The Laid-back Life of a Stepmother

Xu Yuxuan was carried back to the western courtyard by Nanny Ji, and he seemed to sense the gravity of the situation.

He nestled closer to Nanny Ji's embrace and pointed at himself, whispering, "Nanny, did Father Yuxuan get angry?" Nanny Ji reassured him, "Young Master, Lord Xu isn't angry at you."

Xu Yuxuan was puzzled: "Then, then why?" Nanny Ji thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps Lord Xu is angry at Madam Lu." Xu Yuxuan was taken aback and suddenly exclaimed, "Mother?"

Nanny Ji nodded.

Xu Yuxuan tilted his head, looking confused: "Mother, what happened?"

Nanny Ji speculated, "It seems she said something she shouldn't have."

Xu Yuxuan still didn't understand: "What, what did she say?"

Nanny Ji: "......"

This wasn't an easy question to answer.

Xu Yuxuan then said, "Anger is bad, it's mean~"

Father was being mean to Mother.

With that, he tried to get down from Nanny Ji's arms, saying, "I want to... save Mother!" Just like how he saved Second Brother from Auntie Lu's grasp before.

Nanny Ji quickly stopped him, saying, "Little Master, Lord Xu and Madam Lu are talking privately right now. Xu Yuxuan should be a well-behaved child, right?"

Xu Yuxuan grew anxious, "But... but Father is being mean to Mother!" In his haste, he struggled to say "angry" and ended up using the familiar word "mean" instead.

Fortunately, Nanny Ji could understand. She rephrased her explanation, adding a few white lies, "It might not be that bad. Lord Xu and Madam Lu have a good relationship, and maybe they're discussing something important. If Little Master is still worried, Old Servant will take you to see them tomorrow, how about that?"

Before leaving earlier, she had Ren Dong intentionally lag behind. Ren Dong later reported that Madam Lu had dismissed all the maids and servants from the western courtyard and was alone with Lord Xu in the room.

Nanny Ji was afraid that taking Xu Yuxuan there now might disrupt the two masters.

She glanced out the window and continued, "It's getting late, and the small kitchen has made some date paste cakes that Little Master loves."

At the mention of "date paste cakes," Xu Yuxuan immediately turned his head and said, "Xu Yuxuan wants to eat."

Saving Mother could wait a bit, right?

And so, Xu Yuxuan was successfully persuaded by Nanny Ji to stay in the western courtyard, happily enjoying his date cakes.

Halfway through, he suddenly stopped and told Nanny Ji, "Save some for Mother. Xu Yuxuan will save Mother tomorrow." Nanny Ji quickly agreed, "Yes, yes. Nanny will definitely save some."

However, Xu Yuxuan, who had been eagerly looking forward to saving his mother the next day, didn't even manage to step into the room.

Early the next morning, he arrived at the main hall of the western courtyard, but only Xu Yuejia was present.

Xu Yuxuan peered at the tightly closed inner chamber a few times and asked, "Where's Mother?"

It was still early, and breakfast hadn't even been set out yet.

Xu Yuxuan had come on an empty stomach. Nanny Ji figured that after half a day and a whole night, the two masters’ anger should have subsided. So, without waiting further, she took Xu Yuxuan to join the couple for breakfast, hoping the presence of their son might help warm the atmosphere.

Xu Yuejia took a sip of tea, his voice gentle: "Your mother is resting."

At this, Xu Yuxuan immediately tried to step inside, but Xu Yuejia called out, "You're not allowed to disturb your mother."

Xu Yuxuan generally obeyed Xu Yuejia's words.

Hesitantly, he turned his steps and approached Xu Yuejia, softly calling, "Father."

Suddenly, his nose twitched, and he said, "Smells nice?"

Xu Yuxuan remembered this scent; it was from his mother.

Xu Yuejia's hand paused as he was placing the teacup. He slightly turned his head to sniff, and indeed, there was a faint scent of pear flower.

Memories of the previous night flashed back, and his expression immediately became somewhat awkward.

