"An ge'er, are you awake?" Qiao Qingjun pulled the little guy who was snuggling in his arms out of his arms.
Seeing those clear, bright eyes, he smiled and touched his forehead.
"An ge'er is awake, his fever is gone, husband, An ge'er is all better, he's all better." Qiao Qingjun sat up excitedly, holding the little guy and looking him over from head to toe. After confirming that he was really alright, he breathed a sigh of relief, and the heart that had been hanging in suspense finally settled down.
"Daddy, hug me." An ge'er was already a little annoyed by Meng Xiangbei, and now that his father was checking him over and over, he became even more annoyed.
"Okay, Daddy will hold you." Qiao Qingjun tucked the little guy into his arms, and the two rubbed their cheeks together. An ge'er let out a soft, giggling laugh.
Meng Xiangbei felt both envious and frustrated; he seemed unable to fit in.
"An ge'er, this is your father. Let your father hold you." After a while, Qiao Qingjun finally noticed Meng Xiangbei, who was alone and grieving.
An ge'er is precocious. At one year old, he can speak simple words, such as "Daddy" which Qiao Qingjun has repeatedly taught him, and he can say it very well.
At this moment, Qiao Qingjun turned him to face Meng Xiangbei and pushed his soft little body towards Meng Xiangbei. An ge'er could probably understand what his father meant.
But……
An ge'er held Qiao Qingjun's neck with both hands, looking timidly at Meng Xiangbei, without moving.
"An ge'er, that's your father. He will love you just like your daddy would." After receiving Meng Xiangbei's assurance last night and experiencing the warmth of Meng Xiangbei's embrace, he also wanted to let An ge'er enjoy his father's hug.
Meng Xiangbei smiled, opened his arms, and said gently, "Come here, An ge'er, let Father give you a hug."
An ge'er stared at the hand extended in front of him for a while, then slowly stretched out his little hand.
Is this finally letting him hug him?
Meng Xiangbei was instantly excited; his blood was boiling.
However, the truth came back to haunt them very quickly.
The next second.
With a "smack," the little hand slapped the big hand hard. After slapping, An ge'er shrank back and buried his face in Qiao Qingjun's neck, his little bottom facing Meng Xiangbei.
Well, it seems I won't be able to get close to the little guy for a while.
But thinking about it, it seems normal.
An ge'er was personally cared for by Qiao Qingjun, and they slept together at night. Whenever Meng Xiangbei went to Qiao Qingjun to satisfy his needs, he would have the servants take An ge'er away, and he would ignore An ge'er's crying and fussing.
Seeing An ge'er cry, Qiao Qingjun felt sorry for him, but Meng Xiangbei's attitude was firm, so he had no choice but to spend time with Meng Xiangbei early before going to spend time with his son.
Sometimes, when Meng Xiangbei came during the day, Qiao Qingjun would ask Meng Xiangbei to hold An ge'er.
However, Meng Xiangbei refused with various excuses.
He originally intended to get rid of the child, but it was born anyway. Even so, he had no feelings for the child.
He only threw in a few more silver ingots when Qiao Qingjun said that An ge'er was weak and constantly sick.
Moreover, not long ago, when he was unilaterally cursing Qiao Qingjun, An ge'er happened to witness it.
It's perfectly normal for An ge'er to reject this fierce and unfamiliar "father" who would steal his daddy.
It seems that getting closer to his son is a long and arduous journey. Meng Xiangbei thought dejectedly.
When the old imperial physician saw that An ge'er had woken up, his complexion finally improved. He took his pulse again and prescribed a new formula.
"The child's illness is over. He was premature and weak, so remember not to let him get cold. If he gets sick, find a doctor in time, otherwise a small illness will become a big one that is difficult to treat."
"I will prescribe some dietary recipes that are suitable for children to nourish their bodies. You can use them to prepare food for your child."
"..."
The old imperial physician wrote down some prescriptions while giving instructions and mentioning many precautions.
Qiao Qingjun held An ge'er, somewhat anxious. The old imperial physician's words contained too much information for him to remember in a short time.
Meng Xiangbei squeezed Qiao Qingjun's hand, who was visibly anxious, and reassured him, "Don't worry, I'll remember. I'll tell you in detail when we get back."
Qiao Qingjun's eyes lit up, and he nodded.
