He had been in Cangcheng for some time and often went to soup kitchens and other places. Sometimes, when he felt bored in the city, he would go out to the suburbs for a walk. So the guards at the city gate did not think much of it until Wei Hong sent someone to find him and they found out that he had secretly left and did not intend to come back.
Yao Youqing looked at the letter she found in her father's room, her eyes red.
"My father and I were finally reunited, but why did he leave me again..."
The letter said he planned to travel the world and see the customs and cultures he had never seen before. He knew he was old and had difficulty walking, and that she would not agree if he told her, so he secretly left.
Yao Youqing was unaware that Yao Yuzhi had attempted suicide in the palace, so he didn't immediately consider the worst-case scenario. He was only worried that with war raging everywhere, he might be in danger outside.
But Wei Hong knew that Yao Yuzhi wasn't going on a trip at all; she was planning to find a secluded place to get to know him.
It's also his fault for being so angry when he spoke to him that day that he didn't understand the farewell meaning in his words. Otherwise, he would have sent two people to follow him closely, guarding him in every way, and never giving him a chance to escape.
But he didn't dare say this to Yao Youqing. He only advised her not to worry too much. Yao Yuzhi had only been gone for a short time. As long as she was within Shuozhou, he would definitely be able to find her.
But in his heart he was thinking that once he found him, he would break his legs and make him only able to sit in a wheelchair and be pushed around by others. Then he would see how he could run away!
Three days later, Yao Yuzhi was found by Cui Hao and his men who had returned from the border. Two days later, she finally returned to Cangcheng.
When they returned, Yao Youqing, who had been worried, had just been coaxed to sleep by Wei Hong. Cui Hao then settled Yao Yuzhi in and went to see Wei Hong first.
He first congratulated Wei Hong on finding the princess, although he had already said this in a letter a long time ago, but that didn't stop him from saying it again in person.
After he finished speaking, he carefully told Wei Hong where he found Yao Yuzhi and how Yao Yuzhi refused to come back and was determined to die.
"The grudge between the Prince and Lord Yao is probably hard to resolve in this lifetime. Even if we tell him now that you won't hold a grudge against the Princess, as her father, he probably won't be at ease. He would rather die to pay off this debt than let the Princess owe you anything because of him."
"Therefore, even if I bring him back, there is no guarantee that he will not try to kill himself again in the future."
"To avoid this from happening and to prevent the princess from being saddened, I took it upon myself to tell Lord Yao that... the princess is pregnant."
A father who cares about his daughter would never attempt suicide while she is pregnant. Otherwise, what if she miscarries? Wouldn't that be bad for her health? If her health is damaged, she might be unable to have children in the future.
If she were to hear of his death while she was heavily pregnant, there would be a greater risk of losing both her and her unborn child.
Upon hearing this news, Yao Yuzhi no longer dared to attempt suicide and quickly returned with him.
Wei Hong was shocked when he heard this, and his jaw almost dropped.
"Douzi checked her pulse a few days ago, and she's not pregnant. How long can you keep this up to that old scoundrel?"
Cui Hao smiled wryly: "This... isn't necessarily a lie. You can always have a child."
Once the princess is truly pregnant, it will no longer be a lie, and Yao Yuzhi will certainly behave herself until the child is born.
After the child was born, he had grandchildren, and he became even more attached to them. He probably wouldn't think about those life-or-death matters anymore.
Wei Hong frowned: "There will always be some, but who knows when?"
Cui Hao smiled and said gently, "This... it's up to you."
Wei Hong: "..."
Chapter 119 Efforts [First Update]
When Cui Hao came to see Wei Hong, he certainly didn't just talk about these things.
He recounted in detail the recent battle situation between Shangchuan and the Jin Dynasty, and concluded by saying, "His Majesty has lost the hearts of the people and cannot mobilize troops from all sides. He is no longer a threat to us."
"Although the Southern Yan and Great Jin had cooperated before, it was all His Majesty who acted as a go-between. They all wanted to take advantage of the chaos to get a share of the spoils."
