1679 Thoughtless Xia Mingzhen
Although Father Chi had already returned to the military district, Chi Shuyan still went back to the old residence with Qi Zhenbai that night. They had dinner and stayed the night.
While Chi Shuyan was having a good time, the Xia family was in an uproar over Xia Mingzhen and the issue of Xia Mingcheng’s birth characters and marriage.
Mother Xia was originally a little hesitant about her eldest son getting married, but when she received a call from her friend, who kept praising Yuan Yuan for being capable and especially good at reading physiognomy, as if she were a living immortal, Mother Xia’s wavering heart gradually settled once more.
Not long after she hung up, Mother Xia planned to insist that her eldest son marry Yuan Yuan. Although Mother Xia had been frightened by the words of the Master whom her son had invited today, who knew if her son had struck a deal with that Master surnamed Chi to deliberately scare her since he didn’t want to marry Xiao Yuan.
When it came down to it, in Mother Xia’s heart, Xiao Yuan’s skill in reading physiognomy was much more reliable than the Master whom her eldest son had invited over today.
As for her younger son, Mother Xia had put this matter aside, but when she thought about it, she didn’t think that her youngest son was someone who spoke ill of people behind their backs. Perhaps the young Master whom her son had invited over wasn’t reliable and was just a scaremonger.
The more Mother Xia thought about it, the more she felt that was the case.
As for Xia Mingzhen, he didn’t have a good impression of the young Master. He strongly supported his brother not marrying that Yuan woman, but he never expected the young Master to pull him into things.
She even said that he might be unlucky or in danger of losing his life. Xia Mingzhen didn’t even bother to think about it. After dinner, he went out to play.
Before he could leave, Xia Mingcheng called out to him.
Mother Xia didn’t think that something would happen to her younger son, and didn’t bother to pry into the interaction between her sons. Taking advantage of the moment when Mingcheng got up and called out to Mingzhen, Mother Xia racked her brain for ways to persuade her son to marry Xiao Yuan.
In fact, Mother Xia could now see that her son really didn’t have any feelings for Xiao Yuan. It would have been fine if she hadn’t made a promise to Xiao Yuan, but now that she had already said it, and the girl had agreed, it would be too unkind and she would be letting Xiao Yuan down if Mother Xia went back on her word.
Mother Xia sighed inwardly and kept looking at the door, hoping that Father Xia would hurry back so she could ask for his opinion.
Xia Mingcheng stopped his brother at the door and asked in a low voice, “Where are you going?”
“Brother, I’m an adult; do you need to care? You didn’t care much before about where I go. Do you really believe what that young lady said today?” Xia Mingzhen sneered. Without waiting for his brother to reply, he frowned and continued, “Brother, you used to be quite normal. Why are you becoming more and more superstitious now?”
When Xia Mingcheng heard that his younger brother didn’t take Master Chi’s words to heart at all, he was furious. His face flushed red and his veins throbbed.
He recalled all the strange things that had happened recently. He was still fine. Apart from the huge blow that had been Liling’s death, he had been pretty lucky, unlike Yang Ji, Huang Chong, and Chai Qing, which was why he was still alive.
He was really worried at this kid’s thoughtless nature; he would only regret things after tragedy struck, but there was no medicine for regret in this world. Xia Mingcheng didn’t dare imagine what could happen to his brother.
Xia Mingcheng suppressed the anger in his heart and patiently said to his younger brother, “Mingzhen, the Master Chi I invited over today isn’t a swindler. Everything she has ever predicted has come true. Stay at home for a day or two and don’t argue with others, okay?”
Xia Mingzhen was five years younger than Xia Mingcheng and was at the rebellious stage. The more his brother wanted to keep him at home, the more he wanted to go out.
Xia Mingcheng also knew his younger brother well. Seeing his unwilling expression, he continued patiently and kindly, “After this calamity is over, you can go wherever you want.”
Xia Mingcheng originally thought that his brother would listen to his well-meaning advice, but who would have thought that the latter half of his sentence would ignite the intolerance in Xia Ming’s heart? Xia Mingzhen was furious. “Brother, do you have to be so superstitious? You’ve changed so much lately that I almost don’t recognize you. How could you have believed in this before? Brother, let me tell you, these superstitions are all fake. We have to believe in a scientific society.”
Seeing that his brother wanted to say something, Xia Mingzhen beat him to it. “I said before that Mom was bewitched by that Yuan woman and was drugged. Who would have thought it’s the same for you now? I wonder if that Chi girl also drugged you today.”
The more Xia Mingzhen spoke, the angrier he became. He snorted coldly and continued, “Besides, what can happen to me? Have you ever seen me badmouth others? When I heard that young lady say that I would offend a petty person, that pretty much convinced me that she’s a swindler. I didn’t expect her to be so beautiful but to be some charlatan!”
As soon as Xia Mingzhen said that, he was reprimanded harshly by Xia Mingcheng with a very stern expression. Xia Mingzhen immediately gave in, but there was still a ball of fire in his heart. He said indignantly, “Okay, Brother, it’s fine if you want me to believe that woman. Why don’t you call her over now and have her perform a magic trick for me before I believe her?”
Xia Mingcheng’s face was livid with anger. He was very glad that Master Chi wasn’t around. What if she took back the Safety Talisman and gave up on this kid?
Xia Mingzhen was really terrified when he saw his brother’s livid face. Afraid that he would flare up, he rolled his eyes and hurriedly pointed in the direction of the door. “Brother, Mom is calling for you!”
When Xia Mingcheng turned his head, Xia Mingzhen immediately ran away.
When Xia Mingcheng turned around and saw that his brother had run away, he could only feel helpless. The only thing he was glad about was that his brother still had the Safety Talisman which he had given to him earlier.
As long as his brother had that talisman on him, according to Master Chi, it should be fine.
Only then did Xia Mingcheng heave a sigh of relief and go to the living room. Xia Mingcheng’s mother looked up and saw her eldest son come in alone. She couldn’t help but ask, “Eldest, where’s Mingzhen? Did he slip out to play?” Without waiting for Xia Mingcheng to speak, Mother Xia said, “Okay, since that kid wants to go out and play, let him. It’s fine as long as he’s home by 11pm sharp. By the way, Eldest, are you going to reconsider your marriage with Xiao Yuan?”
