Chapter 15: Returning Home

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What was she throwing a tantrum about? What was she throwing a tantrum about? It made her sound as though she were simply being unreasonable.

Jiang Wu was angry and aggrieved. Her eyes grew hot, and tears nearly spilled over.

She could not see her children. She could not watch them grow up or grow close to them. Everyone knew that Nian Yin suffered from a heart condition—everyone except her.

What kind of mother was she?

The more Jiang Wu thought about it, the sadder she became. With her back to Chu Ling, she wiped away her tears.

Her vision blurred with tears, and her hands could no longer wipe them away cleanly. She reached into her robes for a handkerchief, only to find that she had no idea where it had gone. Her fingers found nothing, so she could only continue wiping her tears with her hands.

Someone touched her arm. Jiang Wu knew at once who it was. Already angry, she slapped the hand away without thinking.

The instant her reason returned, she realized how outrageously bold she had been and cautiously turned her head.

Chu Ling’s hand was still raised. The red mark left by her slap on the back of his hand was already fading rapidly, but the black handkerchief he had evidently been about to offer her had fallen to the ground.

Jiang Wu might have been angry, but she was still timid at heart. She did not dare look at Chu Ling’s expression. Quickly bending down, she picked up the handkerchief, turned away, and resumed crying.

As she wept, she vaguely heard a sigh behind her.

“Tomorrow…”

The man’s voice reached her ears, and Jiang Wu immediately stopped crying and listened intently.

“I will bring A-Ye and Nian Yin back to the estate to live.”

A surge of wild joy swept through her. Chu Ling’s words made her forget her tears entirely, and she hurriedly turned around to confirm them.

His expression did not look as though he were joking. Then again, he was not a man who joked, much less one who would lie to coax her.

So before Jiang Wu could even ask, “Really?” she merely stared at him stupidly, unsure how to react.

For an instant, she thought she saw a flicker of amusement in Chu Ling’s eyes. But when she looked more closely, all she saw was that same cold, deathly expression.

The deathly-faced man tapped the space beside him with one finger.

Jiang Wu understood. Though reluctant, she did not dare disobey in the slightest. She shifted closer and closer to Chu Ling until she was pressed against him, then stopped.

After thinking it over, she still did not feel reassured and asked, “How long can they stay at the estate?”

Chu Ling glanced at her before replying, “Since they are returning home, naturally they will stay there permanently.”

Only then did true delight bloom across Jiang Wu’s face. It was not that she had no worries. Chu Ling was probably bringing the children back only to prepare for his future marriage to Chu Yan.

She did not have much time left.

Even so, the thought of becoming a real mother and taking part in her children’s lives filled her with happiness.

Tears still clung to her lashes, yet the corners of Jiang Wu’s lips had already lifted.

“Not crying anymore?”

As Chu Ling spoke, his hand reached toward her. Jiang Wu took a moment to understand, then handed him the handkerchief.

The man took hold of her hand and wiped away the tears she had just rubbed across it.

“Then… what about Mother?” Jiang Wu was still worried. The Duchess was not an easy woman to reason with.

Chu Ling remained calm. “I will speak to her.”

Jiang Wu was reassured at once. After all, whether in the Chu family or throughout Great Qi itself, Chu Ling was the one who had the final say. If he spoke to her, the children would certainly be allowed to return.

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Perhaps because her mood had improved, Jiang Wu found Chu Ling somewhat more pleasing to the eye. The man’s movements as he lowered his head to wipe her hand were practiced, and his sharply defined face held an inexplicable patience.

It was rare to see him tending to anyone in this manner.

If Chu Ling married Chu Yan, he would surely make a good husband. Jiang Wu thought about it drowsily. In that case, she could at least claim to have brought two people together.

***

After returning to the estate, Jiang Wu took special care in preparing rooms for the two children.

The rooms were all close to hers.

A boy’s room required little decoration, so she did not need to spend much effort on it. She merely gathered the finest writing implements and prepared them all for Chu Ye. Most of her attention, however, went into Nian Yin’s room.

From the decorations girls favored to the bedding and the style of the screen, she personally selected everything.

“Change the pattern on the bed curtains. Make them…”

Jiang Wu suddenly paused while giving instructions to the servants.

The feeling was strange. Nian Yin had not grown up by her side, and Jiang Wu had always believed herself an inadequate mother—someone who did not understand her child well enough.

Yet at that moment, as she considered what Nian Yin might like, every thought seemed to rise naturally from within her.

Jiang Wu stood stunned for quite some time. As far as she was concerned, the feelings she held for her children were simply the instinctive nature of motherhood.

Had she truly… never been close to her children?

The thought flashed through her mind.

Before she could examine it further, a servant came to report, “Madam, the young lady and young master have returned.”

A smile appeared on Jiang Wu’s face before she even realized it. She had already forgotten her earlier doubts. Gathering up her skirts, she hurried outside, then remembered something halfway there and turned back to remind them, “Do not forget to change the bed curtains. Make them white.”

Pink might have suited a girl, but Jiang Wu had a feeling that Nian Yin would not like it.

