Chapter 68
Watching Yueming running towards him, Lan Yingde felt as if she had grown taller. Her hair, which had been neither too long nor too short when she first arrived, was now longer than her shoulders and braided into two pigtails. She was wearing a white linen shirt and plaid overalls, looking like a tomboy.
Yueming threw herself into his arms, hugged his waist, and without a word, she burst into tears. Seeing her losing her composure in front of the chieftain and Yintai, Lan Yingde wanted to stop her. But seeing her crying breathlessly and still calling for her father, Lan Yingde's eyes couldn't help but turn red, and his heart was in pain.
Lan Yingde hugged Yueming and forced a smile at Tusi Han. "Originally, I should have handed the account book to you personally and counted the goods we brought back with you. But my daughter is willful, and I want to take her home first."
Seeing that Han Tusi obviously wanted to see the goods first, Yin Tai spoke before him, "You and your daughter have been separated for several months. It's normal for your child to miss you. Take her home first. If you have anything to say, we can talk tomorrow."
Chief Han interrupted and said, "Why go home? Why don't you just stay at the mansion tonight? Anyway..." Before he could finish his words, Yin Tai glared at him fiercely and he stopped talking in anger.
Lan Yingde called Yang Laoliu over and instructed him, "You and Feng Er, the second steward, should transport the goods to the warehouse in the Tusi Mansion, lock it up and seal it, and then open the warehouse to take inventory tomorrow."
Yang Laoliu hesitated a little: "I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to handle this alone, how about asking Changsheng to stay with us?"
Changsheng also said: "Master, please take Junior Sister home first! Sixth Uncle and I will lock the door together."
Lan Yingde patted Yueming, who was choking with tears, and said calmly, "No need. Let's go home together. I trust your sixth uncle to take care of things."
After hearing this, Yang Laoliu was like being injected with chicken blood. He patted his chest and assured Lan Yingde: "Uncle Lan, you can go back without worry. I will do the work carefully and make sure there are no mistakes."
Lan Yingde said apologetically, "We're already home. I should have been the one to settle the brothers down, but look..." He smiled helplessly and said, "Just leave a note and go to Shengweixuan. Their boss's surname is Du. If you tell him you're a horse racer with me, he'll settle you down. Please put in a few good words for me to the brothers and don't pick on me. Once I've appeased this ancestor, I'll invite you to my house for a drink."
Yang Laoliu said, "Hi," "You arranged it very well, right? What's there to complain about?" Then he teased Yueming, "Niece, uncle really bought you a Burmese jade bracelet. I'll give it to you when you stop crying."
After the matter was settled, Lan Yingde and his family prepared to leave. Yin Tai instructed them to come over to the house for a banquet the next day. Yun Kai, still with his foot astride his bicycle, saw Yue Ming completely forgetting about him after meeting his father. He quickly called out, "Hey, hey, Lan Yue Ming, aren't you going to pack? And what about those two girls? Don't you want them anymore?"
Oh, yes, there are still two living people in the Tusi Mansion! She wiped her tears and sobbed as she told Lan Yingde that the two maids sent by Li Shengmeng were still in the mansion. The house had been uninhabited for a long time and there was probably a thick layer of yellow dust. Why not take them back to clean up?
Changsheng said no, "We have Aunt Yuxiang at home. When my master and I were away, Aunt Yuxiang would come to our house every two days to clean and dry the bedding. Just ask your two maids to pack your luggage at the mansion tonight and come pick them up tomorrow."
"Good idea!" Yueming stopped sobbing and asked Fenger to tell Yehu and Aiye to pack their luggage and pick them up to go home together tomorrow morning. Then she happily waved her little hand and said goodbye to Yintai.
Yun Kai stared at the backs of the family of three, unable to believe that Lan Yueming had just said to her sweetly, "Abby, I'm Harmon!" But now he turned his face away and left without even saying hello to him.
Yin Tai looked at his son with sympathy, unable to find any words of comfort. Even after Yang Laoliu's caravan had entered the mansion, he was still sitting on his carriage, gritting his teeth. Yin Tai patted his shoulder and said, "I'll help you propose marriage in a few days!"
Yun Kai rubbed his back teeth and said through his teeth: "Lan Yueming, this ungrateful person, wait and see how I deal with her tomorrow."
Compared to Yunkai, who was so angry that he was about to give birth to a Buddha and then to ascend to heaven, Yueming was so happy that she was crazy. Changsheng carried her onto the horse, holding the reins and letting the horse go slowly, while telling her about the places he had visited and what rare things he had bought for her.
