Liu Qingsong looked at Ruoruo with a smile, "Be good, come and kiss uncle."

Ruoruo smiled at him and then turned her head to bury her face in Ran Yan's chest.

"Heartless little fellow," Liu Qingsong said with a hurt expression.

Xiao Song also came out of the house and continued the earlier conversation, "Qingsong, which ear of yours heard your ninth sister-in-law giving you a low rating? It's clearly your wife who has an even lower opinion of you."

"Haha," Liu Qingsong laughed, "That's what you don't understand. She's so good at calculating losses and gains, why would she promote how she benefits externally?"

Ran Yun rolled her eyes, too lazy to bother with him.

Ran Yan looked at Xiao Song and pursed her lips in a smile, meaning: I finally know where your narcissism comes from.

Xiao Song slightly raised his eyebrows, reached out to take Xiao Laoda and Xiao Laoda from the nanny, and carried them into the house first. The two little ones babbled to Liu Qingsong in words no one else could understand.

Liu Qingsong teased them and also went inside.

Where there were children, there would be laughter. The three children were very beautiful, and sometimes their unconscious behavior was very cute, making everyone burst into laughter soon after.

Before lunch, they fed the three children some snacks, and after feeding them milk at lunchtime, the nanny took them for a nap.

Then they started their lunch.

The chefs in the Xiao Family kitchen were personally trained by Ran Yan under Lady Xing's supervision, and the taste was naturally different from traditional Great Tang cuisine. Liu Qingsong found it very palatable, while Ran Yun's eyes shone, staring at the dishes as if she was seeing an endless stream of money.

After the meal, after rinsing their mouths, Ran Yun couldn't wait to pull Ran Yan aside to discuss plans for making money.

Ran Yun's offer was very good, it only needed Ran Yan to provide the chefs, and then just wait to collect forty percent of the profits. In the short term, it looked like Ran Yun was at a loss, but in the long run, it was surely profitable. Moreover, no matter how the court situation changed, people always needed to eat, as long as the food was truly delicious, there wouldn't be risks like in other industries.

Ran Yan had long known this was a business opportunity, but she also understood she wasn't cut out for business, and the Xiao Family probably wouldn't want their daughter-in-law to be involved in these external matters. One should measure their ability and only take on what they could manage, so she didn't want to trouble herself.

Ran Yun wanted to do it, and Ran Yan didn't even think twice before agreeing, as it wouldn't take much effort. She could take people to Lanling, hand them over to Lady Xing for training, and just check in occasionally.

After discussing, they returned to the main hall and heard Xiao Song and Liu Qingsong discussing a court case.

"That's too harshly judged!" Liu Qingsong complained.

Ran Yan's heart faltered slightly, Liu Qingsong couldn't possibly be worried about the Crown Prince or An Jin; it must be Li Dejian he was talking about.

Xiao Song took a sip of water and said, "His crime, if not involving the succession, would have been just a matter of a few beatings. However, everyone in the court says that it was An Jin who introduced him to the Crown Prince, who subsequently fell into depravity due to his indulgence in male favorites... Leading the Crown Prince astray, this crime is not light. If it weren't for the sake of the Great General, he might have faced death."

"Indeed, they want to pin crimes on him!" Liu Qingsong exclaimed angrily, "I heard that An Jin went mad because he was forced into castration! Besides, An Jin was handsome, Dejian was able to restrain himself, but the Crown Prince couldn't. Who is to blame for that? When the Crown Prince messes up, everyone just shifts the blame onto others! They dare not act more decently!"

Xiao Song looked calmly at Liu Qingsong, who was furious, and after he finished, said, "Are you done being angry?"

Liu Qingsong took a deep breath, "I'm done. But can't Dejian's situation be remedied?"

Xiao Song pondered for a moment and said, "It's just the first year that will be tough. Once this issue dies down, I will arrange something. Although he cannot return to Chang'an, at least he won't have to suffer."

"What punishment did he receive?" Ran Yan managed to get a word in.

Liu Qingsong sighed and said, "He's been exiled to the far north."

Li Dejian truly found himself between a rock and a hard place, having handled a difficult situation that wasn't necessarily wrong. Originally, he introduced An Jin to the Crown Prince with good intentions, never expecting the Crown Prince would fall for a man. The development was beyond his prediction, but in the end, he still had to take responsibility. It seemed somewhat unjust.

"Rest assured, the Emperor understands this too; it's just a way for him to step down. Dejian is the eldest son of the Great General. Not considering the monk, even considering Buddha, once the Emperor calms down, taking care of Dejian discreetly will be easy," Xiao Song said.

"And the Crown Prince and Prince Wei..." Ran Yan asked.

Liu Qingsong scoffed, "What else can it be, but self-reflection behind closed doors?" He had just finished when he realized, "Prince Wei was mixed up in this too?"

Ran Yan glanced at Xiao Song. Xiao Song said, "Kicking a man when he's down, the struggle for imperial power has always been like this."

It was better to remain outside of this affair.

Ran Yan and Liu Qingsong both understood his meaning and thus didn't ask further.

"I heard the ninth sister-in-law is going back to Lanling; have you already spoken to the Emperor?" Liu Qingsong asked.

Ran Yan still carried the important task of treating the little Princess, a mission personally assigned by the Emperor; if she wanted to leave, she must obtain the Emperor's consent.

"Not yet, the Emperor has probably been very upset lately." Ran Yan planned to speak after a few days. Xiao Song was well-versed with the dynamics of the court, so he could grasp the right timing; Ran Yan was not worried about this.

The tiger is more irritable now, who dares to provoke it?

After talking for a while, Liu Qingsong and Ran Yun left.

From this affair, Ran Yan once again felt the ruthlessness of the imperial society, like in a game of chess, as long as one could protect their commander until the final moment of defeating the opponent, it was a victory; everything else was sacrificial.

Six days later, the case had completely concluded.

Xiao Song advised Ran Yan to enter the palace and seek an audience with the Emperor, to request permission to return home. The reason being that her parents-in-law were observing mourning and couldn't come to Chang'an, so she needed to take the three children back for them to see. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation ticket and monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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