The Laid-back Life of a Stepmother

Duke Xu reiterated his point, but after a long while, no one responded.

He turned to look at the person leaning over the desk with a pen in hand, and after some time, he found a way to save face for himself, saying, "I've been quite busy recently, and I'll discuss this with you once I'm less occupied."

"Feel free, Brother."

Seeing that he remained unruffled, Duke Xu hesitated before asking, "If I have time after I'm done with my work, do you have any plans?"

At this, Xu Yuejia set down his inkbrush, met his gaze, and replied seriously, "Brother, I'm truly busy."

Duke Xu: "...'

Am I not really busy too?

Duke Xu coughed lightly, pretending to clear his throat. "Since you still have official duties, I won't disturb you further," he said. He needed to think carefully about when to visit, so as not to be turned away immediately.

★

Wen Ye had completely fallen in love with this place. Sometimes, she wondered why the Duke's residence wasn't built on Xiquan Mountain.

Experiencing the joy of love for the first time, yet unable to be with the one she loved, was truly regrettable.

On the seventh day of their stay at Xiquan Mountain, Wen Ye asked Steward Wu for a reclining chair. The outer courtyard of their residence was quite spacious, and there was a small stream that flowed down and passed by the corner of the courtyard.

Wen Ye had the chair placed by the stream, with a sunshade canopy erected above it, so she could lie there for the entire afternoon.

To avoid Madam Lu scolding her, Wen Ye also set up a similar chair for her right next to hers, with a round tea table placed between the two chairs, where she served the fruit tea she had been making daily. At first, Madam Lu was not used to it, but later, without Wen Ye even needing to mention it, she would come over after her afternoon nap to sit, drink tea, enjoy some pastries, and feel the refreshing summer breeze while admiring the mountain scenery.

Wen Ye also asked Steward Wu's eldest daughter-in-law to prepare a pot of braised duck, using a spice mix she had brought with her beforehand. The dish was entirely five-spice flavored and not spicy at all. The ducks were from Steward Wu's own farm on the estate, so Wen Ye used them as fresh ingredients. After braising, it was best to let them soak for about an hour to fully absorb the flavors.

The aroma wafted for miles, and Madam Lu was coaxed over by her younger son.

When the time was right, Wen Ye picked out a duck leg, had Madam Lu's maid Bai Mei remove the meat, and then personally served it to Madam Lu, saying, "Sister-in-law, you try first."

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Madam Lu took a small bite and nodded. "Not bad."

Wen Ye's eyes lit up instantly, and Xu Jinglin and Xu Yuxuan, who had been waiting eagerly, looked just as excited.

Madam Lu's typically stern expression softened as she smiled at their reactions. "Go ahead and eat if you want. Since it's been made, don't waste it."

Wen Ye happily replied, "Of course, we won't waste it."

Although the pot looked plentiful, after setting aside a few plates for Steward Wu's eldest daughter-in-law to take home and sharing the rest among themselves, there wasn't much left.

There weren't many duck legs, so Wen Ye picked out a few other items and had them served on plates to the round table by the stream.

Among the braised duck dishes, Wen Ye enjoyed nibbling on duck necks, duck wings, and duck feet the most. This time, she gave the drumsticks to Xu Yuxuan. Sitting in her recliner, Wen Ye munched on a duck neck while sipping her fruit tea. At that moment, she felt she could stay here forever without ever getting bored.

After finishing one braised chicken leg, Madam Lu didn't eat any more, but she didn't say anything to Wen Ye either. Wen Ye noticed that, although Madam Lu spoke of maintaining decorum, she didn't comment on Wen Ye eating with her hands directly.

Later, she thought about it and realized that perhaps, since they were at the manor and not in the presence of outsiders, loosening up a bit didn't pose a big deal to Madam Lu.

Madam Lu wasn't someone who strictly insisted on rules all the time. Otherwise, she wouldn't have raised sons like Xu Jinglin and Xu Yuxuan. She held herself to high standards but never imposed them on others.

Knowing Madam Lu a bit better after this trip, Wen Ye felt more secure as she continued nibbling on her duck neck.

After finishing a braised duck leg, Wen Ye gave Xu Yuxuan a braised duck foot to chew on slowly. His little belly, which jiggled when he ran, couldn't handle any more food.

Wen Ye used the leftover braising broth to cook some lotus root slices and vegetables, creating a vegetarian version to serve as an extra dish for dinner.

The two travel journals she had brought along were now in Madam Lu's hands. Wen Ye glanced over and saw that Madam Lu was almost done reading them, while she herself didn't even know what was inside.

