Abandoned daughter reborn, legitimate son is resourceful

a month later

Yuecheng Courtyard

In the middle of the yard there is a decades-old tree, a jujube tree, which can provide just the right shade.

The woman was dressed in white. She prepared tea and snacks in the courtyard. She went into the room only when she was satisfied with everything. When she came out, she was pushing a wheelchair.

Nangong Jingcheng was sitting in a wheelchair, wearing a lavender gown. The thin fabric allowed one to vaguely see the brown scar on his waist. After a month of rest, his wound was almost healed.

"Does mother know that I'm injured?"

"The Prime Minister already knows."

Nangong Jingcheng frowned: "Didn't I originally tell you not to tell mother?"

Bai Ran smiled bitterly, the pain in his eyes all fell on the back of Nangong Jingcheng's head. He pushed the wheelchair to the table and chairs that had been prepared in the yard and said, "Young Master, you will need to recover for a month. If the Prime Minister doesn't know about you, he will definitely send someone to inquire about you. It would be better to tell her earlier that Prince Qingping has attacked the Prime Minister's Mansion, so that the Prime Minister can be prepared."

Nangong Jingcheng just complained a few words, thinking that it was better to let his mother be prepared as soon as possible.

Nangong Jingcheng has an older sister, but this sister refused to take over the family business and chose to become a Taoist. Now the Nangong family is being pressured by Prince Qingping everywhere and is the enemy of the Nangong family in the court. I'm afraid that my mother has become the target of public criticism. If this continues, I don't know what Prince Qingping will do.

"Sir, this is the walnut cake I bought from the best teahouse in Yuecheng. Come and try it."

Nangong Jingcheng took a look at the walnut cake handed over by Bai Ran. This thing was made small and exquisite, and the smell of walnuts was fragrant and smelled good.

Nangong Jingcheng was a little hesitant. When he was in the capital, he always went to famous teahouses to drink tea and eat snacks. Now he is still a little uncomfortable here. When he was young, it was his sister Beitang who bought the snacks. He would visit Murong's house every now and then, and Murong Beitang would always take out some snacks for him.

"This tastes... not good."

Nangong Jingcheng took a small bite and was about to put it down. Bai Ran was a little anxious. She had asked many stores before buying this. The taste was exactly the same as the walnut crisps that the young master liked to eat when he was in the capital.

Bai Ran was puzzled, so she took the walnut cake from Nangong Jingcheng's hand and put it into her own mouth, without even avoiding the place that Nangong Jingcheng had just bitten.

"This taste is exactly the same as what you ate in the capital. Why does it taste different now? Is it because you haven't eaten it for a long time?"

Nangong Jingcheng was indifferent, with no emotion in his eyes and a calm face. Even though he was seriously injured, he still looked indifferent.

Ever since Miss Murong disappeared, the young master's face has never been filled with the same smile as before.

Bai Ran finished the walnut cake in his hand. There had been no news about Miss Murong for so many years. Maybe she had died a long time ago.

"It's not that the walnut cakes have changed in taste, it's that things have changed and people have changed. Why are you looking for me? It would be better if I died, so that I can go look for Sister Beitang."

Nangong Jingcheng had a sad look on his face. He had been looking for Murong Beitang for so long and was tired.

"Sir, what discouraging words are you saying? Don't think of getting rid of us next time, okay? If we encounter any danger again, how can I explain it to the Prime Minister..."

Bai Ran knew that he was also a little discouraged, but he could not give up on himself because of one person's life or death. The young master had been a well-known and well-educated nobleman in the capital since he was a child. He was also a rare talent who was proficient in numerology and archery.

"If it wasn't for mother... Sister Beitang wouldn't have rejected me, nor would she have gone to guard the border. Why didn't mother want to help Sister Beitang? From the moment she rejected me, she should have expected that I couldn't stay in the capital safely."

Bai Ran knew that he couldn't persuade him today, but Nangong Jingcheng's mood had been unstable in recent years, and he sometimes even had hallucinations. It was too dangerous for him to get rid of him and go alone to find Murong Beitang's whereabouts this time.

This kind of thing must never be allowed to happen again. The young master has been well behaved in this yard during the month since his injury. I just hope this kind of life can continue forever.

"Sir, there is a letter from the Prime Minister."

Qingfeng held out an envelope. Nangong Jingcheng took a look and said calmly, "No need to read it. Burn it."

