ALL NOVEL Chapter 4
Li Tianyan’s eyes fell on the sliding screen, and a look of helplessness flashed across his face. Just now, when he saw Cheng Qi not responding for a long time, he asked if he needed help. However, the little shuanger’s frightened eyes clearly regarded him as a scoundrel.
Despite being a youngling, the two of them seemed surprisingly enlightened.
It wasn’t clear whether Cheng Qi lingered behind the screen because of the injury preventing fast changing or if he intentionally avoided Li Tianyan. He didn’t emerge until Xiao Liu returned.
Li Tianyan, having just finished lunch, wasn’t hungry anymore. He placed the porridge and side dishes Xiao Liu brought back on the table and instructed, “From now on, you’ll be responsible for taking care of the young madam. Remember to help him tidy up his hair.”
Li Tianyan could tolerate anything, except Cheng Qi’s unkempt hair.
Cheng Qi, about to pick up chopsticks, nervously looked at Li Tianyan upon hearing about washing his hair. He remembered the anger on the wedding night. Thinking of this, Cheng Qi’s hand unconsciously covered his left eye. Would everything revert to how it was if Li Tianyan saw his face again?
“Yes, young master, let me boil some hot water first,” Xiao Liu, oblivious to Cheng Qi’s thoughts, quickly went out to prepare for washing upon hearing Li Tianyan’s instructions.
“Why aren’t you eating? Does it not taste good? After not eating for a while, heavy food might not be suitable,” Li Tianyan asked, noticing Cheng Qi hadn’t touched his chopsticks for a long time.
“No, the food is good,” Cheng Qi responded, startled by Li Tianyan’s voice, and quickly picked up the spoon to drink the porridge. A slight movement caused the sleeve on his hand to slip, revealing an arm full of scars.
Li Tianyan had noticed the wounds on Cheng Qi’s body earlier. Considering Cheng Qi’s status as the shuanger of the Cheng family, he wondered, “What caused the old wounds on your body?”
Cheng Qi paused, looking down at the porridge, and softly replied, “My mother beat me.”
“Why?” Li Tianyan was further puzzled, wondering how a mother could be so cruel to her own child.
Cheng Qi only shook his head, and as he mentioned his mother, her voice seemed to echo in his ears.
“Get out of here, get away from me, you unlucky demon. You are the one who killed my son.”
“The child I gave birth to was obviously a son. How could it be you, an ugly ghost, and give my son back! Give him back to me!”
“You are the demon crawling out of the underworld. I will kill you today to avenge my son.”
.
“Don’t dwell on it, just eat.” Seeing that Cheng Qi didn’t want to talk about it, Li Tianyan decided not to press. Just then, Li Wu, who had finished reporting news to madam Li’s courtyard, happened to return.
As soon as Li Wu entered the side room, he noticed Cheng Qi sitting at the same table with Li Tianyan and was eating with his head down. He looked at them curiously.
“Why it took so long?” Li Tianyan turned his head to look at Li Wu and tapped his fingers twice on the table.
“Madam heard that the young master woke up and asked about the young master’s situation in the past two days. Madam is very concerned about you, young master,” Li Wu said with a playful smile.
“It’s really hard for Madam,” Li Tianyan replied, picking up the water glass on the table and taking a sip. Now that Li Tianyan turned to be useless waste, it was surprising for Hong Man to be so concerned.
Cheng Qi, sitting opposite, noticed Li Tianyan’s movements and glanced up quietly. Li Tianyan was sitting where he had been, and the cup in Li Tianyan’s hand seemed to be the same one he had just drunk…
Li Tianyan then said to Cheng Qi, seemingly unaware of his gaze, “From now on, Li Wu will sleep in the small kitchen, and the side room will be freed up for the young madam and Xiao Liu.”
To facilitate Li Tianyan and Cheng Qi living together, Hong Man had converted a servant’s room in Qingzhu Courtyrad into a small kitchen, euphemistically said: the young couple could open their own small kitchen in the future.
