After going through all the formalities, Murong Xu and Ling Hao had already spent quite a bit of time.
They found a place to rest and settled their luggage.
Guan Shan Residence had many children, and it wasn’t unusual for visitors to come for family visits.
However, this was the first time Murong Xu and Ling Hao had been allowed inside.
They found the place intriguing.
Murong Xu didn’t immediately search for the little one. Instead, he first went out and bought a bunch of things, intending to prepare gifts for the child.
In addition to this, he also prepared some valuable presents to give to the Masters and the notable Zhang San, who had stood out today.
Since the little one was studying here, as an elder, Murong Xu felt it was only proper to show his appreciation.
While Murong Xu and Ling Hao were busy, the little one they missed was working late into the night.
Although the little one had a room at the chief examiner’s place, today the chief examiner didn’t let him sleep alone. He had the little one sleep with him.
The little dumpling, now transformed, sat on the chief examiner’s back, pressing his paws to massage him.
The chief examiner laid quietly on the bed, enjoying the massage.
After a while, the little one’s paws grew tired, and he said pitifully, “Chirp.”
The little one was exhausted!
The chief examiner didn’t understand his chirping, but he could sense the little one’s sorrowful tone.
“Alright, you don’t need to press anymore today, sleep.”
The moment the chief examiner said this, the little dumpling immediately withdrew his paws. In the next second, his tiny head flopped forward as he closed his eyes and fell asleep on the chief examiner’s back.
Chief examiner: “…”
Chief examiner: “You’ve fallen asleep?”
The little dumpling, exhausted from his work, had fallen asleep almost instantly.
The chief examiner listened closely and could still hear the little one’s breathing. After a moment of silence, he too closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
The little dumpling, worn out from the day, had already fallen asleep. Outside the house, Ah Wu had also returned to his original form and was resting in the grass.
Though the little one was tired, his sleep wasn’t affected.
The next morning, when he woke up, the whole dumpling had flopped onto the chief examiner’s neck. The chief examiner also woke up a bit late, still not opening his eyes before the little one.
“Chirp.”
Big Boss.
The little dumpling stretched, his small body spread out like a tiny pancake, with his paws twitching slightly.
After a quick stretch to relax himself, he slowly became more alert.
He turned back into his regular form, rubbed his eyes, and got ready to change into his clothes for class.
The chief examiner had clothes for him here.
The little one even had his own dedicated wardrobe, full of his belongings.
Since the classroom was some distance away, the chief examiner was a bit more lenient today and didn’t make the little one work in the morning.
The little one got himself ready, ate porridge, oil sticks, and some small buns, filling his belly. He couldn’t help but ask the chief examiner, “Big Boss, is there any more of that sweet cool tea from yesterday?”
The little one had never seen that drink before, so he didn’t know what to call it. He just gave it the name “sweet tea.”
“There’s none left.”
Early in the morning, the chief examiner naturally wasn’t going to let him drink that.
The little one stared at the chief examiner with wide eyes, clearly not believing that there was no more sweet tea.
He reached out a tiny hand to tug on the chief examiner’s sleeve, his soft voice pleading, “I want just one more sip.”
“Go to class.”
The chief examiner removed the little one’s hand and coldly refused his request.
Disheartened at being denied the drink, the little one walked off, his face drooping.
The chief examiner glanced at his back, furrowing his brows slightly, regretting that he had introduced him to the drink.
Oh well, he would prepare something else instead.
After yesterday’s events, today’s class was full of well-behaved children. They sat upright, watching the teacher on the podium with serious and attentive expressions.
Though they had never disrespected the teacher before, after yesterday, they had an even deeper sense of respect and fear toward him.
The teacher was quite pleased with their attitude today.
The little one obediently finished a lesson, and during break time, instead of playing with the other kids, he went to find Ah Wu.
“Ah Wu.”
The little one stood in front of Ah Wu, holding his hand and speaking to him, “I slept with the big boss yesterday.”
“I know.”
