Chapter 133 Yuan Ruo

Chapter 133 Yuan Ruo

The sun was past noon, and the feast at the estate was ready. Dozens of people gathered around seven or eight tables, with Qiu Huanian, Jiu Jiu, and their companions Xing Mi and Coral seated in the center.

The tenant farmers had originally planned to prepare a separate table for the master's family, but Qiu Huanian said it wasn’t necessary.

He wasn’t too choosy, and the homely meals cooked in large pots reminded him of his early days in the village. Sitting under the warm spring sun, eating outdoors with a group of people, was more enjoyable than the expensive banquets in the capital.

"This bitter dragon sprout is stir-fried well. It would be even better with sorghum porridge."

The person who first suggested picking wild vegetables quickly responded, "We made sorghum porridge but thought the guests might not like it, so we served white rice instead."

Someone near the stove went to fetch a bowl of sorghum porridge and brought it to Qiu Huanian's table. The porridge was thick and hearty. Both Qiu Huanian and Jiu Jiu filled their bowls halfway, mixing in the bitter dragon sprout and pork stir-fried with glass noodles, then pairing it with a greasy lamb flatbread, digging in heartily.

Coral and Xing Mi, who had been born into servitude, had never eaten rural food before. Seeing their masters enjoy it so much, they were curious and followed suit, serving themselves bowls.

At the other tables, the tenant farmers, young and old, were digging in with gusto. Children who couldn’t handle chopsticks well simply put them down and used their hands to grab the meat, their faces and hands greasy. When the adults noticed, they quickly told them to stop, not wanting to embarrass themselves in front of Lady Qishu and Jiu Jiu.

Qiu Huanian chuckled, saying the kids were just young.

Bing Qi, Bing Ba, Granny Wei, and Wei Li were seated at the same table. The two families had grown close over the past year, and the people at the estate naturally arranged them together.

Wei Li sat next to Bing Qi. The table was small, and the people were many, so the two were very close. Wei Li had to be very careful with his arms to avoid touching Bing Qi while picking up food.

Bing Qi was unusually silent today. In the past, whenever he had the chance, he would cautiously say a few words to Wei Li, and when he got a response, he would smile unconsciously. But today, he said nothing and didn’t even turn to look at Wei Li.

Wei Li picked up a stuffed flatbread and absentmindedly took a bite. The freshly made flatbread was scalding hot, and he was caught off guard, letting out a cry of surprise and quickly letting go, feeling a blister rise on his tongue.

"What’s wrong?" Bing Qi instinctively turned to him.

Wei Li covered his mouth and lowered his head, not wanting to draw attention. Whether it was from the burn or something else, his clear eyes were red and watery.

The more he acted like this, the more Bing Qi felt inexplicably nervous. Before he realized it, he had also lowered his head, leaning in to see what was wrong.

Wei Li recoiled, his long lashes fluttering as he glanced up, meeting Bing Qi’s strong, handsome face close to his. A tear streamed down from the corner of his eye, sliding halfway down his face and into the crevices of his fingers covering his mouth.

He lowered his head even further, mumbling, "I don’t feel well, I’ll go lie down for a while," and bolted from the feast.

In front of the table full of delicious food, this small incident went unnoticed by anyone except Bing Qi, who watched Wei Li’s thin, shrinking back with a heavy heart.

Parting is bitter, and the heart burns with a thousand fires.

...

After the feast, Qiu Huanian called over Old Deng, the head tenant farmer, and his eldest son, Deng Da, separately.

Old Deng had been very honest over the past year, utterly impressed by Lady Qishu, and had never again tried to deceive the master or line his own pockets.

"Our family will be leaving for the capital in a few days, and we probably won’t return for several years. You’ve done a good job managing the estate this year, so you’ll continue to oversee it. For any daily matters or expenses, go to the city and find Mr. Meng Yuanling. After the autumn harvest, hand over the earnings from the cotton and plums to him for accounting, and he will send the money to us."

Hearing this, Old Deng was overjoyed and, along with his eldest son, promised to keep the estate in good shape.

He truly didn’t dare to entertain any other thoughts. First, because if he dared to play any tricks, Lady Qishu might find out, and second, because being the estate manager for the Number One Scholar’s family was both honorable and profitable. There was no need to take risks and engage in underhanded schemes!

In the evening, Qiu Huanian and Jiu Jiu returned home together. Du Yunse hadn’t returned yet, and Meng Yuanling had gone out to check on the shop’s business. Qiu Huanian noticed that the mood at home felt strange.

Qiu Huanian asked the butler, Wu Da, who came out to greet them, "Did anyone come to the house after we left?"

Wu Da walked beside him, saying, "Many visitors brought gifts and invitations. As per the Township Lord’s instructions, we turned down all invitations politely, saying we were grateful but too busy. As for the gifts, we accepted those from families with whom we already had existing connections, as long as they were within acceptable bounds."

Wu Da gave a quick rundown of the families who had sent congratulatory gifts, then swiftly changed the subject.

"Aside from the gift-bearers, there was another group of people this afternoon."

"Oh?"

"They were relatives of Miss Yuan and Young Master Yuan, a few men and women, lurking around our gate. The guards noticed and reported it to me."

Qiu Huanian was surprised that Yuan Jia and her brother's relatives still dared to linger around even after he had taken them in.

"These folks have some nerve."

"You can say that again."

When Wu Da heard someone was lurking at the gate, he suspected it might be a scheme against the master. He quickly sent Jin San out on the pretext of shopping, bearing the family's official seal to the local magistrate's office to report the situation.

This was a matter concerning the residence of the newly appointed Number One Scholar who had returned home to visit his family. The officials at the local magistrate's office dared not delay and immediately dispatched constables to investigate, apprehending the group on the spot.

