Chapter 164: Chapter 163: Removing Your Official Hat
After finishing his speech, County Magistrate Xia let out a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Finally, he kowtowed deeply.
"Emperor, your humble official has failed Your Majesty and the Imperial Court. Your humble official is inept!"
Zhao Junyao chuckled coldly.
"You are indeed inept!"
He had turned several healthy children into thin, sallow figures. Was he... truly incapable of providing even for his own children?
Without bidding him rise, Zhao Junyao directly issued an order.
"For this matter, I give you three days. If you still haven’t found out anything, I will strip you of your official hat!"
Hearing this, County Magistrate Xia trembled so much that even his layers of fat shook, and he quickly agreed.
"Yes... yes!"
Zhao Junyao waved his hand dismissively.
"Rise!"
County Magistrate Xia then shakily stood up.
...
Having dealt with official business, what followed was a private matter.
County Magistrate Xia looked at his eldest daughter, regretting his past actions so much that his insides seemed to turn green.
If only he had treated her better in the past! With her current favor, if she had spoken a few good words for him before the Emperor, would he need to be this frightened?
Alas...
Xia Ruqing exchanged a glance with Zhao Junyao, and they nodded to each other.
Zhao Junyao then commanded, "I have other matters to attend to here. Coincidentally, Qingqing also said she misses home. Over these three days, I shall grant her a favor and allow her to stay at home!"
He continued, "After three days, when I send someone to pick her up, if Qingqing has suffered the slightest grievance..."
Old Master Xia was immediately shocked and dismayed.
"Impossible... Emperor, absolutely impossible!"
"My wife... is extremely virtuous and will definitely not let Consort Xia suffer any grievances!"
He didn’t even know his own daughter’s status. In any case, within the palace, calling her ’Consort Xia’ couldn’t be wrong!
Xia Ruqing struggled to suppress her laughter. Consort Xia, hahaha... Consort Xia... Oh dear, I can’t take it, my stomach hurts from laughing!
Zhao Junyao, however, remained very calm.
His expression remained unchanged. With a stern face, he nodded and added, "Moreover, my whereabouts must be kept secret. County Magistrate Xia should know what to do, right?"
Old Master Xia quickly responded, "Rest assured, Emperor... your humble official... knows!"
With that, Zhao Junyao rose, gave Xia Ruqing a deep look, then strode away.
"Farewell, sir..." Xia Ruqing curtsied shallowly.
Seeing this, County Magistrate Xia also hastily knelt.
He opened his mouth, but for a moment, he forgot what to say. Just kowtow, he thought. Kowtowing can’t be wrong. So, he lowered his head and THUD, THUD, kowtowed several times.
"Father, sir has already gone far. You may rise." Xia Ruqing forced a smile onto her face. She had to muster all her courage to address such an unpleasant-looking old man with that word.
She greatly admired her own acting skills. Oscar owes me a little golden statuette, doesn’t it!
County Magistrate Xia heard the word ’Father’ and hurriedly stood up.
"No... I wouldn’t dare, Consort Xia... Please, don’t be so formal!"
He said this while wiping the sweat from his brow, all a result of fear.
If his eldest daughter complained about him to the Emperor, his life could be at risk!
Xia Ruqing smiled gracefully.
"Father, stop calling me ’Consort.’ I am not yet a consort; it would not be good for others to overhear!"
Continuing, she said, "The Emperor sets an example of filial piety for the entire realm. In the palace, whenever he has time, he personally attends to the Empress Dowager!"
"Now... since it’s rare for me to return, Father, you needn’t be so formal. Perhaps you could still call me ’Qingqing’?"
Xia Ruqing suppressed the nausea from having called him ’Father’ so many times, only to then suggest ’Qingqing.’ The feeling was simply... simply! Utterly disgusting, wasn’t it?
County Magistrate Xia felt awkward himself, but he still cautiously called out, "Qingqing!"
Xia Ruqing was instantly "moved to tears"!
"Father!"
Heavens, I’m about to throw up, aren’t I? she thought. A strange, greasy old man, calling me so intimately! It’s so, so revolting!
She repeated to herself ten thousand times, This is the original host’s father, this is the original host’s father! Only then did she manage to suppress the urge to beat the sleazy old man.
...
County Magistrate Xia personally escorted his daughter back to the Xia Residence.
The household was thrown into a terrified disarray.
Yet, Xia Ruqing was overjoyed; this feeling of returning home in glory, triumphant and vindicated, was truly exhilarating!
Stepmother Lady Yao resorted to her usual tactics of crying, screaming, and threatening suicide. Ultimately, she earned two slaps from Old Master Xia and was forced to dejectedly move out of the main courtyard. She and her precious darlings were relocated to the dilapidated courtyard Xia Ruqing had once occupied, while the most luxurious and beautiful courtyard was given to Xia Ruqing.
That night, Maternal Aunt Wen came to see her.
She was both happy and apprehensive, standing in a corner, hesitant and frequently wiping away tears.
Her younger sister, Xia Caiying, was nine years old this year.
She was sallow and thin, appearing smaller than an average seven or eight-year-old child.
Perhaps she had been badly frightened from being previously abducted by human traffickers.
Upon seeing Xia Ruqing, she did not recognize her and clung to Maternal Aunt Wen, refusing to come forward.
She was very timid.
Maternal Aunt Wen smiled apologetically.
"My Lady, please don’t mind, she... she got frightened..."
Xia Ruqing gently shook her head.
"It doesn’t matter. I’ve already heard about it from my brother!"
Maternal Aunt Wen’s face lit up with surprise.
"You’ve seen Tingting?"
"I saw him this morning at the medical hall!"
Xia Ruqing then recounted the events that had unfolded that morning to Maternal Aunt Wen in detail.
Hearing that her son had been injured, Maternal Aunt Wen was so scared that she started wiping her tears.
"This child... this child!"
"What’s wrong?"
Xia Ruqing handed her a silk handkerchief.
Maternal Aunt Wen hesitated for a moment but then took it.
While wiping her tears, she cried and said, "This child, he... he is not thoughtless, he is not thoughtless..."
Xia Ruqing looked at this kind and gentle woman, who had suffered in the Xia Residence for most of her life, and felt a pang in her heart.
She pulled her over to sit beside her and comforted her warmly for a long while.
Only then did Maternal Aunt Wen stop crying.
She took Xia Ruqing’s hand, and as if suddenly filled with courage, she said tremulously, "Miss, you... you’ve come back at just the right time!"
After saying that, she began to sob uncontrollably again!
"What’s wrong, Maternal Aunt? Don’t worry, take your time and tell me."
Maternal Aunt Wen looked up, scrutinizing Xia Ruqing carefully.
In the end, she smiled with relief.
"Miss, you are just as sensible as you used to be. You have finally made it through!"
Xia Ruqing was the legitimate eldest daughter, while Maternal Aunt Wen was a concubine. It was only proper for Maternal Aunt Wen to address her so.
Xia Ruqing smiled faintly.
"It’s all thanks to imperial grace. Otherwise, in such a place, it would have been impossible to survive!"
Maternal Aunt Wen smiled faintly and nodded, but her gaze gradually cooled, and the smile vanished from her brow.
She suddenly said, "Miss, the Second Young Master is at home!"
Xia Ruqing was momentarily confused.
"Jingfeng? Isn’t he studying at the White Horse Academy?"
She knew that the historically famous Academy, with its strict management, would not allow students to come home as they pleased!