tkworld Chapter 420 I Want My Father to Feed Me Too
Chapter 420 I Want My Father to Feed Me Too
Bai Ping and Bai Kui's wedding is scheduled for the end of August, which is less than six months away.
Shen Shixi wasn't without capable subordinates. Besides Lan Ying and Lan Tan, Qiu Heng and Qiu Zhi would take their place in the future. One was steady and meticulous, while the other was clever and lively. Bai Ping and Bai Kui had been training him for about half a year, and they were both capable of handling things independently.
Hearing that Aunt Bai Ping and Aunt Bai Kui were getting married, the four children were quite sad to see them go.
Wang Shu was the most sentimental, saying, "I love eating the snowflake pastries made by Aunt Bai Ping. If Aunt Bai Ping leaves the palace, I will stop eating them."
Bai Ping regretted getting married and held Wang Shu, tears streaming down her face.
Fu Guang scoffed. Her younger brother was the best at lying. Just yesterday, he secretly told Aunt Qiuheng that Aunt Qiuheng's snowflake pastries were also delicious.
However, out of consideration for their shared mother and blood, he decided not to expose his younger brother.
Shen Shixi sent a message to his second brother, instructing him to buy a three-courtyard house for Bai Ping and Bai Kui, and to prepare two thousand taels of silver for each of them. In addition, there was a dowry that a new bride should have, including everything from a bed to a chamber pot.
The two women were to be married on the same day. Originally, Shen Shixi wanted them to leave the palace earlier, but the two women couldn't bear to part with it. It wasn't until three days before their wedding that Shen Shixi finally sent them out of the palace. The two women knelt in the hall and kowtowed heavily in the direction of Shen Shixi, tears streaming down their faces.
Shen Shixi hid in the inner hall, her eyes inevitably welling up with tears. Bai Ping and Bai Kui had accompanied her as she grew up, and later traveled together, sharing joys and sorrows. To her, they were more than just people who took care of her.
Bai Ping's gossipy mouth and Bai Kui's simple-minded thinking led them to a brief encounter, but ultimately they each went their separate ways in life.
She could keep two people by her side for a lifetime with just a word. If she marries them off today, they might not be happy outside. But a person's life should not be dependent on another person to have any value.
She hoped they would experience a different life outside the palace and find their own path.
The world is so vast, everyone has the right to soar like an eagle and be the protagonist of their own life.
Bai Ping and Bai Kui were married off from the Shen family. The Shen family held a grand banquet for them and sent them off in a lively manner. Although they were servants, they no longer had their indentures. Who could have imagined that life would bring them such a turn of events?
Originally born as servants, they can become wives of officials upon marriage because of the Empress, and will have a place among the noble ladies of the capital in the future.
Both of them only wanted to keep a low profile, and their only wish was to act cautiously and not cause trouble for the Empress.
Three days later, on the day Bai Ping and Bai Kui returned to their parents' home, the two did not go back to the Shen family. Instead, they submitted a token to enter the palace, and Shen Shixi asked Chao En to go to the palace gate to welcome them in.
Upon seeing familiar faces, Bai Ping and Bai Kui's eyes welled up with tears.
"Her Majesty has been thinking about this since this morning. She instructed me to wait here and bring the two young ladies in as soon as they arrived."
Bai Ping hurriedly said, "Father-in-law, please don't say such things. We usually serve the Empress. Even though we are not in the palace now, once we acknowledge our master, we will be the Empress's people for life."
Bai Kui also said, "Sigh, I'm starting to regret getting married. Without the Empress, I don't even know which foot to step with first."
The three of them returned to Qianyuan Palace, chatting and laughing. Bai Ping and Bai Kui bowed deeply to Shen Shixi, and tears streamed down their faces as they looked up.
"Your Majesty, we miss you!" Bai Ping crawled two steps on her knees, and Bai Kui also lowered her head and wiped away her tears.
Shen Shixi smiled through her tears, "Alright, please stop. You know I don't like this. Please have a seat! You are all officials now."
