RPAGF Chapter 1012 Foster Care
Chapter 1012 Foster Care
Actually, Xiaoyuer had this worry when the child was born. The theory of birth date and time has a long history and is not entirely without reason. Even he himself believed in it.
But after all, it was his own child, his own flesh and blood, the new life that his family had been longing for, and he couldn't bring himself to drown him.
Therefore, after much hesitation, they moved the birth time of their child forward by one hour when announcing the good news to avoid causing negative discussions and rumors.
After all, if it were him, and his opponent had such leverage over them, he would definitely make a big deal out of it.
But the deed is done, and he's not one to sit idly by and wait for his fate. Now it's all about figuring out how to resolve the problem as quickly as possible.
Thinking of this, Xiaoyuer looked up at everyone and made up her mind: "I appreciate everyone's kindness. I have thought about this matter. Tomorrow, I will send the child to Jiming Temple in the suburbs to be raised by Master Huineng. I will announce to the outside world that the child is bathed in the Buddha's light and cultivating his character under the Buddha's tutelage. This will not only help me avoid the limelight, but also hopefully allow the child to grow up safely under the Buddha's protection!"
"Sigh," the group sighed upon hearing this. After all, the child was a boy, and doing this was tantamount to exile. His future path would obviously be completely different from that of his two older brothers, which was truly a pity!
As the grandfather, Zhang Ping'an naturally felt even more heartbroken and regretful. However, sending the child away to avoid the storm was indeed the simplest and wisest choice at the moment, so he did not object. "Alright, let's do it this way. At least the child can still keep his life. I'll visit him at the temple more often when I have time."
After pausing, she couldn't help but sigh deeply and instructed, "Talk to Li about this properly. No matter what, the child is a piece of her flesh, and it's only natural that she's reluctant to part with it."
“What time is it now? We have to let go, even if we don’t want to. We can have more children in the future, but if someone with ulterior motives accuses us of being disrespectful, our whole family will be in a precarious situation,” Xiaoyuer said, frowning.
After saying that, he let his personal attendant, the bald-headed man, in and instructed him: "Go pack Young Master Sun's belongings now and send him away before dawn tomorrow. I have already sent someone to Jiming Temple to make arrangements."
Knowing the situation was urgent, the man with the scabies nodded and quickly went to carry out his duties.
The Li family's reaction was much better than Xiaoyuer and Zhang Ping'an had expected; they were surprisingly calm.
She had heard most of the rumors circulating in the capital and knew that the child had simply been sent to a temple for foster care, which was already much better than she had expected.
Without saying a word, she instructed the maid to help the bald-headed woman pack the child's belongings. Before the next morning, she sent the child away early at dusk that same day.
The child was only a few days old at the time, and his facial features had not yet developed, so you could only see a general outline of his appearance.
A child who rarely cries from birth may have realized something when getting into the carriage and suddenly started crying.
"Wait a moment," Li said, fighting back tears as she took the child back from the servant's arms. "He's probably hungry. Let me feed him one more time before you leave!"
Little Fish frowned, thinking that Li was going to back out.
The couple had been married for several years. Li could tell what her husband was thinking just by looking at his expression, and explained:
“I’m not going back on my word, but I gave birth to him, and after he goes to the temple, I don’t know when I’ll see him again. Although we’ve put in a good word for him, the temple won’t mistreat him, but he’s only a few days old. If he gets sick, I don’t know if he’ll survive. I don’t want him to leave this world crying.”
Xiaoyuer paused for a moment upon hearing this, then stepped forward and gently touched the child's face before quickly withdrawing her hand. She said calmly, "You're still in your postpartum period; you shouldn't have come along to see him off. The more you look at him, the more reluctant you'll be to part with him. You're making me seem like the bad guy. Fine, fine, I'll play the bad guy then. Feed him one last time, then quickly send him away. If you have to blame someone, blame him for being born at the wrong time!"
These last words sounded incredibly heartless, and Li couldn't hold back her tears, which streamed down her face and dripped onto the child's face.
I wonder whose heart it burned.
The baby calmed down again after finishing feeding.
Xiao Yu'er stepped forward, took the child from Li's arms, and handed him to a servant, instructing, "Hurry up and make sure to get the child to the abbot of Jiming Temple. It's getting late, and the city gates are about to close. Go quickly and come back soon!"
"Yes," the servant replied, then took the child and got into the carriage. The driver was none other than Xiaoyuer's trusted confidant, Niu Decao. He was highly skilled in martial arts and a steady and experienced man. Xiaoyuer felt very reassured with him escorting him.
After watching the carriage drive away and turn out of the alley, Li wiped away her tears, and, seemingly unsteady on her feet, relied on her maid's hand to return to her room. She didn't say a word as she brushed past Xiaoyuer.
Xiaoyuer knew she was upset, so he didn't disturb her and let her calm down before going to his study.
Zhang Ping'an's face was unusually somber. The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the window onto his face, casting a shadow against the light.
"The child has been sent away?"
“Yes, he’s been sent away,” Xiaoyuer said, pulling out a chair and sitting down. “As you instructed, I also sent a message to the village in the suburbs, asking Uncle Xiaohu to arrange for a few children from well-known and reliable families to go to Jiming Temple to practice Buddhism and keep Miao’er company, and to take care of him. I also secretly arranged for guards to protect him. Whether he survives or not depends on his fate.”
"That's all we can do for now. I just came to report after I finished eating. We've found out who's behind this," Zhang Ping'an said, rubbing his sore eyes.
"Is it the Cui family?" Xiaoyuer asked.
"Did you guess it?"
"It's easy to guess. At this critical juncture of establishing an empress, the Cui family is the most suspicious one, being so persistent in finding fault with and smearing our family," Xiaoyuer sneered.
Zhang Ping'an nodded. "That's right, it's the Cui family, but this time it wasn't Cui Ling who spread the rumor, it was Cui Rong."
"It's her?" Little Fish chewed on the name repeatedly. "She really is an unkillable cockroach. It seems I've been too soft-hearted towards my enemies, which has led to endless troubles!"
"Not only that, I received news from the palace that the Crown Prince seems to be changing his mind, and Consort Yang is pregnant," Zhang Ping'an dropped another piece of bad news.
"What?! This is truly a double whammy, what a coincidence!"
Zhang Ping'an sighed, stood up and concluded, "If I'm not mistaken, His Majesty will not allow this child to be born. Under the current circumstances, Cui Rong has become the biggest winner in the matter of establishing an empress."