Chapter 771: Chapter 733: Imperial Tutor, Reunion (Part 2)

In the Qianqing Palace, Mr. Cui, who had just completed the arrangements for the Empress’s departure from the palace, had the same question, "Today, besides the National Guardian Princess and Marquis Changning, Song Wei, Mr. Song, also rescued the Emperor. Why didn’t the Emperor reward him?"

Emperor Guangxi leaned sideways without directly answering, only asking, "How many decrees were issued today?"

Mr. Cui replied, "The decree handling the Yang Family has not been issued yet, only the two decrees bestowing rewards on Marquis Changning and his wife have been."

"Issue another one," Emperor Guangxi said, "to the Crown Prince’s Tutor’s residence."

Mr. Cui was momentarily puzzled, "Your Majesty’s meaning is...?"

"During the Crown Prince’s confinement at the Imperial Clan Court, that concubine secretly helped a lot, enough to grant her the position of Empress," the Emperor said.

Mr. Cui immediately understood.

The Yang Family was involved in treason, implicating the betrothed Crown Prince Consort. The marriage contract with the Crown Prince was therefore terminated, and the Emperor planned to choose a new main wife for the Crown Prince.

Choosing someone from the Dong Family wasn’t hard to understand, given that their family didn’t wield much power. The Crown Prince’s Tutor was a person of pure scholarly reputation, without significant power, posing no future threat to the court.

However, Mr. Cui couldn’t figure out why appointing Miss Dong as Empress had any necessary connection with rewarding Mr. Song?

Emperor Guangxi saw through his thoughts, "Just deliver the decree. Within half an hour, that old fellow will definitely enter the palace."

The old fellow naturally referred to the Crown Prince’s Tutor, Dong Han’s father, the Crown Prince’s teacher, Dong Wenbo.

After drafting the decree, Mr. Cui, full of questions, went to the Dong Family.

Dong Wenbo, accompanied by his wife and children, came out to kneel and accept the decree. After Mr. Cui read it out loud, he solemnly asked, "I heard today that Mr. Song and his in-laws came to the Capital to rescue the Emperor. May I ask, how did the Emperor reward them?"

Mr. Cui responded, "The Eldest Princess has been restored to her Imperial Family status, titled as National Guardian Princess, and the Prince Consort was granted the title of Marquis Changning."

"What about Mr. Song?"

Mr. Cui hesitated and shook his head, "As for Mr. Song, the Emperor has not made a clear statement yet."

Dong Wenbo stroked his goatee, received the decree, and handed it to his wife, then turned to Mr. Cui, "In that case, I will accompany you to the palace."

Mr. Cui was surprised to hear this and thought to himself that the Emperor truly had foresight.

...

Less than half an hour later, Mr. Cui brought Dong Wenbo to the Qianqing Palace.

Emperor Guangxi did not meet him directly.

Kneeling outside, separated by a screen with a dragon emerging from the sea design, Dong Wenbo paid his respects to Emperor Guangxi.

Emperor Guangxi asked him, "Are you dissatisfied with my decree, so you came to the palace personally?"

Dong Wenbo hurriedly replied, "Your humble servant would not dare."

The decree stated it abolished the previous decree appointing Dong Han as a concubine and reappointed her as the main wife.

Thus, once the Crown Prince ascends to the throne, Dong Han would become Empress, and he, the Crown Prince’s Tutor, would become the Imperial Tutor, the Emperor’s teacher.

Though Dong Wenbo was neutral, his political instincts were sharp. The Emperor in the inner hall disliked external families controlling the court, with the Su Family and the Yang Family as previous examples. If the Dong Family produced an Empress, how could they have an Imperial Tutor too?

Earlier, at his residence, when he asked Mr. Cui and learned that Emperor Guangxi hadn’t rewarded Song Wei yet, he understood the Emperor was specifically waiting for him!

"Then, why did you come?" Emperor Guangxi’s voice sounded somewhat displeased.

Dong Wenbo kowtowed, "Your humble servant has been feeling mentally exhausted lately, likely due to this old body aging and becoming useless. I respectfully request Your Majesty’s grace to allow me to retire and return home to nourish my old age."

Emperor Guangxi snorted coldly, "The court is in a time of crisis, and you suddenly want to retire. Are you trying to be a deserter?"

Dong Wenbo insisted, "The Crown Prince is naturally talented and exceptionally intelligent. Everything I could teach has already been imparted to him. Even if I stayed, I would be merely drifting along, unable to further assist him."

"How can you not help?" Emperor Guangxi said, "When the Crown Princess becomes Empress, there will be plenty of ways for you as the royal father-in-law to assist."

Dong Wenbo’s face turned deathly pale with fright, "Your humble servant truly has no strength left and only wants to return home to enjoy peace with my grandchildren. I beg Your Majesty’s fulfillment."

"Is that your heartfelt sentiment?"

Dong Wenbo exclaimed in fear, "Every word I speak comes from the bottom of my heart."

Emperor Guangxi sighed, seemingly regretful, "Since you’ve made up your mind, I won’t force you to stay. Go, take good care of yourself."

