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After lunch, Chen Shiying urgently took two attendants and left for Wangshan Village, while the old Marquis returned to Tangyuan with his two grandchildren.
Chu Hanyan wanted to stay at Fengyuan and not leave. The old Marquis chuckled, “You can’t spend all day here. Let your aunt rest.”
This remark left Chen Feng feeling inwardly resentful. They had even come to Fengyuan to have a free meal, even though it was the emperor’s day off. Although they paid for their meals, her home wasn’t an inn, it wasn’t open for business every day.
She smiled and coaxed the little girl, “Be a good girl and go back with Grandfather for a nap. Tonight, Aunt will make shaved ice with watermelon for you and your little cousin.”
After hearing this, Chu Hanyan pouted and left with the old Marquis and her little cousin.
Curious, Chen Yulan asked, “Big sister, what’s watermelon shaved ice? This brother wants to try it too.”
Fengyuan had a store of ice in the cellar, so Chen Feng had someone bring a small basin of it. They crushed the ice, cut the watermelon into chunks, and added melon seeds, crushed peanuts, raisins, and hawthorn fruit jam to make a simple watermelon shaved ice.
She made a bowl for each of Chen Yulan, her siblings, and Lu. Except for Chen Lu, who had tried it before, the others had never tasted it and found it rare and delightful—a wonderful summer treat that was both visually appealing and refreshing.
After finishing, they clamored for more. Chen Feng shook her head and said, “Although it’s delicious, you shouldn’t have too much, it’s cooling on the stomach.”
She then took them to the backyard and led them to the children’s playground. Chen Lu took Chen Yulan and Chen Yuxia to play, and afterward, Chen Feng took them to the cucumber vines to experience the joy of farm life by picking cucumbers.
Afterward, she gave Chen Yulan and Chen Yuxia each a purse and Chen Yuqing a set of clothes, as she had promised before. She also loaded the gifts from Luyuan onto the carriage and gave them four large watermelons. After seeing them off, she watched the three siblings leave.
Not long after Chen Feng returned to the house, she heard loud knocking at the courtyard gate.
Old Zeng shouted, “They’re here! Why make such a racket?”
Chen Feng stepped out of the upper room and heard Xue Dagui’s voice, “Quick, open the door. Young master Dabao is injured.”
These words startled Chen Feng and Old Zeng. Chen Feng rushed towards the courtyard gate, and Old Zeng had already opened it, seeing Xue Dagui carrying Chen Dabao inside, followed by two security guards.
Chen Feng was frightened and tearfully hurried up to ask, “What happened to Dabao?”
Xue Dagui carried Dabao swiftly into the house and said with remorse, “I am incompetent. Young Master was accidentally injured in the leg by someone. He has already been treated at the medical center, where the doctor administered a shot and prescribed medicine.”
Once inside the bedroom, Xue Dagui placed Dabao on the bed and then retreated to continue speaking in the adjacent room.
Chen Feng didn’t catch what he was saying and rushed to the bedside. There, she saw Dabao, pale-faced and tear-streaked, half-closed eyes as if in a daze, one leg bandaged and placed in a splint. She couldn’t help but cry with heartache.
Dabao seemed to be awakened by the sobbing. He opened his eyes, saw his mother crying, and tried to wipe her tears away. With his mother bending over, he whispered as he wiped her tears, “Mom, don’t cry. The doctor said I won’t die.” Then, feeling the unbearable pain in his leg, he burst into tears, whimpering, “Mom, it hurts, it hurts so much…”
Chen Feng was overwhelmed with distress. She cried, “Dabao, be patient. I’ll have someone fetch the doctor.”
At that moment, Chu Lingxuan walked in, expressing sorrow, “Dabao’s leg is broken. I’ve already sent someone to the Qianjin Medical Center in the prefectural city to fetch a doctor.”
Chen Feng cried, “How could this happen? How could this happen?”
Chu Lingxuan sighed and said, “Dabao suffered an unfounded disaster. There was a fight between two groups, and unfortunately, he was nearby when a chair flew and broke his leg. Several others were accidentally injured as well.”
Chen Feng complained tearfully, “With several security guards and even you nearby, how could you let a child stay near the fighting? Didn’t you think to keep him at a safe distance?”
She was also filled with self-reproach. She felt that the prefectural city was within a hundred li, and Dabao wanted to go there, so she let him go, not anticipating an unfounded disaster. If she had known, she wouldn’t have let him go anywhere.
Chu Lingxuan, with a flushed face, explained, “It’s my fault for not being vigilant enough to see the danger nearby.”
Upon hearing the report, the old Marquis was frightened and hurriedly ran to Fengyuan. He couldn’t enter Chen Feng’s bedroom and reprimanded in the adjacent room, “You brat, what happened? How did you let Dabao… get injured!”
Chu Lingxuan, feeling dejected, entered the adjacent room. He waved his hand, and after everyone had left the room, he whispered, “We had just finished lunch and were about to leave the restaurant when we ‘coincidentally’ bumped into…” He lowered his voice so that only the old Marquis could hear, “We bumped into Ninth Prince. Those people must have been there to test Ninth Prince’s leg…”
The old Marquis quickly stopped him from speaking further and whispered, “We’ll discuss this later.” Then, in exasperation, he delivered a couple of slaps to Chu Lingxuan’s head, muttering, “You rascal, at such a critical time, how could you lead…”
Chu Lingxuan bore the old Marquis’s reprimand, taking the blows without flinching.
After the old Marquis ceased, he asked, “How’s Dabao’s leg? He won’t be left lame, will he?”
Chu Lingxuan responded, “I’ve already sent someone to fetch help from the Qianjin Medical Center.”
Chen Feng, by Dabao’s side, saw him cry until he seemed to fall asleep. It was then she remembered the Golden Swallow, needing to get its good medicine. She recalled that agarwood bark could not only treat external injuries but also help alleviate pain. The little creature had been playing in the forests for three days and hadn’t returned.
She pinched herself hard on the left hand. Half an hour later, the Golden Swallow flew in through the window, chirping, “Mommy, why did you call me back so urgently… Oh, what happened to poor Dabao?”
Chen Feng, seeing Chu Lingxuan anxiously pacing, said, “Mr. Chu, there’s nothing you can do here. You should go rest for a while.”
Chu Lingxuan, thinking there were things he needed to discuss with the old Marquis, nodded and said, “I’ll go back for now. I’ll return when the doctor arrives.”
Chen Feng nodded, and Chu Lingxuan helped the old Marquis back to Tangyuan.
Upon entering the study, the old Marquis growled softly, “Tell me, why did you take Dabao to see the Ninth Prince?”
Chu Lingxuan explained, “Ninth Prince only recently discovered he had a living younger brother and was very happy about it. He wanted to see Dabao from a distance. I thought, since this area is within our sphere of influence, it would be permissible. I didn’t expect… That person must have known that Ninth Prince had been at Lingyin Temple for so long and feared that Master Wuzhi might actually find some miraculous medicine to heal his leg, so he sent people to probe. Amid the chaos, Ninth Prince, sitting in a wheelchair, suffered a direct sword strike…”