TSWPF -Chapter 398 Rebels

Li Qingling gently smoothed the frown between Liu Zhimou’s brows, telling him not to rush and to investigate slowly.

Liu Zhimou nodded and asked if she wanted to go to sleep.

Before she could answer, he felt something tugging at his trouser leg.

Lowering his head, he saw Diandian, covered in blood, and asked softly what it wanted.

When he had gone to the backyard earlier, he had seen the little creature strutting proudly around the black-clad men. It had scared him so badly that he thought Diandian was injured. He had grabbed it and checked carefully, only relaxing after finding no wounds.

Who knew that the moment he turned around, the little thing ran off to find Li Qingling.

Li Qingling covered her mouth and laughed, saying Diandian wanted him to help bathe it in hot water with rose petals.

Hearing this, Liu Zhimou’s mouth twitched hard. This little thing really knew how to “enslave” him. Every time it wanted a rose-petal bath, it insisted on him doing it personally. It made him feel both annoyed and amused.

“Let Xichun wash you, okay?” he asked.

Diandian shook its little head firmly. No. It had to be him.

It liked being scrubbed by its male master.

“Diandian was the first to discover the assassins. It’s our family’s great hero. Just treat this as a reward and give it a nice rose-petal bath,” Li Qingling said with a smile, speaking up for Diandian.

Liu Zhimou raised his brows. He hadn’t known that Diandian had been the first to spot the intruders. Since that was the case, it really deserved a proper reward.

He nodded decisively. “Alright. I’ll bathe it properly and scrub it well.”

With so much blood on its fur, it definitely needed a thorough wash.

This little thing was incredibly brave—daring to rush up and fight the black-clad men.

Thinking of this, he bent down and patted Diandian’s head.

“With your tiny body, how did you dare bite the enemy? Luckily you weren’t hurt. Don’t do this again next time, understand?”

When he heard the guards talk about Diandian’s heroic behavior, he had been utterly shocked.

Diandian lifted its little head proudly, saying it wasn’t stupid. It wouldn’t clash head-on recklessly. It had judged the situation before going to help.

At first, when it sensed the enemy’s murderous aura, hadn’t it run back to find its parents for protection?

It might be a little cowardly, but staying alive was more important.

Liu Zhimou didn’t understand its words. He turned to Li Qingling.

“What is it saying?”

Li Qingling held her belly and laughed so hard she nearly doubled over. This little thing was too funny.

Liu Zhimou gently patted her back. “Don’t laugh so hard. Be careful your stomach will hurt.”

After laughing for a long time, she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and translated Diandian’s words for him.

“…”

For a moment, Liu Zhimou didn’t know what to say.

If he said it was brave, it really was brave.

If he said it was cowardly, it really was cowardly too.

Diandian, completely unaware of what they were laughing about, looked at Li Qingling, then at Liu Zhimou, and asked innocently when it could take its bath.

Its whole body smelled of blood, making it uncomfortable. It wanted to get clean as soon as possible.

Just as it finished asking, Xichun returned, followed by two guards carrying hot water.

“Diandian, you can bathe now,” Xichun called out with a smile.

Seeing her, Diandian let out a howl and rushed over. When it noticed Liu Zhimou hadn’t come out yet, it turned back and urged him with soft cries.

Liu Zhimou shook his head with a laugh and told Li Qingling to sit down. If she was tired, she should go to sleep and not wait for him.

Li Qingling followed him out and said she had nothing to do and wanted to watch him bathe Diandian.

With no choice, Liu Zhimou brought out a chair and placed it at the doorway for her.

He took the rose petals from Xichun, put them into Diandian’s tub, prepared the water, and then called Diandian over.

This time, he didn’t let it jump straight in. If it did, the water would be ruined immediately.

He patted the ground in front of him, signaling Diandian to sit there. Diandian obediently complied.

After scooping water to wash the blood from its fur, he lifted it into the tub.

Seeing Diandian’s blissful expression, Xichun covered her mouth and laughed.

Turning to Li Qingling, she said, “Diandian is really bold. It dares to enslave His Lordship. Every time, it insists on him bathing it. It won’t let anyone else do it.”

Li Qingling watched with great interest. She felt that Liu Zhimou would definitely become a good father—a loving one.

“Diandian is such a lovely child—clever and mischievous,” she said.

“Yes,” Xichun nodded in agreement. “I like it very much too.”

After the bath, Diandian refused to return to the backyard and insisted on sticking close to Li Qingling.

Since it was a great contributor, Liu Zhimou endured it.

