Remarrying Chun Yuan

Chapter 376 Change

Consort Yu was very unwilling.

But she also understood that Jiang Jiuwei's words made a lot of sense.

Everyone in the palace was busy devising ways to deal with Emperor Qi Xiao's intentions, while Liu Yuechu and Yuan Cuo were also pondering the matter.

Instead of figuring out how to please Emperor Qi Xiao, they were figuring out how to prevent the palace from becoming too clingy.

"I only wanted to have a family banquet to celebrate the baby's one-month birthday, but they insisted on taking it to the palace." Liu Yuechu complained, pouting, "Why is it that the higher the rank, the less control one has over one's own affairs?"

“If you don’t want to, we won’t go. The palace can’t just come to our house to snatch you away,” Yuan Cuo said casually.

He followed the custom that fathers don't hold their sons, and instead held his daughter in his arms. Her adorable little face was sleeping soundly. In fact, she wouldn't sleep peacefully unless he was holding her.

This saved the wet nurse a lot of effort, as she only needed to take care of a young master.

"Can I not go? They've already sent my father to the palace to become a Taoist priest." Liu Yuechu really felt that her father was just a nuisance.

They either leave home and never come back, or when they do, they walk right into a trap and become a tool in someone's hands.

After Yuan Cuo rejected the Empress and refused to rejoin the royal family, Emperor Qi Xiao built a Taoist temple next to the Imperial Observatory and specially invited Liu Zhong to the temple.

He said they were old friends of many years, and could discuss classics together. He also hoped that the painting master would create more masterpieces to leave for the Great Qi.

Liu Zhong had no choice but to go, since it was His Majesty's will.

Before leaving, he specifically sought out Liu Yuechu, Liu Musheng, and the other two children for a private chat, instructing Liu Yuechu not to consider his presence in any of her actions, and to treat him as if he were dead.

But he is alive after all.

It's impossible for Liu Yuechu and Liu Musheng to be without any worries.

After he left, the four siblings tacitly stopped mentioning the word "father." After all, their father's great image had been completely shattered by his troublesome behavior.

The Liu family still prioritizes Liu Yuechu, with Liu Musheng as a secondary figure, and lives a down-to-earth life.

Now that Yuan Cuo has become the Duke of Baoguo, the palace has been urging them to move out. They can't very well have the Duke of Baoguo still living in his wife's house; when will they ever be able to shake off the label of "son-in-law who lives with his wife's family"?

"It's alright. Even if you don't go, His Majesty can't possibly silence your father-in-law." Yuan Cuo coaxed his daughter to sleep and then quietly handed her over to the wet nurse.

He wanted to hold Liu Yuechu a little longer. Even though she was still in confinement and they couldn't have marital relations, he still preferred to hold her.

Liu Yuechu nestled happily into Yuan Cuo's arms, longing to lean on him for a moment.

Unfortunately, the moment his forehead touched his shoulder, his son started crying.

When he cried, his daughter, who had just fallen asleep, also started to cry.

The two little ones were coaxed and entertained by everyone, and by the end, they had no interest in anything else.

"Was it born a little too early? Why is the baby so noisy!" Liu Yuechu said angrily.

Yuan Cuo rubbed his arms; after hugging his daughter and then his wife, his arms were indeed a little sore.

"It's alright. Let the wet nurse carry them a little further away. When we move to the Duke's mansion, there will be many courtyards. We'll give each of them a courtyard."

He originally had no intention of moving, but now he is indeed considering it.

"Are you really going to move out?" Liu Yuechu noticed his intention. "Actually, it's only right that you move out, after all, you're a Duke now, not a son-in-law of the Liu family anymore." She teased him with a smile.

Although I knew he was granted the title of Duke of Baoguo in my previous life, it was only a title, and he had already passed away.

In this life, the title of Duke was hard-won and quite bizarre.

But those three words made Liu Yuechu feel particularly at ease, and she liked them very much.

Yuan Cuo leaned closer to her and said, "We don't necessarily have to move. We can live in both places. If someone comes looking for us over there, we can have the gatekeeper say that we've returned to the Liu family. If someone comes looking for us at the Liu family, we can say that we're at the Duke's Mansion here."

"I won't see anyone I don't want to see."

Liu Yuechu couldn't help but chuckle, "You're quite cunning."

"I am also unwilling, it is really too tiring." These days, Yuan Cuo not only has to represent the Court of State Ceremonial and the State of Yan to negotiate an alliance with the State of Meng, but also has to discuss the smelting and progress of the Huaizhou mine with the Ministry of War, including how the Ministry of Revenue should allocate its expenditures.

The officials of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, having nothing to do, were desperately hoping that Yuan Cuo could find a place to stay.

Therefore, every morning, he doesn't even need to go out; he's already overwhelmed with visitors. But despite all this busyness, he longs to stay home and hug his children and wife.

Liu Yuechu held him in her arms, feeling a deep tenderness for him. The two of them nestled together like that, dozing off for a moment.

When Liu Yuechu woke up, Yuan Cuo had already been summoned away. Granny Fang brought the Ministry of Rites' list, saying, "This is the arrangement for the full moon celebration. Her Majesty the Empress hasn't seen it. If you have any opinions, just tell them directly, and we will do it completely according to our wishes."

"Her Majesty the Empress must have already seen it. Let's do it this way. Is there anything else to change?" Liu Yuechu didn't want to look at it at all; it would strain her eyes. Besides, she was well aware of the Empress's attentiveness to the Liu family.

"Your status is different now, so you should adapt to it sooner rather than later," Granny Fang reminded her.

Liu Yuechu was indeed not used to it.

She is currently in postpartum confinement at home, but even though she cannot leave this small area, she has noticed that everything is changing subtly.

For example, many officials' wives came to visit;

He spoke to her in a more amiable manner;

They used to look down on merchants, but now they're praising them to the skies...

Some even brought their daughters, not daring to introduce them to Yuan Cuo as concubines, but they still set their sights on the Liu family.

Liu Musheng was already engaged and was only waiting for Huang Wanwan; he couldn't possibly take a concubine before then. So the ladies set their sights on Liu Muchi and Liu Yuechan.

Liu Yuechan is young, which is an excellent excuse.

But Liu Muchi was of marriageable age, and he was constantly being pressured to find a wife for him. This frightened him so much that he dared not ride in the Liu family's carriage when he went out. Instead, he would sneak away in a small sedan chair, acting suspiciously all day long, like a thief.

All of this stemmed from Yuan Cuo's changed identity.

The only thing that hasn't changed is Lin Mengyu, her silly and carefree best friend. Even Huang Wanwan now thinks twice before speaking to her, unlike before when she was so unrestrained.

"It's true what they say, when one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. Our ugly dog ​​goes out for a stroll and people praise it as the celestial hound descended from heaven."

Upon hearing this, Granny Fang and Huajiao couldn't help but laugh.

Summer Solstice and Grain Rain also secretly chuckled.

"What are you three so happy about? Why don't you take advantage of our family's popularity and marry into a good family?" Liu Yuechu pointed to the key to the large storeroom. "Our family has received so many gifts that the storeroom is almost overflowing. I can give you more dowry."

She made casual jokes.

The three girls blushed.

"How can you tease your servants like that, Master? I'm not getting married anyway, so I don't know about Miss Guyu," Huajiao said directly.

Gu Yu blushed, realizing her secret had been exposed.

She mustered her courage and actually knelt down before Liu Yuechu, saying, "This servant begs Your Majesty to grant my wish..."