Wen Ye moved on from duck necks to duck feet.

When Madam Lu felt tired from reading, she would lie down for a while or nibble on some pastries and drink a cup of tea. The two forms of relaxation blended harmoniously.

Xu ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‍Yuxuan was taken by Xu Jinglin to see the baby ducks raised by Steward Wu's youngest daughter-in-law. The ducklings were not far away, just on the other side of the stream, separated from them by a wall.

Baby ducks love swimming in water, especially during the summer. Lady Zhang, Steward Wu's youngest daughter-in-law, herded them to the stream's edge. The little yellow, fluffy ducklings were plump and lively, swimming back and forth and occasionally quacking.

Xu Yuxuan sat on a small stool, staring at them for a while, then suddenly, for no reason, he quacked like them: "Quack!"

A few of the ducklings heard him and turned their heads to look.

Lady Zhang panicked, nervously glancing at Nanny Ji, unsure of what to say.

Nanny Ji, too, had never encountered such a situation before. As she was pondering how to handle it, she heard Xu Jinglin say to Xu Yuxuan, "Xuan, how could you quack like a duck?"

Xu Yuxuan pointed at the ducklings in the stream and said, "They quack too."

Xu Jinglin explained firmly, "But we are humans, we speak words, and they are ducks, so they quack." Young children have their own unique logic.

Xu Yuxuan didn't understand. "But Brother, you also quacked."

Xu Jinglin: "………"

At this point, Nanny Ji stepped forward and said, "Young Master, humans and ducks are different. Imagine if Master Xu also communicated with you using duck sounds during your word games?"

This was a method she had learned from Madam Lu.

Since the young master was still very young, some things couldn't be explained from an adult's perspective. Xu Yuxuan imagined the scenario and shook his head. "Then Xuan wouldn't understand!"

Nanny Ji smiled and asked, "That's right, so does Young Master still want to quack like a duck?" Xu Yuxuan nodded, looking serious. "Yes!"

Nanny Ji: "???"

Xu Yuxuan was exhilarated, eager to try. "If I learn it, and the teacher doesn't understand, then I win!"

Wen Ye finished her duck-nibbling session and picked up a large cup of fruit tea to drink slowly. Suddenly, she heard a sharp, bright quack of a duck. She turned her head and saw a flock of ducklings swimming along the stream into the courtyard.

Xu Yuxuan followed them all the way back. Once inside the courtyard, he went straight to the stream's edge, and the ducklings, surprisingly, weren't afraid of him. One by one, they climbed out of the water and followed him.

Wen Ye was puzzled until she heard Xu Yuxuan quack a few times without warning. The ducklings quacked in response and followed him even more closely.

Wen Ye: "……"

Did they think Xu Yuxuan was their mother? Madam Lu, who had also noticed the scene, stood up and looked over, only to see the flock of ducklings following Xu Yuxuan, leaving her momentarily speechless.

The ducklings wobbled slowly, so Xu Yuxuan took two steps and then paused to wait for them, occasionally looking back to check if any were lagging behind.

Xu Jinglin returned to Madam Lu's side first, somewhat crestfallen, and said, "Mother, I couldn't stop Xuan from quacking like a duck."

Madam Lu paused for a moment before saying, "It's not your fault. Your brother is still young. When he grows up, he'll understand."

Wen Ye, having enjoyed the children's antics, turned her gaze back and said, "Yes, Xuan is still young. Kids are like this."

What intrigued her at the moment was how the mother duck would feel when she discovered her ducklings had been led astray.

However, instead of the mother duck appearing, a fierce goose arrived.

Swimming in from the other side of the stream, it rushed onto the shore with lightning speed, straight toward Xu Yuxuan, and bit down hard on his little leg.

The ducklings flapped their tiny wings in panic, scattering in all directions, while Xu Yuxuan's cries echoed loudly.

Wen Ye, witnessing this scene, reacted instantly. Before anyone else could act, she leapt from her recliner, sprinted over, and manually pried open the goose's beak. At this moment, Nanny Ji and the others, who had been stunned, finally moved, hurrying over to chase the goose away.

Meanwhile, Nanny Ji sent Ren Dong back to fetch medicine.

Hexiang and others went to shoo the goose away, but it refused to leave, having bitten someone, it now headed toward the fleeing ducklings. Madam Lu, disregarding her usual poise, ran over, heartbroken, asking, "Where are you hurt?"

Xu Jinglin crouched down to check his leg and worriedly asked, "Xuan, does it hurt?"