When they got home, Aunt Yuxiang was collecting the bedding and was very surprised to see them back together. Then she looked at Lan Yingde and Changsheng, and saw that the mud on their clothes had dried into clumps. They were as dirty as beggars on the street. She quickly boiled water for them to bathe.
Yueming didn't do much housework, but she could still make the bed and change the covers. While Lan Yingde and Changsheng were taking a bath, she made both their beds. The sheets were crisp, the cotton fluffy, and there was a warm, sun-kissed scent to smell.
The master has returned, and dinner must be prepared! Aunt Yuxiang carried a basket and went to buy vegetables. It was almost dinner time, and there were no vegetable vendors on the street. Yueming stopped her and told her to go to Shengweixuan and order a table of food to be delivered home.
Aunt Yuxiang followed her instructions and went to Shengweixuan. After walking for a while, she came to her senses and was surprised to find that the young lady had just spoken to her in Dai. "Wow, she couldn't speak a word when she first came, but now she speaks so fluently!"
The whole journey was either over mountains or on horseback. Soaking in the hot water, Changsheng felt that all the muscles in his body were stretched out and he felt very comfortable. Just when he wanted to take a good bath to relieve his fatigue, Yueming stood at the door, looking pitiful, asking Dad, "Did you finish washing?" and then asking Brother, "Did you finish washing?"
Lan Yingde placed a hot towel on his forehead and leaned against the tub, closing his eyes to rest. Yueming was getting very annoyed, so he said to Changsheng, "I'm old now, so I'll leave the physical work to you. Go and comfort her!"
Changsheng could only wash himself and put on his clothes to coax the ancestor.
Lan Yingde came out of the bath and walked into the main hall. He saw a table full of cookies and snacks. Changsheng was still taking some out. "I bought these for you at Qingdong. They're all creamy. Try them. Are they delicious?"
Yueming was holding a large biscuit barrel with a picture of a little blond boy on it. He was dressed exactly like her, in a white shirt and plaid overalls. He looked so funny when she held him in her arms.
As she chewed a biscuit, she wondered, "Isn't Myanmar incredibly poor? How come they still have such high-quality imported biscuits?" She narrowed her eyes dangerously, "Did you sneak back to Kunming without telling me?"
Changsheng looked at her with disdain: "Did you learn geography from those patrolmen on the street? Even if you don't know how far away Myanmar is from Kunming, you should at least know the direction. Are they adjacent? Can you go back whenever you want?"
Lan Yingde said, "Who says Myanmar is poor? Myanmar was occupied by the British for so many years, and many places have become westernized. There are even cinemas and trains in Qingdong!"
"Qingdong?! Is that Han Yunkai's uncle's house? Yueming put down the biscuit barrel and quickly offered Lan Yingde a seat. He even brought a cup of tea and said politely, "Dad, have some tea."
Lan Yingde took the tea, touched her little face and said, "Eat less cookies, you won't be able to eat later."
Yueming smiled and nodded in agreement, but her eyes still flicked to the unopened snacks, a glance that filled Lan Yingde with sadness. Yunxiang's material possessions were still far too meager. Yueming hadn't lived a life of luxury since she was a child, but she had everything she wanted. Now that Yunxiang was here, there were no snacks to chew on, no activities to keep her entertained, and she even had to borrow Second Young Master Han's bike to ride.
Lan Yingde frowned when he thought of her sweating profusely while carrying the second young master.
He asked Yueming, "Did you live well in the Tusi Mansion during my absence?"
But now she had the chance to complain, and Yueming pouted: "Oh no, Third Madam bullied me." After she said this in a wronged tone, she found that Lan Yingde was sitting with his legs crossed, calmly opening the lid of the tea bowl and blowing the tea; Changsheng was rummaging through the cowhide bag to see if there was anything else he hadn't taken out.
The expected rage and indignation did not appear. She blinked and repeated with emphasis, "I said I was bullied by the Third Wife."
Lan Yingde continued to sip her tea leisurely. Changsheng did respond, rummaging through his bag while casually saying, "Uncle Song sent a letter to Tengchong telling us, saying that Second Young Master Han had gotten his revenge on you. He also said that Li Shengmeng had cut off all the food supplies from her mother's family. Are you still angry?"
Her anger had long since subsided, but she wasn't satisfied with their attitudes. She bit her lip, thought for a moment, and then tilted her head to ask cryptically, "Don't you want to know why the Third Madam bullied me?"
