I'm the Farmgirl You Can't Mess With

Chapter 1348: Side Story: Having the Whole World in View (25)

Editor: Atlas Studios

Under such circumstances, the future Princess Consort Rong came from the Lu family. If it were in another family, everyone would be worshipping Lu Deyin like a Bodhisattva. However, when Lu Deyin brought her younger brother out, there was not even a servant girl behind her. The young ladies who came to visit the Lu Family surrounded her cousin. As the host, Lu Deyin had to turn aside and let them walk far away before leaving.

Little Fu clenched his fists and said, “Brother Little Bear, you didn’t see the clothes my future sister-in-law is wearing—not exactly old clothes, but not new clothes either. Since she’s going to get married in two months, shouldn’t she have endless new clothes at this time?”

Little Bear rolled his eyes at him. “She’s not nouveau riche and has to dress glamorously at home. Look, my mother, too, likes to wear clothes that are neither new nor old when she’s at home. It’s comfortable!”

“But in contrast, that cousin of hers is dressed gorgeously. Didn’t you see…”

Little Bear waved his hand and interrupted him. As he stroked his chin, he said, “But you’re right. Her parents have passed away, so it’s not surprising for her to have a hard time in the Lu family. But since she’s about to be my wife, I can’t let it go just like that.”

Tiger Head asked curiously, “Big Brother, how did you fall for her?”

Little Bear gently waved his whip at them and said, “Children shouldn’t be nosy. Hurry up and go home. Mother has been waiting for you since morning. Father only asked me to look for you guys after seeing that you weren’t back at such an hour. How dare you make Mother wait for so long? Are you itching for a beating? Careful, Father’s going to whip you later.”

The four youths looked at each other and quickly climbed onto their horses to rush home.

Prince An’s Residence had already moved to the opposite side of King Rong’s residence. Even the entrance was diagonally opposite. Therefore, as soon as Little Fu arrived at the door, he entered his house and waved his whip at Little Leopard. “After I see my mother, I’ll come over to pay my respects to Fourth Uncle and Fourth Aunt. You guys can go back first.”

The three youths cursed at him for being disloyal before entering the house valiantly. Even if they were destined to be beaten up, they had to keep their aura.

In the end, Qi Haoran didn’t beat them up. He only glared at them and scolded, “You said you were going to arrive in the morning, but look at the time. Were you this sloppy when you fought wars, too?”

Mu Yangling sat at the side and watched him lecture the children. After that, she went forward and said, “I asked the kitchen to prepare lunch. Hurry up and wash up before coming to eat.”

The three youths quickly slipped away.

Little Bear deliberately followed behind his mother and said fawningly, “Mother, are you feeling bored these few days? Do you want to hold a flower party, a poetry party, or something?”

Stunned, Mu Yangling asked, “Since when have I organized such events?”

“It’s precisely because you haven’t done it before that you should do it. It’d be a refreshing change.”

Mu Yangling sized up her son suspiciously and asked, “Just tell me what you want.”

Little Bear scratched his head and chuckled. “Since the Lu family of Shanyin is a family of scholars, I figured they should be keen on such things. Please invite them to your poetry gathering.”

In front, Qi Haoran stopped in his tracks and turned around to stare at his son with a dark expression.

Little Bear felt a chill run down his spine. In the next moment, Qi Haoran kicked him in the butt, causing him to fall forward.

Qi Haoran stood beside Mu Yangling and glared at his son condescendingly. “You’ve been your mother’s son for 22 years. Don’t you know that your mother dislikes trouble? You’re not even married yet, and you’re already so biased towards your wife? Geez!”

Just as Mu Yangling was about to speak up for her son, Qi Haoran shouted at her angrily, “Shut up. The children are all spoiled by you.” With that, he pulled her away. When he saw the sumptuous spread in the dining room, he immediately waved his hand and said, “Bring these things to my room and give the kids a basket of coarse steamed buns and four plates of pickled vegetables.”