Bai Ping and Bai Kui refused to sit down and insisted on serving Shen Shixi.
Today is the day the two are returning to their parents' home. The Crown Prince and Xihe have taken leave and are in the palace. Now, all four children have come over and are chattering around Bai Ping and Bai Kui, asking them about their marriage.
Bai Ping and Bai Kui's married life was naturally very good.
Bai Kui and Jiang Lingyou need no introduction. They've known each other for years in the palace, and their relationship is very deep, with no changes expected anytime soon.
Wen Zhaojie had no elders, no children, and no brothers or sisters. Bai Kui became the head of the household as soon as she entered the family. She had been with Shen Shixi for so many years, and her abilities were beyond question. She managed the mansion the day after their marriage, and Wen Zhaojie was completely convinced of her abilities.
A strong general has no weak soldiers under his command, and his gratitude to the emperor and empress was like a surging river.
However, Wen Zhaojie was going back to Luzhou, and Shen Shixi asked her to go with him.
"Couples shouldn't live apart. No matter how deep the feelings, they can't withstand long periods of separation. Since you're married, cherish your marriage. If your partner treats you sincerely, you should treat them sincerely in return. In this world, only sincerity should never be betrayed!"
Bai Ping and Bai Kui always listened to Shen Shixi. After the banquet, they said goodbye with tears in their eyes.
The four children escorted the two out of Qianyuan Palace, and it was Chao En who saw them off at the palace gate.
Bai Kui was alright; she was able to visit the palace often. Bai Ping cried her eyes out, urging Bai Kui to make sure she visited the Empress more often.
After winter set in, Shen Shixi felt listless and developed a high fever at night. She dreamed of floating above the city, with bustling traffic and neon lights flashing on towering skyscrapers. She even saw the roof of her own house.
Shen Shixi tossed and turned restlessly, muttering in her sleep. Li Yuanke was terrified, and his hands trembled as he held her.
Jiang Lingyou and Zhang Yuanpan came together to examine Shen Shixi's pulse, saying that the Empress was tired and absent-minded, and that she would be fine after drinking some calming medicine and resting for a few days.
After being given the medicine, Shen Shixi broke out in a sweat, and her high fever gradually subsided. When she woke up, she saw that Li Yuanke looked haggard, as if he had aged ten years in an instant. She stroked his cheek and said, "Don't worry, I'm fine!"
Shen Shixi herself was also a little scared. Her children were still young, and children without a mother were like weeds.
Li Yuange breathed a sigh of relief and buried his face in her shoulder. "Xi'er, you promised you wouldn't abandon me!"
Shen Shixi was a little weak, but she smiled and said, "I'm just sick, don't overthink it. The children are still young, don't scare them."
When Bai Kui heard that Shen Shixi was ill, she wanted to submit her petition to the palace, but Shen Shixi refused.
Li Yuanke said, "She has nothing to do anyway. If she wants to come in and see you, just let her in."
Shen Shixi retorted, "Aren't you annoying? Don't you want to take care of me? You just want to dump me on someone else, right?"
Li Yuanke glared at her, feeding her medicine spoonful by spoonful, blowing on each spoonful afterward. "Didn't I care about you? What am I doing right now? I'm only sick because I'm worried you're thinking about those two girls!"
Wang Shu came in, snuggled up to Li Yuanke's back, and said, "Daddy, I want Daddy to feed me too!"
"Pfft, cough cough cough!" Shen Shixi lay on the edge of the bed, coughing so hard she could hardly breathe, and waved for the father and son to leave.
Li Yuanke couldn't care less about his youngest son at this moment. He quickly patted and stroked his wife's back, handed her water, and wiped her clean after she rinsed her mouth. Just as he was about to curse her for being a "dog," he noticed that the little dog was still lying on his back, so he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
Shen Shixi leaned against the large cushion, catching her breath for a moment, then met her youngest son's face. "What are you doing here?"