“Once His Majesty can no longer threaten you, or even restrain other forces and prevent troops from outside Shuozhou from coming to your aid, their alliance will collapse, and they will never cooperate as seamlessly as before.”
Especially for the Great Jin, which had previously lost a large portion of its territory to the Southern Yan, they harbored deep hatred for the Southern Yan and were even less likely to feel comfortable cooperating with them.
"This can be seen from the recent troop movements of the Great Jin. Since you returned safely to Shuozhou, they have not sent any more troops to the Shangchuan border. On the contrary, there have been frequent signs of troop movements in the areas bordering the Southern Yan, as if they are afraid that the Southern Yan will turn around and bite them."
"In that case, it's only a matter of time before the Jin army retreats. Our main enemy... is the Southern Yan."
Cui Hao looked at a map hanging on the wall and said in a deep voice.
Wei Hong's gaze followed his voice to the location of Southern Yan on the map, and after a moment of silence, he slowly spoke.
"It doesn't matter who it is. Now that I've decided on the path I want to take, I'll kick away all the stones that block my way."
Cui Hao was not surprised by his decision, but still reminded him: "Your Highness, the Southern Yan seems to be in chaos now, controlled by the Yan Emperor and several princes, but there is order in the chaos. It is not a complete mess. No matter how much the princes cause trouble, the general direction has never gone wrong."
"Therefore, I suspect..."
“I just said,” Wei Hong interrupted, “kick away any stones that are blocking the way.”
Whether it's Nan Yan or the person who truly controls Nan Yan behind the scenes.
Cui Hao was originally worried that if he was still attached to the past relationship, he would not be able to bring himself to do it when he found out that he was facing Liancheng.
Seeing that he was confident, I felt relieved and murmured, "With that person backing us up, Nan Yan won't be so easy to deal with. Your Highness should make long-term plans."
Wei Hong nodded: "I know."
...
Yao Youqing was uneasy because of her father's departure and couldn't sleep well. She woke up after about half an hour. When she woke up, she was overjoyed to hear that her father had been found and brought back. She got out of bed to go find him, but Wei Hong pressed her back down.
"He left without considering your feelings, so you should leave him alone for a few days and let him experience what it's like to be out of sight."
“Your Highness, that’s my father… How can I be angry with him?”
Yao Youqing whispered.
Wei Hong was even more frustrated: "What about when you were angry with me before? Am I, as your husband, not as good as your father? If we both fell into the water one day, would you save him first and not me?"
He said it casually, but Yao Youqing frowned and replied, "Your Highness can swim, but my father can't..."
Wei Hong felt a lump in his throat, unable to exhale for a long time.
Yao Youqing hadn't seen her father for several days and was anxious to see him. She tugged at Wei Hong's sleeve and said, "Brother Hong, please let me go see him, okay? I'll be right back."
The word "Brother Hong" instantly softened Wei Hong's heart, making it impossible for him to maintain a straight face.
He wasn't really going to stop the father and daughter from seeing each other, but he had some things to tell her beforehand. So he sat closer and pulled her onto his lap. "Your father is fine. Ziqian brought him back himself. Douzi checked on him as soon as he got back. He wasn't injured or cold. You can go see him later. Before you go, I have something to tell you."
Seeing his serious expression, Yao Youqing figured it must be something important, so she nodded and didn't insist on going to see her father immediately.
After Wei Hong told Yao Yuzhi what Cui Hao had said, she stared wide-eyed just like him.
"How can you lie about something like this? If it's true, it's true; if it's not, it's not. You can't hide it!"
Even if she can keep it a secret for now, a ten-month pregnancy will eventually lead to a child. Where will she conjure up a child for him then?
Wei Hong hummed in agreement, then tightened his arm around her, pressing her soft body against his, and nuzzled her forehead, saying, "So, we have to work hard, Ning'er."
As he spoke, he lifted her by the waist and raised her slightly so that she could straddle him.
Yao Youqing realized what was happening, and her face flushed.
"Your Highness, you..."
Before she could finish speaking, the man silenced her with a kiss.
