QT: Grace To Grass Counterattack System

After leaving the Matriarch's grand hall, Lu Jingye and Shi Meifen walked in tense silence until they arrived at their XiGuang courtyard.

XiGuang was located far away from the rest of the Lu mansion and with Shi Meifen's position being low in the household, they had a total of one female servant and one manservant, making the courtyard dead silent at all times.

The courtyard was also very run down but with Lu Wenduo's illness and Lu Jingye being hidden away, the only allowance that came into the courtyard was Shi Meifen's. How could a concubine's pitiful allowance be enough?

When they finally reached the entrance of Lu Jingye's room, the man in question turned to the side to face Shi Meifen. He couldn't see her expression clearly but the tense atmosphere did not go unnoticed. He awkwardly cleared his throat. "Don't overthink. It's just a week."

Shi Meifen's eyes reddened. "Just a week?" She sniffed and pinched his arm. "You still have the guts to say it's just a week? Bai Yun is a very calculative person and in her eyes, you suddenly appeared from nowhere -outside of her calculations. Do you think she'd just let you go?"

Lu Jingye pursed his lips. He was aware of this, of course, but that didn't necessarily mean he should be terrified. He rubbed the place in his arms where he was pinched. He wasn't very used to coaxing others so he simply repeated, "Don't overthink. I'll be fine."

Shi Meifen clenched her fists. Wasn't he just saying this nonsense to sound tough? He was partially blind and had been taken care of by her for so long. How would he be fine? Her eyes roamed over his features and she sighed in defeat. 

"Bai Yun would definitely have some guards watch over you during the week so make sure not to eat anything they give you alright?"

Lu Jingye hummed obediently.

"Just eat some more before going and hide away some stuffed buns. I'll look for a way to sneak some food over to you later, alright?"

Lu Jingye hummed again.

Seeing that he was so obedient, Shi Meifen's heart settled a bit until she thought of the reason Lu Jingye had been called over to the hall in the first place. Originally, she'd thought the Prime minister was overreacting but when she remembered General He's expression as he stared at her son a while ago, it was hard to feel settled.

For the past years, she'd diligently obeyed the Prime minister's words and kept Lu Jingye within the confines of XiGuang but General He's expression of looking at a dear friend was just too genuine!

Shi Meifen narrowed her eyes on Lu Jingye. This son of hers looked quiet and well behaved but it was hard to hide one's true nature. She placed both hands on her hips. "You left the mansion?!"

Lu Jingye schooled his expression to remain the same but inwardly, he was surprised. How did his mother find out all of a sudden? Nevermind, if he didn't admit to it then it wasn't true so he shook his head. "No."

Shi Meifen glared. "Don't lie to me!" She leaned over menacingly. "That General He... you're familiar with him aren't you? He's a General and other than today, he'd never interacted with the Lu household except maybe the Prime minister in court so what business do you have with him?"

Lu Jingye pinched his forehead in exasperation. What was with everyone today? He'd never met General He and had no idea what the even man looked like. In fact, their first meeting had been a while ago and although he'd felt a little strange, he was very sure he had no idea who the man was!

He sighed. "I'm really not familiar with him..."

Shi Meifen paused. "Really?"

"En."

Shi Meifen's hands slowly fell from her waist. Jingye didn't look to be lying when he said he was unfamiliar with the General so... this was the truth? She thought back to General He's expression. Had she seen wrong?

Lu Jingye took in her silence and said, "My head aches so I'll go rest now." And then he quickly slipped into his room.

Shi Meifen lifted her hand to stop him but it was too late. She lowered her hand. She still wanted to ask him if he'd left the mansion....

With a sigh, she walked away.

Lu Jingye waited for several minutes before walking out of his room once more. XiGuang courtyard had three different sections and his room was located in the same yard as Lu Wenduo's room, just opposite.

He was sure his mother would've gone to check on his elder brother after leaving so he waited until he was sure she'd left before making his way across the yard to Lu Wenduo's room.

