Qu Zijin appeared exceptionally happy.
In fact, he was even more delighted about Jin Lanyue being bestowed the title of County Chief than he was about receiving his own reward.
Holding the little toddler’s hand, his steps were significantly lighter and faster.
However, it was a rather pitiful sight for the tiny tot. Her legs were short to begin with, requiring her to take at least three steps for every single stride the Grand Tutor took.
As the Grand Tutor accelerated his pace, her little legs were practically flying in a frantic blur.
“Grand Tutor, Grand Tutor, what is a ‘Fairy Chief’? Can we eat it?” While running along with all her might, she still did not forget to obsess over the “Fairy Chief” that sounded quite delicious to her.
“It is ‘County Chief,'” Qu Zijin finally noticed that the little toddler was completely out of breath from trying to keep up. He picked her up into his arms and explained, “From now on, you are a person who possesses a noble title.”
“What is a title? It doesn’t sound very tasty…” Qu Zijin carried the little toddler the rest of the way, explaining things to her as they went.
Perhaps because he had been practicing in secret, his posture when holding a child had become much more natural.
Under his relentless explanations throughout the journey, Jin Lanyue gradually grasped a vague concept of it.
In short, it meant something very impressive!
“Then do I need to say thank you to His Majesty?” The little toddler felt a bit troubled. “His Majesty gave Yue’er such a wonderful gift, but Yue’er didn’t give him anything…”
Qu Zijin figured that there probably was not any gift a three-year-old could offer that would catch the Emperor’s eye, but he could not bear to dampen her enthusiasm. Thus, he could only help her brainstorm ideas for a gift.
A great deal of things had happened today, and the little princess had long since run off to who-knows-where. Qu Zijin had no intention of dragging her back to continue the lessons.
Estimating that it was only about half an hour earlier than their usual dismissal time, he simply decided to escort Jin Lanyue all the way back home himself.
Qu Zijin’s carriage slowly came to a halt in front of the Marquis’s manor.
Just as he was leading little Jin Lanyue out of the carriage, they happened to run into the Marquis of Beiding and his wife, who were preparing to head out to fetch their daughter.
“Grand Tutor Qu?” The Marquis of Beiding greeted him in surprise, looking at his daughter’s vibrant and energetic state. “Dismissed from school so early today?”
Qu Zijin smoothed his sleeves, the corners of his lips turning upward. “There were some joyous occasions in the palace today, so I brought the County Chief back early.”
“County Chief?” Jiang Xiyue looked at her daughter in confusion, only to see the little toddler proudly puffing out her tiny chest, the clutter of jewels covering her head jingling softly with her movements.
Wait a minute, where did a whole head full of jewels come from?
Right at this moment, the hurried sound of galloping hooves echoed from the distance.
A group of eunuchs dressed in official robes came riding at full speed. The leading Eunuch of the Imperial Seal held a bright yellow imperial edict in his hands, reining in his horse right before the gates of the Marquis’s manor.
“An imperial edict has arrived—”
The Marquis of Beiding and his wife were startled. Though they had no idea what had happened, they hurriedly knelt to receive it.
Qu Zijin, on the other hand, stepped aside.
Jin Lanyue mirrored her parents properly and knelt beside them, her tiny face filled with anticipation.
The Eunuch of the Imperial Seal unfurled the imperial edict and announced in a resounding voice: “By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Jin Lanyue, daughter of the Marquis of Beiding, possesses extraordinary intelligence and has presented a strategy to manage the drought, performing a great service to the state. She is hereby officially bestowed the title of County Chief Fukang. Respect this—”
When the Marquis of Beiding accepted the imperial edict with both hands, he was still in a state of utter disbelief. “Grand Tutor Qu, this…”
Qu Zijin then recounted the entire sequence of events once more.
“…So that’s how it is!” The Marquis of Beiding excitedly scooped up his daughter. “My Yue’er truly is a lucky little star!”
Once again, he mindlessly dissolved into a doting father mode: “Hahahahaha, I knew my Yue’er was definitely no ordinary child! She is absolutely a star of wisdom descended to earth!”
Jiang Xiyue’s eyes grew slightly red with emotion, and she repeatedly expressed her gratitude to Qu Zijin.
She was far more rational and objective, knowing that it was merely her daughter’s childish babble that had sparked his inspiration, and that the child had not actually done much.
Instead, her daughter had stumbled blindly into an immense fortune. “Thank you, Grand Tutor Qu. For Yue’er to be bestowed a title, we truly have to thank you…”
Qu Zijin waved his hand. “My teacher is naturally gifted with brilliant intelligence; I merely added a few finishing touches. If not for my teacher, I would never have thought of these things, let much less have the chance to regain His Majesty’s favor. It is I who should be thanking my teacher.”
“Oh, let’s not dwell on these formalities. Grand Tutor Qu, please come inside quickly!” The Marquis of Beiding extended a warm invitation. “We must have a grand celebration today!”
At the evening banquet, the entire Marquis’s manor was overflowing with a festive atmosphere.
Jin Qizhi hurried over from the study, speaking the moment he entered the door, “I heard our Yue’er has become a County Chief? Truly remarkable!”
The little toddler sat upon a specially crafted high chair, deliberately shaking her tiny head to make the ornaments in her hair jingle loudly.
