Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family-Chapter 953 - Trouble-making Chou Chou
Chapter 953: Chapter 953: Trouble-making Chou Chou
Chapter 953 -953: Trouble-making Chou Chou
Compared to the hardships faced by Liu Sisi over there, Di Yelei was enjoying fine wine and delicious food, celebrating heartily.
Last evening he had just attended a welcoming banquet, and today, at noon, there was a banquet to wash away the dust of travel. Even the children were fortunate to be invited out as honored guests. Di Yelei alone sat with a stern face at the head of the table, pouring wine into his mouth the whole time, without any trace of the once ambitious general who commanded a million troops.
At the moment, Di Cheng and Di Xuan sat to the right and slightly below Di Yelei, while Chou Chou alone was confined beside Di Hongyuan, fidgeting uncomfortably. And Di Hongyuan, with a ferocious expression, glared fiercely at Chou Chou.
It wasn’t without reason that Di Hongyuan was upset; Chou Chou really was too prone to causing trouble!
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When they were younger, the differences among the triplets were not apparent, but as they grew older, the differences in their dispositions became ever more distinct.
Since the last incident, Niuniu had been taken by Di Ying’s side to learn manners, and the two educating nannies from the palace had not spared any effort in teaching her. Even if she harbored mischievous thoughts of going out to play, under the strict supervision of everyone, and with so many recent troubles at home, she, who was adept at reading the room, naturally did not dare to provoke Di Yelei and behaved well following Di Ying and Feng’er around.
But Chou Chou was a different story!
He was the type who became bolder with age. Even if he had nearly set the cabin on fire just before disembarking yesterday, this morning he went straight to the plaque hanging above the official residence and poked it down.
This was akin to stirring up a wasp’s nest! The Prefect of Wanzhou could not hide it even if he wanted to, and hence this scene had unfolded.
Di Yelei glanced at Di Hongyuan, who seemed to be subtly protecting Chou Chou, and his brows furrowed even more. Turning his head, he saw Chou Chou, who, despite sitting properly, still had his eyes rolling around incessantly, and immediately felt a surge of annoyance.
“Tell me, what excuse do you have this time?”
“I…I was thinking, I was trying to…” Chou Chou stuttered, his pleading gaze falling on Di Hongyuan beside him.
Di Hongyuan opened his mouth as if to say something but closed it hastily under the reproachful look from Di Yelei.
“Speak! If you dare hide anything, you’ll be dealt with by the family punishment immediately!”
Di Yelei’s eyebrows slanted upward as he glared at Chou Chou.
Chou Chou looked left and right, seeing that no one dared to come forward and provoke further anger, he could only whisper: “Chou Chou… Chou Chou just wanted to see the swallow’s nest behind that signboard. They said, it was made of cubilose…”
“Pfft—cough cough…”
It was unclear who laughed first, followed by a round of hurried coughing as an attempt to conceal it. Everyone in attendance struggled to hold back their laughter, each pretending to be busy with something else.
Di Yelei raised his eyebrow: “So just to see if the swallow’s nest behind the ‘Open and Aboveboard’ signboard was actually cubilose, you poked the signboard down?”
“No, that’s not it!” Chou Chou waved his hands frantically: “I was just clearing that swallow’s nest, I don’t know how it happened…that signboard, the signboard…”
Under Di Yelei’s increasingly grim expression, Chou Chou couldn’t continue his explanation.
“Good! Very good! So very good indeed.”
Di Yelei nodded repeatedly, obviously infuriated to the extreme.
“You think drowning in water is fun, don’t you want to try it yourself? You think murder looks amusing, perhaps you’d like to try killing too? At such a young age, you fail to learn what’s right and can’t distinguish good from evil, easily swayed and led by the nose the moment someone provokes you. If you continue like this, even when you grow up, you’ll nothing but a scourge to society, condemned and ostracized by everyone. It would be better to snuff you out now while you are still young and haven’t yet brought harm to our community!”
In the midst of speaking, he clearly intended to draw his knife and confront the boy.
Upon seeing this, how could everyone stand by? They all hurried to intervene.
“No, Dad! No matter what, Third Brother is still your own flesh and blood!”
Di Xuan hastily gripped Di Yelei’s arm and refused to let go.
“Stop holding me back! Watch as I eradicate this troublemaker today!”
The veins on Di Yelei’s face were bulging with rage, ready to strike at the slightest provocations.
Di Hongyuan also quickly stepped forward to shield Chou Chou, “Third Brother, Chou Chou is still young. If he has done something wrong today, a few words of reprimand should suffice…”
“Big brother, don’t protect him! You are his guiding mentor, you must not encourage his arrogance. Daring to deface a plaque without hesitation, if this continues, our Di family will undoubtedly produce a profligate son!”
Di Yelei was already anxious about locating Liu Sisi, and now this incident was like adding fuel to the fire. How could a few words from Di Hongyuan dissipate his wrath?
The Prefect of Wanzhou, standing beside, also hurried to stop him, blocking his path, “Old Master Marquis, please stay your hand! Although your son has been mischievous, his actions were ultimately harmless. While the plaque indeed fell, it’s mostly due to it being hung for many years—it’s worn out and no longer sturdy. It doesn’t warrant such a harsh reprimand from you.”
Di Yelei’s expression finally softened a bit as the other party had now spoken up, making the matter easier to resolve.
Truthfully, the incident with the plaque falling was neither trivial nor serious. If the Prefect of Wanzhou insisted on dwelling on the matter, it would indeed be a troublesome issue. And if the complaint reached His Majesty, severe punishment wouldn’t be likely, but a rebuke for “failing to discipline properly” would be inevitable.
Now that the Prefect of Wanzhou was personally pleading on his behalf, he naturally took the opportunity to back down, immediately softening his features.
“You may not know, esteemed Prefect, this bear of a child is a complete fool through and through. I’ve tried my best to guide him to be close and amiable with your Young Master, yet he caused such an incident. Ah! It’s fortunate that no one was injured or killed, that at least is a silver lining!”
As though there was not a hint of anger left, the Prefect of Wanzhou smiled until his eyes became slits, and he quickly offered a fist greeting to urge restraint.
“Old Master Marquis, where did you get such ideas? It’s a great fortune for my unworthy son to have befriended your noble son, truly a blessing in three lifetimes. Today, I specially arranged this feast to wash away the dust for Your Excellency and Prince Luo. Both of you should enjoy yourselves to the fullest. Come, come, let’s all take our seats and we can continue our discussion over the meal.”
As he spoke, he then led everyone to sit down once more, and thus the storm passed without incident.
Preoccupied with his own concerns, Di Yelei only sipped a few cups of water wine before excusing himself due to feeling unwell. He left the official residence with the repeated courteous farewells from the governor and returned to the hostel.
He summoned Chou Chou again and scolded him fiercely. As he looked at the face before him, bearing a strong resemblance to Liu Sisi, Di Yelei felt even more distressed. Waving his hand to dismiss Chou Chou, he then changed into cloth clothing and left the hostel, wandering aimlessly along the streets bathed in the slanting rays of the setting sun.
The early winter breeze of Wanzhou bit at one’s cheeks painfully. Passersby rushed by him hurriedly on their way home.
A sense of loneliness and emptiness welled up from the depths of Di Yelei’s heart. The image of Liu Sisi’s smiling visage kept flashing before his eyes, making his solitary figure seem even more desolate.
