Chapter 118 [Xue Taifu's Side Story] end "Give me a little lawsuit..."

Chapter 20 [Xue Taifu's Side Story] end "Give me a little complaint..."

Xue Zi was pregnant for ten months and finally gave birth to a boy safely. Strangely enough, according to the saying that sour foods indicate a boy and spicy foods indicate a girl, she clearly did not like to eat sour foods during her pregnancy, but the opposite happened.

Su Yawan did not hide the existence of her husband and son from outsiders, only saying that it was an arranged marriage when she was young, and that she only fulfilled the marriage contract after she settled down.

She gave birth to a son quietly, and refused to let anyone see her husband, which aroused the curiosity of many people. You see, ever since Su Yawan became the top scholar in the imperial examination, many noble families and high-ranking officials wanted to marry their sons to her, including some who were exceptionally beautiful, but Su Yawan remained unmoved.

What kind of arranged marriage was this that made her so persistent and attached to it?

Su Yawan no longer had the opportunity to spy on her husband. She requested the Emperor to send her away for three years to personally experience the hardships of ordinary people, so that she could better assist the Crown Princess in the future.

Three years is enough time for Lady Xue to completely disappear from people's memories, and she can take good care of her husband and son.

After hesitating for a moment, the Empress agreed to Su Yawan's request. It just so happened that Yu was short of a garrison officer, which was an excellent opportunity to train someone. So she assigned Su Yawan to Yu. Three years was neither a long nor a short time, but still within an acceptable range. She did not want to lose Su Yawan, a key minister.

All of the Su family's money was in Xue Zi's hands. After giving birth and recuperating for two months, he followed Su Yawan to Yudi.

In Yu, he bought a large house with his own money and moved in with his grandfather and Su Yawan. In fact, he did not say that he had countless assets in Yu, and they were all unknown to others. Even he sometimes almost forgot about it. After all, the money left to him by his parents, plus what he had accumulated over the years, was a considerable sum.

Now that he's here, the title of the richest man in Yu County is likely to fall to him.

The top scholar in the imperial examination, a trusted confidant of the emperor, came to Yu to serve as an official. In addition, Yu was the fiefdom of Xue Taifu, and there were many of his people there. The people of Yu were very welcoming of Su Yawan's arrival.

Sui Sui looked very much like Xue Zi, except that her ears were exactly the same as Su Yawan's. She was a fair-skinned and tender little baby with a very quiet and obedient personality. She was very lovable. Grandpa Su often took her out to bask in the sun. The little baby would stay by Grandpa Su's side with her round eyes open, without crying or making a fuss.

Xue Zi would also play with Sui Sui. Sui Sui was changing every day and growing up very fast. Once his clothes were worn out, he could no longer wear them and had to buy new ones. Looking at his son's smiling face and listening to his infectious laughter, Xue Zi couldn't help but smile, and his eyes flashed with affection.

Sui Sui has started teething and is still babbling. She opens her arms wide for him to hold her and is very clingy.

"Father...Father..." Sui Sui mumbled incoherently.

Xue Zi didn't want to spoil him so much. No child needs to be carried all the time; his arms would get tired. But when he saw Sui Sui's adorable appearance, his heart softened, and he agreed, "Okay, Daddy will carry you."

Holding her father in his arms, Sui Sui was finally content and fell asleep in his warm embrace, even snoring sweetly.

Xue Zi never imagined he would live such a life. He had a child with blood ties to him, family and relatives, and experienced the warmth of home. He felt that the blood flowing through his body had become more humane.

The people of Yu are simple and honest, and the officials are not like those in the imperial court who scheme against each other. They genuinely care about the people's livelihood. Their families are also straightforward and without any ulterior motives. Because the official was loved by his wife, they were very friendly to Xue Zi and took the initiative to bring him into the circle of officials' families.

The official's husband was an unparalleled beauty, with a delicate and graceful figure, like a fairy who had stepped out of a painting, untouched by the mundane world. Such beauty made everyone feel ashamed of themselves.

Everyone has a love for beauty.

Xue Zi easily established good relationships with the families of officials in Yu County. However, he rarely appeared in public, partly because he disliked going out and partly to avoid being recognized. Although no one dared to directly say that he was the deceased Grand Tutor Xue, he did not want to hear such rumors at all.

Just as Sui Sui turned one year old, Xue Zi became pregnant again.

After the death of Lady Xue, Ji Weinian, due to old age, requested to leave the palace to retire and went to the clinic opened by her apprentice. Occasionally, she would treat some difficult and complicated diseases, and her days were quite leisurely.

Meanwhile, Physician Jiang also left the palace, saying she was going back to the border, but in reality she also came to Yu. She was the one who took care of Xue Zi's second child.

At Sui Sui's first birthday party, the little guy, still a bit unsteady on his feet, half-walked, half-crawled towards the writing implements, pointing at them and babbling to his mother and father, "I want...I want..."

Seeing that her son liked these things, Su Yawan smiled and asked, "Does Sui Sui perhaps want to be a top male scholar in the future?"

"The top scholar has fathered a son who is also a top scholar. Young Master Su's future is limitless."

"Congratulations, Lord Su! Congratulations!"

"The young master is so clever and quick-witted, congratulations Lord Su, Master Su!"

The guests present offered their congratulations.

Fengman respects women and has never produced a male scholar who has achieved the highest rank in the imperial examinations. This was mostly said in jest, but Su Yawan found it very pleasing. Even if her son could not become an official in the future, he would surely be a well-read and learned young man.

She hugged her newly pregnant husband and teased, "Azi, thank you for your hard work. I hope you'll give birth to a little scholar for me."

