Volume 1: Mission in Danger Chapter 22 Backyard
Wu Chengjian walked into the morning sun and returned to the Xiguan mansion. The sun was not yet high in the sky. Before he even entered the gate, he felt that the Wu family seemed a little different today than in the past.
After entering the door, he teased the doorman , but found that Wu Dacheng responded very reservedly. He just whispered, "Third Young Master, be careful. The master is looking for you, and this time it's not a joke." After that, he didn't say anything else. Seeing his look, Wu Chengjian felt a little strange and went back to the left courtyard first.
When he met the servants along the way, they all gave way to him in a proper manner. No one dared to joke with him as usual. Wu Chengjian was famous for his tolerance at home, and the servants liked to joke with him. Therefore, he guessed that someone had taken action to clean up the inner house, "most likely my sister-in-law."
Before he entered the room, Xia Qing saw him and shouted "Amitabha": "Third Master, you are back. If you don't come back, the whole house will be turned upside down."
Wu Chengjian laughed and said, "Without Monkey King making trouble in Heaven, who can turn the world upside down?"
Xia Qing laughed and said, "You caused a big commotion at home even when you were away. You are more powerful than Sun Wukong."
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "It's not bad. Our Xia Qing can still talk and laugh. From the moment I walked in, I thought everyone in the family had become mute."
Chunrui heard the sound and trotted out. Her eyes were red and swollen, with dark circles under them. It was obvious that she had not only cried, but also had insomnia. She must have not slept all night last night.
Seeing Wu Chengjian, her eyes, which had already dried up from crying, turned red again: "You... why did you come back just now!"
Wu Chengjian and Chunrui grew up together and have spent more time together than Tan Sanniang. Chunrui is so close to him that even a stone would be warmed after such a long time. What's more, Chunrui is really close to him. He reprimanded her for some reason a few days ago, and since then Chunrui has been restrained in front of him. She doesn't dare to speak frankly and admonishingly in the past, but this is not what Wu Chengjian wants. Seeing her like this now, he can guess how much pressure she was under yesterday, and he can't help but feel pity for her.
He walked over, picked her up by the waist and said, "I'm sorry for wronging you last night. With your temper, you must have not eaten or slept all night. Come, Master, see if our Chunrui has lost weight."
Chunrui was so scared that she kept struggling: "What are you doing? What are you doing! Stop it! You...you haven't been home for two nights. The master has been looking for you for two nights but couldn't find you. Now the whole family is almost going crazy, and you are still making trouble here. Go to the backyard to see the master."
Qiuyue smiled beside her, Xia Qing snorted, said "It's shameful to watch!" and went into the room.
Wu Chengjian said with a smile: "To resist foreign aggression, we must first stabilize the internal situation. How can I have the mood to see my father if I don't take good care of the lovely woman in my yard?" Then he took out a bracelet and put it on her wrist: "Ha, it fits perfectly. I knew Chunrui's wrist would be this big. Well, I've been hungry all night, so I've lost some weight."
When Chunrui heard this, her body softened and she kept shouting, "Who is your sweetheart? Who is your sweetheart? Go and tell Xia Qing these crazy things." But when she looked at the bracelet that fit her wrist perfectly, she knew that it was indeed picked by the Third Young Master himself. A sweet feeling welled up in her heart, and most of the resentment she had from the previous night was dissipated.
Wu Chengjian continued to comfort her with kind words, which made Chunrui no longer angry.
The atmosphere in their left courtyard was gradually becoming harmonious, but someone had already secretly flown to the backyard. Wu Guoying was drinking porridge when he saw someone whispering with Aunt Yang and asked, "What's wrong?" He had been waiting for his son until midnight but he still couldn't fall asleep. He had been up all night and was getting angry.
Aunt Yang came up to her and said, "This... Oh, I dare not say it."
"What are you afraid to say? Say it!"
"It's the Third Young Master, he's back." Aunt Yang said.
"He's back? Then why hasn't he come to see me yet?"
Aunt Yang said, "I heard that he went back to the left courtyard first, and now he is flirting with the girls in the courtyard."
She thought the old man would be furious, but she didn't expect that after hearing this, Wu Guoying just paused holding the bowl.
