The Prime Minister’s Little Wife

Chapter 74: Brother-in-law Eats So Much

After everyone happily finished dinner, they all went home.

Xu Zhizhi returned to her room, locked the door, and entered her space to practice her internal energy techniques. The space had expanded a bit, allowing her to practice her qinggong movements as well.

She practiced what she had learned during the day until she could control it freely, then stopped and came out. Looking at the moon, it was probably around ten at night. She prepared to sleep—it had been a long time since she had stayed up so late!

In the quiet of the night, Nan Ba and Ye Cheng arrived with the injured Ye Yue.

“Master, it was my fault for not protecting you. Please punish me,” Ye Cheng said as soon as he saw Xiao Jingheng, kneeling down to ask for punishment.

“Get up. Are you injured? Did you complete your main mission this time?” Xiao Jingheng’s voice was cold and authoritative.

There was no trace of the gentleness he used when speaking to Xu Zhizhi.

“We safely escorted the Crown Prince back to the Eastern Palace. The Crown Prince is also injured. More than ten of the Ye-generation guards were injured, and over a dozen died.”

“Ye Yue is severely injured. Can he eat? There’s food in the kitchen. Go eat something first, and we’ll talk later.” His voice was still cold, but there was a hint of concern.

Ye Cheng was both surprised and touched.

Nan Ba, familiar with the place, led Ye Cheng to get something to eat.

Ye Yue couldn’t walk. Not only was his body covered in wounds, but he also had severe internal injuries.

Xiao Jingheng transferred some of his internal energy to Ye Yue.

“Master, your internal energy has deepened significantly recently. How did you train? I heard your injuries were even worse than mine. Is that true?”

Ye Yue, feeling a bit stronger, asked urgently.

“Yes, the injuries were severe,” Xiao Jingheng replied in his usual cold tone.

Xiao Jingheng had not only been severely injured but also suffered from a poison flare-up, nearly losing all his martial arts skills. At the time, his elder brother hadn’t killed him directly because he believed Xiao Jingheng wouldn’t survive, hoping he would die in agony from the poison.

Perhaps his elder brother was afraid that their father would eventually trace the crime back to him, which was why he didn’t dare to kill Xiao Jingheng himself…

Now, Xiao Jingheng felt somewhat grateful to his elder brother, especially whenever he thought of his little wife. The hatred he felt toward them had lessened.

Ye Yue, watching his master, was startled to see him smiling so happily. He had no idea what his master was thinking about.

Ye Yue was twenty-three, four years older than his master. When he was thirteen, his entire family was slaughtered. While fleeing and begging along the way, he was rescued by Xiao Jingheng, who was only nine at the time…

Back then, Xiao Jingheng was just a child, but he was as tall as the thirteen-year-old Ye Yue. Though his demeanor was steady, there was a hint of warmth in his eyes.

At that age, Xiao Jingheng hadn’t yet suffered major setbacks or harm and still retained some childhood innocence and kindness. Perhaps he had saved Ye Yue on a whim.

But Ye Yue, having already endured severe hardships, was drowning in sorrow and pain. It was only through his master’s patient guidance that he found the will to live.

Ye Yue had wanted to survive to seek revenge, which was why he endured the suffering. Later, he followed his master. Three years later, when Xiao Jingheng was only twelve, he passed the imperial exams with exceptional talent and even helped Ye Yue exact his revenge.

Little did they know that it was precisely because of Xiao Jingheng’s extraordinary talent that he became the target of jealousy and hatred from those close to him. If it weren’t for Ye Yue, Ye Cheng, and the other Ye-generation guards protecting him, Xiao Jingheng would have been long dead, despite the Duke’s protection.

Since then, Xiao Jingheng had changed. On the surface, he became a carefree, arrogant playboy, but in reality, he was ruthless, cunning, and merciless. The joy he once had was gone, and so were his smiles.

