The Villain's Counterattack Chapter 29

Chapter 29

"Hey, have you heard? The young master of the Marquis of Jing'an household sent a lot of supplies to the charity homes."

"What? Which charity home?"

"All of them in the capital. I just passed through the inner city and saw several rice shops delivering goods. Gave me quite a fright—I thought grain prices in the capital were about to change. I rushed over to ask and found out it was the young master of the Marquis of Jing'an household doing a good deed, buying rice and grain for all the charity homes."

"Tsk tsk tsk, the Marquis of Jing'an household—is it General Xu? As expected of the Marquis of Jing'an household—protecting the country and kind-hearted too."

Xu Kaicheng sat at the edge of the tea shop, sipping his tea without hurry. His eyes were lowered, making it hard to tell what he was thinking. When he finished the bowl, he set down two coppers and strolled out.

On the way back, he casually bought two meat buns. When he came to his senses, he was amused by his own actions. It seemed that after all these days, feeding Song Yao had become second nature.

Since the buns were already bought, Xu Kaicheng turned his steps toward the East Courtyard.

Xu Kaixuan and Wei Cai'e both lived in the East Courtyard, though Wei Cai'e lived further back in the inner quarters area. As the future master of the marquis household, Xu Kaixuan naturally resided in the main house of the East Courtyard.

These were originally exquisite courtyards, but after Wei Cai'e occupied most of the West Courtyard's area, the layout of the East Courtyard had undergone quite a few changes as well. The flowing water diverted from outside bypassed the martial arts training grounds of the main courtyard, wound its way to Xu Kaixuan's courtyard, and finally flowed into the lotus pond on the West Courtyard side.

The massive lotus pond appeared to be in the West Courtyard, but if one looked down from above, one would discover that an invisible architectural line circled the enormous lotus pond, as if drawing it within the scope of Xu Kaixuan's courtyard.

Although Xu Kaicheng had been in sales before, he was still half a real estate person. He himself had been a materialist, but that didn't stop him from knowing many architectural taboos... and tricks.

For example, this flowing water was meant to carry wealth and good fortune. The main courtyard of the marquis household enjoyed it, but in the end all the benefits flowed to Xu Kaixuan. The West Courtyard not only gained nothing—its own fortune was drained away by someone else.

This kind of unscientific method—whether you believe in it or not is up to the individual. But when someone has already set up the feng shui right under your nose, it no longer matters whether you believe or not.

Just as he reached the edge of the East Courtyard, Xu Kaicheng inwardly raised an eyebrow. His own quarters were a special case—only Dong Zhu served there.

His mother's servants were all dowry attendants from when she married in, totaling about ten people. In the entire marquis household, Wei Cai'e had the most extravagant setup—from four first-class maids attending to her personally to eight second-class maids stationed outside her courtyard.

She also had two momos who were her trusted confidantes, plus a young servant boy for errands. After the old madam fell ill, Wei Cai'e had gained two more inner household managers. As for those responsible for sweeping, washing, pruning plants, the back kitchen, the stable hands—all told, there were more than fifty people.

Wei Cai'e herself had such an entourage, so naturally her only hope—the future master of the marquis household, Xu Kaixuan—wouldn't be any less well-equipped.

But along the way here, the front courtyard of the East Courtyard—which was larger than his and his mother's courtyards combined—only had two patrol guards visible in the distance. As he made his way to the bridal chamber's entrance, Xu Kaicheng still found it hard to believe.

The first and second-class maids in the courtyard were all gone. The courtyard's managing momo was absent. The other rough-work maids and old women were gone too. Even Xu Kaixuan himself wasn't there.

Good heavens, Xu Kaicheng thought. Surely Xu Kaixuan hadn't taken everyone and moved out overnight on the second day of his marriage?

His heart skipped a beat. If his little money tree had really been taken away, Xu Kaicheng's scalp tingled with alarm.

His steps quickened, though the last shred of reason kept him from rashly charging out.

After entering the courtyard where the bridal chamber was located, he followed the covered corridor toward the room he had slept in last night, and only then did he see the momo who had come with Song Yao yesterday, sitting by the door with a ashen face.

He observed for a while longer, confirmed this wasn't some scheme and that there really was no one around, then circled around from behind.

"What's going on? Why is there no one here?"

Zhao Cuihua jumped, turned to see who it was, and her old face crumpled as she burst into tears. "My Second Young Master, you're finally here! This old servant and the young... the young miss are about to starve to death in this courtyard, wuwuwu."

Xu Kaicheng glanced at the exaggeratedly weeping old momo, pushed open the door, and slipped inside. Song Yao was already up, sitting in the inner room wearing ill-fitting women's clothes. Perhaps he was used to being hungry, because he still had the presence of mind to lean against the window and casually watch the sky.

"Xu Kaicheng!" Recognizing who it was, Song Yao's eyes lit up. He jumped down from the reclining chair and rushed over.

Xu Kaicheng quickly reached out and caught the person who nearly tripped because the skirt was too long. "Careful."

Zhao Cuihua, who had been ignored, hurried in after them, closed half the door, and carefully opened the back window. Xu Kaicheng shot her a glance—well, she was quite professional about it.

He pulled the meat buns from his chest, and Song Yao, quicker than anyone, grabbed one and started eating. Zhao Cuihua dramatically clutched her stomach, standing to the side with pleading eyes. Well, a forty or fifty-year-old momo making such gestures in front of you really was... something.

Xu Kaicheng handed over the other bun. Zhao Cuihua took it with both hands and began devouring it almost ravenously. Song Yao, his mouth still stuffed with bun, reached out to snatch the bun that Zhao Cuihua had already bitten into.

"Mmmph, mine, mine!"