Aunt Yang tried to say, "How about we ask someone to call the Third Young Master over right now?"
Wu Guoying paused as he placed the bowl on the table and said, "When he wants to come, he will come back naturally. Call Erliang over and prepare the family rules first."
Aunt Yang was overjoyed and ran out ask someone to find Wu Erliang.
Wu Guoying looked at her back and continued drinking his porridge.
In the left courtyard, Chunrui had already urged Wu Chengjian to go see the master. Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "Why are you in such a hurry? I've waited for a whole night, and you just need a little while longer." But he still went out, and did not go to the left courtyard, but came to the right courtyard first.
Cai Qiaozhu had also received the news early and was about to rush to her father-in-law's place. When she heard that the Third Young Master was coming, she stopped and sat in the hall with a sullen face.
Wu Chengjian entered the hall. Lian Qiao winked at him and told him to be careful with his words. Wu Chengjian called out, "Sister-in-law, how is my brother today?"
With just one sentence, Cai Qiaozhu's sullen expression relaxed. Now everyone in the house knew that the master would be punished according to the family rules. When he came in, he didn't care about his own affairs, but asked about his eldest brother's illness first. This was really thoughtful.
Without waiting for Cai Qiaozhu's answer, Wu Chengjian had already lifted the gauze and entered the room. If it were Wu Chenggou, he would not dare to be so abrupt, but Wu Chengjun and his eldest brother have always been close friends, so Cai Qiaozhu did not think he was being rude.
Seeing that Wu Chengjun was still in a coma, Wu Chengjian turned over and touched his forehead with the back of his hand, then slowly pressed his arm, squeezed his wrist, touched his fingertips, and reached into the quilt to feel whether his feet were cold or warm. He felt that his arms were thinner than before , and his eyes turned red. But he felt that his feet were still warm and his fingers were not cold, so he felt relieved.
Cai Qiaozhu followed behind, and her heart warmed when she saw Wu Chengjian's actions and expressions. She thought to herself, "Second Uncle also comes to visit every day, but it seems like a routine, unlike Third Uncle, who really holds my brother in his heart. This is what a real brother is like."
Wu Chengjian said: "Although it is autumn, the weather is still hot. Don't use too warm quilts during the day. You have to be careful of quilt sores if you lie down for too long."
Cai Qiaozhu said: "Of course, I'll check on him once when he's half a year old, and I'll wipe his back every day, so don't worry."
Wu Chengjian then came out and took out a small bag with something in it. He handed it to Lian Qiao and said, "This is Cordyceps sinensis. I asked Mr. Er He, and he said that my brother cannot take it as a tonic yet. But this thing will be added to the liquid food that my brother eats in appropriate dosages to replenish his vitality. This is the best Cordyceps sinensis. I found seven pharmacies in Guangzhou City and personally selected them from their warehouses. This is the best. I also found a royal chef who returned to his hometown. He figured out a therapeutic soup made with Cordyceps sinensis for me. It can retain the medicinal properties of Cordyceps sinensis and is sweet and delicious. After I learned it from him, I tasted it myself. Come to my room later and I will teach you how to make it."
Lian Qiao agreed and took the Cordyceps and hid it. Cai Qiaozhu was completely out of temper with Wu Chengjian at this time.
Wu Chengjian put down the snow veil, isolating the inside and outside of the hall, and then walked to Cai Qiaozhu and said, "Sister-in-law, I haven't seen you for two nights. Why do you seem to be thinner?"
Cai Qiaozhu thought about it and decided to warn Wu Chengjian to stop being so reckless. This was also for his own good, so she sat heavily on the chair by the window and said, "If you make me less angry, I will lose less weight!"
By chance, a gust of wind blew by, blowing off a few pear tree leaves, one of which fell on Cai Qiaozhu's head.
Wu Chengjian gently helped to pick up the fallen leaves and said with a smile: "Sister-in-law has a face like a pear blossom. She would look better if she was thinner. But she has been too worried recently. It's not good to be so thin."
