В Цзянху есть Сяо Чань

Глава 78

"Father, it's so bitter!"

"Don't jinx it! Your dad's got a sweet mouth! Open your mouth now!"

Seeing Lu Ziqi shrug and make a gesture that said, "Your dad can't help you, so you should just listen to your mom," Lu Yue turned his pleading gaze to Lu Ling, who was busy eating.

"Don't you dare try anything with your brother! If you don't open your mouth, I'll beat you up!"

Seeing that she was definitely not going to escape Song Xiaohua's 'tyranny' this time, she had no choice but to put on a righteous and heroic look and swallow the wicked green vegetable in one gulp, but she kept puckering her little mouth left and right and just wouldn't swallow it.

"If you still have vegetables in your mouth when I count to three, you'll have to eat the whole plate!" Regardless of whether he understood or not, Song Xiaohua began counting, half-jokingly and half-seriously: "One, two..."

Just as the number '3' was about to appear, Lu Yue suddenly turned around and hugged Lu Ling, who had just looked up and hadn't reacted yet. He then spat all the vegetables into Lu Ling's mouth and proudly showed his empty mouth to his dumbfounded mother...

"...You little rascal, you're bullying your brother again!"

Just as Song Xiaohua was about to lash out, Lu Ling gave a soft hum, frowned, and then lowered his head to spit out a bloody tooth.

His already loose baby tooth was completely destroyed by this impact.

But Lu Yue didn't understand what was going on, and he was stunned when he saw the blood. He remembered that he had fallen on a rock a few days ago and scraped his skin, which hurt terribly, and the blood that came out was this color.

"elder brother!"

Song Xiaohua and Lu Ziqi, who were busy checking Lu Ling's mouth and making him rinse it, were startled by the sudden cry.

Lu Yue, who hadn't shed a tear for months, was now wailing desperately, tears streaming down his face...

"Brother, it hurts, Yue'er, you're so naughty!" He cried and raised his hand to scold himself. Lu Ling hurriedly rushed over and hugged him: "Brother, it doesn't hurt. Brother is fine. I'm the best brother in the whole world."

Lu Ziqi was very pleased to see the two brothers' affection for each other. Song Xiaohua, on the other hand, rolled her eyes and picked up a plate of vegetables: "Yue'er, if you eat these, your brother won't feel pain anymore."

Watching Lu Yue obediently stuff his mouth with vegetables, Lu Ziqi gave a thumbs up to Song Xiaohua, who was taking advantage of every opportunity to fool her son...

After dinner, Song Xiaohua put her sons to sleep one by one, and then carried a bowl of dark, mushy stuff into Lu Ziqi's study.

He put down the letter in his hand and sighed deeply, "What is it this time?"

"Drink Physician Zhang's secret recipe while it's hot."

"Yaoyao, I'm about to become a medicine guinea pig for the Imperial Hospital to test drugs."

"Serves you right, who told you to be sick?"

"My stomach problem really did get better a long time ago!"

"I said it's not good, and that means it! Behave yourself, and don't try to cheat like Yue'er!"

For over a year, Song Xiaohua has been persistently trying all sorts of strange and unusual remedies on Lu Ziqi, including food, medicine, and even qigong meditation. She's practically resorting to shamanistic rituals and witchcraft, all for the sake of one organ in his body: his stomach.

The crucial point is that, for some unknown reason, Song Xiaohua suddenly began to actively associate with the families of many officials in the capital, and among them, she was particularly close to the wives of several well-known imperial physicians in the Imperial Medical Academy…

Despite being mentally prepared, Lu Ziqi was still so overwhelmed by the bitterness of the drink that his vision blurred. He had to drink two cups of water to feel a little better: "Does this Physician Zhang have some grudge against me?"

"Don't bite the hand that feeds you! This is a rare and precious remedy that he painstakingly obtained from a foreign land!"

"Another land?"

Song Xiaohua ignored his question and looked at the papers spread out on the table: "Big brother wrote again?"

"Yes, they arrived at the coast of the East China Sea a while ago." He handed her the letter: "Smell it, does it have a salty and astringent smell?"

I quickly glanced at the letter: "It looks like a lot of fun. I've never been there before!"

"I'll definitely go with you if I have the chance in the future."

"Okay, it's a deal."

"distant……"

"Um?"

"nothing."

He rolled up the letter and gently tapped his head: "Do you miss your older brother very much right now?"

Why do you say that?

"I already noticed it at the dinner table. Because Ling'er and Yue'er reminded you of you and your older brother, am I right?"

He seized her wrist and said, "Your ability to read people is getting better and better."

"This isn't about reading between the lines. If I didn't even know what my man was thinking, then all these years of sleeping in the same bed would have been for nothing!"

With a slight pull, he drew her closer: "Do you know what I was actually trying to say just now?"

“You also yearn for the carefree life your older brothers lead, and you really hope to spend that kind of life with me and the children. But, not now. Because you still have things to finish and things you can’t let go of.”

Her eyelids drooped slightly: "Do you... feel regret?"

