HBBMAWH Chapter 126

After eating the last roasted pigeon, it was also the day Yan Cai officially left the capital. Public opinion is formidable. With the current delicate discourse, it wasn't quite appropriate for them to continue staying in the capital. It was better to leave voluntarily and avoid suspicion.

When rumors spread like a plague, their departure effectively countered the rumors.

"Let's go! Let's go back and be local tycoons!" Yan Cai sat in the front of the carriage, with Qingke chirping in his lap. As the carriage moved forward, the majestic city gates of the capital became smaller and smaller behind them, dust rising from the road. Yan Cai hummed a tune to his son, his singing joyful and without a hint of nostalgia.

"Hmph, who cares about all this. Goodbye!" Yan Cai waved towards the now unseen city gate, and there was a familiar figure on the city gate.

He actually left. The third prince watched the gradually diminishing carriage and sighed. He was one of the few genuinely worried about the rumors and had even specifically investigated Yan Cai's background.

When he found out that Yan Cai was picked up by the Yan family and had no parents, he was genuinely worried that he might be the Emperor's illegitimate child who had been wandering outside.

Now, with Yan Cai leaving, he finally felt relieved.

The return journey is always more relaxing than leaving. Since they were going against the current, they didn't choose the water route they took when coming to the Capital. Going by land would take an extra month, but perhaps because they were in a better mood on the way back, the carriage ride was much faster.

In the end, they spent almost the same amount of time on travel as when they left.

The main reason the two elderly fathers chose to return to Qingqu as soon as possible was not because of the rumors, but because of Second child's issue.

By the time they returned to Qingqu, the second cub had been alive for almost seven months, but the flower bud still hadn't opened, and he was still small and thin. However, there were no signs of wilting in the flower bud. It just didn't grow, no matter what, resembling a neglected cabbage.

"This is worrying me to death." Yan Cai almost leaned into the basin to take a closer look. "Why isn't he growing at all?"

Counting the time, Qingke was almost born at this time. Besides, shouldn't the flower bud have bloomed by now? Yet, they still couldn't see any signs of a flower.

"Don't worry. Let's go to the lake on the tea mountain and try it tomorrow." Although Jiang Manyue couldn't feel the spiritual energy Yan Cai mentioned, he could still perceive that the air on the top of the tea mountain was much more comfortable than at the foot of the mountain.

"Let's rest well tonight. We've been rushing all the way, and we're all tired."

Having not returned home for so long, the servants who stayed behind were suddenly surprised and delighted to see their master's faces, not knowing what to say. Their mouths opened for a while, but in the end, no words came out.

Still the only one skilled at speaking, Jin finally shouted, "Welcome back, masters!"

"Hurry, go and fetch tea for the masters! We've been keeping both masters' rooms clean and tidy, without a speck of dust, ready for someone to sleep in at any time. I'll go change the sheets and pillows now..."

It had been a long time since Qingke had seen this place, and it seemed a bit unfamiliar to him. However, he didn't feel awkward at all. Even if he couldn't remember places where he had stayed for a long time before, he still maintained the demeanor of a top-notch young master.

When Yan Cai's fox friend saw Yan Cai, he immediately wanted to leap onto Yan Cai's body. However, Qingke, who was patrolling the territory like a lord inspecting his land, caught the fox and grabbed it by the ears, not allowing it to move.

This fox had become quite cunning and strong, and several servants couldn't restrain him. Moreover, it was the master's favorite, so no one dared to do anything to it.

Therefore, when "Yan Cai" wasn't home, the fox acted like a king. Over the past year, this fox had become quite arrogant, wreaking havoc on the chickens and ducks in the house.

Every day, it would steal chickens and ducks and run away with them. If it wasn't allowed to catch the chickens, it would go to other people's houses to steal them. It always left evidence behind, causing nearby villagers to come and demand compensation.

Everyone knew that only their house had a fox. Whenever chickens went missing, the villagers would come to them first.

Even if they don't say anything, they will be looked down upon. Unable to do anything about it, they had no choice but to let the fox have its way with the chickens at home. This fox ate one chicken a day, so to feed this troublesome fox, they had to raise a whole flock of chickens and had almost become professional chicken farmers.

This fox was also very clever, knowing which chickens belonged to their house. It would count the number of chickens in the coop every day, and if one was missing, it would howl for half the day.

Like a shepherd dog, the fox herded the chickens up the mountain every day to eat insects and brought them back to the coop when it got dark.

This cunning and difficult-to-deal-with fox, now in the hands of the young master, is crying pitifully like its flower has been crushed, portraying a scene of utter misery.

The servants who had been angered by the fox couldn't help but burst into laughter. The young master had indeed helped them vent their frustrations. That rascal fox, always in need of some discipline, has finally found someone who can tame it.

Oh, their little young master is so strong. No, wait, they can’t call him little young master anymore. They were not clueless about the affairs in the capital.

Especially since Jiang Manyue and Yan Cai had made such a big splash in the capital, they had specifically asked people going to the capital to gather information. They all knew that Yan Cai's status was different now, he was a prince, and the little young master is the heir apparent. So, their young master was—

The two words were left unsaid, silenced by several people simultaneously. No, they couldn't call him that, or the master would kill them.

The young prince's strength was truly impressive. Despite his small stature, he effortlessly lifted the fox higher than himself. The fox had no resistance whatsoever.

Usually, the fox acted tough, but now it seemed to wilt. Several people laughed at it. The fox, being intelligent, immediately sensed that these humans were mocking him but found himself unable to escape. Moreover, he didn't dare to confront this human youngster, who was exceptionally formidable.

The fox was quite aware of danger, especially after the training on the tea mountain during this period. Its intelligence had clearly improved.

Although this human youngster looked small, he was not weak at all. Neither was his family, including the mate his human friend had found.

The term "mate" is something foxes remember after hearing too much gossip from humans. In short, it's almost like finding a female fox to give birth to his cubs. Although his human friend's mate couldn't bear offspring, his human friend still cherished him.

So, as a friend, the fox reluctantly accepted him—even if he didn't, there was nothing he could do. He had no right to oppose and could only be ruthlessly trampled upon by the human youngster.

Moreover, he could sense that this family was going to have another human youngster—no, not quite a human youngster. Huh, it smelled like vegetables, unpleasant.

Their human friend and the human youngster all smelled like vegetables, bleh, tasteless., no meat.

This new youngster's vegetable scent was even stronger!

Sure enough, human beings were despicable. The human friend's mate was the worst, utterly detestable from the first encounter. The method the human youngster used to catch him was obviously taught by this mate. The first time they met at the lakeside, the mate caught him like this, grabbed him, and even snatched away the good things he was about to get!

Huh? No!

The fox let out a whimper, sounding somewhat aggrieved and confused in Yan Cai's ears. Yan Cai was stunned. Could a fox really make such a human-like sound?

He suspected that the fox was feeling uncomfortable being caught by his son, so he instructed his son to let the fox go. However, even after being released, the fox still wore a puzzled expression.

Don't ask him how he could see confusion on the furry face of a fox; he definitely saw it.

The fox's thoughts:

Huh? When did I first encounter the human friend's mate? It seems like the lakeside incident wasn't the first time he robbed me!

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