Xie Changgeng watched Mu Fulan leave, closed the door, turned around and explained to his mother: "My son was careless in the training grounds a few days ago and suffered some minor injuries. It's a small matter and will be fine in two days. Don't worry, mother."
Xie's mother asked her son to take off his clothes for her to examine. Xie Changgeng said that the wound had been bandaged and applied with medicine, so it was inconvenient to open it. After repeatedly assuring her that it was fine, Xie's mother had no choice but to give up. She touched her son's hand and suddenly felt a little feverish, and became nervous again.
Xie Changgeng said, "My son is fine. He has been busy lately and has not had enough rest. He is already taking medicine. My son is in good health and will be fine after two days of rest."
Mother Xie complained: "That Mu family girl, I'm not saying anything bad about her, but since she was by your side, how did she take care of you? She made you so sick! How can I be at ease?"
Xie Changgeng glanced at his mother.
The old lady frowned, and every wrinkle on her face was filled with dissatisfaction with the woman, which reminded him of the figure who had just been ignored and bullied, standing aside with her eyes lowered, looking weak and helpless.
He hesitated for a moment, then said, "Mom, please don't misunderstand. It was she who treated my son's illness, and he got much better after taking her medicine. After she came, she also served my son attentively and without any slackness."
Xie's mother said nothing, but her face still looked unhappy.
Xie Changgeng helped his mother in, asked Amao to bring in some water, personally washed his mother's feet, and waited on her until she rested.
The old lady felt sorry for her son because he was injured and sick. She couldn't bear to let him do any work and refused.
Seeing that his mother insisted, Xie Changgeng asked Amao to take his place.
Ah Mao responded and then squatted down. Outside the door, Qi Lingfeng walked in and said with a smile, "Brother-in-law, let me do it."
Ah Mao was a little unhappy, pouted and looked at Xie Changgeng.
Qi Lingfeng walked up to Xie's mother and asked Amao to stand up.
Ah Mao stood up reluctantly.
When Qi Lingfeng was rolling up her sleeves, Xie Changgeng suddenly said, "Ah Mao, go ahead."
Ah Mao suddenly became happy, said "Hey", and immediately squatted down.
Qi Lingfeng was startled, then slowly turned her head and looked at Xie Changgeng.
Xie Changgeng looked at her and said, "I still have something to say to my mother. And you must have been very tired on this journey. Go and rest. I will take care of my mother. You don't have to stay here."
His tone was gentle, but the distance in his words was obvious.
Mother Xie could not hear it, she just thought her son was concerned about Qi Lingfeng, nodded repeatedly, and urged: "Yes, yes, Feng'er, go back to your room and rest early."
Qi Lingfeng bit her lip, responded softly, and walked out.
Ah Mao finished washing the old lady's feet, and Xie Changgeng helped his mother sit on the bed. Xie's mother asked, "Geng'er, Mu has been married to you for so long, and you're still pregnant?"
Xie Changgeng hummed.
Mother Xie sighed, "You are the only child of the Xie family, and I have been looking forward to it every day. From what I see, it is difficult for her to give birth. If things go on like this, when will mother be able to see our Xie family have more children?"
Xie Changgeng was depressed, but he didn't show it on his face. He replied vaguely: "She is still young, and after she gets married, my son and she will be together less and less, so don't worry."
"Why not? Geng'er, let me tell you the truth. This time I came here not only to see you, but also to discuss things with you. When is a convenient time for you to take care of your and Feng'er's affairs?"
"Isn't Mrs. Mu here right now? She can save us from being accused of hiding something from her!"
Xie Changgeng felt more and more annoyed. He pondered for a moment, looked up and saw Ah Mao standing beside him, staring at him with wide eyes. He waved his hand and told her to go out. Then he said, "Mother, I have considered the matter of the Qi family's daughter before, but I still feel it is not appropriate. The Qi family has been very kind to you, mother. It would be unfair to them to make her a concubine. I have mentioned my opinion to you before. You should adopt her as your adopted daughter, find a good family for her, and marry her off in style. This is the way to repay their kindness."
Xie's mother had already laid down, but upon hearing this, she sat up suddenly.
"Geng'er, what's wrong with you? You don't even listen to your mother?"
She looked annoyed and stared at her son suspiciously.
"Is it that the Mu family girl says one thing and does another? She said she agreed to this matter in front of me, but she made a scene in front of you? If it is inconvenient for you, mother can talk to her again! If she doesn't agree, that's fine, you can just divorce her! You have the Queen Mother's support, don't think the Changsha Kingdom can do anything to you!"
Xie Changgeng didn't want to disappoint his widowed mother. He knew that the Qi family was also very happy about this. Moreover, this matter was not a big deal for him to consider seriously.
But deep in his heart, he had a hunch that if he gave in and agreed to this matter, he would never be able to turn things around in front of that woman from the Mu family.
To him, that woman was nothing more than chicken ribs, but for some reason, he would be extremely unwilling to abandon her.
"Speak to me!"
Seeing her son remained silent, Xie's mother angrily slammed the bed.
