Chapter 182: Just Confidantes

Scatter, scatter, everyone, hurry back and enjoy the feast.

After much persuasion from Lin Dafu, the neighbors who were peeking at the excitement from atop the wall finally slid down, still unsatisfied, and returned to their seats outside the alley.

Inside the courtyard, Old Ding and Daoist Master Yunxu had already moved into the room.

The door was open, and one could see the silhouettes of the two sitting opposite each other, as well as their lips moving as they spoke, yet not a sound could be heard.

It was as if an invisible wall had separated the inside from the outside, turning them into two different worlds.

Brother Yuanxi, Master and Uncle must have some misunderstanding. I didn’t intend to bring Master here to cause trouble~

Ruan Ruan lowered her head, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes in distress. Her guilt was written all over her face, and her voice carried a thick nasal tone.

It was as if she had ruined the big day for the Ding Family father and son.

It has nothing to do with you. Don’t take everything upon yourself~

Ding Suian rubbed Ruan Ruan’s head, but she didn’t quite like this action, which felt like an adult treating a child. She couldn’t help but lift her tear-stained, oval-shaped face to object, but unexpectedly, with a ‘pfft’ sound, a snot bubble popped out first.

Hahaha~

Ding Suian laughed out loud.

She had had this habit since she was little; whenever she cried, she would have a runny nose.

Back then, because of this, the current head steward of the Ding Family, Hu Couhe, had nicknamed her’Snotty Girl’. Later, after Little Hu was beaten up by Ding Suian twice, the nickname was completely wiped out from Chilao Alley.

Ruan Ruan’s cheeks flushed instantly, and she was so embarrassed she wanted to find a hole to crawl into, hurriedly reaching for her handkerchief.

Ding Suian, however, had already reached out with extreme naturalness, gently pinching her delicate nostrils with his thumb and forefinger, and said with a smile, “Bend over, blow hard.”

.

When they were young, Ding Suian used to help his little follower blow her nose just like this.

There were quite a few people in the courtyard at this time, including Ruan Guofan and his wife, Ding Suian’s brothers, and Ruan Ruan’s Senior Sisters.

Ruan Ruan was initially slightly embarrassed, but was then overwhelmed by a warm, sweet sense of reliance, actually enjoying their intimate interaction in front of everyone.

She followed Ding Suian’s instructions, leaning her upper body slightly forward, inhaling, closing her mouth, and suddenly exhaling through her nose.

‘Pfft~’

With a loud nasal sound, a glistening stream of snot shot out.

Ding Suian’s fingers, which were pinching her nostrils, skillfully wiped downwards, and he took the opportunity to lift his foot, casually wiping that filth onto the side of his shoe.

The whole set of actions was smooth and fluid, and one could tell at a glance that the two had done similar interactions countless times.

They exchanged a glance; one was still carefree, while the other broke into a smile through tears, with tears still hanging at the corners of her eyes, yet she was already content.

Everyone in the courtyard revealed looks of surprise.

One was a cute, charming girl with big eyes who, disregarding her image, blew her nose in public.

The other was a newly titled Lord by the imperial court, personally helping someone wipe their nose without a hint of disgust.

Although it was unrefined, it had to be said that just from their skilled and natural interaction, one could see what a true ‘childhood sweetheart’ relationship was.

Ruan Guofan, standing to the side, frowned and was about to step forward to say something, but his wife, Zhao Wan, reached out and gently tugged at his sleeve, whispering to dissuade him, “Don’t interfere so much. The two have been like this since they were little. Now that the two children’s bond remains, isn’t that good?”

No one knows a daughter better than her mother, and Zhao Wan had known her daughter’s heart early on.

It was just that for the past few years, the Ding Family hadn’t made any progress, and later she heard that Ding Suian had brought back a little barbarian girl from Southern Zhao.

Her intention wasn’t so urgent, mostly holding an attitude of ‘letting fate take its course.’ If her daughter still couldn’t forget her Brother Yuanxi, she, as a mother, wouldn’t stop her. At worst, she would just provide more support for the young couple in the future, ensuring her daughter wouldn’t suffer from a lack of food or clothing.

If her daughter met a more outstanding man and changed her mind, Zhao Wan wouldn’t stand in her way either.

But right now, the situation had changed again.

With Little Ding and Old Ding being granted titles, just based on Ruan Guofan’s identity as the owner of Zhangtai Willow, it could be said that they were ‘marrying up.’

She was naturally happy to see the two little ones being affectionate in public, and it would be best if the entire Central Heaven knew that the young Lord of the Ding Family was the son-in-law of the Ruan family.

“My Lord, it’s not that I am nagging, but Yuanxi hasn’t married yet and already has a little Southern Zhao girl in his house. I heard he is also entangled with that courtesan called Night Contain at the shop. I’m not saying Ruan Ruan is jealous, but our daughter is simple and kind. As an elder, you need to warn Yuanxi so he won’t favor concubines and bully his wife in the future~”

Now Zhao Wan had fully stepped into the role of a mother-in-law, speaking with full confidence.

.

Ruan Guofan glanced at his wife but didn’t say a word.

There were some things he knew much better than his wife.

As for Ding Suian’s marriage, let alone him, Ruan Guofan, even Ding Suian himself might not be able to decide.

It was almost impossible for Ruan Ruan to become the main wife.

Over there, Ding Suian poked his head to look into the room and asked in a low voice, “Ruan Ruan, has your Master ever told you about her past?”

