Surviving in the General's Mansion - Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Wude

By the time Xia Heng returned to the banquet at the Xiao Mansion, she felt that the number of eyes on her had not decreased at all. If anything, there were even more of them.

She was utterly baffled.

Cang Chuli turned around and looked her over with great interest. Then he said, “You’ve got some skills, huh?”

Xia Heng was still confused.

Cang Chuli turned back again, clearly with no intention of saying anything more.

Sir! Say it! At least finish what you were saying!

Chuqing quietly sidled up beside her.

“Just now, the maid from Minister Chen’s family came running back in tears and complained to their madam.

“I’m not sure exactly what she said, but she did mention a maid from the General’s Mansion.

“Their madam scolded her harshly and then told her to leave.

“I was standing right here at the time, so it could only have been you.”

Only then did Xia Heng nod and quietly tell Chuqing what had happened.

Chuqing could hardly believe it.

…She truly could not tell if that girl was clever or stupid.

She had started the whole thing herself, dragged her own young lady into it, and now she still dared to go complain to their madam.

Such admirable courage.

As if she were afraid her own mistress wouldn’t find out she had been ruining her young lady’s reputation outside…

==========

By the time Cang Chuli and the others returned to the mansion, the sky was nearly dark.

The carriage stopped at the main gate. As the group got down, they saw a small figure by the entrance, leaning against the stone lion and trembling.

“Little Wude?”

Wude finally saw the person he had been waiting two hours for.

He threw himself straight into Xia Heng’s arms, tears streaming down with a whoosh.

“Sister!”

Xia Heng was completely bewildered. She gently patted Wude’s back with one hand.

“Why are you here?”

Cang Chuli spoke up.

Wude lifted his tear-streaked little face, the tip of his nose red from crying.

“Putuo Temple is gone! Waaaah!”

“Ever since… ever since you left last time, because the temple discovered that underground passage, everyone thought we were in league with the criminals…”

At this point, Wude hiccupped through his sobs.

“And so many people died last time. The worshippers also thought Putuo Temple had seen blood and was unlucky, so they never came again.”

“Waaah!!! The… the abbot has been taking the senior brothers and splitting them up to seek shelter at other temples.”

“…Before he left, he said I had a karmic connection with Sister and this general, and told me to come find you.”

“Waaaah…”

Hiss!

Massacring people in someone else’s temple really was a bit out of line. Now they had even caused the whole temple to disband!

Xia Heng cautiously looked toward Cang Chuli.

Cang Chuli looked at the Little Baldie and, for once, felt somewhat guilty.

The Little Baldie was a little afraid of this older brother. Hugging Xia Heng’s leg, he shifted around and hid where Cang Chuli could no longer see him.

“Wude… Wude searched for a long time. Today, I didn’t manage to beg any alms either.”

As he spoke, looking pitiful and wronged, he tightened the thin bundle on his back, then rubbed his stomach.

Chuqing could not take it anymore!

He couldn’t even get enough to eat?!

This was a matter of the utmost importance. A child this young would not grow tall if he did not eat enough!

Cang Chuli asked with a headache, “Why didn’t you go inside to wait?”

Uncle Zhang, who watched the gate, hurried forward.

“General, this old servant did ask this little… little master to come in and wait in the gatehouse for you. He could have warmed up and had some hot water while he waited.

“But he refused! I gave him flatbread, and he wouldn’t take it either!”

Uncle Zhang felt wronged too. If anyone else saw this, they would think he had deliberately left such a small child out in the cold.

“Master said that when entering someone else’s home, you must receive the owner’s permission first. Begging for alms is the same.”

Wude poked his head out from in front of Xia Heng.

“The sign up there says ‘General’s Mansion of Northern Pacification.’ You are the general, so you are the owner.”

The Little Baldie revealed half of his smooth little head, his eyes still brimming with tears. With that bundle on his back, he looked utterly miserable.

