are: Marquis Pinghuai and his entourage leading the Persians through the Treasure Pavilion; Prince Xuanyuan Lian of Jiangxia, who is smugly inspecting the shops; Xuanyuan Xi, who is passing by on official business; and Minister Mo, who is watching the commotion with his friends by the window on the first floor of a teahouse...

and many more.

Xiao Lanxing took a few steps back, walked to the window, and looked up to meet the gaze of Minister Mo, who had already stood up: "Eh, Minister Mo, you're not at the yamen today?"

When Minister Mo saw Xiao Lanxing, his expression changed slightly, and he hesitated, "It's not Your Highness today..."

The two exchanged a glance, then turned to Xuan Yuanjing at the same time.

Xuanyuan Jing: "...Didn't Xingxing tell Lord Mo beforehand?"

Xiao Lanxing blinked: "I thought Daddy would say..."

Xuanyuan Jing: "..."

Minister Mo said quietly, "I am on leave today."

The group exchanged glances, and Xiao Lanxing grinned, "Oh dear, Master Mo, I need to stay at the estate for a while, and it won't be convenient for me to travel back and forth. Why don't you hang in there for another half month?"

Minister Mo stroked his beard, cupped his hands in greeting to Xuan Yuanjing, and sighed, "Well, sir, I'll head to the yamen now."

What can be said? Officials do have days off, but usually the principal and deputy officials don't take days off at the same time. There always has to be someone in charge who stays in the government office to keep things in order.

Fortunately, things were relatively simple in the Ministry of Works. It had been rectified by Minister Mo and Xiao Lanxing, who had clarified the functions of each position within the department. There were no major issues on a daily basis, so there was no need for the two chief and deputy officials to be absent at the same time.