“No~”

Ruan Ruan thought for a moment and added, “But a few days ago, when we accompanied Master to visit Senior Martial Uncle Bixu at Shouyi Temple in the south of the City, we unintentionally heard Senior Martial Uncle mention that Master traveled across the world in her early years and killed many demons and evil spirits.”

Bixu.

This name was a bit familiar.

Oh, right, back in the City, I heard Ruan Guofan say that Lin Hansu’s ‘Eight Characters Hurting Officer’ fate was determined by this old Daoist.

He was actually Daoist Master’s Senior Brother?

“Ahem~”

Just as the two were whispering to each other, not far away, Miao Qing gave two slightly deliberate coughs.

Hearing this, Ruan Ruan looked at her Senior Sisters who were still on guard, then looked at Ding Suian in a dilemma, her oval face full of struggle.

Ding Suian gave her a reassuring smile and said, “Go on, it’s fine.”

“Mm.”

Ruan Ruan agreed softly, lowered her head like a child who had done something wrong, and walked back to her fellow disciples.

The confrontation just now had been sudden. Although everyone didn’t know the reason, the two sides were clearly divided, both maintaining a certain degree of wariness.

Being caught in the middle, Ruan Ruan was naturally in a difficult position.

Around 12:30 PM.

Daoist Master was the first to walk out of the room. Gao Gan, Wang Xigui, and the others, who had been sitting scattered around, all stood up in unison, as if fearing she would continue to cause trouble.

But Daoist Master, at this moment, had regained the calm and indifference of an outsider. She flicked her horsetail whisk and nodded slightly to everyone, which counted as a greeting, and then said, “This poor Daoist was impolite for a moment and disturbed everyone’s mood. My apologies.”

After saying this, she stepped out of the courtyard gate. Miao Qing and the others hurriedly followed. Ruan Ruan, walking in the crowd, looked back every three steps.

It wasn’t until Ding Suian suddenly called out, “In a few days, I’ll bring Zhao Yan to find you and play.”

That Ruan Ruan’s conflicted expression eased, and she obediently followed behind her Master and left Chilao Alley.

The lunch meal finally started smoothly.

During the meal, everyone seemed to have forgotten about the earlier incident and just kept urging each other to drink.

Old Ding refused no one and successfully got himself drunk before Ding Suian could ask about Daoist Master Yunxu.

Heh?

Did he think he could escape Young Master Ding’s questioning by using this tactic?

I’m just going to stick with Old Ding!

That day, Ding Suian simply didn’t leave and kept waiting by the bedside until dark.

Around 7:00 PM.

Old Ding was still lying on the bed, snoring like thunder.

But the dinner that Little Ding ordered from Zui Xiang Lou had already been delivered.

He opened the food box and laid out the dishes one by one by the bedside.

In an instant, the room was filled with fragrance.

“Snore~ snore~”

“Gurgle~”

Old Ding’s snoring still maintained its inherent rhythm, but occasionally, the sound of a stomach rumbling from hunger would be mixed in with the snoring.

It made sense; because they were preparing to receive the imperial decree this morning, neither Ding Suian nor his father had eaten breakfast.

At noon, Old Ding drank a belly full of wine and didn’t eat a single bite of food.

After a whole day, it would be strange if he wasn’t hungry.

“Tsk tsk~”

Ding Suian smacked his lips, holding chopsticks in one hand and a bowl of rice in the other, and exclaimed, “The roasted goose, furnace-baked chicken, and sheep tongue skewers from Zui Xiang Lou are perfect in color, aroma, and taste. Wonderful!”

.

The snoring on the bed suddenly stopped.

Two breaths later, Old Ding turned over and sat up, grabbing a goose leg without a word and putting it into his mouth to chew.

“Old Ding, sobered up?”

Ding Suian teased.

Old Ding ignored him and just focused on gorging himself.

Seeing this, Ding Suian didn’t give up and changed how he addressed him, continuing, “Dad?”

“Lord Ding?”

“Get lost! Speak properly!”

The mention of Lord Ding finally got a reaction out of him.

“Hehe, Dad, if you don’t explain today’s matter clearly to me, then I’m going to start spreading rumors, okay?”

“Go ahead and spread them!”

“Sigh, I can tell at a glance, it must be a romantic debt Dad owed in his early years. You must have taken advantage of her and then ran away! Dad, this is being irresponsible.”

.

Old Ding, who was gnawing on the goose leg, gradually slowed down his movements.

Ding Suian said in astonishment, “Dad, don’t tell me I actually guessed it right!”

Old Ding sat cross-legged on the bed, looking at the candlelight, appearing to be lost in memory. On that standard handsome middle-aged face, a hint of guilt even subtly emerged. After a long silence, he said, “What happened back then was my fault. At that time, I was traveling with the Daoist Master. Later, I had something to do and had to part ways temporarily. At parting, I said that the shortest would be three months, and the longest would be one year.”

“And then, you never went back?”

“Mm.”

“Why?”

“Because… your mother suddenly became pregnant with you.”

.

Ding Suian saw that there was only a bone left in his old man’s hand, so he reached out, took the bone away, and handed him another goose leg. “Old Ding, you can even make me take the blame for this? Is this why Daoist Master Yunxu cursed my mother as a vixen?”

“Uh.”

Old Ding lowered his head uncomfortably, but said, “The person she cursed was not your mother. Daoist Master Yunxu had never met your mother.”

After being shocked, Ding Suian looked impressed, “In other words, Old Ding, besides Daoist Master Yunxu and my mother, you had another woman?”

Old Ding was slightly embarrassed and defended himself, “Confidantes, they are all just female confidantes.”