The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 84

 

| TBBOTOF | 84

This time Tang Xu slept deeply. He fell asleep at noon and it was the next morning when he opened his eyes again.

He woke up hungry.

The man beside him was still asleep. Tang Xu glanced at the faint light seeping through the curtains, got up, and slipped on his shoes.

Despite his movements, Wei Dong remained fast asleep.

Frowning, Tang Xu reached out and touched his forehead. His temperature was normal.

He guessed he must have been exhausted from the journey back home from the county. Even though the village was quite far from the county, it would take nearly half a day to travel there even on a fast mule. Wei Dong must have set off as soon as the city gates opened to arrive home by lunchtime.

Tang Xu didn't want to disturb him, so he quietly went to the kitchen to make breakfast.

…

After they finished eating, as Tang Xu was tidying up, there was a knock on the courtyard gate.

Tang Xu was hanging clothes nearby and went to open the gate.

He was startled to see two officials standing outside, wearing deep blue official uniforms and carrying swords at their sides.

"Who are you looking for?" he asked.

The two young officials outside the door were also startled when they saw Tang Xu, but their surprise stemmed from his appearance.

His eyebrows were not sharp at the ends, but rather slightly curved, giving him a soft and gentle look.

His peach blossom eyes were not smiling, yet they curved slightly upwards, carrying a hint of unwitting charm. Paired with long, curled eyelashes and a straight nose.

Moving down, his lips were rosy and slightly parted, with a graceful curve and fullness. When he smiled, there were two shallow dimples visible.

There was a touch of crimson at the center of his eyebrows.

His long hair was casually tied up, with a few strands hanging on either side of his fair face, giving off a lazy charm.

The two officials were stunned by his appearance.

Since there weren't any particularly clear mirrors at home, Tang Xu wasn't quite aware of his own facial features. Especially recently, after eating well for a few days, his complexion was quite good. Though he was still thin, he looked different from his previous thin and out of shape state.

Since becoming pregnant, Tang Xu unconsciously exuded a bit of charm in his every expression. His eyes were slightly reddened at the corners, likely from being irritated by the chili flakes in the fried noodles he had just eaten.

Seeing the two men staring dumbfoundedly at him, Tang Xu furrowed his eyebrows slightly.

Even if they were two officials, they shouldn't openly stare at others, right?

Tang Xu's expression cooled a bit as he felt upset.

"Who are you looking for?"

The officials snapped out of their daze, inexplicably blushing.

"Um, cough, is it Wei Dong's house?" one of them asked.

Tang Xu nodded, then thought for a moment, stepped back to make way, and said, "Please come in. My husband is in the backyard. Gentlemen, come in for some hot tea, and I'll go get him."

The two men nodded.

Tang Xu led the way, signaling to Wei Xi, who was peeking out the window, to retreat. Wei Xi pulled his head back and didn't come forward. After all, seeing two officials carrying big knives would make anyone nervous. It was like modern people feeling tense around police officers wearing wide-brimmed hats; it was instinctual.

Tang Xu wasn't nervous, though. He led the men to the main hall, poured two cups of hot tea, and placed a plate of her own baked pastries on the table. "Gentlemen, you've traveled far and must be tired. Please enjoy the food and drinks while I fetch my husband."

The two men nodded but remained silent.

As Tang Xu turned to leave, the two officials glanced at each other, noticing the flushed faces they both wore.

The two of them were relatively new officials and hadn't learned the airs and graces yet. 

Moreover, since this trip was a task assigned by the county magistrate with instructions to be polite to Wei Dong, they didn't put on any official airs when they saw Tang Xu.

If Tang Xu knew what they were thinking, he might have laughed.

He had seen plenty of official arrogance, and has long been immune to them.

Anyway, when Tang Xu went to the backyard to call Wei Dong, he didn't find him there. Instead, he was halfway up the mountainside.

He was squatting there in a rather unique pose, using bamboo strips to tie up the gaps in the fence. There was even a fat cat perched on his shoulder.