-
The family of three thanked the old imperial physician, and Meng Xiangbei brought Qiao Qingjun and his son to the clinic to get medicine.
Thinking they hadn't eaten yet, Meng Xiangbei, carrying the medicine, led the family of three to the restaurant.
"Are you hungry? I heard this place has really good wontons, let's go in and eat." Meng Xiangbei pulled Qiao Qingjun, who was holding An ge'er, and walked inside.
Qiao Qingjun stood there, looking at the obviously high-end restaurant in front of him, and began to have the idea of leaving.
"Husband, let's go home to eat." Qiao Qingjun tugged at Meng Xiangbei's sleeve.
"Why?"
Qiao Qingjun bit his lower lip and uttered a sentence: "Expensive, it costs a lot of money."
Meng Xiangbei was taken aback, understanding the situation while also feeling a pang of heartache.
Once upon a time, the Qiao family was a wealthy family in Jiangnan. As the only child of Qiao's father and mother, even though he was a ger, he enjoyed an extremely good life from a young age, and his food, clothing and daily necessities were always the best.
He have been to restaurants that were much more luxurious and expensive than the one now.
But now, even though it's just an ordinary restaurant, Qiao Qingjun doesn't dare to go in because he has no money.
Yes, he gave all his assets to Meng Xiangbei. The money he kept was what Meng Xiangbei had given him as charity, and he had to save it for An ge'er's medical treatment.
Meng Xiangbei's eyes felt hot, and his chest felt tight.
"It won't cost much money. Besides, we're not short of money. Your money is all kept safe with me. We can afford to eat at this restaurant for the rest of our lives."
After Meng Xiangbei persuaded him for a while, Qiao Qingjun finally agreed to go in.
After finding a seat, Meng Xiangbei ordered two servings of wontons.
With his big eyes, An ge'er looked curiously at the people coming and going in the restaurant. Since birth, he had been confined at home with Qiao Qingjun and had never been to such a lively place before.
He still didn't want to be held by Meng Xiangbei, just staying with Qiao Qingjun.
"What is A-Qing thinking about?" Meng Xiangbei asked, seeing that Qiao Qingjun seemed hesitant to speak.
Qiao Qingjun bit his lower lip, hesitated for a moment, then finally clenched his small fist, mustered his courage, and whispered, "Husband, may I go to the bookstore to buy books later?"
"A book?" Meng Xiangbei raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Yes," Qiao Qingjun explained, "I want to buy medical books."
Meng Xiangbei was somewhat surprised.
"I want to read medical books, become a doctor, and treat An ge'er." Qiao Qingjun's thoughts were not that far-reaching, and he did not have the grand ideal of saving lives. He just wanted to become a doctor so that he could treat An ge'er, who was weak and sick.
Qiao Qingjun was probably frightened by the fact that he had been desperate to find a doctor last night.
Meng Xiangbei thought for a few seconds and then agreed.
In fact, Meng Xiangbei did not believe that Qiao Qingjun could become a doctor. Putting aside his intellectual disability, he sometimes had difficulty understanding large amounts of information when talking to people. Not to mention, becoming a doctor is not something that can be achieved simply by reading a few medical books.
If Qiao Qingjun wants to see it, then let him see it.
Although Qiao Qingjun is intellectually disabled, he can still recognize words, but he has some difficulty understanding them.
"That's wonderful, thank you, my husband." Qiao Qingjun was very happy to receive support, and his eyebrows and eyes curved into crescents with laughter.
An ge'er blinked as he watched the two talking and interacting. Although he didn't understand what they were saying, he was happy to see his daddy smile.
He stayed quietly in Qiao Qingjun's arms, looking so adorable that Meng Xiangbei couldn't help but feel a pang of envy. Unfortunately, he wouldn't let anyone else hold him except Qiao Qingjun.
Before long, the steaming hot wontons were served.
Qiao Qingjun lowered his head to smell it, then smiled at Meng Xiangbei: "It smells so good."
"Then let's eat quickly."
"Um."
Meng Xiangbei tried to feed An ge'er, but the little guy just wanted to stay by Qiao Qingjun's side. He could only watch as Qiao Qingjun ate his wontons while keeping an eye on the little guy beside him.
