Chapter 456 Stepfather
Song Chunxue knew that one of his brothers would always ask this question.
She raised her hand and poked the second son's back. "Want to get a beating? What else do you want to ask? Did you ignore what I said before?"
The second child stretched his whole body forward, but still couldn't dodge it.
"Mom, Mom, I was wrong, it itches so much, your fingers are too strong!"
"I was wrong, I was wrong. What else can you say besides these few words? You mean I was wrong and I'll say it again next time? You never learn, do you? You two go to Jincheng. I'm staying home to help with the harvest."
Song Chunxue clenched her fist and said, "If you say that again, I'll smash you to death with a hammer!"
The second son begged for mercy repeatedly, "Your Majesty, if you push me again, I'll fall."
"Serves you right for falling. What you said a few days ago has been forgotten."
The fourth brother gloated from the side, "That's right, the second brother even wants to persuade Mother to get married and stay in Jincheng with him so she can take care of him often. He's really dreaming."
Song Chunxue poked the fourth brother's forehead hard. "The second brother doesn't talk about the eldest brother, but I think you two are completely different. What did you say back then? Find a man to tie me down. Why don't you find a donkey to tie me down..."
“Hey, hey, junior brother,” the Taoist priest stopped her arm with his whisk, “Don’t get angry. Speak to the child more politely and don’t get worked up.”
Song Chunxue put her hands on her hips and said, "You're still protecting them. They're all scheming. You don't know how infuriating your own children can be if you don't have any. They've been testing me like this three or four times already. You'd get angry too if you were in their shoes."
"It's not that bad, it's just..."
"Okay, so if I ask you every day what your relationship is with that Tang Yuxiu, and indirectly ask you if you two are having an affair, and if you would marry her if her husband died, wouldn't you be angry?"
"..." The Taoist priest stared at Song Chunxue in astonishment. He turned his head and saw the fourth brother's smirking eyes through the gap in the curtain. He was so speechless that he choked on his words.
He flicked his sleeves, his emotions calm. "I'm not angry. I once helped her out of her predicament and pulled her out of the mire. I can guess what she's thinking, but why should I be angry? It just shows that I have quite the charm."
"..." This time, it was Song Chunxue's turn to be speechless.
The fourth son lifted the carriage curtain. "Mother, are you talking about that woman we met at the bookstore last time?"
“That aunt looks a few years older than you. Daoist Master, you must prefer younger women. A woman who can make Daoist Master’s heart waver and his Daoist mind waver must be very powerful. A woman around thirty years old, preferably educated, with some understanding of Daoism, knowledgeable and reasonable, and with an extraordinary appearance.” He smiled and grabbed the curtain. “Daoist Master, am I right?”
The Taoist priest stroked his beard, pondering how to answer.
"That's right, the Taoist priest used to have feelings for a fellow disciple..."
Halfway through her sentence, Song Chunxue's mouth was blocked by the Taoist priest's whisk, leaving her breath reeking of horsehair.
Song Chunxue snatched the whisk from his hand, glaring at him fiercely, "Senior brother, how dare you use this to gag me?"
The Taoist priest avoided eye contact and coughed awkwardly, "Don't expose my secrets, or how will I be able to continue being a Taoist priest?"
Um?
Song Chunxue's eyes widened, then she bent over and burst into laughter.
"Haha, senior brother... never mind, I know you're just letting me win. I'm not going to talk to you guys anymore. I guess I haven't been sleeping well these past two days, so I'm a bit irritable."
The Taoist priest said in a serious tone, "I can see that."
He looked at Song Chunxue's hand. "Let me see."
"Stop looking at it, just go back and keep meditating every day."
“Men and women are different. Some problems are too slow to resolve through meditation. I’ll prescribe a remedy to help you.” The Taoist priest extended his hand. “Your emotions have been a bit unusual lately.”
"..." How could this not be abnormal? So many things have happened in just a few months. They are all my own children, and not one of them is easy to deal with.
He promised to be ruthless and disown his own family, but now he's slapped himself in the face.
She said she didn't want to get involved, but they didn't kill anyone or set any fires. The children would come back and comfort her from time to time. Can she just say she doesn't care and then completely ignore it?
How pitiful a child would be if his or her own mother were so bad that she wanted to abandon him/her.
But they haven't reached that point yet; there are still people who want to benefit from them.
Her child is not utterly wicked.
It's not that they are completely unfilial.
When they have time, they will come to see him.
In her past life, the second and fourth brothers lived far away, but they would still travel thousands of miles to see her.
Even the heartless eldest brother would come in and say a few words to her when she was paralyzed on the kang (a heated brick bed) and no one was home.
Although she didn't say it directly, she knew that the eldest brother felt bad seeing her pitiful state.
Sometimes Song Chunxue would think that if they had been even worse in their past lives, and had completely disowned her, this old woman, then it would have been better to end her hopes.
But they are just ordinary people, with the common ailments of worldly people.
Selfishness, greed, cowardice, and weakness—thinking is one thing, doing is another.
They are easily moved and prone to making boastful promises after acting impulsively.
Just like how the second son wanted to come back several times in his past life and live in the thatched cave at the door, but those were all drunken words.
After sobering up, he returned to his wife and children, but he still couldn't bear to leave them.
However, she became smarter and decided to keep some of her own children to herself.
Treat yourself well, and others will treat you well.
"As expected, things aren't flowing smoothly. You have liver fire stagnation and are thinking too much. Have you been sleeping poorly lately?" The Taoist priest said thoughtfully, feeling her pulse. "There is dampness and cold in your body, and your spleen and stomach are not in harmony. Did you drink raw rice water because you were too thirsty? Did you drink cold tea instead of boiling water?"
Song Chunxue remained silent; her senior brother's medical skills were indeed excellent.
If he stayed at the clinic every day, their Cunxintang clinic would become famous.
"That's it. I'll write you a prescription when we get back. Get two doses of medicine to drink first, and it will be even better if you combine it with meditation."
Song Chunxue nodded, "Thank you, Senior Brother."
The fourth brother secretly glanced at her from outside, his expression one of schadenfreude.
If she weren't afraid of being accused of having too much temper, she would have kicked him off the stage.
Why does such a nice kid have to smile in such an annoying way?
When they encountered a mountain road, she got off the carriage first to avoid tiring the horses.
It was quite strenuous for one horse to pull the four of them uphill.
The Taoist priest also jumped down.
"We're going back now, you two take your time."
The Taoist priest, finding it too slow, tossed an invisibility talisman onto his body and disappeared from the spot in no time.
The second son looked back and saw no sound from his mother or the Taoist priest, which he wasn't surprised about.
After all, he was a Taoist priest, so even if he went to heaven or earth, he wouldn't find it strange.
The fourth brother nudged the second brother's shoulder, swung his legs, and asked in a cheeky tone, "Second brother, you wouldn't be thinking of setting Mother up with Lord Xie, would you?"
The second son remained expressionless. "No, it's not. If it's Lord Xie, we can't possibly be worthy of him. What if there are other people? After all, Mother will meet many people when we get to Jincheng. I can tell that Mother still has money. She might do some business in Jincheng. In case we really do have a stepfather, we'll be prepared."
The fourth son stroked his chin. "Stepfathers... the poor are too stingy, the rich are too mercenary, the old are too unprofitable, and the young are too awkward. Master Xie is the best."
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