The Foolish General's Mute Spouse - Chapter 43

43: Talking Too Much

After working hard for a long time, the two finally stopped. Qi Ren held him gently and patted his back: “Sleep for a while, you must be tired, right?”

Fu Yu’an gave him a resentful glare, turned his back, and ignored him.

He sniffed his fingers lightly, his face twisting in displeasure, then turned back to accuse him: “You didn’t clean it properly! There’s still a smell!”

“It’s clean, it’s clean! That’s just the scent from the towel. Go to sleep now!”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Frowning, Fu Yu’an was only half-convinced by his words but still wiped his hands vigorously on Qi Ren’s clothes.

Drowsiness overtook him—the short nap in the morning hadn’t been enough. Fu Yu’an couldn’t dwell on it for long before sleep captured him, and he closed his eyes to meet the Duke of Zhou in his dreams.

…

This nap lasted until the afternoon. Fu Yu’an woke up hungry, only to find Qi Ren already gone from beside him.

The bed had long lost any warmth—he must have left quite a while ago.

Lying on the bed, Fu Yu’an stared blankly at the canopy above, feeling a sense of emptiness.

Faint voices drifted in from outside. He got up, draped his clothes over himself, and went out, only to see that Li Ke had already brought the woman and child back.

When Qi Ren noticed him coming out, his expression softened instantly. He hurried over and draped his own outer robe over Fu Yu’an’s shoulders, asking, “Do you want something to eat? I’ll have Xiao Zhu fetch it.”

Xiao Zhu gave him a complicated look but, without waiting for Fu Yu’an’s answer, obediently headed to the small kitchen.

The woman looked exhausted, clearly having had no chance to rest up until now.

Fu Yu’an leaned closer to Qi Ren and whispered, “How did it go? Did that man return home?”

“No. He’s already been detained. We’ll decide his punishment in a couple of days.”

Fu Yu’an then turned to the woman: “What about you two? Are you going back, or do you have another plan?”

Hearing this, the woman immediately pulled her child down to kowtow several times, pleading, “Please, Your Excellency, have mercy on us common folk! Give us a chance to work in your household! My daughter is already thirteen—she can do a lot of work. And I… I’m willing to serve you like an ox or a horse, just to repay your kindness for saving us, my lord!”

Qi Ren shrugged: “Let them stay. There aren’t many maids in Mother’s courtyard—they’d be perfect there.”

Since he had already said so, he must have had plans in mind. Waiting for Fu Yu’an to wake up before deciding was just a way to make it seem less autocratic.

“This is your home—you make the decisions.” Fu Yu’an chuckled lightly and turned back to the room.

A flicker of displeasure flashed in Qi Ren’s eyes. Why was he still drawing such a clear line between “yours” and “mine” at this point?

“Hey…” He reached out as if to grab him, but Fu Yu’an pretended not to hear and didn’t look back.

Qi Ren awkwardly withdrew his hand, coughed into his fist, and turned to the mother and daughter: “You haven’t thanked His Highness yet!”

The woman froze: “His Highness?”

“The Seventh Highness, Fu Yu’an. Haven’t you heard of him?”

“…” Only then did the woman seem to realize, quickly kowtowing again. “This commoner rarely leaves home, so I didn’t know it was… the Seventh Highness. General, please forgive my ignorance! Please forgive me!”

Qi Ren waved his hand and told Li Ke to escort them away.

Judging by her reaction, had she been sold into that village? Wasn’t my marriage to Fu Yu’an known throughout the city? How could she not even know that?

A country bumpkin, ignorant and uninformed.

Li Ke didn’t take long before bringing the woman back again.

“The Madam said she has enough maids and only kept the younger one. She said His Highness is frail and asked for the older one to come and take care of him instead.”

Xiao Zhu carried over a tray of pastries just as Qi Ren emerged from the room. He took the items from her hands, his expression slightly impatient. “Fine, let her stay! What’s your name?”

The woman replied respectfully, “This servant is Ni Cuiman.”

Qi Ren nodded and turned back into the room.

Xiao Zhu smiled at her. “Auntie Ni, your living quarters haven’t been tidied up yet. Please wait a moment.”

Auntie Ni wasn’t in a hurry. She found a stone stool in the courtyard and sat down, then quietly called Xiao Zhu over.

She likely assumed Xiao Zhu was just an ordinary maid and thus didn’t show much deference.

Since they were both servants, Xiao Zhu didn’t mind much and thought she might have some questions. She decided to explain the dos and don’ts of attending to His Highness’s daily life.

Unexpectedly, Auntie Ni didn’t ask about any of that. Instead, she mysteriously glanced around before leaning closer to Xiao Zhu and whispering, “His Highness’s birth mother… did she die in childbirth?”

Xiao Zhu was immediately puzzled. She straightened up and stared at her strangely. “Why are you asking this?”

Auntie Ni hurriedly said it was nothing and apologized with a smile, admitting she had overstepped.

“I advise you not to pry into matters that aren’t your concern. Just focus on serving your master properly! Don’t bring up such things in front of His Highness in the future!”

“Understood, understood! Thank you, miss.” Realizing she had spoken out of turn and that this girl wasn’t someone to be trifled with—she might even report the incident later—Auntie Ni knew she couldn’t afford to offend her.

Xiao Zhu pursed her lips and turned away. “Good that you know.”

With that, she left without looking back.

She knocked on the door of the main room, but no one answered for a long while.

“Strange. Didn’t the general just bring the pastries in? Why is no one responding now?”

Just as she was about to leave, the sudden sound of shattering porcelain came from inside. Xiao Zhu’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly knocked again, calling out anxiously.

After a long pause, Qi Ren’s voice finally responded, “It’s nothing. You may leave. Just a vase fell over.”

Xiao Zhu peered through the crack in the door, skeptical, but couldn’t see anyone inside. Reluctantly, she gave up.

Inside the room, Fu Yu’an was glaring at Qi Ren as he adjusted his clothes. Qi Ren tried to lean in for another kiss but was pushed away.

“No… not on the table! Absolutely not!”

“What’s wrong? Did it hurt your back? Here, let me support you.” He smirked mischievously, intent on stealing another kiss. Fu Yu’an had no choice but to raise his voice to stop him, though he couldn’t think of any good threats.

Qi Ren chuckled and raised his hands in surrender, not wanting to push him too far.

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop teasing you.” he said with a laugh. “What would you like for dinner? Should I take you out to eat?”

Fu Yu’an shook his head. “I don’t feel like going out. If you’re really that bored, you should go explain the real situation to the Second Madam first. It’ll save her the worry.”

This wasn’t untrue, but the Second Madam had already grown accustomed to it over the past few days.

In the past, when he was well, he was always off fighting battles, not seen for years at a time. Now that he was “dim-witted” he stayed in the manor all day, which actually put her more at ease.

People—especially mothers—tend to be a bit selfish in such matters.

“We’ll go tomorrow, and you’re coming with me.”

“Why should I go?”

“Come on! Even an ugly daughter-in-law has to face her in-laws eventually. It’s not like you haven’t met her before. Going together will put Mother at ease!”

“……”

Fu Yu’an couldn’t argue with him. He thought to himself, It’s not like I’m necessarily going to be with you forever, so why… No, that didn’t sound right either.

Fine. As long as I’m here, I might as well play the part. It was only right to show some filial respect to the old lady.

His fingers brushed against the jade pendant at his chest, and the corner of his lips lifted slightly. “Alright, we’ll go together tomorrow.”

Now overjoyed, Qi Ren leaned in and stole a quick kiss from the corner of his mouth before bounding out of the room in high spirits.