Chapter 43: Like-Minded Couple, the Formidable Duo

Chapter 43: Like-Minded Couple, the Formidable Duo

Isn’t Dad usually all over Mom?

Everything was fine before bed, but when we woke up, Dad was gone.

"Grandma Qi twisted her ankle, so your dad took her to the clinic in town," Lu Mingchao said, pinching Xie Jingyi's soft, tender cheek, feeling some of her gloom lift.

"Why didn’t Dad deal with the snake first?"

"If I were Dad, I’d make sure to help Mom with the snake first."

"Hmph, what a bad Dad."

Xie Jingyi let Lu Mingchao pinch her cheek, pouting as she scolded the absent Xie Yan.

As Lu Mingchao bent to lift Xie Jingyi onto the chair, the courtyard gate creaked again.

Lu Mingchao instinctively frowned.

It never ends, does it!

"Mom, don't be angry, don't be angry," Xie Jingyi said, using her soft little fingers to smooth out Lu Mingchao's furrowed brow.

"Stay inside; I’ll handle this."

Lu Mingchao stood, pretending to search under the cabinet before pulling out a large axe and marching toward the gate.

Xie Huaiqian thought: How many more surprises does his mother have that he doesn't know about?

A hammer.

A kitchen knife.

An axe.

What's next?

"Don’t know when to quit?"

"Do you think I’ve gone soft, or are you feeling tough again?"

"You only have one life, but there's more than one way to lose it."

Lu Mingchao swung open the courtyard gate, ready to continue her tirade.

"Xie Yan?"

Lu Mingchao immediately regretted carrying such a large axe, with nowhere to hide it.

In the biting cold wind, Xie Yan was drenched in sweat.

"Mingchao, has something happened?"

Xie Yan looked at the large axe in Lu Mingchao's hand, his expression growing more panicked.

Lu Mingchao threw the axe against the courtyard wall, stirring up a cloud of dust.

"I can handle it."

"Weren't you supposed to take Auntie Qi to the town's clinic? Why are you back so soon?"

Lu Mingchao asked as she walked back into the house.

Xie Yan was out of breath. "On the way to town, I noticed that Auntie Qi's foot wasn't sprained."

"I suspect she was trying to deliberately send me away."

As soon as they entered the house, without Lu Mingchao needing to ask, Xie Huaiqian spilled all the beans about Qi Rui's schemes.

Xie Yan's face was cold and stern.

Sun's second young master was not only a regular at the brothels but also notorious in Changhe County for bullying both men and women.

Qi Rui had brought Sun's second young master over, intending to ruin Mingchao.

If Mingchao showed any sign of weakness, Sun's second young master would take advantage.

Xie Yan clenched his fists at his sides, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes.

In the past, he had overlooked minor slights, unwilling to stir up trouble.

But now, they were plotting to tarnish Mingchao's reputation.

And that Sun's second young master...

"How do you plan to handle this?" Lu Mingchao wanted to hear Xie Yan's thoughts.

They say that details reveal character, and naturally, various matters can show whether two people's values align.

Xie Yan's expression was icy. "It's only fair to pay them back in kind."

Lu Mingchao smiled. "Indeed, indeed."

In this life, don't you dare tell me that suffering is a blessing.

If blessings are the grievances of swallowing broken teeth, then I'd rather be a starving ghost doomed to the deepest pits of hell.

"Shall we go now?" Lu Mingchao's eyes sparkled with eagerness.

Xie Yan looked at Lu Mingchao's pale, bloodless face, a trace of heartache in his eyes. "You're not feeling well. I'll go alone."

Lu Mingchao stood up. "Not feeling well means I should keep my spirits up."

"Letting off some steam might do me good."

Lu Mingchao was seriously talking nonsense.

"Besides, Qi Rui is a drama queen who switches roles faster than a chameleon changes colors. What if you can't handle her?"

Xie Yan looked deeply at Lu Mingchao. "Mingchao is kind and tolerant. She's as venomous as a snake, with a character that's utterly despicable. How could she deserve your praise, and how could she be worthy of such noble compliments?"

"Mingchao, when it comes to those who harm you, the worst thing is to be soft-hearted."

"Don't mistake her for an innocent, naive girl who knows nothing."

Lu Mingchao: ...

It's her fault, she didn't explain clearly.

"Xie Yan, I'm scolding her."

Xie Yan: ...

Is he getting old, or has it been too long since he left the capital?

"Let's go, let's go."

"I'll explain the meanings of these words to you slowly when we come back," Lu Mingchao urged.

Xie Yan couldn't resist Lu Mingchao, so he wrapped her up tightly and warmly before they went out together.

Xie Jingyi naively asked, "Is Daddy going to catch a snake for Mommy?"

Xie Yan paused, "Yes, catch a snake."

Lu Mingchao looked at Xie Yan, "I feel a weird thrill, like we're up to no good."

"You and I, we really are two peas in a pod."

Xie Yan sighed helplessly, gently squeezing Lu Mingchao's hand, "We're on the same wavelength, appreciating each other, and sharing the same goals."

Lu Mingchao raised her eyebrows and smiled, "But, being two peas in a pod sounds exciting."

"Alright, alright, two peas in a pod," Xie Yan agreed.

His Mingchao is one of a kind.

He is very pleased.

Not far away, in a small courtyard, the rickety gate swayed and creaked in the cold wind, looking like it might fall apart any second. Broken wood pieces were scattered on the ground, clearly showing signs of destruction.

With a gentle push, the gate swung open.

"You, you..." The servant boy, clutching dirty robes, was so scared his legs were shaking, and he let out a piercing scream, "Second Young Master, that murderous shrew has come!"

"And she brought a menacing, scarred man."

In the tightly closed room, there was a dull thud.

As if someone had fallen to the ground.

Lu Mingchao: She's a shrew? Xie Yan is a scarred man?

She's a shrew?

She is clearly a creative and capable young woman with a knack for making things.

Xie Yan is clearly a peerlessly handsome man.

According to the servant boy's description, they sound like a pair of bandits who rob and kill.

"Is there anything in the room that's not kid-friendly?" Lu Mingchao asked the terrified servant boy.

The servant boy shivered and honestly shook his head.

Lu Mingchao breathed a sigh of relief; she didn't want to see something she'd regret.

"Are you going to knock, or should I just break it down?"

Lu Mingchao’s face lit up with a radiant, flower-like smile.

The servant boy, nearly in tears, reluctantly went to knock on the door. "Second Young Master, please open the door. When the odds are against us, it’s better to play along if we want to survive."

Back at the mansion, no matter who called him, he’d always answer with a smile. That’s how he ended up as the second young master’s personal servant.

He never imagined that before he could start enjoying the good life with the second young master, he’d be getting bullied out in the countryside.

Was he just born to suffer?

The door creaked open, and the second young master of the Sun family limped out, his hair damp and messy, his expression a mix of wariness and fear.

When his eyes landed on Xie Yan, he instinctively pursed his lips.

The intimidating aura around him was even scarier than the county magistrate his father always tried to suck up to.

Was this really the crude, useless old hunter Qi Rui had described?

The second young master shot a fierce glare at Qi Rui in the corner, an inexplicable chill running down his spine—and lower.

Qi Rui’s eyelashes fluttered, and two crystal-clear tears rolled down her cheeks like broken pearls, silently tracing her face.

The tears added a hint of sorrow and fragile beauty to her already delicate features, making her look even more pitiful, like a pure, flawless little white flower. "If you act without respect, you’re just asking for trouble."