Chapter 12
The weather was nice, with a gentle breeze. On the wall stood a cat, looking quite charming and lazy. Under the wall stood three men and one woman, all dressed up and full of life.
Judging from their positions, the man in the middle surrounded by the others should be the leader. He looks more mature and taller than the people around him.
Xiao Mo estimated the height of the wall and thought that this person was still a little shorter than Chu Jinglan.
After the appraisal, it was found that he was not as tall as Chu Jinglan, but looked older than Chu Jinglan.
Xiao Mo lay on the cat and heard the only girl speak: "Congratulations to Brother Yu Sheng for your fruitful trip. In the selection three days later... Oh no, you will definitely be able to show your skills in the secret realm of Mushan!"
The man surrounded by people, Chu Yusheng, laughed out loud: "Isn't it the same for the fifth sister? This time, we will all be qualified. When the time comes, we should support each other and not let the Chu family lose face."
Several people were praising each other, but there was a thin guy who didn't say much. He was probably the most introverted person. He said weakly in the cheerful voices: "It's Chu Jinglan who will lead the team this time, right? Don't we really need to interact with him in advance?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the cheerful atmosphere suddenly became awkward, and the smiles on the faces of several people slowly disappeared.
Xiao Mo cheered up and rolled over on the cat's body: Finally, I've talked about Chu Jinglan.
Chu Wumei sighed softly: "Brother Jinglan, he is good in every way, but he is a little too cold. I have never seen him smile at me."
Chu Yusheng smiled with a fake smile and patted the weak boy on the shoulder: "Old Ten, you were closest to him at the beginning, why do you want to go back now?"
"No, no, no, I didn't mean that!" Chu Xiaoshi shuddered, as if he remembered something terrible, his face turned anxious: "He is in such danger, how can I go back!"
Seeing that he was anxious, Chu Yusheng was satisfied: "That's right, he is often assassinated. That time he almost got you involved. It's right to stay away from him."
When Chu Jinglan had just formed his elixir, he had not yet obtained the protective seal from the elder of the Illusion Sword Sect. There were waves of assassinations. Chu Xiaoshi, who wanted to curry favor with him, followed him every day and was almost implicated and killed.
Chu Xiaoshi never thought that he almost lost his life just for wanting to show his goodwill to Chu Jinglan. He just wanted to live a good life with Chu Jinglan and didn't want to share the hardships.
Therefore, even though Chu Jinglan protected him, Chu Xiaoshi's already small courage became even smaller. He was left with a deep shadow and no longer dared to approach Chu Jinglan.
Chu Xiaoshi's temper came and went quickly. After calming down, he pursed his lips and said vaguely, "You guys think, maybe he doesn't want to implicate us, so he doesn't get too close to us..."
"Xiao Shi."
The young man beside him saw that Chu Yusheng looked bad, so he quickly raised his hand and put it on Chu Xiaoshi's shoulder, interrupting him: "That's enough. Chu Jinglan will be 18 years old in a few days after the Dusk Mountain Secret Realm. It's time for him to go to the Magic Sword Sect. The title of Young Master will be returned to Brother Yusheng. Brother Yusheng will be the head of our family in the future. You should stop mentioning others."
Chu Xiaoshi looked at Chu Yusheng's expression and finally shut up.
Chu Yusheng patted them on the back, and said in a congratulatory tone: "This is what a good brother is."
So that's how it is. Xiao Mo almost understood.
The rest of the children were deliberately kept away by Chu Jinglan. Xiao Mo didn't know whether it was for their safety, but they were young, and even if they were young masters or young ladies from aristocratic families, they were a little smart, but they did not have a rich experience, so it was understandable that they were stupid for a while.
Children are very easily instigated and tend to form groups.
But Chu Yusheng looks to be about 19 years old. When he becomes an adult at the age of 18, he will be involved in family affairs and should have grown up a long time ago. He wants to be the head of the family in the future. Does he have the brains to do that?
