My Fulang is a Delicate Flower Chapter 23 Part 3

Ji Yangzong’s chest heaved slightly. He was used to Huo Shu’s bluntness, but today, the man seemed particularly odd.  

Watching him leave, Ji Yangzong hurried inside.  

"Ouch, Mom, be gentle—it hurts!"  

Ji Taoyu sat on a stool, his pant legs rolled up high as Huang Manjing applied medicinal wine to the scrapes on his knees.  

His skin was fair and delicate, making him prone to injuries. The fall had left one knee skinned, surrounded by red and purple bruises spanning half a palm’s width - a stark contrast against his pale legs.  

"That damned driver! If I ever run into Lao Zhangtou from Yanmiao Village, I’ll give him a piece of my mind! Letting you fall like this and still trying to extort money, thank goodness Huo Shu was there, or you’d have been bullied!"  

Ji Yangzong had meant to question Ji Taoyu, but seeing his swollen, bruised knee, his heart ached too much.  

Frowning, he said, "Use the ointment your Grandfather brought last time, it works well. My bruises faded in two days when I used it."  

"That ointment is too strong for Xiao Taozi's delicate skin. We need something gentler."  

Ji Taoyu looked up at Ji Yangzong. "Is the guest gone?"  

Ji Yangzong nodded, then remembered why he’d come in. He immediately asked:  

"That Huo Shu is really something, every time you’re in a bad state, he’s the one bringing you back. The man barely speaks to anyone and always has a stern face, yet he lets you ride his precious horse?"  

"Dad, not this again!"  

Ji Taoyu muttered, "Ever since the engagement was called off, you think everyone has ulterior motives."  

This time, Ji Yangzong had a solid argument. "That guy clearly saw we had a guest but refused to leave. The moment Zhou Zheng left, he immediately wanted to go too. What do you think that means?"  

Huang Manjing shot him a look. "He kindly chased off that dishonest driver and carried your ger home, and you’re complaining that he didn’t leave immediately when we had a guest? Shouldn’t he even have a sip of tea?"  

Mentioning the guest, Ji Taoyu puffed his cheeks in annoyance. "Why didn’t you tell me beforehand that the Zhou family’s son was coming?"  

Ji Yangzong chuckled awkwardly. "I didn’t invite him, he came on his own. With taxes getting heavier, I decided to start a fish pond. Among the nearby villages, Zhou’s second son is the best at managing ponds, so he kindly came to help."  

"Everyone knows what you’re really thinking."  

Huang Manjing scolded.  

Seeing both mother and child displeased with him, Ji Yangzong quickly apologized. "My bad. Next time, I’ll discuss it with you first, alright?"  

"But speaking of which, Xiao Taozi, you saw Zhou’s second son today. What do you think?"  

Ji Taoyu glanced at the wild chrysanthemums on the table and said flatly, "I didn’t really look at him."  

"If you think he’s acceptable, I’ll have him come again. If not, we’ll forget about it."  

Ji Yangzong continued, "I know you’re still upset, but what’s done is done. We can’t keep clinging to a crooked tree, can we?"  

[系在一颗歪脖子树上下不来" (xì zài yī kē wāi bózi shù shàng xià bù lái): lit. Clinging to a crooked-necked tree and unable to come down; fig. Persisting in a hopeless situation or bad relationship when one should let go]

"Dad, I really don’t feel like meeting anyone right now. If you and Mom think he’s good, then that’s fine."  

Ji Yangzong and Huang Manjing fell silent at this.  

Huang Manjing said, "Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. Weren’t you saying you’re tired? Go lie down for a bit. I’ll call you when dinner’s ready."  

With that, she helped him to bed and dragged Ji Yangzong out of the room.  

"You’re too eager, as if you’re afraid our ger won’t get married."  

"I’m just thinking of the child’s future."  

Seeing his wife walk away, Ji Yangzong hurried after her. "Alright, alright, I won’t bring it up again for now, okay?"  

____

As Huo Shu mounted his horse and rode away from the Ji family, he suddenly turned to look back.  

His battlefield-honed instincts made him hyper-aware of unseen presences. Not far from the Ji home, he sensed eyes on him.  

Sure enough, when he glanced back, a figure quickly ducked behind the bamboo grove behind the Ji residence, but not fast enough to hide a flash of green sleeve.  

Huo Shu scoffed. If he couldn’t bear to let go, why had he given up in the first place?  

Wanting both career and love, since when did the world grant such luxuries?  

Once his horse had gone far enough, You Lingxiao emerged from hiding. He stared in the direction of the Ji residence, a deep sense of loss welling up inside him.  

Who would’ve thought that just days after the broken engagement, the Ji family was already scouting for a new son-in-law? Now, even seeing Ji Taoyu once more seemed impossible.  

At dusk, You's mother saw her son return looking dejected and asked, "What’s wrong?"  

You Lingxiao shook his head bitterly, unwilling to speak to her, and went straight to his room.  

As a mother, she knew her son best. Today, the Ji family had made a big show of repairing their fish pond, even bringing in an outsider to help, how could she not know?  

Her son must have heard the village gossip and was upset.  

You's mother hadn’t expected the Ji family to be so decisive, calling off the engagement without hesitation. She had underestimated them.  

Still, their voluntary withdrawal was for the best. It saved her the trouble of dealing with them if things escalated to the magistrate’s office.  

But her foolish son, ruled by emotion, was still hung up on that sickly Ji Taoyu.