Chapter 415 Internal Strife

Chapter 415: Internal Strife

"She specifically told me to bring this dinner to Young Master Wu, for him to enjoy."

Tao Zhi carried the food inside and set it out on the wooden table—two vegetable dishes, one meat dish, and a white steamed bun.

Before leaving, she glanced at Wu Chaoyang, who stood in the shadows, and pointedly reminded him.

"Young Master Wu, the food I brought is only for you—there's none for your parents or siblings. Go on in and eat!"

Wu Chaoyang's eyes flickered, but he didn't move.

Chen Huaxiu noticed that her youngest son had been acting strange all day. Ever since he came back from Ji Yuntang's place, he'd been quiet and withdrawn.

No matter what she asked him, he wouldn't say a word, only staring at her with a blank, dead-eyed look.

Chen Huaxiu had checked him over for injuries but found nothing.

After Tao Zhi left, Wu Shijie stared at the food on the table, his eyes lighting up.

He was already starving, and without greeting anyone, he made a beeline for the only chicken leg on the plate.

But just as Wu Shijie was about to bite into the chicken leg, a stick whacked him on the back of the head.

"Don't eat my food—this is from Yuntang!"

Wu Chaoyang grabbed a wooden stick longer than himself and swung it directly at the back of Wu Shijie's head without holding back.

He roared furiously at Wu Shijie, "Put my chicken leg down, or you'll regret it!"

Wu Shijie felt the back of his head and his hand came away bloody.

He said angrily, "Third brother, you can't finish all this by yourself. What's wrong with your big brother helping you out?"

"No way—this is mine, and none of you are getting any!"

After shouting, he shoved Wu Shijie aside, snatched the chicken leg from his hand, and started chowing down on it.

He wolfed it down, like he was scared someone would take it from him.

Chen Huaxiu was worried he'd choke, so she went over and gently patted his back.

"Yang'er, eat slowly—no one's going to take it from you."

"Get lost, don't touch me!" Wu Chaoyang shoved her away while chewing on the chicken leg, staring at her like a dog guarding its bone.

Chen Huaxiu stumbled back, her waist slamming into the cabinet behind her.

But instead of getting angry, she just looked at Wu Chaoyang with worry.

"What's wrong with Yang'er today? Why is he so cranky?"

Wu Chaoyang had always been protective of his food, but never this bad.

Even when his own family stepped close, he pushed them away with a guarded expression, like a cornered animal.

Wu Jinxi took a puff from his pipe and said darkly, "He's just hungry."

"In Prince Ye's mansion, we can't eat well or sleep well, and we're forced to work by that good-for-nothing girl. From morning to night today, our whole family only had one meal with no meat at all. How can we go on like this?"

"Even we adults can't handle it, let alone Yang'er, and he's only seven."

Wu Shijie clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and blurted out, "Father, Mother, let's leave. Let's not stay in Prince Ye's mansion anymore!"

"Third brother is still growing, so he gets an extra meal, but if we keep going like this, we'll starve here!"

"You've all seen what Ji Yuntang is like now—she's just using her status as princess to get back at us. If we stay here, aren't we playing right into her hands?"

Chen Huaxiu frowned. "If we leave now, where can we go? Are we going back to that small mountain village where we never had enough to eat or keep warm?"

She hadn't come to the capital just to improve the family's life. More importantly, she hoped Wu Chaoyang would get the chance to learn to read and write, and one day become an official and bring honor to the family.

She wanted to show those villagers who bullied them in the small mountain village that the Wu family could produce a big-shot official too.

"Of course we're not going back." Wu Shijie glanced at the steamed bun in front of Wu Chaoyang and swallowed hard.

"Mother, we can go to Second Sister's place. We're her family—she can't just ignore us."

"If that doesn't work, we can go and beg the Marquis to take us in."

"Anyway, I don't want to stay in Prince Ye's mansion anymore. Look at my hands—they're all blistered up."

As he spoke, Wu Shijie held his hands out for Wu Jinxi and Chen Huaxiu to see.

Weren't Wu Jinxi and Chen Huaxiu in the same boat?

One had hands that cramped up from chopping wood, covered in bloody blisters.

The other had hands chapped and frostbitten from washing clothes, with skin all wrinkled and cracked.

Just thinking that such days would continue for a long time made Wu Jinxi feel sick.

He took two puffs from his pipe, went quiet for a moment, and finally made up his mind.

"Alright, at dawn tomorrow we'll go to Marquis Yongning's place. Tonight, we'll rest here."

All their belongings were still at Marquis Yongning's residence—not worth much, but still better than what they'd been given at Prince Ye's mansion!

There was only one bed in the room, and Wu Chaoyang slept on it alone, and he wouldn't let anyone else share it.

With no other choice, Wu Jinxi, Chen Huaxiu, and Wu Shijie had to make do with some dry straw on the floor.

All night, the three of them lay awake, hungry, while Wu Chaoyang slept like a log.

Wu Shijie was burning with jealousy—he thought his third brother was an ungrateful brat.

He'd rather crumble up that big steamed bun and feed it to the rats than leave a single bite for him.

At the crack of dawn, Wu Shijie yanked Wu Chaoyang out of bed.

"Wake up—it's time to go!"

Wu Chaoyang was already cranky when he woke up, and with the medicine messing with him, he started swinging at Wu Shijie with fists and feet.

"Get lost! Just leave me alone!"

Wu Shijie wanted to fight back, but Chen Huaxiu held him back tightly.

"Jie'er, Yang'er is only seven. You're the big brother—you need to be more tolerant of him."

"He only lashed out at you because he was hungry and upset; he didn't do it on purpose."

Wu Shijie ultimately held back from striking Wu Chaoyang, his eyes red-rimmed as he looked at Chen Huaxiu.

"Mother, you're not protecting him—you're enabling him!"

Chen Huaxiu didn't agree with her eldest son at all. "He's only seven; what does he understand?"

Then, gritting her teeth, she said, "It's all that damned Ji Yuntang's fault. She's brought our whole family to this point. Who knows what she did to my Yang Geer yesterday."

After his tantrum, Wu Chaoyang slept again, and when he opened his eyes, an hour had passed.

The sun was high in the sky. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and asked innocently, "Father, Mother, Big Brother, is it time to eat?"

"Eat, eat, eat, that's all you know! If it weren't for you refusing to get up, we'd already be at the Marquis Yongning's estate, eating a feast of eight dishes and soup!"

Wu Shijie's voice was so loud that it frightened Wu Chaoyang, who hid behind Chen Huaxiu, clinging to her and trembling.

"Mother, what's wrong with Big Brother? He looks so fierce!"

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