Chapter 33 The Homosexual Man's Bastard
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The old woman nodded.
In Wen Zhixu's mind, a little figure dressed as a servant boy appeared, chasing chickens and dogs. He truthfully told the nanny, "Miss Lin can fight a tiger with her bare hands."
Hearing such praise, the old woman sighed inwardly for Miss Lin and cautiously asked, "It is said that Miss Lin has recovered from her illness and can speak clearly now?"
"She's so sharp-tongued, she could be a storyteller."
The old woman choked on her words and quickly changed the subject: "Miss Lin has already come of age, and you and she have been betrothed since childhood. General Wen has been gone for many years, and the Wen State Duke's mansion will ultimately need your support."
Sure enough, the palace subtly urged him to get married and have children.
His tone remained polite, yet firm: "I understand Your Majesty's intentions."
The old woman gazed at him for a moment, then whispered almost in his ear, "Her Majesty knows that this marriage with the Lin family is not what you wanted, and other arrangements have been made. On the other hand, Xie Hanlin's granddaughter, Xie Lan, is of dignified appearance and character. She just had her coming-of-age ceremony last month, and she is a perfect match for you. Her Majesty intends to ensure this good marriage for you. If you agree, she will personally step in to arrange it for you."
Wen Zhixu was immediately struck by a sense of absurdity: "Xie Qi's sister? She's my sister! How can I marry her?"
The Empress, knowing Wen Zhixu's bad temper, was prepared. The nanny deftly pulled out several small paintings and showed them to Wen Zhixu: "This is Lord Wang's eldest daughter, and this is Lord Qiu's second daughter..."
Wen Zhixu remained expressionless; if the Empress hadn't been an elder, he wouldn't have even glanced at her.
"So many daughters of noble families, yet none of them have caught Young Master Wen's eye?"
"Please inform Her Majesty the Empress that I am not in a hurry to get married and will wait and see what the future holds."
The old woman pondered for a moment and then understood. Wen Zhixu was delaying the annulment of the engagement because he was afraid of damaging Miss Lin's reputation and being unable to explain it to the Lin family.
"As for Miss Lin, the Second Young Master need not worry." The nanny recounted the matchmaking arrangement the Empress had made beforehand. "Her Majesty has considered everything thoroughly. Lord Xie's grandson is about the same age as Miss Lin, and both are of excellent talent and appearance. If the two of them were to become a couple, wouldn't it be a match made in heaven? At that time, the dignity of both families would be preserved, and the Second Young Master would also be free from worry. Wouldn't everyone be at peace..."
“Xie Qi?!” Wen Zhixu blurted out, interrupting him.
The gentle demeanor of the young master suddenly crumbled, and an invisible pressure made the old nanny stiffen.
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After the memorial service concluded, the mourners dispersed. Wen Hongyuan, being quite old, returned to his residence early with the motorcade, leaving Wen Zhixu to stay alone in the courtyard next to the ancestral hall.
"Where is Xie Qi?" Wen Zhixu called out to a servant from the Xie family.
Xie Qi hadn't left after all; he came running over excitedly: "Wen Er~"
*Slap!* Wen Zhixu slapped Xie Qi on the shoulder, and Xie Qi immediately did a split.
"No, why did you hit me..." Xie Qi rubbed his shoulder, feeling utterly wronged. He had specially stayed to keep Wen Zhixu company for two days, just to take care of his feelings! A close friend as considerate as him was one of a kind in Shengjing!
Wen Zhixu placed one hand on his lower back and tapped Xie Qi with the other, angrily asking, "You want to marry Lin Xihe?"
"who?"
"Lin Xihe!"
"Lin...the heroine?" Xie Qi, regaining his senses, was struck dumb. "Isn't that your wife? I married her? What do I become? Stealing my friend's wife? I'm an animal! I'm worse than a pig or a dog! I...!"
Xie Qi trampled on the tree roots, damaging the nascent ant nest next to them.
