Chapter 67◇

◎Love from my older brother◎

Duan Jingyin recovered her energy after lying in bed for two days. She was someone who couldn't stay idle and used to go out of the mansion to visit her girlfriends. However, after the incident of falling into the water, she couldn't tell whether her girlfriends were sincere or not. She wanted to talk to her mother, but Qin Shi was clearly in a worse mood, so she didn't dare to disturb her.

After much deliberation, Duan Jingyin decided to visit Jinghua Courtyard.

"Miss, Jinghua Courtyard is not a place you can enter easily. Why bother making this trip?" The maid, Lamei, was very worried. No one in the manor would come to Jinghua Courtyard on their own initiative. When Miss was young, she came a few times but was turned away each time. After that, Miss never set foot in Jinghua Courtyard again. Why is she coming here now?

Duan Jingyin wrinkled her delicate little nose, her heart pounding as she looked at the three big characters of Jinghua Courtyard. How embarrassing it would be if she couldn't get in! But all the other sisters in the manor were thinking about how to find their ideal husbands. She had nothing to say to them. After thinking it over, she realized that only Feng Ran had time to chat with her.

She kept encouraging herself, determined not to lose face, and absolutely refused to show any weakness!

She came to see her second sister-in-law. If her second brother wouldn't let her in, she would call her sister-in-law out. Yes, that's the right thing to do!

With her head held high and her voice full of certainty, she declared, "This is my house, and my second brother and sister-in-law live here. Why can't I go in!" After saying this, perhaps afraid of contradicting herself, she pointed to the food box that Lamei was carrying, "Besides, I'm bringing my sister-in-law some good food, so I can definitely go in." Duan Jingyin was much more confident when she said the last sentence.

As Lamei looked at the food box in her hand, her heart pounded. Although she was skilled, she didn't know if her cooking would suit the Crown Princess's taste. If the Crown Princess was not satisfied, would her young lady be disappointed?

Now everyone in the Dingbei Marquis's mansion knows that it's very easy to get Feng Ran to treat them kindly. A little good food is enough to bribe them, and if you bribe someone, you can get one free. Even the young master can show them a smile.

Clearly, Duan Jingyin wasn't entirely sure she could get into Jinghua Courtyard, so she prepared some food in advance as a way to get in.

The gates of Jinghua Courtyard had been left open for a long time. Duan Jingyin wanted to knock, but there wasn't a single person guarding the door. If she knocked, she would look silly, so she simply gritted her teeth and stepped inside.

She took several steps, but no one stopped her. Duan Jingyin felt a chill down her spine. She lifted her foot several times but couldn't take the next step. Her face was miserable. She stared intently at the stone slab under her feet, her eyebrows almost twisted into a knot.

Lamei understood; she was scared and unsure whether to continue. However, she couldn't contradict her mistress, so she offered a way out: "Miss, are you feeling unwell? Perhaps we can come back another day?"

Duan Jingyin raised her voice a few decibels, sounding very much like she was bluffing, "Why go back? We're already here!"

Then, looking at the empty courtyard, he mustered up his courage and shouted, "Second Sister-in-law, I've brought you some delicious food!"

With a click, the door opened, and Duan Jingyin came face to face with Duan Jingchuan's expressionless face. She immediately stammered like a quail, "Second brother, I, I came to find second sister-in-law."

Duan Jingchuan glanced at the food box in La Mei's hand, nodded slightly, and said in a cold voice, "Come in."

Duan Jingyin walked unusually slowly. Upon entering the room and seeing Feng Ran, she rushed over as if fleeing, her voice filled with grievance, "Second Sister-in-law."

Feng Ran was looking at the disaster relief situation with a worried expression. She had originally thought of asking Duan Jingchuan for help, but Duan Jingchuan refused to get involved no matter what. It was because of his saying that she should earn her own merits that she completely gave up the idea of ​​asking for help and instead studied the account book diligently on her own.

It was at this moment that Feng Ran realized she could read and understand the account books. She couldn't help but feel grateful to the original owner for leaving her a good body. Well, she would do more good deeds to help the original owner accumulate merit and make her next life smoother.

Huang Que was there to help Feng Ran. If Feng Ran got a headache looking at something, Huang Que would naturally whisper a reminder in her ear. Feng Ran would then write down the numbers Huang Que mentioned, pretending that she had calculated them herself, just like a thief.

Duan Jingchuan had long known about the two's little tricks, but seeing that Feng Ran was having a great time, he didn't interfere. However, he would occasionally cast a cold glance at the two to prevent Feng Ran from getting carried away and touching the children.

When Duan Jingyin arrived, Feng Ran felt as if she had seen a savior. She pulled Duan Jingyin to sit down beside her, her face beaming with joy. "Little sister, you've come at just the right time. I've missed you so much! But I've been so busy. I wonder if my husband could help me out so I can have a good chat with you."

Duan Jingyin was caught off guard by the warm welcome and was completely taken aback, standing there dumbfounded and at a loss for what to do.

Duan Jingchuan sighed. His wife had some ulterior motives, all of which she was using on him. Her face was practically screaming, "What's wrong with me wanting to go out and play?" He hadn't forced her to go out. Her little eyes made him feel like a landlord exploiting his farmhands. But honestly, he had never forced her to do something she didn't like.

Rubbing his brow, Duan Jingchuan prepared to take over the messy account books that Feng Ran had been flipping through, thus fulfilling his wife's wish.

Seeing Feng Ran's aggrieved expression and Duan Jingchuan's reluctant look, Duan Jingyin suddenly grabbed the account book and presented it to Feng Ran like a treasure, saying, "If Second Sister-in-law doesn't mind, I can help."

