By a twist of fate, the illegitimate son of the Marquis's family marries the county princess.

Chapter 277 Returning to One's Roots

Just as Pei Rujing had thought!

Wen Zongji was helped back by Chang Dong and An Feng.

This was the time he was most drunk.

Changdong and the other man both knew that Pei Rujing disliked the smell of alcohol, so they first helped Wen Zongji take a bath to wash away the smell of alcohol before helping him into the delivery room and letting him lie down on the bed.

Wen Zongji's face was flushed with alcohol, and he was half-drunk and half-awake.

Pei Rujing was teasing Rui Ge'er when she saw Wen Zongji's expression and shook her head: "Take Rui Ge'er back to rest."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The wet nurse responded and left, accompanied by Dongxiu and another person.

Since the wet nurse was an outsider, they couldn't trust her to be alone with Rui Ge'er; there would always be maids accompanying her.

Pei Rujing walked up to Wen Zongji and could still smell the alcohol.

Qinghe placed the hangover soup on the table.

Pei Rujing nudged Wen Zongji: "Husband—husband—"

Wen Zongji was shaken for a while before regaining some consciousness. He opened his eyes and said, "My wife."

Pei Rujing said, "Drink the hangover soup first, so you won't have a headache when you wake up tomorrow."

Wen Zongji took a day off today because he was holding a full-month celebration, but he still has to go to the Ministry of Revenue to work tomorrow.

Wen Zongji rubbed his throbbing forehead, struggled to sit up, and tried to take the hangover soup from Pei Rujing's hand, but Pei Rujing dodged him.

"I'll feed you."

Pei Rujing was afraid he might accidentally spill the hangover soup, so she fed it to him herself.

However, neither of them were good at serving others, and even though Pei Rujing was being careful, some hangover soup still spilled on her chest.

Pei Rujing put down the empty bowl and instructed, "Bring your husband his undergarments again."

Pei Rujing remained calm; she simply changed her clothes because they were dirty.

Seeing Wen Zongji still pressing his forehead, Pei Rujing sighed and leaned over to massage him: "Don't you know how much alcohol you can hold? Why are you drinking so much!"

Wen Zongji said with his eyes closed, "I'm happy."

"Is it really necessary to be this happy?"

Rui Ge'er has turned one month old; even the happiest moment has to pass.

"I've always been alone and was prepared to be alone for the rest of my life... But now, I not only have a wife who understands and supports me, but she also gave birth to a son for me. My life seems to be complete all at once, something I never dared to imagine before."

He wouldn't even dare to dream of such a beautiful dream!

Pei Rujing paused, pursing her lips: "Don't talk nonsense. When did you become alone?"

That's what she said, but she remembered that Wen Zongji had said that he was not close to anyone in the mansion in the past, including Aunt Chen and Wen Shuyu.

But she never imagined that Wen Zongji's talk of not being close to her would make him feel like he was all alone.

Pei Rujing felt a pang of heartache and held his hand, saying, "From now on, Rui-ge and I will stay with you, my husband, for a long, long time."

Wen Zongji was unaware that Pei Rujing had misunderstood. He mumbled a few words and then became confused again.

Pei Rujing, Qinghe, and the others worked together to help him lie down on the bed, changed his inner clothes, and then waved for Qinghe and the others to leave.

Pei Rujing lay down next to Wen Zongji, leaning against him as usual. She looked up and kissed his cheek before closing her eyes and falling asleep with him.

……

The next day

When Wen Zongji woke up, the hangover soup had reduced the effects of the alcohol, but his throat was dry. As soon as he woke up, he drank two cups of tea to soothe his throat.

Pei Rujing was awakened by his movement, and looked at him groggily: "You're awake?"

After finishing his tea, Wen Zongji sat down on the edge of the bed and said, "Thank you for your trouble last night, my wife. You can go back to sleep now."

Pei Rujing nodded and fell asleep again.

Wen Zongji then went out of his room to practice his health-preserving boxing, before washing up and having breakfast.

Ministry of Revenue, Office

When Bai Baojing saw Wen Zongji walk in, he smiled and said, "I thought Lord Wen would ask for another day off, but I didn't expect him to recover so quickly."

Wen Zongji walked over and sat down: "I didn't expect Lord Bai to have such a high alcohol tolerance. You made me drink several glasses of wine last night."

Bai Baojing smiled and said, "I was offering a toast, not forcing you to drink. Lord Wen has misunderstood me."

You really can't judge a book by its cover.

Bai Baojing, who was usually kind, became unrestrained and talkative after drinking. He toasted Wen Zongji several times and wouldn't let anyone else do it for him.

Wen Zongji shook his head, too lazy to argue with him.

I'll continue reviewing the case file.

Bai Baojing smiled and didn't say anything more.

The Ministry of Revenue had a dining hall, and most of its officials ate there. Only a few officials got tired of eating there and went out to find a restaurant to eat at.

Some also had lunch delivered from the mansion.

Wen Zongji usually ate in the main hall with Bai Baojing and the others, and only occasionally had the mansion send him lunch.

But during the month that Pei Rujing was in confinement after giving birth, she had someone deliver lunch to him every day, and he always felt that he had gained some weight in just one month.

It had been agreed in advance that no one would deliver lunch to him today; Wen Zongji and Bai Baojing would eat together in the dining hall.

After finishing their meal, the group returned to their office. It was still early, so they could take a nap.

Bai Baojing had already fallen asleep on the table.

After spending time together, Wen Zongji could see that although Bai Baojing was enthusiastic, he was already a seasoned official who would do whatever he was told and would not do anything extra. He would take any opportunity to slack off.

Wen Zongji saw everything but said nothing.

The most important thing is to understand one's own position; this is not something he should concern himself with.

Just as it was time for his shift to start, Bai Baojing woke up on time.

Wen Zongji couldn't help but admire his control over the timing.

"Lord Bai, do you own a residence in the capital?"

Bai Baojing was just waking up when he heard Wen Zongji's words. He was stunned for a moment and said, "Lord Wen overestimates me. I am just a minor official in the Ministry of Revenue. I can't afford to buy a house in the capital. I just rent a small courtyard."

"What if there were a house like this, not very big, but entirely yours, Lord Bai? Would you like it?"

"Of course I want it. But with the housing prices in Beijing, this house definitely won't be cheap."

"What if loans were allowed?"

"What do you mean?"

"It means that if you don't have enough money, it's okay. You can borrow some money to buy the house first, and then pay it back slowly with your salary later."

Bai Baojing laughed: "Lord Wen, that sounds nice, but who would be willing to lend such a large sum of money? Even if someone were willing to lend it, I'm afraid the interest would be very high. I'm worried that even if I sell the house, I still won't be able to repay the money."

It's a waste of time and energy.

"But if someone is willing to lend it, and the interest rate is within an acceptable range, would Lord Bai accept it?"

"Of course. Who wouldn't want to own a house in the capital?"

Even if the house is small?

Even if it's very small.

People have always had a strong attachment to houses, regardless of the era.

Having a house means you have roots.

For most people, returning to their roots is the thing they care about most on their deathbed.

Wen Zongji was not surprised by this answer.