Mr Wu’s body froze slightly and he replied with a faint smile, “Let’s not talk about the past! My family passed away a long time ago due to a plague. Aye, humans tend to start reminiscing about the past as they grow older. In fact it was just a pointless thought. After all, I don’t have any family to think of to begin with!”
When Lu Zhong heard what was said, he picked up the wine pot and poured some wine out. He then smiled and lifted his hands, “It’s my bad for reminding you about your sad past! Please accept my toast as an apology!”
Mr Wu picked up the wine cup and smiled. Both of their cups touched before they let out a laugh.
Miao Cui Lan could not help but say, “Who says Mr Wu is old? In my opinion, you are not old at all. You are just right! Mr Wu, please don’t blame me for being nosy, but you should consider getting yourself a wife!”
Upon hearing that, Mr Wu choked on the wine and started coughing. His cough shook his lungs and he had to pat aggressively on his chest.
“Are you alright, Mr Wu!” Lu Zhong immediately asked with concern, and gave his wife a condemned glare.
“Let me make both of you some hot tea!” Miao Cui Lan got up. Her intention was innocent and she thought: I only asked out of kindness! This Mr Wu was also a weird one. Why would he refuse to marry a wife at such an age! As long as he agreed, there would be many fine ladies queuing up for him…
At the side, Lu Xiao Shu looked around with her big eyes and thought: Aiyo, there must be a story behind this. He started coughing when he heard my mother mention about marrying a wife, could it be that he was hurt by love before? Or maybe his sweetheart died early, or she dumped him because he was a poor scholar! Or was it because their family status did not match and the elders decided to break them up?
No matter what it was, it all seemed quite sad…
Also, whenever her father spoke, he gave out an erudite vibe. He did not seem like an ordinary villager too. Could he also be someone with a story?
Lu Xiao Shu pondered about those two serious questions back and forth. Suddenly, she felt that her little brain did not have enough capacity to process them, so she started to feel sleepy and fell asleep again.
“Aiyo! What brings you here?” Lu Xiao Shu was awakened by her mother’s surprised reaction.
When she opened her eyes, she saw another person in the courtyard. The moon was very bright and she could see him very clearly. He was a seventeen to eighteen years old, who wore a lake blue long sleeved robe, with his hair tied high up. He had delicate features and a lean figure, but he won in having a good temperament. At first glance, anyone could clearly tell that he was a scholar.
“Sister, Brother-in-law, Mr Wu!” The young man greeted with a smile. Lu Qi was elated and shouted, “Uncle!”, and he pounced on him. “Eh”, the young man responded with a smile and bent over to lift him up.
“Chu He, you’re here! Quickly, come take a seat!” Lu Zhong greeted with a smile.
Miao Chu He went up and took a seat. Miao Cui Lan looked at him from top to bottom, and said, “Why did you come here tonight?”
Miao Chu He was Miao Cui Lan’s little brother. That year when Miao Cui Lan severed ties from her family because she married Lu Zhong, he was only seven years old and was just a child.
His house had an intrepid and bad-hearted stepmother and his biological father only listened to her. It was obvious how Miao Chu He’s days were like. When he was young, he was often beaten and scolded, hence, he would run to his sister and grieve about his scars and sufferings.
Whenever Miao Cui Lan saw the state of her brother, she would feel very angry but there was nothing much she could do. She could only comfort him, apply medicine on his wounds, and make a delicious meal for him before persuading him to go back.
Looking at how he would aggrievedly looked back at her as he walked home, Miao Cui Lan could not help but to feel the pain of a knife being stabbed into her heart.
Miao Cui Lan could leave home by herself, but she was not able to bring her brother along. No matter what, her brother belonged to the Miao family. He definitely could not follow his sister who had severed ties with the family.
Her father definitely would not agree. Her stepmother would not agree either as she would lose someone to order around in the house.
When Miao Chu He was only ten years old, there was once Miao Chu He was severely beaten by his stepmother. His scalp was torn, and his arms and legs were covered with wounds. He ran to his sister’s house crying, and was determined not to go back anymore.
After questioning closely, it turned out that their stepmother’s biological son, the eight years old Miao Tian Bao, was chasing him to hit him without a reason. He did not dare to retaliate, hence, he ran to avoid him. Who knew, Miao Tian Bao tripped over a stone and scraped his knees. He was in pain and started crying out loud. Their stepmother became distressed about it. Even on normal days she would hit Miao Chu He without a reason, and now she found a reason to justify her beatings and she did not go easy on him.
Adding to the fact that she just had an argument with her husband, she was full of anger and had nowhere to vent. Joining all those factors together, she beat Miao Chu He until he was injured all over. Miao Cui He cried and ran out of the house.
After listening to her brother’s grievance, even with Miao Cui Lan’s hot temper, she could only restrain her anger and tears.
What could she possibly do?
For the Miao family, she was already an “irrelevant” outsider. What rights did she have to interfere with the Miao family’s issues? Even if she had the heart to take in Miao Chu He, she still had to see if they were willing to let her do so!
Lu Zhong saw what happened and he secretly sighed. He then discussed with Miao Cui Lan about sending Miao Chu He to study in the academy and let him stay there for long-term. They would pay for all his expenses.
It was a great suggestion. Miao Cui Lan was deeply grateful and she agreed.
Even if they were willing to take care of all the expenses, it took them a lot of effort to handle it. After experiencing several obstacles, it was finally concluded with them giving the Miao family’s elders several benefits and allowing the stepmother to extort a sum from them.
