Chapter 276: Chapter 276

Wen Wan listened, gently patting his little head, "Don’t shout nonsense, you hear?"

Jinbao, who had been extremely excited, quieted down instantly after Wen Wan’s pat, looking up at his mother.

Wen Wan thought he was going to cry and was about to comfort him. Unexpectedly, the little guy watched for a while, then opened his mouth with a cry to indicate he wanted to eat.

Wen Wan continued to feed him a few spoonfuls. Only then did the little guy shake his head, and while Wen Wan was talking to Lin Xiaoyue, he tightly gripped the small wooden spoon dug by his grandpa, and spoon by spoon, he piled the chicken congee from the bowl onto the table.

Wen Wan finished speaking and lowered her head, seeing the mess on the table, "..."

Lin Xiaoyue saw it too, clutching her stomach, almost laughing herself breathless.

"This little rascal, the moment you take your eyes off him, he comes up with new tricks!" Wen Wan muttered, asking Lin Xiaoyue to help hold her son while she got up to clean the table the little guy had messed up.

Lin Xiaoyue held Jinbao to the side, took out a napkin to wipe his drool, and asked him, "Jinbao, your mom is angry, aren’t you going to think of a way to cheer her up?"

Jinbao didn’t understand, and seeing a few grains of rice still stuck to the spoon, afraid his mom would hit him later, he handed it directly to Lin Xiaoyue, "Here..."

Lin Xiaoyue didn’t understand Jinbao’s intention, she just thought it was a gift from the little guy, quickly reaching out to take it.

Wen Wan had already finished cleaning the table, her voice coming over, "The naughty boy is trying to divert the evidence; don’t be silly and fall for his trick."

Lin Xiaoyue showed a face of disbelief, "Jinbao, only a year old, is already this clever?"

Wen Wan’s face showed helplessness, "If you knew he once climbed into the study and tore up my calligraphy, and ruined all the flowers in my father-in-law’s courtyard, you’d think it wasn’t clever, it’s a nightmare!"

Upon hearing Jinbao’s past "exploits," Lin Xiaoyue didn’t think the little guy was bad, her face more excited than discovering a treasure, "Oh my, Jinbao is just too cute."

He’s a super destructive little demon, okay? If he could stay quiet for a day, she as his mother would thank the heavens.

Not long after the meal, Lin Xiaoyue started to feel sleepy, after saying a few words with Wen Wan, she yawned several times.

Wen Wan noticed she was out of spirits and planned to have Mrs. Cao tidy up a room so she could take a nap.

Lin Xiaoyue quickly said it wasn’t necessary, standing up to take her leave.

Wen Wan held the little guy as she personally sent her out the door.

Before getting on the carriage, Lin Xiaoyue turned back and kissed Jinbao on his little cheek.

The well-fed little guy was snuggling in his mother’s arms, dozing off, didn’t even bother to open his eyes to resist the stolen kiss.

That lazy little look, the more you look at him, the more adorable he is, Lin Xiaoyue wanted to hold him again, but remembered something, swallowed the words at her throat, and after a while, said to Wen Wan, "I’m leaving."

Wen Wan carefully noticed that Lin Xiaoyue didn’t say "see you later" as usual; she somewhat sensed something unusual from this simple farewell.

Lin Xiaoyue today, in fact, was not here to confess but to break up with her.

Even until the carriage left, Wen Wan was still holding Jinbao standing outside the main gate, with no intention of turning around to go inside.

Yuanbao came out from inside, saw Wen Wan staring blankly in a direction, and asked her, "Mom, what are you looking at?"

Wen Wan heard the voice, quickly withdrew her gaze, shook her head, forcing a smile, "Nothing, Yuanbao, where are you headed?"

Song Yuanbao replied, "Dad told me yesterday that this afternoon he would go to the Imperial College for work and take me to look around; he asked me to take the carriage to wait for him outside the Hanlin Academy."

Wen Wan vaguely remembered, seemingly there was such a thing, "Then you wait a bit, I’ll have Uncle Lin get the carriage ready for you."

Saying this, she walked inside, after instructing Uncle Lin, Wen Wan returned to the East Wing, without thinking about Lin Xiaoyue’s matter anymore, she lay on the bed for an afternoon nap with her son.

On the way back, Lin Xiaoyue felt somewhat empty inside; she didn’t know how much time had passed when the driver’s voice came from outside, "Granny Qi, we’ve arrived at our mansion."

Lin Xiaoyue gathered her thoughts, climbed out of the carriage, her gaze paused on another carriage beside her, she asked the matron who came to greet her, "Who has come to our house?"

The matron replied, "It’s the Fourth Young Master from the Prime Minister Mansion."

"Little Four?" Lin Xiaoyue squinted, "Why has he suddenly come?"

The last time they met was when she went to Hongwen Academy to find Wen Wan, that day she invited Su Yaoqi to her house, but it was merely a polite remark.

No matter how inherently good Su Yaoqi was, in Lin Xiaoyue’s eyes, he was still someone from a large mansion who would get as dirty as his future twisted fate.

After Aunt He’s death and the unforgettable experience during the family’s division, Lin Xiaoyue kept her distance from mansion people generally unless necessary, avoiding them as much as possible.

No one inside is human, none of them are normal.

