"Hey, where are Xiao Shitou and the other two?"
After measuring the wedding dress, Jiang Miao suddenly realized that he hadn't heard Xiao Shitou's voice for a while. The two little ones didn't seem to be near the flower hall. He called a few times, but no one responded.
Pei Che said, "Don't worry, they shouldn't run away. I'll ask someone to look for them in the yard. Wen Jing, tell them to go find the young master and Jiang Xiaoshao!"
At the command, the servants in the yard started to move, and soon they searched all the rooms in the yard, but they found no trace of them. At this time, Wen Jing brought the boy who was guarding the gate over, and the boy said that he seemed to have seen the two of them running out of the yard hand in hand.
"Run away?" Jiang Miao thought of the private affairs in the mansion that Pei Che had told him before, and many bad associations suddenly came to his mind.
"Don't worry, I'll ask them to go out and look for it. There are people guarding outside the Duke's Mansion, so they can't get out!" Pei Che saw that Jiang Miao looked a little pale, and hurried to comfort him. He asked the servants in the yard to go out and look for it, and also asked some guards to follow in the search.
"Why should I worry? These two are getting more and more naughty. Now they dare to go out and play by themselves without saying a word. We must teach them a lesson when we find them!" Jiang Miao said deliberately, as if to transform his emotion into anger so that he would not have to worry anymore.
He told himself that it was broad daylight, and the thing he just imagined would definitely not happen! However, there were many ponds and rockeries in the courtyards of wealthy families, and he was afraid that the two of them would run to these places for fun. What if they got hurt
"I will train them with you then. The most urgent thing is to find the person first."
The two men went out of the yard and searched everywhere, but there was no trace of them anywhere.
"Where does Little Mu usually like to go?" Jiang Miao asked Pei Che in a hurry, looking around for him.
Pei Che said: "Mu'er doesn't like to go out usually. He used to stay in his own yard. The last time he came back, the people in his yard were driven away, so he stayed in my yard."
"Maybe he will go back to take a look. Why don't we go over there to look for him first?" Jiang Miao said. There was no point running around like a headless fly. It would be better to try his luck over there.
"Okay, let's go over there and take a look." In fact, Pei Che had thought of going there at first, but he felt it was unlikely because that yard had left a very bad impression on Mu'er. How could Mu'er be willing to go there again
The two walked towards Pei Mu's yard. When they reached the front of the yard, Jiang Miao found that the door was slightly open and there was a faint sound of crying coming from inside.
"Little Stone, Little Wood!" Jiang Miao was anxious, kicked the door open, and shouted loudly. The crying inside stopped abruptly, and then suddenly became louder, as if a savior had arrived.
Jiang Miao's heart tightened and he rushed in. He didn't know what happened to them to make them cry so miserably. Pei Che followed him in with a grim look in his eyes. It seemed that his handling method last time was not cruel enough and failed to shock these people!
When the two arrived at the backyard, they found that things were not what they imagined. The bullied Xiao Shitou was riding on the back of a little fat boy, holding his hands behind his back, while Pei Mu held down his legs to prevent him from kicking and hitting.
The little fat boy was dressed in rich and gorgeous clothes, with tears and snot on his fat face, and his mouth was wide open and he was howling desperately. When he saw Pei Che coming over, he cried out in a sobbing voice: "Big brother, save me!"
"Little Stone, Little Wood, how dare you bully others!" Jiang Miao's worried words slipped out of his mouth, and he suddenly felt angry. Not only did they sneak out to play, but they even teamed up to bully others. He went over to pick up the two children and rescued the fat boy.
Just as he was about to continue to teach him a lesson, Jiang Miao found that the little stone who was picked up looked angry and aggrieved, with his eyebrows drooping and his mouth pursed into a line. Pei Mu also frowned tightly, and his usually expressionless face seemed a little lively because of his angry expression.
The two people's behavior made Jiang Miao's anger subside a little. In his impression, Xiao Shitou has always been a child who doesn't like to cause trouble. There are so many children in and outside the yard, but Xiao Shitou has never had a conflict with others. Xiao Mutou has never had much emotional fluctuations about things in the outside world, but he was so angry today. He thought that this matter might not be as simple as it seemed on the surface.
"Xiao Shitou, tell your brother why you hit someone just now?" Jiang Miao half-knelt down in front of Xiao Shitou, put his hands on his shoulders, and asked patiently.
Little Stone's eyes turned red, and he stammered twice with his pursed mouth, but he couldn't say anything, so he started crying too. Every time he cried, it was silent, with only tears falling down, his little chest heaving violently, and his shoulders heaving, looking very sad.
