Crowned by the Treacherous Big Shot-Chapter 328 - 305: A Child with a Mother is a Treasure

Royal Garden.

Meng Qianqian and Lu Yuan sat in the courtyard basking in the sun.

A rare moment of leisure for the family, far away from the busy life of the Capital City.

Lu Yuan was gleefully watching a certain little one dozing off in the corner of the wall.

Due to causing mischief with Liu Qingyun’s hairpin and successfully smearing wolf poop all over her, Liu Qingyun had punished the little one to reflect in the corner.

Bao Shu couldn’t figure out what she had done wrong.

The poop dirtied the courtyard, and she cleaned it up—was that a mistake?

That’s called cleanliness.

After cleaning, she even thoughtfully returned the hairpin to her grandmother.

That’s called returning things to their rightful owner.

After much thought, she decided the problem lay with her newly adopted three little brothers. They shouldn’t have pooped in the first place.

And so, Bao Shu pressed the three little wolf cubs to reflect with her.

After less than three breaths of reflection, Bao Shu started nodding off like a chick pecking at rice, wobbling as though tipsy.

"Mother, she’s slacking off again!"

Lu Yuan tattled mercilessly.

Halfway through washing her hair, Liu Qingyun rushed out of the house like a whirlwind, standing before Lu Yuan with tears streaming down her face. "Just now... did you just call me ’Mother’?"

Lu Yuan: "I did not."

"You did! You called me ’Mother’! You did, you did, you did! I heard it! Those four over there heard it too!"

Liu Qingyun righteously pointed at the four little ones reflecting in the corner.

Bao Shu, who was dozing off: "..."

The three wolf cubs, caught in the act of trying to escape: "..."

With her head still full of soap suds, Liu Qingyun grabbed her son and shook him vigorously. "Boohoohoo, my son! You finally called me ’Mother’! Mother is so happy!"

Lu Yuan, swiped several times by her long hair, couldn’t take it anymore and said, "Can you... dry your hair first?!"

Liu Qingyun clung to him without letting go. "Call me ’Mother’ one more time, will you? If you call me ’Mother,’ I’ll go dry my hair!"

Lu Yuan refused to call her.

"Mother."

Meng Qianqian raised her hand. "I’ll call her on behalf of my husband."

Liu Qingyun: "It doesn’t count if you call me!"

Meng Qianqian shrugged helplessly before moving her little stool farther away to avoid being hit by Liu Qingyun’s hair.

Liu Qingyun pestered Lu Yuan. "Oh, my son, just call me one more time! Mother hasn’t heard enough yet. Just one more time, I promise not to be greedy."

Lu Yuan: "Are you sure?"

Liu Qingyun cunningly raised a finger. "Two times... might be acceptable as well."

The greedy request led to no calls at all.

Heartbroken, Liu Qingyun returned to the house, wiping her tears before handing each servant in the courtyard a gold ingot as a reward.

Meng Qianqian hugged the drowsy little one into her arms.

At least now Liu Qingyun was happy, so she probably wouldn’t punish the little piggy anymore.

Falling into the familiar, soft embrace, Bao Shu proudly lifted her little chin and fell sound asleep.

The three little wolf cubs tried to escape once again but were caught by Tan’er, who grabbed two in her hands and hooked the last one with her right foot.

"Where do you think you’re going, Big Wolf, Second Wolf, and Third Wolf?"

The three cubs: ...

Meanwhile, Lu Yuan’s clothing, dampened by Liu Qingyun’s hair, was carefully wiped dry by Meng Qianqian with a handkerchief.

He maintained a rebellious air, his cold expression resembling someone owed silver.

Yet Meng Qianqian could sense his happiness.

No matter how old he got, he would always be his mother’s child.

A mother’s love may come late, but it never fails to arrive.

In the courtyard, only Zong Zhengxi’s injured pride simmered in loneliness.

Wrapped up like a dumpling, he raised his bound arms, inwardly shouting, "I am the Emperor, the Emperor! Does no one care about me?!"

A little wolf cub trotted over on its short legs, huffing and puffing, and gently nuzzled its nose against his shoes.

Zong Zhengxi recognized it as the very cub that had bitten him.