Feng Ran's pitiful expression froze, then her eyes lit up with surprise, and she grabbed Duan Jingyin's arm. "Really?"

Duan Jingchuan's face darkened as he looked at Feng Ran's arm as she rode on Duan Jingyin's back. He was about to say that he could do it too, but Feng Ran's next words choked him back.

"Then hurry up and take a look at me. I haven't had your second brother's potion in so long, and I'm feeling really dizzy." Feng Ran casually tossed out a bombshell.

......

"Suck?" Duan Jingyin heard this word for the first time and didn't quite understand it.

Although Huang Que was just a child, he couldn't help but blush. In the past few days, he had finally learned about the special way these two interacted. He happened to know what "sucking" meant. If he weren't unfamiliar with Duan Jingyin, he would have covered her mouth. This was a question that couldn't be asked; whoever asked would be embarrassed.

Duan Jingchuan was the first to feel embarrassed; the blush on his face gradually turned into a rosy glow, and his clear black and white eyes trembled incessantly.

But Feng Ran didn't think there was anything wrong with it and tried to explain it to Duan Jingyin by example.

“That’s it.” Feng Ran leaned in and took a breath of Duan Jingyin’s neck, smacked her lips, and commented regretfully, “Although it’s not hard to suck, it’s far inferior to your brother’s.”

Now Duan Jingyin's blush was comparable to Duan Jingchuan's. Huang Que covered his face with both hands, seemingly unable to bear watching any longer. If he had two more hands, he would have loved to cover his ears as well.

Oh, why didn't he just close his eyes? It's because Feng Ran would relentlessly press him: "Is it comfortable to sleep sitting up?"

"Ah, me, don't I smell good?" Duan Jingyin was somewhat lost in thought. When she realized what she had said, she jolted awake, wishing she could dig a hole and bury herself in it. What had she said?! She buried her face in the account book in her hands and raised her voice, "Second sister-in-law, go find second brother, I'll see!"

Feng Ran: What's wrong? There's no need to be so enthusiastic.

After Feng Ran pushed all the account books to Duan Jingyin, she became much more cheerful and even gave her the little yellow sparrow as a bonus, saying, "This child is called Yellow Sparrow. He doesn't need an abacus to do math. He's very useful. Consider him my golden finger for you."

Huang Que and Duan Jingyin looked at each other, seemingly able to see emotions like "helplessness, submission, and 'please cover my ears' in each other's eyes." The two, one small and one not so big, thus formed a soul-like resonance.

Seeing Feng Ran heading towards him, Duan Jingchuan's lips twitched slightly, and his legs seemed to have a mind of their own. He couldn't help but take a few steps back, afraid that Feng Ran might pounce on him at the slightest provocation.

This concession made Feng Ran feel wronged. She fidgeted with her fingers and said with pleading eyes, "Husband, do you not love me anymore?"

Duan Jingchuan felt a chill run down his spine. Usually, it was just the two of them in the study, and it didn't matter how much they joked around. But now, with two other people watching him intently, he couldn't bring himself to do something like that with Feng Ran in front of others. He hardened his heart, refused to look at Feng Ran's fake face, and gritted his teeth, remaining silent.

Duan Jingyin was not familiar with the way the two usually interacted, and thought that Duan Jingchuan was angry. She hurriedly said from behind, "Second sister-in-law, why don't you come out and sit with me? I brought some fresh snacks, which are from the north. You probably haven't tried them before."

Feng Ran's gaze was indeed drawn to the wax plum, which had been invisible since she entered the room.

Wax Plum, barely managing to keep her expression from becoming too ferocious, gently moved the food box towards Feng Ran, making Feng Ran's eyes even brighter.

Feng Ran rolled up her sleeves, took the food box from La Mei's hand, and said emphatically, "Why go out to eat? It's fine to eat here, it's warm."

Since Xiuer wasn't there, Feng Ran took matters into her own hands and quickly laid out the snacks from the food box, while also calling out to the others, "Husband, little sister, Huang Que, come and eat with us."

Duan Jingyin secretly glanced at Duan Jingchuan's expression and found that his gaze was fixed on Feng Ran, completely ignoring her. For a moment, she didn't know whether to feel sad or relieved, and she pouted, looking unhappy.

Duan Jingchuan slowly walked to the octagonal table and sat down, then poured Feng Ran, who was eating heartily, a glass of warm water.

Wax Plum made a flaky pastry, a common dish in northern China. The pastry was a bit big and needed to be cut into pieces to be shared. She had intended to serve her, but Duan Jingchuan very naturally cut the pastry into even small pieces and even put bamboo skewers on them before serving them to Feng Ran. Even she couldn't have been more attentive in serving her.

Duan Jingyin was dumbfounded. This wasn't the brother she had imagined. Why was he so gentle? Where was his cold face? Where was his aloofness?

Perhaps it was because Duan Jingyin's gaze was too intense that Duan Jingchuan couldn't ignore it. Duan Jingchuan looked up at Duan Jingyin, then glanced at Feng Ran's face, and seemed to have figured something out before saying to Duan Jingyin, "You eat."

Duan Jingyin looked at the cakes that Duan Jingchuan had personally distributed, and was reluctant to eat them. This was the first time in more than ten years that Duan Jingchuan had given her something, even though it was very likely that Feng Ran would not be able to eat them.

"Thank you, Second Brother," Duan Jingyin said softly.

Duan Jingchuan paused for a moment, then pushed more food to Duan Jingyin, saying, "Eat more, you've been feeling weak lately."