She had been worried about her father for the past few days and was restless, so Wei Hong didn't force her and didn't touch her for several days.
Now that he had such a good excuse, he was not about to let go and held onto Yao Youqing tightly.
After another half hour, he took Yao Youqing, who had washed and changed, out to visit Yao Yuzhi.
Yao Yuzhi was anxiously waiting for her daughter to wake up so she could go see her, but she saw her daughter coming over by herself, so she quickly greeted her with a "hello".
"If you woke up, you could have just told me so I could have come to see you. Why did you come all this way on your own?"
"You're pregnant, you need to be careful! The first few months are the most important time to be cautious, you can't be careless!"
He took her from Wei Hong and carefully helped her to a chair, afraid that she might bump into something.
Wei Hong felt his hand suddenly go empty as his wife was pulled away by someone else. He frowned, wanting to pull her back, but ultimately held back.
Yao Youqing looked embarrassed, sitting in her chair forcing a smile, unsure how to respond to her father's words.
Fortunately, Yao Yuzhi didn't need her to answer. She kept nagging like a mother hen, constantly reminding her of things to pay attention to, covering every aspect of her life, including clothing, food, housing, and transportation.
He was extremely worried and wished he could tell Yao Youqing everything he knew in one go. Just as he was getting into it, he heard Wei Hong sneer from the side: "You talk as if you've given birth yourself."
Yao Yuzhi had been very tolerant of him in the past few days, but now that he had interrupted her admonition to her daughter, she was unhappy and subconsciously retorted, "I'm decades older than you, so naturally I know better than you!"
Wei Hong's face darkened, and he was about to lash out on the spot.
Yao Yuzhi didn't take it to heart at all. After finishing her sentence, she went to remind Yao Youqing of the things she needed to pay attention to during pregnancy, ignoring him completely.
The father and daughter were talking and listening, one was nagging and the other was quiet and obedient, but they both only looked at each other. Wei Hong sat there like an outsider.
He grew increasingly displeased with his father-in-law, who had "snatched" Ning'er away from him, yet he was unable to join their conversation.
Because what Yao Yuzhi said earlier was correct; he was much older than him and therefore knew much more about childbirth.
Although he is already twenty-five years old, he still has no children and has never experienced anything like this before, so he can't say a word about it.
The only thing that could be said was to expose the lie and tell Yao Yuzhi that Yao Youqing was not pregnant at all.
But this is obviously something that cannot be said.
Wei Hong sat there with a dark expression for a full quarter of an hour. It wasn't until Yao Youqing saw that he was bored sitting alone and said she wanted to go for a walk that he got the chance. He quickly stood up, pulled her to his side, and helped her walk outside.
Yao Yuzhi quickly got up and followed, saying, "Where does Ning'er want to go? You're pregnant, so you shouldn't go too far. Just stroll around in the garden. You can go somewhere else once you've settled into your pregnancy."
"It's getting cold today, and it's freezing up in the mountains. It wouldn't be good for you to catch a cold."
He then offered to help Yao Youqing from the other side as well.
Upon seeing this, Wei Hong tightened his grip, pulling Yao Youqing close to his side and glaring at Yao Yuzhi to assert his ownership.
Yao Yuzhi didn't see his murderous look at all. Seeing how tightly he was holding her daughter, she slapped his arm.
"Loosen your grip! What if you hurt the child with this reckless movement!"
Wei Hong never imagined that Yao Yuzhi would dare to hit him, and his face immediately turned green.
Fortunately, Yao Youqing reacted quickly and grabbed his hand, whispering, "Brother Hong, you...you loosen your grip a little."
After saying that, he looked at Yao Yuzhi again: "Father, I'll just stroll around in the garden and won't go outside, so don't worry."
Yao Yuzhi was relieved and grinned as she walked out with her.
Wei Hong glanced at him and then at Yao Youqing, who was looking at him with a pleading expression. He barely managed to suppress his anger and went to the garden with Yao Youqing.
Whenever he was in the mansion, he would accompany Yao Youqing to stroll in the garden.