Chapter 98: Sowing Dissension
He raised his glass and drank the wine, but it tasted bitter and lingered on his tongue.
His father favored Archer more and more day by day. Even when Archer contradicted his father a few days ago, he was not angry. In Chai Lie's eyes, this was an extremely painful thing.
Ai Yangtai refilled the drink, "Young Master, please."
He suddenly looked up, "Where's Ah Hui? When will he come?"
Ai Yangtai sighed, "I've sent someone to wake up the Third Young Master, but..."
he demanded.
Ai Yangtai said, "The Third Young Master might be in a bit of a dilemma as well."
"What's wrong with him?"
Ai Yangtai said, "The Third Young Master has also noticed that the Governor favors the Second Young Master among you brothers, so he hasn't dared to get too close to the First Young Master recently."
This statement was originally absurd. Chai Hui was afraid of Chai Che when he saw him. How could he stay away from his elder brother just because the governor favored Chai Che?
However, at this time, Chai Lie's eyes were hazy and he seemed a little drunk.
"Tell Ah Hui to get out here!"
Ai Yangtai could only sigh, "Actually, the Third Young Master treats me well. I shouldn't have said these things to the First Young Master today."
"you say!"
"Anyone with a discerning eye can see that whether he chooses the eldest son or the most capable, the governor should hand over the heavy responsibilities of the future to the eldest son. But now, you see, the governor often secretly summons the second son, and when he has something to say, he avoids talking to you and the third son."
He nodded, "You're right, I can see it clearly, even Archer is going against me! Damn them all! Damn it!"
He gripped the glass tightly, as if it were someone's throat.
The glass is empty.
Ai Yangtai poured him another glass of wine, "The governor has been treating Si Yuyuan better lately."
While listening, Chai Lie drank the glass of wine very slowly, letting the wine slide down his throat.
"Siyu Garden's owner is close to the Second Young Master, so the First Young Master should be careful. If the Second Young Master inherits the position of Governor, the First Young Master will have no place to stand. Everyone in this mansion knows that you are the future master of the Governor's Mansion, but if the Second Young Master steps in, you will be embarrassed, right?"
His drunken eyes suddenly opened and stared at him, as if he had completely sobered up. "Who asked you to sow discord between us brothers?"
He lowered his head, feeling very embarrassed. "Master, don't you know why I am telling you these things?"
Chai Lie said, "Stop talking nonsense. Who sent you?"
Ai Yangtai continued, "A wise bird chooses its tree. In my humble opinion, the one who can become the overlord of Xiu Tu must be none other than the eldest son."
The corner of his mouth showed a hint of sneer, completely different from his usual smile, gloomy and cold, and he said in a deep voice, "Father is still alive, and you dare to say such words to me, aren't you afraid of losing your head?"
Ai Yangtai suddenly stood up, personally offered a glass of wine, and said, "In my heart, I only admire true heroes."
He looked at him for a long time.
Then he took the glass of wine and drank it, sighing softly, "I am really drunk."
"You may be drunk, but you need to be clear about some things."
"you say."
"What does the eldest son think of the second son?"
"Both father and mother loved him very much."
"What about the eldest son?"
Chai Lie thought for a moment and said, "From childhood to adulthood, A Che has always been the smartest one. No matter what he learns, he can easily learn it. He never shows his vulnerable side and seems to never have any weaknesses."
Ai Yangtai laughed. "You're wrong, Eldest Young Master. I'm so bold as to say that, in my opinion, although the Second Young Master looks strong, he's only barely controlling the situation. If he were to suffer a blow from the Eldest Young Master, he'd probably realize that he's always the younger brother to the Eldest Young Master, and that you're the brother he can't surpass."
He is listening.
"Then tell me, what should I do?"
"What is the Second Young Master most proud of?"
Chai Lie blurted out, "Martial arts."
He then said, "That's right. So, if you can defeat him once and let him know how powerful you are, he will never dare to bully you again. Even the governor will look up to you."
Cha Che frowned and said, "Do you think I can defeat Archer?"
Ai Yangtai said, "My lord, do you believe it or not? There is a very magical internal skill in this world. Once you master it, you will be invincible."
"I have never heard such a ridiculous thing." In fact, he had already guessed it in his heart.
"The most miraculous thing is yet to come. Those who master this magical skill will never die or be injured, and will live as long as the sky."
"What do you want to say?"
"You know it in your heart, Master."
He pondered, "You mean 'Takayama Shou'?"
"Yes."
Chai Lie's hand holding the wine cup suddenly trembled and he couldn't speak.
"Young Master, are you afraid that your ambitions will be known to the Lord?" He poured him another glass of wine. "If a young eagle on a cliff can't spread its wings and fly, it will only starve to death."
Chai Lie's gaze seemed to be far away. After a long moment, he said, "Do you know where Gao Shan Shou is?"
"Of course I know, but to get it, I still need your help."