He covered it up with words: "Let's have breakfast first."

Unable to save his mother, Xu Yuxuan moped and let out an "Oh," then sat down at the dining table.

His little head was filled with big questions.

Why was it so hard to save Mother? Back when he saved Second Brother from Auntie Lu, he just had to nudge into her arms. Xu Yuxuan couldn't figure it out. By the time he arrived at Master Xu Baili's place, he still looked listless.

Xu Baili approached, despite being over fifty, he didn't look old. When he opened his paper fan, there was a hint of elegance and charm. Seeing his little disciple not in high spirits, he sat opposite him, trying to make his gaze level with Xu Yuxuan's, and asked, "What's wrong with you, Xu Yuxuan?"

Xu Yuxuan propped his cheeks with his tiny hands, looked up at Xu Baili, and said in a childish voice, "Father is angry, Xu Yuxuan wanted to save Mother, but Father wouldn't let him."

In Xu Yuxuan's eyes, his teacher was all-powerful.

R

Even though he called Xu Yuejia his sworn brother, the two really didn't have much deep interaction except for their meeting in Wuzhou a few years ago and occasional letters.

Xu Baili had traveled across the Great Jin Dynasty over the years and had heard quite a bit about this young champion. People said he was unsmiling, strict with himself, and not an easy man to get along with.

But after their encounter in Wuzhou, Xu Baili had a different impression. His sworn brother was calm and composed, never losing his temper with others. Even though he'd been calling him his brother for years, Xu Yuejia never got mad, which showed that when it came to personal relationships, his boundaries weren't very high.@@novelbin@@

Such a man, who differentiated between public and private matters so clearly, was actually very comfortable to be around, as you could clearly know what he cared about and what he didn't.

The thought of someone so emotionally stable suddenly losing their temper intrigued Xu Baili. He smiled and said, "Your mother can make your father angry; she must be quite talented."

"So, can she be saved?" Hearing the tone of his voice, it seemed quite serious, and Xu Yuxuan's little heart couldn't help but tighten.

Xu Baili shook his fan and stood up, clicking his tongue, "Can't be saved!"

/Of course, he was talking about Xu Yuejia.

Xu Yuxuan grew anxious, "We have to save her! That's Xu Yuxuan's Mother!"

Xu Baili took two steps forward and turned back, "Don't worry, your mother will be fine. Let's first recognize some characters, and after that, I'll teach you a couple of tricks to deal with your father."

Xu Yuxuan immediately felt relieved.

Mother was saved.

Six

Wen Ye slept until mid-morning and woke up.

It ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‍had been a long time since she'd stayed up so late; once awake, her mind was confused for a while. She sat on the bed for a moment before calling for someone to come in. As she yawned, she washed up. Yun Zhi brought clean outer clothes, and Tao Zhi helped with her hair.

Wen Ye sat at the dressing table, looking at her reflection, which seemed a bit more vibrant. She thought to herself that staying up late alone was indeed different from staying up late together.

The difference could be seen in the person in the mirror.

Wen Ye checked herself in the mirror and was quite satisfied.

At this moment, Yun Zhi spoke, "Madam, Young Master went straight to our place after school and is waiting outside right now."

Wen Ye fiddled with the hairpins in her jewelry box, picked a pear blossom hairpin, and handed it to Tao Zhi, saying, "Why didn't he go to the main courtyard?"

Yun Zhi replied, "The servant asked. Young Master said he was here to save Madam."

"Save me?" Wen Ye didn't understand, "Save me from what?" Yun Zhi also didn't understand, "Young Master didn't tell the servant."

Tao Zhi had a guess, "Young Master hasn't seen Madam since coming back from Wen Mansion until this morning, it seems he's missed Madam and misspoke?"

Yun Zhi added, "Nanny Ji also couldn't explain it clearly, only saying that Young Master had prepared some date paste cakes."

Wen Ye raised her eyebrow, even more curious, "Is that so? Let's go and see." Tao Zhi quickly asked, "Should we set the meal?"