Jiang Miao's heart softened, and he couldn't bear to ask him the reason anymore. He just gently hugged him in his arms, ready to wait until his emotions calmed down a little before asking him what was going on.
Among the three, Little Shitou was crying bitterly, and Pei Mu couldn't speak yet. Pei Che fixed his eyes on Pei Qi. He could see that the two little ones seemed to be somewhat hostile towards Pei Qi.
Pei Qi is the son of his fourth uncle. He has been spoiled since childhood. He is ten years old this year, but his temper is even more spoiled than his eight-year-old sister Pei Yashi. Pei Che thinks that this matter should be started by Pei Qi.
He looked at Pei Qi who was still crying after being pulled up, and said, "Qi'er, stop crying first. Tell me, big brother, what happened just now?"
Pei Che's eyes were deep. He had always been a role model in the family and had a lot of authority in the hearts of the younger generation. Although he had never lost his temper with them, Pei Qi and the other brothers were still a little afraid of him. When he asked this question, Pei Qi immediately choked up and said, "I... I didn't do anything, but they all came together to beat me!" After saying that, he cried even louder than before.
The crying attracted the attention of the people who were looking for him outside the courtyard. An elderly woman ran in and saw Pei Qi's appearance. She immediately rushed over and hugged him, "Oh, my little master, how did you get covered in this? Did someone push you into the mud and roll you around? Oh, your face is scratched too!"
"Mammy, they were the ones who beat me. It was the little monster and the fox spirit's brother who beat me! Go and help me beat them!" Pei Qi's temper, which had been suppressed for a long time, finally erupted when he saw his close friends coming over. He cried and pulled the corner of Mammy's clothes towards Pei Mu and Xiao Shitou.
The woman wanted to cover his mouth but was too late. She reflexively looked at Pei Che, but saw Pei Che staring at Pei Qi expressionlessly.
She was about to explain when Little Stone, who had been crying sadly, suddenly raised his head and shouted, "My brother is not a vixen! Little Wood is not a monster!" As he said that, he wanted to rush over and hit Pei Qi, but he was stopped by Jiang Miao, who held him tightly in his arms.
"Wuwu... Your brother is, is a vixen! My mother said that my elder brother was bewitched by him... bewitched by him, that's why he married a man!" Pei Qi was shocked and quarreled with him while crying.
For a moment, there was only crying in the yard. Suddenly, a light laugh was heard. Pei Che half squatted down, looked at Pei Qi, and asked in a gentle voice: "Qi'er, what else did your mother say?"
The woman at the side showed a look of horror, and wanted to stop Pei Qi from talking nonsense, but after meeting Pei Che's cold and sharp gaze, she couldn't help but take a step back, not daring to make another sound.
Pei Qi blinked, bewildered by Pei Che's gentle look, and blurted out all the bad things he overheard his father and mother saying about Pei Mu and Jiang Miao, adding at the end: "Big brother, please don't marry a vixen as your wife, okay? Everyone will laugh at our family!"
"Did your parents really say this?" Pei Che seemed a little unconvinced.
Pei Qi nodded seriously: "That's what they said. I heard it while hiding outside the window!"
"Well, big brother, I think what your parents said makes sense, but I'm afraid grandma won't believe it. Can you say it again in front of grandma later?" Pei Che coaxed.
Nanny's words made Pei Qi realize that he seemed to have said something wrong just now. Facing Pei Che, whose expression was no longer gentle, he became afraid belatedly.
When Pei Che took Pei Mu and the others to visit Grandmother Pei, Pei Mu's eyes kept looking towards his former yard. Little Stone was at the same level as him, so he naturally noticed his movements.
While the two were measuring the size, Xiao Shitou asked Pei Mu what he was looking at just now. Pei Mu stretched out two fingers and rubbed them together, making a gesture as if counting money.
"You mean there's money in it?" Little Stone guessed.
Pei Mu nodded. Last time, he thought Brother Miao would not like the yellow thing, so he only brought one. Unexpectedly, Brother Miao took out that one and liked it at first sight.
"Is that money yours?" asked Little Stone.
Pei Mu nodded again. His brother said that the big bag was stolen from him by Xing'er. Thinking that there was still a lot of yellow gold inside that had not been taken out, Pei Mu felt a little sorry. He thought about it and hooked his finger at Xiao Shitou, ready to take him with him to bring it back and give it to Brother Miao.
The two of them ran hand in hand towards the place they had just passed. When they passed the garden, they were seen by Pei Qi who was playing in the garden.
"Mammy, the little monster is back, and he brought someone with him!" Since he was a child, everyone around him had told him that Pei Mu was a little monster and asked him not to play with Pei Mu.