This restaurant is famous in Beijing for its wontons. It is said that the chef who makes the wontons was a descendant of a royal chef in the palace. People come here to eat wontons in an endless stream.
Qiao Qingjun's eyes crinkled with delight as he ate.
Qiao Qingjun is an easily satisfied person. Back in Jiangnan, he didn't feel the need to eat delicacies just because he became richer, nor did he indulge in extravagance. Simple side dishes and ordinary, delicious snacks were enough to make him content.
This bowl of wontons was clearly to his liking, and he ate it with great relish.
An ge'er clearly liked the wontons too. He already had teeth, and as the small wontons were stuffed into his mouth, he chewed them with his little teeth, his cheeks puffed out, and his bright black and white eyes shone, like a little hamster foraging for food.
Now, he had just finished another wonton and was staring longingly at Qiao Qingjun next to him as he fed him, his eyes saying, "I want to eat, I want to eat, hurry up and feed me!"
Qiao Qingjun didn't notice it immediately, but it happened that Meng Xiangbei sat next to him.
After thinking for a moment, he picked up a small wonton from his own bowl, blew on it to make sure it wasn't too hot, and then handed it to the little guy.
“Here, Father has some, eat.”
An ge'er waited for a long time but didn't get fed by his daddy, and was a little disappointed. Then he saw the white and round wontons in front of him.
He followed the gaze and his eyes met Meng Xiangbei's.
“Come on, eat,” Meng Xiangbei said again.
"An ge'er, this is what your father is feeding you, eat it quickly." Qiao Qingjun had never seen Meng Xiangbei feed An ge'er on his own initiative before, and he was both surprised and delighted to see it now.
An ge'er clutched his father's clothes with one small hand, looking timidly at Meng Xiangbei, but did not make any move.
Meng Xiangbei tried to coax him twice more, but the little guy just wouldn't cooperate.
Meng Xiangbei was completely disheartened. Oh well, he decided not to feed him anymore. Otherwise, it wouldn't be worth ruining the little guy's appetite for a meal.
Just as he was about to pull his hand back, he saw the little guy, who had been motionless, slowly open his pink mouth, lower his head, and swallow the small wonton.
Before Meng Xiangbei could react, the little guy was finally willing to eat the wontons he had picked up.
Meng Xiangbei was so happy that he almost wanted to pick up the little guy and give him a good squeeze, but he managed to restrain himself.
"My little An ge'er is so great." Meng Xiangbei encouraged him generously and tried to continue feeding him, but the little guy turned his back on him and only ate the wontons that Qiao Qingjun fed him.
Meng Xiangbei stuffed the wonton that he was going to feed into his own mouth. Oh well, one is fine too. It's just a small improvement, isn't it?
Two bowls of wontons were enough to satisfy the family of three.
However, when Meng Xiangbei accompanied the two out of the restaurant, he saw the figure of a girl in pink from afar.
Meng Xiangbei frowned slightly, and subtly led Qiao Qingjun and his son in another direction to avoid running into the girl.
That girl was the original owner's cousin, with whom he was betrothed to since childhood, and also the illegitimate daughter of a general.
Meng Xiangbei's mother had a twin sister who married General Qian as a concubine and had a daughter named Qian Jiaojiao over the years.
General Qian was fond of this concubine, and consequently, of all his children, he loved Qian Jiaojiao the most.
Qian Jiaojiao has a good personality; she's someone who dares to love and hate.
After regaining his memory and returning to the young master's residence, Meng Xiangbei began to frequently interact with Qian Jiaojiao. He was handsome, elegant, and talented, and his gaze towards Qian Jiaojiao was full of love, which made the young and innocent Qian Jiaojiao fall in love with him very quickly.
In front of Qian Jiaojiao, Meng Xiangbei concealed his true nature very well, which made Qian Jiaojiao even more devoted to him. Later, after Qiao Qingjun froze to death, Qian Jiaojiao willingly took several concubines for him and even had several children.
However, after learning about Meng Xiangbei's affair with Qiao Qingjun, Qian Jiaojiao suddenly realized her mistake and resolutely divorced Meng Xiangbei.
Meng Xiangbei had already taken over the position of Marquis, but he did not accomplish anything, focusing all his attention on women. Under the intentional or unintentional suppression of the General's Mansion, the Marquis's Mansion eventually fell into rapid decline.