As she went out, a servant told her that the Duchess had come as well.

Jiang Wu’s heart tightened slightly. She had not expected the Duchess to personally escort the children here. Still, no matter what, the children had been brought back. Even if their relationship was usually poor, Jiang Wu would simply listen obediently to her mother-in-law today. She absolutely must not anger her.

She repeated this to herself as she reached the entrance of the estate.

Chu Ye was helping his grandmother down from the carriage. It was obvious that the two of them were genuinely close. Chu Ling was there as well, standing to one side.

Jiang Wu walked over, suppressing her joy at being reunited with the children for the moment. Adopting the demeanor of a meek young wife, she greeted the Duchess.

“Mother.”

They intended to invite the Duchess inside, but she merely waved a hand.

“I will not be going in, Jiang Wu.”

Jiang Wu’s heart clenched at being called by name, and she quickly replied, “Your daughter-in-law is here.”

“I am entrusting the children to you.” When the Duchess’s expression darkened, the intimidating force she exuded bore some resemblance to Chu Ling’s. “But if you hurt them again, do not blame me for refusing to let you see them ever again in this lifetime.”

Jiang Wu had resolved to listen respectfully no matter what her mother-in-law said that day. But the more she heard, the angrier she became.

What did she mean, hurt them? They were Jiang Wu’s own children. She could barely love them enough, so how could she possibly harm them?

Just as she was about to lose her temper, her sleeve suddenly grew heavy. At some point, Nian Yin had come to her side and taken hold of it, looking toward her grandmother.

“Grandmother,” she said in a gentle, tender voice that naturally inspired pity. “What happened last time was because I was careless. Mother was not to blame.”

Only then did Jiang Wu remember Nian Yin’s illness during the spring outing. Her conscience immediately weighed on her.

“You need not all take her side,” the Duchess persisted. “Jiang Wu, whatever may happen between you and your husband, if you dare vent your anger on—”

“Mother.”

This time, it was Chu Ling who spoke. He would not be overly harsh with his mother, but his expression carried a natural weight that commanded fear without any visible anger.

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That one word was effective. The Duchess stopped. She looked at her son, then at her granddaughter, who was clutching her mother’s sleeve tightly. In the end, she let out a long sigh.

“Fine. I will no longer interfere in your family’s affairs.”

With that, she turned and left.

Jiang Wu was utterly bewildered.

She carefully weighed her mother-in-law’s words. The sentence she had left unfinished—had she meant that Jiang Wu must not vent her anger on the children?

How could she possibly do such a thing?

Besides, when it came to the relationship between husband and wife, was Chu Ling not the one in charge? Whatever Chu Ling said went. How could there even be room for her to lose her temper?

The more Jiang Wu thought about it, the angrier she became. By then, the Duchess’s carriage had already traveled a considerable distance. Watching its tiny remaining silhouette, Jiang Wu was thoroughly vexed with herself for standing there like a fool without managing to refute a single word.

Now she could only stew in her own anger.

It was not until she turned and saw the worry in her daughter’s eyes that her mood finally eased.

Never mind. Her children were beside her now. Why dwell on those other matters?

“Nian Yin, Mother has prepared your room. Come and see whether there is anything you dislike.”

She took her daughter’s arm as the girl slipped hers through it.

Nian Yin turned back with a faint smile. “Whatever Mother chooses, Nian Yin will like.”

The two of them walked ahead. Jiang Wu had gone some distance before she remembered that A-Ye was still behind them. When she turned around, she saw the father and son two steps back, apparently engaged in conversation.

Their expressions were both unusually solemn. Jiang Wu watched them for a moment and finally seemed to hear Chu Ling curse.

“Idiot.”

Anger flared in Jiang Wu’s heart. What right did he have to scold their son?

“Your father has a terrible personality,” she could not help saying in front of her daughter.

Nian Yin glanced in their direction before speaking softly. “Actually… Father can be very gentle sometimes.”

She must have been afraid of angering Jiang Wu. Her words were cautious, and she secretly watched Jiang Wu’s reaction.

Jiang Wu felt a quiet pang of guilt at her own carelessness. Naturally, the children admired their father as well. Since she would not be able to take them away with her in the future, there was no benefit in driving a wedge between them and Chu Ling.

She immediately put on a smile. “I was only saying it casually. Your father is naturally an impressive man. Just look at him—handsome and graceful, decisive and formidable, powerful and influential, and, hm…”

She racked her brain, but no other words came to her. In the end, she returned to her original assessment.

“He is good-looking.”

Nian Yin could not hold back her laughter. As she laughed, her gaze drifted toward the space behind Jiang Wu.

Jiang Wu turned around and realized that Chu Ling had come over at some point.

When the man’s eyes met hers, he calmly looked away.

“If you read more books, you would not know only those two words.”

Jiang Wu seethed inwardly at being mocked. As if he were the only one who read a lot.

Yet after he had walked some distance away, Nian Yin smiled and said, “Father is embarrassed because Mother praised him.”

Jiang Wu was stunned.

Could Chu Ling actually become embarrassed?

Her daughter must have seriously misunderstood her father.