Resplendent – Chapter 434

Chapter 434 – Making Things Difficult

“Xiao Bai, come back!” Gu Ye shoved the painting into Yue Yuan’s arms and stretched out her hand to call Xiao Bai back. The falcon that landed in her hands glared irritably at the three ‘enemies,’ still unsatisfied that it hadn’t let them taste even a drop of blood!

Chu Xiaoliu straightened his pale-blue clothes, pretending to exhale in relief, and praised the brave falcon as much as he could: “Sister, this is also your pet? Truly, powerful people keep powerful pets. The beasts around you are all extraordinary!”

“Sixth Brother means… that I’m fierce?” Gu Ye pinched Xiao Bai, who was glaring ferociously at her brothers. She really shouldn’t have stopped it earlier. Xiao Bai could have pecked a few more holes into those silly brothers’ heads!

“Impossible! You’ve misunderstood! Sister is the most adorable, the gentlest, the most capable, and the most understanding sister in the world… Don’t mind Xiaoliu. He’s the clumsiest and can’t speak properly!” Chu Xiaosi, who had the closest relationship with Xiaoliu, hurriedly jumped in to save face.

“Hmph!  Fourth Brother, you scared my Xiao Bai. Be honest—was it your arrow that caused the wound on it’s wing?” Gu Ye asked, having already checked: the Chu brothers’ skills were ranked by age. Among the three brothers, Fourth Brother was definitely stronger in both archery and martial arts.

Chu Musong scratched his forehead. Just now, all four brothers had been completely focused on shooting down the white falcon, giving it their all. Who would have thought that one of their arrows would end up injuring their sister’s pet?

Still, it was ultimately the brothers’ fault that the pet was hurt. He quickly said, “It’s all our fault. We acted without understanding the situation. Luckily, Sister’s pet isn’t badly injured. The three of us humbly apologize to you here!” 

“Fourth Brother, what apology? You hurt Xiao Bai. You should compensate it properly!” Gu Ye rolled her eyes and came up with a sly idea. 

Chu Xiaowu, straightforward as ever, said bluntly, “Sister, tell us—how should we make it up to your falcon?”

“That’s easy. My Xiao Bai has flown such a long way. It must be hungry…” Gu Ye deliberately paused here, giving her three brothers a sly look that said, ‘You know what I mean.’

Chu Xiaoliu quickly nodded. “I got it! In the big kitchen’s ice cellar, there’s a freshly slaughtered lamb from this morning. We were going to slice it tonight for hotpot. I’ll get a piece for Xiao Bai as a reward for being so brave and mighty!” 

Gu Ye pursed her lips and frowned. “Xiao Bai is picky. If it’s not fresh-killed meat, it won’t eat it!”

Chu Xiaowu gave an understanding nod. “Got it, got it! A pet follows its master! I’ll handle it right away!” He even gave a knowing smirk.

Gu Ye was furious! What do you mean my pet is picky?  You insult me and don’t even expect a comeback? Just wait—you’ll see! 

She wore a faint smile on her face and continued, “Wait! Fifth Brother, you haven’t heard me out yet! Xiao Bai likes it fresh—bloody, still warm inside. Heart, liver, spleen, lungs—it likes them all! Remember, it has to be warm!”

The three brothers exchanged strange glances, imagining that scene. Gu Ye pretended not to notice and urged, “Brothers, hurry up! Show your sincerity. Don’t let my Xiao Bai starve!”

The three Chu brothers agreed and started heading out. Among them, Xiaoliu, who thought he understood his sister’s mind best, suddenly said, “Uh… I don’t think we said that right. We might have offended Sister!”

Chu Xiaosi stroked his chin. “Xiaoliu, are you saying… Sister is deliberately making things difficult for us?”

“Deliberate or not, so what?” Chu Xiaowu frowned. “If what Xiaoliu said is true and we accidentally offended Sister, then all the more reason to do exactly as she said—and do it even better! That way, she’ll get over it sooner!”

Chu Xiaoliu nodded, sighing. “You finally said something sensible. Let’s go to the market…”

Chu Xiaowu looked worried. “At this hour… I wonder if the market still has freshly slaughtered livestock. This is driving me crazy!”

“Little Sister really is clever. I like her like this! If she were timid and stingy like that Fang’er, we’d be even more troubled,” Chu Xiaoliu said, admiring his sister’s wit and the originality of her mischief.

“What’s got our Xiaoliu so worried?” Chu Mutong, brushing past his younger brothers, noticed the three idiots had completely failed to see him. The three lads hung their heads, frowning and looking troubled. Curious, he followed them and ruffled Xiaoliu’s hair.

Because Chu Xiaoliu had been especially girlish as a child, the whole family treated him like a substitute for their little sister and spoiled him. Chu Mutong had always been particularly fond of this younger brother.

Chu Xiaowu went ahead and recounted everything that had just happened to their clever third brother, explaining it in detail. Now he was fretting over where to find bloodied, warm animal innards. Carrying such things through the streets—would people think they were freaks?

“Silly Xiaowu! I told you to use your brain more often, but you never listen. Look, you’re even sillier now, aren’t you?” Chu Mutong patted Xiaowu’s head as if he were scolding a husky who’d just torn the house apart and got whacked.

“Third Brother, don’t tease our little brother. You’re the smartest one in the family. Help us think of a solution!” Chu Mubai dared not show any teeth toward him, because he was the craftiest. 

The bloody lessons of the past had taught him: offending First or Second Brother meant maybe getting a good thumping. But if you accidentally angered Third Brother? That was the start of a real tragedy. He’d experienced it personally—it was almost worse than death!

“Use your brain. If you don’t, it’ll rust into a lump of iron!” Chu Mutong said with obvious disdain.

Chu Mubai’s frown deepened. He knew full well that he wasn’t good at thinking, yet Third Brother expected him to figure it out on his own. Wasn’t this just making things unnecessarily difficult?

Chu Mushan blinked a few times, and suddenly a faint light of realization appeared on his face. Chu Mutong smiled: “Xiaoliu, have you figured it out?”

Chu Mushan nodded and said to a bewildered Xiaowu, “Fifth Brother, think about it. Even if we got freshly slaughtered livestock and carried the innards home, it would already be cold. What could be fresher than slaughtering it on the spot?”

“You mean buy a live sheep and slaughter it at home on the spot?” Chu Mubai’s eyes lit up with understanding, but his expression remained tense. “But… if we don’t follow what our sister wants and she isn’t satisfied, could she still be mad at us?”

The smiles that had just appeared on Xiaowu and Xiaoliu’s faces froze. 

Indeed! Originally, their sister was deliberately teasing them. If they didn’t satisfy her, of course she’d stay mad at them!

Chu Xiaoliu’s face fell miserably. “Do we really have to parade around carrying bloody stuff? What if someone from the Imperial City Guards catches us and suspects we committed a murder or something…”