Chapter 422 - Chapter 422: Chapter 418: No Injustice_1

Chapter 422: Chapter 418: No Injustice_1

Yingbao paused for a moment: “Alright, you can come with Xiao Chengyu.”

The boy was overjoyed when he heard this. He bowed to Yingbao and said, “Thank you, sister.”

He then greeted Chunniang, “Aunt Chunniang, my name is Xiao Tong.”

Now that Xiao Tong has grown up, he finally understood that Mr. Wu was not his biological father.

Later, his mother from the Han Family and those from the Xiao Family were brought into Beijing, and Mr. Wu returned him to Han Yueniang.

However, even after moving into the Xiao residence, Xiao Tong would still occasionally go to Mr. Wu’s home and stay for a few days, treating him as his kin.

Chunniang merely nodded to the two of them without saying a word.

She was still furious at the moment.

What was wrong with that Lady Yao? She had the audacity to unilaterally arrange for their family’s daughter to meet a stranger of the opposite sex. She was disregarding the status of the Jiang Family!

Even in a village, where the rules are not so strict, people know that before matchmaking, there should be a go-between, and the two families should have a chance to understand each other. Only then does a meeting between the prospective couple take place, and only with the consent of the parents.

Lady Yao, with her loose talk, was treating her precious daughter as if she was a concubine for someone else. It was disgraceful. If it hadn’t been for the fact that they were guests in the Wu Family’s house that day, she would have slapped Lady Yao in the face.

Yingbao reached out and held her mother’s hand, silently comforting her.

Feeling her daughter’s concern, Chunniang calmed down a little and smiled at her, “This Kang is quite warm. I feel like dozing off.”

When Luo Zhao heard this, he leaned over and said, “Auntie Jiang, if you’re feeling tired, why don’t you rest for a bit? I’ll wake you up when the banquet begins.”

“Okay.” Chunniang couldn’t actually lie down, of course. She just leaned on the large embroidered pillow and pretended to close her eyes and rest.

Xiao Tong and Xiao Chengyu left quietly when they saw this. But they ran into Chen Tiantian and Xiao Chengjun on their way out.

“Second brother, let’s go and play pitch-pot.” Xiao Chengyu blinked at his brother, with a pleasing look on his face.

Xiao Chengjun frowned at him, “Where were you just now?”

“I was nowhere.” Ever since his father had a stroke, Xiao Chengyu and his mother’s status in the house had plummeted.

Since wide-scope elder brother Xiao Mo was not much of a participant in household affairs, the entire Xiao Residence was now under Xiao Chengjun’s command.

Thus, Xiao Chengyu was especially afraid of his second brother.

Xiao Chengjun looked at his younger brother coldly, “Do not run around in someone else’s house. You are not a child anymore. If you offend anyone, or disturb any young girls in the house, I will not spare you.”

Xiao Chengyu’s eyes opened wide, and he stuttered, “I, I didn’t offend anyone, and, and didn’t disturb any girls, I-I was just…”

Then he suddenly could not bring himself to finish his sentence.

Xiao Tong decided to help him out, “We didn’t disturb any girls. Sister Yingbao isn’t a stranger.”

As soon as Xiao Chengjun heard this name, his face darkened even more.

Chen Tiantian suddenly smiled gently, “So you were playing with Yingbao. Was she friendly to you?”

Xiao Tong nodded his head, “Sister Yingbao even promised that we could come and play at her house.”

Xiao Chengyu also hurriedly nodded his head.

Chen Tiantian got an idea and asked with a smile, “Young master, do you like Yingbao?”

Xiao Chengyu seemed confused, but he still nodded his head.

Chen Tiantian covered her mouth and laughed lightly, then she turned to Xiao Chengjun and said, “Look, Chengjun, the young master already has a girl he likes. You should tell the Lady when we get back. It’s time to start considering his marriage arrangements.”

Xiao Chengjun raised his eyebrows, “He is still so young. Our eldest brother isn’t even married yet. How could it be his turn to have a marriage arrangement?”

Chen Tiantian didn’t say anything, but she already had a plan in her heart.