Bai Ran saw that his face was not very good, so he could only smile and say, "Give me the letter."

Bai Ran opened the envelope, took a quick look at it, then turned to look at Nangong Jingcheng who was sitting in a wheelchair next to him. He knew that he already knew what was in the envelope, but as a guard, he had no right to stop the young master's decision.

"The Prime Minister asked the young master to recover from his injuries in Yuecheng."

Nangong Jingcheng seemed to have known this for a long time. He then glanced at Bai Ran's face and said, "Is it gone?"

"Also... the Prime Minister asked you to come back to the capital with me as soon as possible to prevent Prince Qingping from making another move."

Bai Ran told everything that was said in the letter.

"I won't go back. Now that I know where Sister Beitang is, there's no way I'll go back."

Nangong Jingcheng pursed his lips, thinking about the possibilities of where Murong Beitang lived.

"Sir, you are able to survive this time thanks to that peasant woman. Fortunately, she lent us a carriage, otherwise we would not be able to bring you to Yuecheng for treatment in time."

Mingyue is indeed more lively than Qingfeng, and the cooking is also her job. In the past month, she has been trying every means to make delicious food or nourishing food for Nangong Jingcheng, such as stewing pig's trotters and boiling pork ribs. It is really not easy.

"Mingyue, thank you for your hard work this month."

Nangong Jingcheng forced a smile, just hoping that they wouldn't worry too much.

"How could that be? This is what I should do. Seeing that you are in such good spirits, I have tried every possible way to prepare nourishing soup for you this month, and it is indeed not in vain."

In order to recover from his injuries as soon as possible, Nangong Jingcheng has been eating well at every meal over the past month, which has resulted in a little more flesh on his face, making it rounder and looking somewhat cute.

When Nangong Jingcheng doesn’t smile on weekdays, he looks like the King of Hell.

"By the way, I saw Lord Yan when I went out to buy groceries just now."

"Which Lord Yan?"

Bai Ran frowned. He had been following Nangong Jingcheng for five years and didn't know much about the things happening in the capital.

Mingyue blinked her eyes playfully and said with a smile: "Who else could it be? It must be the young champion who was famous in the capital. He passed the imperial examination at the age of fifteen and is now the Shangshu Ling. He has a noble status. I don't know why he came to Yuecheng. Could it be that he came to visit his relatives?"

Qingfeng held the vegetables and pork that Mingyue bought and said unhappily, "Okay, it's almost time for dinner, let's go cook."

Mingyue was dragged away by the breeze, pulling on her sleeve.

"What's the matter? I just said that I met Master Yan, why are you so excited?"

Mingyue knew that she didn't understand what she meant, and when she thought of the rumors she had heard in the capital, her face turned a little unhappy.

"Don't you know that the Prime Minister wanted to arrange a marriage between you and Lord Yan?"

"I do not know how?"

"..."

Qingfeng was speechless. At that time, Mingyue's mind was full of following the young master around and trying every means to go out to Murong's house to find Miss Murong. Of course, she didn't know what was going on.

Later, when the young master heard the Prime Minister's intention, he locked himself in the room and resisted angrily for a long time.

"Bai Ran, do you know about this?"

Nangong Jingcheng certainly didn’t think that Yan Qiu came to Yuecheng because of him.

Bai Ran looked at him and said half-jokingly, "Maybe she's here to chase her husband."

"I made it clear to my mother long ago that I would never marry anyone except Murong Beitang in my life."

Nangong Jingcheng glared at Bai Ran, and seeing the smile on her lips, he knew that he had been tricked by her. He raised his hand and punched Bai Ran on the leg.

Bai Ran concealed the emotions in his eyes and looked down at the walnut cookies on the table.

Sir, when will you see me by your side?

Lai Fu Village

Today, Nan Jinming moved all the corn from the field back home. Unknowingly, Chu Xiaoran has been living in Nan Jinming's house for almost a month.

During this month, Chu Xiaoran became more familiar with the entire village. He also knew which houses he should not visit and which houses had old bachelors who were crazy about men.

Nan Chenliang's family is busy with farm work and has not come to help in the past few days.

Nan Jinming carried the corn and its leaves back on his back. After several trips back and forth, he had almost finished weeding the entire field.

When I got home, I saw Chu Xiaoran cooking in a very professional manner.

"Will you do it?"