Wen Ye touched her empty stomach and said, "Set it. We'll eat while we watch." Having date paste cakes so early in the morning would be too sweet.

In the hall, Xu Yuxuan sat at the dining table, holding a whole date paste cake in his hand, glancing at it from time to time, his mouth twitching as he swallowed.

Wen Ye came out and just happened to see this scene.

She raised an eyebrow, walked over, and sat beside him. Xu Yuxuan saw her figure and, in his delight, let out a sigh of relief, saying, "Mother!" Tao Zhi poured a cup of warm water and handed it over.

Wen Ye took a sip, moistening her throat, and said, "Why aren't you eating?"

She pointed at the date paste cake in his hand.

Xu Yuxuan swallowed again and said, "This is for Mother, Xu Yuxuan isn't eating!"

"Xu Yuxuan won't eat!"

After saying that, he even shook his head seriously, as if showing his firm determination.

Wen Ye continued drinking water and then asked, "I heard from Yun Zhi that you came to save me?"

Xu Yuxuan nodded his head, looking quite serious, saying, "Yes, Father is mean to Mother, all night, so Xu Yuxuan came to save her."

"Cough, cough, cough..." Hearing this, Wen Ye nearly spat out the tea in her mouth.

After managing to swallow, she accidentally choked and coughed for quite a while before recovering.

The phrase "stay the night" was far too easy to stir someone's imagination.

Yun Zhi, who had been waiting nearby, also looked rather unnatural. She was quite clear about last night when Madam's room called for water.

Xu Yuxuan, mimicking how Madam Lu often patted him, placed his warm little hand on Wen Ye's back and gently cooed, "Stop coughing~ Stop coughing~"

Once she caught her breath, Wen Ye asked him, "Who did you hear this from?"

Xu Yuxuan puffed out his little belly and declared, "Xuan'er knows everything!"

Was it merely innocent babbling, or had the child suddenly matured overnight? Fortunately, just as the morning meal, which was almost lunchtime, was brought to the table, Wen Ye decided to eat first. She added without forgetting, "Keep the date paste cake for yourself, dear. Mother will eat these." Her gaze swept over the dishes on the table.

Xu Yuxuan wasn't hungry, just greedy.

Thus, to him at that moment, the date paste cake was far more tempting than the spread of dishes before him.

Obediently, he bit into the date paste cake in his hand and, looking up, saw Wen Ye popping one small wonton after another into her mouth. He recalled how, after his second brother was fished out from his aunt's place by him, he too had gobbled up the pastries in his room like this.

The only difference was, his second brother had cried while eating, but Mother wasn't crying. Still, they were both eating, so they must have been saved, right?

Xu Yuxuan, with a tiny bit of confusion, finished the date paste cake, satisfied his craving, and then focused on enjoying a bowl of chicken soup wontons.

Xu Yuxuan wiped the remaining crumbs off his hands with a handkerchief and returned the silk scarf to Yun Zhi. He leaned forward, accidentally bumping into Wen Ye's arm, and caught a whiff of a familiar scent. Yun Zhi hurriedly stepped forward to steady him.

But Xu Yuxuan was determined to move closer to Wen Ye.

Wen Ye finished her bun and, looking down, asked, "What do you want to do?"

Xu Yuxuan tilted his head up, pointed at Wen Ye's arm, and pouted, "Smells good?" Wen Ye immediately laughed, "Your mother is always smelling good, isn't she?" But Xu Yuxuan added, "Father's."

Wen Ye's chewing stopped as she sniffed herself and realized, yes, it actually smelled like that.

She remembered that she had accidentally used Xu Yuejia's usual soap last night, and afterward, she had picked out a new one for him, a soap with a pear blossom fragrance that she usually used.

The soap Xu Yuejia used was just plain soap, but Wen Ye hadn't expected Xu Yuxuan's nose to be so sensitive.

He could actually tell the difference.

---

**Bonus Scene**:

**Xuan'er**: Mother didn't cry!

**Wen Ye**: Ahem, I cried last night.