“And I’m going to sleep there again tonight.”
The little one hadn’t finished his work yet, so he’d have to continue working at the chief examiner’s place.
Ah Wu felt something was off. He looked down at the little one and asked, “How long are you going to sleep there?”
“I don’t know.”
The little one hadn’t counted and hadn’t told Ah Wu that he’d lost his disguise.
“I’ll be back soon!”
The little one hugged Ah Wu’s waist, snuggling against him. Compared to the chief examiner, he preferred sleeping with Ah Wu.
He had made up his mind; he was going to work overtime to finish faster so that he could sleep with Ah Wu again!
With this overtime goal in mind, the little one resolved to work hard, while Ah Wu, looking down at his small head, also began to have his own thoughts.
He wanted to see why his little one was being held back by the Big Boss.
The morning class continued, and the little one sat in his seat, obediently listening to the lesson.
In class, Dun Dun raised his hand and asked the question that had been puzzling him since yesterday: “Teacher, if Guan Shan Residence is so amazing, why do you all still live here?”
The children couldn’t understand why, given how powerful the teachers were, they stayed at Guan Shan Residence. Surely they could rule the world if they wanted to.
“Guan Shan Residence chooses not to involve itself in worldly affairs. We prefer to occasionally teach and guide you children,” the teacher replied. “This is our choice.”
The children didn’t understand why they made that choice, but they didn’t pursue the matter further.
The teacher smiled and reminded them, “If you can learn something here, that’s enough to make me, as your teacher, very satisfied.”
“Teacher, we will listen carefully and study hard,” one child assured him.
“Exactly!” others chimed in.
“Teacher, will we be able to become as strong as Uncle Zhang San?” one child asked.
“If you want to, there’s a possibility,” the teacher responded.
“Teacher, who is the strongest person in Guan Shan Residence? Is it Uncle Zhang San or the Big Boss?”
“Neither.”
The teacher simply said “neither,” but he didn’t reveal who the strongest person was.
The little one sitting at his desk thought hard and suddenly thought of someone—the master of Guan Shan Residence.
It seemed no one had ever seen the master of Guan Shan Residence, and the little one hadn’t seen him either. Despite attending meetings and events, the master had never appeared.
The little one was extremely curious about this elusive figure. He wondered if the master could even keep the Big Boss in check.
But curiosity didn’t help him, as there was no way for him to meet the master of Guan Shan Residence.
The little one, resting his hands on his cheeks, continued to listen attentively to the teacher.
While the little one was in class, Murong Xu and Ling Hao had nearly finished all their shopping after last night and this morning.
They wanted to help their little one establish good relationships at Guan Shan Residence.
Carrying gifts, they met Zhang San from the administrative office.
They weren’t very familiar with the internal hierarchy at Guan Shan Residence, but after witnessing Zhang San’s presence yesterday, they assumed he must be the most important figure there.
So, they offered Zhang San a gift, inquiring about how their little one was doing at Guan Shan Residence.
“Rest assured, he’s doing very well,” Zhang San replied.
At this point, the little one was thriving in Guan Shan Residence. None of the other children disliked him—in fact, he was practically adored by everyone. His position could be described as being the center of attention.
Zhang San’s words brought great relief to Murong Xu. Knowing his little one was well taken care of, he could rest easy.
“These modest gifts, please accept them,” Murong Xu said with a smile, asking Zhang San to continue looking after their little one.
Our little one is the youngest in all of Guan Shan Residence, so he really needs extra care.
Looking at the pile of gifts, Zhang San smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ve been looking after him, and I’ll continue to do so.”
With Zhang San’s assurances, Murong Xu felt even more at ease.
After giving gifts to Zhang San, they didn’t forget the teachers either.
While delivering the gifts, Ah Wu happened to see Murong Xu.
Murong Xu had never seen Ah Wu, so he didn’t recognize him.
They passed by each other, and Ah Wu stopped, watching as Murong Xu continued walking without looking back, his expression silent.
