The next day.
Shen Wang didn't send anyone to Pei Huaiyi's residence. Instead, during the morning court session, he looked around, searching for his figure.
An official with a fawning expression noticed him looking for someone and eagerly stepped forward to ask, "Is Lord Shen looking for someone?"
Seeing that the man was from the Ministry of Rites, Shen Wang asked, "Is Pei Huaiyi not attending court today?"
"Lord Pei requested leave the day before yesterday, saying he wouldn't return for a month," the official replied with a bow.
Hearing this, Shen Wang furrowed his brows.
What a coincidence—just as he wanted to find Pei Huaiyi, he was out of the capital. Could his departure from the capital actually be related to Xie Ning?
"Where did he go?"
A look of difficulty crossed the official's face. "Well… this humble official wouldn't know. Where would Lord Pei go that he'd bother telling me?"
With that, the official paused, glanced around furtively, and lowered his voice. "Though I heard he went south… just hearsay, hearsay…"
Shen Wang rubbed the thumb ring on his finger, lost in thought.
"Could it be that His Majesty has some new—" Before the official could finish, a booming voice rang out from above.
"His Majesty has arrived—"
As the words fell, everyone who had been whispering straightened their robes, took their positions, and bowed with solemn expressions. "Long live the Emperor, long live the Emperor, long live the Emperor for ten thousand years."
Xiao Teng wore a robe of dark silk threaded with gold, the fabric trailing on the ground. At a single glance, it was clear how extraordinarily luxurious it was.
Through the distant beaded curtain, his face could not be clearly seen. One could only make out Xiao Teng's hand resting on the armrest of his chair, his posture languid, as he said in a deep voice, "Rise, my ministers."
"…"
After court was dismissed, Shen Wang first returned to his residence to inform Wen Qingyuan of this news.
"What? Lord Pei is not in the capital?" Wen Qingyuan was so startled that he shot up from his chair, his expression twisting into one of distress.
He had been entrusted by a friend to personally deliver Xie Ning into Lord Pei's hands, contrary to Xie Qingci's instructions. He simply couldn't feel at ease otherwise.
Xie Ning was still young and usually in a daze. Unless Wen Qingyuan saw with his own eyes that the boy had found his birth father, he doubted he'd be able to sleep a single peaceful night.
All of his expression naturally fell into Shen Wang's view.
"Lord Shen, might I ask where Lord Pei has gone?" Wen Qingyuan pressed on, unwilling to give up.
He thought to himself that worst case, they could simply go find him.
"I don't know," Shen Wang said flatly, his thumb unconsciously stroking his ring. "He only said he'd return in a month."
A month—not long, not short.
He couldn't very well drag Xie Ning into another bout of travel. With Xie Ning's constitution, he probably couldn't withstand such a journey.
So Butler Liu stepped forward, his expression kind as he said to Wen Qingyuan, "If you don't mind, you may stay at the residence for a while. Lord Pei will return to the capital in a month, and then you can rest assured handing Young Master Xie over to him."
Hearing this, Wen Qingyuan lowered his head in thought.
There was no better option at the moment. Besides, this Lord Shen seemed to be a warm-hearted man, willing to take them in. He was truly a good person.
So Wen Qingyuan didn't continue to decline and bowed, saying, "Then I shall impose on your hospitality."
The smile on Butler Liu's face widened even further.
He called over a young servant and instructed, "Go clean the guest room more thoroughly. If anything is missing, see to it promptly."
Wen Qingyuan was startled by this enthusiasm and waved his hands repeatedly. "No need, no need. There's no need to go to such trouble."
"It's no trouble at all." Butler Liu remained all smiles.
After Wen Qingyuan left, Butler Liu stood beside Shen Wang and said softly, "My lord."
Shen Wang didn't react.
"My lord, what are your thoughts?" Butler Liu asked.
"In that case, I'll keep him for Pei Huaiyi and personally send him back after a month." Shen Wang's fingers moved slightly, his tone calm and unruffled.
Butler Liu nodded. "Whatever you say, my lord."
