Chapter 1: How to Cultivate a Ten-Thousand-Mile Empire for the Young Emperor Qin? Part 2

 

Chapter 1: Sheep's Milk Rice Porridge (Second Installment Combined with 10,000 Nutrient Solution) (2/2)

 

Xue glanced at the child in Zhu Xiang's arms and then instructed a servant to boil water and prepare a broth, adding some goat's milk to it.

 

Lin Zhi followed Zhu Xiang into the house with a grin on his face. After closing the door, he couldn't resist teasing, "I've heard you mention the deeds of your black-hearted elder sister before, but I never expected to see the result today."

 

Xue, with her previously poised and virtuous demeanor, suddenly froze, her expression contorting dramatically as her voice rose several octaves. "What?! Is this child Chunhua's?!"

 

Zhu Xiang, feeling awkward, nodded.

 

Xue's expression contorted and twitched for a while, but in the end, she managed to restrain herself from uttering any vulgar curses. Instead, she exclaimed, "She's still alive?! How is she still alive?!"

 

Zhu Xiang sighed, ashamed to admit the truth.

 

Lin Zhi, always one for amusement, offered an explanation to ease Xue's confusion. "The letter said she's now with another wealthy merchant. This child was a burden, and she happened to hear that Zhu Xiang's current circumstances are quite good, and he's been childless for a long time. So, she sent the child to Zhu Xiang as a gift, asking him to remember her favor. Hahaha!"

 

When Xue heard the phrase "childless for a long time," her face immediately turned pale.

 

Zhu Xiang kicked Lin Zhi in the side, and Lin Zhi couldn't dodge it, so he held his side in pain, chuckling.

 

"I have health issues, making it difficult to have offspring, which is my fault. However, society places even harsher expectations on women when it comes to having children. Lin Li, it's fine for us to joke around casually, but don't let Xue overhear. She tends to dwell on things and blame herself for my shortcomings," Zhu Xiang said with a furrowed brow.

 

 

Lin Zhi's courtesy name is "Li."

 

Lin Zhi patted the dirt from his pants and bowed to Zhu Xiang and Xue, saying, "My mistake. Xue, I was teasing Zhu Xiang and didn't think too much about it."

 

Xue replied, "You shouldn't have teased him either!"

 

Lin Zhi, back to his carefree self, playfully nudged Zhu Xiang's shoulder and said, "I just like teasing him, can't help it."

 

Xue, irritated, stomped her foot and headed to the kitchen to check on the porridge and cool down.

 

"Now that I've driven her away, we can talk," Lin Zhi said, retracting his arm. "What are you going to do next? You don't have any other relatives, and he might be your only blood relative. Adopting him as your son might not be a bad idea."

 

Before Zhu Xiang could respond, the child in his arms seemed to have finally regained consciousness and began crying loudly, saying, "Where is this? I want to go home! I want my mother!"

 

He bit down on Zhu Xiang's arm, causing him pain. Startled, Zhu Xiang released his grip, and the child immediately started to fall. He quickly reached out to support the child, preventing him from hitting the ground.

 

The child pushed his hand away and stumbled out, saying, "I want to go home! I don't want to be someone else's child. I am from Qin... Ah!"

 

While the child spoke eloquently, his legs were a bit unsteady, and after running a few steps, he fell to the ground, rolling in the dust. His face and body were covered in dirt. Zhu Xiang hurried over and helped the child up.

 

"Don't cry, don't cry. I'll take you to find your mother," Zhu Xiang said as he disregarded the dirt on the child's clothes, holding the child in his arms and gently wiping his face with his sleeve. He felt a deep sense of compassion. "Don't be scared. I am your uncle. 'When I see my uncle, I hold him in the same regard as my mother.' I am your mother's younger brother, not a bad person."

Lin Zhi interrupted, "You're reciting 'Poems of the State of Qin' to such a young child. Do you think he can understand it?"

 

The child held onto Zhu Xiang's sleeve tightly and asked, "Qin, Qin Feng? Uncle?"

 

"Yes, I am your uncle. Don't be afraid. I will take you to find your mother. This time, I will definitely...," Zhu Xiang clenched his teeth and hesitated, unable to finish his sentence. He couldn't say anything too harsh about the child's mother in front of him, and with his personality, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

 

At this moment, Zhu Xiang really wanted to stomp his foot, sigh deeply, and recite a classic movie line, "Bullying an honest person, isn't it?!!"

 

The child had a small, pale face with yellowish and thin cheeks, and it didn't look like he had been treated well.

 

However, even though his silk clothes were wrinkled and dirty, they were not the kind that a poor family could afford. So this less-than-ideal treatment probably had nothing to do with the child's family's circumstances.

 

Zhu Xiang felt increasingly uncomfortable, and he rarely cursed in his mind. "Uncle will change your clothes first. We'll have some warm food, and then we'll go find your mother, alright?" Zhu Xiang spoke softly.

 

The child's crying stopped, and his previously fearful expression now appeared overly calm, making the situation quite awkward. He asked, "Really? Uncle won't deceive me?"

