When it was the Crippled Uncle's turn to bathe, he adamantly refused Wu Wa's help. It wasn't that he was being difficult, but he knew himself too well; he was far too dirty. In front of a group of little children, he still cared about his dignity.
But how could Wu Wa listen to him?
Considering how dirty the Crippled Uncle was, how could they manage without scrubbing him clean?
Without another word, Wu Wa pushed the Crippled Uncle into the bathing tub and unleashed a series of vigorous scrubbing actions.
In the end, the Crippled Uncle was scrubbed until he was spotless. Even with the scars on his face, he didn't look as ferocious or terrifying.
However, as Wu Wa looked at his legs, severed from the knee down, a sense of shock washed over him.
"Crippled Uncle, your legs... how did they get broken?" Lu Yu was extremely curious.
Lu Yun shot him a glare. "Little Yu, Sister-in-law said we shouldn't pry into others' privacy. It's impolite."
A hint of self-mockery flickered in the Crippled Uncle's eyes. He sneered, "They were broken by stupidity. Back then... I was too foolish."
"Broken... by stupidity?" Wu Wa and the others were confused. How could being too foolish lead to broken legs?
"Yes. You all need to be smarter in the future and not be as foolish as I was." A shadow of sadness veiled the Crippled Uncle's eyes.
After changing into clean clothes, the Crippled Uncle looked at his own clean, scrubbed arms and tried to recall when he had last bathed. Had it really been more than ten years ago?
More buckets of rich bathing water were wasted.
Lu Yun wondered if she should plant some vegetables in the corner of the yard where the bathwater was poured out.
It was truly a waste to discard such fertile water.
The two uncles, scrubbed clean from head to toe, slept a long and deep sleep for the first time in years on beds with soft quilts.
The next morning.
The Crippled Uncle opened his eyes and looked at the soft, clear sunlight streaming through the window. He listened to the chirping of birds in the courtyard and suddenly felt a sense of being reborn, as if he were once again the cheerful, bright, and spirited youth he had been years ago.
"Brother, I need to pee," a childish male voice said beside him.
The Crippled Uncle was pulled back to reality. Well, that fleeting moment of bliss had been shattered by his傻子 (shǎzi - foolish) younger brother's milky voice.
The Crippled Uncle moved off the bed, leaning on the two brand-new wooden crutches Lu Yun had bought for him. He painstakingly "walked" to the door with just his arms and pointed to a small shed in the corner of the yard. "Little brother, do you see that small shed? Pee into the little pit inside the shed."
The傻子 uncle, who was a full shoulder and head taller than his crippled brother, clutched his crotch and hopped away to urinate.
Little brother wasn't actually傻子, but his intelligence seemed permanently stuck at around three years old.
So, for a man in his twenties, he appeared to be a complete fool to others.
If, one day, he were no longer around, how would his little brother survive?
The little beggar had said he would take care of him his whole life, but perhaps that was just a child's fleeting passion. If he dragged along such a burden as his little brother, it was possible that no girl would be willing to marry him in the future.
The Crippled Uncle let out a long sigh, silently praying that he would live longer.
In front of the Lu residence gate.
Uncle Ding saw his son return empty-handed once again. They had been searching for two consecutive days but still hadn't found their acquaintance.
Ding Lei saw the worry etched on his father's face and tried to comfort him. "Dad, maybe they've left the capital."
Uncle Ding turned his back and wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeve. When he turned back, his eyes revealed an indescribable weariness and helplessness. He murmured, "Let's hope so."
"Dad, from now on, our family should rely on Master and Mistress for a living. Master's family are all good people; if we follow them, we'll have a good life too," Ding Lei said. He had heard that Master wanted to give his father the position of head steward of the residence, but his father was still considering it.
Uncle Ding glared at him. "What do you know? Is it easy to be the head steward of a large residence? That requires selling your life to serve the master, to become a slave."
"Then let's sell it. As long as we can live a good life and not be bullied, what does 'slave' matter? It's just a matter of status and face. Besides, Master and Mistress are such good masters, you can't find them even with a lantern," Ding Lei grumbled.
In any case, he wouldn't be taking the imperial examinations in this lifetime. It was better to seize opportunities, follow the right people, and live a secure and stable life.
If his son wanted to pursue the path of imperial examinations in the future, they could always split the family.
Uncle Ding sighed. "You have a point. Master and Mistress are indeed very good masters, very much like my former... However, I still can't get past what's in my heart."
At the time, he had resigned from his job at the pawnshop and agreed to watch over the residence for Master, not solely because Master was a good person, but because of Master's appearance, and the grand residence itself.
The first time he saw Master's face, he was truly shocked. If his acquaintance hadn't passed away, he would have truly mistaken Master for a descendant of his acquaintance.
Later, when he saw Second Master, Third Master, and even Young Master Tianya, he was even more astonished.
He didn't know what was going on. Why did this Lu family and their adopted children, including Tianya, resemble his acquaintance so much in appearance?
He heard that Master's father was from Huangsha Village, Tian Shui Town, Ta Sha Prefecture in Bianzhou, and his mother was a slave wife. Was it possible...?
"Dad, what can't you get past in your heart?" Ding Lei often felt that he couldn't understand his father. He always felt that his father kept many secrets, even from his mother.
"Let's not talk about this for now. We'll see later," Uncle Ding said, placing his hands behind his back as he walked out of the room.
Today, Master and Mistress had invited several young lords from the neighboring "Wei Residence" for a meal. He had to go to the kitchen to remind his wife and the newly hired cooks, Lu You and Lu Yan, to be diligent in their cooking.
The kitchen tasks were indeed a bit overwhelming for Auntie Ding and Ding Xiang. Bai Sheng had hired two more female cooks in their early twenties two days ago, named Lu You and Lu Yan.
With Lu You and Lu Yan's help, Auntie Ding was much more relaxed, and the cooking speed had greatly improved.
The banquet would be prepared according to Mistress's menu and recipes.
With Qian Ye away, only Wei Han and Wei Qing, the two brothers from the Wei Residence, would attend the feast. To prevent awkwardness, Wei Qing had selected two more agile individuals from the Nine Protectors, Wei Lin and Wei Zhe.
The other seven Protectors immediately expressed their dissatisfaction, believing their own mouths were equally sweet and capable of pleasing the Mistress, and they also wished to attend the feast at the Master's home.
Even the lower-ranked Dark Envoys, Embroidered Uniform Envoys, and Ultimate Killers meekly voiced their objections, wanting to tag along for the meal.
Wei Qing, helpless, created a "list of attendees for the Master's home feast," stating that Wei Lin and Wei Zhe would go this time, and it would be others' turn next time.
This finally quelled everyone's protests.
The four young men began their meticulous preparations early in the morning.
They soaked themselves in the bathing tub again and again, washed their hair clean, scrubbed their ear canals, picked out eye gunk, and then checked if any nose hair was peeking out of their nostrils.
Finally, they painstakingly sifted through a pile of clothes that were similar in style and all black, even asking for the opinions of other Protectors on which outfit looked better.
The other Protectors, thinking of their own future opportunities to attend such feasts, were very willing to patiently offer their guidance.