TSWPF -Chapter 237 Prevention

Steward’s thoughts swirled, yet his face still carried a proper smile. He walked over to Mr. Luo and respectfully said, “Sir, the meal is ready. When shall we begin?”

Mr. Luo didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he looked at Liu Zhimou and the others and asked if they were hungry—if they wanted to eat.

Since the food was ready, Liu Zhimou couldn’t say he wasn’t hungry.

He smiled at Mr. Luo and said, “Actually… I am a little hungry.”

With a wave of his hand, Mr. Luo said, “Let’s eat.”

Holding Liu Zhirou’s hand in one hand and Li Qingning’s in the other, he led Liu Zhimou and the others toward the flower hall.

Along the way, Mr. Luo listened to Li Qingning chatter endlessly, and the smile in his eyes never faded.

After listening to Li Qingning, his gaze shifted to Liu Zhirou, who hardly spoke. He gently asked why she wasn’t saying anything.

Liu Zhirou looked up and smiled faintly at Mr. Luo. “Grandpa Luo, it’s enough just to listen to you.”

As soon as she said that, Li Qingning jumped in. “Rou Rou doesn’t really like to talk. If you give her a book, she could spend the whole day without saying a word.” She shook her head dramatically and sighed, “If I didn’t occasionally drag her out to play, she’d just stay home being a bookworm. I really don’t understand what’s so fun about books. Every time I see all those tadpoles in the text, my head spins.”

Hearing Li Qingning’s little adult-like complaint, Liu Zhirou smiled and teased her. “Your sister said, if you don’t finish embroidering the handkerchief to show her in these ten days, you won’t be going out to play.” She paused, then added, “Have you finished writing the five big characters Big Brother assigned you?”

“Shh shh…” Li Qingning’s eyes went wide, and she quickly shushed Liu Zhirou, glancing back to see if her brother-in-law had heard. “Rou Rou, please spare me! I’ll write them as soon as we get home, I promise! Don’t let Brother-in-law know, okay?” If he found out she hadn’t finished her five characters, she’d be in big trouble.

Although her brother-in-law doted on her, when it came to studying and writing, he wouldn’t go easy—punishment would come if deserved.

Liu Zhirou’s smile deepened. “This won’t happen again,” she said.

Li Qingning nodded furiously, promising she would complete it on time next time.

Seeing Li Qingning so scared, Mr. Luo laughed again. “Xiao Ning’er, are you really that afraid of your brother-in-law?”

Hearing Mr. Luo, Liu Zhimou laughed and asked, “Were you two saying bad things about me earlier?”

“No, no, we could never speak ill of Brother-in-law,” Li Qingning instinctively shook her head and smiled sweetly at Liu Zhimou. “I was telling Grandpa Luo that Brother-in-law, you are the best person in the world.”

“Really?”

“Yes, yes, yes. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Grandpa Luo.” Li Qingning winked at Mr. Luo, signaling him not to give her away. “Grandpa Luo, right?”

Mr. Luo was again amused by Li Qingning’s clever little act. He nodded in agreement.

Li Qingning secretly exhaled in relief—crisis averted.

The steward, listening to Mr. Luo’s laughter all along the way, felt a shiver. He had served Mr. Luo for decades and had never seen him so genuinely joyful. Clearly, Mr. Luo truly liked these children.

When they reached the flower hall, the steward had the food set out. Mr. Luo invited Liu Zhimou and the others to eat freely, as if they were at home.

After the meal, they accompanied Mr. Luo for a walk before returning home by carriage.

Once home, they saw the old man’s long-suffering expression.

“You finally decided to come back? Seeing you so happy, I guess you’ve forgotten all about poor old me?” he sighed. “I’m so pitiful… nobody to eat with me.”

Dahe: “….” (Isn’t he a person?) He looked at the old man and silently swallowed the words he wanted to say—best not to disturb the old man’s performance.

“Grandpa, I missed you. As soon as we left the doorstep, I started thinking of you.” Li Qingning, the best at coaxing people, ran to the old man and climbed onto his lap. “I wanted to come back and eat with you, but Grandpa Luo was so enthusiastic, he insisted I stay for the meal. To not hurt Grandpa Luo, I reluctantly agreed.”

At this moment, nothing else mattered—making Grandpa happy was the priority.

Once Grandpa was pleased, he’d allow them to go play at the manor.

Liu Zhimou and the others stayed silent, letting Li Qingning take the lead.

“Oh? Really?”

