Chapter 446 - 414: Not Only Holds Grudges, But Also Stingy

Chapter 446: Chapter 414: Not Only Holds Grudges, But Also Stingy

Wen Wan was shocked.

Previously at Fahua Temple, she had discovered that her son had a bit of shyness deep down.

And today, she realized that he was not only shy but also held grudges.

Not only did he hold grudges, but he was also very stingy.

When you see such a cute little sister, isn’t it customary to willingly bring out all the delicious and fun things for her to eat and play with?

But what’s with this attitude of "whoever dares touch his snacks he’ll fight them to the end"?

Yuanbao wasn’t like this when he was little!

Wen Wan dismissed her thoughts, not daring to imagine too far about the possibility of her son marrying at this rate.

On the way here, she promised Ah Nuan she would get her some candy. Unable to get it from her son, Wen Wan no longer insisted and called Yun Cai in, "A few days ago, the village sent plenty of candy made by the farm women themselves, one kind with walnuts and sunflower seeds. Go get some."

Yun Cai asked, "Does Madam want some?"

Wen Wan glanced at her son and cleared her throat, "I don’t want any, just for Ah Nuan to eat."

Yun Cai looked at Jinbao and asked again, "What about the little young master?"

"He doesn’t want any either." Wen Wan said, "He has plenty of delicious treats in his hands; he wouldn’t think much of the soft candy from our storage."

Hearing the little guy smack his lips, Wen Wan knew he wanted to eat it.

The candy had just arrived, and the family hadn’t tasted it yet; it wasn’t around in previous years, making it a rare find. With Jinbao’s greedy mouth, not wanting to eat it would be a surprise.

Wen Wan glanced at him, "You want to eat it? Go take out all your snacks and give them to your sister."

Jinbao was unwilling to give his things away for free to his stingy sister, but he really wanted to try the candy with sunflower seeds and walnuts. After hesitating for a while, he finally went to get the little box containing his snacks.

When he handed it over to Ah Nuan, he still felt somewhat reluctant, "Here, they’re all for you."

Seeing Ah Nuan reaching for the figs, he quickly said, "This one tastes a bit strange. If you don’t like it, you can try something else."

Ah Nuan then went for the silk candy.

Jinbao said, "This one sticks to your teeth. Why not try the one next to it?"

So Ah Nuan had to reach for the steamed Chinese pastry wrapped in oil paper.

Jinbao watched closely as the little girl took a bite of his pastry. He swallowed hard.

Ah Nuan enjoyed the steamed pastry; after one piece, she reached for a second.

Jinbao’s little face drooped.

Seeing her wanting another after the second piece, Jinbao couldn’t hold back any longer, "There are only two left; save some for me."

Wen Wan: "..."

Thankfully, Lin Xiaoyue wasn’t present, otherwise, she would have lost face in her own home.

Once Yun Cai brought the soft candy, Wen Wan put the dish on the low table for Ah Nuan to eat herself, taking the chance to teach her son how to behave, telling him that his sister was a guest and he was the little host; as a little host, he should be hospitable and gracious, not stingy, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to marry in the future.

Jinbao listened and asked his mom, "What does marrying mean?"

Wen Wan replied, "Just like your dad, he had to marry me to have you."

Jinbao pondered for a long time and asked again, "If I marry, does that mean I have to give all my yummy things to her?"

"Isn’t that how it should be?"

"Then I won’t marry. I should keep the good stuff for myself."

"..."

One is only interested in appearances, determined to marry a beautiful wife, while the other would rather not marry at all if it means giving away his things.

These two Song family kids...

Wen Wan sighed and told him, "Your sister is so cute, how could you bear not to give her nice things to eat?"

Jinbao retorted, "The grandpa next door praises me for being cute every day, so why doesn’t anyone give me anything nice to eat?"

Wen Wan bluntly said, "Because you’re too stingy."

Jinbao: "..."

In the end, Jinbao chose "cutting the flesh" over "being stingy." He took away half of each kind of snack in the little box, then pushed the whole thing to Ah Nuan, "Here, it’s for you. When you go home, don’t complain that I didn’t give you anything nice."

Ah Nuan looked at the snacks in the little box that her family didn’t have and smiled sweetly, "Thank you, little brother~"

——

After lunch, it started snowing again. Jinbao went back to his own room next door, and Ah Nuan was in the inner room of Wen Wan’s chamber. Both children were asleep.

Wen Wan originally found a book to pass the time, but unconsciously fell asleep on the small couch.

After all, she hadn’t slept the whole night, so she slept for quite a while.

When she woke up again, it was already evening.

When Song Wei came back, even though he carried an umbrella, his shoulders still got a few snowflakes.

