Chapter 990 How to respond to this?

"Fifth brother, who is this...?"

When Song Chunmei saw Lord Zhao, her eyes lit up. How did the Fifth Prince know such a handsome man?

Although he looks to be of some age, he doesn't look old at all. His speech, mannerisms, and clothing are completely out of place among the farmers.

“This is my senior brother, a native of the capital, a member of the imperial family under the emperor’s nose, so of course he has an extraordinary bearing.” Song Chunxue praised without reservation, “He and Daoist Han have been taking care of us all the way.”

"Greetings, Daoist Master. Such a precious person as you has become the senior disciple of my fifth son, hahaha, fifth son, were you sweeping the floor on the mountain?"

Song Chunmei chuckled to herself, "If your parents knew that you would be associating with important figures from the capital in the future, they definitely wouldn't want a son anymore. They would prefer to find you a son-in-law who would live with them."

Song Chunxue laughed along, "No way, they'll definitely send me to the Taoist temple early on. I won't starve, but I'll definitely not live a glamorous life."

At this point, everyone fell silent for a long time.

“That’s true. All the monks and Taoist priests I’ve met before have been poor and hungry, just like when I first met Master Zhang,” Song Chunmei sighed. “Back then, we were afraid that he was like those swindlers.”

“Yes, Lao Wu is just incredibly lucky. She always manages to find money everywhere, otherwise she wouldn’t even be able to support herself.” Song Chunxiang shook her head. “She’s willing to risk everything. If it were me, I wouldn’t dare to kill the wolf.”

Song Chunmei, riding on the donkey's back, laughed again, "Yes, the fifth brother is very bold, determined and courageous, and naturally strong. It's good for him to be a Taoist priest, he's better than us."

"Look, every time those three carriages pass by, everyone takes a second look. Let's scare Second Brother a bit later and see his reaction." As she spoke, she squeezed her legs together and kicked the donkey, "Hey, hey~"

Song Chunxue smiled and shook her head, "Third Sister looks much more energetic than before, and she talks about whatever comes to mind."

"They're really strict now. They make Zhao Qian cook and feed the pigs, and if he doesn't, they whip him. I've heard all about it." Song Chunxiang looked at Lord Zhao, "Why did you come down and leave?"

Lord Zhao chuckled and said, "Let's get down here and stretch our muscles. This mountain path is quite pleasant to walk on, it's very down-to-earth."

Song Chunxue didn't believe it, but she didn't call it out.

When are we going to your second brother's house?

As they were talking, the carriage rounded the hill and arrived at another village.

Song Chunxue pointed to the mountain valley to the east, which was bathed in the fiery red light of the setting sun, "That's it."

Lord Zhao followed her finger and looked over there, his face lighting up with joy. "The feng shui there is excellent; your second brother's child is sure to amount to something."

Also, the sun is shining brightly there right now, so that old snake probably likes to coil up on the tree there.

He was dissatisfied; everything was fine before, so how did he suddenly become a junior uncle?

He'd rather call that slippery guy his grandmaster.

Uncle-Master, why are you acting so awkwardly?

"What happened to Senior Brother? Did he offend Master Han and get kicked out?" Song Chunxue asked in a low voice, "You wouldn't...?"

"Stop thinking nonsense. From now on, you should call him 'Uncle-Master.' He's our master's junior brother," Lord Zhao said irritably. "Don't joke like that again, or the old snake will punish you by making you copy books."

Song Chunxue's face lit up with surprise, "Is this really true?"

"you……"

"Master Han is really our senior uncle! That's wonderful!" She jumped up and down excitedly. "It's okay to be punished by copying books. Our master doesn't show up easily. It's great that someone is punishing us like they punished Tu Dan'er and the others."

Are you out of your mind?

Lord Zhao's expensive boots trod on the narrow dirt road, the dry, soft yellow earth clearly imprinting the soles of his shoes. He crossed his arms, utterly puzzled by Song Chunxue's reaction.

“Senior brother, you don’t understand. I’ve always dreamed of someone who could properly and legitimately teach us. The kind of punishment that Master gives would be the best.” Song Chunxue said with anticipation. “Disciples who have someone to take care of them are very precious.”

Song Chunxiang explained with a smile, "I'm sorry to make you laugh. The fifth child was born late and wasn't taught by my parents. She was sent to my second uncle's house with us. Being fostered is nothing like having a biological child. But people like my master and uncle are as close as parents."

Lord Zhao was stunned, and his gaze toward Song Chunxue changed.

He heard sparrows chirping on the branches, donkeys calling for grass, and sunlight shining on the apricot trees that had not yet sprouted, bright and dappled. He felt a special fondness for this vast and barren land.

His junior apprentice has also had a tough journey.

That's true. In front of our elders, who isn't a child at heart?

He nodded. "Understood. Then let Master Han properly fulfill his duties as his senior uncle. He can't eat if he doesn't write well."

“I was not very literate to begin with, but now that I can write a few, he won’t be too harsh on me.” Song Chunxue looked at Lord Zhao with great interest. “But my senior brother is well-read and has learned so much about ancient and modern knowledge. In addition, he became a disciple of our master a long time ago, so he should be able to teach me a lot.”

"No, I'm just good at putting on a show and fooling people. You're praising me so highly, are you trying to make me fall flat on my face?" Lord Zhao wasn't buying it. "Alright, I'll avoid you from now on."

Suddenly, he went from being a senior figure whose age he didn't know to a proper senior uncle, and he felt so uncomfortable.

"It's normal for Senior Brother not to be used to it yet; he'll get used to it in a few days. If the sky falls, someone will hold it up for us. Don't you feel indebted to them? Isn't that great?"

Song Chunxue laughed at him, "You just love to bicker with him. You were like friends despite the age gap, but now that he's become an elder, there's a distance between you, isn't there?"

"..." Lord Zhao frowned and remained silent.

The closer they got to their second brother's house, the more familiar faces they encountered. When they saw the three Song sisters returning together with so many people and three carriages, they all came over to offer their greetings and concern.

"Fifth Brother, where did you come from? Why did you bring so many people? There are old and young people. Are you going out to do caravan business?"

"More or less," Song Chunxue said with a smile. "Sister Wu, how have you been lately?"

"It's alright, passable." The man was holding a broom. "Are you all going to your second brother's house? Is that richly dressed man your lover?"

"No, this is our senior brother."

"Oh, you really went up the mountain to become a Taoist priest? Aren't Taoist priests all poor?"

How do I respond to that?

As Song Chunxue hesitated, she heard the tall, handsome man beside her say calmly, "That Taoist priest is also a human being. Humans can be rich or poor, and Taoist priests can be rich or poor, tall or short."

A man at the other door chimed in, “That’s right, the fifth son of the Song family has wide connections, so the Taoist temple he’s going to is definitely the Grand Taoist Temple. He’s not short of money.”

After that, I heard them asking all sorts of questions. On the uphill road, they asked more than a dozen questions, all of which were difficult to answer.

The three Song sisters all managed to get away with it with a smile.

Arriving at Song Zhizhu's house and climbing the slope, Lord Zhao said irritably, "The people in your village really know how to make things difficult for people. If anyone asked me that, I would have my servants throw them into the ditch."