Changsheng was quite curious. Her junior sister had a bit of a temper, but she had been socializing with the wives of officials in Kunming for many years, so she knew how to read people's expressions. How could she have offended the third wife?
"Uncle Song didn't mention it in the letter, so how did you offend the Third Madam?"
Yueming glanced at his father with ill intent and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Master Han wanted Dad to be his son-in-law, and if the Third Madam is not happy about it, she will punish me."
After a puff, Lan Yingde coughed continuously, pointing at Yueming with shaking fingers and unable to say a word.
Changsheng looked at Lan Yingde in surprise. He didn't expect that his master would have the chance to become a royal consort.
Lan Yingde suppressed his cough and looked at Yueming seriously: "I haven't seen you for a few months. I don't know where you learned this from. You have no manners at all. How dare you make fun of your elders?"
In the past, Yueming would have been obedient when Lan Yingde showed this kind of expression. But today, she was acting out of character. She stamped her feet in anger, her eyes red as she said, "You're still lying. You said you'd be back for Dragon Boat Festival, and now it's almost the Ghost Festival." Not only did he break his promise, but he also ignored her when she was wronged and tried to appease her with a few buckets of biscuits. No way.
Seeing that she was still talking back, Lan Yingde looked at her in silence. How could this child have such a bad temper? She couldn't stand a harsh word. Could it be that she had suffered other grievances?
He relaxed his expression and said softly to Yueming, "Yueming, come to daddy?"
Tears were hanging on her eyelashes, about to fall, but when she heard Lan Yingde calling her, she went over without hesitation.
Lan Yingde held her shoulders with both hands and asked softly, "Is anyone else bullying you?"
Yueming couldn't stand it anymore. The grievances in her heart made her throat tight, tears rolled down her face, and she sniffled and sobbed, "The third wife's nephew also bullied me. He even beat up Ye Hu. And... and Mrs. Tao... Tao also bullied me." At the end of the sobbing, she almost couldn't breathe.
Why is there still the matter of Li Shengmeng? He frowned and asked, "Why did Mrs. Tao bully you? Is it because of your mother?"
Yueming shook her head. "No, her fourth daughter did something inappropriate to Han Yunkai, and Han Yunkai wants to punish their family. She wants me to plead for her, but she won't speak properly. She's using my mother and grandmother to threaten me. She said if I don't intervene, she'll cross my mother and grandmother's names off the family tree."
After saying this, she placed her hand on Lan Yingde's hand on her shoulder and said anxiously, "Dad, I don't want Mrs. Tao's son to be the head, I want my uncle to be the head. Isn't that why you sent Uncle Du over?"
Lan Yingde glanced at Changsheng sternly, and Changsheng quickly waved his hand: "I didn't tell her."
"Dad." Yueming shook his hand, tears streaming down her face. "When the Third Madam and her nephew bullied me, Han Yunkai always helped me. But this time when Madam Tao bullied me, he pretended to be deaf and dumb and didn't help me. Dad, are you not going to help me either?"
She looked like she was going to rush to Lisheng and beat Mrs. Tao to death tomorrow, which gave Lan Yingde a headache. Chief Tao was still sitting in his position! This kind of thing needed to be done slowly, not just by listening to Yueming's crying. Lan Yingde was about to talk things over with her when there was a knock on the door.
Changsheng went out to answer the door, and Feng Xiaosai was standing at the door with two maids holding a few boxes. They said they were delivering something to Yueming.
Changsheng welcomed them into the house. Feng Xiaosai, upon seeing Lan Yingde, smirked and said, "The young lady left in such a hurry that she left behind her maids and luggage. This house hasn't been occupied for months, so they were worried she wouldn't have the things she's used to, so they just packed up a few things and asked me to bring them over."
Lan Yingde, upon hearing this, assumed it was Second Steward Feng who had sent it over with his son, and said affably, "Thank you for your hard work, Young Master Feng! Changsheng, go get some money for Young Master Feng to buy some tea."
Changsheng took out two silver coins from his pocket and handed them to Feng Xiaosai with both hands. Feng Xiaosai quickly refused: "How dare I ask for a reward for doing my job? Miss Yueming has been very kind to me during this time in the mansion. If you give me a reward for such a small thing as running errands, it would be a slap in my face."
Yueming knew exactly who had sent these things, and she felt a pang of fear. She hadn't told Lan Yingde a word about Han Yunkai and her, and she didn't dare to. She could only huddle aside and play dumb.
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