He quickly tied up the wider gaps, and the fat cat on his shoulder meowed several times, flicking its tail a couple of times.

"I have to tie this to keep the weasel away, otherwise it will get in and steal the chickens and rabbits," Wei Dong muttered to himself.

The fat cat meowed again.

Wei Dong continued his movements to tie up another area, but the cat perched on his shoulder wasn't behaving, and he didn't bother shooing it away.

"You're too fat to squeeze through, what's with all the meowing? Besides eating, what else are you good for? I haven't seen you catch a single mouse. If my husband didn't fancy you, I'd have kicked you out long ago!"

Fat Cat: "Meow, meow, meow!"

"What's with all the meowing? Even the mule is better at catching mice than you!"

"Meow~!"

"Hiss!" Wei Dong glanced sideways at his shoulder, where he felt the sharp prick of the cat's claws. There was a flash of anger in his eyes.

Sensing danger, the fat cat's tail fluffed up, but it obediently leaned over and rubbed its head against Wei Dong's cheek, displaying a coquettish behavior, making cute, sweet sounds, "Meow~ meow~"

Wei Dong glanced at it but ultimately didn't shoo it away.

Mainly because despite being fat, the cat was quite warm and acted as a windbreaker.

The wind was strong halfway up the mountainside, and even though Wei Dong wasn't sensitive to the cold, the chilly wind still made him uncomfortable.

Tang Xu didn't see him in the backyard, so he went past two gates and called out a couple of times. Only after getting a response did he finally see Wei Dong squatting beside the fence.

The fence on the back hill of his house, how should he put it, was really sturdy.

Not only was there a circle of wooden fences inside, but there was also an outer earthen wall, with bamboo spikes protruding from the top. So far, nobody dared to climb in from there.

Seeing a small bundle of bamboo strips next to him, Tang Xu raised an eyebrow.

His eyes glanced toward the outer earthen wall, where there was a hole in the corner.

"Have mice gotten in?" he asked.

"No," Wei Dong's movements were quick. The fat cat on his shoulder started meowing and rubbing against him when Tang Xu approached. Tang Xu gave the fat face a couple of strokes. "There was a weasel. We lost a small rabbit last night."

Tang Xu was taken aback. "What?"

He quickly went to check the rabbit hutch and indeed found a missing black and white rabbit. "Did you catch it?"

"No, I just saw blood on the ground here. I figured it was the weasels from the mountains. I'm tying up this area, and tomorrow I'll let the mule roam free at night to guard."

Tang Xu chuckled. "Why don't you bring home a dog to raise instead? Xiao Xi would like it too." He patted his shoulder and said, "Stop for now, two officials came looking for you. Did you encounter something in the county?"

It was only then that Wei Dong remembered he hadn't told Tang Xu about catching the thief.

He stood up, grabbed the fat cat off his shoulder, and tossed it onto the ground. Then, he gently took Tang Xu's hand and started walking downhill. "When I was staying at the inn, two small thieves broke in. I caught them, and the innkeeper reported it to the authorities. The county magistrate said those two thieves had been committing crimes frequently in the county recently, and many inns had been robbed. He praised me for getting rid of harm for the people, and even rewarded me with ten taels of silver. I wanted to tell you when I came back yesterday, but you were too tired, so I didn't mention it."

Tang Xu listened as if he were hearing a story, his eyes wide open. "You encountered thieves? Are you okay?"

Wei Dong laughed. "Do I look like I'm not okay?"

"I mean, are they okay? Are they still alive? You didn't hit them too hard and kill them, did you? Those two officials came to question you, didn't they?" 

Tang Xu looked horrified, imagining his husband being ruthless and knocking out the small thieves with a single blow, which scared him.

His imagination wasn't entirely off, just the outcome was different.

While Wei Dong did knock the small thieves down with a punch each, they were perfectly fine afterward, aside from yelling in pain. There was absolutely no risk to their lives.

Once they were sent to the jail, if they happened to die, it had nothing to do with him. When he left the county yamen, he had already signed and stamped the confession. What happened afterward was not his concern.