Xie Changgeng looked at his mother's angry face, and suddenly felt the veins on his forehead throbbing as if something was hanging on them. His head suddenly hurt badly. He paused and said, "Mom, let's leave it at that for the Qi family's daughter. From now on, I will treat her as my adopted sister. I have a headache. Mom, you take a rest. I'm back."
When Xie's mother heard her son complain about a headache, she took a look at him and saw that his face was dark, his forehead was blue, and he really looked weak. She felt distressed again.
She was reluctant to blame her son for the fact that her plan had not gone as planned. She only suspected that the Mu family girl had whispered something in her son's ear, and that her son was seduced by her beauty and therefore disobeyed her. She hurriedly said, "Okay, okay, let's not talk about this for now. Mom is going to sleep, you should go and have some rest."
Xie Changgeng helped her lie down, blew out the light, and walked out of the room. He felt extremely tired, even more exhausted than after fighting in a battle.
He rubbed his temple and turned back to his room.
There were lights on in the doors and windows, and he pushed the door open and walked in.
The Mu girl hadn't gone to bed yet. She sat in front of the mirror, holding a pair of small scissors in her hand. Facing the mirror, she trimmed a piece of her hair that he had cut off with his sword that day.
When the hair is tied into a bun during the day, it is not noticeable because all the hair is gathered together. But when the hair is let down and the ends are uneven, it is very obvious.
She was concentrating on trimming her hair and seemed not to hear him come in. She turned her back to him and did not respond.
Xie Changgeng stood there, looked at her back for a moment, then walked over and said, "Give me the midnight snack you prepared. I'm a little hungry."
Mu Fulan raised her eyes, looked at the man looking at her in the mirror, and said calmly: "I ate it myself. If you want, I'll make it for you."
She put down the scissors in her hand, stood up and started to go out.
Xie Changgeng said hurriedly: "Forget it, just eat it, I'm not that hungry. It's late, let's go to bed."
Mu Fulan went to bed.
Xie Changgeng took off his clothes and lay down.
He was exhausted, but he couldn't fall asleep, let alone continue what he had been interrupted by his mother's sudden arrival. He closed his eyes for a moment, opened them again, stared at the woman's back, hesitated, leaned closer, and said, "Mu, my mother is old, if her words or actions embarrass you, don't argue with her."
Mu Fulan slowly opened her eyes, turned her head, and stared at the man beside her pillow for a moment, then said, "It's not that I don't want to endure it, but my mother-in-law hates me and gets unhappy when she sees me. Even if I want to serve her, she doesn't want it. As you said, she's old, and I don't want her to be unhappy every day because of me."
Xie Changgeng reached out his hand, gently pulled her into his arms, hugged her, and coaxed her, "Don't think too much, just be patient. After a while, she will go back and won't stay here forever."
Mu Fulan said: "It's okay for me to endure it. This is my duty and what I deserve, but I can't let Xi'er be like me. Even if it's just your mother's cold eyes, I can't stand it."
Xie Changgeng said, "Xi'er is a child. I will personally take him to see my mother tomorrow. I will just tell her that he is your adopted son. Even if my mother doesn't like him, she won't do anything to him. Don't worry."
Mu Fulan broke free from his arms and sat up.
"You think so, but I don't agree. She came over tonight and I brought her midnight snacks. You saw with your own eyes how she treated me. What virtue or ability did I have to make my mother-in-law hate me so much, but treat my Xi'er well?"
Xie Changgeng was very unhappy when he heard her comment on his mother, even though he knew what she said was not without reason. The nameless anger that had accumulated tonight suddenly came out, and his tone became stiff. He frowned and said, "She's here, what do you want?"
After he finished speaking, he suddenly thought of something.
"Mu, I know you have a lot of plans. My mother doesn't know anything. If you dare to deliberately let her know the ugly things you have done and make things worse, and make the family restless, don't blame me for being rude then."
Mu Fulan said, "You think too much. Even if I have no shame, I will not care about your face, and I will not let Xier be humiliated with me. Don't worry."
She continued, "After I left just now, my mother-in-law must have said something bad about me in front of you. I am indeed not worthy of being the daughter-in-law of your Xie family. I also said that it doesn't matter what happens to me, I deserve it, but Xi'er, I can't let him suffer any injustice, not even for a day. If he suffers injustice, it will be more painful than my own death. You let me take Xi'er back to Changsha, so that she can get what she wants and you can also have peace, isn't that the best?"
Xie Changgeng looked at her, thinking of how helpless she was when her mother treated her coldly and made things difficult for her tonight. The unhappiness in his heart gradually dissipated, and he only felt his headache getting worse. However, he was unwilling to fulfill her wish and let her take the opportunity to leave. He closed his eyes for a moment and said coldly: "Forget it, since you are worried about the child being treated coldly, you don't have to take him to see my mother. Send him to another place to live for a while."
A pair of soft hands pressed against his temples, and the thumbs pressed the acupuncture points for him. The technique and strength were all appropriate and comfortable.
Xie Changgeng opened his eyes.
She knelt beside him, with long eyebrows and bright eyes, staring at him, and said softly: "Xi'er is still young, he will miss me when he is alone."
Xie Changgeng looked into her eyes for a moment and then said, "You don't have to serve my mother anymore. Go with him. I'll take you back after my mother leaves."