Chapter 419
After the soldier left, Qin Hengxuan poked his bottom and teased with a smile: "Your father is the second most handsome in the world? Then who's the first?"
"Do you even need to ask?" Guaizai looked at him in disbelief: "Can't Handsome Grandpa tell? It's so obvious—far away in the heavens, yet right before your eyes!"
"Could it be me?" Qin Hengxuan laughed, thinking the kid really had good taste. It made him a bit embarrassed—after all, he was getting on in years.
He was smiling rather smugly when Guaizai looked at him in disbelief again: "How could it be you? It's Guaizai!"
Now it was Qin Hengxuan's turn to be incredulous: "······You??"
"Yes! Everyone used to call Guaizai Little Pretty Boy. For someone like you, Grandpa, people can only call you 'Diaomao.' How could you be the number one handsome in the world? Handsome Grandpa, people need to know themselves."
[屌毛 (diǎomáo): lit. "d*ck hair"; vulgar slang — used as an insult meaning "worthless nobody" or "asshole," or as a crude exclamation of frustration.]
Qin Hengxuan choked: "What's 'Diaomao'?" He had a vague feeling it wasn't a compliment.
Guaizai scratched his head: "I don't know either! Does it mean ugly?"
Qin Hengxuan swatted him. "So what are you saying, that I'm ugly? When your Pretty Uncle and I go out together, everyone says we're a perfect match — a talented man and a handsome ger, made for each other by heaven."
Guaizai covered his mouth and giggled: "Then they must be blind. Pretty Uncle looks good, but Handsome Grandpa, you look funny."
Meng Ruqing had been drinking tea and nearly spat it out, bursting into laughter.
Outside, the soldiers were busy with their work. Suddenly, a dark figure flashed past like a gust of wind. Qin Hengxuan was chasing after it, carrying a large wooden plank — no one knew where he'd torn it from.
"You little brat, stop right there! I said stop!"
Guaizai didn't stop. "Someone's beating a child! Someone's beating a child! Someone's gone mad! Help! Somebody save Guaizai!"
The soldiers: "..."
The soldiers in the military camp saw Guaizai being chased almost every other day — if not by Old General Qin, then by Qin Hengxuan. It was abnormal if he wasn't chased a few times a day. The camp had been in complete chaos lately, and everyone had grown used to it.
Qin Hengxuan closed in and swung the plank at Guaizai's backside, but Guaizai was slippery as an eel, darting left and right, and he just couldn't land a single hit.
The soldiers watched with amusement, finding it all very entertaining. During wartime, even when guarding the rear, everyone was always on edge. Now that Guaizai had arrived, watching him get chased around every day somehow made them feel relaxed.
Qin Hengxuan, however, was not relaxed at all.
This stupid brat had actually said he looked funny.
Old General Qin heard the commotion outside and knew Guaizai was asking for a beating again.
Old Madam Qin went to the door to take a look, then shook her head with a helpless smile. "A couple of years ago, Qing Ger's mother sent a letter saying Guaizai was always getting beaten by Zhao Ger. I thought maybe Zhao Ger was being too strict. Now it seems Zhao Ger was completely justified."
"Qing Ger's father said he's exactly the same as that Fang boy — the two of them ran around the capital causing trouble together," Old General Qin said. "That kid — he's diligent, sensible, and clever. He picks up anything after seeing it once. He's willing to do any kind of work. The day before yesterday, he even ran to the back to help the cooks wash vegetables. When he came back, I saw his little hands were red from the cold. Apart from that mouth of his, he's exactly what I want in a grandson."
Guaizai couldn't sit still. He was used to working. Every day after finishing his lessons and playing with Gungun and Dandan for a while, he'd run off to find work — either helping watch the fire and wash vegetables in the back, or helping out at the wounded soldiers' camp.
He knew how to do quite a lot. He had watched Tang Daniang and the others during the disaster relief and learned by imitation. At first, Lao Jiang had worried he would get in the way, but this little young master was remarkable — the masters above doted on him heavily, and Lao Jiang didn't dare offend him. He treated it as the boy playing around, thinking as long as he didn't go too far, it wouldn't matter.
Later, though, Lao Jiang changed his mind. The kid was surprisingly experienced. He was excellent at caring for the wounded — he knew how to brew medicine, how to feed them medicine and food, and even helped wash their faces and feet without showing the slightest disgust. He was a tremendous help. Small as he was, when he got to work, he was truly impressive.
They said little young master Guaizai could eat a whole chicken and three bowls of rice in one meal — clearly that food wasn't wasted. He ate a lot, but he also worked a lot.
When Zhong Momo came to find him, she saw him wiping down a wounded soldier's body. Zhong Momo pulled him outside, saying he was a young master and shouldn't do that kind of work.
Guaizai wouldn't listen. "Why can't I? Uncle is hurt and can't move. There aren't enough people here. If Guaizai can do it, then Guaizai should do it."
"But..."
"Uncle is a great hero. Guaizai doesn't mind wiping him down. Grandma, if you can't move someday, Guaizai will wipe you down too." He had an expression that said, Don't worry, when you can't move, you'll get your turn too. I'll share my care equally.
Zhong Momo didn't know what to say.
When Old General Qin found out, he was very pleased and told Zhong Momo to let him be.
His little grandson was a good one — upright to the core.
Now, Old Madam Qin glanced at him. "But I've never seen you actually get angry either."
Old General Qin smiled. "With that little face of his, I love him to death. How could I ever really get angry?"
---
On the way to Shangyang, they'd had a lot of goods and the carts moved slowly, taking over a month to get there. The return trip was faster. But halfway back, Fang Zichen received a letter from Guaizai. In it, Guaizai briefly described the situation at the border, then asked if Fang Zichen could send Tang Daniang and the others to Hengyang.
Fang Zichen thought it over for a while, then first sent imperial guards on fast horses to Hezhou. Before long, word came back that Da Liang, Northern Qi, and the other kingdoms showed no unusual movements.
Fang Zichen let out a huge sigh of relief.
If they weren't moving now, then Da Liang and Northern Qi probably wouldn't launch an attack anytime soon — Old General Qin had been gravely injured, so they still held back. Now that he was awake and the Qin army had not yet been fully pinned down by the Chao Kingdom, they would be even more reluctant to act rashly.
Only then did Fang Zichen write an official document, affix his seal, and have the imperial guards deliver it to Hezhou to order troops to the southern border. Sending those three good-for-nothing kids to the Qin family did make him feel a bit embarrassed. Besides, his son had written personally—if he didn't send them, wouldn't that be slapping his son's face?
"There are two more letters!" Fang Zichen opened one of them. This one was thicker, with Qin Hengxuan's name written on the outside. He pulled out the contents and was immediately startled.
His hand trembled. "Oh my god!" He quickly stuffed the silver notes back in.
A whole stack of silver notes, two fingers thick.
Fang Zichen's heart was pounding like fireworks, his blood racing, his face flushed. If not for his extraordinary willpower, he probably would have fainted right there.
"What's wrong?" Zhao Ger noticed something was off — he looked terrified. He took the letter from Fang Zichen's hand, looked at it, and his eyes went wide too.
"This..."
Fang Zichen swallowed hard, his eyes burning with greed, almost gleaming as he stared fixedly at the envelope. "There are silver notes inside!"
"Yes!"
"What does this mean? Is this charity?" Fang Zichen scratched his head, completely confused. "Is this a gift for us? Or did he make a mistake when sending the letter?"
That couldn't be it!
Even if he were blind, he couldn't mistake silver notes for a letter.
Zhao Ger said, "I don't know either. There's another letter here, written by Qin Zhujun. Let me read it first."
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