He stared at Murong Xu’s retreating figure, unsure whether he should call out to him or not.
By this time, Murong Xu was already on his way to find his little one, his face filled with joy and his steps quickening with anticipation.
As he walked, a child holding a pinwheel bumped into him.
The child had been so focused on playing with the pinwheel that he hadn’t been watching where he was going. He was young and still wobbly on his feet.
After colliding with Murong Xu, the pinwheel fell to the ground, and the child sat down with a thud.
The child looked at his pinwheel, then up at Murong Xu, and burst into tears.
Murong Xu kindly helped the child up, but the child grabbed his hand and cried, demanding compensation for the pinwheel.
Murong Xu: “…”
Murong Xu reminded the child, “You bumped into me, not the other way around. I shouldn’t be the one paying for the pinwheel.”
The pinwheel was a bit fragile, and one of its blades had broken when it hit the ground.
The child didn’t listen to Murong Xu’s explanation and continued crying loudly, clutching onto Murong Xu and insisting he pay for two pinwheels.
With a sobbing child and an adult in the middle of the street, anyone passing by would immediately assume the child was the one to be pitied.
A few onlookers, who hadn’t seen what had happened, even urged Murong Xu to pay for the pinwheel.
“You’re an adult, making a child cry like that—it’s not right.”
The young child was a local of Guan Shan Residence.
He was convinced that Murong Xu had knocked him over and broken his pinwheel, so he stubbornly demanded compensation.
As an outsider, Murong Xu found it hard to explain.
Even Ling Hao, standing beside him, tried to explain, but it didn’t help.
“You two are in cahoots, of course you’d take his side. Two pinwheels aren’t worth much, so why don’t you just pay up if you made the child cry?”
Murong Xu certainly wasn’t short on money for two pinwheels, but he refused to pay.
He had been walking peacefully when the child ran into him—why should he have to pay for that?
And comparing the crying child to his own little one, Murong Xu thought to himself how even his little one looked adorable when crying.
“I won’t pay,” Murong Xu said, his face cold and his tone firm.
Just as the situation was growing tense, Ah Wu arrived.
However, he didn’t come to help Murong Xu out of the predicament. What did it matter to him if Murong Xu was entangled with a child? Ah Wu just wanted Murong Xu to hurry up so the little one could see him sooner.
The little one would be happy to see this uncle, and anything that made the little one happy was something Ah Wu was willing to do.
He took a few steps forward and coldly said to the crying child on the ground, “You’re too noisy. Be quiet.”
The child: “…”
Recognizing Ah Wu’s face, the child immediately stopped crying, too scared to make another sound.
“You weren’t watching where you were going, and you bumped into him. You broke the pinwheel yourself.”
Ah Wu curtly ended the dispute, then commanded, “Go back to your father.”
This child was the son of the butcher, still very young and prone to tears.
The child held back his tears, picked up the broken pinwheel, and ran off.
The onlookers, after glancing at Ah Wu, found various excuses to disperse within a few seconds.
“I just remembered, I need to go buy rice!”
“I need to check on my stall.”
“Hey, Old Li, want to grab a drink together?”
The bystanders, who had been watching just moments ago, all left.
Having lived at Guan Shan Residence for a long time, they knew what kind of children the school admitted. Even though the kids didn’t stay there permanently, it was wise not to provoke them. These notorious little troublemakers were known to retaliate if things didn’t go their way, and it wasn’t worth the hassle to deal with that.
Seeing everyone leave, Murong Xu gratefully patted Ah Wu on the shoulder. “Thank you! You’re such a good kid!”
“By the way, what’s your name?”
Murong Xu, who had refused to pay for the pinwheel earlier, now wanted to buy this kind-hearted child something to eat as a token of gratitude.
But the child wasn’t interested in his offer, nor was he keen on talking to him.
Murong Xu wasn’t offended, only thinking that this kid must be cold on the outside but warm at heart.
He then asked, “Do you know where the kids from the Guan Shan school live? I’m looking for a student in the younger class named Little Seven.”