Cai Qiaozhu was moved when she heard this, but she quickly said coldly: "What nonsense are you talking about! You can tell these slick words to the maids in your room, they are useless to me! I tell you, you are really outrageous this time. When the master wants to punish you, don't expect me to help you."
"What should I do?" Wu Chengjian said, "Although I have been beaten by my father before, I had my mother to protect me before, and my brother to protect me after my mother passed away. So no matter how angry my father was, if I got hit twice, someone would definitely stop me from getting hit the third time. Now my brother is sick again, oh my, my butt is going to break."
As he spoke, he lifted his buttocks up, and described it vividly as if he had been spanked. Lian Qiao came back and saw it, and could not help but sneer. Cai Qiaozhu also covered her mouth.
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "Don't block it, sister-in-law, I see you smile. Well, it's good to smile. Although my brother is sick, I don't want you to be sad every day. If there are more smiles and more life at home, my brother's illness will get better faster."
Cai Qiaozhu heard him talking about her brother every other sentence, and she felt relieved and sad at the same time. Not only did she lose all her anger to Siam last night, but she couldn't keep a straight face even if she wanted to teach him a lesson. She stood up and said, "All right, stop making jokes and acting silly in front of me. The master should know that you are back. Don't delay any longer, and go to the backyard. If you are late, I'm afraid you will get a few more beatings."
Wu Chengjian said, "No, I won't go! The family rules are ready, why would I go and get beaten? I am sick and I like to be tortured. I am not Chen from Foshan."
Cai Qiaozhu didn't know what the story of Foshan Chen was, so it was not easy to ask at this moment. She just advised softly: "Don't be willful, hurry up and go, I will go with you, you have to take the big stick after the small stick, if the master really beats you hard, your sister-in-law will stop it, can you really let you get hurt?"
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "Since sister-in-law said so, it's okay to go."
Cai Qiaozhu had already packed everything, so there was no need to clean up again. The uncle and his wife left the yard and walked a few steps to the backyard. Wu Chenggou had been waiting in the yard. When he saw Wu Chengjian, he pointed his spear at him and shouted, "Third brother! Where did you go to have fun when you two didn't come home last night? Big brother is sick, and dad is not in good health either. A lot of things at home have been delayed, don't you know?"
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "Second brother doesn't know where I'm going. I was drinking in Shenxianzhou the night before last, and Wu Qi said that there was a guy who looked a lot like Dai Ershiliu who was sneaking around. Wasn't he sent by second brother?"
After hearing this, Cai Qiaozhu also looked at Wu Chenggou.
Wu Chenggou's face turned ugly, and he said hurriedly: "What nonsense are you talking about! I...why would I send people to Shenxianzhou!"
Wu Chengjian said: "It seems that my second brother doesn't know about what happened to me in Shenxianzhou."
Wu Chenggou could only say, "I only heard from Old Liu of Xiajiu that you went to Shenxianzhou. How would I know what you were doing there?"
"Oh," Wu Chengjian said, "Then I was wrong about my second brother."
Then Wu Guoying shouted from inside the house: "What are you all yelling about outside? Get in here!"
Cai Qiaozhu went in first, followed by Wu Chenggou, and then Wu Chengjian came in. Cai Qiaozhu greeted them first, and Wu Guoying waved her hand and asked her to sit down.
Aunt Yang stood beside Wu Guoying, her eyes full of gloating. Wu Erliang held up the family rules but secretly winked at Wu Chengjian.
Wu Chenggou said, "Father, the third son is finally back. You are well now, so don't get too angry later. If you want to scold or beat me, I will do it."
Wu Guoying snorted and stared at Wu Chengjian.
Wu Chengjian, however, acted as if he had seen and heard nothing, and greeted him with a smile: "Good morning, father."
"Morning?" Wu Guoying pursed her lips: "I didn't sleep most of the night!"
"How can that be!" Wu Chengjian said, "Oh, look at you, there are blisters on the corners of your mouth. Auntie, go get some herbal tea to help Dad cool down."
Aunt Yang was often ordered around by Chengjun and Chengjian in the past, but at this moment she did not move.
Wu Guoying sneered, "No need for cold tea! Give me some family discipline and I'll make you a rebellious son and make him realize his fault. Then I'll calm down!"