Just at this moment, Chai Hui staggered into the room.
He couldn't go on like this. He and Lu Xieying were fighting each other every day. Last night, he just touched the wrong door and she hit him on the back with a mahogany chair. He didn't expect her sudden attack. He was hit and his head fell against the door. He was dazed for a long time. He slept all night and was still dizzy.
"Brother, you're here?"
Seeing him come in, Chai Lie's expression immediately changed, "Why are you here just now?"
Chai Hui rubbed his aching back and said, "Brother, you don't know that person in my room——"
"That's enough!" he interrupted.
He signaled Ai Yangtai to step back with his eyes.
"What's the matter, brother? Why are you in such a hurry today?"
"I want you to do something for me."
Chai Hui tilted his head and picked up a peanut. His head still hurt badly. "What's the matter?"
"Kill Mu Jin for me."
With a plop, the peanut fell on the table.
"This..." He hesitated, "Really?"
"You don't dare?"
Chai Lie was so aggressive that he felt uneasy. "It's not that I don't dare, it's just..."
"Didn't you always tell me that you wanted to eat their flesh and blood?"
Chai Hui sighed, "Last time, Jiao Ran came to ask me if I shot that arrow. Before I could say anything, she beat me up. It's a good thing I didn't shoot that arrow. If I had, she would have found out if I'd lied to her. If I had really killed Mu Jin, she would have skinned me alive."
"Then why don't you think about this? If you kill Mu Jin, there will be no other men around Jiao Ran."
Chai Hui poured a glass of wine, feeling a little uncomfortable. "Even if I kill him, Jiaoran won't like me. Besides, I'm already married now. Lu Xieying is my legal wife. Father will definitely not allow me to take another concubine. Then Jiaoran can only be my concubine, just like the others. How can I have the courage to ask her to be a concubine?"
Chai Lie stared at him for a moment. He had always thought that his younger brother was stupid and clumsy and not worthy of being reused, but he had not expected that he would take feelings so seriously.
"That's all."
He sighed.
There were three charcoal braziers in the room, which were warm and filled with high-quality charcoal, without smoke or dust.
Cheng Yuan was worried and protected her from behind, wanting to hold the child, but she was already able to walk on her own without help, but she walked crookedly, shouting, "No, no..."
Zhuxing, who came to visit, couldn't help but laugh, "How cute! She seems to have grown a little taller. Kids grow so fast."
Jiaoran chewed some dried sweet potatoes and said unhappily, "When I was little, I was already older than her. After the New Year, she was already two and a half, and she still walked so slowly."
Zhuxing hit her head hard and said, "You are not ashamed to compare yourself to a child."
Jiaoran rubbed his head and swallowed before saying, "When Senior Sister gives birth, I'll take care of the child for you every day. Look at how well I took care of those younger Junior Sisters and Brothers."
Shao Feng asked, "Have you ever taken care of a child?"
Jiao Ran smiled and said, "Of course, otherwise how do you think I could serve you so well when I first entered the mansion?"
Su Su laughed, "So you take care of the young master like a child."
All the women laughed, even the child laughed.
Only Cheng Yuan couldn't smile. She coaxed the child to walk, "Come, Zhen'er, come to mother."
Mu Jin heard the laughter of the women in the room and came out curiously, "What are you talking about?"
When Jiaoran saw him coming, he reached out and handed him a piece of dried sweet potato.
Signal to a few people to stop talking.
"No, I don't like this."
Jiao Ran imitated Cheng Yuan's coaxing tone and said, "Come on, Mu Jin, this is delicious, really, you try it."
He was as obedient as a child, leaned over and ate the piece of dried sweet potato.
When they saw this, they burst out laughing.
Cheng Yuan's face looked even worse, and at this moment someone outside came to inform him that the eldest young master had arrived.
Mu Jin didn't say much and looked at Cheng Yuan. She saw that several people were here. If she didn't let him in, it would seem that she had something to hide. But in fact, everyone present knew her relationship with Chai Lie and the child's background.
"Since the eldest master is here, please come in."
Zhuxing didn't have a good impression of Chai Lie. She noticed that Chai Lie was vaguely afraid of Chai Che and reminded Chai Che, but Chai Che didn't take it seriously.
As soon as Chai Lie came in, he was covered in snow. It was still snowing outside and there was snow foam on his boots.
Seeing him coming, Zhuxing bowed deeply and said, "Big Brother."
Cheng Yuan did the same, and said respectfully, "Big Brother is here."
He gave her a somewhat disapproving look. Everyone was sitting in a circle. Seeing the child learning to walk, he stretched out his hand and said, "Come to Ah... Grandfather."
Zhen'er stumbled towards him with a big laugh. The child's laughter filled the whole room. Everyone who heard this childish laughter couldn't help but laugh.
Jiao Ran smiled and leaned close to Mu Jin's ear and said, "What a pity, such a lovely child is not yours."
