Chapter 255: Going to Be Surpassed by Them
Upon arriving at the entrance of the inn, Datou suddenly came to a halt.
Wen Jun looked down at his younger brother and said, “If you don’t want to go, we won’t go.”
Datou looked at his brother, the hand held by Wen Jun tightening around his in reverse as he said, “Brother, I won’t leave you, Dad, or Sister.”
The light in Wen Jun’s eyes turned soft, and he used his free hand to fondly pat Datou’s head. “Mm. She gave birth to us after all, so it is only right that we come see her. Let’s go.”
“Mm.” Datou took a deep breath and followed Wen Jun into the inn.
When the maidservant led Wen Jun and Datou up, Lady Liu stood up excitedly. Watching the two sons—one tall and one short—enter the door, Lady Liu cast a brief glance at Wen Jun before letting her gaze linger entirely on the little Datou.
The son who used to be thin and small had grown quite a bit taller now, and his features had filled out. He no longer carried the innocence of an infant, but instead possessed a bit more of a heroic air. His stature was also much taller; if they were walking on the street, Lady Liu might not even be able to recognize him as her own son.
Datou was still wearing the student robes of the academy, looking every bit a dashing young master.
Even Meng De felt a flash of amazement in his eyes when he saw Datou, recognizing at a single glance that this boy would surely be extraordinary when he grew up.
Looking back at Wen Jun, it was indeed exactly as Lady Liu had described; he truly lived up to studying medicine under that person.
However, no matter what, Meng De could never have anticipated that the old Imperial Physician Jin, who had returned to his hometown to retire, would actually be a physician in such a small place and even take on a disciple. Furthermore, this disciple just happened to be his wife’s son.
Meng De sized up Wen Jun, seeing in him not the mother-son affection between Lady Liu and Wen Jun, but rather another connection for his personal network.
“Datou?” Lady Liu called out in a trembling voice.
Datou let go of Wen Jun’s hand and offered a respectful bow. “Mother.”
Lady Liu burst into tears of excitement, no longer able to restrain herself as she ran over to wrap Datou in an embrace, sobbing, “Good, good, you can speak now? Wonderful, truly wonderful.”
Being embraced by Lady Liu, Datou instinctively wanted to dodge. The scent of cosmetics on Lady Liu wasn’t even half as pleasant as the scent of home cooking on his sister.
Seeing that Datou still showed a bit of resistance toward her, Lady Liu didn’t dare to be too aggressive either for fear of scaring him. She hurriedly let go of him, switching from an embrace to holding his hand.
With his hand held by her, Datou let out a helpless sigh, even casting a pitiful look toward his older brother that almost made Wen Jun laugh.
Lady Liu had them come in to meet Meng De, only then discovering that there was still another person following behind the two of them.
“This is?”
Xun Feng stood with his arms crossed, cradling his long sword as he said, “This humble one is the bodyguard of the two young masters. I must protect the two young masters closely, so I ask for Madam’s understanding.”
Lady Liu: “…”
Meng De: “…” Why did this guard look a bit familiar, yet he couldn’t recall where he had seen him?
Xun Feng also spotted Meng De. He wondered who it could be—turns out it was this brown-noser.
Datou tilted his head to cast a glance at Xun Feng. Wasn’t he Master? How did he turn into a bodyguard?
Since Xun Feng had already entered the room, Lady Liu couldn’t very well drive him out either. She merely pulled Datou to the table and had him bow to Meng De.
“Datou, Jun’er, this is Uncle Meng.”
The brothers offered a bow to Meng De. As for calling him uncle out loud, that was out of the question.
Meng De wasn’t annoyed either, pulling out two meeting gifts with a completely benevolent smile and handing them to the two of them. “I didn’t know what you two liked either. These are two jade pendants that your mother and I specifically picked out for you; just wear them for fun.”
Datou cast a glance at his brother, and Wen Jun said flatly, “Our dad has taught us year-round that one should not accept rewards without merit. Thank you for Uncle Meng’s kind intentions.”
Meng De’s face shifted slightly. So this was a refusal?
