Chapter 254: Still Wishing to See Datou
Seeing that he remained silent, Lady Liu cried even harder.
The accompanying maidservant and nanny hurriedly consoled her, and the old nanny did not forget to speak up: “Young Master Wen, the Madam had no choice back then. With the way Scholar Wen was, the Madam definitely wouldn’t have lived long if she had continued to stay in this family. As a son, you ought to understand your mother’s difficulties.”
Wen Jun’s brow furrowed slightly. He lifted his head and cast a flat glance at her. “Who are you?”
“This servant…” The old nanny was momentarily at a loss for words, but Lady Liu stopped her.
Lady Liu looked at Wen Jun and said, “Jun’er, Mother knows you resent Mother, but you really have wronged Mother. Mother only thought of coming to fetch you all after getting settled over there. Mother has not forgotten you for a single day.”
If Wen Yao hadn’t known the plot in advance, Wen Jun would have almost believed her.
“And so? You were gone for two years, never once asking about us, never once coming back to see us, not even sending someone to take a look. How did you suddenly remember to look for us now?” Wen Jun said flatly. He felt it wasn’t worth it for the original siblings.
Yao’er’s memory was fragmented, and there were some things she didn’t remember, but he remembered. The person in those memories had anticipated their mother’s return so intensely.
Unfortunately, they no longer had the chance to see everything as it was now.
Lady Liu’s weeping paused. “I—I also had my difficulties.”
Wen Jun smiled faintly, saying detachedly, “Since you and Dad have already divorced, then just live your own life well. We are doing quite well too, so you don’t need to keep us in your thoughts.
I don’t resent you, nor do I blame you. People all have their own choices, and it is beyond reproach that you chose a better life. If there’s nothing else, I need to go out to see patients.”
“Jun’er.” Lady Liu called out to stop him. Wiping her tears, she continued, “Mother is very happy in her heart that you don’t blame Mother and understand Mother. Mother just… just missed you all. Jun’er, Mother is already settled in the capital now. If you are willing, Mother is willing to take you to the capital. The capital has more and better physicians. If you like studying medicine, Mother will also arrange for someone to teach you.”
Wen Jun’s movement to stand up paused, and he refused: “No need. Master is very good, and here is also very good. Grandpa and Grandma are getting older; I don’t want to leave them.”
Lady Liu wasn’t anxious either, merely saying, “Mother will stay here for half a month, so you don’t need to rush to answer. You can consider it carefully. If you are worried about your grandpa and grandma, Mother can give you a sum of money for you to leave with them so they can live a better life.”
Originally, Lady Liu only wanted to take Datou away. But upon seeing her current son who was so outstanding, Lady Liu changed her mind.
This son had grown far beyond her expectations.
Listening to her words, Wen Jun knew that if the original body had heard them, he would certainly be happy, but he truly felt nothing in his heart.
Wen Jun’s silence looked like wavering to Lady Liu. Taking advantage of the moment, she continued, “Jun’er, Mother also hasn’t seen Datou for a long time. Can you bring Datou to see Mother? Mother hasn’t seen him for two years and is worried that going to look for him just like that might scare him.”
Wen Jun understood; so she was waiting for him here. But his dad had also said that hiding for a moment wouldn’t mean hiding for a lifetime. He nodded. “Fine. Where are you staying? I will bring Datou to see you when he finishes classes toward evening.”
Lady Liu wore a look of joy, telling Wen Jun the name of the inn where she was staying. Wen Jun merely gave an acknowledging response and went out, with Lady Liu following right behind him.
Physician Jin cast a glance at him, then looked at Lady Liu. Lady Liu also saw Physician Jin, merely nodding flatly toward him before leaving with the maidservant and the old nanny.
Physician Jin tilted his head and walked slowly to the doorway, watching their horse carriage drive far away.
“You three siblings all take after your dad,” Physician Jin remarked inexplicably.
Wen Jun: “…” Master’s point of focus was truly unique.
“She wants to see Datou. I will bring Datou to see her this evening; always hiding isn’t a solution either,” Wen Jun said.
Physician Jin stroked his beard and nodded. “Yes, hiding won’t work for a lifetime. But Jun’er, this master is very curious—how are you all so certain that she wants to come back and take Datou away?”
Wen Jun: “…” How was he supposed to answer? Say they knew the direction of the plot?
“A guess.” After saying this, Wen Jun stopped speaking, sitting there quietly organizing the case files.
Physician Jin touched his nose. How did this disciple grow more and more sullen?
Toward evening, when Manager Qiu was about to pick up Datou and passed by the medical clinic, he learned of Wen Jun’s plan. Manager Qiu didn’t say much, merely stating, “Go ahead. It’s good to go see her too; she is your birth mother after all. However, there’s no need to fear anything, and don’t go against your heart. Although your Uncle Qiu is no longer an official in court, a fourth-rank official is still not something your Uncle Qiu places in his eyes.”
Wen Jun bowed. “Thank you, Uncle Qiu.”
Manager Qiu patted his shoulder and nodded. “Mm, keep an eye on Datou; don’t let him be fooled.”
But thinking about his foster son’s cleverness, he wasn’t someone so easily fooled either.
When Wen Jun arrived at the academy, Datou saw that the one coming to pick him up was Wen Jun. He was startled for an instant before looking at his two little companions and older brother: “You all go to Foster Father’s place for lessons first. I will come look for you later.”
The others looked entirely bewildered. “What are you two going to do?”
Wen Jun held Datou’s hand and answered, “I’m taking Datou to attend to some matters. You all go wait at Mr. Qiu’s place first.”
“Oh.” The few of them responded obediently, the older ones leading the younger ones to walk straight toward the medical clinic.
Xun Feng did not leave. He looked at the brothers and said, “Miss Yao’er had me protect Datou closely.”
Wen Jun nodded. It was good to have Xun Feng following them too.
Just like that, the three arrived at the inn where Lady Liu was staying.
Inside the inn, Lady Liu had been waiting all along, and accompanying her in her wait was none other than Meng De, her childhood sweetheart.
Meng De was two years older than Wen Xiuyi. Both of them had been students of Lady Liu’s father, except that Meng De had focused his entire mind on the imperial examinations back then. Heaven had also not let his efforts down, allowing him to have a very good future. Of course, the greatest reason was still because he had married the daughter of a high-ranking official in the capital.
As for Wen Xiuyi, he had originally been someone the teacher held high expectations for as well. If he hadn’t become acquainted with those fair-weather friends, he would have had a boundless future too.
Ever since Lady Liu returned from the medical clinic, she had told Meng De about the changes in Wen Jun. Meng De’s first wife had only left behind a daughter, and after bringing Lady Liu back, the two of them had put plenty of effort into it, yet Lady Liu had consistently failed to conceive again. Lady Liu had also secretly sought out doctors to check, and there was nothing wrong with her body.
Later, she heard from the people around her that in some places, there was a saying: it wasn’t that there were no children, but rather that the karmic affinity had not yet arrived. In this situation, one merely needed to raise a child by their side to bring about the karmic affinity for a child.
Lady Liu had thought of Datou immediately. Meng De loved her house and its crows, so after discussing it, the two of them wanted to come back and take Datou away.
Yet after seeing Wen Jun, Lady Liu was very surprised by the changes in this eldest son, and she harbored the thought of taking both sons away.
Meng De had originally still been considering it, but upon learning that Wen Jun was studying medicine under Physician Jin of Jishitang, he changed his mind for some unknown reason. If Wen Jun was willing, they would bring him along to the capital as well.
Lady Liu was naturally overjoyed, constantly craning her neck in anticipation inside the inn, waiting for her two sons to come over.
