Chapter 564
Chapter 564
“I swear to Heaven, the person we’re looking for really is here.” Jiang Yuanrang quickly raised his hand as he spoke.
He kept glancing into the courtyard, wondering whether Jun Mowen had gone up the mountain to gather herbs again.
“Old man!” Unable to hold himself back, Jiang Yuanrang called into the courtyard once more.
“Are you calling for my soul?” an impatient voice came from inside the house.
“The door’s unlocked. Come in yourselves.”
“Old man, I’ve brought you plenty of delicious food today.” Jiang Yuanrang pushed open the door excitedly as he spoke.
“Hmph. I thought you’d already forgotten about this old fellow.” The door inside the house opened, and a disheveled old man walked out.
When the old man glanced up and saw so many people standing outside the courtyard, he hurried back inside and shut the door.
“Who told you to bring them here?” the old man’s irritated voice came from inside.
“Old man, none of them are coming in. It’ll just be the two of us.” Jiang Yuanrang scratched his head. He hadn’t expected Jun Mowen to react like this.
However, since he had already promised to bring Wen Xiu here, there was no way he could simply turn around and leave.
“Tell them all to go. Otherwise, you’re not coming in either,” Jun Mowen said unhappily.
He was quite resentful that Jiang Yuanrang had no sense of propriety.
He didn’t like meeting outsiders.
“All right, all right. I won’t bring them in. But this lady is my fiancée. I brought her here especially so you could have a look at her.” Jiang Yuanrang took Wen Xiu by the hand and called toward the house.
Jun Mowen’s mood improved when he heard that. Since that rascal had thought to bring his fiancée over for him to inspect, shouldn’t he take a good look at her?
As for the others, however, he had no intention of meeting them.
“Miss…” Qiuyue stood anxiously beside Wen Xiu when she heard this.
“It’s fine. Wait for us outside.” Wen Xiu shook her head. Although she didn’t know what kind of person was inside, she could smell the scent of medicinal herbs.
Besides, she trusted that Jiang Yuanrang wouldn’t let her get hurt.
Judging by how familiar Jiang Yuanrang was with the man, the two of them must have a good relationship.
Jiang Yuanrang led Wen Xiu into the courtyard.
“Follow me carefully,” he cautioned Wen Xiu.
“There are a lot of mechanisms set up around this courtyard.” Afraid that Wen Xiu might misunderstand, Jiang Yuanrang hurriedly explained.
Wen Xiu was greatly shocked. It seemed that the person before her was no ordinary man.
After all, very few people knew how to make mechanical traps.
“Old man, I’m coming in!” When they reached the door, Jiang Yuanrang knocked again.
“Wait, wait! Let this old man change into a different set of clothes.” The sound of rummaging through boxes and cabinets came from inside.
Wen Xiu looked at Jiang Yuanrang in confusion.
“Perhaps he wants to change into something more presentable to meet you?” Jiang Yuanrang thought for a moment before explaining in a low voice.
“I didn’t bring him a gift.” Wen Xiu frowned. Jiang Yuanrang hadn’t told her that they would be meeting anyone.
It seemed rather impolite to arrive empty-handed.
“Don’t worry. I brought everything.” Jiang Yuanrang lifted the roast chicken and wine in his hands and smiled.
“Come in! Come in!” Before long, the door opened from inside.
Jun Mowen had already changed into a fresh set of clothes. He had even tied his beard into a small braid, making him look much neater than he had when he was all disheveled.
“You rascal, you should’ve told me in advance that you were bringing someone here.”
Jun Mowen knocked Jiang Yuanrang on the head as he spoke.
“Ow! Didn’t I come to tell you now?” Jiang Yuanrang said ingratiatingly.
“You certainly lucked out, kid. You actually managed to find such a beautiful wife. Now, which family’s young lady is she?” Jun Mowen looked Wen Xiu over before teasing Jiang Yuanrang.
Although Jun Mowen lived on the mountain, he was still familiar with the young ladies from the most prominent families in Lucheng.
“Wen Xiu greets you, sir.” Wen Xiu curtsied to Jun Mowen.
“Oh, don’t bow to an old man like me. I can’t accept such a gesture.” Though Jun Mowen claimed he couldn’t accept the courtesy, the smile on his face was impossible to hide.
He was even more pleased with Wen Xiu now.
What a fine young woman!
Mowen thought to himself.
“Hehe.” Jiang Yuanrang wore a foolish grin when he heard this.
Only then did he explain, “My fiancée isn’t from Rucheng. She’s from the capital.”
“The capital? You managed to find a wife in the capital? Girl, you weren’t deceived by him, were you?” Mowen looked Jiang Yuanrang up and down suspiciously, then turned to Wen Xiu with concern.
“Sir, you jest. My marriage to Young Master Li was personally bestowed by Her Majesty the Empress,” Wen Xiu said with a smile.
She hadn’t expected Jiang Yuanrang to have such a side to him.
“Why do you call him Young Master Li?” Jun Mowen immediately caught the meaning behind Wen Xiu’s words.
Jiang Yuanrang clearly bore the surname Jiang, yet this young woman had called him Young Master Li.
“Oh, that’s because my birth parents are in the capital.” Jiang Yuanrang spoke in a carefree tone.
“You’re not a child of the Jiang family? How did you suddenly acquire birth parents?” Jun Mowen asked, puzzled.
“I’m actually not a child of the Jiang family. My adoptive mother found me and raised me as her own son.” Jiang Yuanrang didn’t go into the details. He simply gave a brief explanation.
“I knew it. How could that sickly child, who was practically on the verge of death, suddenly recover?” Upon hearing this, Jun Mowen suddenly understood. He rose to his feet and spoke angrily.
All these years, he had believed that his medical skills had been inadequate back then, so he had continued studying medicine and seeking to improve his knowledge.
He had done so because he had misdiagnosed the boy in the past and never wanted such a thing to happen again.
After all, the reason he had secluded himself in these mountains was that he felt too ashamed to face Madam Jiang.
And yet the Jiang family had pulled a switch right under his nose.
In the end, all the years he had sacrificed had been for nothing.
The more Jun Mowen thought about it, the angrier he became.
“Old man, don’t be angry. Look, I even brought you roast chicken and wine today.”
Seeing Jun Mowen grow furious, Jiang Yuanrang hurriedly took out the wine and roast chicken he had prepared long ago to placate him.
“How could I not be angry? Madame Jiang deceived me back then.”
At the thought of it, Jun Mowen was furious all over again.
At the time, he hadn’t understood how the child’s appearance could have changed so drastically. Madame Jiang had simply told him that the child was ill, so he had given him all the best things to eat.
And yet he had actually believed her nonsense.
“You can’t blame me for that,” Jiang Yuanrang hurriedly pleaded.
“Hmph. This old man hid away in these mountains all his life because of something Madame Jiang said back then,” Jun Mowen grumbled.
After saying this, Jun Mowen stormed back into the house and began searching for something. All Wen Xiu could hear was a loud clattering and banging.
“What’s wrong with him?” Wen Xiu asked Jiang Yuanrang in confusion.
“It’s fine. He’s probably looking for something.” Jiang Yuanrang scratched his head. He had no idea what Jun Mowen had gone inside to find.
Jun Mowen was a rather eccentric man. Back then, he really had secluded himself in these mountains because Madame Jiang had claimed that his medical skills were inadequate.
“Girl, these are all meeting gifts for you. If you don’t know what they are, ask this rascal. I have something to do; we’ll talk again later.”
Jun Mowen stuffed a whole armful of bottles and jars into Wen Xiu’s arms, then vanished in a flash.