After a brief interrogation on the spot, it was revealed that they were there to inquire about Yuan Jia and Yuan Ruo, leaving everyone dumbfounded and chuckling.

The leader was Yuan Jia's third uncle, who, when caught, boldly insisted it was a family affair of the Yuan family, and even the Number One Scholar and the Township Lord had no right to prevent a family from marrying off their daughter.

Yuan Jia, Yuan Ruo, and Chun Sheng were all alarmed and came out. Yuan Jia went over to explain the situation to the constables. Among the group, Yuan Jia and Yuan Ruo's second aunt suddenly took advantage of the situation and went over to Yuan Ruo, trying to sway him.

She said things like your sister now controls the family assets, and if she marries outside, she will take all the money as dowry. Only by following our arrangements and returning home can you keep the money within the Yuan family.

Yuan Ruo's eyes turned red with anger, and he pushed her hard, sending her sprawling.

Yuan Ruo's second aunt didn't expect that a young boy like Yuan Ruo would dare to humiliate her in public. She was so angry that she cursed and grabbed Yuan Ruo's hair, trying to hit him.

Chun Sheng, who was standing closest, lunged like a young tiger and tackled her to the ground.

The others quickly reacted and held back the cursing second aunt.

Yuan Ruo's hair was disheveled, and his headband fell to the ground. He immediately lowered his head, his disheveled hair obscuring most of his face, and squatted down to pick up the dirty headband and put it back on.

Later, the group was taken into custody by the constables of the local magistrate's office on the grounds of unclear identity, but since there was no real evidence, they would eventually be set free according to the laws of the Yu Dynasty.

"Young Master Yuan twisted his foot in the scuffle, but a skilled physician has already treated him and applied medicine. It's not serious and should be fine in a couple of days."

Jiu Jiu and Qiu Huanian rushed to Chun Sheng's room to check on him.

Chun Sheng's left ankle was wrapped in white gauze, and he was sitting by the desk, resting his chin on his hand. Yuan Ruo was also there, and the room was filled with the subtle scent of herbal remedies.

Seeing his sister and Brother Hua return, Chun Sheng happily waved his hands.

"Brother Hua, sister! You missed it, I was really brave today! Just like the heroes in the storybooks."

Jiu Jiu felt relieved and tapped Chun Sheng's head.

"What heroes in storybooks? Have you been sneaking peeks at those trashy books, huh?"

Chun Sheng and Yuan Ruo exchanged glances and quickly looked away.

Qiu Huanian didn't restrict the types of books the children could read, but there were many poorly made and vulgar little storybooks flooding the market, which were not suitable for children. So he would check the content of the books, do a preliminary screening, and then place them in the study for Jiu Jiu and Chun Sheng to read.

However, children's curiosity knows no bounds, and it's inevitable that they would sneak a peek at some books not on the "white list" in the study.

Qiu Huanian raised an eyebrow, "Spill the beans, and I'll go easy on you?"

Chun Sheng realized he had let his excitement get the better of him and accidentally revealed too much. He looked pitifully at Brother Hua, "Brother Hua, my ankle is killing me."

Qiu Huanian chuckled, "Since you did something brave this time, I’ll let it go for now. What do you want to eat? I’ll have the kitchen whip it up for you."

Chun Sheng immediately changed his expression, "Shaved Ice!"

Before Qiu Huanian could respond, Yuan Ruo whispered, "It’s still spring, and no one’s selling ice yet. Where would you get Shaved Ice to eat?"

Hearing this, Chun Sheng dropped the idea of Shaved Ice and instead asked for kumquat candy and hawthorn plum cake, both made from dried ingredients. Qiu Huanian told Xing Mi to let old lady Jin know to make the pastries, while he went to change into casual clothes.

After the people in the side room had left, Chun Sheng rested his chin in his hand and continued talking to Yuan Ruo.

"Yuan Ruo, Yuan Ruo, don’t you think I’m a natural at martial arts?"

Yuan Ruo glanced at his bandaged foot, which was stretched out in mid-air, "Not really."

Chun Sheng protested, "I just haven’t practiced before! This really awesome guy once came to my house, and he even asked me if I wanted to learn martial arts."

The guy Chun Sheng mentioned was sixteen, though sixteen’s exact words were "show you how to fight." Chun Sheng selectively extracted the core meaning.

Yuan Ruo, who didn’t know sixteen, shook his head and said, "Martial arts are tough. Your brother is the Number One Scholar, and your sister-in-law is the famous Lady Qishu. You’re the beloved youngest brother, why would you want to go through all that?"

"But I want to become strong too!" Chun Sheng argued earnestly, "For example, Yuan Ruo, you’re much better at studying than I am. If I’m not good at anything else, what if you pass the imperial exam, become a big shot, and stop being my friend?"

Yuan Ruo was momentarily stunned. The sun was almost setting, and the room was still unlit. The dim light enveloped his silhouette, hiding all the unspoken words beneath.

Chun Sheng, being young, didn’t notice Yuan Ruo’s unusual reaction and quickly moved on to another thought.

"In a couple of days, our whole family is going back to Dujia Village. I’ll finally get to see Yun Kang again. He’s my best friend in Dujia Village, and I haven’t seen him since we moved to the city…"

"Yuan Ruo, Yuan Ruo, when we go to the capital, will you forget me and stop being my best friend?"

Chun Sheng’s servant Bai Ye came over to light the oil lamp on the table. With a flicker, a bright flame jumped up from the lamp, casting light on Yuan Ruo’s delicate and refined face.

"I’ll always be your best friend… no matter what happens."