Chapter 59 - 58: With Mother, All Is Well (Second Update)

Chapter 59: Chapter 58: With Mother, All Is Well (Second Update)

This "Mom" made Xu Jing pause for a moment in silence. She finally sighed, squatted down to pick up the little kid, and, seeing his lips involuntarily lift into a smile, said amusingly, "Little crybaby, are you satisfied now?"

Xiao Huai’an immediately got a bit anxious and said, "I’m not a little crybaby; I usually don’t cry, Dad knows that!"

Saying this, he quickly turned his head to look eagerly at Xiao Yi.

Looking at the mother and son in front of him, Xiao Yi suddenly felt a surge of inexplicable emotions. After a while, he responded in a low voice, "Mm-hmm."

Only then did Xiao Huai’an’s lips curl up again. He looked at Xu Jing with an expression that said, "See, I’m not lying, am I?"

Xu Jing: "..."

For a moment, she didn’t know how to deal with the two of them, big and small, so she lightly cleared her throat and said, "Alright, you’re not a crybaby. It’s getting late, we should hurry back."

Just as she was about to take a step forward, Xiao Yi suddenly raised his hand to stop her, "I came in a carriage; you can take mine to go back."

Xu Jing had actually long noticed the carriage parked at the entrance of the alley. There were two people sitting in the driver’s seat, one of whom was Dongli. That kid was currently glaring at her with an expression as if he had been constipated for ten days. So, when Xiao Yi suggested it, she wasn’t surprised, but she did feel a bit awkward. "Uh, where are Chen Hu and Mr. Wu?"

They had been secretly protecting her these past few days.

Did they see everything that just happened??

Seeming to know what Xu Jing was thinking, Xiao Yi glanced at her and said, "I just sent them away, they’ll return to your house later."

Knowing they hadn’t seen the previous scene, Xu Jing quietly breathed a sigh of relief, and her words came more easily, "Alright, then I’ll trouble Vice Minister Xiao."

The journey from Xinglin Hall to her home was still a bit of a distance. Normally, she would take it as a chance to exercise, but with a small child in her arms, Xu Jing feared her arms would give out before she got home.

At this moment, there’s no need to be pretentious.

Seeing Xu Jing didn’t refuse, Xiao Yi inexplicably felt relieved and said, "Let’s go."

He then took the lead and walked forward.

Xu Jing, carrying Xiao Huai’an, followed behind him, trying hard to ignore the gazes drifting over from the direction of the carriage.

She had long been used to Dongli’s attitude towards her and was too lazy to care about it.

What she wasn’t used to was another gaze.

The owner of that gaze was sitting next to Dongli, seemingly about the same age as Dongli, but had a much kinder face.

At this moment, he was looking at her and Xiao Huai’an in her arms with shining eyes, as if he had seen something incredibly touching. Tears were continuously welling up in his eyes, and he even pulled out a white, reflective handkerchief from who knows where and blew his nose vigorously.

His expression made Xu Jing extremely uncomfortable, as if he was like a bride who’s finally become the mother-in-law.

Why are there so many odd people around Xiao Yi?

She would prefer if everyone around him were as straightforward and simple to deal with as Dongli.

She forced herself to remain calm and boarded the carriage. Fortunately, it was spacious, and she sat near the window with Xiao Huai’an in her arms. Xiao Yi sat diagonally across from them.

Xiao Huai’an wore an expression of "everything is fine with Mom here," hugging his mother’s neck tightly and leaning against her silently.

Seeing they were seated securely, Xiao Yi said deeply, "Let’s go."

The carriage began to slowly move forward.

Xu Jing had no desire to talk to the man across from her and didn’t know what to say, so she kept her eyes fixed on the view outside the window.

As the carriage drove onto the main road, she suddenly saw two groups of people standing opposite Xinglin Hall.

Xinglin Hall’s free clinic for the day had ended. Even though some patients were reluctant to leave, there were far fewer people than during the day, making the two groups particularly conspicuous.

Not to mention, it was clear at a glance that those two groups were not there seeking medical attention.

In the first group they passed, there were three people. Standing in the middle was a man in his forties or fifties, with a square face and thick eyebrows, a sturdy build, wearing a headdress, and dressed in a dark, round-collared robe. His black eyes carried a hint of malice as he looked at her.

He obviously knew who she was and harbored hostility towards her.

Unconsciously, Xu Jing sat up straight, her gaze becoming cool.