Now, things have progressed to the point where Meng Xiangbei is frequently asking Qian Jiaojiao out, and the latter's feelings for him are growing stronger.
Now that he, the Nightmare Beast, has come as Meng Xiangbei, he naturally won't marry Qian Jiaojiao, so he needs to break off their engagement as soon as possible. However, if he wants to be with Qiao Qingjun openly and legitimately, there will be difficulties. The first person to disagree is Meng Xiangbei's mother, now the Marquis's wife.
After leaving the restaurant, Meng Xiangbei took Qiao Qingjun and his son to a clothing store and bought them some thicker clothes. In the dead of winter, their clothes were still too thin, especially Qiao Qingjun, who gave all the things to An ge'er and didn't care much about himself.
Besides clothes, he also bought a cloak.
A white cloak completely enveloped Qiao Qingjun, and An ge'er was also held by Qiao Qingjun and wrapped in the cloak, with only a small head peeking out.
White, pure, and clean, suits Qiao Qingjun perfectly. He is a clean and pure person, as innocent as a blank sheet of paper.
The cloak kept the cold wind out and brought warmth, which warmed Qiao Qingjun's heart as well.
He looked at Meng Xiangbei and smiled, thinking to himself: My husband is so good.
Meng Xiangbei thought back to what his little home with Qiao Qingjun was missing, and upon reflection, he realized that many things were missing.
So, they bought some of this and some of that, and finally had them delivered directly to their home.
Considering that An ge'er's health was not yet fully recovered, the two did not plan to continue shopping and the family of three returned to their home.
Looking at the dilapidated little house in front of him, Meng Xiangbei rubbed his forehead. It seemed that the housing problem was the most urgent issue to be resolved.
Qiao Qingjun and An ge'er are his wife and child; he can't keep them outside like a mistress who can't be seen in the light of day.
Furthermore, the family of three would have to live together.
"Husband, we forgot to buy medical books." Qiao Qingjun only remembered when they reached the door.
"Why don't you and An ge'er go in first and start brewing the medicine for An ge'er? I'll go buy you a medical book and come right back," Meng Xiangbei suggested.
"Okay, sure."
Qiao Qingjun gazed longingly in the direction Meng Xiangbei had left until he could no longer see his back before entering the small house.
"What are you doing?"
In the very center of the small house, on the ground, were the things they had just bought and delivered. At this moment, the things that were originally packed were being unpacked by two servants, who seemed to be discussing and dividing the things.
There were two servants. One was a middle-aged woman who was originally bought by Meng Xiangbei to take care of Qiao Qingjun, who was pregnant. Her main duties were to cook and clean for Qiao Qingjun.
The other one was a young man who ran errands for Qiao Qingjun.
At first, the two treated Qiao Qingjun with utmost respect. After all, although Qiao Qingjun was a young master, he was still the mistress of the young marquis and was pregnant. However, as Meng Xiangbei became increasingly indifferent to Qiao Qingjun, and even disgusted with him, their thoughts began to stir.
They've been lazy and haven't done anything. Now, whenever they see something good from Qiao Qingjun, they want to share it without hesitation. They don't care whether Qiao Qingjun will give it to Meng Xiangbei or someone else.
Firstly, in their eyes, Qiao Qingjun was a fool. How could a fool complain if he was bullied? Secondly, even if he did complain, the young marquis wouldn't care.
As Qiao Qingjun became increasingly submissive, the two of them also became increasingly demanding.
Sure enough, even before Qiao Qingjun returned, they were already dividing up the things.
The rice, flour, and other grains were all sorted out and placed behind each other. The two were pulling at a piece of clothing when Qiao Qingjun returned.
"Oh, the idiot's back. What are we doing? Can't you see? An idiot is an idiot." The young servant rolled his eyes and continued to tug at the garment with the middle-aged woman, shouting, "This is my clothes. What do you, a woman, want with this? Give it to me."
“I can’t wear it, but I can sell it. The quality of this dress is not bad, it’s worth some money.” The middle-aged woman pretended not to see Qiao Qingjun and continued to pull at the dress.
"The clothes, mine."
Seeing the two of them grabbing at the clothes without any regard for their own safety, Qiao Qingjun put An ge'er down and ran over, saying, "You can't take the clothes that my husband bought for me, you can't take them."
