Chapter 53 (2/2): Extra (1)

She looked unfamiliar.

Xu Duoyan was curious who such a lovely girl was at the estate.

As she carried tea toward the house, he called out, “Give me the tea. Go tell the kitchen to prepare some hot water.”

The woman glanced at his dusty clothes and assumed he was a servant.

“If you want water, just order it yourself. I still have to serve the Big Master.”

She turned and left with a swish of her waist.

Xu Duoyan raised his brow, impressed by Cao Wen’s arrangements.

He’d only been gone a month or so, yet Cao Wen clearly knew how to enjoy life—already with a beautiful mistress to serve him.

The man hadn’t been idle.

He said nothing but followed her.

At the door, she had already opened it and stepped inside.

“The clerk will double-check the accounts and allocate funds for irrigation. The weather is so hot, so I told the kitchen to brew cooling tea for the Big Master.”

Cao Wen tidied the table and said, “Very well. Go ahead.”

“Cuihong, serve the Master well.”

The woman responded coquettishly, “Yes.”

As the door shut behind her, Cao Wen was handed a delicate porcelain cup by a pair of fair, graceful hands.

“Put it down.”

Not lifting his eyes from the accounts, Cao Wen ignored her words.

The woman was displeased.

“It’s so hot, Master should drink this tea first. The flavor changes if it steeps too long.”

She pressed the cup closer, but Cao Wen only raised his eyes to look at her, tightening his brows further.

Shortly after, the door reopened. The woman’s eyes reddened as she bumped into Xu Duoyan standing in the doorway.

She paused.

“What’s going on here?”

Xu Duoyan stepped forward.

“Are you alright?”

Annoyed, she snapped, “None of your business!”

Xu Duoyan took a step back, hands behind his back.

“If you’re fine, go tell the kitchen to prepare hot water.”

“Who are you, ordering me around?”

Before she could retort, a calm voice came from behind her.

“Second Master told you to tell the kitchen to boil water. Are you so unmanageable? If you’re here to work at the estate, do your job. If you want to act like a young lady, ask your father to take you home.”

Her arrogance vanished.

She obediently replied, “I’ll go now.”

“The Big Master’s life is quite good—has a beautiful mistress serving tea and water. Truly enviable.”

“I didn’t even know about this.”

Cao Wen hurried to explain, “Today I specially asked the kitchen to prepare your favorite dishes. I was just saying if you didn’t come, I’d go pick you up.”

The woman glanced back furtively.

She had just been scolded by the Big Master but now grovelled before the Second Master.

She took a deep breath.

Rumor had it the Big Master and a man had been together for ten years without children.

The vast family estate had no heir.

She heard it from her father and couldn’t help but worry.

Today was a rare chance to have Big Master eat at the estate, so she dressed carefully to serve tea.

Though not the most beautiful, she was striking enough.

Thinking no man disliked a pretty mistress, if she could serve Big Master and bear his child, the entire estate would be hers one day.

Yet, unexpectedly, Big Master had scolded her for no reason, telling her father to set her straight.

If she disliked the work, there were others eager to take her place.

She was so frightened she couldn’t even speak.

“I’ll have her leave soon.”

Seeing the man reclining expressionless, Cao Wen said, “Tell her father to leave too.”

“Don’t! She seems comfortable here, with a beautiful mistress serving her. I like it. If you don’t want her, have her serve me.”

“Don’t sulk.”

Cao Wen fanned himself gently.

“I’ve been away so long. Just got back a short while ago. How long has it been since I last saw you?”

Xu Duoyan tried to push off the clingy figure at his side, but the more he pushed, the closer she stuck.

He had no choice.

“It’s hot. Step aside.”

“If you’re not angry, I’ll step away.”

“This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. I don’t have the energy to get angry anymore.”

Hearing that, Cao Wen’s face lost any trace of joy and grew even grimmer.

The Cao family’s wealth was widely known, and envy was inevitable.

Anyway, someone was always trying to sneak a child in to share the fortune.

But Old Master Cao was iron-faced and uninterested in women.

Still, they refused to give up, resorting to underhanded means and even covertly bringing children to Xu Duoyan.

Could Cao Wen be pleased?

Knowing this happened made him angry, and anger made him prove himself better.

Normally already a little mad, this made him even crazier.

The unlucky one was always Xu Duoyan.

So much so that Xu Duoyan dreaded any mindless attempts to bring children in.

“I might as well just bring one back to raise. That way, no one else will covet them. Mother is old and likes children more and more.”

Cao Wen crouched and held Xu Duoyan’s hand.

“Bring one from the Ah Yang family?”

“Their two kids are very obedient, and the couple dote on them. Though they sometimes joked about adopting one, they can’t bear to part with their own.”

Cao Wen sighed.

With enough food and clothes and a prosperous life, who would give up their own child?

What Xu Duoyan said was true.