After the performance, Xie Qi looked at the preface again, and his previous anger had subsided somewhat.
"If I dared to marry Lin Xihe—ouch, don't pull my ear! I haven't finished speaking yet!"
An inexplicable emotion, like a roadblock, lodged in Wen Zhixu's heart, and only a brutal beating of Xie Qi could vent his anger.
Having been beaten twice, the dignified eldest grandson of Xie Yan clung to the tree trunk, his image completely ruined, only daring to stick half his head out towards Wen Zhixu.
Wen Zhixu temporarily believed him, then changed his tone and asked, "And what's going on with your Xie Lan?"
"Lan'er?" Xie Qi was completely confused. How did he end up with his sister?
Upon hearing this, Xie Qi was furious: "My Lan'er must be blind to have fallen for you! Don't you dare slander Lan'er and defame her! Let me tell you, Wen Zhixu, if you dare to marry Lan'er, your wedding day will be my death anniversary! As her elder brother, I will never allow it!"
"Don't worry, I don't even like her."
"Oh, so you've taken a liking to Lin Xihe."
"That's not true!"
"Don't give me that!" Xie Qi scoffed at him. "You've gone on and on about this, refusing to break off the engagement, and you're not interested in other girls I've introduced you to. What other reason could there be besides that you've taken a liking to Lin Xihe? You can't be that you're actually gay, can you?"
"..."
Xie Qi covered his chest with both hands: "If you really are gay, then we can't be brothers anymore!"
Wen Zhixu tore Xie Qi off the tree and gave him a good beating.
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In previous years, on the anniversary of his elder brother's death, a gloomy and rainy season would follow him like a shadow, and Wen Zhixu's heart would be depressed all day long.
Today, the sky was as dark and gloomy as ever, threatening rain, and the black tiles of the ancestral hall appeared even more somber under the dark clouds. But the usual oppressive feeling did not arrive as expected; instead, it was replaced by a subtle and indescribable emotion.
"Was the letter delivered to her?"
Wen Qi replied, "I put it in a basket and had Mo Hu deliver it."
"Um."
Seeing Wen Zhixu's approving expression, the newcomer Wen Ba, eager to win favor, hurriedly said, "Second Young Master, I also put a purse in the basket."
"A purse?" Wen Zhixu lifted his eyelashes to look at him.
"My purse is stuffed full of insects that Cuihuang loves to eat, all of which I caught myself!"
Wen Zhixu didn't say anything, but stood up and slashed at Wen Ba with his palm.
There weren't many maids and servants accompanying them; a few of them stood in a row, bewildered and unaware of what mistake they had made.
"Are you afraid of insects?" Wen Zhixu glanced at them.
The audience: ?
The Wen family's monthly allowance was generous, far exceeding that of ordinary officials. Therefore, some clever maids, even if they were afraid, would bite the bullet and lie, "Young master, this servant is not afraid of insects."
"To be honest," Wen Zhixu said, his patience running out.
"...I'm afraid. I'm even afraid of ants, let alone caterpillars and earthworms."
Another maid's legs went weak; upon hearing the words "green worm," she felt completely terrified.
Women are generally afraid of live insects.
Lin Xihe was a woman, so she was no exception.
When the servants left the main hall, they only noticed that the second young master looked unwell, and they also heard that the second young master had sent a carrier pigeon, but they didn't know what important matter the young master had to do.
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Lin Xihe was confused and mumbled incoherently, "Wen the bastard, Wen the idiot..."
Qingwu brought over a bowl of soup and tried to calm her down: "Miss, it must have been Wen Ba who did it. That guy clearly has no brains."
"I didn't curse Wen Ba." What does this have to do with working people? Lin Xihe said resentfully, "I cursed Wen Zhixu."
"..."
She cursed all morning, but no one next door heard a sound. Suddenly feeling lonely, Lin Xihe carried out the ten or so pounds of flower stamen stones and headed to Baohetang.
The young lady came again, and Doctor Qian almost knelt down before her: "Miss Lin, I wonder if your little bird is alright..."