Li Tianyan, preparing to marry his sweetheart, was satisfied with Hong Man’s arrangement. However, in the end, the small kitchen became Xiao Liu’s night resting place instead of the romantic spot he had envisioned.
Both individuals in the room looked at Li Tianyan with surprised faces upon hearing his instructions. Cheng Qi, hearing that he could move out of Li Tianyan’s room, felt an indescribable emotion and relief.
“Young master, I’m your servant. How can I sleep in the kitchen?” Li Wu, who had been indifferent to Li Tianyan’s requests before, became more puzzled about the young master in front of him.
“My Qingzhu Courtyard is small, I could only trouble you.” Li Tianyan hoped that Li Wu would leave on his own, but it seemed unlikely in the short term.
Moreover, Li Wu was just a first-level warrior capable of opportunistic tricks to extract any benefit. If Hong Man took him away and replaced him with a high-level warrior, it could become a real problem.
Considering the small kitchen’s cramped and dirty conditions with firewood piled up, Li Wu persisted, “Young master, I’m the only one serving you now. If I don’t sleep well at night, I won’t have the energy to assist you during the day.”
“It doesn’t matter. From now on, you’ll only be responsible for cleaning the courtyard. You don’t have to attend to me. Xiao Liu, go and clean up the side room,” Li Tianyan instructed Xiao Liu, who was waiting outside.
Li Wu, upon hearing this, glared fiercely at Xiao Liu outside the door. He suspected that this shuanger had approached the young master while he was away and talked nonsense. Why else would the young master suddenly instruct him to move to the kitchen and have Xiao Liu take his place? Okay, well done Xiao Liu.
“Yes, I’ll go right away,” Xiao Liu responded. Although he didn’t understand the sudden arrangement, he followed the instructions and went to the side room to clean.
“I’m full, I’ll go help pack things up,” Cheng Qi said as he put down the spoon and chopsticks, stood up from the stool, and cautiously asked Li Tianyan for permission.
Li Tianyan glanced at the dishes on the table, noting that Cheng Qi must have been really hungry, finishing all the porridge and vegetables dish. He nodded in satisfaction, “Go.”
With Li Tianyan’s permission, Cheng Qi hurried to his sleeping area and pulled out a small bundle, and left the room as if fleeing.
Li Tianyan: “…”
Seeing Cheng Qi’s hurried movements, Li Tianyan raised his hands and rubbed his face in bewilderment. Did he appear so scary? Why did the little shuanger seem so eager to leave?
.
“Young master, I…”
“What are you still here? Put away the things on the table,” Li Tianyan interrupted.
Li Wu, realizing his living space was in jeopardy, wanted to say something but was cut off by Li Tianyan. He reluctantly stepped forward to pack up the tableware and food boxes Cheng Qi had used, his mind still racing.
Today, the young master seemed different towards the young madam. Could it be that the young master’s tastes have changed due to illness, and he actually had fallen for this supposedly ugly young madam?
No, that didn’t make sense. If the young master truly loved the young madam, wouldn’t it be more logical for them to share a room? Why arrange for him to live with a servant next door?
It appeared the young master simply wanted to get rid of the so-called ugly shuanger. Who wouldn’t be repulsed by an unattractive spouse? As for Xiao Liu, well, he would deal with this coarse servant in the future.
“Close the door when you go out. Don’t come in and disturb me without my instructions,” Li Tianyan warned Li Wu again before he left.
Alone in the room, Li Tianyan realized something was amiss. There was only one used cup on the table. Did he pour himself water just now? Maybe not.
“That’s all.” Shaking his head, Li Tianyan got up and walked to the bed, sitting down cross-legged. The priority now was to find a way to improve quickly; otherwise, with his current physique, he could only bluff low-level warriors. He wouldn’t stand a chance if Hong Man decided to attack him.