Chapter 349

Zheng Ruqian cried with snot dripping from his nose and tears rolling down his cheeks. He wished he could kneel down to the heavens and beg for his big brother's life back.

The person lying in bed slowly opened his eyes, revealing some helplessness at being woken up. In order to keep secrets to the greatest extent, he often stayed up late reading and took naps at noon. He hadn't slept enough to be drowsy yet when he heard the loud wailing.

"Younger brother," Xu Mo pretended for a while until his weakness was cooked to perfection. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

That was the truth.

But to Zheng Er's ears, it sounded like, "Big brother is beyond saving but is still comforting me. I'm losing such a good big brother, I feel so heartbroken and sad."

When Jiang Sheng rushed in with two of the brothers, they saw Zheng Ruqian throwing himself on the bed, crying until the cotton quilt was soaked.

Xu Mo sat up weakly in bed and fished out a handkerchief from his clothes, handing it over.

"Thanks," Zheng Ruqian took it without lifting his head, continuing to sob.

Jiang Sheng and Fourth and Fifth Brother covered their faces at the same time, unable to watch.

"Younger brother," Xu Mo sighed lightly. "I didn't expect that the love between us brothers would run so deep that I would get to see you shed so many tears for me one day. It really lives up to brotherhood."

"Big brother, if you're gone, then won't I become the eldest brother?" Zheng Ruqian said between sobs. "That would be so bad."

The person on the bed pursed his lips and chuckled lightly.

The ones at the door could no longer hold back their delight.

Zheng Er finally realized something was off. He raised his head and saw the spirited Xu Mo. He looked back at the younger siblings covering their mouths as they laughed. Even someone as dull-witted as him finally wisened up. "You... you were pretending to be sick?"

"Isn't that going too far? How could anyone pretend to be sick? Whose idea was this? It must have been Little Five. You have the darkest heart."

The long-awaited one this time was truly innocent. He spread his hands, not saying a word.

"It was me," Xu Mo readily admitted. "Rather than stand there as a target, why not lie down and hide."

It was still the same old saying, there are thieves who steal for a thousand days, but no guards who defend for a thousand days.

Always being anxious would be quite tiring.

"But... but there are loud rumors outside saying that you are seriously ill, that you fell into an icy pond. What exactly happened?" Zheng Ruqian asked with sniffles. The illness may have been pretend, but falling into the icy pond could not have been pretend.

This time Xu Mo didn't say anything, a trace of guilt on his face.

"It was me," Jiang San said as he wiped his snot. "I jumped in wearing Big Brother's clothes.

The two of them had similar builds and ages. From a distance, you really couldn't tell.

As someone who practiced martial arts, it was common for Jiang San to exercise shirtless even during winter. After falling into an icy pond, he still caught a cold that persisted until now. If it had been Xu Mo instead, he probably would have lost half his life. No wonder all of Fengjing was stirred up and astir.

Zheng Ruqian climbed up and patted Jiang San gratefully. "It must have been tough. When we get back, give ten taels of silver to Xiaosong. Buy whatever you want!"

Jiang Sheng must have rewarded him already for jumping into the icy pond. Giving him more rewards would only make Jiang San more loyal. When it came to buying hearts, Zheng Er was the best.

After Wang Xiaosong and Jiang San left, only the five siblings remained in the room. The atmosphere turned somber again from the previous lightness.

"Things have become serious enough for Eldest Brother to pretend he is sick. It shows the Fang family's methods are extraordinary," Zheng Ruqian said with knitted brows. "What exactly happened while I was away these months?"

Xu Mo's mind halted for a second. Even if he realized the shortcomings of his personality, change would not happen overnight.

Some things were still hard to give voice to.

Luckily, Jiang Sheng's mouth was quicker. She casually said, "Big brother got teased by a courtesan and then got knocked out and delivered to the brothel. If we had begged all the prominent families to go find him, big brother's reputation in the future would be ruined."

Zheng Ruqian: "......"

It turned out that scholarly people really did have a lot of peach blossoms (romantic encounters). It wasn't just about chanting poetry and writing couplets. It wasn't just being able to recite sour words. Why didn't he get teased like that?