Everyone could tell that Qi Haoran was mad. Rain and Spring hurriedly brought the servant girls forward to clear away the dishes that had just been served.

Qi Haoran snorted and pulled Mu Yangling back to their room.

Seeing that he was fuming, Mu Yangling asked helplessly, “What’s wrong with you? Previously, you were the one who was worried that your son was unmarried and couldn’t wait to match him up with a random woman. Now, your daughter-in-law hasn’t even entered the family, and you’re the one making a fuss first.”

Qi Haoran looked at the clueless Ah Ling and sighed. He reached out to caress her face and said in a low voice, “You’re such a simpleton. What if I’m not around in the future?”

Mu Yangling froze in surprise.

Qi Haoran moved his slightly red eyes away and said, “In the past, I felt that the children were filial and listened to you. Even if… even if something untoward happened to me, your sadness will pass after a while. But ever since Little Bear got engaged, other than work, he has been revolving around Madam Lu. It’s fine if she’s upright and respects you, but if she has any wicked thoughts or is greedy for power, how can you win against her?”

Qi Haoran said in a low voice, “The Lu family is a family of scholars, whereas you’re so stupid…”

Mu Yangling’s heart ached. For a moment, she was touched and speechless. As she held Qi Haoran’s hand, she said, “You’re the stupid one. How am I stupid? I’m very smart, okay?”

She tilted her head slightly and lay on his knee. With tears in her eyes, she said, “Don’t worry. No one will dare to bully me.”

The corners of Qi Haoran’s lips twitched. He didn’t believe it at all. Ah Ling was shrewd when it came to important matters, and she wasn’t smart at all when it came to family matters. If a combative daughter-in-law entered the family, she would be set up in minutes.

She could still beat up the children now, but when she was old, the children could hide out. After Baozhu got married, she could only live with her daughters-in-law. If they had wicked intentions, wouldn’t she be tortured to death?

There were many ways to torture people in the same family. The simplest way was to get the kitchen to serve fish and meat when Ah Ling wanted to eat vegetarian food. In the eyes of others, her daughter-in-law would remain filial. If Ah Ling lost her temper, it’d be easy to make it look like she was the one with an odd temper. However, Qi Haoran could not tell her this.

He could only hug Mu Yangling and say in a low voice, “He clearly knows that you don’t like to deal with those people. I can’t even bear to tire you out due to my birthday banquets, which is why I only invite familiar faces. Yet, he wants you to hold a poetry party and a flower party. Is that being considerate of his mother?”

Mu Yangling said helplessly, “It’s perhaps because he’s just started a romance. How can he think so much at this time? How can you not know the child you raised? Is he an unfilial child?”

Qi Haoran snorted. “If he hadn’t been raised by me, I wouldn’t have just given him a kick. Once he has a wife, he forgets his mother!”

“Didn’t we agree that we would go out and live our own lives when we become old? Don’t worry, when the time comes, I definitely won’t live according to my daughter-in-law’s wishes.”

Qi Haoran snorted and did not speak.

How could he really be at ease and let a group of servants serve her? When the time came, no one would know if she was in pain or sad.

However, Mu Yangling noticed Qi Haoran’s abnormality. It seemed that menopause had arrived, or that his son’s growing strength made him feel threatened. Recently, he had been very uneasy, so uneasy that he could not sleep at night.

Because of this, Mu Yangling consulted Imperial Physician Wang. During the routine pulse check, Imperial Physician Wang took the opportunity to ask Qi Haoran a few more questions before he was glared at. “Am I sick or about to become crippled? Why are you asking so many questions?”

Imperial Physician Wang could only smile and say, “It’s just a routine questioning. Your Highness is in good health and there’s no problem.”

Imperial Physician Wang sensed that King Rong heaved a sigh of relief secretly. After that, he secretly said to Queen Consort Rong, “Your Highness, it’s a mental ailment that King Rong is suffering from and I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do about it. Perhaps his condition will improve after a leisurely trip.”