“Wude doesn’t have a home anymore. But… but this is your home, so Wude had to wait for you to come back. Waaah…”
Halfway through, he couldn’t help bursting into tears again. He was too good. Truly, too good!

The moment those words came out, he captured the hearts of everyone present, Uncle Zhang included.

Even Mo Qing and Mo Bai began sneaking glances at Cang Chuli.

Their master wouldn’t think the child was too much trouble and throw him out, would he?

But then again, the thing their general hated most did seem to be children.

In the past, whenever he went out and visited various residences, it was inevitable that he would run into other people’s children.

Children, especially boys, always admired great generals who could ride horses and fight battles far more than the scholars and tutors who pressed them to study every day.

And when those young masters pestered the general to teach them martial arts, their general either knocked them flat without the slightest mercy, or mocked them to their faces for being unworthy.

For a while after that, whenever children misbehaved, their parents would bring up the general’s name to scare them.

It truly reached the point where his name could stop a child from crying at night.

He and the current emperor were even known together as the Twin Terrors of the capital… Some people also spread rumors that the two of them carried an evil aura around with them.

To this day, whenever the general visited someone’s home, those young masters would avoid showing their faces if they possibly could.

But the one before them…

Did a little monk count as a child?

Cang Chuli felt the burning gazes coming at him from all directions.

He let out a cold laugh.

Heh.

Abbot Mingcheng, when it came to scheming, you really were the expert.

After I destroyed your temple, it was bad enough that you sent me a burden.

You actually sent me a Little Daji who could bewitch people’s hearts!

Look at this. He hadn’t even stepped through the gates of the General’s Mansion yet, and already a whole crowd of people was worrying about his safety.

If Cang Chuli dared say today that he didn’t want this child and would leave him to fend for himself, never mind these women…

Even Uncle Zhang, the gatekeeper, would nag him about it for years.

Then he looked at Uncle Zhang, who was secretly wiping away tears.

Years might not even be enough!

“Go inside.”

“Mo Bai, settle him in and get him something to eat.”

“Yes, Young Master!”

Mo Bai accepted the order.

Heh. He was calling him Young Master already…

Cang Chuli was just about to leave when he heard Xia Heng crouch down and say to Wude, “See? You have a new home now! Stop crying. It’s so cold out. If you keep crying, your face will get chapped!”

Cang Chuli glanced at the woman.

At last, he stepped into his own residence.

……

In the end, Little Wude was placed with Uncle Zhao.

There was no helping it. There really weren’t many people in the General’s Mansion with childcare experience.

The moment Aunt Zhao saw the little monk’s thin cotton-padded monk robes, her heart ached so much that she immediately put the new cotton jacket she had made for her own son onto Little Baldie instead.

And so, when Zhao Fu finally came home to rest after changing shifts,

he discovered that he had somehow gained a new little brother!

The child was eating from his bowl, wearing his clothes, living in his home,

and the woman beside him, lovingly adding food to his bowl, was his mother!

At first, Zhao Fu had thought it was no big deal for his parents to help look after a child. In any case, his father had said the general would provide extra money for raising him.

But that very night, Zhao Fu discovered that his status at home had plummeted in a straight line.

Specifically,

late at night, his parents told him to boil water so his new little brother could wash up.

Afraid that Zhao Fu’s snoring would disturb his new little brother, they had the new little brother sleep with them.

But they were also afraid the new little brother would get cold at night, so they took Zhao Fu’s bedding and even made him lay it out properly!

Zhao Fu had no choice but to dig an old quilt he used to use out of the cabinet and make do for the night.

That night, Zhao Fu lay in a bed that no matter how he tried, he couldn’t warm up. Listening to the child’s “hee hee hee” laughter coming from his parents’ room,

he felt his heart growing colder and colder!

Daji! He had to be Daji!

Only then did Zhao Fu finally understand how his general felt.

But his general had already gone to bed.

And in the end, Zhao Fu was the only one left hurt.