"In recognition of your willingness to approach Us, We won’t pursue your earlier offense."

As soon as the words fell, the cub lifted a paw and peed a big puddle right on his dragon-embroidered shoes.

Zong Zhengxi: "...!!"

After lunch, Lu Yuan, in an unusual display of leniency, allowed Zong Zhengxi to go hunting in the forest, accompanied by Bai Qingchen and several Imperial Guards, but forbade them from crossing the stream.

Meng Qianqian raised an eyebrow. "Feeling so generous today?"

Lu Yuan, still expressionless, replied, "It’s been two days. By now, the forest on this side of the stream should have been thoroughly cleared by the Imperial Guard, the Jinyi Guard, and the Gold Cloak Guard, leaving no dangerous beasts."

Meng Qianqian gave a knowing "oh" and leaned in with a mischievous grin. "I thought maybe your mood improved after Mother hugged you, so you decided to let His Majesty play in the forest!"

Lu Yuan frowned. "What do you mean ’let’? Is His Majesty a little dog?"

Meng Qianqian laughed. "You didn’t deny the first part, so does that mean you admit you enjoyed cuddling with Mother?"

After spending so much time with Bao Shu, her words unknowingly carried the tone used to coax children.

Lu Yuan shot her a frosty look. "Meng Xiaojiu, what did you mean by that sentence in the cave?"

"Oh, I’m so sleepy! Time for a nap!"

Meng Qianqian made a hasty escape.

Lu Yuan sneered coldly.

Meng Qianqian peeked her head back out of the house. "It’s been two days since we last saw Si Snake. Did you run into him in the forest?"

When dealing with Luo San, only Ji Li had been present. Si Snake’s whereabouts remained unknown.

Lu Yuan replied, "He went to look for Xun Qi."

-

Upstream of the creek, Xun Qi, dressed as a fisherman with a rain cloak and a bamboo hat, sat on a rock fishing.

After catching yet another fat fish, his basket was full.

Surprisingly, instead of leaving with a basket of fish, he tipped them all back into the water with a splash and began fishing anew.

A figure in gray-blue appeared beside him, silently gazing at the distant mountains.

Xun Qi smiled and pointed to another fishing rod prepared nearby. "If you don’t mind, why not join me?"

Si Snake bent down, picked up the rod, skillfully attached the bait, and cast the line into the water.

Throughout the process, Xun Qi kept studying him, only averting his gaze once the hook entered the water.

Xun Qi chuckled. "I thought you’d been away from the island so long that you’d forgotten how to fish."

Si Snake didn’t sit on the wooden stool prepared for him; he stood by the stream, fishing as he asked, "Why did you join the Xun Family?"

Xun Qi countered, "Why did you join the Chu Family?"

Si Snake replied coolly, "I didn’t join the Chu Family. I serve the Grand Marshal."

Xun Qi mused, "We serve different masters. Does this mean we’re enemies now?"

Si Snake asked, "Have those people come after you?"

Xun Qi replied, "No. And you?"

Si Snake stated, "I’ll go find them myself."

Xun Qi gave him a surprised glance. "Didn’t expect you to be so daring."

Si Snake’s gaze deepened. "The life or death of the rest of the Chu Family means nothing to me, but the Chu Grand Marshal—no one touches him. Xun Qi, you’d better not have been involved in that incident back then."

Xun Qi asked, "If I were involved, would you spare me out of consideration that I’m your kinsman?"

Si Snake responded without hesitation, "No. So, Xun Qi, were you involved?"

Xun Qi shook his head. "I wasn’t."

Si Snake caught a big fish, tossed it into Xun Qi’s basket, left the rod behind, and turned to leave.

Clutching his rod tightly, Xun Qi said, "I’m already a dog of the Xun Family. If you don’t kill me today, someday I’ll help the Xun Family take you down."

Si Snake replied, "When that day comes, I’ll take your life myself."

Xun Qi asked, "Is that your final mercy to your kin?"

Si Snake did not answer, nor did he look back.

Xun Qi took a deep breath. "I’m someone who holds grudges and always repays favors, but I also dislike owing anyone. I’ll tell you the evidence Chen Long holds over the Prime Minister, and we’ll call it even."