The Lady’s Sickly Husband

Translator: Antonia

Since Mo Qianxue left, Ning Shaoqing had been restless.

Today was his birthday. On the same day last year, he fell from heaven to hell.

Today was also the death anniversary of his biological mother.

How should he stay in the right mood for lectures?

After the morning lectures, he assigned homework for the children to finish in the after at home, in the pretext of bitter weather.

Sending away the students, Ning Shaoqing was in fidget at home. Even reading couldn’t let him calm down, so he went to the outer layer of Tong mansion led by the shadow guard.

The shadow guard attracted Tong guards away, so Ning Shaoqing selected a tall tree and waited on it for Mo Qianxue.

It wasn’t distrust but curiosity and worry…

On such a day, all he wanted was to see her soon, take her home and give her a surprise.

He needed her!

*

It was late, time for Mo Qianxue to leave. Su Qi wanted to send her back, but Mo Qianxue refused instantly.

Awu was waiting outside. If he saw a dashing young lord see her to the door, Awu would definitely report this to Ning Shaoqing.

However, even if Mo Qianxue could refuse Su Qi, but she couldn’t say no to Tong Zijing.

She had just taught him that only when he spoke out what he wanted could he get that thing.

If he didn’t say it, no one would ever know. Then his wish would never come true.

This was the first request that Tong Zijing made to her. Certainly she shouldn’t turn him down.

Hence…

Yet, on the way, Mo Qianxue released his hand, telling him, “Now you are a big boy. You should know that men and women shouldn’t touch each other.”

She had a huge jar of vinegar waiting at home. It was best that she took preventive measures in advance.

That man hit the ceiling when she held a woman’s hand, let alone a man’s. Even though his IQ equated that of a child, he was a male after all!

Moreover, through this today’s interaction, Mo Qianxue found that Tong Zijing was actually very smart.

Although the cute version map was simplified to make it easy and funny to learn, a fool person would merely enjoy the game instead of trying to memorize the names simultaneously.

Along the way, Mo Qianxue asked him several questions during their seemingly casual chat and found that Tong Zijing had memorized every place and its location right.

It seemed that earlier his brain activities were just restricted by his psychological issues, as if his brain was covered by a cloud of mist. Once the mist was dissipated and his issues cured, he would have a promising future.

This phase was a crucial turning-point in his life.

Tong Zijing didn’t understand why a man should touch a woman, but he was clear what Mo Qianxue meant—he couldn’t hold Mo Qianxue’s hand again in the future. He turned a little grumpy, and she told him more about social courtesy.

The two talked and walked slowly. Inadvertently, Mo Qianxue spotted the two servants following behind. One was clear-eyed and steady-paced, closely catching up with them, while the other yarned from time to time, even if he had been in high spirits earlier.

Mo Qianxue frowned and told Tong Zijing, “Jing, if you need anything, just order them to do for you.”

“Sister Qianxue, what if they don’t listen to me?”

Tong Zijing had always been able to talk before. He had expressed him in broken words only because he hadn’t spoke for too long. Recently, he began to talk a lot, especially today when they played the game, he unconsciously said many things. Now his tongue was much more flexible, but his facial expression a little timid.

Mo Qianxue pulled her face, “If they don’t listen to you, you can punish or kill them.”

From Tong Zijing’s change of expression before different batches of servants, she could sense something. Currently, it was a significant stage for his condition, so she wouldn’t allow the ridiculous event of servants bullying master to happened to Tong Zijing again.

Mo Qianxue was afraid that these words might scare Tong Zijing, so she said the advice with a smile. But for witnessing in person, no one would believe that she could say such cruel things as killing with a beautiful smile.

Tong Zijing stayed numb for a while, seriously telling the two young servants behind him, “Did you hear that? If you don’t listen to me, I’ll punish or kill you.”

The two young servants shuddered and immediately kneeled down, “You’re my lord, my heaven. We don’t dare to defy you.”

Mr. Tong happened to stay alone in the forest to prayer to ancestors. Unexpectedly, he overheard it.

An old fox wrestling in the capital for years, certainly he wasn’t a fool. Quickly, he knew Mo Qianxue wasn’t doing this aimlessly. He took a glimpse at the housekeeper standing not far away from him.

The old butler had served in the mansion all his life. Without words, he understood his master’s command. He left, and the first thing he did was to capture the former servants of lord.

After the first trial, the outcome was astonishing.

The four servant couldn’t stand the torture of Tong guards and quickly confessed the fact that they had been maltreating Tong Zijing for eight years, threatening him, forbidding him from moving and even urinating and excretion.

From time to time, they had pinched him and poked him with needles.

Anyway, the retarded lord couldn’t speak.

Anyway, his courtyard was a site of grievance for master who seldom came, as well as a place beyond the reach of the butler who stayed with master all day long,

Anyway, everything looked normal as long as lord spent his days throwing bowls or tearing cloth.

Sometimes, when lord stopped doing these, they threatened him not to give him food. They did it subtly so that no one ever noticed.

In a word, their lord didn’t have a say in his own courtyard. The four servants were masters in real terms. Only the four of them were allowed to enter his room, so naturally the courtyard gradually became their territory.

Both Mr. Tong and butler Tong almost passed out from anger. They simply had never expected such an outrageous conduct of servants. Neither could they imagine Tong Zijing, a noble lord, should be maltreated by his own servants.