They didn't even think about it. If Chu Jinglan went to the Illusion Sword Gate, he would indeed be far away from them. But that was the middle realm with resources that were infinitely better than those in the lower realm. Instead of actively building a good relationship with Chu Jinglan and getting some benefits in the future, they took the lead in distancing themselves from him?
A fool.
He is narrow-minded and short-sighted, thinking that Chu Jinglan stole his title of Young Master, and he holds a grudge against him till now. All he can see is a "Young Master".
Chu Jinglan is not happy about the role, so how can Chu Yusheng not hate the elder patriarch who insisted on putting the burden on Chu Jinglan?
The Chu family has seven branches. Chu Jinglan's father is the second son, and Chu Yusheng's father is the eldest son, that is, the head of the family. The position of young master should have belonged to Chu Yusheng, but because Chu Jinglan is too outstanding, the Chu family wanted to promote him to the Huanjian Sect, so they had to gild his identity, so they temporarily gave the title of young master to Chu Jinglan.
The elders hoped that Chu Jinglan would become famous in the middle world in the future, help the Chu family, and transport cultivation resources, while Chu Yusheng would take care of the internal affairs of the Chu family.
Good idea, bad choice.
But it doesn't matter.
The black mist moved on the soft cat ball. Xiao Xinmo looked at the people under the wall dimly: After all, the Chu family will almost be wiped out in the future, so it really doesn’t matter who becomes the head of the family.
Xiao Mo resolved his doubts and had no interest in listening any further, so he floated back to the pavilion. It was just the right time, as the great elder had finished his talk and got up to leave. Xiao Mo was really happy not to have to listen to his nagging.
Just when Xiao Mo thought he could finally return to Chu Jinglan's courtyard, a servant came running towards the pavilion in a hurry.
She was not someone close to Chu Jinglan, but when Chu Jinglan saw her, his expression suddenly tensed up and he couldn't help but take two steps forward.
Xiao Mominrui: Hmm?
The attendant seemed to have run all the way here, panting and shouting in a hurried tone: "Master, it's not good, the Madam, she, she..."
Chu Jinglan asked in a tense tone: "What happened to her?"
It was the first time that Xiao Mo saw anxiety and worry on Chu Jinglan's face, but it was no wonder, because he also guessed the servant's identity.
This is the servant beside Chu Jinglan’s mother.
And Chu Jinglan's mother...suffers from hysteria, commonly known as madness.
"She's sick again." The attendant said quickly in one breath and then panted, "This time she's insisting on seeing you."
Hearing that his mother was willing to see him, Chu Jinglan's eyes flashed with a hint of helplessness and a hint of hope, but he was very restrained. If Xiao Mo hadn't been looking at him, he might have missed it.
Chu Jinglan clenched his fists, his palms hurting. He lowered his eyes and whispered, "She couldn't see me when she was sick. What happened today?"
The attendant wiped his sweat and said, "Today she is a little bit sicker. She kept clamoring to see you. We tricked her into taking medicine by saying you were coming. But the medicine hasn't taken effect yet, and you haven't come yet. She got really angry and we almost couldn't control her."
Among all the people in the Chu family, only Chu Jinglan still truly cared about her. Chu Jinglan pinched her palm so deeply that blood was about to drip out, and he suddenly let go.
Chu Jinglan: "Okay, take me there."
There is not much description of Chu Jinglan's mother in the original novel, and Xiao Mo doesn't know what will happen when Chu Jinglan goes to see his mother this time, but he knows the ending of Chu Jinglan's mother.
She would die, just a few days after Chu Jinglan was deposed.
Her death became the last straw that broke the camel's back for Chu Jinglan, and also led to a blood feud between Chu Jinglan and the Chu family.
Xiao Mo looked at Chu Jinglan, who had no expression on his face but walked hurriedly, obviously looking forward to meeting his mother, and followed him silently.
He grew up without parents, but he knew what a harmonious family was like. Whenever he walked on the street, he would always see smiling parents holding children with even sweeter smiles.
Xiao Mo never had it, so he could only feel envy and loneliness, but the pain was relatively limited.
But if you have it and then lose it, if a person walking alone in the dark loses the last ray of light that he has carefully protected, how deep the despair would be in that instant? Xiao Mo couldn't bear to think about it.
