"My dear grandson, my dear grandson——" As Jiang Yiluo entered the house, he heard that familiar haunting voice.
Ruan Ruan originally thought that Old Lady Miao was also living in the capital these days. After all, she was the only one who liked to call her that. But when she listened carefully, the voice was sharper and didn't sound like that of an old lady. She looked curiously in the direction where the sound came from. A jet-black starling was perched on a bird stand hanging from the beam.
The crow had smooth feathers, and its black wings had a slightly dark purple metallic luster. The crown-shaped feathers on its forehead stood above the base of its beak. Its eyes were bright as it looked at the two people who came in. It held the perch with one foot, and the other foot was hidden in its feathers and could not be seen clearly.
Ruan Ruan looked at the mynah bird in surprise. The one who just spoke turned out to be such a little devil.
"This is the Eighth Prince raised by your grandfather. He is the apple of his eye. Now all of us are standing behind him. But this bird has a very sharp beak. Just ignore it." Jiang Yilu ignored the Eighth Prince's greeting and turned to Ruan Ruan and said.
"Eighth Prince?" Ruan Ruan was a little curious. This was the name of the mynah bird.
"Well, Grandpa and his family have raised more than a dozen starlings, and this one happens to be the eighth. From the eldest prince to the thirteenth prince, they are collectively called the Thirteen Guardians. However, the other birds are not as good at mimicking as the eighth prince, and they are also honest. They usually stay in the birdcage obediently."
Jiang Yilu glanced at the Eighth Prince who was sitting on the bird stand and combing its feathers leisurely, thinking that he would find an opportunity to pluck the feathers of this thief bird and roast it for food.
"My dear grandson, my dear grandson, my grandson--" The Eighth Prince did not feel threatened at all. He perched on the bird stand and happily called out to Jiang Yilu. He learned all this when Old Lady Miao came. Every time he saw Jiang Yilu, he would always call out a few times to take advantage of him. He had no idea that if he did not have two big backers behind him, he would have been a bird with a bald tail by now.
In recent years, Ruan Yuanjiang often went to Gangcheng to visit his granddaughter, but Ruan Ruan had not been back for several years. The Eighth Prince was adopted by Ruan Yuanjiang after his retirement. He is only two years old now. From childhood to adulthood, he has never seen his sister Ruan Ruan.
"Grandson's wife, my dear grandson has brought his grandson's wife back. My dear, my grandson's wife is here." The Eighth Prince spread his wings and flew into the inner courtyard, cackle-ing all the way, to spread the good news.
No one knew what Old Lady Miao taught the bird during those days in the capital. The bird had forgotten all the 300 ancient poems that Ruan Yuanjiang had taught it. Every day it just called out "good grandson" and "darling". When it saw a strange woman, it would call her "granddaughter-in-law".
Seeing Ruan Ruan covering her mouth and laughing secretly, Jiang Yilu really wanted to roast the bird and eat it.
Ruan Yuanjiang and Bai Fangqiu were trimming flowers and plants in the yard. There were many bird cages hanging on the branches of the trees in the yard. The other starlings and parrots were all quietly perched on the stands. The crazy Eighth Prince flew over, disturbing the whole pool of spring water. One by one they called out "Grandson--grandson--" and then "Ah--ah--", chirping so loudly that it made people feel dizzy.
Those mynah birds and parrots are not as good at mimicking as the Eighth Prince, and their speech is not very fluent. This is why the Eighth Prince has become the apple of the eyes of the two old men and dominates both the Bai and Jiang residences.
Ruan Yuanjiang stood up, looked at the Eighth Prince who flew in, smiled and shook his head: "I don't know who Xiaobao brought." He didn't take the Eighth Prince's words to heart. After all, no matter how smart the Eighth Bird was, its IQ was only that of a few-year-old child. The Eighth Prince had lied about military intelligence more than once or twice. A few days ago, when a female employee from Jiang Yilu's company came to deliver documents, the Eighth Prince also surrounded her and shouted at her, which made the employee who was already married and had children very embarrassed. Since then, Jiang Yilu didn't dare to let female employees come to his house, for fear that the stupid bird would embarrass him again.
"Ah - granddaughter-in-law -"
Just as he was laughing, Jiang Yiliu came in with Ruan Ruan. The Eighth Prince flew towards Ruan Ruan very swiftly, and landed safely on Ruan Ruan's shoulder, rubbing Ruan Ruan's cheek with his feather crown.
Ruan Ruan was frightened by the Eighth Prince's sudden action. She calmed down after seeing that he had no intention of attacking her.
