Chapter 120 - 119: Your Lord Is a Good Father (First Update)

Chapter 120: Chapter 119: Your Lord Is a Good Father (First Update)

Xu Jing was slightly taken aback, but she calmly observed the people in front of her and smiled faintly, saying, "You don’t have to be so formal. You usually serve the young lord, so just take good care of him these days, there’s no need to worry too much about me."

Upon hearing this, Shen seemed a bit startled, but quickly masked her expression and said cheerfully, "Miss Xu, these words put us in a difficult position. After all, Miss Xu is the young lord’s own mother. Moreover, when the lord sent us over, he did say to serve both the young lord and Miss Xu well; how could we possibly neglect Miss Xu?"

On the way here, Xianyun had already spoken to them about the situation concerning the former lady. It was now evident that this former lady indeed resented any further connection with the lord.

She had come to the young lord’s side only after he had gone to stay with the lord.

It’s quite amusing to think about it—the lord had initially engaged her under the guise of a wet nurse. A man doesn’t understand how to raise a child, believing wholeheartedly that a child over two years old would still need breastfeeding. At that time, the young lord had just arrived at the lord’s side, scared and unsettled, unwilling to say anything. So, after she cautiously inquired once she reached the young lord’s side, she discovered he had long since been weaned.

It was said that the young lord had previously had a wet nurse, but she offended the former lady and was driven away when the young lord was not even a year old, leading to his abrupt weaning.

The lord’s residence was originally entirely male, and upon discovering that the young lord was already weaned, they did not dismiss her, instead allowing her to serve the young lord as a wet nurse.

Thus, this was the first time she had seen the young lord’s biological mother, about whom she had only occasionally heard through Dongli and Xianyun before.

Though the young lord was somewhat introverted and sensitive, he was still easy to take care of, and indeed, this child was particularly endearing. Shen had long regarded him as her own child, feeling some resentment toward the former lady, who was said to have mistreated the young lord.

Upon hearing from Xianyun that they were going to serve the former lady, she was both shocked and displeased. Xianyun immediately said seriously that the current lady was not what she used to be, and the lord’s attitude towards her had changed incomparably, with even the few maidservants in the household being bought after the lord returned from Anping County. Though the lord hadn’t stated the purpose of this action, she and Dongli, who had seen everything along the way, understood that the lord was preparing these maidservants for the lady! Moreover, even the young lord was now quite attached to the lady. If she were to hold onto her previous assumptions while serving the lady and inadvertently offended her, even as someone close to the young lord, the lord would hardly be lenient.

Shen was both stunned and perplexed, but Xianyun and Dongli had been by the lord’s side since childhood and understood his preferences better than she did.

Besides, thinking carefully, the only few maidservants in the house were indeed bought by the lord upon returning from Anping County. Previously, regardless of what others said, there hadn’t been a single young maidservant at the lord’s residence. If not for the fact that the lord had once married and had a child, all sorts of unpleasant rumors might have already spread everywhere.

Thus, before coming here, Shen had already adjusted her own mentality and even strictly warned the two maidservants, but the lady’s appearance, especially the scene of the lady interacting with the young lord, still surprised her.

It seems that what Xianyun said was true; this former lady could become their current lady at any time, so she dared not slacken at all.

Shen’s words left Xu Jing a bit helpless; she didn’t want to put them in a difficult position, so she sighed lightly and said, "Alright, just do as you see fit. The most important thing is to take good care of the young lord."

Shen quickly responded with the two maidservants in agreement. Seeing Xu Jing had halfway packed her clothes, she immediately directed Qiushui to take over, mentioning they needed to buy things for the next two days and asking Xu Jing if there was anything she needed. After Xu Jing said there was nothing, she left with Chuju after curtseying.

It’s undeniable that having someone to help was quite convenient. With Qiushui deftly packing Xu Jing’s things, she headed to the kitchen to prepare afternoon tea for them.

Xu Jing and her party arrived in the Western Capital shortly past noon. In a rush along the way, they hadn’t stopped to eat, merely having some pastries and dry food. Without another meal in the afternoon, they’d surely be starving by evening.

Thus, Xu Jing initially planned to tidy up before heading to the kitchen to make some noodles to eat.

Now suddenly finding herself at leisure, Xu Jing blinked and decided to focus on spending time with Chang Xiao, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.

Chang Xiao, naturally delighted, clung to Xu Jing, endlessly recounting the minutiae of what he’d done since returning to the Western Capital. He even asked Xianyun to fetch his calligraphy practice sheets, showing them to Xu Jing with pride, boasting that his tutor praised his handwriting!

Having no experience in raising children, Xu Jing wasn’t familiar with how a child of four or almost five should write. Though the writing on the sheets was a bit crooked, each stroke showed a certain flair, and they were written with neatness and strength. Xu Jing admitted, somewhat embarrassed, that in a few years, the child’s handwriting would likely surpass hers.

Suddenly, she noticed two distinct handwriting styles in the annotations on Chang Xiao’s calligraphy sheets. One used red ink, written in an elegantly flowing slender-gold script, while the other, in black ink, was robust and free-spirited, evidently grander than the first.

Unlike the detailed and patient annotations of the first style, the latter simply circled Chang Xiao’s errors, offering brief comments like "Press harder here" or "The stroke lacks stability." If a character had too many issues, it would be rewritten for demonstration.

Beside the demonstration often appeared a wobbly attempt to mimic the style, unmistakably by Chang Xiao.

Xu Jing immediately guessed the author of the handwriting, and in the next moment, heard Xianyun beside her say, "The lord places great importance on the young lord’s education; ever since the young lord began his lessons, the lord always makes time to review them again."

Xu Jing glanced at him, smiling faintly, "Is that so? Your lord is a good father."

For the child to stay with Xiao Yi in the first place truly was fortunate.

Xianyun, however, seemed anxious: no matter how good a father the lord was, he couldn’t replace the child’s own mother! He couldn’t even imagine how lively and cheerful the young lord would be if Miss Xu reconciled with the lord!

Yet, observing both parties, the lord appeared unhurried, without any sense of urgency, and Miss Xu seemed utterly unconcerned, leaving him, the pitiful little servant, in a panic.

Xu Jing thus spent the afternoon with Xiao Huai’an, finding it rare to have such a leisurely moment.

As the sun was about to set, Shen and Chuju returned with their purchases. Shen entered the room and curtseyed to Xu Jing, saying, "Miss Xu, we are preparing dinner. We noticed that the two gentlemen went out in the afternoon; should we also make their food?"

Cheng Xianbai and Chen Hu were probably scouting at the Song residence. Xu Jing nodded and said, "Please prepare it together..."

As she spoke, she mulled over that sharing the same roof might as well mean cooking at the same time. Before leaving, she could simply give them some silver as payment for their service in these days.

Before she finished speaking, there was suddenly a clamor of hurried footsteps outside, followed by Cheng Xianbai’s urgent and flustered voice, "Miss Xu, something terrible has happened! Something terrible!"