“I’m young and in the prime of my life, what regrets could I possibly have? These are things you should only have when you’re old and withered!” She paused, then suddenly raised her voice: “You don’t mean you want to be a high-ranking official until you die, do you? Although I’m enjoying being the wife of a high-ranking official, you can’t always hog that position. It’s about time you retired to the second line and gave the younger generation a chance!”

He gave a bitter smile, his eyes deep: "Did you really find it enjoyable?"

"Of course! I'm treated to the best food and drinks wherever I go, and I also hold the financial power of a super-rich family. I'm so happy!"

"Yaoyao, since you know me, how could I not know you?"

He let go of her hand, stood up, and wiped the glistening beads of sweat from her forehead: "You already knew about what happened two years ago, didn't Huo Nan tell you?"

He paused for a moment, then pursed his lips: "Since we're all smart people, let's not beat around the bush. When did you find out that I knew?"

"It was only finalized that day when we saw Huo Nan and Xiao Han off at the farmhouse."

"So... you've been suspicious for even longer?"

"The interval between suspicion and confirmation is not very long."

After thinking for a moment, she suddenly realized: "You must have started to suspect me as soon as I agreed to learn how to manage the household from Fourth Aunt. Well, you've been pretending to be fine all this time!"

"If you don't want me to know, then I won't know." He gently brushed a stray hair from her cheek. "This trick, wasn't it learned from you?"

"You dare to turn the tables like Pigsy!" Song Xiaohua jumped up with a howl and bit Lu Ziqi's neck, leaving two rows of instantly purple teeth marks: "Serves you right for hiding your life from me!"

Without moving an inch, he then touched the sore spot with a wry smile: "This sip, along with all the strange soups and broths I've drunk, should finally vent your anger, right?"

"You're getting a good deal and then acting innocent! Weren't all those things done for your own good?"

"That's right, that's right, but it seems that some of the original flavors shouldn't be so strange."

Finally, he couldn't hold back his laughter and said, "You're smart."

"So, considering that I knowingly ventured into the tiger's den, let's just drop this matter!"

"Will you dare to do it again in the future?"

"No, no, I'm really terrified of the suffering. If I hadn't reached my breaking point, would I have dared to bring this up with you?"

"Learn from your mistakes, that's the right way to do it!"

She chuckled, then stared at him intently for a moment before suddenly hugging his waist tightly, as if trying to embed herself into his thin yet firm chest: "Dongqing, I know that if we could do it all over again, or if we encountered a similar situation, you would still take the gamble without hesitation."

His expression darkened, filled with pain: "Yaoyao, I..."

“I understand, I understand everything. You will take good care of yourself for my sake and for this family, and not let yourself get hurt or get into trouble. Otherwise, it must be because you have no other choice. Dongqing, whatever path you choose, I will follow you to the end, whether it's a path of life or a path of death. But I will no longer be a fool who passively accepts arrangements. I don't understand the things you do, those important military and national affairs. I don't have the ability to fight alongside my man like Xiaohan did. All I can do is stand behind you and take care of a home where you have no worries. Occasionally, I'll listen to you talk about your troubles, even if I can't help you, even if I just listen in silence. I think if you could have someone to confide in without any reservations, you would feel a little more relaxed, wouldn't you?”

Looking at her upturned face and into her eyes that sparkled in the candlelight, Lu Ziqi gently placed a kiss on her lips: "Yes."

Yao Yao, I will always remember everything you have done.

I am so fortunate to have you in my life. With a wife like you, what more could a husband ask for?

A thin mist suddenly welled up in Song Xiaohua's eyes. Lu Ziqi quickly pulled her into his arms, his low voice so gentle it seemed to overflow with water: "Yaoyao, you've worked hard, and you've been wronged. Once the political situation in the court stabilizes a bit, I'll take you, Ling'er, Yue'er, and Wuque out for a stroll to clear your mind. Since we can't completely escape worldly affairs for the time being, let's steal a few moments of leisure from time to time, shall we?"

"Okay..." Her voice choked with emotion.

"Look at you, you're already a mother of two, and you still cry so much. In this respect, you're really not as good as Yue'er."

"What do you know? I was deeply moved by my own noble sentiments. I am the woman behind the legendary successful man, and you'll have to share half of your future medals with me. If I were to run for 'Touching China,' I would be the number one winner and the entire nation would not allow it!"

"...You always praise yourself so enthusiastically."

Author's Note: All I can say is, these chapters are so long! Daily updates, daily updates, I'm practically spitting blood... My eyes are glazed over and I'm about to collapse!

Chapter 74 Determined Not to Climb the Wall

Song Xiaohua decided to hate ink from this moment on, to hate it with all her might.

“Mother, Ling’er originally wanted to teach my younger brother to write…”

Looking at Lu Ling and Lu Yue, who had once again turned into two 'African chickens', Song Xiaohua took a deep breath and told herself, 'The world is so wonderful, yet I'm so irritable. This is fucking bad, really bad...'

“Ling’er, your younger brother is still young. He won’t be old enough to learn to write for another two years. So until then, don’t let him step into your study again. He can’t even get close. Do you understand?” The last sentence was uttered word by word from his back teeth.