Chapter 237: The Emperor’s Arrival

Chapter 237 The Emperor's Arrival

In the golden autumn of August, osmanthus flowers filled the air with fragrance, and lush trees turned golden as the crops in the fields ripened in waves.

This was the sixth harvest season Qiu Huanian had experienced since arriving in this world.

Though he no longer tilled the fields himself, he still took his family to the estates near Tianjin Prefecture in his spare time to experience the harvest.

Gu Gu and Yang Yang each held one of Du Yunse's hands as they stood on the field ridge, curiously observing the golden wheat.

The plump wheat heads were covered in sharp awns. Uncle Mumian, worried they might hurt the little ones, wanted to call them back, but Qiu Huanian gestured it was fine.

"Do you know what this is?" Qiu Huanian crouched beside them.

Yang Yang shook his head, while Gu Gu reached out to grab a wheat ear. Cleverly avoiding the awns, he tugged the stalk below, pulling the wheat head nearly his own height closer.

"This is wheat, a type of grain. After harvesting, it's threshed and ground, and the husks are sifted out to make the flour we use daily."

"Your cookies and cakes, and the noodles and dumplings the grown-ups eat—they're all made mainly from this."

Gu Gu scrunched his brow, staring at the wheat head in his hand as he tried to imagine how it transformed into his favorite cookies.

Yang Yang clapped his hands and giggled. "It's Brother!"

Since wheat was a type of grain, and his brother's name was Gu Gu (meaning "grain"), then wheat must be his brother.

Gu Gu, dissatisfied with Yang Yang's logic, protested to his brother. With their limited vocabulary, their debate soon devolved into gibberish only they understood—straying entirely from the Chinese language system—only the two of them could understand it.

Qiu Huanian and Du Yunse let the children chatter without interrupting.

As they grew older and learned to walk, run, and talk, Gu Gu and Yang Yang's personalities became more distinct. Though twins, their temperaments were complete opposites.

Gu Gu was serious and responsible. Aside from looking after his brother, he also kept an eye on the rest of the family—like whether his father had visited them one less time that day or if Du Yunse had gotten distracted during playtime.

Once, while Qiu Huanian was holding Gu Gu, the little boy leaned in and whispered solemnly in his ear: "Uncle Chun Sheng ate two extra bowls of ice this afternoon. I told you because I don’t want his tummy to hurt, but don’t punish him."

Amused, Qiu Huanian pinched the little worrier’s ear and called Chun Sheng over to recount the incident on the spot.

Chun Sheng, embarrassed to be called out by his toddler nephew, stammered out a promise and never overindulged in icy treats again.

Yang Yang, however, was Gu Gu's complete opposite. The little slacker remained just as carefree as he grew older—and mischievous, too, fond of jokes and pranks.

Limited by age, he couldn’t yet "torment" others much, so his twin brother became his primary victim.

When Gu Gu was pranked by Yang Yang, he never got angry. Instead, he’d pull Yang Yang aside and give him a talking-to, mixing comprehensible and incomprehensible words until Yang Yang was cross-eyed.

Once, after witnessing this, Qiu Huanian rubbed his chin and mused, "Who does Yang Yang take after in this regard?"

Su Xinbai, who had brought Little Raccoon for a visit, shot him a knowing look.

Qiu Huanian cleared his throat and deflected, "I’m not entirely like that! I just think it’s fun to—ahem!"

In short, Father Qiu Huanian played dumb about Yang Yang’s mischievous streak. But everyone could see—no matter how firmly he denied it, there was no hiding who Yang Yang had inherited his playful nature from.

—While he didn't inherit the workaholic streak, he did pick up the mischievous streak; it was hard to say whether Yang Yang’s selective personality inheritance was a good thing or not.

While the nursemaid and Uncle Mumian supervised the children during their familiar "talking-to" session on the ridge, Du Yunse pulled Qiu Huanian up, and the two slowly walked deeper into the golden sea of wheat.

"The opening ceremony for Tianjin Prefecture’s new academy is the day after tomorrow. How’s your speech coming along, hm?" Qiu Huanian asked the newly appointed 'honorary principal.'

Although the academies and schools of the Yu Dynasty also held ceremonies to honor the sages and ancestors at the start of term, there was no tradition of speeches. The new school, however, was starting fresh in every way, and Qiu Huanian introduced both speeches and student assemblies. After all, what's one more rule to break?