Now, Ye Yue was seeing that smile again, one he hadn’t seen in nearly a decade!

What had happened in these short two months that they didn’t know about?

Ye Yue was so shocked that he choked on his own saliva!

Xiao Jingheng heard the sound of Ye Yue’s saliva. “Are you hungry?”

“I’m a bit hungry,” Ye Yue admitted. He really was hungry. He had been in a daze earlier, worried about his master, and hadn’t been able to eat.

“Ye Yue, have some pork lung soup,” Ye Cheng said, bringing over a bowl of soup after finishing his meal.

“It’s really good, and it’s still warm. I don’t know who’s so thoughtful, keeping the food warm,” Ye Cheng said excitedly.

Xiao Jingheng naturally knew it was his little wife who had kept the food warm. The first time he had saved a bowl of sauerkraut fish, she had told her cousin Lanhua to keep some food warm in the kitchen.

With his sharp hearing, he had clearly heard Xu Zhizhi tell her cousin, “Your brother-in-law is too shy to eat properly when there are many people around. He actually eats a lot and probably isn’t full. Keep some food warm for him later.”

Xu Lanhua, hearing that her brother-in-law wasn’t full, naturally kept some good food in the pot. The next morning, the food in the pot was completely eaten, and the bowls were washed clean.

Xu Lanhua thought she hadn’t left enough, so the next day she left enough for two people. By the next morning, it was all gone again.

Today, seeing that her brother-in-law had hunted such a large wild boar, she realized why he ate so much—he must have incredible strength…

This time, she left enough for about four people, thinking, “This should be enough, right?”

Normally, it was Nan Qi and Nan Ba who ate the food. Today, with two more people, Ye Cheng, unaware of the situation, only knew that the food was delicious and filling.

Ye Cheng was two years younger than Ye Yue. Although he had been rescued by Xiao Jingheng first, his martial arts weren’t as good as Ye Yue’s, so he had to call Ye Yue “big brother.”

Seeing that Ye Yue perked up after seeing their master, Ye Cheng felt much better:

“Big Brother Yue, isn’t the soup delicious? I don’t even know what it’s made of. I only had a small bowl and saved the rest for you to nourish your body.”

“I can’t tell what it’s made of either. It doesn’t seem like meat, but it has the freshness of meat.”

Xiao Jingheng was laughing inside, but he didn’t show it, maintaining his usual expressionless face.

“Big Brother Yue, are you feeling better? You finished a whole big bowl! If I had known you were better, we would’ve saved some food for you! You have no idea—the meat was fatty but not greasy, incredibly delicious! And there were some vegetables I didn’t even know the names of, but they were so good!”

“Shut up, you idiot! If you didn’t save any, why are you blabbering about it?”

Ye Yue, who had been full after drinking the bowl of pork lung soup, felt hungry again after Ye Cheng’s description!

Then they discussed some important matters. Finally, Xiao Jingheng said:

“Ye Cheng, go back to the training group and select some outstanding individuals to replenish the Ye-generation guards. Also, send Xiao Mo to take care of Ye Yue.”

“Understood.”

“Nan Qi and Nan Ba, return to my cousin’s side.”

“Master, our master said we are to stay with you from now on. He gifted us to you. Master, don’t you want us?” Nan Ba quickly knelt down, pleading.

“Fine. You two take care of Ye Yue for now. I don’t have much to do here at the moment.”

Nan Ba was delighted. He wanted to follow his new master and enjoy good food and drink. It wasn’t that he hadn’t eaten well under Nan Gong Yunhao, but many of the things here were things he had never even seen before!

After arranging everything, Xiao Jingheng went to sleep. He had to wake up early the next morning to take his little wife to practice.

The next morning, Xu Lanhua went into the kitchen early to check the food she had left. As usual, not a drop of soup remained.

“This brother-in-law really eats a lot. Could he eat Xu Zhizhi out of house and home?”

(End of Chapter)