Since then, Miao Chu He was finally able to break away from the sufferings, except for new year where he had to go back and receive beating and cursing from his family. During festive occasions, he would secretly run over to his sister and brother-in-law’s house to stay for a couple of days.
Miao Chu He was determined to succeed and he studied very hard. When he was only fourteen years old, he was chosen to be a scholar. Since then, no one dared to hit him anymore.
Initially, he was supposed to go for the examinations, but unfortunately, his father passed away last year. Therefore, his progress was delayed.
Today was August 15th, and he was supposed to be at home to pray for his deceased father during the festive occasion. Unexpectedly, with the help of the moonlight, he reached his sister and brother-in-law’s house. That was why Miao Cui Lan asked him about why he was here and her expression was bad.
She had an uncomfortable expression not because she was against him, but she was against his stepmother. Miao Cui Lan thought he was scolded and beaten by his stepmother again.
If that was the case, Miao Cui Lan would be angry with the stepmother and lecture her little brother.
She could not protect him for a lifetime. Now that he had grown up, he was the eldest son of the family which meant he was the head of the house. On top of that, he was now a scholar. If he was still bullied by his stepmother, then he was really useless!
“Haha”, Miao Chu He laughed as he understood his sister’s suspicious gaze. He then looked at her and smiled,”I had nothing to do after dinner, that’s why I decided to come visit you, Brother-in-law, and my nephew and niece! I will be going back to the academy tomorrow morning. Eh, who is this little baby girl? She looks witty!”
He was really reluctant to stay at home and continue facing his stepmother’s cold face and peculiar tone. That was why he quickly had his dinner and came out which pissed her off.
But so what? She could no longer lay a single finger on him anymore.
To everyone’s surprise, she went ahead to use her relationship with him to get Miao Tiao Bao to study at the academy as well, but judging from the looks of it, she did not seem like she wanted to fork out a single cent. She thought of using him to relieve the financial burden instead — what a plan she had in mind!
“She’s my second sister! Uncle, isn’t my second sister pretty?” Lu Qi escaped from his hug and proudly proclaimed.
Lu Xiao Shu was annoyed and thought: *You are the ‘second’!*
“Your second sister!” Miao Chu He was surprised. He glanced at his brother-in-law and he thought to himself: Xiao Xue is only so big, where did this ‘second sister’ come from?
“It seems you don’t know yet!” Lu Zhong smiled and explained Lu Xiao Shu’s origin.
Afterwards, Miao Chu He finally understood. He nodded and smiled, “So that’s why! Sister and Brother-in-law are really kind-hearted. This child is really blessed to be protected by you!”
“You are getting better and better with your words!” Miao Cui Lan gave him a glare but replied with a smile, “Since you are here, just stay for a night and go back to the academy tomorrow. I will go prepare your bed!”
Although he was now a scholar, no matter how nasty his stepmother was, she was still considered his mother. If he was not careful, he might bear the title of being “unfilial”. No one could afford that title, which was what Miao Cui Lan once said.
“Please,” Miao Chu He was very clear about it. He gently sighed, then he nodded and smiled, “Sorry for troubling you!”
“We are a family, there’s no trouble at all!” Miao Cui Lan went off with a smile, leaving the three of them to chat.
When the moonlight was shining towards the west, Lu Xiao Shu and the two children were already asleep. Miao Chu He and the rest entered the house to rest after Mr Wu went back.
Shortly after dawn on the next day, Miao Chu He was already awake. By the time Lu Zhong and Miao Cui Lan woke up, the fire was burning, the water tank was filled to the brim, and breakfast was also ready. Miao Chu He was idling under the fruit tree in the courtyard.
Seeing his sister and brother-in-law come out of the house, he smiled and greeted them. Lu Zhong and Miao Cui Lan were already used to him. Miao Cui Lan yawned and said with a smile, “Since you woke up early, go in the house and help me watch over the two girls! Especially that girl Xiao Shu. If she is awake, pay close attention to her and don’t let her fall off the bed. That girl is very playful, there’s not a single time when she is quiet!”
“Okay,” Miao Chu He smiled and said before he turned and entered the house.
So, it seemed like there were more of others who liked to pinch Lu Xiao Shu’s face. Lu Xiao Shu pouted and started crying in distress.
(Sobs), was she that unlikable? Others praised her elder sister for being good. They all doted her and never pinched her face. Whereas for Lu Xiao Shu, her face was almost kneaded into a dough by others!
Miao Chu He was shocked to see her crying and he clumsily tried to coax her. When Miao Cui Lan heard her cries, she immediately rushed in from the outside and said with a smile, “You touched her again, didn’t you? This girl is quite disagreeable and doesn’t like others touching her. You should just let her play by herself, but don’t let her fall. There’s nothing much you’ve to care about her!”
“What an odd girl!” Miao Chu He helplessly smiled.
“That’s right!” Miao Cui Lan smiled with a sigh.
Miao Chu He realised that when he did not pinch her, she would stop crying shortly. He could not help but to feel depressed. Was he not well received?
He did not dare to provoke her anymore, so he sat down by the side with his eyes wide open as he exchanged glares with Lu Xiao Shu. Seeing her big black eyes staring back at him without showing weakness, he could not help to find her amusing. He started laughing out loud and subconsciously reached his fingers out to pinch her pinkish cheeks.
Seeing the situation, Lu Xiao Shu turned her tiny body and crawled away quickly. She amused Miao Chu He so much that he could not stop laughing. This little girl was really too interesting!
