The Grand Secretary's Child-Raising Diary

After everyone left, and with only family members in the room, the aunt made no attempt to avoid them, and addressed the slightly plump woman:

"You've seen the child yourself. He's only eight months old and still quite weak. Once Qingqing marries into the family, with me, his aunt, looking after him, what are you afraid of?"

The slightly plump woman was still somewhat hesitant. Although she and Qin were cousins, their family backgrounds were quite different back then, and they weren't actually very close.

Later, Qin married into the Chengen Earl's family, while she married into the Zhao family, a poor scholar. Over the years, they have lived a very frugal life.

Recently, Madam Qin suddenly came to our door saying she wanted to arrange a marriage for her second son.

Madam Zhao was naturally willing to form a marriage alliance with the Marquis of Chengen's family. However, her daughter was only sixteen years old this year, and the second son of the Lu family was a bit older, not to mention that his previous wife had left behind a child. Whether her daughter would become a second wife or a stepmother after marrying into the family would probably cause quite a few troubles.

However, looking at it from another perspective, Lu Erlang is also a rare and excellent son-in-law. He was the top scholar in the imperial examination and is currently working in the Hanlin Academy. It is said that he is highly regarded by the Crown Prince and is often summoned to the inner palace to give lectures.

Although she was a woman, she knew that although the current emperor was old, he did not fear the Crown Prince's Palace. In fact, in the past two years, he had begun to transfer the power in his hands to the Crown Prince's Palace, and the new students were all from the Crown Prince's Palace.

With His Majesty's support, the position of the Crown Prince is secure.

In a few years, when the Crown Prince ascends the throne, with Lu Erlang's talent as the top scholar, his future will surely be bright. If such a person did not have a jealous stepmother like Qin Shi, not to mention the Zhao family, even the Qin family before him would not be qualified.

Moreover, ever since Qin Shi let slip the word, she had people inquire about it. Although Lu Erlang was born out of wedlock, he was more outstanding in demeanor than Qin Shi's legitimate son.

If she marries him, Qingqing won't suffer any loss.

Having thought all this through, Madam Zhao smiled and flattered Madam Qin: "With you, my aunt, watching over things, my husband and I have nothing to worry about."

Madam Zhao could guess Qin's thoughts. She was afraid that Lu Erlang would become successful in the future and marry a daughter from a high-ranking family to overshadow her son. She was also afraid that Lu Erlang would become too powerful and compete for the title of Earl. That's why she had been trying to find a daughter from a humble family for Lu Erlang.

If Qingqing were to marry into the family, she would definitely suffer some hardship. It would be better if Lu Erlang were to become a higher-ranking official in a few years and then live separately.

......

Zhang, the wet nurse, carried Lu Youning all the way back to Songtao Courtyard without stopping. Li was waiting at the door. When she saw her return, she hurriedly came up to greet her and asked in a low voice, "How is it? Did Madam make things difficult for the Third Young Master?"

Zhang was dissatisfied. She and Li were selected to serve the Third Young Master in the mansion at the same time. Because the Third Young Master preferred her, Li did not say anything on the surface, but often made things difficult for her in secret.

She tolerated all of this, but this person was good at putting on a show. Today, since Chen Mama wasn't there, Li Shi should have accompanied the Third Young Master to Chunhui Courtyard with her. However, this person disappeared as soon as she saw Chunwu.

Now she's come out and put on airs, but she can't tell that it was the old woman at the gate who saw her coming back from afar and informed Li Shi.

Seeing that Zhang remained silent with a sullen face, Li reached out to take Lu Youning away, saying, "If anyone in that courtyard says anything unpleasant, don't take it to heart. It's because Songtao Courtyard doesn't have a mistress, and the Second Master doesn't manage things much. We have to accept whatever people say."

Normally, Zhang would not bother arguing with Li, but today she really couldn't swallow her anger: "You can keep those words to say to the Second Master."

After saying that, he carried Lu Youning back into the house.

Lu Youning fell asleep on the way back. When an adult's soul is trapped in an infant's body, one's energy becomes less than usual. When it's time to sleep, without much effort, one closes one's eyes and is completely unaware of the world.

Lu Youning ate and slept well, holding back a lot of energy, ready to mess with her cheap old man.

He waited anxiously, but for several days he didn't even see a shadow of Lu Shiyan, nor did Shouyan and Huaiyan show up.

If it weren't for his wet nurse by his side, Lu Youning strongly suspected he would have been abandoned in this courtyard to fend for himself. Fortunately, his greatest skill in his previous life was surviving well when forgotten by the world.

Zhang, the wet nurse, fed Lu Youning spoonful by spoonful of milk porridge. Seeing that he ate half a bowl quietly without crying or fussing, she smiled and said, "Our third young master is so good. If you eat well, you will grow up well."

Zhang had something endearing about her, and Lu Youning liked her, giving her a friendly yelp. Her lively little face melted Zhang's heart.

As for Madam Li, she had long since disappeared. Ever since Lu Youning stopped breastfeeding, and since the Third Young Master didn't really like her serving him, Madam Li felt that there was no future in staying at Songtao Courtyard. These past few days, she had been trying to find another courtyard to serve.

……

New Year's Day is approaching

The Crown Prince was ordered to go to Huangjue Temple outside the city to perform the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven on behalf of His Majesty. Before setting off, he selected several officials from the Hanlin Academy to accompany him, and Lu Shiyan was naturally among them.

After the sacrificial ceremony, the Crown Prince stayed at Huangjue Temple to co-speak with the abbot and give lectures. Lu Shiyan continued to serve him, and they stayed at the temple for four or five days.

When he returned, covered in the scent of incense from the temple, he should have gone back to his bedroom to wash and tidy up. But as soon as he entered Songtao Courtyard, his steps unconsciously led him toward Lu Youning.

Children change every day. Lu Youning ate well, drank well, and slept well, and her face grew a little chubby. When her bright black eyes looked over, she finally had some of the cleverness and cuteness that was expected at this age.

Lu Youning saw her adoptive father whom she hadn't seen for several days. She only glanced at him before turning her face away to focus on drinking her goat milk, completely unlike how she had been wholeheartedly dependent on her father just a few days ago.

Zhang, the wet nurse, was rather pleased to see Lu Shiyan. After all, her master had been away for the past few days, and Chen Mama had been bedridden recovering from her injuries. The servants in the courtyard were all quite lazy, and Li Shi was busy scheming outside. She was finding it difficult to take care of the third young master by herself, and she couldn't find anyone to lend a hand.

Before she could speak, Lu Shiyan preemptively asked, "Where are the people serving the Third Young Master?"

Zhang recounted the events at Songtao Courtyard in detail over the past few days. Chen's mother, whose injuries from a few days ago had not yet fully healed, was beaten again. Lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), she groaned and felt that her life was truly miserable.

She was assigned to an unfavored master, who then married an unfavored illegitimate son, which has prevented her from having a good life for many years.

If she had known these days would be so unbearable, she should have gone back to the Qin family with them much earlier.

Hearing her cheap father beating someone with a board again, Lu Youning secretly rolled her eyes.

In his opinion, the person who deserved the most punishment in this courtyard was his cheap old man. If he hadn't been so inactive, the servants wouldn't have dared to be so blatantly passive and irresponsible.