Wen Wan stood up, helping him brush off the snowflakes while taking the fur collared cloak down for him. As the man sat down by the charcoal brazier, she suddenly asked, "Did anyone catch you nodding off today, husband?"

Song Wei stretched his hands toward the brazier to warm them, his voice steady and assured, "I’m afraid you’d be disappointed."

"Really? You didn’t? That’s impressive."

Wen Wan hung up the cloak and returned, sitting across from the man.

Song Wei thought about last night’s events and couldn’t help but feel uneasy, "Is everything sorted out over at the Governor Mansion?"

Wen Wan replied truthfully, "The child is gone, Lin Xiaoyue is quite upset. She was feeling down today and asked me to take care of the child for a day."

"Did you send him back?" Song Wei hadn’t seen the Su Family’s child since he stepped through the door.

"Still sleeping." Wen Wan gestured toward the inner room with her eyes, "Probably because it’s cold outside, the two children have been sleeping for a long time and haven’t woken up yet."

Song Wei turned his attention to her, "How are you?"

"I also slept all afternoon. I didn’t sleep much last night; I really couldn’t hold on."

"That’s good." Song Wei was worried that she hadn’t rested until now.

"Husband, do you have any news from the Northwest? Do you know when Su Dada and the others will return to court? Looking at Lin Xiaoyue, if her man doesn’t come back soon, she might completely lose her mind."

Regarding the Great Chu attacking West Yue, it’s government affairs, and Song Wei wasn’t in a position to disclose too much to Wen Wan, a little woman, so he simply said, "It’s still early, they can’t come back at the moment."

"She’s so pitiful, going through this with her husband absent. If it were me, I’d crumble too, especially since she went to Fahua Temple the other day to ask for a sign, and it predicted bad luck."

There’s nothing Song Wei could do about this, "You should visit her more when you have time."

"Yes, I know, I’ll go tomorrow."

——

The next day, when Wen Wan personally took Ah Nuan back to the Governor Mansion, she learned from Lin Xiaoyue’s mouth that yesterday was the little girl’s third birthday.

"Birthday? Why didn’t you say so earlier?" Wen Wan thought of her own son’s stingy nature and felt extremely guilty.

"Why should I say it earlier?" Lin Xiaoyue said, "I, as her mother, couldn’t even celebrate it for her, so should I ask you to do it instead?"

The day had already passed, and making up for it felt meaningless. Wen Wan was filled with regret, "Let’s consider this year gone, I’ll remember this day and prepare a proper birthday gift for her next year."

"Then wait until next year."

The blow this time was too severe, Lin Xiaoyue felt a bit lost about the future, unable to see even tomorrow, let alone next year.

Wen Wan pulled back her thoughts and looked at her, "How are you feeling today?"

"Slept through the night again, the pain has lessened significantly."

Even through the thick brocade quilt, Wen Wan could sense her being more fearful of the cold than before.

Considering that she went through such a major event without a relative by her side, Wen Wan suggested, "Why don’t you send a letter to your family to see if someone can come over."

"No need." Lin Xiaoyue didn’t plan to write a letter back to Jizhou about her troublesome matters.

She knew her father’s temper well. Once he learned of this, he would again attribute all the blame to Su Qing and might even force them to separate once more.

Seeing Wen Wan wanting to speak but hesitating, Lin Xiaoyue smiled, "I’m doing fine, really, the peace allows me to think through many things."

"What are you overthinking again?"

"Not overthinking." Lin Xiaoyue let out a long sigh, "The only thing I can hope for now is for him to stand safely in front of me, no matter if he’s victorious or defeated; I don’t care about his official rank, nor do I wish to become a noble lady. I just want him back, alive."

——

After acquiring the four paintings, Old Marquis Lu barely had a moment of leisure, studying the Weapon Diagram day and night, but still having no clues.

The late Emperor had left him a group of secret people specialized in weapon forging, among them, masters skilled in this area, yet even they couldn’t understand the mystery within the four paintings.

In the Northwest battle, after Su Qing’s reinforcements, a great victory was achieved. Old Marquis Lu had originally not paid attention to it, but since the Western Expedition Army hadn’t returned to court, he let Lu Pingzhou inquire, and Lu Pingzhou brought back the message that the Emperor had long ordered Xu Guangfu and Su Qing to gather the border troops, planning to seize West Yue in one stroke.

Old Marquis Lu was immediately drenched in cold sweat.

He had planned to meet Emperor Guangxi about the secret edict only after the diagram came to light, never expected things to develop to this point.

Out of necessity, Old Marquis Lu changed into court attire, carried the secret edict from the late Emperor, and took a carriage directly to the Imperial City.