Dong Wenbo wiped off cold sweat, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for fulfilling my request."

Emperor Guangxi ordered Mr. Cui to arrange a sedan chair to escort Dong Wenbo out of the palace.

After Mr. Cui returned, he was filled with admiration for Emperor Guangxi, "How did the Emperor anticipate that Mr. Dong would definitely enter the palace?"

"Dong Wenbo is not a fool," said Emperor Guangxi. "He must understand that I’m promoting his concubine daughter to the main wife not only because of her exceptional intelligence, but also because I trust him and the Dong Family. At such a time, he should make some gestures to show his loyalty."

Mr. Cui connected the dots at once, "So, when the Emperor first sent the imperial edict to the Dong Family, it was actually to make Mr. Dong know when to advance and retreat, and voluntarily give up the position of Imperial Tutor to Mr. Song?"

Emperor Guangxi neither confirmed nor denied, "The Crown Prince is still young, and many things cannot be managed independently, I must arrange in advance for him."

"Then the imperial edict to promote Mr. Song..."

"No edict will be issued," Emperor Guangxi instructed. "Once the Crown Prince ascends the throne, Song Wei will become the Imperial Tutor, and this decree will be written in the will."

...

When Song Wei and a few others arrived at the residence, Jinbao and Lu Yanli were playing in the courtyard, with many maids and servants watching from the side.

Earlier, Song Wei had entered the Capital with his father-in-law and mother-in-law. As he needed to change into the official robe, he brought Lu Yanli back to the residence. However, due to urgent palace matters, he left without even seeing Wen Wan.

At this moment, the two little ones seemed not afraid of the cold, enthusiastically engaging in a snowball fight.

Lu Yanli couldn’t win against Jinbao, so he chased after him, calling him brother, saying he wouldn’t fight anymore and asking him to help build a snowman.

Standing in the veranda, Song Wei’s eye twitched at the sound of "brother," instinctively glancing at Lu Xingzhou and Zhao Xunyin beside him.

Zhao Xunyin couldn’t help but facepalm, then clapped her hands, catching Lu Yanli’s attention.

"Mother!" Upon seeing her, the little one abandoned the snowman and wobbily ran over, throwing himself into her arms.

Zhao Xunyin squatted down, dusted the snow off his sleeves, and pointing at Jinbao, asked him, "Who is that?"

Lu Yanli earnestly answered, "Brother."

"Not brother," Zhao Xunyin patiently corrected. "You should call him Jinbao."

The little one was quite puzzled, "Why isn’t he my brother?"

Zhao Xunyin raised an eyebrow, then pointed to Song Wei, "This is the one you can call brother."

The little one pouted, unwilling to call him brother, instead calling out, "Uncle."

"So silly," Zhao Xunyin laughed. "Jinbao’s mother is your full-blooded sister, the one beside him is Jinbao’s father, you should call him brother-in-law, calling him brother is fine too, just don’t call him uncle, understand?"

The little one was left dizzy and bewildered.

At this moment, Jinbao put down the small snowball in his hand and walked over to Lu Yanli, calling out, "Little Uncle."

Lu Yanli blinked and asked him, "What’s Little Uncle?"

"Little Uncle is just Little Uncle," even Jinbao didn’t know how to explain a term like this to a little kid.

"Can I call you Little Uncle?" the little one asked.

Jinbao: "...Probably not."

Having answered, Jinbao couldn’t help but reflect, wondering if he might have asked such silly questions when he was young.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t remember the days of his childhood.

"Why are you all standing in the veranda catching the wind?"

Wen Wan came out from the inner courtyard and immediately saw them, her gaze especially falling on Song Wei.

Song Wei looked back at her, smiling gently, "Why did you come out?"

Wen Wan threw him a "we’ll settle this later" look and walked over to Zhao Xunyin and Lu Xingzhou, her face beaming with a smile, "Father, Mother, I’ve heard that the Emperor Uncle has already granted permission for you to return, and you’ll now stay in the Capital. Is that true?"

Zhao Xunyin nodded, "The elder brother has granted us a residence, but it may take some time before we can move in, so we’ll have to temporarily stay at your place for the next few days to get by."

Wen Wan, naturally pleased, responded, "You may not know yet, but we’ve expanded our residence. Now the east and west courtyards together take up more than half the street, there’s plenty of room to accommodate you, so just stay without worries. Though, honestly, I wish Emperor Uncle hadn’t granted you a residence, that way you could come live with us with Lu Yanli."

Zhao Xunyin gave her a reproachful look, "Silly girl, where have you seen parents living with their in-laws? That would just be chaos!"

"I don’t care," Wen Wan huffed. "After all, the expansion was paid for with Mother’s money, so it’s only fair you stay here."

"Don’t be ridiculous," Zhao Xunyin replied. "I don’t need your house money. Besides, the residence granted by your Emperor Uncle isn’t far from here, I don’t need to drag the entire family and disturb your little life with your husband."

On hearing this, Wen Wan was overjoyed, "Really?"

"Of course, as your mother, why would I lie to you?"