Qiao Xiaowan, who had been spoiled and doted on since childhood, had never suffered such humiliation. She burst into tears with a "wa" sound. Seeing this, Grandpa was even less pleased, a strange whistling sound coming from his mouth.
Several cats that had been lazily lying around jumped up with a "swoosh," their eyes round and wide, bodies arched, and the hair on their tails fluffed up like big broom heads. Ye Xuan saw this and pushed Qiao Xiaowan: "If you want to turn into a painted face, just keep on crying here!"
Under the sunlight, the cats’ round eyes glinted with a strange light. Qiao Xiaowan was terrified, her lips trembling as she turned to run away, but tripped over her right leg with her left and – with a lurch – fell flat on the ground.
Luo Ye, following the principle of kindness towards others, wanted to help her up, but by the ti she had risen, Qiao Xiaowan had already clumsily scrambled up and run off.
Grandpa gave a soft whistle, and the cats obediently smoothed their fur back down, rubbed against Grandpa’s ankles, and then lay back down in their lazy postures, which seed utterly incongruous with their fierceness just monts before!
"Ouch!" A dull thud ca faintly, followed by a few honks of geese and then exclamations.
Luo Ye stuck her head out to glance over the fence, and saw the unlucky Qiao Xiaowan sprawled on the ground while several white geese walked over proudly, chests puffed out, leisurely heading this way.
Luo Ye looked at Grandpa in surprise, then at the cats, then at the approaching geese, and secretly pinched herself, her mouth corners aching from the grimace.
Ye Xuan explained with a smile, "The geese aren’t controlled by Great Grandpa; they’re just not afraid of people. As for the cats, it’s because Great Grandpa’s favorite animals are these little guys. They have been trained, but it’s just for show. Unless Great Grandpa gives the command, they won’t pounce."
"Great Grandpa, you’re amazing," Luo Ye said, no longer daring to treat Grandpa as just another quirky old patient. This Grandpa, tsk tsk, she dared not judge lightly.
"Granddaughter-in-law, don’t be afraid, Great Grandpa won’t hit you," Grandpa said tapping Ye Xuan with his cane: "Xiao Xuan is a fool."
Ye Xuan laughed and wrapped his arm around Grandpa, patting him: "Right, Xiao Xuan is a fool. The granddaughter-in-law needs Great Grandpa’s protection. Luckily, we have Great Grandpa."
"Go talk to the granddaughter-in-law; I’ll take a rest," Grandpa said, hugging his Hei, and closed his eyes to comfortably bask in the sun.
Ye Xuan whispered to Luo Ye, "Great Grandpa’s cane is mainly used for poking and hitting people. If soone in the family sses up, Great Grandpa will swing his cane at them, but he never hits the wrong person. Grandpa has been hit too."
"Pff!" Luo Ye suddenly imagined Old Master Ye being hit by Great Grandpa and burst into laughter. Her gaze fell on Grandpa, who was lying with his eyes closed. She couldn’t help but grasp his withered hand, stroking it gently against her face. Grandpa opened his eyes to look at her, blinking: "Granddaughter-in-law, with Great Grandpa here, no one dares to bully you."
"Mhm." Luo Ye nodded vigorously, feeling a sourness in her eyes, and whispered, "I don’t know if you’ll recognize tomorrow."
Ye Xuan consoled her, "Who knows, Luo Ye might be the third person Great Grandpa rembers. I reckon that Great Grandpa currently has selective mory; you saw it, he understands everything."
"I hope so." Luo Ye sighed deeply, "But even if this is how Great Grandpa treats today, I’m already quite content. It’s okay if he forgets tomorrow."
...
Qiao Xiaowan returned to the main hall and quietly sat next to Su Sha, tears brimming in her eyes but not falling. Su Sha glanced at her, startled, "Xiao Wan, what happened?"
The daughter of the second elder from the Ye Family, Ye Qinglian, who had a good relationship with Qiao Xiaowan, quickly moved beside her, "Wan’er, just look at you, all pitiful. Tell us what happened."
Qiao Xiaowan took out a pristine white handkerchief, wiped the silent tears away, and said pitifully, "I... I was beaten..."
"Who hit you?" Elder Ye frowned, this matter could be major or minor. Unless absolutely necessary, he did not wish to fall out with the Qiao Family.
"Great Grandpa hit ," Qiao Xiaowan lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly.
Everyone let out a silent sigh of relief. The people in their circle were well aware of Old Master Ye’s condition; they wouldn’t take such an incident seriously.
"Xiao Wan, what did you say to make Grandpa unhappy?" Su Sha asked.
"I didn’t say anything much. I just ntioned so things about my childhood with Brother Xuan, and Great Grandpa hit and drove out," Qiao Xiaowan said, the indignation palpable. The beating had been more than she could bear, especially since it happened in front of Luo Ye – it was a loss of face and dignity!
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