If things don't go well, his Baohetang Society will go bankrupt on the spot.
"Bubu, the wound has healed!" Lin Xihe exclaimed happily, and Doctor Qian breathed a sigh of relief.
"The legendary physician Hua Tuo is alive today!"
"Uh...?" Doctor Qian, who had been flattered, couldn't laugh; he felt there was something fishy going on.
The maidservant beside Lin Xihe, who resembled a bodyguard, placed a bulging bundle on the chopping board.
"How much silver do you think these flower-shaped stones can be exchanged for?" Lin Xihe rubbed her hands together, her smile stretching to her ears.
"..."
Oh, my nemesis!
To everyone's surprise, Lin Xihe, having tucked the silver away, not only didn't leave, but instead began pacing back and forth in front of the medicine cabinet with great interest.
The doctor's apprentice and the medicine boy's expressions changed drastically, and they stood firmly in front of the medicine shelf.
Lin Xihe took out a silver ingot and slapped it on the table: "Do you have a snake skin? I need a whole one, the longer the better."
Doctor Qian's eyelids twitched: "Miss Lin, even for medicinal purposes, only a small amount of snake slough is needed. May I ask who in your household is unwell?"
"It's not for medicine, I'm giving it away." Lin Xihe said with exceptional sincerity, even pausing as if she had thought it through carefully. "He's weak and can't withstand the late spring chill, so I'll find a large snake skin to use as a scarf for him."
Dr. Qian: "..."
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Even Qingwu, clutching the medicine packet from Baohetang in her hand—containing a whole skin supposedly shed by a python, made her hair stand on end even through the paper.
But his young lady, who would normally jump eight feet away at the sight of a caterpillar, was now practically bloodthirsty in her desire to "repay" the Second Young Master Wen.
The sunlight was gentle, a light breeze was blowing, and petals drifted down slowly.
Time seemed to slow down drastically.
Lin Xihe lay down in front of the dog walkway and peered to the other side: "Why hasn't Wen Zhixu come back yet?"
At this moment, she especially missed her phone and WeChat.
A gray pigeon circled for a while at the border of the two mansions before finally landing on the crabapple tree in Tinghe Pavilion.
"Coo coo coo".
It successfully caught the attention of bird lovers: "A pigeon!"
Lin Xihe examined it closely and noticed a small paper roll tied to the top of its orange-yellow claws.
A carrier pigeon? For me?
Her ancient version of WeChat is here!
A pigeon brought a note.
Lin Xihe sat leaning against a tree, casually unfolding the note.
On the paper were rows of extremely neat small regular script characters.
Under the afternoon sun, the illiterate Lin Xihe managed to read the traditional Chinese characters with difficulty: "The live insects were put in by the servants without my knowledge. I wonder if Miss Lin was frightened? If you feel unwell, please have a doctor examine you immediately. I will return in four days."
Four days?
But the note that Mo Hu sent said he would return in five days. Why is it earlier?
Lin Xihe lay down in a straight line on the grass, and the carrier pigeon kept making cooing sounds.
They had no intention of leaving at all.
Are you hungry? Do you want some dried insects?
The pigeons didn't understand; they just kept hopping back and forth in a V-shape.
Lin Xihe was like a newbie entering the beginner village, completely bewildered: she had never played with carrier pigeons before... what should she do next?
She had no choice but to flatten the sheet of paper, which was about the size of a tofu block, and search carefully. Finally, she found a few words smaller than ants in the lower right corner:
This carrier pigeon is trained to return only after carrying a message back.
Preface to the article.
I have to reply?! Lin Xihe collapsed to the ground; she couldn't write traditional Chinese characters!
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As the sun set, Wen Zhixu finally received news from the pigeon.
The pigeon had letters tied to both of its legs and was cooing urgently, clearly extremely dissatisfied with this task.
Wenqi busily fed it grains.
The text begins by unraveling two letters, slowly unfolding them.
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