Chapter 75 This Family
Lu Ji sat down on the chair: "When I came in just now, I heard the nanny outside say that mother's waist was sprained? When did this happen?"

I thought my son cared about her, but it turned out that I was just being sentimental.

When the Duke's wife heard this, her face suddenly darkened and she scolded her son, "You little bastard, I knew you didn't have the heart to be filial."

Lu Ji was confused by the scolding, and turned to look at Qin Xiaoning, who said, "Madam was injured while practicing martial arts two days ago."

As she spoke, she glanced at the Duke's wife's cold face and winked at Lu Ji. Lu Ji understood and said with a smile, "Oh, I heard that mother was injured while practicing martial arts a few days ago. I just thought that you were always very skilled, but I didn't expect that you were injured so badly." She excused herself and asked with concern, "Is it possible that she has moved? Have you asked a doctor to take a look?"

The Duke's wife was not a stingy person. She waved her hand and said, "It's just a minor injury. It's nothing serious."

Then, he rolled his eyes at his son and said, "Then why did you come to my place?"

When Lu Ji returned to Qingsong Garden, he heard Songzhi say that Qin Xiaoning was here. He thought that his mother knew the truth about Huayang falling into the water and that was why she asked Qin Xiaoning to come here. He came in a hurry because he was worried that his sweetheart would be wronged.

Seeing her son was silent, the Duke's wife asked, "You didn't even take off your official uniform? What's the urgent matter here?"

"nothing."

Lu Ji was not good at lying to comfort people, so he said it dryly, but he felt that it was inappropriate, so he cleared his throat and stammered, "I, I haven't been to your place for a long time."

Although she could see that her son was just being perfunctory, the Duchess's wife never took these little things too seriously. She glared at her son but did not expose him in public.

Seeing that her sons and daughters were all gathered here, the Duke's wife said to everyone, "It's almost time for dinner. You guys can just stay here for dinner. The chef I hired from outside the vassal state can roast a whole lamb to perfection."

Then, he instructed the maidservant beside him, "The eldest son will be off duty at this time. Go and call the four of them over. The Duke is reading in the study, and the children are all here. Ask him to come back early."

The maid took the order and left. After a while, the eldest son Lu Yu and the eldest lady Li Lanchun came over, each leading a young girl.

The maid came over and reported that the roasted whole lamb was ready and asked where to serve the meal.

Seeing her children gathered together, the Duke's wife was happy: "There are many people today, let's go to the front hall to set up the meal."

The front hall is quite a distance from the main room. The Sixth Girl felt sorry for her mother's back injury and said, "Why do you have to walk so far? Just put it in the outer room."

"The front hall is spacious." The Duke's wife stood up, holding her waist and said, "Don't worry about my injury. I'm fine."

The Sixth Miss pouted and complained, "Why do you always show off?"

The Duke's wife ignored him, leaned down on the couch, and said stubbornly, "It's okay."

Seeing this, Lu Ji simply ordered the maid, "Put it outside."

"You little brat, don't think your mother is so useless. I am just a little injured, can I really trap your mother?" The Duke's wife knew that her son was worried about her. Although she said something bravado, there was a smile in her eyes.

Qin Xiaoning, who was supporting the Duke's wife with the Sixth Miss on either side, smiled and said, "The prince is worried about you walking, Madam, please fulfill his filial piety."

The Duke's wife said nothing when she heard this, but the smile on her face became even more intense.

After the Duke's wife and her children took their seats, the Duke also rushed over from the study.

Maybe because he is a military commander, although the Duke is nearly sixty years old, his posture is still upright, and although his temples are slightly gray, his eyes are still bright.

The Duke is a typical Confucian general, a man of both civil and military talents. Because his two sons were both very ambitious, he retired a long time ago. Now he rarely wields swords and guns, and spends more time reading and playing chess in his spare time. When the younger generations saw the Duke, they all stood up to greet him. The Duke waved his hand to let his children take a seat, looked at his wife, and said with a hint of joking in his tone, "What a good day it is today, why is it so lively?"

The Duke's wife looked rough in front of others, but when she saw the Duke, her expression softened and her tone slowed down: "What good day? Humph! It was the day when I hurt my waist."

The Duke's wife retorted to her husband jokingly, with a hint of coquettishness in her tone.

The Duke sat down beside his wife and looked at her: "Look, I said that you as a mother are more popular than me as a father. It's just a small injury, but you've alarmed everyone here."

After that, he whispered to his wife, "Does it still hurt badly today?"

The Duke's wife glared at her husband and said, "It doesn't hurt anymore. Just take care of it for another day or two and it will be fine."

When the maids saw that everyone was there, they filed in and set the table with bowls, chopsticks and wine glasses. Two old women at the back carried a large iron plate and placed the fragrant roasted whole lamb on the table.

"We are all family, so don't be so formal." The Duchess's wife warmly called on the maids to cut meat and pour wine for everyone.

Qin Xiaoning never liked fishy food. Seeing her eating in small bites, the Duke's wife frowned and asked, "A Ning doesn't like this?"

Faced with the kindness of the Duke's wife, Qin Xiaoning naturally would not refuse her face, and hurriedly said: "A Ning likes it very much, but I have always had a small appetite."

"Eat more. You look so thin." The Duke's wife said, and then turned to look at the eldest son Lu Yu: "Yu'er has lost a lot of weight recently. Is it because you are too busy?"

Although Lu Yu is not the Duke's biological son, the Duke and his wife have always treated their stepson the same as their own son, especially the Duke's wife, who treats her stepson even more warmly than her own son.

Lu Ji is not considerate and often makes people angry, unlike her stepson, who is gentle, sensible and polite. She sprained her waist these past two days, and her stepson came to ask about her health every day. But her biological son has not been seen for two or three days, and it seems that he did not come to visit her specially.

Seeing her mother's concern, Lu Yu smiled and replied, "I have been quite busy these past few days."

Upon hearing this, the Duke's wife said to her niece, "Chun'er, serve Yu'er a bowl of mutton soup. This is the most nutritious thing."

Li Lanchun obediently filled her husband's bowl with mutton soup and pushed it in front of him.

Lu Yu thanked him, picked up the bowl of soup and drank it all in one gulp.

Qin Xiaoning also had a bowl of smelly mutton soup in front of her. She was afraid that the Duke's wife would come to care about her, so she quickly picked up a small spoon and scooped it up slowly.

When the Duke's wife saw her stepson finish drinking the wine, she urged her niece, "Chun'er, serve another bowl for Yu'er. Give her more."

Lu Yu hurriedly said: "No need, I've already drunk enough."

"It's only half a bowl. How can it be enough? Mutton soup is nutritious. You should drink more." The Duke's wife was afraid that her stepson would be wronged, so she urged Li Lanchun: "Chun'er, serve another bowl for Yu'er."

Qin Xiaoning was very good at observing people's words and expressions. When she saw Lu Yu drinking the mutton soup just now, although his face looked normal, he frowned slightly after drinking it. It was obvious that he, like her, did not like to drink this stuff.

"Do you want to drink more?" Li Lanchun asked Lu Yu.

Lu Yu secretly winked at his wife, but Li Lanchun, who was careless, didn't understand and said carelessly, "Mother is right. You have indeed lost weight recently. Drink more soup to replenish your body."

As she said this, she served her husband another bowl.

(End of this chapter)