Ah Wu pointed him in the right direction.
Seeing Ah Wu’s help, Murong Xu became even more convinced that the child was just cold on the outside.
“Thanks a lot.”
Murong Xu patted him on the shoulder again and handed him a pack of snacks he had brought for the little one. “You’re really kind, and kind kids deserve a reward.”
Ah Wu: “…”
Ah Wu wasn’t interested in his so-called reward, but Murong Xu had already shoved the snacks into his hands and left, giving him no chance to refuse.
After handing over the snacks, Murong Xu and Ling Hao quickly found where the little one lived.
On their way, they encountered a child named Zhai Bai, who pointed them to the little one’s room.
Murong Xu, noticing how polite and friendly the students were, thought it didn’t quite match the rumors he had heard.
The students at Guan Shan Residence were said to be quite unruly. Yet, along the way, every student he encountered was well-mannered when they learned he was looking for Little Seven.
“Little Seven seems to be doing quite well here,” Murong Xu remarked sincerely.
With skilled teachers, kind classmates, and a good learning environment, he was impressed.
Ling Hao nodded in agreement.
When they reached the little one’s door, they stopped.
Murong Xu cleared his throat, suppressing his excitement, and called out, “Little Seven?”
Inside the room, Little Seven had locked the door and was busy. The Big Boss had asked him to practice dancing, so he was diligently rehearsing.
Murong Xu’s voice suddenly rang out, startling the little one. He stood up abruptly but lost his balance, and the next moment, he ended up doing the splits right there on the spot.
Lying flat on the floor in a split, the little one lifted his head, staring blankly at the door.
He stared at the door for a moment, then rubbed his ears with his little paws.
“Uncle?” the little one murmured, still in disbelief. After murmuring, he reconsidered, “But Uncle is supposed to be at home.”
It seemed impossible that he could be at the door.
Thinking he must have misheard, the little one got up and tried to continue practicing the dance.
But after only a few steps, Uncle’s voice called out again from the door.
“Little Seven? Are you in there?”
“Uncle is here. Come open the door.”
Murong Xu called out several times, pressing his ear to the door, where he heard a thudding sound inside.
“Little Seven!”
Murong Xu became anxious.
Meanwhile, inside the room, the little one had just fallen off the bed and, feeling a bit dizzy from the fall, shook it off, transformed back, and got up to open the door.
“Uncle!”
The little one ran to the door and opened it. He looked up in surprise at his uncle and older brother standing at the door, his eyes lighting up with excitement.
“Fourth Brother! Uncle! What are you doing here?”
“We came to see you.”
Seeing his little one after such a long time, Murong Xu smiled so broadly that his eyes disappeared. He bent down and scooped up the little one, giving him a couple of big kisses as he held him.
“Uncle missed you so much, my little treasure!”
Murong Xu kissed his soft little cheeks and even kissed his little hands. The sensation of his soft touch left him unable to stop.
The little one was overjoyed, hugging his uncle’s neck and giving him kiss after kiss in return.
After the affection between uncle and nephew, the little one was passed into his fourth brother’s arms.
Once the reunion was over, the little one patted the chairs in the room and invited his uncle and fourth brother to sit down.
He then brought out some snacks from the cupboard and placed them on the table. “Fourth Brother, have some!”
“I know how to eat.”
All Murong Xu wanted at that moment was to take a good look at his precious little one. He wasn’t very interested in the snacks.
The more he looked at his little treasure, the cuter he found him.
After the little one finished handing out the snacks to his fourth brother and little uncle, he sat down in front of them and started chatting.
When he heard they had come to pick him up, the little one explained, “Daddy doesn’t need to worry about me, there’s no danger here!”
Guan Shan Residence was perfectly safe!
By this point, Murong Xu also realized that Guan Shan Residence wasn’t dangerous at all. Strictly speaking, the residence itself was the most dangerous thing. If it decided to reveal itself to the world, no one would be able to handle it.
