"..." Yan Erlang opened his mouth twice, only to have two pieces of stewed meat stuffed in, forcing him to chew silently.
"Why do you think pestering me will work? The more you cling, the more annoyed I become," said Ying Xiaoman.
Yan Erlang struggled to chew and swallow the mutton, finally getting a chance to explain:
"It's because you're annoyed with me. I know I didn't make a good first impression, so I'm trying everything to make up for it, to show you my sincerity—"
Ying Xiaoman shoved another spoonful of meat soup into his mouth.
"It's useless. First, I already have Seventh Young Master. Second, I don't like your type."
Yan Erlang gulped down the soup, unable to speak, and frantically gestured with his hands.
"You want to know what I don't like about you?"
Ying Xiaoman thought for a moment, then asked in return: "Actually, I want to ask, what do you like about me? Is it because I'm pretty? But all beautiful young women will grow old eventually."
This time, Yan Erlang learned his lesson. He quickly finished the soup and spoke even faster, seizing the opportunity to pour out his heart:
"It was never just about your looks. Beijing has never lacked beautiful young women, and I'm not the type to only care about appearances. When I mentioned you to the Empress Dowager, I said you had a 'pure and natural quality, unadorned by artifice,' and those were words from the bottom of my heart. Xiaoman, I love your innocence and sincerity."
Ying Xiaoman pondered this in confusion for a while. "You speak as if you know me well. But we're not that familiar."
She counted on her fingers as she asked: "Do you know what I like to eat and what I don't?"
"Do you know what illness my mother has and what medicine she's taking?"
"Do you know where my hometown is? How I grew up, what I loved to play, what I hated doing, and what I'm best at? Do you know what troubles me the most right now?"
Yan Erlang couldn't answer any of these questions.
But he didn't seem to mind his inability to answer.
"These are all things that naturally come with spending time together. Xiaoman, if you give me a chance, you'll see how wholeheartedly I care for people. If you don't get close to me and remain closed off like a clam, how can I know the answers to these questions?"
Ying Xiaoman shook her head. "But I wasn't close to Seventh Young Master before either. I was guarded with him too. Yet he managed to know so much."
Perhaps true affection was like Seventh Young Master's. His eyes were always on her, his heart constantly thinking of her, so when she inadvertently said a little more, he remembered it. Whatever she wanted to do, no matter how strange it seemed, he would find a way to help her do it. As for the man before her...
Ying Xiaoman continued feeding him soup as she spoke: "Yes, you come to see me every time, expending a lot of effort and making many plans. Like when you arranged for the Empress Dowager to meet me."
"But I never like it."
Seeing Yan Erlang take a breath to speak at length, her wooden spoon moved faster, stuffing meat and soup into his mouth.
"It's like drinking soup. Look, you don't really want to drink anymore, but I'm still forcing it into your mouth. Telling you: 'It's for your own good,' 'I care about you,' 'You have to drink it.' Are you happy? Are you enjoying it? Would you like me to treat you like this every day?"
She pulled the empty wooden spoon away from Yan Erlang's mouth: "I don't like it either."
"I've told you many times to your face that I don't like it. I've said it, I've scolded you, why do you still insist on pestering me? Do you really like me as a person, or do you just like the idea of snatching me away from Seventh Young Master?"
She said this while cleaning up the empty bowls and picking up the food container, getting ready to leave.
Yan Erlang quickly chewed the mutton that filled his mouth, finally swallowing it whole, and sat up calling out: "Xiaoman!"
Ying Xiaoman had already reached the door. She turned back and said: "I already have Seventh Young Master. He likes me, and I like him. The world is so big, what's meant to be yours doesn't need to be snatched. Go find a young woman who truly likes you."
Yan Erlang pounded the bed hard and shouted towards the door: "Xiaoman! Even if you stuff meat soup into my mouth for a lifetime, I'm willing to eat it forever!"
Ying Xiaoman walked out the door, saying without turning back: "Stop being foolish! Think about what I said."
Yan Rongshi stood tall like a crane by the second-floor corridor railing. When Ying Xiaoman opened the door and shouted "Stop being foolish" into the room, he had already come forward to meet her.
"Did you say what you needed to?" He closed the door, shutting out the shouts from inside.
Ying Xiaoman wasn't quite sure: "I said everything I needed to say. But I don't know if Yan Erlang took it to heart."
"It doesn't matter," Yan Rongshi said confidently. "You've said what needed to be said, so you can be at ease. If he can't accept it, that's his own problem."
It made sense.
"Mm!"
Ying Xiaoman indeed felt relieved at this moment, and the two chatted and laughed as they walked towards the west. Room A26 was just ahead, its half-open door now closed by someone inside.
"Has Mother come? She must still be worried about me," Ying Xiaoman muttered as she pushed open the door and went in.
"Mother, I went out with Seventh Young Master and came back. I'm telling you everything is fine."
Sure enough, her Adoptive Mother was standing in the room, holding a pot of hot tea and two empty bowls: "Xiaoman and Seventh Young Master are back."
She greeted them with a smile, put the tea bowls on the table, and continued talking animatedly to someone by the window.
"Old friend, you were a friend of Dashuo before. Why didn't you mention it earlier?"
By the wooden table near the window sat an old man opposite her Adoptive Mother.