"You're already pregnant, so why shouldn't I give birth to your baby? Honestly." Xue Zi acted a little sulky and pinched Su Yawan. He had finally managed to raise Sui Sui to a certain age, and now another little one was going to be born. If the two little ones started acting up together, how could he possibly handle it?

Sui Sui has only just turned one year old, but you can already see that she will grow up to be upright. The guests present are all high-ranking officials from Yu, and some people inevitably have other thoughts.

If the biological father is so handsome, the son he has is bound to be good-looking. Moreover, Su Yawan comes from a poor family and has worked her way up to where she is today. She is not the kind of person who would climb the social ladder by currying favor with the powerful. She is a very upright person. If you can marry a daughter-in-law with such a background, that would be a blessing.

Su Yawan had already made plans. Although she was not in a hurry to arrange a marriage for her son, Xue Zi had already found someone she liked.

The Cui family of Yu is a branch of the Cui family of Qinghe. Although she is only a deputy official now, the Emperor has long intended to promote her, which should be within the next few years. Moreover, the Cui family has very strict family rules and does not allow the women in the family to take concubines. The eldest daughter of the Cui family is five years old this year and can already recite the Four Books and Five Classics fluently. She looks like she is destined for studying.

Xue Zi had met Miss Cui before. Despite her young age, she was very composed and had a prudent nature. According to him, it would be better to exchange tokens to make a preliminary agreement first, and then ask both sides for their opinions after the two children come of age. If they think it is feasible, then they can proceed with the marriage. If they are not happy, or if Miss Cui has someone else in her heart, then the marriage can be called off.

Suyavan also thought it was a good idea.

When the deputy garrison commander heard Su Yawan bring up the matter, he immediately agreed. At that time, Cui Shao was standing next to his mother. When he heard that he had been betrothed as a child, he did not show any excitement or curiosity.

"Is she going to marry that handsome young master from the official's family?" That was Cui Shao's first thought.

I heard that the young master is extremely spoiled and is the most pampered in the family. He doesn't even want to walk more than a few steps and insists on being carried. What will happen if he is asked to do such work in the future?

Cui Shao silently considered this matter in his heart; it wasn't entirely impossible...

At worst, she can practice martial arts in her spare time.

Cui Shaosheng was very handsome, and his eyes were full of light, which pleased Su Yawan.

After the two families exchanged jade pendants, Cui Shao studied even harder because her mother said that if she was a good-for-nothing, Lord Su would definitely not marry his son to her in the future and would look for someone else.

When she accompanied her father to the Su family to congratulate the head of the Su family on his pregnancy, she saw her future husband.

Sitting in her cradle, Sui Sui saw Cui Shao and opened her arms, saying in a childish voice, "Sister, hug me—"

Xue Zi smiled and said to Cui Shao, "Sui Sui likes you."

Cui Shao tried to hug him, and he wasn't as heavy as she had imagined. He also had a sweet milky smell. He couldn't speak properly yet, but he playfully tugged at her hair and laughed heartily.

Cui Shao had a very good temper and showed no impatience whatsoever.

Sui Sui gave Cui Shao a final kiss on the cheek, saying, "Sister is beautiful!"

Xue Zi quickly picked up Sui Sui and scolded him, "You naughty child, you even messed up Miss Cui's hair."

"Lord Su, it's alright." Cui Shao tidied his hair and said without any sign of unease.

Sui Sui nestled in Xue Zi's arms, pouting as if to show he knew he was wrong. The next second, he leaned on his father's shoulder, looking at Cui Shao with curiosity, as if trying to remember what she looked like.

Cui Shao's mind was filled with thoughts of how beautiful the little baby was, and how he wished he could take him home right now.

The following spring, Xue Zi gave birth to a daughter, whom she named Su Niannian.

Grandfather Su was particularly pleased with Xue Zi, who had given birth to a daughter and a son. He said that his granddaughter had been very lucky, and he felt that he could live for another twenty years until his grandson got married and his granddaughter got married.

On her first birthday, Su Yawan received an imperial decree from the Emperor summoning her back to the capital.

Three years have passed in the blink of an eye. Now, no official in the court dares to disobey the emperor's wishes. The young emperor has grown into a ruthless and decisive ruler, surpassing even his predecessor in political achievements.

Now that Xue Zi has returned, he is no longer afraid of his identity being exposed. Even if his old friends see his face, they can only think that he looks like Xue Taifu. Anyone who dares to mention the name Xue Taifu in front of the Emperor will be the first to lose their head, so no one will be so foolish as to ask for trouble.

On the day the Su family left Yu, Cui Shao came with his mother to see them off.

Even if she is precocious, she is still a child after all. She doesn't understand why the Su family suddenly left. Does that mean she will never see Sui Sui again?

As she watched the Su family's carriage slowly drive out of Yu, she looked up and asked her mother, "Mother, what kind of place is the capital?"

Her mother patted her head. "The capital is more prosperous than Yu, but it is also a cruel place. The people there are not like those in Yu. If you are not careful, you will cause trouble. You will know this when you go and see for yourself in the future."

Cui Shao nodded as if she understood, but no matter how cruel and dangerous the capital was, she was determined to go there in the future.

She wanted to visit Sui Sui, and when she achieved success, she would present him with a token of her love to propose marriage.

"In the twenty-first year of the Great Edict, the Emperor personally selected Cui Shao, the daughter of the Cui family of Qinghe, as the top scholar. Cui Shao achieved the highest honors in all three categories, becoming only the second person in a hundred years to do so. The Emperor bestowed a marriage upon her to the eldest son of Prime Minister Su. The two were married the following year. They were deeply in love and grew old together, becoming a beautiful story in their time."