“Yes! Next time, no matter what, I’ll come back to eat with you, Grandpa. Don’t be sad, okay?” Li Qingning patted his shoulder comfortingly.

The old man rubbed her head, finally smiling. “Alright, I’ll listen to Ning Ning.”

Seeing the old man smile, Li Qingning continued to amuse him.

After making him laugh heartily, she revealed her true intention.

“Grandpa, tomorrow we’re going to the manor with Grandpa Luo. Do you want to come? It’ll be fun! I’ll catch and roast fish for you.”

“….” The old man’s laughter stopped abruptly, eyes wide—so this little girl’s plan was waiting for him all along!

“What manor? How many days? When will you be back? Is it far? Is it safe?”

He asked so many questions at once that Li Qingning nearly couldn’t answer.

She dared not answer directly, glancing at him. “Grandpa, aren’t you coming with us?” If he went along, all these questions would be irrelevant.

The old man shook his head regretfully. He couldn’t go; he had to report to the Imperial Medical Office daily.

Sigh… he wanted to go with these kids, but alas…

“Oh… what a pity,” Li Qingning sighed, patting his shoulder. “It’s okay. Next time we’ll take you along, alright?”

“Next time. So, how long will you be gone this time?”

Seeing the old man’s serious expression, Li Qingning swallowed nervously and turned to Li Qingling for help.

Li Qingling pretended not to see her plea, sipping her tea slowly.

“…” Naughty sister! Li Qingning turned to Liu Zhimou but found he also ignored her, focusing on reviewing Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan’s homework.

Li Qingning realized she was now alone facing Grandpa’s questioning.

Her eyes darted, and she cheekily said, “Well… I’m not entirely sure. Sister and brother-in-law know best. Grandpa, I’m tired; I’ll go to my room to bathe and sleep.”

With that, she slid off his lap and ran away.

“….” Li Qingling’s hand froze mid-tea, secretly cursing Li Qingning. She looked up at the old man. “Zhimou knows best; you should ask him. I’m tired, going to rest.”

Li Qingling set down her cup and quickly left.

Li Qingfeng, Liu Zhiyan, Dahe, and Liu Zhirou all found excuses to leave. In an instant, only Liu Zhimou and the old man remained.

Liu Zhimou and the old man exchanged a glance. Calmly, he picked up his tea, took a sip, and slowly said, “This was proposed by Master Gong. We can’t oppose it, so we have no choice but to follow.” Those little rascals who abandoned him—just wait…

The fleeing children shivered at once, sensing something ominous.

“How many days?”

“Five days…”

“What? How many days?”

Prepared to dash at any moment, Liu Zhimou explained, “Five days. Round trip takes two days, so we’ll have three days of play. Originally, Teacher planned for half a month, but we persuaded him down to five days. Grandpa, if you have objections, discuss it with Teacher yourself! We leave early tomorrow; I need to pack, and you should rest early too.”

No sooner had he finished than he dashed out the door, before the old man could react.

“You brat!” The old man banged the table in frustration. The thought of not seeing Ning Ning and Rou Rou for five days upset him.

And the fact he couldn’t go himself made it worse.

The next day, when Mr. Luo came to fetch Liu Zhimou and the others, the old man pulled a long face and huffed at him.

Seeing this, Mr. Luo smiled. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re old, your health isn’t good, and you’re traveling so far. What if something happens?”

“I feel that at our age, if we don’t go out, we’ll never get the chance. Aren’t you going, Physician Xue?”

Mentioning this, the old man’s expression soured even further. “The Emperor won’t give me leave. How can I go?” He truly had a life of toil.

No wonder his face was so full of grievance. Mr. Luo suppressed a laugh, saying with regret, “Then it’ll have to be next time.”

The old man huffed again. “Old Luo, you take them. Rou Rou and Ning Ning are too young; they won’t go.” He didn’t care about the others, just these two little girls.

“That won’t do,” Mr. Luo said firmly. “I must treat everyone fairly. No favoritism.” How could he leave his little darlings behind?

Before the old man could protest, Li Qingning’s joyful voice rang out.

“Grandpa Luo, you’re here! We’re ready to go.”

Seeing her smiling face, the old man swallowed his words.

Fine—if the kids are happy, that’s enough.

Mr. Luo glanced at the old man, patted his shoulder, and said with a smile, “We can depart anytime.”

After greeting the old man and receiving his instructions, Li Qingning and the others got into the carriage.

But little did they expect, as soon as they reached the city gate, trouble awaited.