Wen Ye peeled off Xu Yuxuan's trousers, revealing his tender little legs with a noticeable wound on them that had broken the skin and was slightly bleeding. Xu Yuxuan nestled in Wen Ye's arms, his eyes red from crying, as he whined, "Mother, it hurts~"

"Here's the ointment." Ren Dong came running back, panting heavily, holding the wound ointment.

Wen Ye carried Xu Yuxuan back inside, while Tao Zhi brought over some warm water to clean the wound before applying the ointment.

Xu Yuxuan cried so hard that he started hiccuping, and his eyes were swollen.

Madam Lu couldn't help but worry, "Maybe we should go back to the city and have a doctor prescribe a better ointment."

Wounds this serious couldn't just be treated with any random medication.

Wen Ye didn't object to returning to the city, as they had been away for over ten days already.

Currently, the most pressing concern was the injury on Xu Yuxuan's leg.

She also pondered deeper thoughts—did geese carry rabies?

After Madam Lu made the decision, she had the servants start packing up to leave immediately.

During this time, Steward Wu and his wife, along with their younger son and daughter-in-law, came to apologize. Only then did Wen Ye and Madam Lu learn the full story.

It turned out that Lady Zhang, seeing the ducklings following Xu Yuxuan into the courtyard, had no immediate tasks to attend to. So, she went back to drive out the dozen or so goslings.

Who could have expected that the mother goose was a fierce one? Seeing Lady Zhang lead her goslings away, she flew over the fence, mistakenly taking the ducklings for her own.

That's how she ended up biting Xu Yuxuan.

Now that the incident had occurred, Madam Lu didn't want to blame anyone, as Lady Zhang wasn't entirely at fault. She simply reminded Lady Zhang to be more careful in the future before sending Steward Wu and his family away.

On their way back to the city, Xu Yuxuan remained nestled in Wen Ye's arms, hiccuping occasionally. Wen Ye held him the entire time, mainly because Xu Yuxuan would only let her hold him now.

She patted the child's back and said, "It's okay, the goose has been caught and locked up." Xu Yuxuan sobbed, "Goose, bad!" Wen Ye nodded, "Yes, it's bad, very bad."

Xu Yuxuan choked out, "Keep it locked, don't let it go~"

Wen Ye agreed, "We won't let it go, we'll keep it locked up forever."

Before long, Xu Yuxuan fell asleep in Wen Ye's arms, and Madam Lu watched the scene, her eyes suddenly welling up with tears. She pressed her fingers against her eyelids to suppress the emotion and turned her head to look out of the window.

Despite rushing, they finally entered the city gates just before sunset.@@novelbin@@

But then, the carriage suddenly came to a stop.

Madam Lu asked from behind the curtain, "Why did we stop?" The coachman answered, "Madam Lu, it's Duke Xu and Master Xu." Hearing this, Madam Lu lifted the curtain and looked ahead to see that it was indeed them.

The brothers had ridden over on horseback.

Duke Xu dismounted first and strode over to ask, "Madam, why didn't you stay a few more days?"

Madam Lu glanced at Xu Yuejia, who was following a bit more slowly behind Duke Xu, before returning her gaze to him, "Xuaner got bitten on the leg by a goose at the country estate. There aren't any skilled doctors nearby in the countryside, so Sister-in-law and I didn't feel at ease."

Her mind consumed by concerns about Xu Yuxuan's injury, Madam Lu forgot to ask where the brothers were heading. Duke Xu, upon hearing this, immediately became concerned and asked, "Is the wound serious?" Madam Lu replied, "Xuaner cried from the pain; what do you think?"

Afterward, she had Duke Xu help her down from the carriage and instructed Xu Yuejia, "Ye'er has been holding Xuaner all this way; Yuejia, you go and take a look."

She then headed to the carriage carrying Xu Yuxuan.

Xu Yuejia's brow slightly furrowed as he acknowledged, "Mmm," and then boarded the carriage. Inside, Wen Ye had been holding Xu Yuxuan for so long that her arms were stiff.

Fortunately, as soon as Xu Yuejia entered, he said to her, "Let me take him." Wen Ye handed over the half-asleep child to him without hesitation and added, "It was his first time being bitten; he cried the whole way."

Perhaps sensing that someone else was holding him, Xu Yuxuan's little mouth puckered slightly. His half-opened eyes glimpsed Xu Yuejia's face and he mumbled sleepily, "Father?"

Xu Yuejia responded gently, "Yes, it's me."

Hearing the familiar voice, Xu Yuxuan closed his eyes again and drifted off to sleep. Deep down in Xu Yuxuan's subconscious, his father was someone special to him, just like his mother.