The Laid-back Life of a Stepmother

Wen Ye pulled the child who had already stuck his head out back inside and casually dropped the curtain.

A few carriages set off in succession, swaying gently as they left the Duke's residence.

Duke Xu watched the increasingly distant procession and sighed heavily, saying, "This vast residence will now only house you and me, brothers."

Xu Yuejia withdrew his gaze and looked at Duke Xu, speaking calmly, "Brother, you can join them if you wish."

Duke Xu tried to maintain a stern expression, not wanting to let anyone see through his facade, "I have official duties to attend to. Your sister-in-law wanted me to accompany her, but I simply couldn't find the time."

Xu Yuejia seemed to believe him, responding with his usual composure, "The carriages haven't gone far. If you change your mind, you can still catch up."

With that, he turned to leave, as if to summon someone to bring a horse. Duke Xu quickly stopped him, "Wait, what are you chasing after? I've already told you, I'm busy with official duties."

Seeing Xu Yuejia halt, Duke Xu approached and continued, "Ah, your sister-in-law has been in our household for so many years and never stayed away for so long."

He just wasn't used to it.

Xu Yuejia once again looked at Duke Xu and said, "Sister-in-law has devoted herself to managing the entire Duke's residence, her contributions are great. What are you implying, Brother?"

Duke Xu felt his younger brother was acting a bit strange today, his tone oddly familiar. After thinking for a long time, he couldn't place it and said, "When did I ever say I disapproved of your sister-in-law going out?"

Xu Yuejia: "I never said you did, Brother."

Duke Xu: "...." Finally, he realized where the familiarity came from.

Annoyed, he straightforwardly said, "Before your wife came along, your sister-in-law wasn't like this."

Xu Yuejia replied, "If you have any dissatisfaction with Sister-in-law, you should express it directly. Speaking ill of her behind her back is not the behavior of a gentleman."

Duke Xu: ".... He was clearly talking about his wife, why is he maligning me like this?"

The brothers parted on bad terms, each returning to their own courtyards.

★

Wen Ye rarely went out in her lifetime, with only a few occasions within the year or so before and after her marriage. After the carriages left the city, she again lifted the curtain and gazed at the lush scenery outside, feeling her mood lighten accordingly.

She briefly looked back and said, "Sister-in-law, the scenery here is truly beautiful."

/

Madam Lu had specifically chosen this route, though it was a bit longer, because the scenery along this path was the most pleasant. This way, the journey to XiQuan Mountain wouldn't be dull.

She said, "It is beautiful, but the scenery at XiQuan Mountain is even better. You'll definitely like it when you get there."

Being able to go out to play and escape the heat, how could Wen Ye not be delighted? As the carriages passed by the bamboo forest, she temporarily let go of the curtain and sat back, saying, "The place Sister-in-law chooses must be the best."

"Your mouth is always so sweet, always flattering people, Xu Yuxuan has learned all that from you," Madam Lu said, though her eyes betrayed her indulgence.

Wen Ye glanced at the obedient child sitting beside her and innocently said, "I didn't teach Xu Yuxuan; his teacher is Mr. Xu."

Although Madam Lu wasn't referring to that, Xu Yuxuan, unaware, nodded in agreement: "Yes~"

Madam Lu was briefly speechless, saying, "The two of you now know how to sing in unison in front of me."

Wen Ye pointed to Xu Jinglin opposite and said, "Sister-in-law also has Xu Jinglin."

Xu Jinglin, though not doing well in his studies, wasn't stupid and could understand what his mother and Second Aunt were talking about. Naturally, he wouldn't humor them like Xu Yuxuan, causing embarrassment.

Madam Lu glanced at her son, clearly thinking the same.

As children grow older, they're not as endearing as when they were young.

When Xu Jinglin heard someone call his name, he looked up and saw his mother watching him, her gaze not moving for a long time. Hesitating, he called out, "Mother?"

Madam Lu was pulled back by this call and said, "It's nothing."

Xu Jinglin 'oh'ed and continued playing with his mechanical toy, paying no attention to anything else.

Madam Lu: "……"

Wen Ye had long since lowered her eyes to play with Xu Yuxuan's hair bun.