“Little uncle, fourth brother, can you stay a few more days?” The little one looked at them eagerly, hoping they would stay with him for a while longer.
Murong Xu hesitated for a moment, then replied, “I’ll write a letter and send it out.”
Now that Guan Shan Residence was safe, he wanted to send a letter back to ask Emperor Ling if they still needed to bring Little Seven home. It would take at least seven or eight days for the letter to arrive and receive a reply, even at the fastest pace.
During those seven or eight days, Murong Xu could stay here for a little while longer.
Ling Hao didn’t want to return too early either. He had taken care of most of his duties before coming, and he didn’t feel like dealing with palace affairs.
He especially didn’t want to see his royal mother.
His royal mother used to be very emotionally unstable, sometimes unable to control her temper and hitting him, and the next moment, hugging him and crying.
After returning to the palace, Shui Shui, following Little Seven’s advice, found a way to give his royal mother a diagnosis.
Shui Shui said that his royal mother was ill.
He had found a way to get his royal mother to take the medicine Shui Shui prescribed, and it did have an effect.
His royal mother’s emotions had stabilized somewhat, and she no longer hit him. However, her desire for him to fight for the crown hadn’t faded.
His maternal family was wealthy and powerful, not inferior to the empress’s family.
Emperor Ling himself wasn’t the firstborn or legitimate heir but still ascended to the throne. As the crown prince hadn’t been established, the power struggles in the harem continued unabated.
He really didn’t want to return to the palace to face all of that.
“Little Seven, your bed here is big, but it’s still a bit cramped for the three of us. Your little uncle and I have booked a room at an inn. Do you want to come sleep with us?”
Murong Xu and Ling Hao had booked two rooms at the inn, both of which were well-decorated and more unique than those in the capital.
They wanted the little one to come stay with them.
The little one hesitated for a moment but shook his head. “Fourth brother, little uncle, you two go ahead and sleep. I have to sleep elsewhere at night.”
Recently, he had night work to do, so he couldn’t even sleep with Ah Wu, let alone with his uncle.
Murong Xu was puzzled that he wasn’t coming to sleep with them. “Where are you going at night?”
The little one stammered but didn’t explain.
He hugged his little uncle, trying to dodge the question with cuteness. “I have things to do, and I still have to attend classes. Uncle, won’t you and fourth brother be bored here?”
“No, Brother Zhang told us there’s an open library here. If we have nothing else to do, we can go read.”
“Okay.”
Hearing that they had something to do, the little one finally felt reassured.
But he still didn’t tell them where he would be going at night.
With his uncle and fourth brother visiting, the little one was so excited he almost skipped his afternoon nap. Fortunately, Murong Xu knew that if he didn’t nap, he wouldn’t make it through the afternoon, so he held him and coaxed him to sleep for a while.
In the afternoon, the little one was sitting in class, still so excited that his cheeks were flushed.
He shared the snacks his little uncle had bought with the other kids.
“My uncle and fourth brother bought these. They said it’s a treat for everyone.”
As he distributed the snacks, he made sure to proudly introduce his little uncle and older brother.
The other kids happily accepted the snacks and praised his uncle and brother.
Time passed quickly.
In the evening, after school, Murong Xu and Ling Hao treated the kids to a big meal at the best restaurant in town.
The kids ate meat and drank sweet drinks, and the atmosphere was lively.
Ah Wu didn’t come. He had been busy all day.
The little one already knew Ah Wu would be occupied, so he didn’t go looking for him.
After dinner, the little one hugged his uncle and fourth brother again, reluctantly saying goodbye.
“I’ll come see you again tomorrow.”
“Alright.”
After saying their goodbyes, the little one left.
Ling Hao went back to his room, tidied up, and rested, planning to spend the next day playing with Little Seven.
Murong Xu, however, didn’t go to rest.
Perhaps due to his experience on the battlefield, Murong Xu was quite sharp at times. He had a hunch that something wasn’t right with the little one going out so late.
