They did not take a boat back, but a carriage, at the children's request. They wanted to play along the way and see the scenery of different places.
The children were happy, so the two agreed. However, land travel was not as fast as water travel. It would take at least six or seven days to reach the inner city. But these two children acted as if they were having too much fun, and it took them almost half a month to reach the inner city!
Along the way, Huangfu Xian and Huangfu Xu followed closely, stepping forward to show their faces from time to time. Anyway, these two were already prepared to live in the inner city, leaving their own fiefs to the local government.
Upon returning to the inner city, Zhang Cuihua, who had not seen her eldest granddaughter for a long time, saw that Yu Meng had grown taller. The plumpness on her cheeks was gone, and when she saw that the child had lost weight and become tanned, she felt heartbroken!
She hugged the child and refused to let go, crying out, "Oh, my darling, what's so good about the military camp that you've become so thin? What, you can't eat enough or don't have meat to eat? How did you get so thin? Look, look, the hem of your clothes is torn. My granddaughter is so pitiful. Come, Grandma will make you something delicious!"
Without asking for permission, she grabbed Yu Meng and headed towards the kitchen of the mansion, completely ignoring the rest of the people. Sons, grandsons, daughters-in-law, none of them mattered as much as Mengmeng. She had enough with Mengmeng, and everyone else could stand aside!
Fan Yao felt that he was about to be out of favor and that his status in the family was about to decline. Sensing the crisis, he ran to catch up with his grandmother and sister, shouting, "Grandma, I've lost weight too, more than twenty catties! You should nourish me too!"
Zhao Jiaqi stumbled upon hearing Yao Yao's words, almost falling face-first into the dirt. She rolled up her sleeves and chased after them, saying, "Damn it, a ten-year-old child, how much can they weigh in total? He's been out for less than a month, and he dares to say he's lost twenty catties. What's left of him?"
"Skin and bones, plus internal organs and blood!"
Yao Yao's granduncle, Fan Guangping, touched his neck and said faintly, his eyes glancing at Fan Zehao, silently accusing his younger sister-in-law. She really knew how to talk!
Fan Zehao twitched the corner of his mouth. His wife's scolding had been caught red-handed. He felt quite awkward. He shrugged at his elder brother. As long as his wife was happy, a few scoldings wouldn't hurt. It wouldn't make a difference, and at most, he would remind his wife not to use the word "granduncle" next time.
Fan Guangping withdrew his gaze. He knew that his younger brother would never say a word against his wife. Alas... he was truly vexed to be a granduncle.
Zhao Jiaqi looked back at her elder brother, who was speaking from the crowd. Her face suddenly turned red. She had forgotten that her elder brother's family also lived in the prince's mansion. What she had said casually just now was really thoughtless!
"Brother, please don't take it to heart. I was just angry with the child!"
Fan Guangping chuckled, waving his hand. "I know it was said in anger. Say what you will. It doesn't make me lose any flesh. But if you make yourself sick with anger, Zehao will be heartbroken later, and he'll end up hitting the child... Wouldn't that be unfair to them!"
Zhao Jiaqi licked her lips. This was a bit... a bit like stirring up trouble!
Looking at her elder brother's receding back, she couldn't quite figure him out. She felt that her elder brother had changed quite a bit!
Fan Zehao stepped forward and put his arm around his wife's shoulder, patting her gently. He smiled and said, "Do you feel that my elder brother has become thicker-skinned?"
She nodded. He was a bit, but in that situation, if her elder brother wasn't thick-skinned, it would have been even more embarrassing.
"It's my fault. I made Big Brother lose face. I really shouldn't have scolded people. You'll have to go with me to apologize to Big Brother later. After all, so many people saw it!"
Zhao Jiaqi felt sorry for Fan Guangping. Her elder brother hadn't embarrassed her just now; he had considered the overall situation. She was grateful, but they couldn't just let this matter pass because of that. She would feel uneasy!
His wife's words were like imperial decrees at home. Fan Zehao nodded, "Okay, I'll go with you!"
In the afternoon, her mother-in-law held Yu Meng and examined her from all angles, unable to get enough of looking at her. The two children were also filial, distributing the gifts they had bought to everyone. This made everyone extremely happy. Even the maids and servants serving them in the mansion received gifts!
Everyone in the prince's mansion, except for the guards on duty at the gate, and the servants and maids in the courtyard, gathered in her mother-in-law's courtyard, and laughter could be heard from time to time.
Outside the crowd, Fan Zehao and Zhao Jiaqi watched, their faces also showing long-lost happy smiles. She nudged the man beside her and whispered, "Look how lively the house is with an extra child. Let's have another one while we're young!"
At that moment, Fan Zehao's face darkened. For the first time, he acted like a real man and immediately refused, "No more. In this life, we only have these three biological children. Don't expect your belly to swell again. Have you forgotten the dangerous childbirth when you had them? Where do you get the courage to have another one!"
Seeing his wife about to speak, he coldly interrupted her, "Don't try to persuade me or act spoiled. Even if you're angry, I absolutely will not let you have another child. If you really like children, we can adopt. I don't mind how many you want to raise. I don't want to lose you!"
Her husband spoke so resolutely that he truly didn't want any more children. Zhao Jiaqi turned to look at the children accompanying her mother-in-law. After a long while, she gave up the idea.
As for adopting more children, she had no such plans. She could only say let nature take its course!
"If you don't want to, then don't. When the children are independent, won't you fulfill the promise you made to me!"
Immersed in the joy of successfully asserting her authority for the first time, she was suddenly stunned by her wife's subsequent words!
"What promise?" he asked subconsciously!
In his mind, anything his wife said, he would do on the spot, and even if he didn't do it on the spot, he would make up for it later. But this time, she was asking him to fulfill a promise, which one was it?
Zhao Jiaqi narrowed her eyes. Seeing him as if he were a fool, racking his brains so hard that his eyeballs almost popped out, she coldly reminded him, "Traveling and sightseeing."
He suddenly realized. So, it was about this matter. This had scared him so much that he almost forgot his own name!
"No problem. As soon as you finish your current affairs, we'll go play!"
Zhao Jiaqi rolled her eyes at him and snorted inwardly. That's more like it!
Before dinner, he pulled his wife out of the courtyard and met his elder brother in the backyard. Before she could apologize, she saw Fan Zehao wink at her. She hadn't figured it out yet when Fan Guangping spoke!
"Sister-in-law, it's like this. My wife and I are clumsy. Besides making Liangpi, we also make ice. We live a decent life and have some savings. However, my eldest son is also growing up. I'm thinking of letting him strike out on his own. After he finishes his military service, he'll be getting married soon. This child doesn't like being an official, but he's good at business. Sister-in-law, you're so smart. Do you think there are any other small snacks that are suitable for him to do?"
Fan Guangping had Zehao find his sister-in-law behind people's backs today. He had lost face. For the sake of his child, he was humbling himself and begging for help!
This was a last resort. If all the children did was make Liangpi like them, it would be too hard. Moreover, there was more than just their family selling it in the inner city!
Their business was good primarily due to his brother and sister-in-law, so there was still profit to be made. If his son joined in, they would at most break even!