Entering the gate, Lin Xiaoyue directly went to the front hall.

Sure enough, Su Qing was accompanying Su Yaoqi sitting inside.

Upon seeing the mistress return, Su Yaoqi quickly stood up and respectfully called out, "Seventh Aunt."

Lin Xiaoyue smiled at him, "Little Four, why have you come all of a sudden, is there something you need?"

Su Yaoqi seemed to have some difficulty speaking, and before he could open his mouth, his ears turned red.

Su Qing took the opportunity to ask, "Has Yue Niang eaten?"

"Yes, I have." As Lin Xiaoyue spoke, she found a place to sit down. Receiving a look from Su Qing, she quickly understood that Seventh Lord meant for her not to inquire about Little Four’s matters.

Although Lin Xiaoyue was very curious about the purpose of this young lad’s visit, since Seventh Lord didn’t allow her to ask, she decided to feign ignorance. After the maid served tea, she took a few sips and found an excuse, saying she was sleepy, then returned to her room.

Su Yaoqi didn’t stay long at their house; he left after just half an hour.

Su Qing personally escorted him out the main gate and then went directly to the main courtyard.

Lin Xiaoyue was sitting on the Arhat Bed, with a maid massaging her shoulders.

Su Qing asked, "Did you see Mrs. Wen?"

"Yes, I saw her." Lin Xiaoyue’s voice sounded muffled, somewhat out of sorts.

"Did you make things clear?" Su Qing sat down, his gaze involuntarily falling on her still flat abdomen.

Lin Xiaoyue waved the maid away. Once the room was left with just the two of them, she said, "Yes, I explained everything clearly."

"What did the other party say?" Knowing she was not in a good mood, Su Qing’s gaze towards her was full of warmth.

"They didn’t say much, just told me to stay at home and take care of myself."

After speaking, Lin Xiaoyue leaned back, her eyes fixed on the beams, lost in thought.

Su Qing moved closer, relocating her head to rest on his shoulder. After a long silence between the two, it was eventually Lin Xiaoyue who broke the ice, "What did Little Four come to our house for?"

Su Qing said slowly, "It’s a coincidence as it turns out. I just found out today."

"A few months ago, Little Four became infatuated with a young lady from the Hongwen Academy. Because of her, he lost his appetite and even stopped attending the Imperial College. Once the Prime Minister found out, he was furious and secretly had people investigate the whereabouts of the young lady. Instead of finding the girl, they got themselves into trouble."

Later, it was discovered that it was someone from the Changping Princess Mansion who did it. The Prime Minister, being wronged for no reason, refused to let it go. He tried every means to exact revenge on Princess Changping. Later, he somehow acquired partial evidence from the coal mine case, instructing someone to strike the Petition Drum and accuse Young Marquis Lu of a great crime committed four years ago.

But no one expected the real mastermind behind this case wasn’t Lu Yanqing but rather the Fifth Young Master. This caused a big mess, and the Su Family found themselves in a bind, with all serving officials being implicated.

The Prime Minister was suspended, equating to the collapse of the Su Family’s backbone. Within a year, there will be people in the court to fill the void, and even if he regains his post, the authority he once had will be long gone. Furthermore, given his antagonistic relationship with the Emperor, a year later, he might only reclaim an empty title. As for power, do you think the Emperor would grant him any?"

Lin Xiaoyue looked puzzled, "What does this have to do with Little Four coming to our house?"

"Little Four came to ask if I had any way to help his father return to his post sooner."

Lin Xiaoyue raised an eyebrow, "How did you respond to him?"

Su Qing’s smile slightly faded, "I don’t like dealing with fools."

Lin Xiaoyue nudged him, "Be serious."

Su Qing’s voice was cold, "At the time of the family division, I didn’t take anything from the Prime Minister Mansion. Now that the Prime Minister Mansion is in trouble, they shouldn’t expect anything from me."

On this point, Lin Xiaoyue had no words.

Seventh Lord’s actions seemed unkind, but in fact, it was a good opportunity to completely sever ties with the Prime Minister Mansion. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲·𝗻𝗲𝘁

"Guess who Little Four has his eye on?" Suddenly, Su Qing turned, a playful smile hinting at the corner of his eyes.

Lin Xiaoyue didn’t immediately understand and asked, "Who does he have his eye on?"

"It’s your classmate who disguised herself to enter the Hongwen Academy, Mrs. Wen."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaoyue slowly recalled.

In fact, she had long realized that Little Four was fond of Wen Wan and had even warned him back then, but later, with so many things happening in her own house, she forgot about it within a few days.

Listening to Su Qing now, Lin Xiaoyue felt as though fate was playing tricks on everyone.

Of all people, Little Four could fancy, it had to be Wen Wan. If she were a girl, it wouldn’t have mattered, but she was married.

Being married wasn’t even the issue. The most crucial thing was that Wen Wan’s husband, Song Wei, had become an adversary of the Su Family because of the coal mine case.

"Seventh Lord, you didn’t let him know about Wen Wan’s identity, did you?" Lin Xiaoyue was somewhat anxious.

The Prime Minister was ruthless in his actions. If he knew his son fancied that woman, he would destroy Wen Wan without considering the consequences.

"No," Su Qing shook his head. "I’m not that foolish."