Standing there, the more he thought about it, the more suspicious he became.
After thinking for a while, he couldn’t resist and followed him.
The little one had promised his uncle he wouldn’t reveal his secret, but now his uncle was here, and he still hadn’t dared to admit that his cover had been completely blown by the chief examiner.
The little one knew the path by heart.
There used to be flowers along the way, and he liked to touch them as he walked. Now, most of the petals had been rubbed off by him.
He walked all the way to the chief examiner’s house, and when he went inside and saw the chief examiner, he didn’t immediately transform into his fluffy form to start working.
Instead, he asked for a drink.
The chief examiner glanced at him. “Are you here to pay your debt or just to eat and drink?”
The little one, thick-skinned, replied, “Both!”
His little paws were so small, and the Big Boss was so big. After giving the Big Boss a massage, his paws always hurt.
Since he worked so hard, the Big Boss had to provide food and drinks.
The little one looked up, his face eager, waiting for his drink.
The chief examiner didn’t let him drink for free: “I’ll pour you a drink, but in exchange, you’ll have to massage my paws for another hour.”
The little one: “…”
What a greedy Big Boss!
Clenching his chubby little fists, the little one reluctantly agreed, all for the sake of that fizzy drink.
Seeing him nod, the chief examiner promptly mixed him a drink. It was icy cold and bubbly—just the kind the little one loved.
He savored every last drop, even licking the bottom of the cup clean.
The chief examiner glanced at him and said blandly, “This isn’t as healthy as plain water.”
The little one ignored him. Given the choice between the sweet drink and plain water, he’d always go for the former!
Now that the drink was finished, and his debt had increased, it was time for the little one to work.
With a little grunt, he transformed back into his fluffy form and started massaging the chief examiner’s shoulders.
But the chief examiner wasn’t in the mood for a massage at that moment. The house had already been tidied, and wearing his nightgown, with his elegant fingers resting lightly on his handsome face, he looked at the little fluff ball and said, “How about you dance for me first? When I’m ready to sleep, you can come back and give me the massage.”
The little fluff ball let out a small squeak and began performing his little dance.
The chief examiner enjoyed watching the little fluff do the splits, and when the fluff accidentally did one mid-dance, he couldn’t help but laugh.
“Not bad, you’re quite the dancer.”
The chief examiner seemed satisfied with the comical dance. However, someone else who had followed quietly was far from pleased.
His little uncle had followed him and, finding the door locked, had snuck in through a conveniently open window. He made it inside easily, which made him suspicious, but seeing no one around, he cautiously proceeded.
What he saw inside almost made him grind his teeth to dust.
His precious little one had transformed into a fluff ball and was dancing for someone!
Though the fluff ball was undeniably cute, why should his little one be dancing for someone else?!
Murong Xu’s mind was filled with a single thought:
The man watching his little fluff dance couldn’t be a good person!
He must be oppressing his little one.
Murong Xu didn’t know the man’s identity, but he had already figured out how to teach him a lesson. He had given a generous gift to Zhang San, who held considerable influence at Guan Shan Residence. If he dealt with this man now, Zhang San would surely cover for him.
As he thought about the gift, Murong Xu’s resolve hardened. Zhang San owed him, and now was the time to collect.
Murong Xu didn’t act immediately. Instead, he retrieved something from his pocket—an item from Shui Shui.
It was a special knockout powder. Just a little would make someone dizzy and disoriented.
After taking an antidote for himself, Murong Xu carefully blew the powder into the room.
Moments later, the unsuspecting fluff ball collapsed onto the floor.
The chief examiner, equally unprepared, rubbed his forehead in confusion.
Before he could react, he felt a sharp pain at the back of his neck—exactly the same spot the little one had hit before.
Just like last time, he passed out.
Behind him, a door had somehow opened. It was this conveniently unlocked door that allowed Murong Xu to carry out his plan so smoothly.
“Little one!”
Murong Xu rushed in and scooped up the soft, unconscious fluff ball from the floor.
