Chapter 50

Father Chen couldn't figure it out, thinking it was still Chen Jue's problem. He stroked his goatee, wanting to educate Chen Jue further: "Son-in-law, if you can't discipline him, I..."

Huo Jilin interrupted him: "Father-in-law, Jue Geer's doing just fine. I am very... satisfied. I'll take good care of him and the kid."

And sure enough, this time Chen Jue reacted—he frowned slightly and closed his eyes, as if he was holding something back.

That was the look he used to have.

Whenever Huo Jilin said something outrageous before, Chen Jue would make that exact expression.

Huo Jilin kept watching Chen Jue. He had been observing him these past days, and what he focused on was Chen Jue's utter indifference. It was as if he'd been possessed by something, as if nothing in the world could get a rise out of him.

Where was the Chen Jue who once stood tall with unyielding pride, who bowed to no authority, who stubbornly stuck to his own views?

No—Chen Jue's pride was still there. His silence proved it.

Saying nothing at all was his way of showing it.

What was gone was his stubbornness.

In the past, if Chen Jue believed in something, he wouldn't care about any obstacle or any powerful force. Even if the internet was full of people trashing him, he'd still say what he thought was right—never backing down, never changing his mind.

Now, Chen Jue's every move screamed two words:

"*Whatever.*"

Whatever happens, happens.

For instance, right now, after such outrageous talk from him and his father, Chen Jue just frowned a little. When he opened his eyes, he said, "I'll go see if the food's ready. I'm hungry."

Ignoring his father's trembling finger pointing at him, he pushed himself to his feet. Huo Jilin reached to help him, but Chen Jue held up a hand to stop him. He steadied himself on the low table and got up on his own.

His face was still blank—no anger, but no joy either.

Huo Jilin watched his straight back and narrowed his eyes. Now that Chen Jue wasn't fighting him anymore, he felt uneasy.

Chen Jue went into the Chen family's kitchen. Mother Chen hurried over to help him: "Why'd you come in here? You don't need to help. You're so far along now—just sit and have some tea and snacks."

That Huo Lin son-in-law had helped Chen Jue sit down, so the old man wouldn't have anything to say about it.

Besides, Jue Geer was married now. Those rumors about him being a widow-maker and family-curse should've been put to rest long ago.

Mother Chen grabbed Chen Jue's thin arm, her eyes getting red. She'd had three sons and one geer—Chen Jue was her only geer and the youngest, the one everyone should've spoiled.

But who'd have thought a wandering Taoist priest would say Chen Jue had an orphan's fate, doomed to bring ruin to all six relatives?

His father believed it completely. Not only did he refuse to treat Chen Jue like his youngest, but he sent him to a Taoist temple, only seeing him a few times a year...

Later, when Chen Jue was old enough to marry, his father still wouldn't bring him home, letting the rumors spread.

With those rumors around, no one dared to marry Chen Jue. And Chen Jue took after his father, growing taller and taller until he was almost as tall as a man—which just fit the widow-maker rumor.

If Huo Lin hadn't rescued Chen Jue while gathering herbs and carried him down the mountain, he might never have gotten married.

Though his father complained about the small bride price, he was happy to marry Chen Jue into the poor Huo family—he'd been waiting for that day for a long time.

Later, when news came that Huo Lin had died in battle, his father stayed up all night muttering, "The prophecy was right, right after all. Ai, what a curse!"

He wouldn't let her visit Chen Jue, and he wouldn't let her bring him back either. He meant to let Chen Jue rot in the Huo family.

But now Huo Lin had come back alive, and those damned Taoist rumors should've been shattered long ago.

Mother Chen thought of all the years her geer had been wronged, and tears poured down her face. Chen Jue was startled—surely the food not being ready yet wasn't worth crying over?

He knew people around here ate two meals a day, and the midday meal wasn't until around three in the afternoon. So he'd had a big bowl of wontons that morning, plus two sesame cakes.

He'd just come to change the subject.

"...Mother, don't cry. I'll tend the fire for you. What are we having for the midday meal?"

Chen Jue couldn't bear her crying. The women and wives of this era always seemed so full of tragedy. Especially with such an unreasonable patriarch like Father Chen around, Mother Chen seemed all the more sorrowful.

Mother Chen laughed and cried at his words: "Are you hungry? I had your third brother go kill a chicken—we'll stew one for you soon."

Fine, chicken it was.

Chen Jue's characteristic detachment actually made Mother Chen feel better. If Chen Jue had burst into tears with her, they wouldn't have gotten any meal done today.

Third Brother returned with two plump chickens—one hen, one rooster.

Mother-in-law was truly generous. Third Sister-in-law quickly tied on her apron and began plucking the feathers. Though their family was well-off, they didn't eat meat at every meal.