When Xiao Chengyu heard Chen Tiantian mention to his elder brother that he had a girl he liked, he instantly understood her implication and angrily retorted, “Who do you think you are! Daring to comment on my affairs!”

Although he feared his elder brother, he was not afraid of Chen Tiantian at all. He had been giving her some face just because she was the biological elder sister of Xiaotong.

Now that she had touched a raw nerve, Xiao Chengyu’s overbearing temperament flared, he started to berate her recklessly.

“Insolent!” chastised Xiao Chengjun, “Go home now! Write ‘Book of Rites’ fifty times as punishment!”

Xiao Chengyu pursed his lips, “I won’t!”

Having said that, he dashed off in a huff.

Xiaotong blinked, following Xiao Chengyu and running off.

Chen Tiantian held onto Xiao Chengjun’s hand, whispering, “Second Master, don’t be angry. After all, he is just your half-brother. If you interfere too much, Lady might not be pleased.”

Xiao Chengjun sighed, patting Chen Tiantian’s hand, “Our stepmother overly indulges him. If I don’t intervene, he’ll become entirely uncontrollable. Tiantian, I apologize for the trouble. I shall ground him for a month when we return home.”

Chen Tiantian leaned her head on Xiao Chengjun’s shoulder and murmured softly, “As long as you’re here, I don’t feel wronged.”

…

The next day, Yingbao prepared some fruit juice, but Xiao Chengyu and Xiaotong didn’t come over as she had expected.

She didn’t mind much and busied herself with arranging the potted plants in her large flower room.

With the Lunar New Year approaches, the four seasons nursery was bustling with business as noble families flocked in to make reservations.

Jiang Quan had given names to each pot of flowers, such as ‘Prosperous Fortune’, ‘Wealthy Garden’, ‘Welcoming the God of Wealth’, ‘Longevity Blossoms’, etc. Although the names were somewhat banal, they were quite apt for the festive occasion.

Capitalizing on the good business during the holiday season, Yingbao dug out all the large and small flowers planted in the grotto, transferred them into pots, watered them with Pupil Spring, ensuring they would stay fresh for a couple of months.

However, if these flowers were left outside to freeze overnight, they would be dead by morning.

But who with abundance of wealth to burn would leave such expensive flowers ranging from a few to several dozen taels per pot to freeze in this icy cold weather.

“Young Mistress, do you need my help?” Magnolia asked from outside the flower room, through a grass curtain.

When Yingbao was working in the flower room, no one was allowed to enter unless they had her permission, except for Jiang Quan and Chunniang. Therefore, Magnolia could only ask from outside.

“No need, go back to your work. I can handle this by myself.” Yingbao stood up, admired the pots all around the room, and began counting with a charcoal pencil.

There were thirty pots of mandarin trees, fifty pots of peonies, thirty pots of Magnolia flowers, fifty pots of peach trees, thirty pots of red plums, twenty pots of wintersweet, fifty pots of roses, and fifty pots of various types of orchids.

The value of these potted plants and fruit trees varied, with the lowest price being ten taels and the highest reaching a hundred. If they were all sold out, she could make a net profit of several thousand taels of silver.

After finishing the accounting, Yingbao walked back to the flower room, when she suddenly saw snowflakes fluttering down outside.

The little maid, Xinghua, ran over, “Young Mistress, Second Master is back!”

“Second Master? Has my second brother come back?” Yingbao quickly headed towards her mother’s courtyard.

Xinghua and Magnolia trailed behind, lightly jogging along, “Yes, that’s what Madam said.”

Upon entering her mother’s room, Yingbao indeed saw two boys standing inside.

One was Huzi, and the other was Jiang Wu.

“Huzi! Xiaowu!” Yingbao went over to her brothers, smiling from ear to ear: “You two are finally back.”

She hadn’t seen Jiang Wu and Huzi for several years, and now looking at them, she found that they had grown a lot taller and tanned.

Huzi, in particular, already had the appearance of a tall youth. She might not even recognize him if she ran into him in public.

Huzi grinned, revealing his teeth, “Yingbao, you’ve grown up to be a lady now.”

Jiang Wu even leaned his face in, feigning surprise: “Wow! Sister, you’ve really changed in your teenage years…and become uglier and uglier.”