"So Big Brother, where are we going~?" Dugu Yan said sweetly from Xue Beng's left. "You sure were in a rush to get us away..." Dugu Yan finished leadingly.
"We're headed to your Grandfather's. I need to give him my thanks and…" Xue Beng paused while opening the carriage for Dugu Yan and Ye LingLing to get in. He signaled the coachman to get to driving and then stepped up into the carriage himself. "I wanted to get you both so that I could apologize for going away so suddenly and only leaving behind letters."
Xue Beng grimaced a little as he said the words, he didn't like having to make apologies, he usually had enough presence of mind that his apologies were few and far between which made his distaste for them even worse. His train of thought was interrupted by two bodies and four arms latching onto him.
"Idiot… You should've told us before leaving…" "We didn't get your letters until a week had passed. Grandpa was out too … we could only wait." Xue Beng looked at them, Dugu Yan and Ye LingLing weren't crying, but only just.
He knew exactly why they were both like this. Dugu Yan's Father disappeared when she was eight, she wasn't aware that it was because of an inherited poison back then, but the experience had scarred both of them. He was sure that the reminder he gave them of that time was not at all a good experience.
"I-, I'm sorry." Xue Beng said, "I won't do that again and I promise to always tell you if I have to go somewhere suddenly from now on." Xue Beng managed to say. He knew that he'd have to spend probably the rest of today keeping them company after meeting with their Grandfather and breaking the news of his new appointment as a Provincial Minister alongside Xue Qinghe.
—
"Granddaughters!" "Grandpa, it's good to see you back!" "Grandpa Dugu" Dugu Bo swept Dugu Yan up into his arms. Ye LingLing also rushed forward and was swept up into a hug as well.
"I always miss you girls so much when I'm gone! How are you doing?"
"We're doing fine grandpa," Dugu Yan glared at Xue Beng before turning back, "LingLing and I have been training really hard lately. I'm now at the 29th rank and…" Dugu Yan turns to Ye LingLing excitedly. "I'm at the 29th rank too." LingLing shared a little shyly.
"We'll both be at rank 30 and ready for our first thousand-year rings in 2 or 3 months!" Dugu Yan finished excitedly.
Dugu Bo laughed delightedly, "That is fantastic news Little Yan, Little Ling! I'm very proud of you both. Have you already planned what spirit beast you want your spirit rings from?"
Dugu Yan and Ye LingLing both looked at Xue Beng for a second, "Hmph, I was planning on asking a certain someone for help, but then he ran off two months ago." Dugu Yan said in a huff.
Ye LingLing had a look of schadenfraude on her face but she still reached over to tug at Dugu Yan's sleeve. "Yanyan…"
"Fine, since LingLing is pleading for you," "I'm not pleading!" "I'll forgive you this once."
Xue Beng took in the sight before him, Dugu Yan looking at him defiantly, Ye LingLing looking mortified at her best friend, and Dugu Bo in the background realizing that he was no longer the subject of conversation.
"Thank you your highnesses for your mercy." Xue Beng said teasingly as he bowed before them.
A pleasant flush lit up the faces of Dugu Yan and Ye LingLing, "I-It's good that you know then." LingLing only nodded.
Dugu Bo stepped back into the conversation by setting the girls down and decided to cut his losses. "So, little brat, what brings you to my home."
Xue Beng stiffened up slightly but he'd made his decision to do this a month ago so he forged forwards.
"Your Majesty, Emerald Poison Snake Emperor Douluo, on behalf of the people of the Tian Dou Empire and specifically of the people of the Balak Kingdom and the Fasinuo Province, I am here to thank you and present a gift for your efforts to stop the plague." Xue Beng bowed low, far lower than would ever be expected of a prince.
"Your guidance in the letters you sent for how to defeat the plague was essential in doing that so quickly as well as managing the fields that had dying and plagued plants in them. Just burning the crops would've poisoned the land for years but your help allowed us to limit the damage to just weeks of effort treating the soil before being able to use it again. You have saved 100 million mu of farmland and an unknowable number of lives. I've already informed the people of Balak Kingdom and Fasinuo Province who exactly it is they owe their thanks to, and the only reason you were not honored in the ceremony my father, the Emperor, held this morning is because it was a surprise for me as well."
Xue Beng almost continued before a gentle force lifted him back into a standing position. He looked forward and saw that Dugu Bo was looking at him expressionlessly. Dugu Yan and Ye LingLing were looking at him in surprise, with a little shock. Xue Beng didn't hear any instructions so he continued by using his storage tool to bring out three boxes and a scroll.
"I took the liberty of making three gifts personally and also by taking a manifest of all the gifts that I couldn't bring back with me." Xue Beng handed out the boxes to Dugu Bo, Dugu Yan, and Ye LingLing.
"What is the gift that you've made personally?" Dugu Bo asked slowly. A look of consideration on his face after a moment of thinking.
Xue Beng took a deep breath. He'd made his peace with revealing a part of this secret but it was still nerve-wracking.
"I've received a special inheritance, one that I have been training in all my life. One that allows me to see fortune and, to some extent, understand and manipulate it. The tokens in those boxes have faith and fortune tied to them. The faith and fortune of all those who know of the plague and give thanks to the people who saved them. Those tokens will bless their wearers with luck and, to a small extent, protection. For you in particular, your majesty, these tokens represent a peek into the domain touched by those at rank 99 and above."
Silence filled the mansion at the end of Xue Beng's words.