allonlinenovel Chapter 327 My Only Friend
Chapter 327 My Only Friend
The Jiang family had a cook who could tend the fire, but when Jiang's father heard that Prince Ning was hungry, he hurriedly urged his wife to hurry up.
"Go cook for the third son."
Before Jiang's mother could instruct the maid, he said, "Do it yourself."
Jiang's mother stared at him.
He said, "It's been a long time since the third brother came. He loved your cooking when he was a kid. Kyoto has all kinds of delicacies, the third brother must be tired of them and want to eat your cooking."
Upon hearing this, Prince Ning simply smiled and turned to follow Jiang Jianchun to the back.
Jiang's mother was very unhappy. Since she came to Kyoto, she had been waited on hand and foot every day. Why would she need to cook?
She did cook when her sons were young, but the family was poor back then, so they just made do with whatever they could find to eat. They couldn't cook anything fancy.
Besides, she would definitely save the few extra oily or fatty meals for her own children.
As for the third son? She felt she had done a good job just to keep him from starving.
How could she possibly still cook for the third child properly? And how could the third child possibly love her cooking the most?
Of course, Jiang's mother couldn't say these things aloud.
But then Ah Song said happily from the side, "His Highness was exhausted the other day and has been ill these past two days. His appetite has been poor, and he has been surviving on just a little porridge every day. He can't eat anything else. Now that Madam is cooking for him herself, it tastes just like when he was a child. His Highness will definitely be able to eat it."
Since things had been said to this extent, Jiang's mother had no choice but to comply.
She went to the kitchen, where the cook prepared the ingredients, so she didn't need to trouble the cook. She simply put the food in the pan and stir-fried it for a while, treating it as if she had cooked it herself.
After the food was laid out, Prince Ning returned from inspecting the back rooms.
His gaze was heavy, and he sensed something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Could it be that Si Mutong wasn't lying to him?
When Ah Song saw Prince Ning return, he quickly said, "Your Highness, the Lady has prepared a meal. Please try it. Is it the taste of your childhood?"
It was not mealtime yet, and Prince Ning had little appetite to begin with.
Seeing the rather plentiful meal on the table, he didn't want to eat.
With the entire Jiang family watching, he still picked up his chopsticks and ate a few bites.
He's been sick these past few days and can't eat anything, only managing to stay alive with a little rice porridge. Today he ate a little, but felt nauseous and was in great discomfort.
Jiang's mother asked with concern, "Third son, is it because I didn't cook it well? I haven't made it for more than two years, I'm afraid the taste has changed."
Prince Ning put down his chopsticks and said calmly, "Madam Jiang, I don't remember anything from the past, and I don't remember the taste either. It's not your fault."
Jiang's mother didn't mind and waved her hand, saying, "It's okay. If you want to eat it again in the future, just tell me and I'll make it for you."
Prince Ning said nothing.
Jiang's father said, "Third son, we were wrong about what happened before. We've lived here for almost a year now. We didn't spend the New Year with you last year. This year... do you still want us to stay in this village?"
As he spoke, a look of distress crossed his eyes.
The son is enjoying a life of luxury in Kyoto, while the parents are left behind in this poor, remote place. Who can see this without saying that the son is heartless?
But Prince Ning was a ruthless man; he had no other way but to appeal to emotions.
Mr. Jiang continued, “Third son, we’re not going to Kyoto for anything. We just want to spend more time with you. Besides, we haven’t met your fiancée yet. We can’t really ask you to bring her here to meet her, can we?”
Upon hearing this, Prince Ning seemed to be deep in thought.
There's nothing else wrong, but with Zhao Ning's personality, she probably wouldn't be willing to come with him to the countryside to see his adoptive parents.
No matter how bad the Jiang family is, they were his adoptive parents before. Since he was going to get married, he should still introduce Zhao Ning to them.
Thinking this, Prince Ning slowly nodded: "Yes, in a couple of days, have someone tidy up the houses in the city, and you can move in there for now."
The Chiang family was overjoyed and extremely happy.
But the Prince of Ning's next words completely ruined their good mood.
"We'll send you back after the New Year."
The Chiang family was stunned.
They thought Prince Ning meant they could return to live in the capital.
Prince Ning stood up and said, "I'm going to visit Wan Cheng. Please make yourselves at home."
He got up and left with his men.
Jiang's mother plopped down in a chair and said with some dissatisfaction, "What is this? I made such a big meal, but he won't eat it and doesn't even appreciate my kindness!"
Sister-in-law Jiang also complained, "That's right, it's bad enough that they send us to Kyoto, but now they want us to come back next year. It's only two months until the New Year."
Mr. Jiang, however, remained quite calm: "Once we move there, as long as we don't cause any trouble, he won't send us back."
After a moment's pause, Jiang's mother asked again, "Then... are you really going to promise that bitch Si Mutong that you won't mention anything about her anymore?"
"How is that possible?" A glint of light flashed in Jiang's father's eyes. "We can't deal with Si Mutong, but someone else can."
Jiang's mother asked, "Tell the county princess? But the county princess shouldn't know about what happened before."
Sister-in-law Jiang laughed: "Mother, why bring up the past? Just say that Si Mutong has designs on Prince Ning. Given Si Mutong's good looks, the county princess will definitely be jealous. When that happens, we'll add fuel to the fire, and we'll make sure the county princess doesn't take action against Si Muyan."
Jiang's mother was overjoyed: "This is a great idea!"
When Prince Ning arrived at Wan Cheng's house, no one was home. He asked the people in the neighborhood and learned where Wan Cheng's tomb was, so he went directly to Wan Cheng's tomb.
Wan Cheng's body was not immediately returned but remained in Kyoto. It was only after the truth of the case was revealed that it was sent back to the Wan family in Kyoto.
However, the Wan family in Kyoto did not give Wan Cheng a proper burial at all, and simply sent him back to Mahe Village and left him there.
The Wan family in Kyoto didn't care, and the Wan family in Mahe Village didn't dare to make a big fuss about it either. Wan Cheng's parents had lost their son and were in poor health, so where would they find the energy to hold a grand funeral for their son? In the end, they let the clan bury their son at will.
Today, my second sister and younger brother came to visit Wancheng. Wancheng's father can barely walk, but his mother is already dying and is lying unconscious on her bed.
When Prince Ning arrived at Wan Cheng's tomb, he saw his younger brother kneeling in front of the tombstone, weeping uncontrollably.
The second sister squatted down and helped her younger brother up: "Brother, please accept my condolences. He protected your life because he hoped that you could live well in his place. Your grief and sadness are too much for him, and he will not be able to rest in peace after you have passed away."
The younger brother sobbed, "Second sister, second sister... Wan Cheng is my only friend. Second sister, you've read those notes he wrote, haven't you? He was clearly struggling to stay alive, but back then, I cursed him, I cursed... I said he was just clinging to life, I called him a lackey!"
He wept uncontrollably, and his second sister and Rong'er beside him also wept uncontrollably.