Being annoyed by the two of them arguing, Feng Jin threatened them, and it was very effective. As soon as she said this, they became much quieter.
Just as they were enjoying themselves, Ling Mohan returned with Da Bao and Er Bao, their faces covered in dirt. Their fun immediately vanished.
She cast a resentful glance at Ling Mohan, as if blaming him for bringing the children back too early.
Their fun was at its peak, and Ling Mohan had ruined such a good atmosphere.
"Eldest brother."
"Your servant greets the young general."
"Your servant greets the young general."
The three people who were originally sitting and discussing how to play cards quickly stood up and bowed slightly when they saw Ling Mohan arrive.
Ling Mohan swept a faint glance at the three of them, waved his hand to signal them to stand up, his face still very grim. He grabbed Da Bao and Er Bao with both hands and brought them directly to Feng Jin.
"Discipline your son properly!"
Feng Jin raised her eyebrows slightly, seeing that Ling Mohan seemed very angry.
He had probably thoroughly experienced the mischief of Da Bao and Er Bao this time. Suppressing a smile, Feng Jin pretended to be calm and asked, "What's wrong? Weren't you out to see the lantern festival? Why did you come back so soon?"
The lantern festival was best seen at night. The sky had only just begun to darken, so why did they return in such a hurry? It was truly unusual.
"Ask your good sons what good deeds they've done!"
At this point, even a fool could tell Ling Mohan was furious. If he weren't a patient man, he would have already beaten Da Bao and Er Bao soundly.
The three people standing nearby immediately sensed that something was wrong and began to think of reasons to leave.
"Eldest sister-in-law, I still need to go back and collect the dried tea fruits. I'll be leaving now."
Ling Wan was the first to react and hastily found an excuse, then hurried away.
"Young Madam, your servant will go and check on the soup simmering on the stove."
"Young Madam, your servant will see if there's anything that needs to be done."
Cai Qing and Chu Qing followed suit, and the room, which had been lively moments ago, suddenly became empty.
Feng Jin sighed helplessly, beckoned to Da Bao and Er Bao, and gestured for the two children to come closer. She took out a handkerchief and wiped the dirt from their faces.
They went out for a good time, but in such a short period, they returned so disheveled. She wondered what had happened.
"Tell me, what exactly happened? Were you robbed, or did you go out robbing?"
"Mother, it was Father... Father broke his promise. He said he would take us to play, but when we got there, he wouldn't let us play anything, and he didn't even buy us anything to eat..."
As soon as Da Bao opened his mouth, he launched into a lengthy complaint against Ling Mohan, detailing all his grievances. He truly felt so pitiful. He had finally gone out to play.
In the end, nothing was accomplished. He decided he would never go out with Father again.
"You have the nerve to say that! You brat, I think you really deserve a beating!"
Ling Mohan instantly exploded in anger, reaching out to grab Da Bao and slap him hard on the buttocks.
"Mother... Mother, save me!"
Da Bao cried out in fright, flailing about like a headless fly, and directly threw himself into Feng Jin's arms, seeking protection.
"What are you doing? Do you want to resort to domestic violence? Then hit me first."
Feng Jin shielded Da Bao in her arms and directly confronted Ling Mohan. He was truly shameless, being such a grown man, and she couldn't believe he actually wanted to beat his son.
Protected by his mother and seeing that his father dared not make a move, Da Bao became even more arrogant and began to provoke Ling Mohan.
"Mother, when we came back earlier, Father wanted to hit us. Luckily, Er Bao and I ran fast, otherwise we would have been beaten."
Upon hearing this, Feng Jin glared at Ling Mohan. Beating children was something Ling Mohan was capable of.
"You're really... you're really something..."
She struggled to organize her thoughts for a long time before managing to utter such a compliment, truly unable to think of any other words to praise Ling Mohan's behavior.
"Don't listen to this brat's nonsense. Ask him why he didn't buy him candied haws. Ask him how many he ate in one go!"
Ling Mohan stood up, pointed angrily at Da Bao, and roared.
Feng Jin's gaze shifted from Ling Mohan to Da Bao, inquiring with her eyes.
"Mother... I... I only ate a few. Father is too... too stingy to buy them for me."
"Only a few, and you have the nerve to say that! You ate over ten candied haws in one go, and you still say I'm stingy for not buying you more? Do you want to see what you've stuffed into your stomach!"
Ling Mohan felt as if a ball of fire was building up in his chest, about to explode.
"You're eating so much at once, are you trying to die!"
Feng Jin was shocked, eating over ten at one go. Her stomach could hold so much.
"Mother, I didn't eat them all. Er Bao... Er Bao also ate some."
With no other choice, he pushed the blame onto Er Bao, making him share some of the responsibility.
"I only ate one, you ate the rest."
He absolutely would not admit to such baseless accusations. Er Bao stated the situation clearly.
"But... but I was hungry, can't I eat a few more?"
Under Feng Jin's intense gaze, Da Bao lowered his head somewhat guiltily.
Feng Jin helplessly put her hand to her forehead. This child was truly worrisome. It seemed the decision to find him a master to teach him was indeed the right one.
"And, this brat saw people juggling fire and wanted to try it himself. If I hadn't stopped him, he would have been captured and sold as a performing monkey by now..."
Feng Jin was shocked by Ling Mohan's words, but she also believed that Er Bao was indeed capable of such things.
"You... you really don't make anyone worry!"
"Mother..."
Ling Mohan glared fiercely at Da Bao, deeply regretting not having beaten him soundly earlier, preferably opening up his backside, to see if he would be more obedient in the future.
"Behave yourself. If you dare to cause trouble again, I'll lock you in the dark room."
Knowing Da Bao's character well, Feng Jin directly threatened him, as she felt he wouldn't behave otherwise.
"Mother, don't you love me anymore? You want to lock me in the dark room too."
Da Bao pouted, and the little tears welling up in his eyes made him look like he had suffered a great injustice, appearing extremely pathetic.
"Yes, you are not good at all. You are not as obedient as Er Bao, and I truly don't want you anymore."
"No, Mother, Mother, you can't abandon me."