Seeing the wounded look in her eldest senior brother's eyes, Tang Ling'er felt a rare pang of embarrassment.
"Ah... well... Eldest Senior Brother, I'm going to see Grandpa first..." With that, Tang Ling'er ran outside.
"She didn't even help me up. What did I do to deserve this..." Her eldest senior brother felt like crying but had no tears. He struggled to his feet, tucked his crutch under his arm, and slowly made his way outside as well.
As soon as Tang Ling'er ran out the door, she spotted her grandfather with his huge wine gourd on his back. She excitedly threw herself into his arms. "Grandpa... you're finally back! Did you miss me?"
"Haha... of course I missed my precious granddaughter." Tang Chen looked at her dotingly and casually asked, "And did you miss Grandpa?"
"Of course I missed you..." Tang Ling'er answered with a smile, then her expression changed. Pouting, she said, "Why were you gone so long? You made me wait forever..."
"Ah... Grandpa couldn't help it..." Tang Chen hurriedly explained. "For some reason, all the medicinal ingredients I'd prepared before went missing. That's why it took me so long to gather them again..."
Tang Ling'er seemed to remember something and asked tentatively, "What medicinal ingredients?"
"The ones I kept in the hidden compartment in the medicine storeroom. I'd prepared all of them for your mother." Tang Chen gritted his teeth. "Your senior brothers must have secretly taken them down the mountain to sell..."
"Huh?" Tang Ling'er felt a little guilty. Oh no, my senior brothers had nothing to do with that. I secretly fed them to Mantou...
"I think you're right, Grandpa..." Tang Ling'er hastily agreed with Tang Chen's guess, while inwardly muttering, *Sorry, senior brothers. To spare your junior sister's backside, you'll have to take