Chapter 386 - 386: Joyous Event, Surpris

A few days later, Mr. Qian and Ji Xiang returned home. Mr. Qian said to Zhou Jia, “Gu Yu’s grandparents said that they have no objections. Please make the decision with Master. I followed Master’s instructions and chose three days. In the end, I chose the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month. Old Master Gu said that whether you have money or not, you can marry a wife and come home for the new year. Ji Xiang can look forward to hugging his wife!”

“That’s right! Our little Ji Xiang is also getting married.” Zhou Jia smiled and calculated. “There’s not much time left until the sixth day of December. Fortunately, I’m already preparing. Ji Xiang, go and see if there’s anything else you want to buy.”

“Yes, my lord.” Ji Xiang retreated with a red face.

In the blink of an eye, it was the sixth day of the new year. The new residence on East Street was decorated with lanterns and decorations. Ji Xiang and Gu Yu got married happily. There was an endless stream of people coming to congratulate them. Zhou Jia and Li Yu also went to the new residence to bless the couple.

The next day, it was snowing heavily. Ji Xiang and Gu Yu returned and kowtowed to Zhou Jia and Li Yu to thank them.

After the two of them thanked him and left for a while, Ji Xiang ran into the main courtyard again and shouted in surprise, “Master, Madam, Old Master is back.”

“Who did you say came back?” Zhou Jia thought that he had heard wrongly.

Ji Xiang smiled. “Old Master is back.”

Zhou Jia ran out and saw Mr. Wen at the door. Ruyi followed behind with Tiezhu and Ah Wei each carrying a large basket of herbs.

Yangyang and Seven Pounds pounced on Mr. Wen and hugged him.

“Grandmaster, you’re back! We missed you so much.”

“Grandmaster misses you too.” Mr. Wen smiled and patted the two little ones’ heads.

Zhou Jia and Li Yu looked at him in surprise. “Sir, you brought a letter back and said that you went to Tongzhou’s Clear Wind Temple. Why did you rush back on such a snowy day? What’s with these herbs?”

Ji Xiang reminded the two of them, “Master, Madam, it’s cold outside. Let’s go into the house to warm up first.”

Zhou Jia smiled and said, “Yes, yes!” Everyone hugged Mr. Wen and walked towards the hall.

“This trip was really a surprise.” Mr. Wen happily led the two children in. “Taoist Lin and I walked to a place called Ling Mountain. Taoist Lin was invited to perform a ritual. I was so bored that I hired two hunters to go up the mountain to pick herbs. When I reached the mountain, I saw that there were many and good herbs on the mountain. I was also lucky. Not long after I went up the mountain, I encountered more than ten aged dendrobium bushes and picked a few mulberry lingzhi mushrooms. Also, those 30 to 70 pieces were very old. I even collected some mountain ginseng and celestial hemp from the villagers.”

Zhou Jia said happily, “Oh! You’re really lucky to have so many good things.”

Everyone escorted Mr. Wen into the warm hall and sat down. Mr. Wen smiled and said, “Haha! Extreme joy begets sorrow. When I went down the mountain, I accidentally fell and could only stay at the villager’s house to recuperate. I let Priest Lin go to Tongzhou alone, and I bought the herbs from the villager. As soon as my legs recovered, I couldn’t wait to hire the villager’s ox cart to rush back. After I left the mountain, I heard people discussing that Yunzhou was in a war. I was so anxious that a few big blisters grew on the corners of my mouth. Heh! When I arrived at Yunzhou, I realized that the city was safe and sound.”

“It’s good that you’re back. It’s good that you’re back. Eat something first. I’ll help you take a shower. Oh! You still have to heat the bed,” Zhou Jia said repeatedly.

Mr. Wen patted Zhou Jia’s hand. “It’s fine. I’m not hungry. I’m just wondering why we won the battle so quickly and chased away the Qi army. It was really a

false alarm.”

Yangyang and Seven Pounds looked up at Mr. Wen. “Grandmaster, it wasn’t a false alarm. They fought so fiercely. Father and that big general chased the bad guys away. Brother Seven Pounds, we even secretly ran out to take a look…” Yangyang and Seven Pounds realized that they had let it slip and hurriedly covered their mouths.

What was going on? When did the two boys run out? Why didn’t anyone know? Fortunately, they returned safely. Otherwise, the outcome would be unimaginable.

Li Yu, Zhou Jia, Ruyi, and Ji Xiang were all stunned. The few of them looked at each other in confusion. When did these children go out?

Zhou Jia was stunned for a moment before helping Mr. Wen towards the dining room. “Sir, let’s go eat something and take a shower to warm up. I’ll leave these two boys to Madam.”

Mr. Wen looked at the two children and turned to look at Li Yu. “Ask the reason properly. You can’t let them go out quietly in the future.”

“Yes, sir.” Li Yu smiled and agreed. After Zhou Jia helped Mr. Wen out, Li Yu took a deep breath and smiled at the two of them standing side by side. “Which one of you will tell me?”

Seven Pounds took a step forward and said with a red face, “Madam, it was my idea. Young Master was behind me.”

Yangyang squeezed in front of Seven Pounds. “Mother, Uncle Yi, I was the one who said that I wanted to see the general go into battle to kill the enemy. I insisted that Brother Seven Pounds and the others accompany me. Brother Seven Pounds and Little Loach had no choice but to agree to me. I want to see if those generals really have three heads and six arms.”

Li Yu looked at the two of them. “Yes! You’re quite loyal. Then tell me, how did you find the city wall outside? How did you go home safely?”

“The few of us crawled out of the hole in the garden. Little Loach and the others knew where the east gate of the war was, so we went there. Just as we climbed up the city wall, we were seen by an uncle carrying a log.” Yangyang imitated the commoner. “Aiyo! Which family’s little brat is this? He even ran up the city wall. Do you know that you might die? Fortunately, the battle has stopped now.

What are these parents doing? All of you, wait here and don’t move.”

Seven Pounds continued, “That uncle stopped us and didn’t allow us to go up. Then, an uncle came up. He even knew Little Loach and the others. That uncle even scolded Little Loach and the others for being insensible and shouldn’t have followed us to fool around. He should have told you and Master. Then, that uncle carrying the log came down. Then, we were sent out of the backyard.

We even crawled through the dog hole. Madam, we know our mistake.”

Yangyang also looked at Li Yu and said seriously, “Mother, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have dragged Brother Seven Pounds out. Little Loach and the others were afraid that we will be sold by human traffickers if we went out, so they could only accompany us. Don’t punish them.”

Li Yu looked at Yangyang and Seven Pounds, then at Little Loach, Maizi, and the others, who were standing uneasily at the door. “Alright, I think you’ve all realized your mistake. You’re good children if you know your mistake and can change for the better but you can’t avoid punishment. You’ll be punished to copy ten small scripts a day and clean the classroom and corridor for a month. Little Loach and the others will clean the courtyard for a month.” “Yes,” Yangyang and Seven Pounds replied loudly.

“Madam, we understand! Thank you, Madam,” Little Loach, Maizi, Little Stutterer, and Mao Dou replied in unison.

After the children left, Li Yu looked at Ruyi. “Is there a dog hole in the garden?”

Ruyi nodded. “There’s one. It’s in the west corner. I’ll go over and plug it up.”

Li Yu thought for a moment. “Forget it. It’s been more than a month. It’s too late to make up for it. When we go back, don’t punish Seven Pounds anymore. He’s already very obedient and sensible.” “Yes, Madam,” Ruyi replied with a bow..