After listening to his explanation, Tang Xu finally felt relieved.

Wei Dong washed his hands and went to the main hall to meet the two officials.

Tang Xu thought for a moment, then went to the icehouse to fetch some pre-frozen dumplings and cooked two bowls of dumpling soup in the kitchen. He even added an egg for each person.

After finishing cooking, he brought the food to the main hall. The two men, smelling the delicious aroma, immediately showed expressions of pleasant surprise. They had set off early in the morning and ridden all the way here. They had only managed to nibble on a piece of bread for breakfast and were already starving.

Especially after eating those pastries, their stomachs were rumbling while they were talking to Wei Dong earlier.

Tang Xu placed the two bowls of dumpling soup in front of them and smiled, gesturing, "Eat while you talk."

Wei Dong reached out and pulled him to sit beside him, pouring him some hot water. "We finished here, take a break."

"What did you guys talk about?" Tang Xu sat down next to him, holding a cup of water and looking at Wei Dong curiously.

Wei Dong opened his mouth but didn't say anything.

The two officials, already enjoying the dumpling soup, cooperated and explained the whole situation to Tang Xu.

"After Wei Dong caught those two thieves, he went to the county yamen early the next morning to explain the situation and then left. Later, we interrogated them again and found out that someone was tipping them off every time, allowing them to succeed repeatedly."

"Yes, but this time, it wasn't the person who had been cooperating with them before. It was a woman who saw Wei Dong had a lot of silver on him and bought a lot of New Year's goods. She told them to try their luck."

Tang Xu blinked and looked at Wei Dong.

Wei Dong remained expressionless, showing no signs of nervousness.

"What woman?" Tang Xu smiled and asked the two officials.

They were encouraged by his smile and eagerly continued their explanation.

"We caught her, and when we asked her why, she said it was because Wei Dong rejected her, so she wanted revenge."

"Yes, despite her young age, she's quite cunning. She even tried to sell herself to bury her father, and when someone offered to buy her, she refused. But when she saw Wei Dong buying a cartload of New Year's goods, she threw herself at him. I saw it with my own eyes!"

"Where did you see it? Why didn't I see it?"

"I was out patrolling with Wang Mazhi. It was on the east side of Third Street. I saw a crowd gathered, thinking something had happened. When I went over, I saw Sun Meier crying and holding onto the wooden wheel of Wei Dong's cart. I thought the cart had hit her, so I almost squeezed in to help. But then I heard her saying she wanted Wei Dong to pay two taels of silver to buy her. I couldn't believe how shameless she was. I never expected someone who looks so weak to have such strong vindictiveness."

Sun Meier?

Tang Xu felt like he had heard that name before, but after thinking about it for a while, he couldn't remember where.

Oh well, it didn't matter.

When two officials finished eating and talking, they got up to leave.

Tang Xu still didn't understand why they had come.

The two officials chuckled and waved their hands, saying it was an order from the county magistrate to come and inform Wei Dong personally that Sun Meier would be imprisoned for three months.

Since it was her first offense and didn't cause any substantial harm, the county magistrate didn't impose a heavy sentence. Tang Xu nodded in agreement, thinking that three months of imprisonment was fair and hoping it would help correct her distorted mindset.

As for why they specifically came to inform Wei Dong, he still didn't understand. But judging by his husband's expression, he seemed to have figured it out.

Later, when Tang Xu was half asleep in bed, he suddenly sat up.

Wei Dong was startled and quickly pulled him into his arms. "Did you have a nightmare?"

Tang Xu shook his head. "I haven't fallen asleep yet."

"Then why did you suddenly sit up?" Wei Dong was puzzled.

Tang Xu clicked his tongue. "I know why Sun Meier's name sounded familiar."

Wei Dong made a questioning noise.

Tang Xu smacked his lips, lay back down, and muttered, "The eldest daughter-in-law of Auntie Lou's family, named Sun Ning'er. Their names are quite similar."

Wei Dong: "...” He sure has a vivid imagination.

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