Li Qingling smiled at him and brought Diandian to the couch to rest.

Diandian stared unblinkingly at her belly, stretched out its paw, gently placed it on her abdomen, and asked when the little master would come out to play with it.

Tilting her head, Li Qingling said, “In another five months, the baby can come out and meet you.”

By then, Diandian would have grown up too.

Five months?

Diandian didn’t know how long that was. It looked at Li Qingling, then at her belly in confusion.

Suddenly, her belly moved.

Startled, Diandian withdrew its paw instantly, jumped up, and stared wide-eyed.

It moved… it moved…

Seeing its reaction, Li Qingling burst out laughing.

“The baby is greeting you. Do you want to say hello again?”

“Aw-woo, aw-woo…” The little master is greeting me?

“Yes. Want to try again?”

After standing there for a while, Diandian carefully walked over and gently placed one paw on her belly again.

Li Qingling lowered her head and spoke softly, “Baby, this is your good friend Diandian. Come, say hello to it.”

As if hearing her, the baby began kicking.

Diandian clearly felt the vibrations again.

This time, it was prepared and didn’t get scared. It let out excited low howls.

It was excited. The baby was excited too, kicking and punching nonstop.

This made Li Qingling suffer, as waves of pain spread across her belly.

But seeing how happy Diandian was, she couldn’t bear to stop it.

After about fifteen minutes, the baby finally calmed down.

Diandian cried out in confusion. Why was there no movement?

It moved its paw around, feeling carefully, but there was still nothing.

“Aw-woo, aw-woo…”

Where’s the little master?

Li Qingling laughed and rubbed its head. “The baby is tired and sleeping. You can greet it again next time.”

Hearing this, Diandian gave up and lowered its paw, then snuggled close to her belly and lay down.

Smiling, Li Qingling half-embraced it and fell asleep.

When Liu Zhimou returned after changing clothes, he saw this warm scene.

He unconsciously lightened his steps, climbed onto the bed gently, and before he could lie down, he met Diandian’s deep gaze.

Raising his brows, he silently mouthed, “Sleep.”

Diandian looked at him once more, then buried its head again.

Liu Zhimou smiled, tucked Li Qingling in, held her, and fell asleep.

When Li Qingling woke up, she stared blankly at the ceiling.

Seeing her awake, Liu Zhimou walked over and bent down to look at her.

Meeting his eyes, she smiled sweetly, wrapped her arms around his neck, and called softly, “Husband…”

His heart softened. He lifted her onto his lap.

“What is it? Hmm?” Every time she just woke up, before fully waking, she was the cutest—and the most coquettish.

Nestled in his arms, she yawned and asked hazily why he was sleeping here.

“Silly girl…” He didn’t answer. He knew she’d remember soon.

After a while, her mind cleared and she recalled what had happened the night before.

She asked if they still planned to return to Niutou Village.

Liu Zhimou nodded.

It was safer there.

She let out a disappointed “Oh,” thinking they might be able to stay after this incident.

Seeing her unhappy, he felt bad too. He held her and rocked her gently.

“I’ll be back to see you very soon. Stay in Niutou Village and don’t worry.”

“Okay. I’ll wait for you.”

He kissed her forehead, helped her put on her shoes, and took her to wash up.

Just as he was about to call Xichun to bring breakfast, Ling Yi arrived.

“My lord, the He, Zhao, Wang, and Lin families have surrounded the magistrate’s residence. They say you are a rebel and that they’re eliminating harm for the people.”

Hearing this, Liu Zhimou sneered.

Those four families had finally revealed their true colors.

“I’ll go meet them,” he said. He boldly guessed that they might be connected to the rebels.

Ling Yi shook his head solemnly. “My lord, you mustn’t go out. Their skills are extraordinary.”

Liu Zhimou’s expression hardened. “What do you mean?”

“Subordinate suspects they are rebels. You can tell they’re well-trained.”

So it was true…

Liu Zhimou’s face darkened. With his hands behind his back, he pondered for a moment.

“Is there a way to send Qingling and the others out?”

“No. The residence is completely surrounded. There’s no way out,” Ling Yi replied. “If we must, I’ll escort Madam and the others out with my life.”

“No rush. Let me think,” Liu Zhimou said, raising his hand to stop him. “Where is Grandmaster?”

“I am here.”

Mr. Luo appeared at the doorway. His usual calm expression was now cold.

“Mo’er, what’s your plan?”

Liu Zhimou explained his thoughts.

After listening, Mr. Luo frowned and suggested sending Li Qingling and the children away first.

They absolutely could not sit and wait for death.