After I traveled through the book, I fought back in the Hou Mansion

Chapter 260 Veins Burst

Chapter 260

And since then, Marquis Zhongyong has obviously spoken much less. This time, it was rare to see him care about the children, so she echoed a few words, but there was a hint of complaint in her tone.

The two had been married for many years, so how could the loyal and brave marquis not understand the meaning behind his wife's words? However, with the children around him, he couldn't say anything more.

So, he waved his hand and said to them, "Since we've finished our meal, let's go out and play. Brothers and sisters should communicate more so that they can have a deeper relationship in the future."

He was always busy outside, unlike the Marquis's wife, who managed the daily life of the mansion. But his feelings were the same for both his two sons and the two maids he later brought back. Since they had been brought back to the mansion, he would raise them as his own children. For girls, the only thing he needed was a dowry. Even if their status was far inferior to that of the Marquis's, they would be able to live a smooth life after marriage with the support of the Marquis's family.

Luo Shuiyao stood up and saluted the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery and his wife. Seeing this, Ye Yunxing and Lu Zhaozhao naturally stood up as well. After saying goodbye, they walked out of the yard.

Ye Yunxing enthusiastically recounted the various trivialities and interesting stories that happened in the academy, and Luo Shuiyao occasionally whispered a word or two in agreement.

Lu Zhaozhao followed Ye Yunxing on the other side, walking slowly, listening to their conversation, the coldness in her lowered eyes became more intense.

Ye Yunxing grew up in the capital and was influenced by the etiquette and norms of the powerful and wealthy. Naturally, he was very familiar with the ways of getting along with others. Therefore, he would not leave Lu Zhaozhao alone, and would turn around and talk to her from time to time.

In fact, even if Ye Yunxing liked Luo Shuiyao more in his heart, as long as Lu Zhaozhao and Luo Shuiyao were around at the same time, he would try his best to control his words and actions, not to show favoritism, and try his best to treat the two equally, giving them equal attention and communication. But as long as Lu Zhaozhao and Luo Shuiyao were around at the same time, he would try his best to control his words and actions, not to show favoritism, and try his best to treat the two equally, giving them equal attention and communication.

But in Lu Zhaozhao's opinion, Ye Yunxing's behavior was precisely a lack of respect for her. Their mothers had known each other since childhood, and she had gone to the capital with her mother to meet Ye Yunxing and his brother when she was young. Ye Yunxing had also liked her at that time. Moreover, in terms of status, she was much more noble than Luo Shuiyao. Why should she be treated the same now?

Thinking of this, her hatred for Luo Shuiyao grew even deeper.

Although Ye Yunxing had an older brother and a father above him, and a mother below him, who had solved all his problems and shielded him from all the darker aspects of life, he still shared his brother's keen sense of purpose. After a few conversations, he noticed that Lu Zhaozhao was in a bad mood and, assuming she wasn't interested, he gradually reduced his interactions with her.

But his considerate behavior only made Lu Zhaozhao more dissatisfied. When she saw Ye Yunxing recounting interesting stories from the academy again, Luo Shuiyao listened attentively with a faint smile on her face. Then, she turned her eyes and caught a glimpse of the jade pendant hanging around Ye Yunxing's waist.

Of course she knew the origin of this jade pendant.

Suddenly, an idea came to her mind, an idea that could both avenge him for looking down on her and get rid of this "village girl".

She stared at the jade pendant, seemingly pondering it for a long time, but in fact, she had made up her mind in an instant. Lu Zhaozhao never hesitated once she made a decision. She immediately stepped on the stone under her feet, tilted her body, and rushed towards Ye Yunxing.

At this moment, Ye Yunxing was talking about a fat man in the academy who was so agile that he went to the river to fish and was caught by the teacher and paraded around. He didn't notice it for a moment, only to feel something suddenly rushing towards him. He subconsciously reached out to catch it, but before he could react, he was almost knocked to the ground. If Luo Shuiyao hadn't helped him in time, he and Lu Zhaozhao would probably have fallen.

Luo Shuiyao frowned and helped Lu Zhaozhao up, and asked with concern: "Sister Zhao, are you okay?"