★

They set off early, and by noon, they had arrived at the forest garden estate near XiQuan Mountain.

Steward Wu, having received word from the Duke's residence, had prepared everything well in advance, and the meals were ready, awaiting the arrival of the masters from the Duke's residence to partake.

Steward Wu was an old servant of the Duke's residence and was trusted by Madam Lu. This trip was mainly for escaping the summer heat, so she only briefly checked things over and then allowed Steward Wu to withdraw.

After sitting in the carriages for a morning, everyone was a bit tired. Madam Lu decided to eat first, leaving the luggage to be sorted out later, after the meal.

The meals were prepared by Steward Wu's eldest daughter-in-law, consisting mostly of ordinary peasant dishes, but the plating followed Madam Lu's usual habit: exquisite and in moderate portions.

It was said that the spring water here had a slight sweet aftertaste, excellent for brewing tea or cooking. Today's meal was prepared with this spring water.

However, probably because Madam Lu had previously warned them, there wasn't a hint of chili in any of the dishes. Luckily, there were many meat dishes. Wen Ye inwardly sighed in relief, finally able to eat meat in large portions. The chicken stewed with mushrooms, cooked with spring water, did indeed seem to taste more flavorful. Wen Ye picked up another piece.

Since they were here to relax, there were no rules about not speaking during meals. After tasting it again, Wen Ye immediately used serving chopsticks to pick up a piece for Madam Lu, saying, "Sister-in-law, the chicken stewed with mushrooms is quite good."

Madam Lu took a small bite and naturally asked, "How does it compare to roast chicken?"

Wen Ye's actions froze, and blinking, she said, "Sister-in-law, what are you saying? What roast chicken? I don't understand."

Madam Lu looked at her indifferently.

Wen Ye: "……"

Who was the traitor?

Xu Yuxuan, eating the chicken leg meat picked off by Nanny Ji, glanced between the two, seemingly pondering for a moment before suddenly saying, "Both are delicious!"

Wen Ye looked at him upon hearing this. She thought, so it's you, little traitor.

Wen Ye quickly said, "The roast chicken was bought by Sir, I didn't know about it beforehand." This was the truth; she wasn't shifting the blame.

Madam Lu laughed softly, saying, "Alright, I wasn't going to do anything to you, look how scared you are." She didn't ban Wen Ye from eating these things, just didn't want her to eat too much. The fact that the roasted chicken was brought by her second brother was a small surprise.

Wen Ye immediately clarified, "I mainly ate both drumsticks."

Madam Lu had only guessed, hearing this, she asked, "The rest was eaten by Xu Yuxuan?"

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She slightly frowned, her gaze falling on Xu Yuxuan's little belly, thinking it seemed a bit bigger than before. Wen Ye denied, "Not really, Sir also ate some; Xu Yuxuan only nibbled on two chicken wings." Only then did Madam Lu feel at ease and withdrew her gaze.

However, after Wen Ye mentioned this, Madam Lu noticed Xu Yuxuan seemed to have gotten fatter.

She thought for a moment and looked up at Nanny Ji, saying, "Be careful, don't let him eat too much; it's easy to have digestive issues."

Nanny Ji solemnly said, "Yes."

Then Xu Yux

Madam Lu saw this and laughed, "Xuan'er is still young. When you grow up, your aunt will have someone teach you how to ride a horse." Xu Yuxuan had already been taught, but he was still too small to learn.

Even though he understood, he couldn't help but be envious.

Xu Yuxuan nodded listlessly.

Madam Lu patted his head and said, "It's also nice to watch your mother ride."

Wen Ye had already ridden around once. Her hair was tightly bound, fluttering in the wind. Dressed in a red riding outfit with sleeves tied up, she resembled the chivalrous heroine from the opera, save for a long sword.

Xu Yuxuan watched his mother, who was dashing in the distance, and nodded silently.

Tired from riding, Wen Ye walked along the stream, allowing her horse to drink some water. Occasionally, she would see rabbits and pheasants darting by, though she didn't know how to catch them.

