Chapter 59 Eating Loquats in the Study
In the evening, Chen Qi sewed the sachets and sent one to each of her younger brothers. She also asked about their homework and sent them to bed.
After a busy period, she saw that Xie Yuduo had not returned yet, so she washed the loquats, put them in a white porcelain plate, and went to the study in front to look for him.
Xie Yuduo was writing at his desk when he saw Chen Qi pushing the door open. He quickly put down his pen and stood up to greet her.
"Why are you here so late? Is there something wrong?"
Chen Qi handed him the fruit plate and said with a smile, "Nothing. I see that these loquats are still fresh. If they are left out tomorrow, I'm afraid they won't be edible, so I gave them to you to try."
Xie Yuduo took the plate, led her to the desk, sat her on a chair, pushed aside the paper and pens on the table, sat on the desk with his legs raised, and talked to her.
"It's only April, loquats are rare. Did you ask someone to buy them?"
"No, it was given to me by Aunt Yun."
"oh?"
Xie Yuduo raised his eyebrows.
"I didn't know you two had such a relationship?"
Shen Qi shook her head.
"We don't have much of a relationship, and we've never had a good conversation. Maybe she saw me sending Yu Suo to school and wanted to thank me. It's strange, the old lady raised Yu Suo to this age, why didn't you go and thank her?"
Xie Yuduo picked up a loquat fruit casually. It looked round, smooth and very tender. He peeled it in a few seconds and handed it to Chen Qi's mouth.
"You're surprised, but I'm even more surprised. Speaking of which, you probably don't know that not only was Yu Shuo raised by the old lady, but even Concubine Yun was raised by the old lady."
"oh?"
"I heard my eldest sister say a few words before. She said that Concubine Yun was bought by my grandmother as a maid when she was about seven or eight years old. She was treated very well and raised until she was about to get married. But for some reason, she became a concubine in the West Courtyard and gave birth to Yu Shuo. Later, she left the child with the old lady to raise."
Xie Yuduo peeled another loquat and fed it to her, reaching out to catch the core she spitted out.
"Oh... Then I'll ask Big Sister next time I see her."
"Eldest sister rarely comes home. The last time was when you and I got married, and the next time will probably be when Yujing gets married."
"Oh, okay...it's sweet, you can eat it too."
Chen Qi was fed several in a row. She picked up one, peeled it and handed it to her husband.
The man ate up the fruit in two bites, but did not stop eating. He took the opportunity to suck her fingertips that were soaked with fruit juice.
Chen Qi felt itchy and tried to avoid him with a smile, but was grabbed by the man and could not escape no matter what.
Here, the two of them were laughing and joking, when suddenly the study door creaked open.
The room suddenly became quiet.
Chen Qi looked up and saw that it was his eldest brother Xie Yuming who pushed the door open.
She hurriedly stood up from the chair, and Xie Yuduo immediately jumped down from the desk and blocked her body.
"Brother, you're here." The man was calm and composed.
"Oh... your sister-in-law is here too?" The eldest brother was a little surprised.
"Well, she brought me some fruit. Big brother, try some too."
After saying that, he actually pushed the fruit plate forward, very frankly.
"Uh... no, that's not necessary. I just went to the East Courtyard to look for you, and the maid said you hadn't come back yet. Are you still busy?"
"Oh, I'm almost done."
Taking advantage of the moment when he blocked her view, Chen Qi hurriedly tidied herself up. Fortunately, she didn't make any trouble, so her clothes and hair were still neat, with only some traces of juice left on her fingertips.
She couldn't care less about these things at the moment. She wiped the clothes on Xie Yuduo's back and then stood up straight.
She smiled very gracefully.
"Brother, do you have something to talk to Erlang about? Then you guys go ahead and do your work. I'll be leaving first."
After saying that, he nodded slightly at the two of them, which was very appropriate.
However, before leaving, he took advantage of his elder brother's back and pinched Xie Yuduo's lower back hard.
The force was quite strong, but the man remained calm and smiled gently.
"Go slowly on your way."
"good."
She has a good smile too.
Seeing that his sister-in-law left as soon as he arrived, Xie Yuming felt a little embarrassed. He coughed twice and sat on the kang in the middle to drink tea.
He hadn't been seen for two or three months. His eye circles were dark, his originally fair skin had become much rougher, his beard had never been shaved cleanly, and he looked extremely haggard.
"Today... I heard from Yu Jin that you and your sister-in-law... arranged for Yu Shuo to go to school. I feel really bad about it. This... should have been my job."
If you think about it, Yu Shuo is the illegitimate son of the second wife, and his schooling should have been arranged by his uncle and aunt, or his half-brother should have taken care of it. Perhaps because of Sun's misfortune, no one in the family thought about this, but Chen Qi took care of it.
It was understandable that Aunt Yun thanked her specially.
"We're brothers, there's no need to say that. You're too polite, big brother. Is my sister-in-law feeling better these days?"
As he spoke, he found a piece of waste paper and wrapped the loquat core that Chen Qi had spit into his palm.
When mentioning Sun Xueyi, Xie Yuming's eyes became even more dim.
"She's still the same. She can eat, but not much. She can sleep, but not well. She doesn't go out, doesn't dress up, and when you talk to her, she's always indifferent."
On this side, Xie Yuduo wiped his hands and began to sort out the documents and account books that he had just messed up.
"Sister-in-law has suffered a serious illness, so it's inevitable that she's been mentally disturbed. I have some medicine here to replenish qi and calm the mind. I'll have Qi'er deliver it to sister-in-law tomorrow. You can also ask the doctor to see if it will be helpful for her illness."
"Second brother, I thank you so much, and thank you to my sister-in-law too. That day... if she hadn't been there, Xueyi would have... I heard that she also caused my sister-in-law to become seriously ill. I feel so sorry for her."
"It's okay, she's fine now."
"Speaking of my sister-in-law... I have a request..."
Hearing that it was about Chen Qi, Xie Yuduo stopped what he was doing and watched him carefully.
"Actually, Xueyi is feeling much better now. The doctor also said that if she could go out for a walk, it would be beneficial for her illness. But she's... always lazy. Too lazy to talk, too lazy to go out, too lazy to do anything. To be honest, I've been talking to her a lot lately, but she's just too lazy to listen... One time, I accidentally mentioned that my sister-in-law was sick, and she actually turned around and looked at me."
The eldest brother was half lying on the kang, holding his forehead and sighing.
"Ah, come to think of it, I can't figure it out either. Today, Yu Jin came to tell me about Yu Shuo's schooling. I didn't pay attention at first, but your sister-in-law heard it and looked up at me, asking me to come and thank you and your wife... Second brother, do you know? She hasn't spoken to me for several months. I was... thinking..."
He sat up and looked at Xie Yuduo behind the desk, tears in his eyes.
"If my sister-in-law is free, could you ask her to... go and keep Xueyi company? Just talk or just sit with her? Is that okay?"
Xie Yuduo knew that Chen Qi was born with a bodhisattva-like nature, and would surely not refuse such a simple task.
But... he didn't agree immediately and left some room for maneuver.
"I'll ask her about this when I get back."
Although he didn't agree directly, he said this anyway. Xie Yuming nodded and breathed a sigh of relief.
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