FID – Chapter 1058

Chapter 1058: Take It Off and Let Me Play

The matriarch and the womenfolk had gone to the kitchen, leaving only the men in the hall. The playful atmosphere from earlier immediately shifted.

Wei Hong and Wei Lan, who had remained silent ever since learning that their master and the princess had entered Xiliang, quickly moved closer to Wei Zi.

“Boss, should we try sneaking into Mo City? That way, if anything major happens in Xiliang, at least we’d get wind of it early and be able to respond.”

Wei Hong added, “I can disguise myself as a common vendor, and Dalan can go back to selling sesame cakes. It should work fine.”

“We can’t get in,” Wei Zi shook his head. “Unless we have royal clearance documents. But if you produce those, you’d be closely monitored and wouldn’t be able to do anything.”

“The situation over at Axiu’s end probably isn’t as optimistic as we hope, but don’t mention any of this in front of the old lady,” Grandpa Liu frowned, speaking softly.

Though she didn’t show it outwardly, his wife would quietly wipe away tears whenever she was worried.

He didn’t want her to know too much about matters of state, lest she constantly fret.

The men in the hall all nodded in agreement.

They didn’t want the womenfolk to worry, so during conversations they would always joke around, trying to keep the atmosphere light.

“Old man, what are you still chatting about? Come over quickly, no one’s stoking the fire!” 

A loud voice rang out from the kitchen— Grandpa Liu’s. Grandpa Liu hastily raised his voice in reply, “Coming, coming! It’s just stoking the fire, nothing I can’t handle.”

He walked with his hands behind his back and joined the group in the kitchen.

The rest of the men left in the main hall had no desire to continue chatting.

As for Xiliang, they really couldn’t think of any good solutions for the moment.

Halfway through dinner, the sound of horses’ hooves came from outside the courtyard gate.

Grandma Liu frowned. “Who could possibly be coming at this hour?”

She was about to go check when a familiar voice shouted excitedly as it approached: “Grandpa! Grandma! I’m back!”

“Zhiqiu! Come out quickly! I brought so many things. I can’t carry them alone!”

“I knew you’d be having dinner right now. Jeez, I’ve been dying for Grandma’s cooking. I even skipped lunch just to catch this meal. I’m starving!” A golden-glimmering figure dashed into the kitchen, heading straight to the cabinet to grab bowls and chopsticks. “Shitou, hurry! There isn’t much food left!”

Shi Xianrou was only two steps behind. By the time she came in, her bowl of food was already on the table. The man had squeezed in next to Liu Zhiqiu, chopsticks flying as he piled food onto his plate.

He resembled a reincarnated starving ghost—it was both infuriating and hilarious to watch.

The older members of the Liu family froze for a moment, then, seeing how Qian Wanjin’s return had clearly intensified the food fight at the table, they couldn’t help but laugh and shake their heads.

“Why didn’t you come back earlier? You show up halfway through dinner, and there’s hardly any food left. I’ll go make a couple more dishes—eat slowly,” Grandma Liu said, feeling worried. Since Qian Wanjin hadn’t eaten lunch, she hadn’t made extra food for tonight. With how hungry he was, there wouldn’t be enough.

“Grandma Liu, don’t bother, this is enough. Xiao Jin didn’t eat lunch, but he had two packs of pastries,” Shi Xianrou interjected, guiding the matriarch to sit beside her.

The Liu family: “…” They had forgotten that Qian Wanjin was a true foodie. There were only two things in life he couldn’t go without: earning silver and eating.

“I just needed to fill my stomach a bit,” Qian Wanjin said, his mouth full as he crammed in the food, speaking unclearly, while his hands kept moving. “I could have arrived in time for dinner, but that dog Xue Zhong messed up my schedule.”

Mentioning Xue Zhong, Qian Wanjin suddenly realized that when he had entered earlier, he seemed to have noticed two people who shouldn’t have been there. He immediately narrowed his eyes and scanned the side. “Feng Qingbai? Lucky Nannai? Why are you at home?!”

Earlier, he had been too busy grabbing food to notice who was at the table.

Staring blankly at those two faces, Qian Wanjin blinked hard. “Weren’t you going to the Northwest? You’re back?”

“Feng Qingbai” and “Liu Yusheng” both looked at him in unison. Their eyes met, and Qian Wanjin immediately swallowed the words he was about to say. His gaze darkened subtly.

“Even if you’re back, you didn’t send word to the capital. Luckily, I hurried to finish what I had to do so I could come back to be with Grandpa and Grandma. Eat quickly—once you’re done, I have something to tell you.”

“I… I’m not—”  Liu Yusheng shrugged her shoulders slightly, her voice timid, completely unlike the real Liu Yusheng’s tone.

“Does Young Master Qian intend to take us out and do something underhanded?” Wei Zi’s voice carried a trace of helplessness.

No guess was needed—he already knew that Qian Wanjin saw him as a scheming villain, afraid he might harm the Liu family, and was planning to lure him and Liu Ya out to deal with them.

Qian Wanjin was never an innocent little lamb.

Having been exposed, Qian Wanjin stopped pretending. The usually careless expression faded, replaced by a sharp intensity. “Who are you?”

“He is Wei Zi,” Shi Xianrou said.

She had noticed the two of them the moment she entered. Her instinct told her something was wrong; she had wanted to act immediately, but with the Liu family present, she feared the other party might lash out recklessly and harm someone, so she held back.

Once seated, seeing the exchange of glances between Wei Zi and Wei Lan, she quickly confirmed their identities.

“Wei Zi?” Qian Wanjin stared at the face that was identical to Feng Qingbai’s, his jaw dropping. “Where did you get this skin? Come on, take it off so I can play with it!”

Everyone: “…” The switch in roles happened way too fast.

“You’re Wei Zi? Why didn’t you say so earlier? I thought you were disguised to trick or kidnap someone,” Young Master Qian immediately went back to his carefree, bubbly self. The sudden switch in expression felt completely natural. “What’s going on? Where are Feng Qingbai and Lucky Nannan? Why are only you two back? Where did they go? Did you find Miaojiang?”

What he really wanted to ask was: Wei Zi had returned, but Feng Qingbai and Nannan hadn’t come back. Had they encountered some danger and couldn’t get free, forcing Wei Zi to adopt this disguise?

But with the Grandpa and Grandma Liu and the other elders present, he didn’t dare ask. He feared asking would only make them worry more.

“Miaojiang hasn’t been found yet. Master and the Mistress are fine, very safe. But the two of them went with Xue Honglian to infiltrate Xiliang’s capital, so we can’t get any information from inside,” Wei Zi explained briefly. “As for me and Liu Ya looking like this, it’s to confuse the Xiliang spies.”

“Xiliang, they went to Xiliang?” Qian Wanjin’s expression shifted slightly; he almost let a slip show.

Liu Zhiqiu glanced at him. “Eat your meal properly. Why are you asking so many questions? If you waste time talking, you’ll complain later that I’m taking your food.”

“You’re the one eating my share! If you can, don’t eat and leave it all for me!”

“Don’t push your luck!”

The two resumed their lively food fight, chopsticks clashing over the dishes.

The Liu family elders couldn’t watch anymore. They stacked their chopsticks and left. After all, they had eaten most of the food. Let the two boys fight it out however they liked.

Once the elders left, Liu Zhiqiu immediately stopped his chopstick skirmish. “Do you have some news?”

If he remembered correctly, Qian Wanjin had mentioned Xue Zhong earlier. When he heard Xiliang, Qian Wanjin’s eyes had changed slightly—he clearly knew something.