However, she did manage to pick quite a few wild fruits. A pocketful of mulberries, a few bunches of wild grapes, and some miscellaneous wild berries.

Wen Ye returned to the vicinity of the pavilion, dismounted her horse, and carried the wild fruits into the pavilion, placing them on the stone table. She said, "I picked all of these myself. When we get back, I'll make fruit tea for my sister-in-law."

Madam Lu handed her a silk handkerchief, saying, "Wipe your face; you're covered in sweat."

Wen Ye smiled and replied, "Sister-in-law, that's not sweat; it's water from when I washed my face by the stream."

The mulberries were hard to reach; the old mulberry tree was quite tall, and she had to use a branch to knock them down. A few of them stubbornly hit her face, splashing juice all over.

Xu Yuxuan looked at the assortment of red, purple, yellow, and green fruits on the table and asked, "Mother..." Before he could finish, Wen Ye picked a mulberry and fed it to him, saying, "Go ahead, eat it."

The mulberry might have been a bit sour. Xu Yuxuan sucked in air as he chewed, his face contorting, but he still couldn't bear to spit it out. Eventually, Nanny Ji helped him remove it with a handkerchief. Seeing this, Wen Ye reached for a green grape and fed it to him again.

Madam Lu watched the scene but didn't warn him.

Xu Yuxuan thought this grape would surely be sweet, so he didn't think twice and took a bite, only to nearly dissolve his tiny teeth with the sourness. After spitting out the grape, Xu Yuxuan looked at Wen Ye with teary eyes and cried out, "Mother!"

Wen Ye remained unfazed and asked him, "Do you want to eat more?"

Xu Yuxuan shook his head.

It wasn't good.

Only ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‍then did Wen Ye turn to the pastries on the table and picked out his favorite date cake to comfort him, "Eat this instead." Xu Yuxuan held the sweet date cake and took a big bite, trying to rid his mouth of the lingering bitterness.

After Wen Ye finished 'teasing' Xu Yuxuan, Madam Lu finally spoke, "You always play these tricks on him. Be careful he might really get angry with you one day." Despite your intentions being good for Xuan'er, you always use unconventional methods.

Wen Ye sat down beside Madam Lu and poured her a cup of tea herself, cheekily saying, "Then Sister-in-law must stand by me when that happens."

Madam Lu: ...

Since arriving at Xi Quan Mountain, Wen Ye hadn't stopped moving. Madam Lu had never seen her so energetic, riding horses, climbing mountains, picking wild fruits in the woods, and even secretly going down the river to catch fish.

By the time Madam Lu found out, the fish had already been placed on the table. What could she say?

The fish had lived in the mountain spring that flowed into the stream, making their flesh even more tender and delicious. After tasting the first bite, Madam Lu no longer mentioned Wen Ye going down the river and only instructed the servants to be more careful.

On the fifth day after the two left, the Duke's Estate was as usual, with the servants carrying out their duties as expected. Xu Yuejia went about his usual duties, while Duke Xu occasionally visited the military camp in the outskirts of the capital.

That evening, Xu Yuejia was in the front courtyard handling official business when Duke Xu paid a visit. He asked, "Has it been ten days since your eldest sister-in-law left?" Xu Yuejia calmly replied, "Including today, it's only been five days."

Duke Xu was suspicious: "Is that so? But why do I feel like it's been over ten days?" Xu Yuejia closed the book in his hand and looked up, "Brother, you're mistaken."

Duke Xu sighed, his gaze falling on the cover of the book in Xu Yuejia's hand, and he said, "Why are you reading the 'Three Character Classic' now? That's Xuan'er's book, isn't it?"

Xu Yuejia placed the book back on the bookshelf and said, "Just flipping through it to pass the time."

Duke Xu didn't pay much attention and continued, "I wonder when your eldest sister-in-law will return to the estate."

Xu Yuejia: "Another ten days."

Duke Xu sighed again, "Another ten days..."

Xu Yuejia: "If Brother is worried, you could go and take a look."

Duke Xu was tempted but still used his usual excuse, "I'm busy with official duties."

Xu Yuejia's expression remained indifferent: "Mmm."

Duke Xu tried to justify himself, "I really am busy."