Chapter 402 Xia Mulan Returns Home

After the tiles were arranged, Song Chunxue went to the kitchen.

She discovered that the Taoist priest had stuffed all the things she brought into the cabinet.

The stove was clean and the floor was swept neatly, but as soon as the cabinet was opened, a smell of dust hit the door.

He stuffed the flour sack directly into the vat, which was surrounded by spider webs.

My senior brother is a clean person, but he finds it troublesome and will just leave it alone when he gets angry.

“Anyway, I’m going into seclusion later, and I’ll still have to clean up in a little over a month, so you don’t need to do it for me.” The Taoist priest was a little embarrassed when he saw his junior brother staring blankly at the cabinet. “Go back and get busy. I’ll tidy up and then go into seclusion in three days.”

Song Chunxue rolled up her sleeves, scooped water into the basin, and threw the rag into it.

"Why is Senior Brother going into seclusion at this crucial juncture? Aren't you going to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival?"

The Taoist priest disagreed, saying, "The Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for family reunion. I'm not reuniting with anyone, so it doesn't matter whether I celebrate it or not."

Thinking back to the past two years, it seems that my senior brother didn't really celebrate holidays with them much. Ever since that Dragon Boat Festival, he always had something to do and went out during holidays.

Aside from major holidays like Lunar New Year's Eve, when he would come to our house for New Year's Eve dinner, he was always busy with one thing or another during other holidays.

Oh right, there's one exception: Qingming Festival.

He returned to the Taoist temple to offer incense and pray for blessings, and made some food for the ancestral master before going out to sweep the tomb.

She had no idea where the Taoist priest had gone or who he was visiting.

Looking back now, he may have flown to all corners of the world on his sword one day to visit the graves of deceased people he had met and who were kindred spirits, or perhaps he went home to visit the graves of his own relatives.

The Taoist priest still has family, but he is unwilling to reunite with them.

He's very tight-lipped, but you can occasionally pry out some secrets from him.

After Song Chunxue cleaned the kitchen cabinets and put everything away neatly, the Taoist priest came in from outside.

"It's almost noon, why hasn't Junior Brother gone back yet?"

He patted the dirt off his clothes, placed the hoe in the storage room, and seemed to be shooing people away.

"Does Senior Brother think I'm in the way?"

Song Chunxue flicked the rag and hung it on the wooden chair outside the door to dry.

"Senior brother, have you noticed something again?"

The Taoist priest laughed, "What can you possibly see? He just married a daughter-in-law, he's in high spirits because of this happy occasion, could there be something else going on?"

Song Chunxue hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

She felt that Lord Xie's attitude towards her yesterday had changed too strangely, and perhaps there was another meaning behind it.

But she couldn't very well ask the elder brother, "Senior brother, do you think I'm surrounded by peach blossoms, or have I been tempted by a red phoenix?"

Tsk!

Now, the mere mention of the word "peach blossom" makes her feel uneasy.

Firstly, the allure of romance can be overwhelming; secondly, she felt that having lived this long, getting involved in such matters made her seem frivolous.

Besides, the Taoist priest knew that she had come back to life once.

By all accounts, she is eighty-one years old this year.

If she were truly thirty-nine, she could still feign ignorance and say that Xie Zheng wanted to become her best friend.

But she wasn't that stupid; after thinking about it carefully, she was able to figure out something else.

Since the Taoist priest wouldn't say, she couldn't ask.

Even though she had asked the question, Song Chunxue could already tell that her senior brother must think she had fallen for Lord Xie and even wanted to give up her Dao heart for that person!

That's absolutely impossible.

It's best not to ask.

The Taoist priest probably already saw it, but given her age, he didn't want to give her any advice.

Thinking about it this way, Song Chunxue suddenly felt that she couldn't hide anything from the Taoist priest.

"Nothing else, I just wanted to ask if there's a better remedy for Mulan's father's illness?"