If they were willing to part with a child, they would have done so already.

He didn’t want these matters to ruin the feelings between the two families.

Xu Duoyan relaxed his brows.

“Alright, don’t worry too much. When the carriage reaches the hill, there will be a way. If there’s someone suitable, we’ll be glad; if not, it won’t be too hard.”

He stood up.

“You said you made the dishes I like. I hardly ate breakfast and am quite hungry.”

Cao Wen’s voice softened.

“Alright, I’ll have the dishes brought up.”

Two days later, there was a temple fair on the outskirts of the city.

Since aging, Lu Lingbi enjoyed these lively events and prepared incense early to burn at the temple.

Xu Duoyan had the servants harness the carriage to send her off.

“Where did such a large bouquet of lotus flowers come from?”

As Lu Lingbi walked ahead, passing through the heavy main gate, she noticed a bunch of flowers by the gatepost.

Picking one up, she saw the petals still glistening with dew, freshly picked and arranged in a vase.

When she asked the gatekeeper, he didn’t know whose they were.

In the blink of an eye, they had appeared there.

“Probably a flower seller. Mother, please get in the carriage.”

“Alright.”

After sending Lu Lingbi away, Xu Duoyan took another look at the lotus flowers.

There were leaves, blossoms, and lotus pods—a perfect arrangement—so he decided to bring them inside.

Since the start of summer, the market often had lotus flowers for sale, but none as good as these.

At first, Xu Duoyan didn’t think much of it.

But every three or five days, when the vase’s flowers wilted, a fresh bunch would appear at the door.

This had happened several times.

Cao Wen looked at the flowers with a hint of melancholy.

At first, he thought Xu Duoyan bought them and praised their beauty.

When he learned they were from an unknown source, he quietly took them inside, saying seeing the same flowers daily was refreshing.

Xu Duoyan himself didn’t know who the flowers were for and hadn’t argued with Cao Wen about it, but he was curious about the mysterious sender.

One day, as the flowers wilted and it was almost time for another delivery, Xu Duoyan personally waited by the gatehouse.

After an hour with no sign of anyone, he sent the gatekeeper away.

The flower sender was clever—no one was around, then suddenly—

A small figure appeared, almost completely hidden behind broad lotus leaves.

From afar, it looked as if the lotus flowers had grown legs and walked to the door by themselves.

“Who told you to leave the flowers here?”

The boy crouched against the estate wall, carefully placing the bouquet on the ground.

He hoped it would be as unnoticed as before.

But just as he crouched, a voice called from above.

He was frightened.

Big families were often harsh and sometimes kicked people out.

He lowered his head, trying to hide his face and planned to run.

Suddenly, someone grabbed him by the waist and lifted him up.

“Don’t hit me! Don’t hit me! I won’t do it again.”

“It’s me.”

Xu Duoyan immediately recognized the child in his arms.

He pinched the boy’s cheek gently.

“I don’t hit children.”

The child’s eyes sparkled like stars.

“It’s Big Brother.”

Xu Duoyan glanced at the flowers on the ground.

“Did you bring all these?”

“Yes.”

“My mother says you shouldn’t accept help without gratitude. Our house has a big lotus pond. Mother used to sell flowers to earn money.”

“So I picked some for you, too.”

Xu Duoyan looked at the soft child in his arms and tousled his hair.

“Don’t pick lotus flowers yourself anymore. The pond water isn’t deep, but it’s more than enough to drown you.”

“I know.”

Xu Duoyan gathered the flowers.

“Come inside and play a bit. I’ll give you some fruit. Later, I’ll take you home.”

No matter how sensible, children were still playful.

After a moment’s hesitation, the child happily followed the fragrant Xu Duoyan into the courtyard to run around.

“Who is that child?”

The boy had eaten some fruit cakes he had never tasted before and happily roamed the large garden that was even bigger than the pond at home.

Suddenly, a tall, imposing figure approached, startling him into hiding behind Xu Duoyan.

Xu Duoyan was arranging flowers when he saw this.

He picked up the boy.

Seeing Cao Wen coming, he said, “I gave birth to him. He looks like me, right?”

“You gave birth to him?”

Cao Wen’s eyes widened as he looked at them, then chuckled lightly.

He reached out to pinch the shy child’s face.

“You’re your father’s son, yet you let the child starve like this? What kind of father are you?”

Cao Wen tried to lift the child.

“Come on, Brother will take you to eat roast chicken, braised goose, anything you like. How about that?”

The child clung to Xu Duoyan’s neck, burying his face in his shoulder, whispering, “Brother, it’s getting late. I want to go home.”

Xu Duoyan patted the boy’s back gently and glanced sideways at Cao Wen.

“Look at how you scared him.”

“How did I scare him? Didn’t I just say I’d take him to eat delicious food?”

Xu Duoyan held the child close.

“Then you go prepare some food for him.”

“All right, all right. Whatever you say.”