Seeing that Meng De seemed displeased, Lady Liu hurriedly stepped forward to smooth things over, taking the two jade pendants from his hand and stuffing them into her two sons’ hands, saying, “Your Uncle Meng gave them to you, so just accept them.”
Datou looked at the jade pendant in his hand; it wasn’t even as good as the one his foster father had given him. Moreover, if he accepted this thing, wouldn’t Dad be sad when he went back?
Thinking here, Datou placed the jade pendant straight back onto the table, opening his mouth to say, “We won’t accept the jade pendants. Mother, is there anything else? If there is nothing else, I need to go back and continue studying. Foster Father is still waiting for me.”
Wen Jun cast a glance at his younger brother. Good heavens, he truly lived up to being the future big villain; he truly was a hardheaded boy, not considering interpersonal etiquette in the slightest.
However, he still followed suit and placed his jade pendant back onto the table as well.
Meng De’s face was becoming a bit hard to maintain, while Xun Feng was holding back his laughter in the back until his stomach ached. This boy Datou truly was small in body but big in head, not backing down in the slightest; he liked it.
Xun Feng spoke up: “Indeed, Master Meng, Madam Meng. My family’s Young Master still has plenty of schoolwork. If the two of you have no other business, the Young Master needs to return to class.”
Meng De’s face darkened. “When the masters are speaking, since when is it a bodyguard’s turn to open his mouth?” He completely overlooked the fact that Xun Feng had called him Master Meng.
Xun Feng raised an eyebrow. Oh my, having followed the Heir Apparent for so many years, no one had ever spoken to him like this before.
“Well, that also depends on whose bodyguard it is. Does Master Meng recognize this object?” Xun Feng whipped out a waist token, holding it up in his hand.
Meng De’s face changed color. This was the waist token of a royal guard.
He stood up, frowning as he asked, “You are?”
Xun Feng continued to cradle his arms, saying flatly, “Master Meng has no need to concern himself with who I am; you only need to know that the safety of the two young masters is currently my responsibility. Madam Meng said she wished to see my family’s Young Master, so the Eldest Young Master brought the Young Master along. Now that you have seen him, whatever words Master Meng and Madam Meng have, it is still better to keep them short. After all, my family’s Young Master is truly very busy. If he waits too long, Mr. Qiu will also be displeased.”
Meng De’s brow was almost knitted into a tight knot. Mr. Qiu, surnamed Qiu, and Wen Jun was studying medicine under the old Imperial Physician Jin… it couldn’t be the person he was thinking of, could it?
To make sure, Meng De still asked, “Mr. Qiu is?”
“Oh, that. The foster father of my family’s Young Master—Qiu Zhi, Mr. Qiu.” Xun Feng was very considerate; since he wanted to know, he would tell him.
These words successfully caused Meng De’s face to change color. Lady Liu didn’t know who Qiu Zhi was, but she still looked at Meng De anxiously. No matter what, they had to keep Datou today; they still needed to bring Datou back with them.
Meng De, however, ignored Lady Liu’s gaze, casting a deep glance at Datou as his tone softened as well, saying, “Since the teacher is waiting, then you two should head back first. It’s just that your mother hasn’t seen you for too long and wants to accompany you more. Are you willing to come stay with us for a period of time over the next few days?”
Lady Liu also looked at Datou with a face full of anticipation, saying, “Datou, Mother truly misses you. Can you accompany Mother more?”
Datou felt like he was about to sneeze and was still holding it back. Hearing these words, he replied directly without even thinking, “I’m afraid that won’t do. I still have to practice martial arts when I go home in the evening.”
The successive refusals made Meng De’s face a bit hard to maintain, but his years of operating in officialdom had long since trained him to hide his joy and anger. Seeing the situation, he didn’t force Datou either, merely saying, “Well then, alright. Your mother and I can go see you, right? When you finish school, it should be fine for us to take you to eat some food and buy some things, right?”
Datou cast a glance at his older brother. Seeing that his brother had no intention of scolding him, and looking at Lady Liu’s pitiful appearance, he ultimately still softened his heart, nodding. “Sure. But it can’t be for too long; every day when school finishes, Foster Father has to guide me in my schoolwork.”
If he fell behind for a few days, he was going to be surpassed by Xie Anyi and Jin Xiuyi.
