Chapter 359: Husband
Editor: Atlas Studios
Mama Wang’s face stiffened. She covered the basket slightly and wanted to persuade Qi Haoran to leave. “Fourth Young Master, since you’re still injured, go back and rest first. Miss Mu isn’t free now. She’ll visit you tonight.”
Naturally, Qi Haoran could tell that Mama Wang was making him leave on purpose. He rolled his eyes and agreed. However, right away, he asked Fei Bai to ask around. It was obvious that Mama Wang was hiding something from him.
Oblivious to the fact that there was a tail behind her, Mama Wang hurriedly carried her things and went to look for Mu Yangling.
Mu Yangling was lying on the bed, her face only slightly pale. Other than the slight pain at the beginning, she felt much better now. She guessed it was because she had caught a cold in the freezing weather a while ago.
Mama Wang handed it to her and asked in a low voice, “Do you want me to teach you?”
Blushing, Mu Yangling shook her head. She took the things and went to the cubicle.
Fei Bai pressed his ear against the door and did not hear anything. Just as he was feeling puzzled, the door suddenly opened. Fei Bai almost fell out.
Upon seeing Fei Bai, Mama Wang glared at him, pinched his ear, and pulled him to the side. She roared in a low voice, “Little brat, who asked you to come?”
“Hey, hey, hey, be gentler. Be gentler.” Fei Bai carefully looked around before begging in a low voice, “Mama Wang, just tell me. Otherwise, it’s not like you don’t know Master’s temper.”
Mama Wang hesitated for a moment before saying in a low voice, “This is a girl’s matter. Don’t go around telling others. Just tell Fourth Young Master that Miss Mu has grown up and can get married.”
Everyone in the residence knew that Miss Mu was going to be paired with the Fourth Young Master, which was why Mama Wang was willing to tell them this.
Fei Bai was stunned and confused for a moment before his face flushed red. After all, he was two years older than Qi Haoran and knew about such stuff. With this understanding, he turned around and ran out.
Mama Wang scolded jokingly, “You brat.”
Fei Bai stammered to Qi Haoran softly, “Master, you have to give in to Miss Mu for the next few days. My older sister has a particularly bad temper this time of the month. My mother also asked me to give in to her. I reckon that Miss Mu’s bad temper previously was also because of this.”
Qi Haoran was still in a daze, his ears a little suspiciously red. He nodded and only gave a soft “Mm”.
Fei Bai did not know if he truly understood.
When Fan Zijin finished his work and came to look for Qi Haoran for dinner, he realized that he was not in the house. Creasing his brows slightly, he found Fei Bai in the front yard and saw that Qi Haoran was actually not here either. He asked with a frown, “Where’s your master? Why are you still letting him run around with his injuries?”
Fei Bai was stunned. “Isn’t Master resting in his room?”
Fan Zijin’s face darkened. “How do you serve people? You don’t even know if he’s in the room?”
Fei Bai immediately cast aside whatever he was doing and hurriedly went to look for Qi Haoran.
Fan Zijin was angry, but he also asked Yanmo to look for him with Fei Bai. In the end, they found him in the kitchen guarding a pot of chicken soup.
Fan Zijin asked with a strange expression, “You want to eat chicken?”
Qi Haoran shook his head. “I’m watching over this chicken soup.”
“What kind of chicken is this? Are you craving it that badly?”
Blushing, Qi Haoran said, “This is for Ah Ling.”
Fan Zijin’s expression instantly changed. After a while, he said faintly, “Even if you want to please her, there’s no need to be so anxious about it. You’re still injured.”
Qi Haoran sat there in silence, and Fan Zijin also sat at the side in a daze. After a while, he asked, “Eldest Cousin said that your marriage with her is already settled. Will it be finalized when you’re older?”
Qi Haoran nodded. “She has already agreed.” At the thought that the Winter Solstice gift she had given him was already ruined, he felt a sense of pity.
However, Fan Zijin asked, “Has Eldest Cousin’s marriage been settled?”
