TNIBFT -Chapter 224 Going Big

Protect him?

Ye Tian’s eyes flickered uneasily. Looking at Qin Fengyi’s earnest little face, his heart softened slightly.

“You can come see the children anytime you want from now on!”

Ye Tian said.

Qin Fengyi nodded. “You don’t need to worry about Zhao Boping. I’ll take care of it in advance. And you’ve been taking such good care of the children…”

The two of them looked up at the same time.

Their eyes met.

A spark passed between them.

Their faces both flushed.

A gentle breeze stirred their clothes. At the street corner, the man and woman looked like a pair of talents from a storybook—handsome and beautiful, perfectly matched.

“Hehe…”

Ye Shuangxue’s eyes curved in delight as she watched Ye Tian standing with her mother.

The little girl somehow pulled out a handful of melon seeds and held them out to Ye Yunting.

Ye Yunting looked down at them and sighed, a black line forming on his forehead.

“Am I impressive?”

Ye Shuangxue, spitting out the shells, looked proudly at her big brother. “If I hadn’t pulled them along, who knows when they’d ever be together.”

“Big brother, what method do you think we should use tomorrow to get Ye Tian and Madam Meng together?”

Ye Yunting frowned.

It was time to seriously think about it.

“Big brother, when Xiao Jiang comes back, does that mean we’ll have a mother?”

“Xiao Jiang must be crying with excitement, hahaha…”

“Then Ye Tian will have a wife, and someone can finally scold him properly…”

Ye Shuangxue chattered non-stop.

Meanwhile, Ye Tian and Qin Fengyi were a little nervous.

“I’ll take the children back first,” Ye Tian said, finding an excuse. He reached behind him, but the space was empty—no one there. Ye Tian looked up in disbelief to see his son and daughter sitting about twenty meters away, both grinning mischievously at him.

Ye Tian: …

Qin Fengyi, feeling slightly awkward, said, “Also… thank you for everything over these past few years. I assume you didn’t know the situation of the Ye family back then; if you had, you wouldn’t have stood by idly.”

“Let’s not dwell on the past.”

Ye Tian nodded.

From the moment he learned that Qin Fengyi had been unconscious for five years and had come looking for the children as soon as she woke, all feelings of dissatisfaction in his heart disappeared.

She loved the children.

That was enough.

As a modern man, Ye Tian had some awareness of these things. He admired Qin Fengyi, liked her personality, was captivated by her beauty, and because she was the mother of his children, he also felt a strange mix of emotions toward her.

Could it be called love? Not quite.

After parting, Qin Fengyi stared at Ye Tian’s back for a long while before returning to the inn.

…

“So, where did you two go off to see Madam Meng?”

Ye Tian’s face was serious as he looked at the pair of children in his arms.

Ye Shuangxue said, “Of course, we just went to see her! Madam Meng treats us really well, and she gave me a gift, so I returned the favor with a gift too. Daddy taught us to reciprocate like that.”

Ye Yunting nodded vigorously.

Ye Tian rolled his eyes.

He didn’t ask further and carried both children into the hotpot restaurant.

“Master!”

“The master is back?”

Seeing Ye Tian return, Old Yang and Xiao Wang immediately rushed over. Over the past couple of days, Sifang City’s economy had improved, and the restaurant had started operating. Although there weren’t many customers, it was enough to cover costs.

“Master, Miss Xiao came by just now.”

Seeing Ye Tian carrying the children toward the backyard, Old Yang quickly spoke.

He continued, “She waited a long time, seemed quite anxious, then a few others came saying the city lord was sick and asked Miss Xiao to return home. So she left.”

“Got it!”

Ye Tian nodded.

Then he turned to Duan Qingshan inside the shop: “Old Duan, I have a task for you.”

Duan Qingshan immediately put down the cloth in his hand and followed Ye Tian.

…

Zhao Boping—brother of Consort Zhao.

The greatest traitor in the Daliang court.

The murderer who wiped out his entire family. Just recalling those memories caused unbearable pain—it was both the hatred of this body and his own personal grudge.

The key point was that Zhao Boping didn’t care if he was the original Ye Tian or not.

If Zhao Boping saw him, he would want to root him out completely.

And the safety of the three children would also be threatened.

He absolutely could not sit idly by!

Ye Tian handed the two children to Xiao Wang.

He then led Duan Qingshan into a room.

Inside the room, Duan Qingshan quickly locked the door after entering. He glanced at Ye Tian and cautiously said, “Master, I think this Lord Meng is actually quite good to you and the children.”

If they really tried to kill Meng Yuquan, Duan Qingshan wasn’t confident.

He had no choice but to try another strategy.

Ye Tian was speechless.

Duan Qingshan immediately fell silent.

“Old Duan, do you want to hold office?”

At these words, Duan Qingshan’s eyes widened. He licked his lips, suspecting Ye Tian was testing him.

“Hold office?”

“I’ve hated those damn officials my whole life!”

“I’d rather die than be one!” Duan Qingshan said, sneaking glances at Ye Tian while speaking with such conviction that even he believed it himself.

“Since you don’t want to, call Old Yang over.”

Ye Tian spoke.

Duan Qingshan’s mind went blank. Call Old Yang?

“No, no, Master, can’t you tell me what’s going on first?” he asked, anxious to explain.

“I want to do something big!”

Ye Tian said mysteriously.

Duan Qingshan swallowed and looked around. Big? How big?

“Are you in?” Ye Tian’s voice was enticing. Duan Qingshan hesitated, unable to react immediately, when Ye Tian continued: “When the time comes, I’ll put you in charge of all the troops in Sifang City. How does that sound?”

Duan Qingshan’s eyes widened, his breathing growing rapid.

The Duan family had once been a line of officials.

Duan Qingshan had wanted to continue the family’s glory, but his father offended the treacherous ministers, leaving some of the family dead, some fleeing. If there was truly a chance to serve as an official and restore the family’s honor—even if it meant risking his life—Duan Qingshan would take it!

Put in charge of all the troops in Sifang City?

Ye Tian was planning a rebellion!

Duan Qingshan snapped back to reality and sized Ye Tian up. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust him—he calmed himself and said helplessly: “Master, this is a capital crime. You can rebel, but you need strong troops. Look at your subordinates—besides me and Old Yang, it’s just a bunch of weaklings. They’re useless.”

Saying that, Duan Qingshan sat down in the chair next to Ye Tian.

“I’m not asking you to rebel!”

Ye Tian was speechless, continuing: “I’m putting you in charge of Sifang City’s garrison troops. You’ll become the next Ironclad Grand General.”

Really?

Duan Qingshan craned his neck. The city lord is still here—would he agree?

Ye Tian continued: “Xiao Haoyang returned to the city, embezzled garrison funds, and with Ji Zhengping dead, the leadership is gone, morale is scattered. If we offer a high price, I don’t believe these garrison troops will still obey Xiao Haoyang.”

“Money—we have endless money. Paying the garrison is more than enough. Once we truly take Sifang City, who’s afraid of running out of silver?”

Duan Qingshan’s eyes lit up.

Ye Tian continued: “We aren’t rebelling, but from now on, Sifang City must obey us!”

Seeing the fire of war in Ye Tian’s eyes, Duan Qingshan felt his blood boil. He gritted his teeth and said, “Let’s do it!”