Qiao Qingjun was anxious to retrieve his clothes, but the two people's faces darkened upon seeing them. The impatient servant pushed Qiao Qingjun, who was caught off guard, to the ground.
At the same time, the clothes were torn in two by the two of them.
Qiao Qingjun, who had fallen to the ground, watched helplessly as his clothes were torn, his eyes reddening.
The two threw their torn clothes on the ground, cursed, and then began to divide up the other items.
Qiao Qingjun picked up the clothes, hugged them to his chest, and his eyes welled up with tears.
Looking up, Qiao Qingjun saw them dividing up An ge'er's clothes again and stopped them once more: "No, these are An ge'er's clothes, you can't have them."
The middle-aged woman glared at Qiao Qingjun, her face hard and fierce. She smiled insincerely and said, "Fool, you'd better stay put and not bother us, or I'll deal with your son later."
She knew that Qiao Qingjun's weakness was An ge'er, and she didn't hesitate to use it to threaten him.
Without thinking twice, Qiao Qingjun was so frightened that he quickly hugged An ge'er.
"Ha, you fool." The middle-aged woman was very pleased and continued to divide the food.
"Why did this idiot suddenly buy so much stuff?"
"They probably used the money they had hidden away to buy it."
"He actually has so much money to buy these things. I wonder where he keeps his money. I secretly went to look for it last time, but I couldn't find it."
"You actually went to steal his money."
"What, you can't steal it? Ha, you make it sound like you're so good to him, but you still often sneak away to sell the grain here."
"Anyway, he's just an idiot. By the way, last night that idiot kept knocking on the door, saying his child was sick and asking us to go get a doctor for him. Ha, does he really think we're idiots like him? It was so cold, and it was raining heavily. Going out in the middle of the night? I'm not crazy."
"Exactly, the child seems perfectly fine to me, why all the fuss? Besides, he was just a premature baby boy who wasn't valued by the young marquis. If he dies, he dies. There are so many women who want to bear children for the young marquis, why would they care about him? Ah..."
Before the middle-aged woman could finish her rambling, a whip suddenly lashed out, whistling through the air, and struck her face directly. Her screams echoed throughout the entire house.
"Which reckless brat..."
She roared and glared at the man, but when she saw his face, her body suddenly stiffened. Not only her, but also the young man next to her dropped what he was holding.
"Young, young marquis."
Meng Xiangbei's face was gloomy, his eyes were as black as ink, as if a storm was brewing. He stared at the two of them expressionlessly, holding a long whip in one hand.
Meng Xiangbei himself knew some martial arts; otherwise, Qiao's father wouldn't have made him Qiao Qingjun's bodyguard back in Jiangnan.
However, his weapon was not a sword or dagger, but a long whip.
Meng Xiangbei bought medical books for Qiao Qingjun as quickly as possible and rushed back.
Unexpectedly, he saw this scene as soon as he walked in, and his anger immediately flared up.
He remembered that these two servants were no good; they usually bullied Qiao Qingjun and his son. Last night, when An ge'er was sick and desperate, they were sleeping soundly without a care in the world.
Meng Xiangbei raised his eyes and swung the whip again, this time landing solidly on the servant boy.
After letting out a scream, the two people knelt on the ground in terror, their faces filled with fear, and kept kowtowing.
"Young Master, spare us! Spare us!" The two kowtowed so hard that their heads hit the ground with a crisp sound.
"Husband, they stole my clothes, and they're ruined." Qiao Qingjun sadly showed the clothes to Meng Xiangbei.
"It's alright, I'll buy it for you when I have the chance." After comforting Qiao Qingjun, who was holding An ge'er, Meng Xiangbei took the whip and walked step by step toward the two kneeling on the ground.
The sound of boots hitting the ground was neither loud nor soft, yet it felt like it was striking their very hearts. They trembled with fear, their bodies shaking with apprehension.
Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 11:49:27 on February 27, 2020 and 18:16:02 on February 28, 2020!
Thank you to the little angels who threw landmines: Hmph, Not Happy (3); Full of Energy, 42348795 (1);
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: MARWIN_10492 (10 bottles); Hmph, not happy (5 bottles); Guest login (2 bottles);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
No comments:
Post a Comment