"Wife, give birth to a fat baby, give birth to a fat baby, ha ha ha -"
The fat bird, Eighth Prince, was combing its feathers leisurely while saying shocking words. Ruan Ruan looked at the bird perched on her shoulder with shining eyes. She simply loved this mynah bird that liked to tell the truth.
"Ruan Ruan, why didn't you tell me you were coming?" Ruan Yuanjiang looked at his granddaughter who suddenly appeared with surprise. When he gets old, he can't help but feel sad and sentimental. Even though Jiang Yilu and others treated him as their grandfather, and he had old friends around him who he could talk to, Ruan Yuanjiang always thought of the regret that his granddaughter was not around. Today, when he saw the granddaughter he had been thinking about day and night appear before him, Ruan Yuanjiang couldn't believe it.
"Grandpa, I miss you so much--" Ruan Ruan threw herself into the old man's arms, still as coquettish as the little girl she was back then.
"Hmph, she misses me. I don't know who she is, but she's angry with someone. Every year, I, an old man, have to travel thousands of miles to see her." Old Master Ruan pretended to be angry, glanced at Jiang Yilu, and said to his precious granddaughter.
Jiang Yiliu and Ruan Ruan were both a little embarrassed, especially Ruan Ruan: "Grandpa, don't worry, I will try my best to capture him this time, and I will not leave."
Ruan Ruan spoke with great confidence, and the way she held her head high and chest out made Ruan Yuanjiang shake his head.
Forget it, this girl can't be kept when she grows up, and if she is kept, she will become an enemy. Ruan Yuanjiang looked at his granddaughter, feeling sad and distressed. Looking at Jiang Yiliu standing awkwardly beside him, he snorted heavily. I don't know what this silly boy is thinking, he doesn't even like such a good girl like Ruan Ruan.
The despised Jiang Yilu said that he felt wronged. After all, he had not fully accepted the reality of getting married, and he could not accept that the girl, to whom he was a junior, would become his future wife.
"You're ambitious. Grandpa's still waiting to hold his great-granddaughter." Ruan Yuanjiang patted his granddaughter's shoulder and said meaningfully to Jiang Yili. He knew what Ruan Ruan was thinking and he really liked Xiaobao. Both Ruan Yuanjiang and Bai Fangqiu would be happy to see their two favorite juniors together. Moreover, Xiaobao hadn't had any close contact with any girl over the years, so Ruan Ruan still had a great chance.
"Fatty smash, Fatty smash--" the Eighth Prince shouted loudly in Ruan Ruan's ear with dissatisfaction. Very good, under the strong influence of Old Lady Miao, this stupid starling has become the number one bird that favors boys over girls.
"Well, it doesn't matter whether you have a son or a daughter. It would be best if they can be in pairs." Ruan Yuanjiang spoke seriously while speaking in an inappropriate way. He patted the younger generation who was sore from bending over for so long and said, "While I'm still young, I can help you take care of your children."
"Grandpa Ruan--" Jiang Yilu looked helplessly at the disrespectful elder, thinking that Ruan Ruan would not have an easy time during his time in the capital.
"Hahaha, Xiaobao is still shy. Don't worry, your Grandpa Ruan and I are very open-minded. We two old people will not interfere in the relationship between young people."
Bai Fangqiu smiled and said, "Old Man Ruan, it's time to walk the bird, let's go out." He winked at Ruan Yuanjiang. With these two old people around, how could the young one let go? Wouldn't this increase the difficulty of conquering that girl Ruan Ruan?
Ruan Yuanjiang nodded in understanding and pretended to be surprised: "Yes, it's time to walk the bird, eldest brother, second brother, let's go."
The two old men would walk the birds separately at different times every day. After all, there were too many birds and they didn't have the hands to hold the bird cages. The two parrots whose names were called would obediently fly into the bird cages held by the two men, stand on the bird stand and comb their wings with their pointed beaks.
Jiang Yilu's face was full of black lines. Don't think he doesn't know that at this time of day, they are usually at home tending to the flowers and plants. It's still several hours before they can take the bird for a walk.
The two old men walked out of the house, holding a bird cage in each hand and humming a little tune. Suddenly, Jiang Yilu and Ruan Ruan were the only ones left in the huge yard. Oh, and there were also a dozen or so birds looking at them curiously.
"It's a shame to have a fat baby——"
The Eighth Prince jumped happily on Ruan Ruan's shoulders, muttering words that made Jiang Yilu's veins bulge.
One day, he would pluck all the feathers from this bird.
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