Chapter 230: You Are a Prince
The capital was a place where Old Man Wen and Old Madam Luo had never been in their entire lives, and it was something they hadn’t even dared to dream about. Hearing someone invite them to the capital to play at this moment, the two of them were still happy in their hearts.
“Li Fu is right, it’s not like we won’t see each other in the future. Alright, alright, everyone cheer up for me. Today’s meal is to see this father and son off. Come, come, come, let’s drink, let’s drink. It’s just a pity that Yao’er’s wine hasn’t come out yet.” Old Man Wen also raised his wine cup, laughing with a great haha.
Finally, the depressed atmosphere was salvaged at last, and everyone revealed smiling faces once more.
Wen Yao also raised her cup along with them, which contained a beverage she had made.
“That’s right, a temporary parting is only for a better gathering in the future. Let us all wish Uncle Li and Li Yi a safe journey.”
Li Fu shouted praise in succession. “Good, good, good! What a wonderful phrase—’a temporary parting is only for a better gathering in the future.’ Come, drink!”
That night, everyone drank quite a lot. It was as if Li Fu and Wen Xiuyi wanted to completely finish saying all the words in the world; they talked from the wine table until the very end. Ultimately, it was simply too late, and the crowd had no choice but to separate the two of them, sending each back to their rooms to rest.
Early the next morning, Old Madam Luo hauled Wen Yao out of bed very early, starting to prepare breakfast in the kitchen as well as things for Li Fu and Li Yi to take along to eat on the road.
The several children did not go to school today either, all wanting to wait to see them off. Only the heavily intoxicated Wen Xiuyi, Li Fu, and Old Man Wen slept until the sun was high in the sky before getting up.
This time, Old Madam Luo breaked her pattern and did not scold them, but instead prepared hangover soup for each person.
Knowing the hour, Wen Xiuyi was anxious to death. Had he known earlier, he wouldn’t have slept so late; what if Magistrate Chen held it against him?
However, Li Fu told him not to panic. Magistrate Chen had not sent anyone to call for him, which meant it wasn’t urgent either.
By the time everyone finished their midday meal, they suddenly heard the village outside becoming lively.
“What’s going on?” Not understanding the reason, the crowd also ran out to look. From afar, they saw that many people had suddenly arrived at the village entrance. There were large horse carriages and flags, making the grandeur of the scale quite immense.
The members of the Wen family were full of surprise.
Wen Xiuyi was even more utterly bewildered. “Going to the prefecture seat surely shouldn’t require such a large grand array.”
Beside him, Li Fu said nothing, merely smiling slightly.
Soon enough, the large entourage actually entered the village, heading straight toward the Wen family residence.
“It really is coming to our house? Eldest, are you sure the Magistrate only wanted you to go teach them how to cultivate the land?” Old Man Wen always felt this matter was not simple—not simple at all.
The members of the Wen family discussed animatedly, while only the father and son pair of Li Fu said nothing from beginning to end.
Nanny Shi had already recognized it as early as when she saw the ceremonial guard entourage. At this moment, she was standing behind Wen Yao, speaking to her in a low voice.
“Miss, it is a royal ceremonial guard,” Nanny Shi merely whispered a single sentence into Wen Yao’s ear.
Wen Yao was startled, but she quickly restrained her emotions, casting a glance at Li Fu and Li Yi without leaving a trace.
Li Fu, Li Fu… so he is the Prince of Fu from the original book!
Right, she should have thought of it earlier. Although the original book did not describe this idle prince much and the places where he appeared were also exceptionally few—only appearing two or three times in total—his character design had the attribute of being a super big foodie, which was the only reason Wen Yao had managed to retain a slight impression of him. But she had never expected that this person, who didn’t even count as a peripheral character in the original book, would have an intersection with their family.
Looking at Old Man Wen and Old Madam Luo again, Wen Yao let out a deep sigh. She didn’t know if Grandpa and Grandma would be able to withstand it in a bit.
Soon, the large entourage arrived close at hand. The person walking at the absolute front was impressively the Magistrate Chen they knew.