Sunlight spilled through the open window and shone down on the sick figure on the bed. Lu Jingye couldn't see his surroundings clearly but saw outlines of everything and knew where to step out of habit.

When he arrived at the bed, he frowned down at Lu Wenduo. His mother had told him Wenduo suddenly went into coma on the very same day he was born. It was one of the things that solidified the Matriarch's and Prime minister Lu's belief that he was bad luck.

They'd thought Wenduo was going to die after a few days but then he suddenly woke up three days later. He'd been told his mother had been very excited but unfortunately, Lu Wenduo fell into another coma three days later.

From then on, he woke up and slept at intervals of three days. A balance had been formed but as they grew older, Lu Wenduo retained consciousness for a lesser amount of time and now, it was considered a blessing if he managed to stay awake for more than three hours after six days of unconsciousness.

He was dying and they all knew it but liked to pretend it wasn't happening.

Lu Jingye pursed his lips and stretched out a finger to Lu Wenduo's forehead. He felt a strange tingling sensation in his chest a second later and slowly withdrew his hand.

He wasn't new to this feeling. Truthfully, whenever he was around Lu Wenduo, he felt an uncomfortable stirring in his chest. When he was much younger, he'd thought that was normal but after asking Shi Meifen and their servants if they felt same, he realized he was the only one who did.

That had led him to think it was because he didn't like Lu Wenduo but that didn't make sense. The few chances he had to interact with Lu Wenduo, he found that this elder brother of his had a very likable personality so what was that annoying stir in his chest?

In fact, as he grew older, a lot of things began to confuse him. Starting from the detached feelings he felt for the people around him with each passing year. Shi Meifen was his mother and Lu Wenduo his brother. He knew this but why did he still feel off around them?

Whenever he thought of them from a different perspective, he liked being around them but whenever he thought about them as relatives, he felt odd and uncomfortable. This feeling both annoyed and confused him but he didn't dare talk to anyone about it.

Lu Jingye suddenly lowered his head and chuckled. Who could he talk to anyways? His mother would most probably panic and think that her second son was going crazy and as for the servants, although they were loyal to his mother, they still avoided him because he 'looked odd.'

His head turned to the blurry outline of the basin on the bedside table and he walked closer to peer in.

It was full of water but he couldn't see his reflection clearly so he had no idea what he, himself, looked like. He'd asked his mother once and she told him he looked good. Not unique... not different. Just good.

But that was probably a lie. Why would people be weird around him if he looked normal?

He was still lost in thought when a voice suddenly came from behind,

"Tired of hiding?"

Shi Meifen watched as her second slowly cocked his head to the side and she walked over until she was standing next to him and looking down at her first with a sombre expression. "Jingye?"

"Hm?"

"Don't do that next time okay? A slap isn't something I cannot handle. I've been a servant all my life so it's nothing new." Her eyes reddened. "You have to go through this now... It's just not worth it for me. I'd take some beating over it any day."

Lu Jingye remained silent and Shi Meifen knew he wasn't taking her words to heart. She sighed inwardly and decided to stop that topic there for now. She side eyed him. "I know you left the mansion."

Just now, she'd gone to have a talk with the manservant and the young boy had confessed what he'd done the day before. Although she felt quite sad that Lu Jingye had gone so far because he thought she wouldn't support him, she couldn't bring herself to blame him.

"I can accept it if you have your own secrets you don't want to share but never keep crucial things from me on the basis of 'you don't want me to worry.' That would only make me worry more."

Lu Jingye tilted his head from one side to the other side. That manservant was very unreliable wasn't he? Tsk. Anyways, he understood Shi Meifen's concerns so he straightened his head and gave a nod.

Shi Meifen smiled softly. "Ni Huo has prepared some dishes for you to eat." She extended a hand to caress Lu Wenduo's head before tilting her head in his direction. "Let's go."