Cheng You and Qi Chengyan returned to Wujing Village, and some news had already spread through the army.
Many people came to visit Song Qinglan.
"How did I hear that Cheng You doesn't want children herself, but wants to raise other people's children?" Tang Jing asked.
Her expression suggested that schadenfreude was practically written all over her face.
While suppressing her emotions, she secretly watched Song Qinglan's reaction.
"Who told you Cheng You doesn't want children?" Song Qinglan asked, displeased.
She inwardly disliked Tang Jing's presence.
She still held a grudge from their previous fight.
Tang Jing pouted, "If she can have children herself, why would she want to raise other people's children?"
Song Qinglan: "..."
She didn't know either.
"It's none of your business. You should sort out your own family matters first!" Song Qinglan retorted unceremoniously.
Tang Jing snorted, "You're so agitated, could it be that Cheng You really can't have children?"
The coffee cup in Song Qinglan's hand clinked loudly as she placed it forcefully on the table.
"What nonsense are you spouting! We'll raise as many children as we want, we can afford it, you don't need to worry! Go, get out of here!"
Although she didn't like Cheng You bringing other people's children over, it wasn't Tang Jing's place to gossip.
After driving Tang Jing away, Song Qinglan's anger lingered. She stroked her hair by her temples, her expression displeased.
Sister Lin came out from the kitchen, wiping her hands.
"Teacher Song and Cheng You are getting along better and better."
Song Qinglan rolled her eyes skyward, completely disregarding her elegant demeanor.
"Who's getting along with her! I can't stand Tang Jing's nosiness. I'm defending the prestige of the Qi family, not Cheng You!"
Sister Lin smiled and said nothing, knowing she was always a tough talker.
"Has Chengyan said when he'll be back?"
Song Qinglan pouted. He wouldn't tell her.
This son of hers was like a child raised by someone else; he never contacted her proactively.
Sister Lin understood her meaning and said no more.
Meanwhile, Tang Jing, having been driven out by Song Qinglan, returned home huffily.
Her face was sullen, her eyelids drooped, and she exuded an aura of anger.
Why was Song Qinglan treating her like this? Wasn't it all because she had Qi Shengwen backing her up!
Tang Jing returned home with a stern face, finding everything unpleasant.
Looking around, only her eldest daughter-in-law was cleaning the house.
The Song family never hired a nanny, for the reason that Tang Jing disliked having outsiders staying in the house for long periods.
Therefore, all the household chores were done by Song Jingye's wife.
"Meng Xin, have you swept the floor?"
The woman next to her, who was wiping the table, flinched and said timidly, "Mom, yes."
"It's not clean. Sweep it again."
Meng Xin lowered her head to look. It was already very clean.
However, she was used to it. When Tang Jing was unhappy, she would find ways to trouble her.
"Okay." She lowered her head obediently, picked up the broom, and swept again.
A moment later, Song Jingye came out from the room.
He was momentarily stunned to see Meng Xin still sweeping.
But he quickly understood and glanced at Tang Jing.
"Mom, why are you angry?"
Tang Jing snorted, "It's all because of that Song Qinglan! I heard Cheng You adopted a child and wants to bring them here to study, so I kindly reminded her. Tell me, would a normal person who can have children bother to raise other people's children? Cheng You must be unable to have children, so she's raising someone else's!"
Meng Xin's movements paused. Her expression turned grim for a moment, then returned to normal, as if she hadn't heard those words.
Song Jingye comforted Tang Jing for a while before she grudgingly calmed down.
When he stood up, he gave Meng Xin a look.
Meng Xin put down the broom and followed him into the room.
Song Jingye's voice wasn't particularly gentle, but he still comforted her a little, "Mom is in a bad mood. Just bear with it."
Meng Xin nodded. "What about the matter of bringing my nephew over to study that we discussed before..."
"Don't worry, I've already handled it. We can bring him over in the next couple of days," Song Jingye said.
Meng Xin relaxed slightly. No matter how much she endured, as long as there was a reward, it was worth it.
...
Cheng You and Qi Chengyan arrived in the afternoon.
As soon as they got home and before they could even sit down, Song Qinglan was already at their door.
Cheng You looked out and chuckled.
"You're so well-informed. Did you plant spies at the gate?"
Song Qinglan gave her an exasperated look. "Don't talk nonsense. Where's the child?"
"What child?"
"Aren't you going to pick up the child?"
Cheng You sized her up. "Auntie, you're so anxious, one would think this child is your own."
Song Qinglan was so annoyed she almost tipped backward. "Who's anxious! I just came to take a look!"
Cheng You waved her hand. "They're not here yet."
Song Qinglan didn't know how to feel. If you said she was relieved, there was also a hint of disappointment.
"Not here yet? Then forget it. You two rest well."
She had come in a hurry and left after only a few words.
Cheng You rubbed her nose. "What's your mother up to?"
Qi Chengyan said, "Bored."
Cheng You smiled and patted him. "Hurry and get some water, it's so hot."
The weather outside was scorching, heating the floor until it was scalding. Sitting idly made one sweat, making Cheng You reluctant to go out at all.
She stayed home for two days. Seeing that the weather had cooled down a bit, Cheng You decided to visit the medicinal herb garden in Yanjiao.
Before she could leave the house, she saw Old Madam Feng arriving.
Cheng You quickly helped her into the house.
"Grandma Lin, you don't look very well."
The old lady was somewhat weak, her lips pale, and she indeed didn't look well.
"I've been like this since I was young. I suffer from 'ku xia' (summer heat illness); my health deteriorates every summer."
Cheng You had heard of "ku xia" before.
Her mother, Jiang Qing, also suffered from it.
When Jiang Qing married Cheng Tianhua, the elder members of the Cheng family were not very optimistic.
This was because Jiang Qing couldn't do fieldwork. Once, during a hot summer day when helping with the wheat harvest, she almost died.
From then on, she never worked in the fields again.
Although it wasn't a serious illness, not eating well and not sleeping well was quite tormenting.
"I have a heat-clearing agent. Would you like to have some to see if you feel better?"
The old lady didn't try to force herself. "Alright."
In the summer, she rarely went out; her body couldn't handle it.
However, because of Feng Xue's matter, she had to come in person to apologize.
The weather had been too hot a while ago, so she couldn't come out.
She had finally chosen today, but after walking this distance, she couldn't take it anymore.
Cheng You gave her a small half-bottle of the heat-clearing agent and then handed her tea to rinse her mouth.
The old lady only then recovered slightly.
"Your heat-clearing agent is good. Sell me a few bottles later."
Cheng You took her pulse briefly. Although she didn't study medicine, she could still identify minor ailments.
"Your body is a bit weak, with insufficient vital energy. You can't drink too much of the heat-clearing agent; it's too cooling. Just keep it at home for emergencies."
The old lady was surprised. "You can also diagnose illnesses... Oh, right, you're a student at the Traditional Chinese Medicine University."
Cheng You's serious expression reminded her of someone.