Chapter 1416
Jin Yue 17
Chapter 1416 Jin Yue 17
The servant's report broke the scholarly atmosphere of Qinglanggan. Tan You closed the book and said, "Today's lesson is over. Your grandfather is back. Starting tomorrow, Yun-ge will have to practice his martial arts in the courtyard by himself."
Cheng Sui felt a little regretful, but when he saw Cheng Qian, he immediately smiled and said, "Mother, let Father be my sparring partner."
Tan You chuckled: "Okay, but don't kill him."
Cheng Sui smiled innocently and readily offered polite words: "How could my little arms and legs possibly hurt him? Father is brave and skilled in battle, and he has made great achievements at a young age. Naturally, I should learn more from Father."
Tan You raised her eyebrows, "Good, with such a good master, Yun-ge'er must learn well."
Cheng Sui nodded vigorously: "Mother, don't worry."
A sense of foreboding welled up in Cheng Qian's heart. What kind of evil scheme was his legitimate son plotting? He no longer showed any filial piety towards his own father; all he had was the determination to kill him.
Tan You patted Cheng Sui's head: "He can't get into trouble right now."
Cheng Sui smiled innocently, "I understand. I just asked Dad to help me test the medicine. It definitely won't harm my body."
Tan You was relieved. "Okay, I'll assign you a few more guards."
Cheng Qian felt a chill run down his spine. This girl knew that Cheng Sui wanted to use him as a drug user, but instead of stopping her, she even helped arrange for the guards to clean up the mess. How could this little monster be so terrifying?
Tan You didn't bother to look at Cheng Qian, but simply took Cheng Sui's hand and said, "Let's go. Father-in-law has returned in triumph. As his daughter-in-law, it's only right that we go and pay our respects."
Cheng followed Tan You's footsteps and honestly pointed out Tan You's thoughts: "Mother, you want to see Grandfather but that's not true. You really want to watch the show."
Tan You shook off Cheng Sui's hand: "Life in the backyard is too boring. What else can we do if we don't watch plays? I was even thinking of faking my death to escape and take Yun Ge'er to the borderlands to make a name for ourselves."
"But then I thought about it, why should we just hand over such a vast estate of the Duke's mansion? You are the eldest son of the Duke's mansion, you naturally have the right to inherit the Duke's mansion, why should we be the ones to give way?"
Cheng Sui narrowed her eyes slightly: "Mother, actually leaving the Duke's mansion is quite good. As long as he is with Mother, Yun-ge can go anywhere."
Tan You: "I can't bear to do that. Rather than us having to compromise and give in, I'd rather be the bad guy and have everyone else under my control."
Cheng Qian, now completely under Cheng Qian's thumb, smiled bitterly. He was now at Cheng Qian's mercy. And to make matters worse, this little monster was actually a benevolent Buddha! Good heavens, this was unbearable.
When Tan You, Cheng Qian, and Cheng Sui arrived at the main hall, Wei Shi was already there.
From afar, Wei's voice could be heard: "Your Excellency must be tired from your journey. Hot water has been prepared in Bailu Pavilion. Would Your Excellency like to take a bath first or have a meal first?"
Cheng Kun's voice rang out: "Let's have our meal first. Have you met Shen Lian? She's also a woman with a tragic fate."
Madam Wei was practically grinding her teeth to powder, but she still wore a gentle smile: "I've met you. Miss Shen, you must be tired from your long journey."
Seeing his wife's calm attitude, Cheng Kun couldn't help but praise her, saying, "It's true that I've embarrassed you by taking her as a concubine. Have her make up for it with this concubine tea tomorrow."
“You are a generous person, and you will definitely take good care of her and the child in her womb.”
Madam Wei gritted her teeth, her eyes almost bleeding: "Yes, I will definitely take good care of Aunt Lian."
After listening to the opera outside for a while, Tan You led Cheng Sui into the main hall. Wei Shi, upon seeing Tan You, surprisingly felt a sense of closeness, perhaps due to the Stockholm syndrome she had developed from being tormented by Tan You recently. Cheng Qian and Cheng Sui bowed respectfully, saying, "Greetings, Father."
"Yun-ge'er greets his grandfather."
Tan You gave a perfunctory curtsy, saying, "Daughter-in-law greets father-in-law."
The moment she curtsied, the armchair Cheng Kun was sitting on shattered with a crash. Caught off guard, Cheng Kun fell on his backside, and a splinter the length of a palm pierced his thigh.
The splinter pierced deep into his flesh, and Cheng Kun immediately let out a muffled groan.
Cheng Qian and Cheng Sui saw it clearly. Cheng Qian was secretly shocked. The grand chair in the mansion was made of the finest wood. How could it shatter after receiving a mere bow from this little monster?
Especially his own father, Cheng Kun, who was truly brave and skilled in battle. However, he was not injured on the battlefield, but was injured after returning home.
Cheng Sui was overjoyed; his mother was truly amazing!
In the past, if anything had happened to Cheng Kun, Madam Wei would have been frantic with worry and crying for her parents. But now, Madam Wei simply watched coldly from the side, uttering a few words: "Why aren't you helping the Duke up?"
"They all have absolutely no sense of propriety!"
Cheng Kun was a military officer, and he still had some pride. He supported himself to stand up and pulled the splinter out of his thigh: "How did this armchair suddenly break?"
Everyone in the main hall guessed the reason, but no one spoke up, and no one even glanced at Tan You.
Wei waved her handkerchief: "It's probably because the craftsmen didn't do a good job of maintenance. Luckily, the Duke is strong and healthy."
Her expression was strange; she wanted to laugh but was also trying to look worried. Of course she was happy. With Cheng Kun injured like this, how could he possibly go to see that little vixen tonight?
If the doctor makes it sound even more serious then, no matter how seductive Shen Lian is...
Cheng Kun assumed it was an accident. After the doctor finished treating him, he saw his son and his family of three sitting by his side. He couldn't help but blush, and flicked his toe at the blood-stained splinter: "He's grown so strong, just like my son?"
"Good, it should be a child from our Duke's mansion!"
Cheng Sui corrected Cheng Kun: "Grandpa, I won't be called Sui-ge'er anymore. Dad said the name Sui has a bad meaning, so after discussing it with Mom, he changed it for me. From now on, I'll be called Yun-ge'er."
Cheng Kun laughed heartily: "Alright, then from now on you'll be Brother Yun."
"By the way, where are Brother Lin and Brother Kai?"
Tan You glanced at Madam Wei, who lowered her head meekly and said, "Lin Ge'er contracted smallpox two months ago and passed away. His mother couldn't bear the shock and died later as well."
Cheng Kun didn't feel much about Lin Ge'er and Wei Ruoyu; on the contrary, he felt that the incriminating evidence against them had been removed.
After all, being the eldest son of a concubine is never a good thing.
Therefore, Cheng Kun still had a smile on his face: "Smallpox, that can kill people. If you're gone, you're gone."
Cheng Qian lowered his eyelashes. Lin Ge'er, his eldest son on whom he had placed so much hope, was gone just like that. He was heartbroken.
With Cheng Kun back, a family reunion dinner was naturally in order. Tan You silently played the role of a lowly daughter-in-law, and neither Wei Shi nor Cheng Qian dared to cause trouble at this time, so the atmosphere was surprisingly harmonious.