Chapter 1137 Clever Uses of New Year's Money
Lin Yuesha sighed, if Qi Heng hadn't been burdened with a blood feud and had been hiding and living in the cracks all these years, he might not have developed such a calculating nature.
Qi Heng rarely mentioned his childhood, and whenever Lin Yuesha asked, he would gloss over it lightly.
After several days of careful recuperation, Lin Yuesha finally regained some color in her face. During this time, her parents were worried about her, so they brought her younger brother to live with them at the Qi residence. Every morning, after having breakfast, Lin Yuesha would go to the garden to accompany her father for tea.
"What smells so good?"
Lin Yuesha led her maid to the garden, sniffed, and laughed, "It's not even the Dragon Boat Festival yet, why is the manor suddenly thinking of cooking zongzi?"
Because Lin Yuesha was kidnapped, the Chen family did not leave the capital. The family discussed that they would wait until after the Mid-Autumn Festival to set off.
Returning to the North at this pace wouldn't take more than two months, and it wouldn't be the coldest time of the year yet.
After returning to the north to prepare, it will be the New Year.
“Your aunt said that in the past when we were in Chenjia Village, you would always be eagerly waiting for the Dragon Boat Festival, picking bamboo leaves early in the morning.”
Chen set up a small stove in the pavilion, and the wrapped zongzi were cooking in the pot.
"Mom, these are definitely rice dumplings made by my eldest aunt."
Lin Yuesha lifted the pot lid, leaned forward to take a look, and smiled, "Wrapping zongzi seems simple, but it's not easy to wrap them into a beautiful shape. If it were your zongzi, they would be loose and floppy."
"You silly girl, I'm not going to serve you anymore!"
Ms. Chen pretended to be angry. Her cooking skills were mediocre; one could say she had no talent for it.
Before getting married, she relied on her parents' family for food and drink; she never imagined that after getting married, she would still have to rely on her parents' family for help.
"Well, your aunt was thinking about it, so she sent it over, but she said she didn't know any fancy tricks, just the same old thing."
The zongzi made by my maternal aunt, Wang, are a mixture of glutinous rice and millet. Dipped in white sugar, they are fragrant, sweet, and sticky, even more delicious than the fancy zongzi with salted egg yolk and meat.
Lin Yuesha had already eaten breakfast, but she still couldn't help but eagerly wait.
"You are only allowed to eat one; eating more will make it harder to digest."
Chen tapped Lin Yuesha's forehead and turned to serve tea.
"Come here, Yue Sha, look what your father bought for you!"
As soon as Chen turned around, Xiao Chenggui immediately approached mysteriously, opened the oil paper package, which contained Shuangfuji's roasted duck leg.
Although it's cooled down, the outer crust is still crispy, and the oil inside is baked dry, giving it a slightly deeper color and flavor.
"Dad, where did you get these duck legs?"
Lin Yuesha looked around to make sure her mother wasn't there, then quickly took a bite of the duck leg.
After resting for a few days, Chen, having heard from some quack doctor, decided that Lin Yuesha couldn't eat duck meat for the time being. Instead, she made chicken soup and pig's trotter soup every day to nourish her, without adding salt. The soup was so bland and tasteless that Lin Yuesha almost vomited.
The problem is, she's just weak, not in postpartum confinement! Is Mother Chen misunderstanding something?
"tasty!"
Lin Yuesha smiled broadly as she tasted the duck meat. She hadn't been able to eat a single piece of the roast duck that Xu Da had brought her the day she woke up; Chen Shi had taken it all away, citing her inability to eat greasy food as the reason.
"Father has a way."
Xiao Chenggui winked and said smugly.
"Dad, I remember you didn't have any money, did you?"
Xiao Chenggui was truly penniless and had nothing to his name. He only taught his servants to read and write at home and rarely went out, so he didn't need any money.
After learning Xiao Chenggui's true identity, Chen confiscated all of his slush fund as punishment.
"Dad, are you hiding a secret stash of money from Mom?"
Lin Yuesha wanted to give her father a purse, but Xiao Chenggui refused.
"Of course not, your father doesn't have that ability."
Xiao Chenggui sighed. Chen knew his tricks perfectly well; he couldn't hide them from his wife.
However, he had no money, but his son did.
Xiao Chenggui had discussed this with Chen, and he suggested that since their son was old enough to understand and had started reading and writing, he should learn to manage his New Year's money from a young age.
At first, Ms. Chen refused, but after his sincere persuasion, she nodded.
So Xiao Chenggui set his sights on his son and used his New Year's money to get it done.
Lin Yuesha was speechless, unable to comment on her father's behavior.
Because she was eating his food, Lin Yuesha reluctantly praised her father as "clever."
Before Chen returned, Lin Yuesha quickly finished eating a duck leg and disposed of the duck bones to cover her tracks.
"Young Qi's mansion is full of good tea leaves, and look, we're getting a good deal."
Xiao Chenggui squinted as he sipped his tea and began to talk about the past.
Back then, he fled with serious injuries, taking the infant Qi Heng with him. As an unmarried man, he really didn't know how to raise a child.
"Father, did he cry a lot when he was little?"
Lin Yuesha never imagined that Qi Heng might not have been so cute when he was a child.
"He used to cry a lot, but after he turned two or three and became a little more sensible, he cried very little."
Some things happened too long ago for Xiao Chenggui to recall clearly. The most vivid memory he had was that the Fang family received news and chased after the father and son, who were hiding deep in the mountains at the time.
“There were traps set by hunters in the mountains. Qi Heng and I accidentally fell into one. Luckily, there were no sharp objects inside, otherwise we wouldn’t have survived.”
This was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune; the searchers looked in the trees but didn't notice the ground.
At the time, the search team passed by them, and if Qi Heng had cried out even once, the two of them would have been immediately discovered.
"My heart was pounding in my chest."
Even now, Xiao Chenggui still feels uneasy when he thinks about it.
Fortunately, Qi Heng was quite brave and understood that those people outside were there to arrest the father and son, so he didn't cry.
Later, as Xiao Chenggui watched Qi Heng grow up day by day and become capable of handling things on his own, he felt both gratified and heartbroken.
If Brother Qi were still alive, things would certainly not be like they are now.
“Yue Sha, I know you hate the old princess, but the matter back then was complicated. It’s not that it’s impossible to understand why she had that thought, it’s just that we are not on the same side.”
Xiao Chenggui was raised by servants, but the old princess provided him with food and drink and treated him well.
Out of respect for the Prince of Luo, we can't pursue this matter any further.
"Dad, I know, don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Mentioning the old hag made Lin Yuesha feel resentful and she didn't want to mention her, otherwise she would think of the scene of Qi Heng kneeling down and feel a pang of bitterness in her heart.
In her eyes, Qi Heng had always been a master strategist and had never suffered such humiliation.
"Qi has had a tough time; he didn't mean to lie to you."
Xiao Chenggui then changed the subject, subtly pleading for Qi Heng, hoping that the couple would not have any rift because of this.
“Father, how could that be? He is my stepbrother. I can’t possibly hold a grudge against him. We are siblings for life.”
Lin Yuesha gritted her teeth. Once Qi Heng was cured of the poison, she would not be able to swallow this anger without taking revenge!
Why should she follow Qi Heng's plans completely, even if it costs him his life, to put her on the throne and live according to his scheme? She refuses.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