"Yes, I've already written it down." With that, the Taoist priest turned and went into his room, then came out with a piece of paper. "It's just that his illness isn't just physical; he can't handle any stimulation. As you know, if his son and daughter-in-law make a scene, he won't be able to get over it."

“Those who worry are kind-hearted, but they are mentally and physically exhausted and cannot live long. Otherwise, why would people say that if there are no worries on one's mind, then life is good?” The Taoist priest sighed. “Don’t worry too much. Everyone has their own destiny, and he still has to work hard.”

Song Chunxue nodded, "I understand."

She washed her hands. "What do you want for lunch? I'll make the noodles before I leave."

"No need, I'll just stir-fry some meat and eat it with steamed buns for lunch. I saw you also bought some guokui (a type of flatbread), and I still have wine in my wine jar. I'm having a great time."

Song Chunxue nodded, "Alright, I'll bring you some more vegetables tomorrow, and I'll pick a few radishes for you, and also some melons and cucumbers, so you can eat them while you're in seclusion."

The Taoist priest nodded, "Sure, but don't keep coming here. Your little rascal has such sharp eyes. I finally realized what was going on when he came back last night. They're really cunning."

Is your senior brother telling her to be mindful of her behavior and avoid suspicion for the time being?

That's not entirely wrong. After all, on her son's wedding day, the Taoist priest and Lord Xie were there to welcome and see off her. I guess the people who came to the wedding that day had all sorts of speculations.

It's certainly good to be a little more careful at this critical juncture.

"That's right. I suddenly remembered that I should write a letter to the second son when I get back. That brat actually dared to go to Lord Xie to ask for his help. He really makes me proud!"

In the past, it was Sanwa who wrote the letter, but this time she was determined to write a letter and give him a good scolding.

"By the way, here's a string of cinnabar for you." The Taoist priest took out a cinnabar pendant from his pocket, tied with a black cord. "Wear it on your body, and it will give you courage if you see something unclean next time."

"Thank you, senior brother. Go and cook." She hung the cinnabar plaque around her neck and waved to him with her back turned.

The Taoist priest hummed in agreement, and as he listened to her receding footsteps, he sat down on the steps, his eyes vacant.

Afterwards, he adjusted his breathing and sat in meditation for a while before getting up to go to the kitchen to cut meat and cook vegetables.

My junior colleague even washed the cutting board clean; he's got real strength.

*

Sanwa is going to return to his parents' home with Mulan, and Song Chunxue has prepared a lot of things for them.

Sanwa bought quite a lot for himself, afraid of appearing stingy and being laughed at by Mulan's cousins.

Besides food, drink, and other necessities, the most abundant items were herbs.

Mulan, dressed in the clothes made by Song Chunxue, climbed into the carriage.

"Does Mother want some apricot peel?" she asked softly, lifting the curtain. "I see we have everything else at home, but I don't see an apricot tree. I dried a lot of ripe apricot peel this year; they're not very sour."

"Okay, then bring some. We can mix them with sugar and eat them, or make apricot peel tea. If the apricot kernels haven't been sold yet, bring some too. Almond tea is good for the lungs."

Mulan's smile widened, and she nodded, "Okay, then I'll take some with me."

"Tell your father to take good care of himself and not overwork himself." Song Chunxue couldn't help but give him a few words of advice. "Tell Sanwa to keep some of the money for himself and not to give it all away."

Xia Mulan nodded solemnly, "Mother, I've remembered."

Sanwa sat in front, driving the carriage. He was dressed in a moon-white robe, with the appearance of a pale-faced scholar. His thick black hair was slightly curled, making him quite eye-catching.

Song Chunxue looked on with great satisfaction; he was indeed the most handsome of the brothers.

Thinking of this, she became even angrier at her second son's actions. She turned around, went inside to write a long letter, and then went out to deliver it to the messenger.

With her fourth brother not home and He Chuanhongying busy with her own things, she suddenly felt a little empty inside and wasn't in a hurry to go home.