"Chen Liang taught me this. Are you afraid to eat what I made?"

Chu Xiaoran saw her carrying corn back and laying it under the eaves. The weather was just right, so she just had to peel off the corn leaves, string them together with a rope, and hang them under the eaves to wait for them to dry naturally.

Once the moisture is removed, it will not get moldy. When you want to feed the chickens and ducks, just move the corn down and feed them.

"I didn't say I don't want to eat it. If you can make it, can't I eat it?"

Nan Jinming was half joking, watching Chu Xiaoran's expression with great interest, he just found it a little funny.

"That's what you said."

There was a barely perceptible smile on Chu Xiaoran's lips. As expected, today's lunch had twice as much chili as usual. Nan Jinming ate lightly, and the chili Chu Xiaoran added was fine for him, but it made Nan Jinming's face turn red after eating it.

"Water, water, water."

Nan Jinming took the cup of water handed to him by Chu Xiaoran, took a sip, and the cool water poured into his throat, immediately suppressing the spicy taste.

Nan Jinming couldn't help but half-jokingly said, "It's said that men and villains are hard to raise. I've raised you for a month, and now you're repaying kindness with hatred."

Chu Xiaoran looked at the vegetarian dishes and a plate of braised pork in front of him and said, "I only added chili peppers to the vegetarian dishes. If you are not used to it, just eat the braised pork and I will eat the vegetarian dishes."

Chu Xiaoran picked up some vegetarian dishes and put them into the bowl and started eating. He had been here for so long and just helped with the cooking. After the meal, it was Nan Jinming who washed the dishes. He didn't help much just by staying here.

"This braised pork tastes good. Is this your first time making it?"

Chu Xiaoran nodded: "Brother Chenliang taught me. He also did it twice. I watched from above. Practice makes perfect. I learned it by watching. There is no need to deliberately learn these things."

Nan Jinming nodded. She was indeed not used to it. With one more person in the family, it was as if she had one more worry in her heart. Whenever she couldn't see Chu Xiaoran, she would always look for him everywhere.

"You have some talent."

Nan Jinming picked up a piece of braised pork and put it in Chu Xiaoran's bowl: "Eat more. You are so skinny. If I am not around anymore, you will be bullied if you go somewhere else. It will be easier to resist if you gain some weight, right?"

"Thank you."

Chu Xiaoran lowered his head while eating. His eyes fell on the braised pork in the bowl. He put it into his mouth and it tasted really good. Compared with the food he had eaten in the Chu family before, this...

Memories are always painful. Chu Xiaoran didn't want to recall the past, whether it was his mother who couldn't treat everyone equally, or his illegitimate son who took away his status and position. There was nothing in the entire Chu family that was worth his nostalgia.

"I'm going to Yuecheng tomorrow. Do you want to go for a walk in the city with me?"

"I...will not say anything."

"Chenliang asked you to go with him to help him choose a set of fabrics so that he can come back and make the clothes he will wear for his coming-of-age ceremony next year."

Nan Jinming doesn't care whether Chu Xiaoran will go or not, after all, it is his freedom.

Chu Xiaoran pondered for a moment. After spending all these years together, he got to know Nan Chenliang's character. This man had a sharp tongue but a soft heart. He later sent two more pieces of clothing over, and the time they spent together was extremely pleasant.

“Is the coming of age ceremony important?”

Nan Jinming was a little curious and asked, "Didn't your family prepare a coming-of-age ceremony for you?"

"I was sent to my employer's home when I was little, and I saw the young master's coming-of-age ceremony. I thought only rich families had such a thing."

There was sympathy in Nan Jinming's eyes, but Chu Xiaoran pretended not to see it and lowered his head to eat the rice in the bowl.

"It's like this. When a boy turns 18, his parents tie his hair and put a hairpin on him, which means he has come of age. They also designate a marriage partner for him on this day, saying that if he succeeds on this day, he will live happily ever after."

Nan Jinming picked up a piece of meat and put it in his mouth. He seemed to be in a good mood.

Chu Xiaoran took it for granted that Nan Jinming and Nan Chenliang were a perfect match and would become a couple during their coming-of-age ceremony, so she was in such a good mood when she said this.

"My father died early, and my mother sold me to a rich family, so I didn't know these things. I also learned some poetry and books from the young master, and I can recognize a few words, but that's all."

"I see."

This time, Nan Jinming's eyes showed sympathy and compassion.