Butler Liu was inwardly delighted and quite pleased with this outcome. The estate hadn't had much life in it for years—since that incident, the young master's temperament had grown cold, and he rarely expressed his preferences.
He had once been bold enough to suggest the young master consider taking a wife, but he'd stopped mentioning it after that.
Young Master Xie Ning seemed to be a lively one by nature; perhaps he really would bring some change to the estate.
He was old now, and he didn't know how much longer he could accompany the young master. Young Master Xie Ning was a kind and adorable child—perhaps this truly was fate bringing the two of them together. Even if his birth father was found someday, the bond formed during this month would still remain.
Shen Wang naturally had no idea about the thoughts running through Butler Liu's mind.
As for what his own motives were in keeping Xie Ning at the estate, he couldn't quite say himself. By the time he'd realized what he was doing, he'd already done it.
It was only a month, after all. How hard could it be to raise a child?
Just then, Xie Ning popped his head out from who-knows-where. "Father, aren't you going to work today?"
"Work?" Shen Wang raised an eyebrow in confusion.
He'd noticed that Xie Ning sometimes said things he couldn't quite understand, but then again, it was perfectly normal for a three-year-old to make mistakes in speech.
Xie Ning nodded. "Yes! Father, didn't you work until very late yesterday? I fell asleep waiting for you."
Ah, so he meant going to his post.
Shen Wang replied, "I'll be going shortly."
Hearing this, Xie Ning drooped his head in disappointment. He'd thought his father didn't have to work today and could play with him.
"What's wrong?"
Xie Ning's face was full of dejection as he let out a world-weary sigh. "I'm so bored. There are no other kids to play with, and no little animals to play with either."
Back in Jizhou, he'd go out to play all day long.
Even at home, he had chicks, ducklings, and little fish to keep him company.
Thinking of this, Xie Ning couldn't help but think of all those little animals at home. He wondered if they missed him now that he was gone—he certainly missed them a lot.
Xie Ning's mouth began to water.
Butler Liu slapped his forehead. It had been so many years since there was a child in the estate that he hadn't even thought of this. He turned to Shen Wang and said, "This old servant will go buy some toys right away for the young master to play with."
"Buy one of everything," Shen Wang said indifferently.
Xie Ning cheered up a little, but not much.
He didn't want toys. He wanted his father to play with him.
But his father had to go to work, and he had to be a good child. So he looked up with starry eyes and asked, "Can Father come back a little earlier?"
Shen Wang opened his mouth, about to say that official duties were numerous, but looking into those eyes, he gave a slight nod instead.
Xie Ning immediately perked up with joy.
Butler Liu watched this scene from the side, his face full of affection, feeling more and more that his master and the young master were truly destined for each other.
……
Xie Ning sat amidst a pile of dazzling toys, fiddling with one for a moment, then another.
The toys his father, Xie Qingci, had prepared for him were far more interesting than these. After playing with them for barely a moment, Xie Ning found them dull and tossed them aside.
Seeing this, Butler Liu's expression stiffened, and he turned to look at the servant responsible for purchasing the toys.
The servant grimaced and replied, "I've already bought all the most fashionable and popular toys in the capital."
Hearing this, Butler Liu felt a flicker of confusion. By all logic, any two of these toys would be more than enough to amuse a child.
"I wanna go catch fish!"
The next second, Xie Ning pointed at the pond outside. He had noticed it a couple of days ago.
Butler Liu followed the direction of his finger and his expression stiffened slightly.
Those were Red-scaled Fish brought in from elsewhere, worth their weight in gold, and they had dedicated caretakers in the manor. He was just about to turn around and patiently dissuade the boy.
But when he turned, he found that Xie Ning was no longer where he had been.
!!!
"Little Young Master, slow down!" Butler Liu hurried after him while instructing the servant, "Quick, go prepare a set of clean clothes on the side. Once the young master finishes playing, change him into them right away."
"Yes." The servant glanced over, then quickly lowered his head in acknowledgment.
Let him catch them, let him catch them. Their household wasn't so poor as to be short of a few fish.