Mu Jin said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "It's nothing to regret. Our children in the future will definitely be even cuter."
As she was speaking, Zhen'er suddenly pushed Chai Lie's arm away and walked straight towards Mu Jin, "Daddy, hug me, hug me."
Mu Jin lowered his head and saw Zhen'er hugging his thighs. He smiled helplessly and said, "Okay, come up."
He held Zhen'er on his lap and played with Jiaoran.
Chai Lie's face immediately darkened. "Zhen'er, come here, let Grandfather hold you."
Zhen'er kicked at Jiaoran, "You are bad... bad... I will beat you..."
Jiaoran gently pinched her nose, scaring Cheng Yuan out of her wits.
"Who are you calling bad?"
Zhen'er snorted and was about to cry. Seeing this, Mu Jin quickly handed her to her mother and said, "Coax her."
Zhuxing frowned and said, "Look, you've scared the child to tears."
"But you haven't cried yet, have you?" Jiaoran said.
Unexpectedly, Chai Lie came over faster than Cheng Yuan and hugged the child, "Zhen'er, let Grandfather hold you."
Zhen'er pulled his hand in his arms and wanted to hit Jiaoran, "Grandfather, hit her, hit Jiaozi."
Jiaoran burst out laughing, and Chai Lie also laughed, "Her name is Jiaoran, not Jiaozi."
Cheng Yuan blushed, fearing that her words to the child would be spoken out in public, and hurriedly said, "Zhen'er wants to eat dumplings, doesn't she?"
Chai Lie then ordered his attendants, "Go to Shoulin Garden and call Master Wan over; he makes the most delicious dumplings."
Cheng Yuan said, "No need, no need, big brother, there's no need to spoil the child like this. She just said it casually."
Chai Lie put Zhen'er on his neck and told her to ride on his neck. "Grandfather is taking you to the yard to ride the big horse!"
Zhuxing and Jiaoran glanced at each other, neither saying anything. Cheng Yuan was a little flustered, but couldn't stop him. He lied to himself and said to Zhuxing, "Look at Zhen'er's father, how good he is to her."
Zhuxing lowered his head and drank tea without responding.
Chai Lie's voice came from the courtyard, "Tell Ah Che, Ah Hui, and my little sister to have dumplings together today. Let's set up a table in Si Yu Garden."
Cheng Yuan pressed on, "Aren't you calling them father and mother?"
Chai Lie was having fun playing with the children and did not answer.
Mu Jin said to Xiao Ju, who had just come in to change the charcoal fire, "Xiao Ju, go and invite the Second Young Master and the Third Young Master."
"yes."
Jiaoran had eaten more, so he stood up and said, "It's so lively, I'll go with you, Sister Xiaoju."
Mu Jin said, "The mountain road is difficult to travel. You are injured, so don't go."
Xiaoju turned her back and rolled her eyes. There was no injury on her body. He doted on her to such an extent that he was worried even when letting her walk on the mountain road.
Jiaoran said it was alright, "I'm free anyway, I'll go with you to Qianlin Garden and Jinlin Garden."
Xiaoju turned her head and said, "No need. I'll go in a carriage instead of riding a horse. Do you want to take a carriage?"
Jiao Ran said, "Let's go on horseback. It's still snowing outside. Riding on horseback with the cold wind blowing is so refreshing."
Xiaoju said, "If you like to enjoy the breeze, go ahead and enjoy it in the yard, but don't take the young master outside, lest he catch a cold. As for me, I'll go in a carriage. It's very cold outside, only a fool would go on horseback."
Chai Hui and Lu Xieying arrived before dark, but Chai Che was out of the house for something and couldn't come to eat dumplings.
Seeing Xiaomei's thin clothing, Chai Lie scolded her maid, "We knew she was coming to such a faraway place like Yuyuan, so why is her cloak so thin? Did she forget to get her allotment?"
The maid hurriedly knelt in the snow and begged for mercy.
The youngest daughter of the Chai family called the maid to her feet and said, "Brother, it's not that Yun'er didn't want me to wear clothes, it's just that I didn't feel that cold, so I took some thinner clothes. If I were cold, I would naturally ask someone to put more clothes on me."
Zhuxing took her hand and said, "My little sister is here. My hands are warm. Why is Yun'er kneeling here?"
Chai Lie said, "Get up."
Jiao Ran wanted to go out to greet them, but when she saw Mu Jin staring at her, she said, "I'm not going to pick up Chai Hui. They're all here, so I want to join in the fun."
"It's almost dinner time, don't run around."
"How can you be so petty?"
But on second thought, this was actually not true. Chai Lie's behavior clearly seemed to regard himself as the master of Siyu Garden, and Cheng Yuan as the hostess. From beginning to end, he didn't say a word to Mu Jin and completely treated him as air.
If Mu Jin was really narrow-minded, he would have lost his temper long ago, but he treated it as usual and did not hold a grudge.
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