Zheng Ruqian felt a little glum.

"Is that the point?" Xu Mo wished he could crack open his second brother's skull. "This is the Fang family messing with me."

And they were unwilling to continue tolerating the Fang family's harassment and coveting.

By using silver needles to change his pulse condition and by Jiang Sheng applying powder to make him look pale, then allowing all the prominent families to inquire after and visit him, they let all of Fengjing know that Xu Mo was seriously ill.

There were two benefits to doing this.

The first was to lead intelligent people to think about who caused Xu Mo to fall into the water, eventually tracing it back to the Fang family. It would make the Fang family take a dumb loss, leaving them speechless even if they had something to say.

The second reason was to show weakness. A sickly exam candidate would still make the Fang family much less worried.

"Even if the Fang family doesn't believe it, as long as the other commoners in Fengjing believe it, it can restrict the Fang family's actions," a cold glint flashed in Xu Mo's eyes. "The price I pay is performing this act and staying home until the exam."

With the new year around the corner, there wasn't much time left, only about two months.

The only pity was that the younger siblings at home had to act with him. Not to mention they couldn't prepare celebratory new year's clothes.

"It's fine, Big Brother," Jiang Sheng waved her hand. "I've gotten tired of buying new clothes every year. This year I'll wear my old ones. That's good too." "That's right, that's right," Chang Yan and Wen Zhiyun chimed in. "It's nothing special every year, just pasting red paper and setting off firecrackers. It's the same every year, so skipping it is fine."

Their young faces were full of sincerity, seeming to come from the bottom of their hearts.

But what child didn't like new year's, and new clothes and shoes, and merrily setting off firecrackers?

They forcefully endured it for Xu Mo's sake, for the exam's sake, for that familial affection.

Xu Mo's nose turned slightly sour. It was like when he was recovering from his broken leg and he needed his younger siblings to earn money to attend school. He felt ashamed inside yet had no choice but to accept.

Because Little Five was right, seeking shelter from a copyist was no match for an official's shelter.

A new year without firecrackers could be exchanged for years of sparklers in the future.

"In the future, Big Brother will set off fireworks for you every year," Xu Mo said sincerely. "Every year."

This time, Jiang Sheng believed him.

"Not just fireworks, there has to be meat too," she raised her hand. "Lamb, beef, all sorts of delicious meat."

The brothers all laughed loudly. The heaviness in the room was swept away in a flash. Places with little sisters were always so cheerful.

Zheng Ruqian also laughed. As his laughter gradually faded, he felt something was off.

"Meee... meee..."

What was that sound?

Everyone's smiles slowly disappeared as they held their breath and listened. The mewing sounds grew increasingly shrill until they were piercing.

Zheng Ruqian jumped up from the bedside. "Oh no, the sheep!"

He had forgotten.

He still had the sheep with him.

Speaking of which, the sheep from the border regions gave birth to lambs in April. By the time Zheng Ruqian went to acquire a manor for raising sheep, it was already October. The lambs had all grown fat and strong, each able to eat two large armfuls of fresh grass every day.

The one in charge, Jiang Yi, was extremely exasperated. He decided to vicious cut twice as much grass to feed these sheep, in hopes they would overeat and die so he could finally be free of them and skin them for meat.

But unexpectedly, the sheep from the grasslands really could eat. Their bellies swelled round. The next day they shat piles of pellets before running off again.

Jiang Yi still could only bitterly continue cutting grass.

When Zheng Ruqian finally arrived, Jiang Yi wished he could prostrate on the ground bawling. "Second Young Master, hurry and take away these sheep that can eat and poop. I never want to see them again. The entire Fifth Squad wants nothing more to do with them."

It wasn't that they disliked the sheep itself, just that they disliked sheep they could see but not eat.

Fang Henglue was slightly embarrassed. He touched his nose without showing his face.

In the end, it was up to Zheng Ruqian to cruelly take out the potted braised beef from his waist and treat Jiang Yi to a meal before he finally calmed down.