At the moment, Mr. Tong totally lost his temper. In sad tears, he smashed the table and shouted to the sky, “Damn dogs! Go to hell!”

Then he personally picked up a whip and lashed the four hideous servant to death. Yet, even to slice their bodies into pieces couldn’t dismiss Mr. Tong’s hatred.

Then he summoned up Tong Zijing’s two new servants and several guards to teach and warn them in advance.

*

Ning Shaoqing covertly flew onto a tree outside Tong mansion. In a white, Mo Qianxue came out, followed by a young lord.

Although he was too far away to see clearly the young lord’s face, he could sense the joyful chatting and laughing between the two people. Mo Qianxue even helped pulled the cloak for the young lord as if she cared about him so much.

Originally, he had thought that Mo Qianxue drew those pictures to cater for Mr. Tong’s weird taste. He had heard many years ago that Mr. Tong was a fan of great works. It wasn’t surprising that he might like something eccentric. Unexpectedly, the person who saw her to the door was a young lord.

So there was only one explanation that in the past few days, she had spent all her days and night drawing pictures only for that young lord?

The shadow guard didn’t that hidden illness Tong Zijing suffered, but he did, so he had prevented shadow guard from extracting more information. Ning family boasted a complete network of spies. There were only things they didn’t want to know but no things that they couldn’t know.

Awu! What did he do all day? Was he asking for punishment that he did report the situation when he saw a young lord acted so intimately with lady?

This woman! Was he petting for her too much and giving her too much space that…?

The coldness from Ning Shaoqing even daunted shadow guard who just arrived after getting away Tong guards. He looked in the direction where lord was staring and instantly understood, praying for Awu: take care of yourself!

Awu also cried to himself at the sight of Tong Zijing and lady coming out together.

Usually it was the housekeeper who sent lady to the door, but today a young lord showed up. How should he report this to lord?

*

Shortly after Mo Qianxue left, Su Qi took out the cute portrait to take one more glance and then put it back to the pocket, leaving too.

He had no reason or courage to stay any longer.

Either her smile or movement was irresistible for him.

He got himself a fully-armed camouflage, but that was only for Mo Qianxue. He couldn’t cheat himself.

He completely yielded to his feelings. To stay any longer, he was afraid that he would totally lose himself.

*

After dinner.

Butler Tong reported to Mr. Tong that after dinner lord should voluntarily picked up a writing brush and began to imitate drawing the pictures that Mrs. Ning had left for him.

Mr. Tong hit the ceiling again.

Could those big-headed animal-like pictures called art? Wasn’t his son too good to draw that kind of thing?

In a hurry, he took out all the master-pieces he had collected and told the butler, “Hurry. Go and give these to lord and let him facsimile these. By the way, throw away those trash Mrs. Ning gives him…”

However, butler Tong got down to the ground, begging, “Master, please give lord some space to breathe. Just let him do what he likes.”

Hearing this, Mr. Tong became stiffened. The next second, his hands holding the paintings dropped.

Tears full of his face!

It was he that had almost pushed his to death?

Alright. Let it go, as long as he could live like an average person.

A human heart could never get enough, as the saying went. At first, he only wished that his son could quietly sit there without tittering or destroying things.

When he got better, he then wished that his son was a master in all kinds of arts and learnings to become a talent in the mouth of other people.

He had been an ambitious brilliant man for a lifetime, but now he finally found out that the so-called brilliance wasn’t what he really needed.

But for his superficial ambition and keen on face-keeping, there couldn’t have been so much concubines in his family; but for his desire a to an admired man, Jing couldn’t have become like this.

The paintings fell onto the ground, and butler Tong rushed over to pick them up. These were master pieces that were regarded as treasure by his master.

Mr. Tong didn’t care at all and turned away. His back seemed to drooped down all of a sudden.

He seemed to become ten years older in a second.

No matter what an enviable man he had been, he had completed his life. After his deceased, Tong family would still be handed over to Tong Zijing. It would be better let him stand on his own right now than to sit idle and wait for the devastation of the family.

Only until this moment did Mr. Tong begin to ponder on the message that Mo Qianxue had let the butler pass to him.

She said that game was merely an approach to treat Tong Zijing’s mental and psychological issues. It would be better to hire a good teacher for him.

The teacher wasn’t necessarily a man of great learning but one with patience.

The teacher wasn’t necessarily a good-looking man but one with vitality.

The teacher wasn’t necessarily a man of great Confucian scholar but one with virtues.

Even if he had a teacher, he shouldn’t stay all day long in the study and be crammed with knowledge. Remember the combination of work and rest.

When Mr. Tong first heard these assertions, he completely disagreed. He had planned that when Jing returned normal, he would hire the best scholar as Jing’s teacher.

Of course the teacher must be a man of great learning, a man that was good-looking, and a famous Confucian scholar! Her opinion was only shortsighted view of a woman!

The man he intended to hire was notoriously tough but as the saying went, only a tough teacher could cultivate great students. He would try all means to let his Jing become an enviable man so that he could return to the capital with pride and elevation.

However, he didn’t think so now. He began to seriously consider the selection of his son’s teacher, which was indeed a top priority for Jing’s life path.

Perhaps, Mrs. Ning’s shortsighted view of a woman wasn’t wrong!