Just as Wen Xiuyi was about to go welcome him, he was pulled back by Li Fu beside him, and he just stood there.
In the brief moment of this missed step, Magistrate Chen had already led his people forward, respectfully parting his robes and kneeling down.
“This lower official pays respects to the Prince.”
The members of the Wen family were completely dumbfounded.
Prince? What Prince? Where did a Prince come from in their house?
“Lord Chen, what are you doing? Where is there a Prince in our house? Lord Chen, have you made a mistake?” Old Man Wen spoke up with a face full of absolute bewilderment.
Yet the moment his words fell, a familiar voice was heard: “Lord Chen has worked hard. Arise.”
Old Man Wen: “…”
The members of the Wen family: “…”
Wen Yao: It’s over.
“Many thanks to the Prince.” Magistrate Chen stood up with a face full of sycophancy, saying respectfully, “Prince, can we depart now? This lower official can wait a bit longer.”
Li Fu looked at him, then looked at the members of the Wen family who were still caught in shock, letting out a sigh. “Wait a moment.” Perhaps Uncle and Auntie still needed a bit of time to accept this fact.
Old Man Wen: “…”
The members of the Wen family: “…”
Old Man Wen turned his head stiffly, looking at Li Fu. “You… you…” He couldn’t squeeze out a complete sentence for a long time.
Old Madam Luo was the first to recover her wits. The first moment she reacted, she pulled the members of the Wen family to kneel down.
Old Man Wen was stiffly being pulled by Old Madam Luo to kneel, when Li Fu’s expression changed, and he quickly stepped forward to firmly hold the two of them back.
“Uncle Wen, Auntie Wen, dispense with the etiquette, dispense with the etiquette.”
Both of them were pulled up. The other members of the Wen family looked at each other—then should they still kneel or not?
At this moment, everyone had only a single thought in their minds.
Li Fu is actually a Prince.
A Prince! Then wouldn’t that be a brother of the Emperor?
Heavens above! A Prince had stayed at their house, a Prince whose official rank was much, much larger than the Magistrate.
Li Fu cast a glance at Magistrate Chen and the others, saying faintly, “You all wait here.”
Magistrate Chen bowed respectfully. “Yes.”
Only then did Li Fu pull the two elders back into the courtyard. The others also followed inside with numb footsteps; the two brothers Wen Xiuzhu and Wen Xiuqing were even moving their arms and legs in unison out of sheer stiffness.
Li Yi walked at the very end, considerately shutting the door.
The several people in the courtyard stared at each other with wide eyes, for a moment actually not knowing how to speak.
Under the quiet environment, it was unknown who couldn’t hold it in, but someone suddenly let out a fart.
Everyone froze for a brief moment, and immediately following that, a burst of great hahaha laughter drifted out.
Wen Fa’s face flushed crimson, wishing he could find a hole in the ground to crawl into. “Don’t laugh! I didn’t do it on purpose! Ah-ah-ah-ah, stop laughing, all of you!”
“Hahaha…” The laughter was unending.
Old Man Wen also finally recovered. He looked at Li Fu. “You… you are actually a Prince.”
Smack! Old Madam Luo struck Old Man Wen’s arm with a palm, quickly offering apologies to Li Fu. “Prince, we are sorry. His mouth is just like this; please absolutely do not take it to heart.”
Li Fu’s heart was full of helplessness. The chasm of status ultimately caused the Wen family members to have wariness toward him, unlike before, which was not what he wanted to see.
Letting out a sigh, Li Fu spoke up: “Auntie, regardless of whether I am a Prince or not, I am still Li Fu. Yi’er and I originally intended to depart without a sound, but I thought about it—your family is far too special. By making my identity clear, it will also let others know that the Wen family has someone backing them up from behind. That way, no one will dare to bully you. Furthermore, it will also be more convenient for Brother Wen to do things in the future. His ambitions—I understand them. With the protection of my identity, Magistrate Chen will not dare to bully you or make things difficult for you.”
Old Madam Luo’s tears came down all at once, moved by his words.
