Chapter 182: Chapter 182: Protection

Translator: 549690339

“Hold down these branches, climb on the treetop, and then ascend to the top of the wall. Understand?” Fan Wenxuan instructed Chu Jinzhou, pointing up at the wall.

“Hmm,” Chu Jinzhou responded, swallowing nervously.

He’d never climbed trees and walls before, but now that Mr. Fan had ordered it, and considering the relatively short distance from this point of the branches to the top of the wall, Chu Jinzhou took a deep breath, slowly ascended the tree.

The tung tree was tall and lush. As Chu Jinzhou climbed past the foliage, he felt his face being scratched by the leaves. The itchy sensation made him want to sneeze, but he restrained himself to avoid attracting attention, continuing to climb as quietly as possible.

As he moved closer to the treetop, the branches became thinner and swayed more forcefully. Chu Jinzhou tensed his nerves, carefully moving bit by bit. It was only when his hands and feet reached the top of the wall that he took a big breath of relief.

The task, initially daunting, seemed not so difficult after all once he started doing it.

Feeling exhilarated, Chu Jinzhou on top of the wall waved at Fan Wenxuan. “Mr. Fan, come quickly…”

Mid-sentence, due to excessive excitement, Chu Jinzhou began to lose his balance, leaning off the wall.

His instinctive grab for the branch failed due to his short arms. Even though he caught a leaf, the gravity pulled him down, ripping the leaf and failing to stop his fall.

“Jinzhou!” Fan Wenxuan called out in surprise, preparing to jump after him.

But before he could make a move, Chu Jinzhou had disappeared from the top of the wall.

It’s over!

With a twinge of fear in his heart, Fan Wenxuan didn’t care about anything else. He hurriedly jumped from the branch to the wall and then down. But instead of landing solidly onto the ground as he had expected, it felt as if he had jumped into someone’s arms.

In particular, it felt as though he had landed in a man’s arms.

Fan Wenxuan felt a surge of disgust and quickly pushed the person away. “Who are you!”

“Mr. Fan.”

A cold, calm voice resounded in Fan Wenxuan’s ear, followed by a sudden blaze of torchlight that illuminated the area like daylight.

Fan Wenxuan raised his hand to shield his eyes for a moment until he adjusted to the brightness. Once he lowered his hand, he saw Chu Jinnian’s stern face.

He was holding Chu Jinzhou, who was somewhat panicked and slightly pale.

Fortunately, Chu Jinzhou was alright.

Fan Wenxuan let out a relieved breath, but when he noticed Chu Jinnian’s sharp and icy gaze, his heart skipped a beat.

Ever since the death of Chu Jinnian’s mother, Chu Jinzhou has been his only important family member. He was well-known throughout the capital city for his extreme protectiveness of his younger brother. Now, Chu Jinzhou had almost been injured, and Chu Jinnian was definitely not going to let it slide.

Fan Wenxuan chuckled awkwardly, “I wasn’t aware that the young master has returned. I’m sorry for not greeting you in advance…”

“This is Qingzhuyuan, I don’t need to inform Mr. Fan when I return.”

Chu Jinnian’s voice was as icy as midwinter. “But I never knew; Mr. Fan apparently doesn’t sleep at night.”

He had hastened back from the capital city thinking it was late and didn’t want to disturb Chu Jinzhou and Fan Wenxuan’s rest. He had quietly returned home, only to find the two deliberately planning to scale the wall at night.

Chu Jinnian didn’t make a big fuss about it. He had some people waiting inside the garden and others waiting outside. He had just reached the outer part of the garden when he saw Chu Jinzhou falling from the wall.

Although he had swiftly caught his brother, ensuring his safety, this dangerous act could have put Chu Jinzhou in danger if he wasn’t present.

The mere thought of Chu Jinzhou facing danger made Chu Jinnian’s body emanate an inevitable chill, which made Fan Wenxuan uneasy.

For this event…” Fan Wenxuan, at the moment, couldn’t come up with an explanation for his behavior.

“Big brother.” Chu Jinzhou managed to free himself from Chu Jinnian’s embrace, stood on the ground, and respectfully bowed to Chu Jinnian. “This ravishing adventure can not be blamed on Mr. Fan.”

“For I, who bored in the garden and asked to be taken out for fun, was denied by Manager Feng, I had begged Mr. Fan to take me out.”

“Initially, Mr. Fan had refused, but after my pestering, he finally agreed, which led to the plan of climbing the wall.”

“Indeed, this was my idea and had nothing to do with Mr. Fan.”

Hmm…

This boy is teachable, managing to find a solution.

Fan Wenxuan couldn’t help but give Chu Jinzhou a mental thumbs-up.

At least in this situation, it helped him out.

Chu Jinnian naturally didn’t believe this explanation, yet Chu Jinzhou’s pleading tone and anxious expression made Chu Jinnian feel sorry for him. The smoldering anger in his heart subsided slightly. Looking at Chu Jinzhou, he asked, “Is that the truth?”

“Absolutely,” Chu Jinzhou nodded firmly, hiding his fear to meet Chu Jinnian’s eyes. He spoke softly, “This incident began because of me, and I am willing to accept the consequent punishment.”

“Tomorrow, I’ll obediently stay home copying texts. I will copy everything I’ve learned during this period ten times… no, twenty times…”

Chu Jinnian glanced at Fan Wenxuan.

It’s often said that you are not behaving properly, Mr. Fan. Your eccentric ideas are extraordinarily good at managing children. In such a short period, you’ve already won over Chu Jinzhou to the extent that he is even willing to lie to his big brother to protect you.

Fan Wenxuan felt a little guilty under Chu Jinnian’s gaze and lowered his head to scratch his nose.

But this wasn’t his fault, right?

It was you who suggested that he teach Chu Jinzhou, hoping to free him from the prudence of considering other people’s feelings, and to allow him to live a little more freely.

Now, that’s exactly what he’s doing. Isn’t this what you wanted?

After their silent dialogue, Chu Jinnian snorted coldly and stopped looking at Fan Wenxuan. Instead, he took Chu Jinzhou’s hand. “Since you admit your mistake, you won’t be punished this time. But you need to remember not to risk your safety to do such dangerous things from now on.”

“No matter who encourages you or for who you’re doing it for, it’s unacceptable.”

Including Chu Jinnian himself.

“Don’t worry, big brother. I’ll remember that,” Chu Jinzhou replied, relieved that Chu Jinnian hadn’t been blaming Fan Wenxuan. He quickly agreed.

Chu Jinnian was silent for a moment before he said, “It’s late. Let’s go to bed.”

“Yes,” Chu Jinzhou nodded once more.

Chu Jinnian turned around and walked towards Qingzhuyuan.

The servant boys on the side promptly escorted Chu Jinzhou and Fan Wenxuan to their sleeping quarters..