Fu Jiuxin responded again.
Dou Jincai actually wanted to get closer to the child, but he didn't know how to communicate with him. He rubbed his hands together and said awkwardly, "Well, that's fine then. Nothing else."
Dou Akou bid farewell to Dou Jincai at the entrance of the Dou residence. In the past, she would have cried her heart out at this time, causing Dou Jincai to postpone his trip again and again. But this year, perhaps because Fu Jiuxin was there, Dou Akou did not cry.
The little girl stood next to Fu Jiuxin, barely reaching his waist. She smiled and waved to Dou Jincai, "Daddy, bring me some candied hawthorns."
"Okay, okay." Dou Jincai nodded repeatedly. "Whatever Akou wants, Daddy will bring it to you."
“Father, say goodbye to Agua and Ajin,” Dou Akou said again.
Dou Jincai's face twitched. He looked at his daughter, who was full of expectation, and then at the two stone lions at the door. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "Ah, Ah Gua, Ah Jin, goodbye."
The servants who came to see them off all blushed and dared not laugh out loud.
Dou Jincai wiped his sweat, mounted his horse, and turned back one last time to say, "Akou, Father is leaving!"
In the instant he turned around, he seemed to see Fu Jiuxin smile?
With the head of the household gone, the dissatisfaction with Fu Jiuxin within the mansion became blatant.
Why should someone who was found be favored by the head of the household, who not only hired a tutor for him but also entrusted his young mistress to him?
At first, they only dared to test the waters, but when they saw that Fu Jiuxin remained silent no matter how much contempt he received, they became unscrupulous. Everyone despised him, and anyone dared to humiliate him.
Later, it escalated to the point where they wouldn't even leave him any food.
Fu Jiuxin remained silent. After feeding Dou Akou each time, he would go to the kitchen to find something to eat. It would be best if there was cold rice and dishes, but if not, then so be it; a bowl of cold water would do.
Dou Akou was eating a chicken leg, the huge leg held unsteadily in her hand, making it a bit difficult for her to gnaw on it.
Fu Jiuxin washed his hands, tore the chicken into strips for her, and silently waited for her to finish eating.
Dou Akou felt that Xin seemed to have lost a lot of weight recently. Although he looked good even though he was thin, his face had become pale.
She watched thoughtfully as Fu Jiuxin cleared the dishes and left. Not long after he left, she saw him gently press his fist against his abdomen, as if he was enduring some kind of labor pain.
Dou Akou paused for a moment, then quietly slipped off the chair and stealthily followed Fu Jiuxin. When she saw Fu Jiuxin enter the kitchen, she hid outside the door to eavesdrop.
The servants of the Dou family were all gathered in the kitchen to eat. When they saw Fu Jiuxin come in, one of them couldn't help but say coldly, "Young master, don't bother looking for him. There's no food for you in our servants' quarters. Who do you think you are? You're someone our master values and someone our young lady likes. How dare we keep food for you? That would be an insult to you."
Fu Jiuxin paused in his search for food, poured himself a glass of water, and was about to drink it when someone knocked the glass out of his hand and said sarcastically, "The water here is all bitter tea leaves; we can't let the young master drink it."
Some people laughed gleefully, and soon everyone joined in, seemingly having a great time.
Dou Akou, standing outside the door, bit her lip, angrily grabbed a handful of wild grass at her feet, and threw it out, scattering grass leaves all over the ground.
The next day, Fu Jiuxin served Dou Akou a meal, only to find his young lady sitting at the table with a sullen face and displeased.
"Miss, let's eat." Fu Jiuxin glanced at her, wondering if there was something he hadn't satisfied with. Oh right, yesterday, not only did the young lady hug him, but she also climbed on top of him and tried to kiss him, but he pulled her away. That's probably why she's unhappy.
Fu Jiuxin was seriously considering whether to grant Dou Akou's wish and let her kiss him when he suddenly saw Dou Akou pick up her chopsticks, stir the dishes, and then sweep all the bowls and plates off the table in one go, shouting loudly, "I won't eat!"
Fu Jiuxin looked at her in surprise.
Hearing the clattering noises inside, the wet nurse outside rushed in to see what was happening and exclaimed, "Oh my little darling, what are you doing!"
Dou Akou put on a stern face, and despite being only six years old, she had the air of a mistress: "Call your uncle and aunt over."
The uncle and aunt mentioned by Dou Akou were the servants of the Dou family.
The servants were somewhat surprised and uncertain when they heard that their young mistress had lost her temper. But Dou Akou was still young, and their young mistress was easily bullied, so they didn't take it too seriously.
When they arrived outside Dou Akou's room, they saw Dou Akou sitting upright at the table, with soup spilled all over the floor.
One of the bolder ones spoke up first: "Miss, is it that today's dishes are not to your liking?"
Dou Akou said in a serious tone, "We servants don't have food for you here. Who are you? You're someone our master values and someone our young lady likes. How dare we keep food for you? That would be an insult to you."
Her seemingly nonsensical words left the wet nurse completely bewildered, while the servants were initially taken aback, but then suddenly realized that these were exactly the words they had spoken to Fu Jiuxin yesterday, word for word!
Fu Jiuxin couldn't help but glance at her.
After repeating these words like a parrot, Dou Akou said in a childish voice, "Nanny, they don't give Asin any food. If Asin doesn't have any food, I won't eat either."
She was naive, but not stupid. She knew that Ah Xin had been bullied by them.
Fu Jiuxin said softly, "Miss, they—"
"I don't care!" Dou Akou suddenly rushed forward and burst into tears, "Poor Axin, Axin has no food to eat, I'll go without food with Axin!"
She cried as if she had been starving for days, snot and tears smeared all over Fu Jiuxin's clothes, her nose was bright red, and tears fell down like strings of pearls.
Fu Jiuxin was speechless, unsure how to coax Dou Akou; she was still just a child. He stood there awkwardly for a moment, then finally bent down and picked her up, clumsily coaxing, "Miss, from now on, Axin will eat with you, okay?"
"Really?" Dou Akou blinked a few times, sniffled a snot, and then smiled through her tears: "Pinky promise."
Fu Jiuxin was somewhat embarrassed.
Seeing that he didn't move, Dou Akou struggled to slide down to the ground, grabbed Fu Jiuxin's hand, hooked her little finger around his little finger, and shook it a few times: "From now on, Axin and I will eat together, and we will always eat together."
Years later, Fu Jiuxin looked back and suddenly realized that he had shot himself in the foot, hooking his entire life into the trap.
29. It's taken...
Feeling like a drifting catkin, she had no anchor. In her hazy state, Dou Akou sensed someone pacing around her. She thought to herself, "Oh no, it's morning again. My teacher must be waiting for me at the door. If I don't get up soon, I'll be punished with calligraphy practice again..."