The next group they passed consisted of four people. The other three were young or middle-aged men surrounding an elder with graying hair and mustache. Though the elder was thin, with a long beard reaching his chest, and looked aged, his eyes were remarkably bright, his back straight as he stared steadily at her.

Xu Jing raised her eyebrows slightly.

She more or less guessed these people’s identities; they were likely the individuals Cheng Xianbai mentioned yesterday, who had come to inspect Xinglin Hall from other major medical centers.

The man who caused trouble amidst the crowd today must have been someone’s handiwork among them.

The first man I saw should be the current head of Guangming Hall—Lin Chengzhao.

Lin Chengzhao is probably in his forties or fifties, and according to what Cheng Xianbai said earlier, the former head of Tianyi Hall passed away unexpectedly a few years ago. Now, his eldest son manages Tianyi Hall and is only in his early thirties, so the man just now couldn’t be the head of Tianyi Hall.

The other elder should be Doctor Zheng from Huashou Hall, who was once an Imperial Physician in the capital.

It seems their free clinic was indeed very successful, not only making Xinglin Hall renowned in Anping County but also successfully attracting the attention of these prominent figures.

Seeing Xu Jing retract her gaze from the window, lost in thought, Xiao Yi looked at her and asked, "What’s wrong?"

Xu Jing was slightly stunned and said calmly, "Nothing."

She clearly didn’t want to talk much with him.

The only thing this woman seemed willing to talk with him about was the case.

Xiao Yi’s heart sank quietly, just like it did earlier in front of Xinglin Hall.

He frowned slightly and shifted his gaze nonchalantly.

Surely it was because he previously had too little interaction with women, so he couldn’t quite understand what they were thinking.

He always disliked this feeling of things being out of his control, and the unease in his heart was probably due to this reason.

Once he returns to the Western Capital, everything will return to normal.

The carriage smoothly reached Xu Jing’s home in silence.

Xu Jing didn’t expect Chunyang to return earlier than her. Upon seeing Xiao Huai’an in Xu Jing’s arms, she covered her mouth in shock, her knees went weak, and she collapsed to the ground.

Immediately, she scrambled to her feet, rushed forward, and cried out, "Little Lord!"

Xu Jing: "..."

She couldn’t help but feel that things were increasingly veering off track.

The whole night, except for her and Xiao Yi, who were unusually silent, Dongli was visibly conflicted, while everyone else seemed overjoyed.

Chunyang and Chunxiang completely took over the care of Xiao Huai’an, so the meal Xu Jing originally promised to make for Xiao Huai’an was not prepared. She could only silently eat her own food.

After all, he was a child. Experiencing ups and downs all day, Xiao Huai’an fell asleep without finishing his meal.

Seeing the little one still holding a spoon, with his little head nodding off and his eyes tightly closed, Chunyang said dotingly, "Ah, Little Lord must be exhausted. Miss, we will take the Little Lord to rest."

Xu Jing, unusually slow to react, looked at the little one sleeping soundly beside her and couldn’t help but smile slightly, nodding, "Alright."

Chunyang immediately and carefully picked up Xiao Huai’an, hesitatingly glanced at her lady and Vice Minister Xiao before leaving.

She couldn’t make heads or tails of what was going on between her lady and Vice Minister Xiao.

She and Chunxiang naturally hoped that their lady could reconcile with Vice Minister Xiao, but the lady didn’t seem to have that intention now, and she had become very assertive and independent. Matters concerning her lady were not something she and Chunxiang could meddle in.

With this in mind, she said nothing and left with Chunxiang, taking Xiao Huai’an downstairs.

At the dinner table, only Xu Jing and Xiao Yi remained, along with Xiao Yi’s two attendants, each harboring their own thoughts.

Having been silent the whole night, Xu Jing felt a bit awkward. She thought that as the host, she couldn’t ignore her guest, so she cleared her throat and initiated the conversation, "Vice Minister Xiao mentioned there were some matters related to the case you wanted to discuss with me. May I know what those are?"

Upon hearing this, Xianyun, who had been excited all night, immediately looked at her in astonishment.

Madam... No, since when did their former madam get involved with the case Lord is working on?

Next to them, Dongli, who knew the truth, wore a complicated expression, still processing his conflicting emotions.

Xiao Yi couldn’t help but give her a deep look.

After everything that happened, this woman could still treat him so calmly. Was her heart too big, or was she doing it on purpose?

However, even if she was doing it on purpose, it was understandable. She said from the beginning that she had her own new life now.

Judging from the way she treated him afterward, she indeed wasn’t lying.

She had let go of the past and completely turned into someone... he seemed never to have known before.