Chapter 88: Hardships for the Youth Aren’t Necessarily a Bad Thing

Chapter 88: Hardships for the Youth Aren't Necessarily a Bad Thing

The word 'Xishan' was extremely sensitive for Xiao Yuchen. Hearing that Xiao Yuming went hunting there, his entire being tensed up. He wanted to ask if Xiao Yuming had been to the Xishan villa, if he had seen Liu Biquin, but he held back because of Tang Shuyi, suffering in silence.

Tang Shuyi, of course, noticed his odd behavior, but pretended as if she hadn't seen anything. She even said to Xiao Yuming, “A hand muff made from rabbit fur will surely look lovely. Moreover, since it's hunted by my son, I shall wear it every day.”

Xiao Yuming chuckled heartily, only to hear his mother continue, “Later on, hunt a leopard or a tiger to make boots for your grandfather. He will surely wear them every day too.”

Xiao Yuming: “………”

Mother, your faith in me is truly boundless.

After dinner, the family of four sat together chatting. Xiao Yuchen was somewhat distracted, and although everyone knew why, no one brought it up. After the conversation, Xiao Yuming and Xiao Yuchen left the Shian Garden together. Finally, Xiao Yuchen voiced his question, “Did you visit the villa when you went to Xishan?”

Xiao Yuming shook his head, “No, there are certainly many eyes on us; I didn’t dare to go.”

“Did you hear any news about her?” Xiao Yuchen pressed further.

Xiao Yuming shook his head again, then after some thought, he said, “Big brother, are you still not seeing things clearly?”

Xiao Yuchen looked up at the hazy moon and replied, “I just want to know if she’s doing well.”

"Life certainly hasn't been good for her!" Xiao Yuming said, "She used to live in luxury, and now she's probably just getting by. But isn't this what she deserves? When Mother proposed to send her away, offering her a shop and a residence, she would have lived a better life had she agreed. But she refused!"

Xiao Yuchen was rendered speechless by the argument, and after a long while, he said, "When things calm down a bit, we'll send her away."

This was the conclusion he had reached after much deliberation over the past few days.

Hearing his words, Xiao Yuming didn't know what to say, feeling that his elder brother was too infatuated. With nothing more to discuss, the brothers returned to their respective courtyards. Xiao Yuchen didn't return to his bedroom, but went straight to his study.

Standing in front of the bookshelf, he stared at the compartment filled with piles of paintings for a long time. Then he said to Changming and Changfeng, who were standing by the door, "Bring in a brazier."

Changming and Changfeng were puzzled, but still brought a brazier into the center of the study. Xiao Yuchen stood there in silence for a long time, then with a resolute move, he took out those paintings and placed them beside the brazier.

Gently caressing the paintings for a moment, he took out a fire starter, ignited it, and picked up a painting from the pile, placing it on the fire. The painting instantly caught flame.

One by one, two by one, three by one...

As the pile of paintings on the floor gradually diminished, tears streaked down Xiao Yuchen's face.

Changming and Changfeng stood by, watching him in this state. Although they knew that Liu Biqin was not a good match, their hearts were still heavy. No matter what Liu Biqin was like, their young master had given his sincere heart.

In Shian Garden, it didn't take long for Tang Shuyi to learn about the events in Qingfeng Garden. Fearing that Xiao Yuchen would act against the Liang family on his own, sabotaging her plans, she had people keep a close watch on Xiao Yuchen's movements these past few days.

Now hearing that he had burned the paintings and cried, she sighed deeply. Ah, the love of the young!

"It seems the eldest young master has made up his mind this time," Cuicloud said.

Tang Shuyi hummed in agreement, "It's some progress, but there's still a greater pain waiting for him ahead."

Cuizhu was making the bed for Tang Shuyi and said, "Since he's decided to let go, it shouldn't be too painful when the time comes."

Both she and Cuicloud were aware of Tang Shuyi's plans.

Tang Shuyi, however, didn't pay it much mind, "It's not bad for young people to endure some hardships."

………

The next day, Xiao Yuming set out early again to "hunt," meeting up with Yan Wu and Qi Er at the city gate, and the three set off for the West Mountain together. Yan Wu and Qi Er both shared their situations upon returning home the previous day.

Having sneaked out, their return naturally set the house in a flurry. Then both of them produced their game. Yan Wu approached his mother with a grin, "Thinking of the days growing colder, I hunted a pair of rabbits to make hand warmers for you, Mother."

Lady Nánlíng was clutching her chest in feigned agony, but upon hearing his words, she ceased her complaints and smiled, saying, "My son is truly filial."

The Marquis of Nánlíng pointed at her and remarked, "Just two rabbits and you're already won over."

Lady Nánlíng clutched her chest again and protested, "Don’t raise your voice at me, my chest pains."

Marquis of Nánlíng: "………"

On Qi Er’s side, upon returning home, he happened to bump into his father Qi Liangsheng coming back from outside. Both father and son were stunned for a moment before Qi Er took to his heels towards his grandmother’s courtyard. Unfortunately, this time he wasn’t so lucky; his father caught him by the collar and dragged him straight to the study, where he got a good thrashing with a bamboo strip.

"How did you manage to sneak out today?" Yan Wu asked.

Qi Er replied, "After my dad went to the imperial court, I slipped away. Sigh, if only my dad went to court every day."

Yan Wu sighed as well, "What’s so good about being an official? You have to get up before the chickens for the morning court. Usually, you’re bogged down with official duties and dealing with endless intrigues, exhausting to death."

Qi Er agreed wholeheartedly, "Exactly, exactly."

At this point, Xiao Yuming said, "But it’s precisely because we have someone in the family holding an official post that we can do whatever we want."

This time, Yan Wu and Qi Er remained silent. They understood these principles too, but simply didn’t want to think about them.

The trio chatted as they reached Xi Mountain, and after waiting for a while, Meng Chengtian finally arrived, still looking half-asleep. In fact, Meng Chengtian was six or seven years older than Xiao Yuming, over twenty this year.

With such an age gap, there shouldn’t have been much interaction between the two, but there were only so many entertaining places in the capital. The haunts frequented by both the grand and lesser rakes were limited, and thus their paths crossed, resulting in an unfriendly acquaintance.

At this moment, watching Meng Chengtian’s drowsy, forcibly alert appearance, Xiao Yuming scoffed, "Meng Chengtian, don’t tell me you almost didn’t get up after getting exhausted on top of a woman."

Though Xiao Yuming had no such experiences, his coarse jests were spot on.

Meng Chengtian was enraged and embarrassed by his words. He had indeed spent a long time frolicking last night in the residence of a newly taken concubine. Why a concubine and not a formal wife? Because his legal wife came from a powerful family and had a fierce temper. She stipulated that he could only have two concubines; any more, and she would kill them.

So, whenever he fancied someone, he could only hide them outside. Moreover, he didn’t dare hide them in his own residence, but rather in the home of his brother-in-law, Liang Jian'an.