Lu Zhaozhao lowered his eyebrows and pretended to be scared. "Nothing. I was so engrossed in what you were saying that I accidentally tripped. I'm sorry, Brother, and Sister Yao. I didn't mean to do that."

Ye Yunxing gently brushed off the non-existent dust on his body and looked at Luo Shuiyao with gratitude. Just now, Lu Zhaozhao suddenly fell and bumped into him. He wanted to help her up, but was worried about being rude. He was about to ask Luo Shuiyao for help, but unexpectedly, Luo Shuiyao took the initiative to help Lu Zhaozhao up, which made him secretly relieved.

Luo Shuiyao shook her head slightly, indicating that nothing serious was happening. Then, she looked Lu Zhaozhao up and down with some suspicion. She had a feeling that something was not right with Lu Zhaozhao, but she still couldn't figure out what the problem was.

Lu Zhaozhao felt her gaze, and the hand hidden in his sleeve tightly grasped a jade pendant, and squeezed it hard, fearing that he would be seen. Then he dodged Luo Shuiyao's outstretched hand, made a salute to Luo Shuiyao, and took the opportunity to stuff the jade pendant into the hidden pocket of his sleeve, saying, "I'm fine. The sun is too strong outside. You guys can go shopping. I'm going back first."

As he said this, he nodded slightly to Ye Yunxing, then turned around and left quickly.

Luo Shuiyao frowned and looked at Lu Zhaozhao's receding back, unable to understand what was going on. Finally, she thought that she might be overthinking it, so she looked away.

Ye Yunxing noticed her strangeness and saw her complicated expression. He asked, "Little Master, what's wrong?"

He was very tactful, calling her "sister" when there were people around, and "little master" when no one was around. When they were in the academy, he and Luo Shuiyao often corresponded, sharing interesting stories about the academy and wood carving techniques.

Luo Shuiyao was also used to his address, so she just shook her head and said, "It's okay, maybe I'm just overthinking it."

Ye Yunxing said "oh" without asking any more questions. He then pointed to the pavilion in the garden ahead and said, "Little Master, why don't we go sit over there? I happen to have something there and I'd like you to help me take a look."

Luo Shuiyao looked up and saw, by chance, the pavilion where she and Ye Yunzhou had sat last time. She paused, but ultimately did not refuse. She simply replied softly, "Then let's go."

The two of them quickly walked into the pavilion. Ye Yunxing invited her in to sit down, and then he took out a wooden box from under the bench in the pavilion in a slightly sneaky manner.

He took out the wooden box, which contained a half-carved piece of wood. Then, he handed the wood to Luo Shuiyao as if offering a treasure, and said, "Little Master, please help me take a look."

Luo Shuiyao leaned over to examine it carefully. The more she looked, the more familiar the unfinished wood looked. She saw that the wood was carved into a statue of a general, but the face was still relatively rough and had not yet been finely carved.

She stared at him for a few more seconds and couldn't help asking, "Is this your eldest brother?"

"You actually figured it out?"

Ye Yunxing was delighted. "My eldest brother's birthday is in a few days, and this is the birthday present I was going to give him. But the more I carved it, the less it looked like my eldest brother. So, since I have two days off, I brought it back. I wanted to ask you for a favor, but I was afraid my father would find out and scold me, so I hid it here."

At this point, a hint of pride appeared on his face. "Since you can tell that this sculpture is of my eldest brother, it means my craftsmanship is pretty good."

Seeing his smug look, Luo Shuiyao couldn't help but laugh. She looked down at the statue in his hand, which was only a third of the same size, and stepped forward to point it out, "Your eldest brother's jaw isn't as rounded here. Tighten it a bit. Also, his hair isn't as long at the temples. Trim it a little."

Ye Yunxing did as she said. Perhaps because his woodcarving skills had improved significantly recently, he was able to carve out the rough shape in just a few strokes. After examining it carefully, he said happily, "It really does look like it. You are indeed a young master. You are really capable."

Luo Shuiyao was praised by him, but smiled without saying anything, and just moved closer to him to continue giving instructions. This made the distance between the two of them very close, and from a distance, it seemed as if they were doing something private.

One of them was explaining patiently while the other was carving carefully. Both of them were extremely focused and did not notice the face of someone not far away that was as black as the bottom of a pot, and his fist that was clenched with anger and had veins bulging.