She decided to return to her natal family after the midday meal. Maybe she could even take back a jar of the wine Chen Jue had brought. Since she was going back to stay the night anyway, it would save her family a meal.

Her natal family wasn't well-off.

Third Sister-in-law daydreamed happily, cooking with great motivation, and by midday she had prepared a full table worthy of entertaining guests.

One chicken was chopped into pieces and stir-fried with chili; the other was stewed whole with mushrooms. That whole chicken was meant to honor the guest—it had to be stewed intact and then divided according to family standing, carrying a different significance from the chopped one.

This was the grand dish that families of modest means served to their son-in-law.

Besides that centerpiece, there were chives scrambled with eggs, celery stir-fried with cured meat, pork slices with cabbage and tofu, and wood ear mushrooms with greens. Third Sister-in-law's cooking was quite good.

Chen Jue's appetite was also quite good, and Father Chen shot him several glances across the table.

Though Chen Jue observed the rule of silence while eating and ate with decorum, he certainly didn't eat sparingly!

The chicken leg that was meant to be offered to him—he accepted it without any pretense of refusal.

Father Chen was about to glare at him again when the other chicken leg disappeared too.

Mother Chen offered it to Huo Jilin, who placed it into Chen Jue's bowl instead.

Chen Chen got two small drumsticks, Third Brother got one wing, gave one to his wife, and the backbone went to Mother Chen.

The chicken head—Third Brother deliberately bypassed Father Chen and gave it to Huo Jilin.

Ever since he'd heard that Huo Jilin had returned from the battlefield and been appointed Guerrilla General, he'd been in awe of him. Father Chen's exclusive chicken head could go to him.

Well, that whole chicken was now just broth.

Father Chen's face was as bland as the mushroom-stewed soup.

He was so angry he didn't touch a single piece of the chili chicken—he didn't eat spicy food! These people had completely disregarded him as the head of the household!

But looking at Huo Jilin's refined manner of eating, he swallowed his anger.

The Chen family's meal was enjoyed by both host and guest, and even forced smiles passed for joy.

In any case, it was all for the sake of Huo Jilin today, and they happily insisted they stay the night. For major festivals like Mid-Autumn and New Year, daughters and sons only came home for visits on such occasions, and even the poorest families would insist on lodging them.

Huo Jilin looked at Chen Jue: "Do you want to stay at home for a night?" He felt Chen Jue wouldn't want to stay, and sure enough, Chen Jue shook his head.

So Huo Jilin declined.

Chen's mother saw that Chen Jue refused to stay, and tears welled up again, which made Chen's father flick his sleeves in disgust.

This time, Chen's mother paid him no mind and began loading things onto the cart for Chen Jue. Since he had taken an extra helping of the chive scrambled eggs today, she cut a bundle of chives and loaded it on, and also placed a large basket of eggs, along with the basket itself, onto the cart.

Two lengths of cloth, and Chen's mother added another blue one for Chen Jue, telling him to use it to make clothes for the baby after it was born. The pink one she saved for her little granddaughter.

A Ge'er's child is always either a Ge'er or a man.

Chen's mother took Chen Jue's hand: "When you give birth, be sure to send someone to tell me. I'll come and take care of you during your postpartum month..."

Wasn't the custom here that 'a married Ge'er is like spilled water—you can visit, but you don't tend to them during confinement'?

But Chen Jue said nothing, just nodded. When he moved to the county to live, it would be nice if Chen's mother could come and care for him during his confinement. Though by then, Chen's mother might not agree to him living in the county—that would be another headache.

Oh well.

Despite Chen's mother's great reluctance, the two finally headed home. When they got back, the sun was just touching the mountaintop, and it wasn't dark yet. They unexpectedly saw Zhou Shuyao at their front door. Zhou Shuyao was craning his neck, peering into the courtyard, and when he saw their carriage, he froze for a moment before walking over.

Huo Jilin sat on the carriage, his face icy cold.

Whip in hand, he asked in a cold voice: "What are you doing at our doorstep?"

Zhou Shuyao looked at Chen Jue in the carriage and immediately changed expression: "You took Jue Geer back to his parents' home in a carriage? Aren't you afraid of shaking him up!"

Today's route for escorting the bride was through villages around the county, and the first stop was Chen Village.

He'd assumed Chen Jue would come along, but he waited and waited and no one showed up. He hadn't counted on Chen Jue and Huo Jilin leaving at dawn.

He'd been in a foul mood all day, so his tone came out harsh. He didn't realize his words had no basis at all.

Chen Jue wasn't his spouse, and the child in his belly wasn't his either.

Huo Jilin narrowed his eyes and his grip on the whip tightened. This Zhou Shuyao had made him laugh in anger more than once.