"I'll prepare something good for you later—don't fill your stomach too much now or you won't be able to eat later." Xu Kaicheng's scalp went numb as he hastily explained. Facing Song Yao's eyes that were red to the point of tears, he forced himself to change his tune, not daring to go back on his momentary softness.

Zhao Cuihua couldn't care less—she held her bun and retreated to the door to keep watch. With age comes wisdom, especially since she'd used her brain more than her hands when serving by Madam Song's side.

Song Yao was simple-minded—after a full day together, Zhao Cuihua knew better than anyone that Song Yao couldn't tell good intentions from bad.

Being polite to this kind of master would get her starved to death in this courtyard.

After being comforted for quite a while, the tears in Song Yao's reddened eyes slowly faded, but he still stared intently at Xu Kaicheng until Xu Kaicheng whispered a promise by his ear that in the future, the things he gave him would never be shared with anyone else—only then was he satisfied.

Having soothed this difficult one, Xu Kaicheng finally had the energy to ask what had happened. Song Yao certainly wouldn't know—after he'd been given that knockout drug in the morning, he'd slept straight until well past noon.

Zhao Cuihua, who had been keeping watch at the door the whole time, had spent the morning in trepidation. Who would have thought that early in the morning, General Xu's mother—Song Yao's nominal mother-in-law—would call away every single servant in the courtyard.

If the guards hadn't been arranged by Zhao Guangming, Xu Kaicheng wouldn't even have seen those two patrol guards in the outer courtyard.

Xu Kaicheng was utterly speechless. What kind of chaotic world was this? He looked at Zhao Cuihua, and she understood the meaning.

"Originally, the young miss was supposed to have two dowry maids, one momo, and four servants when she married. But before the wedding, something happened—the young miss sold one off, and the other left with her. Then the wedding day was so chaotic that aside from the dowry which had been prepared in advance, nothing else was fully arranged."

Zhao Cuihua had been present throughout the entire incident of Song Yue running away from the wedding and Song Yao being sent as a substitute bride. Moreover, she was even more extreme than Madam Song—she had witnessed the Second Young Master of the marquis household sleeping with his own brother's bride on their wedding night.

She definitely couldn't go back to the Song family. Following Song Yao and being loyal to Xu Kaicheng was her only way out.

Otherwise, given what she knew about last night's events, the moment she stepped outside the Marquis of Jing'an household's gates, her life would likely be forfeit.

"Before tonight, I'll fill in the people you're missing here. From now on, Yao Yao's affairs will need your extra care." Xu Kaicheng held Song Yao around the waist—he'd forgotten to let go after catching him earlier.

Zhao Cuihua looked up, nodded repeatedly, and voiced her agreement.

"Is there anything Momo still cares about back at the Song family?" Xu Kaicheng's smile was kind, but Zhao Cuihua felt a chill in her heart.

Although she had long known she probably couldn't go back, the reality of it still left a bitter ache in her heart. "If I may inform the master, this old servant always served at the Madam's side in the Song household. Later I was married to an outer courtyard manager of the Song family. My husband has another woman, and altogether there are two sons and one daughter. My daughter is already married; my sons both work for the Song family, and there are two grandsons."

Xu Kaicheng was still calculating the number of these people when Song Yao, who had finished his bun and was still glaring at Zhao Cuihua with dissatisfaction, let out a cold snort. "They're not even the ones you gave birth to."

"..." Xu Kaicheng looked at Song Yao, then at Zhao Cuihua.

Zhao Cuihua's face flushed red, and she nearly lost her temper and lunged at Song Yao. It was only because Xu Kaicheng was present that she forced herself to hold back. "Those are all my man's seed. I'm the proper first wife—they naturally have to call me mother, call me grandmother!"

Song Yao pursed his lips and turned to look out the window. He didn't roll his eyes, but his words were full of mockery. "They only call you that because they eat your food and drink your drink. Don't flatter yourself."

"..." Xu Kaicheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Before Song Yao could say anything more, he quickly covered his mouth. "Zhao Momo, from the looks of it, you don't seem to have much affection for those people either."

Zhao Cuihua, who had been flustered, froze, then slowly fell silent. She reached up to touch her hair, her expression grim. "What can I do about it? That's just how this world works. If I don't accept it, the Sun family line ends, and he can divorce me. If I don't acknowledge it, when I die there'll be no one to bury me."

Honestly, bringing Zhao Momo's entire family over would be quite difficult. Hearing her words now, Xu Kaicheng felt it was even more unnecessary. "If your whole family came over, I doubt the Madam of the Song family would agree. If you're clinging to that family because you fear having no one to see you off in death, then there's no need to pin your hopes on those people. As long as you serve Yao Yao well here, when your time comes, you'll be given a proper burial."

Zhao Cuihua opened her mouth but couldn't speak for a long time. Xu Kaicheng understood what explosive information this was for someone of this era, and didn't rush her.

He asked a few more questions about other matters, and seeing the time, couldn't delay any longer. He'd just said he would get Song Yao something good to eat—naturally he couldn't go back on that.

Before anyone could discover him, he went out again, changed his appearance, and went to the official broker to buy two maids and four servants. He put away the indenture contracts—for now, he couldn't give them to Song Yao. 

He also bought quite a lot of food and drink, then led the people through the side gate into the marquis household.

Once everyone was handed over to Zhao Cuihua and began methodically going about their work, for a moment Xu Kaicheng wondered—whose side was Wei Cai'e really on?

It wasn't that he hadn't considered having his mother Yang Wanhe handle this, but on one hand, it was convenient for him to move in and out of the marquis household; on the other hand, Song Yao needed people around him who were loyal to him.

No matter how capable the people Yang Wanhe sent were, they had after all lived in the marquis household for over twenty years—who could guarantee that Wei Cai'e and the Xu grandfather and grandson wouldn't discover them?