He thought everyone would do as he was told, so why would anyone want to play with Pei Che
"Young master, that child is the younger brother of the prince's male wife. Let them play together. We should stay away from them, okay?" The nanny instructed. She had heard early in the morning that the prince had returned with his male wife and his wife's younger brother.
Isn't the prince's wife the vixen? A vixen's younger brother, a little monster, no wonder these two can play together!
Pei Qi was very curious about what the two would do, so he followed them when the nanny wasn't paying attention. He saw the little demon leading the fox spirit's brother through the door and into the yard, so he followed them in.
"Little monster, you dare to steal things!" Pei Qi saw him standing on tiptoe to take the package on the table and immediately shouted. This was found in Xing'er's room last time. Pei Che thought it was unlucky, so he didn't touch it and only let Pei Mu take some and leave.
Pei Mu and Xiao Shitou were startled. After Xiao Shitou realized what was happening, he quickly explained, "I didn't steal anything! This is Xiao Mu's own thing!"
"What little piece of wood? It's a little monster! Aren't you afraid of becoming a monster yourself if you stay with a little monster?" Pei Qi said.
"He is not a little monster, don't talk nonsense!" Little Stone didn't know why this person was so annoying. In his opinion, Little Wood was his good brother, so he naturally couldn't let him be bullied by others.
"Lululu, I didn't say that!" Pei Qi made a face. "But it's normal that you're not afraid, because you're the brother of a fox spirit, so you're not afraid of becoming a little monster."
"What fox spirit?" Little Stone asked in confusion. How come there is another fox spirit
"Your brother is shameless. He married a man and is a vixen! You are his younger brother, so you are a little vixen!" Pei Qi proudly learned the words he heard from his parents.
Little Shitou has always admired Jiang Miao, and when he heard him scold his brother for being shameless, he rushed over without thinking. Pei Qi was caught off guard and was grabbed by him. He immediately got angry and hit him back. He was older and had the upper hand at first, but soon, Pei Mu also joined in, which led to the scene that Jiang Miao and the others saw when they came in.
The matter eventually came to Grandmother Pei's side. Although she didn't like Pei Mu, she wouldn't let anyone mistreat him. After hearing what Pei Che said, she flew into a rage and said, "Call the fourth son and his wife over. I want to ask them how they teach people!"
Pei Shirong, the fourth son of the Pei family, and his wife Zhou Xinlan came over quickly. They only heard that the old lady was looking for someone, but they didn't expect to see Pei Qi here in such a dishevel.
"Qi'er, what's wrong with you?" Zhou Xinlan said with a distressed look on her face, "Mom, you have to make the decision for Qi'er!"
"Make the decision?" Grandmother Pei snorted, "Before you ask me to make the decision, ask what he just said."
Pei Shirong always knows how to read people's faces. When he found out that Grandmother Pei looked unhappy, he immediately gave Zhou Xinlan a look, signaling her to stop talking. He then said humbly, "Mother, Qi'er is still young and doesn't know much. If he says or does something wrong, I hope you can forgive him. It's the father's fault if he doesn't teach his child well. This is all my fault. If you are angry, take it out on your son. I won't say a word!"
Pei Shirong acted like a good father, which made people feel touched. But the people standing in front of him saw through his pretentious performance.
Grandmother Pei sneered and said, "If a child is not taught well, it is the father's fault? You are right. This evil boy dares to criticize his elders at such a young age. Didn't he hear it from you? Maybe you have also said bad things about me behind my back!"
Pei Shirong knelt down immediately and said, "How dare my son do such a treasonous thing? I beg you to take back your words that hurt my heart."
"How can you take back what you said?" Grandmother Pei smiled coldly, "Why don't you ask your son first to see if he can take back what he said."
Pei Shirong cursed inwardly. He didn't know what the bastard had said to make the old lady so concerned. Could it be that he mentioned the late prince
With a lot of questions in his mind, Pei Shirong asked Pei Qi what she had just said. After hearing this, his calm expression collapsed. His face changed drastically, and he said hurriedly: "Mom, Qi'er heard it wrongly. My husband and I never said those words!"
Pei Shirong denied it flatly, but unfortunately, he couldn't distance himself from the matter just by denying it, and he couldn't just deny it and pretend that he had never said it.
Grandmother Pei ignored him and said directly: "Since you just said that it is the father's fault if he does not teach his children, then I will help you. From tomorrow on, you and your wife should copy scriptures in the house and pray for blessings to atone for your sins! As for the shops you manage, don't worry about them for now. When you have thought it through, you can talk about it later!"
Pei Shirong looked depressed. Since the worst result had already happened, what was the point of arguing? He could only blame himself for not keeping his mouth shut. The same was true for having a son.
(End of this chapter)