Butler Liu's expression had never been so varied—one moment he was smiling happily, the next he was nearly scared to death.
After Xie Ning, with quick eyes and nimble hands, grabbed yet another fish, he let out a crisp laugh and even teased, "These fish are so dumb!"
"…" Butler Liu held his forehead and waved his hand, signaling the servants below to take the fish.
In no time, three or four fish had already been added to the bucket.
Butler Liu patiently tried to persuade him, "Little Young Master, let's play a bit more and then stop catching, alright?"
Though it wasn't the dead of winter, once night fell, one could still feel the cool breeze sweeping through. A child's body couldn't withstand the wind, and he might catch a cold.
Fortunately, Xie Ning had also grown tired of catching fish. He nodded, and with his short little legs, climbed out of the pond.
His shoes and clothes were covered in mud, even his hair strands were mixed with dirt, and his face had turned completely grimy.
With the servants' help, Xie Ning changed into a clean set of clothes.
Butler Liu was just turning to give instructions, saying, "Send these fish to the kitchen later. Prepare them in various ways and serve them up this evening."
After carefully going over the details, Butler Liu nodded in satisfaction and turned to look at Xie Ning, intending to take him to wash up.
But the moment he turned, Butler Liu let out a sharp cry, "Where is he?!"
In an instant, the scene descended into chaos, and several people immediately began searching the courtyard.
However, Xie Ning, taking advantage of their inattention, had already run outside the courtyard and, in a flash, scrambled up a tree to hide.
The people searching below had never imagined that such a small child could climb a tree, so they never thought to look up, only searching around the courtyard.
Hearing people constantly calling his name, Xie Ning covered his mouth to keep from making a sound.
Hide-and-seek was so fun!
They'd never guess he was hiding here, hehe!
Before long, the number of searchers gradually grew, and the scope expanded beyond just the courtyard.
When Xie Ning noticed fewer people around his area, he grew bolder and sat up, swinging his two little legs back and forth lightly.
"Hey! You motherless, fatherless brat, how dare you fight over things with our boss!"
Suddenly, a voice reached Xie Ning's ears. He immediately straightened up and scooted forward, trying to see what was happening.
On the other side of the wall, a boy in white was surrounded by three chubby kids.
"What are you looking at? Did I say something wrong?" The leader of the fat kids stared back at the cold, sinister gaze fixed on him, puffing himself up with courage before continuing, "Aren't your parents dead? There's no one to back you up anymore."
The atmosphere was like a taut bowstring, ready to snap at any moment.
Xie Ning, watching this scene from the tree, puffed out his cheeks in anger.
Then he fished a marble out of the little pouch slung across his body and shot it viciously at the leader of the fat kids.
The fat kid couldn't react in time. His right leg was hit, and he dropped to one knee, shouting in a fierce tone, "Who did that!"
"I'm right here!" Xie Ning didn't feel like he was drawing fire at all. Seeing that they couldn't find him, he even raised his hand and waved to show where he was.
The fat kid's face twisted with rage as he looked up. "Who are you?"
Xie Ning let out a cold snort. "Someone who can't stand the sight of you! I think your parents might as well be dead—your mouth is that venomous!"
As he spoke, Xie Ning pulled out another marble and shot it at the leg of another fat kid nearby.
"Still not leaving?" Xie Ning, relying on his high position and knowing they couldn't climb up, tilted his head smugly.
The leader of the fat kids grabbed his leg and stood up, leaving behind a vicious threat. "You wait. I'll be back for revenge!"
Xie Ning stuck out his tongue and mimicked him. "I'll be baaack~"
At that, the fat kid's face twisted in fury, but knowing he wouldn't get the better of this today, he stormed off in a huff.
"Hey, help me pick those up!" Xie Ning shouted.
Only the boy in white remained standing there, staring blankly at Xie Ning.
Xie Ning puffed out his cheeks. "Those two marbles from earlier—help me pick them up!"
Those were gifts from his father; there was no way he was letting them go just like that.
Xie Ning couldn't help but think to himself—was the guy down there actually an idiot? How could he let others bully him without fighting back, and not even respond when spoken to?