Xue Sinian didn’t want to appear too unrestrained in front of her daughter, so she listened to the advice and stopped drinking. She had a good alcohol tolerance and although she had drunk quite a bit, she walked steadily. Yu Yi accompanied Xue Sinian back to her room and wanted to say a few more words, but she was pushed out and the door was slammed shut, clearly not intending to listen to her.
Yu Yi told Xianglan to go back to her room first, and she waited alone in the courtyard for a while.
After Meng Qing finished seeing Xue Yipeng off, he saw her standing alone in the courtyard and walked over, asking in a low voice, “Did you persuade her?”
Yu Yi shook her head, “No chance tonight, I’ll try again tomorrow.”
Meng Qing asked, “So you’re free tonight?”
“Yes.”
Hearing this, Meng Qing pulled her towards another direction, “Come, let’s go to my room.”
Yu Yi threw his hand away, saying coyly, “I’m Fang Hanzhu now, and you’re her brother. What are you thinking?”
Meng Qing looked at her puzzled, then suddenly smiled mischievously, “What are you thinking?”
Yu Yi realized she had misunderstood his meaning and blushed embarrassedly, “Then why are you taking me to your room?”
Meng Qing said, “To do carpentry.”
Yu Yi raised her eyebrows, looking at him skeptically, “Carpentry?”
Meng Qing nodded seriously, “Yes.”
Fang Chengyun carefully examined the “wheelchair,” noticing a thick wooden board nailed flat beneath the backrest chair, with a pair of small wheels attached to the front side and a pair of large wheels installed directly below the rear of the chair. A chair with two pairs of wheels of different sizes indeed matched the name “wheelchair.”
Fang Chengyun asked, “Wenda, did you make this?”
Meng Qing said in surprise, “How did big brother know?”
Actually, it wasn’t just Wenda who made it, Hanchu helped too.”
Fang Chengyun thought to himself that the wheelchair was crudely made, with rough, uneven wooden board edges nailed in a crooked manner. It was definitely not made by a carpenter. At first glance, he knew this wheelchair was made by Wenda, who was not skilled at manual work.
He smiled and didn’t explain how he knew it was Wenda’s work, simply nodding and saying, “Wenda, it’s good to do something with your hands when you’re tired from studying, but be careful not to hurt yourself. You wouldn’t want to miss next year’s county examination.”
Yu Yi said, “Big brother, this is something fourth brother specially made for you.”
Fang Chengyun looked at the wheelchair in surprise again, “Made for me?” After a moment of reflection, he understood that Wenda wanted him to sit on it, allowing him to leave the room like riding in a vehicle. Unlike a carriage, the wheelchair was compact and could move around inside the house.
He had been young and strong, but after injuring his leg, he had been confined to bed for days, which was extremely frustrating. However, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that Wenda had no intention of harming him.
Not only had he helped secure a high compensation, but he had also made this wheelchair for him.
Fang Chengyun knew how much his fourth brother disliked doing manual work. Regardless of whether the wheelchair would be useful, its sentiment touched him deeply.
Seeing him silent, Meng Qing said, “Big brother, you’re worried about something Wenda made, right? Wenda and Hanchu have both tried it, and there’s absolutely no problem.” He sat heavily on the wheelchair and looked back at Fang Bao.
Fang Bao came forward, pushing the wheelchair around the room. Then Meng Qing used his hands to move the wheels, able to make the wheelchair move by himself. However, unlike modern wheelchairs, this one was mostly made of wood and was quite heavy. Even with oil applied to the wheel axles, it would be extremely difficult for someone to propel themselves.
Of course, this was intentional on Meng Qing’s part. If the device were too convenient, it might spread quickly from person to person. In any case, Fang Chengyun had people to serve him and didn’t need to operate the wheelchair himself.
Seeing Meng Qing’s demonstration, Fang Chengyun became interested. He had been injured for four days now, with the wound surface mostly healed. He could turn in bed without much pain, and the bone injury was stabilized with a splint. He could move, just unable to put weight on one leg.
Yu Yi, seeing the eager look in Fang Chengyun’s eyes, said, “Big brother, why don’t you try it?”
“
Fang Chengyun nodded, “Okay.”
Meng Qing stood up and pushed the wheelchair to the bedside. Fang and Fang Bao carefully helped Fang Chengyun sit in the wheelchair, avoiding his injured leg. Meng Qing carefully placed his injured leg on the thick wooden board underneath, and Fang Chengyun realized the board could be used as a footrest.
Fang pushed, and the wheelchair moved forward to the doorway. At the threshold, Meng Qing instructed Fang to lift the front of the wheelchair, balancing on the rear wheels, then push forward so the front wheels could clear the threshold before lowering them.
Fang Chengyun, who hadn’t been in the sun for days, looked up at the sky and squinted comfortably when he went outside. Qin Shi walked beside the wheelchair, delighted to see him happy, and thanked Meng Qing and Yu Yi repeatedly.
The rest of the passage continues the narrative, describing their movement around the garden, a conversation between Yu Yi and Qin Shi, and hints of underlying intrigue.
Yu Yi “shushed” softly, lowering her voice: “But Hanchu really heard something. Big brother, sister-in-law, don’t say anything, listen to what this sound is?”
Fang Chengyun and Lady Qin fell silent, carefully listening to their surroundings.
From the distance came not bird calls, but Fang Xingye’s voice: “Fourth brother, why did you find me?”
Fang Chengyun was stunned, about to call out “Second brother,” but Hanchu shook her head at him and made a gesture to be quiet. His heart suddenly stirred.
Wen Da had just said he had something to do, but now he was bringing Fang Xingye here to talk—this matter was certainly not simple. He held his breath and listened carefully to the distant conversation.
Meng Qing said, “Second brother, Wen Da didn’t want to ask you about this in front of others, which is why he called you here.”
Fang Xingye was full of doubts: “What is it?”
Meng Qing said, “Second brother, Wen Da already knows that the incident of big brother falling from the handrail was not an accident, but a scheme you set up.”
Fang Chengyun let Fang He push the wheelchair, bypassing the rockery. As soon as he saw Fang Xingye’s face, he angrily rebuked, “Xingye! I never thought you would treat me like this. When have I ever wronged you that you would harm me like this?”
Fang Xingye knew that at this point, he could no longer argue. If he made excuses, it would only make Fang Chengyun angrier, and if it escalated to their father, it would be disastrous.
After careful consideration, he gritted his teeth and knelt before Fang Chengyun: “Big brother, Xingye was wrong. I was momentarily confused and made a mistake, but I truly did not intend to cause big brother to break his leg. When I was eating at Tianxiang Lou, I accidentally discovered that the handrail was cracked, and the break was in the middle of the stairs, just a few feet from the next level. I was momentarily possessed and just wanted to make big brother look foolish by slipping; I really didn’t expect you would break your leg. When I learned big brother’s leg was broken, I was not happy, but worried and extremely remorseful…”
Towards the end, Fang Xingye began to cry, desperately begging Fang Chengyun for forgiveness.
Fang Chengyun let out a heavy sigh.
