Chapter 214

C214 – The Family of Three

As Zhang Chun hurried out, he witnessed two of his shop’s employees lifting Sun Wang. He yelled in terror, “Halt!”

The two young men had intended to startle the young master, but when they heard their boss’s furious shout, they instinctively loosened their grip, and Sun Wang tumbled to the ground.

“Ah...” The onlookers let out alarmed cries. Some of the more timid individuals covered their eyes, unable to bear witnessing the scene directly.

Though the fall wouldn’t prove fatal, it was bound to result in sore buttocks. In their hearts, everyone mourned silently for the young master.

Little Luoyuan was equally frightened. He shut his eyes, bracing for the impending pain. However, after a while, he felt no discomfort. Instead, it was soft beneath him.

Shifting his position slightly, he let out a yelp. Zhang Chun clenched his teeth and said, “Young master, could you please shift your position?”

It turned out that when Zhang Chun rushed over, he had unconsciously acted as a cushion for Little Luoyuan.

This had been an entirely instinctive response, without any thought about the consequences if Little Luoyuan had fallen and hurt him.

“Dong... Dong... Dong...” The two young men were left bewildered. Regardless of their intelligence, they could sense that this young master held an unusual status. He might even be related to the Dong family.

However, they had never heard any mention of their boss having a brother. Weren’t they told that the Loyal and Brave Marquis Prefecture had only one surviving child?

“What are you waiting for? Help him up quickly!”

“Oh... Right...” After helping Little Luoyuan to his feet, Zhang Chun supported him by the waist and stood up. He gestured towards Little Luoyuan and then pointed at the two employees, asking with trembling voice, “Now, tell me, what happened here?”

Little Luoyuan was the first to speak up. “They bullied me,” he complained.

The two of them couldn’t defend themselves. They simply looked at Zhang Chun with eyes full of grievance, silently conveying, “It’s a misunderstanding!”

Zhang Chun questioned, “Why would they bully a child like you? I’m not one to jump to conclusions based solely on one side of the story.”

Moreover, he had an intimate understanding of Tang Yue. Although he consistently adhered to the rules, once he was out of Tang Yue’s sight, he could be quite mischievous.

“I want to retrieve my belongings. They won’t allow it. They claim that I never requested them to take it and accused me of theft!”

Zhang Chun was perplexed. Even though 20% of the shares belonged to Little Luoyuan as a birthday gift, it shouldn’t be considered his family’s property, right?

Little Luoyuan pointed with his pale finger. Zhang Chun glanced over and spotted a new toy car wrapped in a piece of cloth.

North Yue boasted a substantial foundation. After four years of recovery, it had regained nearly half of its former strength. The current North Yue King, an ambitious ruler, harbored a lifelong aspiration to unify the realm.

Consequently, he was determined to launch this campaign before his passing.

However, Tang Yue harbored no fear of North Yue. Over the past four years, while North Yue had been gradually recuperating, South Jin had been experiencing unprecedented growth. At a superficial glance, the landscape and people might appear the same, but the bedrock of society had transformed.

Within these four years, the majority of the first cohort of educated individuals had already integrated into society, establishing families and businesses. Half of them had successfully passed their exams, and after further studies, they would become the next generation of educators.

In a decade or a century, a hundred-year-old tree and a hundred-year-old tree. Tang Yue never anticipated that within a few short years, he would be capable of fundamentally transforming the common people of South Jin. As long as he could navigate this phase smoothly, the future was bound to be even brighter.

“Father...” A soft scoff accompanied the sound of approaching footsteps. As Tang Yue set aside his pen and looked up, a petite figure had already rushed to his side, embracing his arm while gazing at him.

“You returned so swiftly?” Ever since the incident with the stampede that year, Tang Yue seldom took his son out. And when he did, it was always with a substantial entourage, which he found rather dull. Consequently, he reduced his outings. Once everyone had forgotten his appearance, he would allow his son to venture out in a low-key manner.

Little Luoyuan eagerly recounted the events of the day to Tang Yue, emphasizing the significance of those toy cars. He wanted Tang Yue to retrieve them.

It took Tang Yue some time to explain the purpose of those objects to him. He reassured him repeatedly that he would craft more enjoyable toys. Those childlike cars were only suitable for one or two-year-olds.

Upon hearing this pledge, Little Luoyuan reluctantly relented. “Thankfully, I didn’t inform Dad. Otherwise, he might have confiscated them first.”

“What do you mean by ‘act first, explain later’?” A deep voice resonated from outside the door. Tang Yue looked up, his eyes warm as he regarded the mature and composed man.

Over the past few years, the Crown Prince had grown half a head taller than Tang Yue and possessed a much more robust physique. With the two of them standing together, no one would think that the Crown Prince lacked the advantage in terms of appearance.

Although his facial features remained unchanged and as handsome as ever, his demeanor was effortless, and his sharpness was restrained, discouraging direct eye contact.

Little Luoyuan shrank back and then shook his head. “Nothing, we didn’t discuss anything.” He cast pleading eyes at Tang Yue.

Tang Yue smirked discreetly. The father-son duo seemed like natural adversaries. They hadn’t grown closer over the years; on the contrary, Little Luoyuan’s respect for Crown Prince Zhao had grown day by day.

Crown Prince Zhao’s teaching approach differed from Tang Yue’s. Tang Yue was as gentle as a stream, enabling Little Luoyuan to learn and grow happily. In contrast, Crown Prince Zhao was stern, employing every method to instill his values into Little Luoyuan’s mind.

Presently, it was Tang Yue’s teaching approach that proved more effective. However, he understood that it could, at best, cultivate a refined and knowledgeable young master. Crown Prince Zhao’s methods were the proper way to groom an emperor.

As heirs to the throne, they didn’t need to appear gentle on the surface; they needed to be resolute. Crown Prince Zhao’s words and actions exemplified this best.

Tang Yue smiled and stood by his son’s side. “Indeed, we didn’t discuss anything.”

Within their family of three, Tang Yue’s heart tilted in favor of his son. However, Crown Prince Zhao’s influence carried enough weight to balance the scales between the big and the small, so he didn’t concern himself with it.