The Grand Secretary's Child-Raising Diary

The leader of the fire brigade looked around and, disregarding the Cheng'en Earl's residence, decisively ordered the water hoses to be set up on both sides to prevent the fire from spreading to other houses.

Just as they were busy working, they heard the neighing of a horse approaching. Before they could see what was happening, a figure had already stepped onto the saddle, leaped over the wall of fire, and jumped straight into the sea of ​​flames.

Upon entering the front yard, Ning Yi, with his exceptional eyesight, immediately spotted the little child standing alone in the center of the yard.

The fire was so intense that even a martial artist like him struggled to breathe due to the heat, but the child seemed to feel no pain, remaining as still as a blade of grass in the inferno.

Although he had never met Lu Youning, Ning Yi had a gut feeling that this was the youngest son of Imperial Censor Lu.

Ning Yi also came from a prominent family and had witnessed much infighting and backstabbing within the inner quarters. Almost immediately upon seeing that only a four-year-old child remained in the already burning mourning hall, he understood what was going on.

After observing the fire from left and right, Ning Yi quickly selected several places where the fire was weak and where he could use the momentum to his advantage, and then quickly approached Lu Youning.

Outside the Chengen Earl's Mansion

The jolting on horseback nearly turned his stomach upside down. When they finally arrived at the Chengen Earl's residence, he practically fell off the horse. If it weren't for the quick-thinking imperial guards following behind him pulling him back, he would have likely had a close encounter with the ground.

However, at this moment, Eunuch Shun couldn't care less about such things. He hurriedly grabbed the Imperial Guard and asked, "Have you seen General Ning? Did you bring Young Master Lu out?"

Just as the Imperial Guards were about to say they hadn't seen anything, they heard their general's mount, Huihui, snort several times and suddenly gallop towards the Chengen Earl's residence.

The sudden loss of control of the horse made the already chaotic streets in front of the Chengen Earl's Mansion even more chaotic, with firefighters and onlookers retreating in a panic.

The fire brigade leader, already overwhelmed by the towering flames, yelled, "Whose horse is this? Are they out of their minds...?"

Before he could finish speaking, a person shot up into the sky from the sea of ​​fire.

Ning Yi wrapped Lu Youning in his cloak, securing her tightly to his chest, and landed on the horse with perfect timing.

A cheer erupted from the crowd, but Ning Yi paid no attention to anything else. He dismounted and handed the person in his arms to the weak-legged eunuch Shun: "Take a look, is this the child?"

Lu Youning had been in the middle of the inferno for quite some time, his face and body covered in soot, making him unrecognizable. Eunuch Shun reached out and carefully touched his eyes, and when he saw the small mole at the corner of his eye that was exactly like Lord Lu's, he almost burst into tears of joy: "Yes, yes, yes, this is the child!"

Oh dear, thank God, he and his fellow Imperial Guard brothers survived.

Once he was certain his life was safe, Eunuch Shun's intelligence returned, and he immediately realized something was wrong: "Where is everyone else from the Cheng'en Marquis's residence? Why is only Young Master Lu here?"

Ning Yi wiped the sweat from his face and said truthfully, "I don't know. The fire started in the mourning hall in the front yard. There was no one else inside, only this child."

Eunuch Shun's expression changed repeatedly, but he didn't say anything more.

Looking down at the child in his arms, he saw that the back of the child's hands and ears were red in many places. Without caring about anything else, Eunuch Shun immediately wanted to lead his men back to the palace, without even instructing the imperial guards who came with him to stay and help put out the fire.

Just then, the Imperial Guards who had gone around to the backyard of the Marquis of Chengen's residence arrived in a panic with Lu Chong and Qin Shi's entourage. Lu Chong often traveled in the palace and was naturally familiar with Ning Yi. When he saw Ning Yi here, he thought that His Majesty had specially sent someone to put out the fire for the Marquis's residence.

Lu Chong tried his best to maintain his dignity as a marquis, but perhaps seeing half of the century-old foundation of the Chengen Marquis's mansion reduced to ashes, and thinking that the fire started in his own home and that he would have to compensate the affected neighbors for their losses, Lu Chong burst into tears before he could even speak, and bowed towards the direction of the palace.

"Your Majesty, I am grateful for your concern, but I am truly ashamed!"

Qin also bowed towards the direction of the palace, but when she looked up, she saw a red mole at the corner of Lu Youning's eye by the firelight. Lu Youning was being held in the arms of Eunuch Shun, and only his face was visible.

Lu Youning also saw Qin Shi. The fire tonight made him feel so happy that he could still smile at Qin Shi despite the burning pain on his face.

Qin's mind went blank for a moment, and after a moment of stunned silence, she seemed to have figured something out. She screamed and pointed at Lu Youning: "How could this jinx be here? I know, is it him? Is it him who set the fire?"

I said, how could the mansion have caught fire out of nowhere? It must have been this jinx who deliberately set it on fire.

I knew it. You and your father are both cursed stars, born to bring me misfortune.

Previously, due to his status, Eunuch Shun couldn't openly argue with the people of the Marquis of Chengen's mansion, but now, seeing Qin's frenzied and mad appearance, he could no longer help but speak up and rebuke her:

"Madam, please be careful with your words. Lord Lu was the top scholar in the thirtieth year of the Qian Yuan era. Even the late Emperor praised him as a literary star descended to earth. How come he has become a jinx in your mouth, Madam? Are you questioning the late Emperor and His Majesty by saying this?"

Qin was so shocked that Lu Youning, who should have been in the palace, was in the Earl's mansion that she lost her mind and was provoked by Lu Youning's provocative smile that she didn't even notice that in addition to the Imperial Guards, there was also an eunuch present.

At this moment, with a heavy accusation slapped on her head by Eunuch Shun, even though the Chengen Earl's mansion was still burning, Qin felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head, so cold that her teeth began to chatter.

Lu Chong panicked and hurriedly explained, "No, no, Father-in-law, my wife had no such intention. She must have been frightened by tonight's fire and spoke without thinking."

Eunuch Shun was busy returning to the palace to report, so he didn't bother arguing with this bunch of fools. He snorted and let the Imperial Guards help him climb onto his horse. He then carefully wrapped Lu Youning up tightly and rode away without looking back.

As for the fire at the Marquis of Chengen's residence, Eunuch Shun maliciously thought, "It would be best if it were all burned down."

Palace

Prince De and his wife looked at their grandson, who had a stomachache from overeating, and felt extremely sorry for him. They waited for the imperial physician to cook a digestive soup and coax Xiao Shubai to drink it.

Prince De then put on a stern face and said to the princess, "No wonder you came all the way here to find me today, and even asked me to bring you pastries from Jinxiu Pavilion."

The princess reached out and gently stroked her beloved grandson's belly, laughing, "It's not the first time you've been fooled by him. Why don't you reflect on yourself? You never learn. You used to be a general, and you didn't even know there was a child hidden in that box."

After saying this, Princess De became somewhat worried: "I wonder how the Lu family's child is doing, whether he has returned safely to the Marquis of Chengen's residence."

How could someone so small have the audacity to sneak out of the palace, and yet he succeeded?

Xiao Shubai closed his eyes and listened to his grandmother mention Lu Youning. He was secretly annoyed at himself for being so greedy. Youning had said to just pour his portion of food into the vase, but after finishing his own portion, he still felt hungry. Thinking that it would be a waste to pour it out, he ate Youning's portion along with the bowl of goat milk.