 

"I swear!" Zhu Xiang raised one hand. "Come on, let's first take a bath, change clothes, and then I'll apply some medicine to your wounds." He looked at the scraped palm of the child who had fallen to the ground and repeated, "We'll apply some medicine first."

 

The child lowered his head and said, "Yes... you must, you must take me to find my mother."

 

Zhu Xiang assured, "I will. Lin Zhi..."

 

Lin Zhi waved his hand, interrupting Zhu Xiang. "You go and take care of things. Don't worry; I've already instructed someone to search for the woman who abandoned the child. She couldn't have gone far."

 

Zhu Xiang said, "Thanks. I'm quite busy right now, but once everything is settled, I'll personally cook a big meal for you."

 

Lin Zhi smiled and replied, "I'll hold you to that!"

 

As Zhu Xiang left with the child, the smile faded from Lin Zhi's face. He knew Zhu Xiang had a good temper and a soft heart, and even in such situations, he wouldn't resort to harsh measures. However, as a friend, Lin Zhi wished he could take matters into his own hands.

 

Soon after, a soldier wearing a longsword hurriedly entered.

 

"Did you catch her?" Lin Zhi asked.

 

The soldier replied, "Yes, we caught her. She's just a maidservant, and we've already extracted the address from her."

 

Lin Zhi said, "Prepare a carriage. I want to personally meet with the woman who abandoned her own younger brother and now her son."  

 

The soldier nodded and left to make the preparations.

 

 Lin Zhi sighed and said, "Xue, your husband's pure-hearted nature can be quite troublesome for those around him."

 

Xue, who had returned to the front yard at some point, replied calmly, "If he weren't so pure-hearted, Lord Lin wouldn't have befriended him."

 

Lin Zhi asked, "If we can't find that woman, would you agree to adopt the child?"

 

Xue replied, "I will follow my husband's wishes."

 

Lin Zhi chuckled and said, "I don't believe that. It's him following your wishes, isn't it?"

 

Xue replied, "Following my wishes is also his own choice."

 

 

"Alright, alright, you're right," Lin Zhi surrendered. "If you don't want to adopt him, I will help you find a good family far away from here to take care of him."

 

 

Finally, Xue was moved. She cupped her hands and slightly bent her body, saying, "Thank you, Lord Lin."

 

...

 

Zhu Xiang carried the child into the bathroom. He was fond of cleanliness and had a special room built for bathing, complete with running water and a stove for heating water. It was evident that the Lin family treated him, their "guest," quite well, perhaps even better than a "first-class guest."

 

After the bathroom was built, Xue immediately occupied half of it for washing clothes and vegetables. Despite murmuring and complaining for a while, the best concession that Zhu Xiang could get was an agreement that Xue wouldn't wash clothes while he was bathing. Eventually, Zhu Xiang had to adjust his not-so-obsessive cleanliness to this reality.

 

As it was a bit chilly, and they needed to leave soon, Zhu Xiang claimed he was going to bathe the child, but in reality, he was only planning to use warm water to clean the child's body.

 

The child had obviously not been bathed regularly, and his body was covered in dirt, with blackened fingernails. Most children of his age in normal households would have most of their hair shaved off to prevent fleas, leaving just a small tuft of hair on each side of their heads. However, this child had disheveled hair, and visible flea eggs could be seen between the strands, making Zhu Xiang feel itchy all over.

 

Zhu Xiang really wanted to thoroughly clean the child, but seeing the child's forced composure and anxiousness, and considering they were about to go out, he decided to wipe him down once, change him into his own linen shorts and shirt, and apply some ointment without washing his hair.

 

The linen shorts and shirt that belonged to Zhu Xiang were quite large on the child, and he had to wrap a belt around them several times to keep them from falling off. Zhu Xiang then added an outer robe, bundling the frail child into a small bundle.

 

"We only have linen clothes in my house. Is it comfortable enough for you to wear?" Zhu Xiang asked.

 

The child remained silent and shook his head.

 

Zhu Xiang carried the child, who had transformed from a hysterical crybaby into an exceptionally well-behaved little one, into the dining room. Xue had already prepared a warm bowl of sheep's milk porridge.

 

The child's stomach had been growling with hunger, and when he caught a whiff of the milk's aroma, he hesitated for a moment before picking up a wooden spoon and taking small sips.

 

As the sheep's milk porridge entered his mouth, the precious glutinous rice grains melted, and the aroma of milk without any hint of gaminess spread throughout his mouth. The child's once swollen and gloomy eyes gradually widened, showing a glimmer of light.

 

He raised his head, looking at the young woman who, despite her displeasure, had prepared the delicious sheep's milk porridge for him and then at the young man who, though slightly furrowing his brows, was trying his best to show a gentle smile. Then he lowered his head again, burying his face in the bowl and eating voraciously, just like a hungry little puppy.

 

Zhu Xiang's brows furrowed even more, but his face maintained a warm smile. Xue's initial displeasure faded briefly but soon returned, making her face stern once more.

 

On the side, Lin Zhi, acting as a backdrop, moved slightly and reached out, saying, "Give me a bowl too."

 

Zhu Xiang replied, "…Scoop it yourself!"

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