...It's hard to say who is more miserable between him and Chu Jinglan.
Led by the servants, they arrived at the residence of Chu Jinglan's mother.
Xiao Mo has been in the Chu family for such a long time, but this is his first time here.
The yard was quite remote but not deserted. There were many servants coming and going, but they all looked tense and not relaxed. When I stepped into the yard, I saw a noble lady humming a tune while serving dishes one by one on the stone table in the yard.
She heard footsteps and looked up, her eyes instantly lit up with surprise: "Surprise, you're finally here!"
The woman was beautiful, and the pearl hairpins on her head were a little messy, perhaps because they were knocked off during the previous commotion. She joyfully held Chu Jinglan's hand, and like every loving mother, she asked about his well-being.
He doesn't look crazy at all.
Chu Jinglan's expression softened. He raised his hands to tidy her hair and straighten her pearl hairpins, then let his mother take him to sit down at the table.
"I've made some dishes. Come and try them with me."
The food on the table was steaming hot, far more than enough for two people, and all of them were mouth-watering dishes. Xiao Mo thought that Chu's mother's illness had temporarily recovered and she was now conscious and clear-headed. She must have missed her son and called him over for dinner.
The original novel said that she loved Chu Jinglan very much when she was not crazy. In this cruel world, her young child became her only comfort.
The dishes on the table were different from the seasoning style of the chef in Chu Jinglan's courtyard. Since it was just a false alarm, Xiao Mo went over leisurely, wanting to appreciate the different delicacies and have a meal. However, the aroma wafting around the black mist dumpling made Xiao Mo feel something was wrong.
Hmm? Something seems wrong...
Xiao Mo was puzzled. He sniffed left and right, and the more he sniffed, the more anxious he became. There must be something wrong here! But he seemed to be always separated from the truth by a layer of fog. He was just one step away, just one step away from finding out.
It was as if a flash of lightning passed by, and the inner demon learned without any guidance. Some of his abilities were integrated again, and Xiao Mo finally understood what went wrong.
"Chu Jinglan!" Xiao Mo shouted, "It's poisonous!"
However, Chu Jinglan was not surprised at all, and even his eyelids did not move. Seeing his calm expression, the inner demon ball that was originally spinning in the air in a hurry suddenly stopped.
Xiao Mo realized that Chu Jinglan had noticed that the food was poisonous before him.
At this time, Chu's mother smiled and served Chu Jinglan a bowl of soup: "Jinglan, why don't you eat?"
Xiao Mo felt a chill down his spine and went cold at the sight of her gentle smile.
It turns out that gentleness can also be a fatal knife.
Chu Jinglan was not surprised. He picked up the spoon and gently stirred the bowl of soup. Without even looking up, he asked the attendant, "What's in it?"
The attendant was sweating and trembling with fear: "It's a broken intestine."
It turns out they knew it too.
"Irritants don't work for me."
After Chu Jinglan finished speaking, he actually raised his hand and put the soup into his mouth!
Xiao Mo's scream was cut off.
He knew that Chu Jinglan could not die here, but when he saw Chu Jinglan drink the soup without hesitation, his heart instinctively stopped.
This is a manifestation of human nature and is beyond his control.
Xiao Mo opened his mouth, but thousands of words were stuck in his throat, there were too many, and in the end, he couldn't say a single word.
The servant seemed to want to say something, but he kept his mouth shut and secretly wiped his eyes.
Mother Chu smiled as she watched her son finish the poisoned soup. Chu Jinglan even whispered to her, "Mom, it tastes good."
She became shy like a young girl: "That's good."
Then she stared at Chu Jinglan's face, watching Chu Jinglan taste other things, chewing slowly, as if what he was eating was not poison but delicious delicacy.
As time passed, the smile on Chu's mother's face gradually disappeared.
When Chu Jinglan swallowed again, his mother suddenly reached out and grabbed him.
She tilted her head in confusion: "Why aren't you dead yet?"
The false smile was peeled off, revealing the wild riverbed underneath.
"You're supposed to be dead?"