Prince Yu stepped closer, his expression stern as he warned Lu Ye, "Lu Ye, you must ensure her safety when Xiao Hei Lian is giving birth. If anything happens to her, this king will never let you off!"
"Furthermore, in the future, refrain from using your good looks to flirt with every woman you meet outside. Attracting so many commonplace beauties will displease Xiao Hei Lian. If she is displeased, this king will make you displeased!"
Lu Ye said in a deep voice, "This commoner's heart only holds his beloved wife, Bai Sheng, and has no room for other women. Moreover, this commoner has never flirted around. Your Highness Prince Yu, please do not attribute baseless accusations to this commoner. This commoner has urgent matters to attend to and will not chat further with Prince Yu. I bid you farewell!"
Prince Yu watched Lu Ye's retreating back and huffed with anger as he returned to the front hall.
"A Qiu!"
"Yes, Master, I'm here! I'm here!" A Qiu came running quickly from outside the door.
He had been standing outside the hall earlier and had clearly heard the conversation between his Master and Lu Ye.
Why was his Master suddenly so... attentive to Xiao Hei—no, to Xiao Bai?
He felt something was amiss.
To date, no woman had ever received such care from his Master.
The noble daughters of the capital were initially attracted by his Master's beauty, but after a brief interaction, they were eager to flee. Over time, his Master had gained a reputation for being sharp-tongued, cruel, perverted, eccentric, and cold-bloodedly ruthless—a "beautiful" reputation.
"Master, what are your orders?" A Qiu saw his Master's chest rising and falling noticeably and guessed that he must have been angered by Lu Ye just now.
Prince Yu picked up a teacup and took a large gulp. "Go to the county town or prefectural city and find five particularly experienced midwives. Xiao Hei Lian is close to giving birth; you must ensure her safety."
A woman giving birth was like passing through the gates of hell. It was said that his own mother had also had a difficult labor when giving birth to him, and his mother had almost...
Xiao Hei Lian had four babies in her womb. That scoundrel Lu Ye was truly... a stud! Thinking of this, Prince Yu felt an urge to hit someone.
"Yes, Master." A Qiu was about to turn when he was called back.
"Listen carefully, this king said truly capable midwives. Do not bring any who are merely famous by name. This king is trying to save Xiao Hei Lian's life." Prince Yu let out a breath and leaned back against the chair.
A Qiu bowed. "Master, your subordinate understands. I will definitely find some truly capable midwives for you."
"Not for this king, this king is not giving birth, it's for Xiao Hei Lian!" Prince Yu glanced at A Qiu.
"Yes, yes, yes, your subordinate understands, it's for Xiao Bai. Your subordinate will go find them now!" A Qiu bowed to Prince Yu and quickly walked out.
Speaking of which, A Qiu was very grateful to Xiao Bai. Because of her appearance, his Master had truly reformed many of his… bad habits that involved tormenting others.
Now, even he was starting to find his Master a bit lovable.
Prince Yu raised his hand to rub his brow bone and suddenly remembered he had forgotten to ask Lu Ye exactly when Xiao Hei Lian was due. He was worried and decided to go to Hongshu Slope himself to supervise.
If anyone abandoned their wife to save their child, he would tear them to pieces!
Lu Ye galloped back to Hongshu Slope overnight.
In the darkness of the night, Hongshu Slope was quiet, with only the dim flickering light of the guards' torches.
It was Hu Da Niu's team's turn to be on duty today.
They saw shadows moving on the stone path ahead and immediately became alert. Only when Bao Yu looked up in that direction with joy did they relax.
It must be the Master who had rushed back overnight, otherwise, Bao Yu wouldn't have acted so unrestrainedly.
Hu Da Niu and the others rushed forward to meet him.
Lu Ye dismounted and asked Hu Da Niu if the people in the mine were still obedient today.
Hu Da Niu replied, "They are very obedient. At first, that foreman Jiang was still jumping around, but then Xiao Ma poked all nine of his fingers and ten of his toes, and he... immediately became obedient."
Lu Ye chuckled, "Xiao Ma is quite efficient."
"Indeed, that fellow is ruthless," Hu Da Niu also laughed, then as if remembering something, he lowered his smile and said, "Master, we've detained all these people from the mine here. If their superiors discover this and come to trouble Hongshu Slope, what do we do?"
Lu Ye handed the horse reins to Qian Cheng Tuo and said gently, "No need to worry. The mine delivers goods to their superiors once every three months. There are still more than two months left.
"Furthermore, I have already sent Xiao Ming and a few others to deal with the remaining guards. Once Prince Yu hands over all the evidence to the Emperor, and the Emperor makes a decision, we will act accordingly.
"Moreover, it was they who colluded together to frame us at Hongshu Slope. They were the aggressors and the ones at fault. We were merely defending ourselves and apprehending the villains.
"Oh, right, did they write confessions?"
Hu Da Niu quickly said, "Madam has already made them write down clearly how they colluded, how they framed us, and how they bullied us with their authority. They all signed and thumb-printed, including Supervisor Xue."
Lu Ye smiled proudly, "My dear treasure is indeed smart."
Hu Da Niu froze for a moment, secretly shivering, and chuckled, "Madam is indeed, very... very smart."
Although it was a bit cheesy, it was admirable for the Master to call Madam like that. Hu Da Niu decided to find a pet name for his wife too. Since Madam had already taken "Guai Bao," perhaps "Honey Pot" or "Darling"?
"Did Supervisor Xue obediently agree to sign and thumb-print?" Lu Ye asked with a smile.
Hu Da Niu snapped back to attention. Thinking of Supervisor Xue, he had a look of disdain. "That pale and plump fellow with the broad face was initially haughty, saying he was an official appointed by the court and we couldn't treat him like this.
"Second Master Lu Yun threatened him, saying if he didn't confess and sign, they would strip him naked and tie him up to parade him through the streets bare-bottomed.
"Xiao Ma and Xiao Ming also threatened to castrate him. The knife was already inserted into his pants, and he was so scared he wet himself on the spot. In the end, he could only obediently write the confession."
Listening to Hu Da Niu's narration, Lu Ye was amused. It seemed that the young men he had trained were all very good, possessing courage and the ability to get things done.
Lu Ye returned to his room, deciding not to enter the spatial dimension. It was already past midnight, and his dear treasure was sound asleep. It was best not to wake her. According to Grandma Wu, pregnant women in the last two months would have a very difficult time.
He felt heartache that his dear treasure was suffering.
In the morning, Hu Da Niu returned to his room and lay beside his wife, Yang Shi. He put his arm around Yang Shi's five or six-month pregnant waist and, after holding back for a long time, finally uttered, "Honey... Honey Pot."
Yang Shi woke up. "What pot are you looking for?"
Hu Da Niu wiped the cold sweat that had appeared on his forehead. "I'm not looking for a pot, wife... wife, you see, Master calls Madam 'Guai Bao,' so I wanted to call you 'Honey Pot,' meaning a pot filled with honey, very sweet and fragrant."
Yang Shi chuckled, her face flushing shyly, and stammered, "If you want to call me that, then... call me."
Hu Da Niu was delighted. "Honey Pot, Honey Pot..." repeated countless times.