Was he not vicious enough that this Zhou Shuyao dared to flirt with his spouse right in front of him?

Did he really think he was dead?

Even if his actual relationship with Chen Jue was so distant it didn't even qualify as friendship, in public, Zhou Shuyao's behavior was an outright provocation.

"Scram. Don't let me see you again."

Huo Jilin wasn't polite at all this time.

Last time, when Chen Jue was on his oxcart, he'd made some snide comments, but today he just wanted him to get as far away as possible.

Zhou Shuyao's eyes went wide as Huo Jilin actually rode the horse straight at him. He tugged the reins, and the horse kept charging forward, not stopping even when it saw him. As the horse was about to barrel into him, Zhou Shuyao was horrified, completely frozen on the spot. He never thought Huo Jilin would dare to run him down like that.

Just as the dark shape loomed, a whip lashed out and swept him aside, and the big horse galloped straight past.

Zhou Shuyao, flung into the bushes, took a moment to even register what had happened. When he finally snapped out of it, his hands and feet were shaking—whether from rage or fright, he couldn't tell.

Huo Jilin had actually meant to kill him just now!

Zhou Shuyao cursed, his voice shaking: "Are you insane!"

He's crazy! Huo Jilin, that lunatic! A goddamn madman!

Zhou Shuyao, having barely escaped with his life, pounded the ground in fury from the bushes, and it took him a while to get up.

But the horse had already carried Huo Jilin into the courtyard. Zhou Shuyao was furious but dared not approach again. His legs were still weak. He sat on the ground, watching from a distance as Chen Jue climbed down from the carriage and went inside.

His eyes were red.

He didn't know how he had become like this. He clearly didn't like Ge'er, so why was he so infatuated with Chen Jue?

He had even supported driving Chen Jue away before, so why did he now wish he could slap himself twice whenever he thought about it?

Zhou Shuyao couldn't figure out the reason. After a long while, he buried his head in his hands, the picture of dejection.

Chen Jue, sitting in the carriage, didn't know what had happened outside. The sound of the wheels on the road was quite noisy, and he hadn't heard the exchange between Huo Jilin and Zhou Shuyao, nor did he know that Huo Jilin had flung Zhou Shuyao into the bushes with a single whip.

And thus, one rival in love was eliminated.

Since the midday meal had been late and lavish, Chen Jue wasn't hungry at all, so he sat on the kang and counted his valuables.

Today's cordyceps had sold for fifty taels of silver. For convenience, Manager Dong had given him banknotes—two thin slips—plus two small silver ingots. He now had a total of one hundred twenty taels.

There were also two strings of copper coins, kept in a jar in the kitchen for daily market expenses.

Chen Jue recorded the accounts in his notebook.

Huo Jilin leaned against the doorway watching him. When Chen Jue closed his box and turned around, seeing him leaning against the wall, his face as dark as water and silent, he was startled.

When had he come in so quietly, giving him a fright?

Huo Jilin's presence was too strong. Even though he had changed back into coarse cloth clothes, his hair tied up with a simple wooden hairpin, loose strands falling across his face, it didn't diminish his aura. He was still his original self.

Whenever Chen Jue saw him like this, he would think of his past life, sitting in the chief seat of the conference room, that stubborn, picky, and autocratic demeanor.

"What are you doing?"

Was he trying to take his silver? No way. He had already paid Huo Jilin for the herbs he bought before and the ones Huo Jilin had helped him dig. He didn't owe Huo Jilin a single cent.

Huo Jilin shouldn't pull that sour face—this wasn't his past life.

Huo Jilin looked at him with dark, heavy eyes.

He thought Chen Jue truly didn't want to live with him at all.

The first thing he did upon returning home was count his assets. What that meant, Huo Jilin didn't need him to say to know.

Chen Jue hadn't given up on settling in the county just because of the strict inspections now. He still planned to save enough assets and leave him far behind.

They were both adults. Even though Chen Jue now had the face of an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old, his mental age was thirty. All his actions were mature. If he was planning to leave, then he was definitely leaving.

That day on the mountain when Chen Jue said he wanted to leave, he had heard it, but he pretended not to, because he didn't want to answer.

He knew Chen Jue had always wanted to draw a clear line with him, or rather, he had never really had any relationship with him.

Even with that belly of his, he was still Chen Jue, the solitary Chen Jue. He had never considered Huo Jilin at all.

Even if heaven had forcibly bound them together, Chen Jue had never from start to finish planned Huo Jilin into his remaining years.

This realization made Huo Jilin's mood sink involuntarily.

Huo Jilin took a deep breath, his gaze drifting from his face to his belly, and asked softly: "The child in your belly—is it mine?"