她的 little feet kicked back and forth cheerfully. “Big Brother, is Yue’er pretty today?”
The entire table burst into laughter.
Jiang Xiyue adjusted her daughter’s collar and said softly, “This child, she’s already a County Chief yet she’s still so childish.”
To a small child, an aesthetic was probably the flashier and more garish, the better.
After all, the little toddler was incredibly satisfied with the mountain of ornaments on her head, believing it was absolutely beautiful.
Even when Jiang Xiyue found it an eyesore and wanted to remove a few, the child was entirely unwilling.
Looking at his younger sister’s head covered in hair accessories, Jin Qizhi only felt that this sense of aesthetics was truly… hard to describe.
Yet, he still put on a smile and affirmed, “Beautiful!”
“Hehehe~” Jin Lanyue happily flashed her tiny teeth.
“Sister, Sister, you became a County Chief?!” The second brother came rushing in like a whirlwind.
The moment his eyes locked onto her, he spotted his sister, who was the most dazzling person in the crowd. “Wow! Your look today—”
Jin Qizhi jumped in fright, instinctively wanting to elbow him as a warning not to insult their sister’s aesthetic, but rather to follow along and praise how good she looked.
But right after, he heard—
“—is way too beautiful! Sister, you are way too beautiful today! So shiny and gorgeous! Just like the sun!”
Jin Qizhi silently lowered his raised elbow.
…The sense of aesthetics between these two was truly bizarre in its exact similarity.
The second brother had no idea what Jin Qizhi was thinking. He bounced over to Jin Lanyue, reaching out with star-filled eyes to touch the ornaments on her head. “So pretty! I want it too! Can you share some with me? I want to be all shiny and sparkly just like you!”
…It was perfectly clear that he genuinely adored this kind of look.
“Sure, sure!” Jin Lanyue was also delighted that someone could sincerely appreciate her style. Her chubby little hands generously plucked a few pearl flowers and hairpins from her head, pinning them onto her second brother’s hair.
Jiang Xiyue did not know whether to laugh or cry. “Alright, alright, stop fooling around. Those are all imperially bestowed items, be careful not to break them.”
Meanwhile, the Marquis of Beiding was hosting Qu Zijin. “Grand Tutor, sit, please sit. Would the Grand Tutor prefer wine or tea?”
“Tea, thank you,” Qu Zijin requested politely.
Jiang Xiyue ushered the three children to take their seats, and the large family gathered together to enjoy their meal in high spirits.
In front of Jin Lanyue were sweet water and small pastries that Jiang Xiyue had specially prepared for her.
“Grand Tutor, drink soup-soup~” Jin Lanyue pushed the sour plum soup her mother had prepared for her right in front of Qu Zijin.
Jiang Xiyue found it amusing. “The Grand Tutor has tea to drink; he doesn’t care for that sweet water of yours.”
“Does the Grand Tutor not like it…” The little toddler looked aggrieved. “Then I drink it myself…”
“I like it, I like it,” Qu Zijin hurriedly accepted it, pairing his dinner with sweet water for the first time in his life.
The little toddler cheered up instantly, occasionally stuffing a pastry toward him.
At this, the Marquis of Beiding grew envious. “Yue’er, I am your father…”
The little toddler quickly stuffed a pastry toward her biological father as well. “Daddy has one too!”
She then distributed the pastries to everyone, ensuring everyone received an equal share. By the time she finished her round, the plate in front of her was entirely empty.
Jiang Xiyue deliberately asked her, “Yue’er, you have nothing left to eat for yourself. What are you going to do?”
Jin Lanyue merely waved her hand and said happily, “You eat! Yue’er is generous, Yue’er will eat tomorrow!”
Jiang Xiyue covered her mouth and giggled softly. “How can you praise yourself for being generous?”
“Our Yue’er is indeed generous! She is the absolute best child in the entire world!” The Marquis of Beiding clapped and laughed heartily. “Come, let’s eat, let’s eat!”
The entire family was lively and bustling.
Qu Zijin had initially felt a bit out of place, but within this warm atmosphere, he gradually began to blend in.
For the first time in a very long time, he felt… the warmth of a home.
The following morning, the Marquis of Beiding made a point to wake up exceptionally early to personally dress his daughter.
Little Jin Lanyue was dressed in beautiful, newly tailored garments, with imperially bestowed ornaments pinned in her hair—though this time, it was a style that conformed to standard societal aesthetics. She looked precisely like a meticulously sculpted little noble child.
“Daddy, where are we going?” The little toddler tilted her head.
The Marquis of Beiding adjusted a hairpin for his daughter. “Our little County Chief is going to meet all the court officials today, so naturally, we must dress formally.”
After the carriage entered the palace gates, the Marquis of Beiding held his daughter’s tiny hand as they dismounted, pacing back and forth along the path that the ministers were required to take to reach the imperial morning court.
Whenever an official he knew passed by, the Marquis of Beiding would invariably call out in a booming voice: “Good morning, Minister Li! This is my young daughter, Lanyue. She was just bestowed the title of County Chief Fukang yesterday…”
“Minister Wang, please wait a moment. Let me introduce you to my family’s little County Chief…”
“Minister Zhang, have you ever seen a child prodigy? My daughter can present a strategy to manage a drought at the age of three, and was bestowed the title of County Chief by His Majesty yesterday…”