Qi Haoran shook his head. “Big Brother Rong found many portraits for Big Brother. Not to mention Big Brother, even I don’t fancy any of them.”
Fan Zijin was silent for a while before sighing. “Even you are getting married?”
Qi Haoran retorted with a slightly red face, “I’m not getting married. I just want to confirm it.” Seeing his gloomy expression, he whispered, “When the time comes, let Big Brother decide your marriage for you. Pick a girl you like. Aunt won’t object. Let Big Brother talk to Uncle.”
Fan Zijin did not say anything.
He was very sad that Qi Haoran was actually about to get married. In the future, he and Mu Yangling would become family.
He knew that Haoran liked Mu Yangling, and he hadn’t stopped him. However, he had felt that that was still a distant matter. Who knew that in just a few years, they would actually start to talk about marriage?
If Qi Xiuyuan was tolerant of Qi Haoran like a father and doted on him like an older brother, then Fan Zijin was the role of an older brother and companion.
From the moment Fan Zijin learned how to crawl, he had already placed Qi Haoran under her protection. He remembered his mother saying that the two of them met when Qi Haoran was just one month old. At that time, at merely three months old, he would already stuff his favorite toy into Qi Haoran’s hands…
Later on, after Aunt passed away and Qi Haoran was brought up by his mother, they ate, drank, and pooped together. Not only did the two wet nurses feed them on the same bed, the two little fellows would also sleep in the same bed at night…
When they were young, they were bullied by Fan Zijin’s older brother, who was born from a concubine, and was two years older than them. This silly boy, Qi Haoran, only knew how to shout at the top of his lungs. However, he would save his strength and wait for the adults to come before crying. Then, he would specially go somewhere his father would pass by and let that step-brother bully them again…
His father could ignore his illegitimate brother bullying Fan Zijin, or rather, he could not be bothered. However, he could not allow his son to bully Qi Haoran, for he was a guest.
When Qi Haoran’s two unworthy second and third older brothers bullied him, he could return the favor tenfold. When his uncle deducted his food and clothing, he turned around and looked for the imperial censor to impeach him. To think the brother he had always protected was getting married earlier than him.
Fan Zijin expressed his displeasure. Why should he let Mu Yangling have this younger brother he so painstakingly raised? In addition, Mu Yangling actually dared to mistreat him.
Fan Zijin glanced worriedly at Qi Haoran, who was eagerly watching the chicken soup. He felt that this wouldn’t do. Now that Haoran was already so obedient to Mu Yangling, wouldn’t she even be more disrespectful after he married her in the future?
Fan Zijin was instantly filled with fighting spirit. With a straight face, he said, “Haoran, it was my fault in the past. I forgot to teach you some things. Tomorrow, I’ll teach you what it means to be a man.”
Qi Haoran said inexplicably, “I know. Isn’t a man supposed to protect his country and bring honor to his ancestors?” After saying that, he said proudly, “Although I can’t beat my chest and say that I’ll bring honor to my ancestors, I’m still capable of protecting my country.”
“…” Fan Zijin looked at Qi Haoran pitifully and said, “This is on the broader scale. Let’s talk about the more trivial stuff first. First of all, you have to know that men are superior to women. As a man and the head of the family, we should have the ones holding the authority at home…”
“Big Brother is the head of the family, right?” Qi Haoran interrupted Fan Zijin and asked with confusion, “Big Brother is in charge of our family now. Zijin, what’s wrong? Could it be that someone is dissatisfied with Big Brother’s words?”
After saying that, he asked angrily, “Who dares to challenge Big Brother’s authority?”
“…” Fan Zijin was about to go crazy. “I’m not talking about Eldest Cousin. I’m talking about you. Since you’re about to get married, won’t you be the head of your small family then? I’m asking you to completely suppress Mu Yangling, so that she won’t dare to go west if you ask her to go east. Likewise, if you ask her to go west, she won’t dare to go east. If she dares to say no, you’ll slap her. Do you understand?”