The inaugural opening ceremony of the new school held extraordinary significance, and Qiu Huanian took this speech very seriously. Not only did he commission a new set of refined scholar’s robes for Wen Huiyang and Du Yunse, but he also planned to engrave the speech on stone tablets to preserve it for posterity.

Ideally, it would become as unforgettable to future students as "In the spring of the fourth year of Qingli..." *(A famous literary reference that has since become part of Chinese cultural DNA).*

Du Yunse watched as Brother Hua chuckled to himself, his gaze softening. "Brother Hua, if you’d let me try on fewer outfits, I could’ve finished writing it much sooner."

"That won’t do," Qiu Huanian shot back. "Besides the new students, there will be a crowd of officials and scholars attending the ceremony. You are the *face of the new school*—everything about you must be flawless."

"The foreign jade we gave to the craftsmen last month will be ready tomorrow. Wear the new pendant then, and we’ll need a new tassel—ah, and a belt in a more matching color too."

Du Yunse wisely refrained from asking what "face of the new school" meant. Based on context and his understanding of Qiu Huanian, he could guess well enough.

In short, it meant he was good-looking—after six years together, his husband still found his appearance utterly captivating, which filled Du Yunse with that fleeting, silly happiness.

Without warning, Du Yunse leaned down and brushed a kiss against the corner of Qiu Huanian’s lips, light as a butterfly's wing.

Qiu Huanian’s eyes widened, and the next second, his entire body stiffened. In broad daylight, with the children and family nearby, my husband's boldness was growing by the day!

Qiu Huanian quickly glanced around—thankfully, no one was looking their way. The crisp autumn breeze stirred waves of golden wheat, the scent of ripening grain filling the air in a wordless celebration, pounding against his heart like thunder.

He couldn’t stay in the field any longer and turned to leave, trailing him with an amused huff.

Back at the estate... The day was bright and clear, with Wei Li, Granny Wei, Bing Qi, and Bing Ba all present. Little Qingmei, now six months old, had also been brought out to play.

Ever since she could prop herself up and sit steadily, Qingmei had disliked being carried by adults—her independence was almost heartbreaking.

Bing Qi and Bing Ba doted on her as if she were treasured like jade. Following Qiu Huanian’s design, they had personally crafted a four-wheeled baby carriage for her, complete with a canopy for shade and rain. With a simple adjustment, it could serve as both a seat and a bed, allowing Qingmei to go outside often.

Mei Wangshu secretly visited the governor's mansion every night to see Qingmei. Though their time together was limited, Qingmei seemed to already recognize her birth father. Each time Mei Wangshu appeared, she would reach up for him—a privilege granted to no one else.

Qiu Huanian crouched beside Qingmei’s carriage, teasing his little cousin. Qingmei was the toughest crowd he'd ever played to. Yun Cheng’s little A’Gao, around the same age, would giggle at anything, but with Qingmei, getting one laugh out of ten attempts was already an achievement.

If a child inherited their parents’ temperaments, then considering her two fathers’ personalities, Qingmei’s behavior made perfect sense.

Just as Qiu Huanian tirelessly shook a tiny bell in front of Qingmei, Quan Yu suddenly came rushing from the direction of the estate gate, tripping over his own feet in his haste, as though a second’s delay would spell disaster.

"What’s wrong?" Du Yunse asked sternly.

Noticing the urgency, Qiu Huanian stood and turned. Quan Yu gasped for breath before exclaiming, "Master, County Lord! Th-the Emperor is here!"

The atmosphere in the estate instantly grew tense. Bing Qi, Bing Ba, and Wei Li all knew some of the secrets surrounding the imperial family. The sudden arrival of the distant, untouchable Son of Heaven, even without knowing the reason, sent their hearts into their throats.

Du Yunse and Qiu Huanian immediately looked at each other. After a silent exchange, Du Yunse said, "Catch your breath and speak slowly. No need to panic."

Quan Yu took several deep breaths before quickly explaining, "Just now, the Emperor’s personal guards arrived with a token, saying His Majesty was visiting Tianjin incognito. Upon hearing that the master’s family was at the estate, he decided to make a detour here."

"He’ll be arriving—any moment now."

Du Yunse and Qiu Huanian looked into the distance and saw a mounted procession of tall steeds emerging on the main road leading to the estate. The imperial yellow standards stood out starkly under the sunlight.