Sheng Fugui wore plain clothes, his graying hair wet from the rain, looking like an ordinary old farmer. His hands, covered in thick calluses, cradled an empty tea bowl.
Her Adoptive Mother busily found a cloth to wipe his face.
She turned back to continue greeting: "Xiaoman, you've met him before. Next to her is Seventh Young Master, Dashuo's son-in-law, who's courting Xiaoman. Seventh Young Master, this is an old friend of my husband from his days in Beijing, surnamed Sheng."
The gray-haired Sheng Fugui, with traces of mud still on his clothes, slowly stood up and closed the open windows one by one.
Ying Xiaoman was puzzled, a bit nervous and concerned: "Old Father Sheng? Didn't you go somewhere else? Why did you come back? There are soldiers looking for you everywhere, you should be careful."
"It's nothing," Sheng Fugui's voice was hoarse, showing some fatigue. "It's dark and raining, I got tired from walking, so I came back to rest at the little girl's place. I'll leave at dawn."
He slowly sat back down, his old eyes scrutinizing Yan Rongshi standing by the door.
"So this is the Seventh Young Master the little girl mentioned? Not bad, the young man is handsome. Come in and sit, close the door, it's a bit cold on a rainy day."
Yan Rongshi's gaze examined the old man's hand hanging by his side. The fabric didn't move in the wind, hiding a weapon in the sleeve, seemingly a dagger.
He closed the door casually and walked closer to the wooden table.
"It is indeed a bit cold on a rainy day," he took the teapot from the Adoptive Mother's hand, distributed empty cups to the four people present, and poured tea for each. He offered a full cup of warm tea to Sheng Fugui: "Old sir, have some hot tea."
Sheng Fugui's expression softened a bit, and the knife handle in his sleeve disappeared.
The Adoptive Mother had come to check on her daughter's situation.
The previous night, Xiaoman had suddenly disappeared, and tonight she couldn't sleep soundly no matter what. After lulling Zhi to sleep, she heard footsteps leaving the room. When she came out to check, she was surprised to find that her daughter had actually gone alone to Room A2 in the east, Yan Erlang's room! And Seventh Young Master hadn't stopped her!
The Adoptive Mother couldn't sleep at all now and was about to go ask what was happening. She hadn't taken two steps towards the west when the Commandant guarding the second floor quickly stopped her. The Commandant had watched his own Yan Commander and the Ying family's young lady push and pull for over half a year. Risking a sword to the shoulder, he had finally managed to get the young lady to bring a food container to visit his Commander, a rare good thing!
The dozen or so imperial guards on duty on the second floor all swarmed around, surrounding the Adoptive Mother and explaining in a clamor. In the end, more than a dozen mouths against one successfully persuaded the old lady not to disturb them and to go back to the room to wait.
The Adoptive Mother puzzledly returned to her daughter's room, planning to question them when they returned.
She didn't wait for her daughter and Seventh Young Master to return, but another person appeared in the room.
The old servant from Mogan Lane, with mud on his feet and wet clothes, had entered at some unknown time. Sitting in the empty room, he raised his cloudy eyes to stare at the Adoptive Mother who had just entered: "Is Ying Xiaoman not here?"
The Adoptive Mother was stunned for a moment, then warmly welcomed him to sit by the window.
"She is! The little girl will be back soon. I heard from the children that you and my old man were acquainted in Beijing back in the day."
Her late husband didn't have many friends in the village, so it was rare to meet an old friend. She busied herself with hot tea and snacks, asking about the cold and warmth, inquiring about her old man's past in Beijing.
Sheng Fugui silently wiped the rain off himself. After staring at the Adoptive Mother for a moment, he asked:
"How did his leg become lame?"
By the time Ying Xiaoman and Yan Rongshi returned, the Adoptive Mother was in the middle of her story.
The four of them sat around the square table, each holding a cup of steaming hot tea. As the sound of rain battered the eaves, they listened to the Adoptive Mother continue her wistful tale:
"The old man wouldn't tell me for so many years. Then one New Year's Eve, he drank too much and had a nightmare in the middle of the night. He seemed to be trapped in some kind of vision, shouting in his sleep as if he were in battle. I overheard him."
"He was yelling things like 'Young Master, hurry!' and 'I'll carry the lady on my back!' It sounded like he was trying to save a couple. I couldn't stand his noisy dreaming, so I shook him awake. He was in a daze for quite a while, but that night he let slip a few details. It turns out the family he used to work for had suffered a great calamity! His leg injury happened when he was helping his master and carrying the master's wife through water. A pursuer's arrow pierced his thigh!"
This was an old story Ying Xiaoman had never heard before. She held her teacup in shock.
"Really? Dad never told me about this."
"Your father, with that temperament of his, would never tell a little girl like you about his past injuries or the embarrassing story of fleeing from pursuers in the countryside. He forbade me from mentioning it to you as well."
The Adoptive Mother had carefully examined the Adoptive Father's lame leg. There was a large scar on his thigh. The arrow wound, soaked in river water without timely treatment, had left him with a lifelong disability even though he had survived the ordeal.
The Adoptive Mother sighed and asked Sheng Fugui, "Old Sheng, you and my husband were acquainted in the past. What kind of family did he work for in the capital, and what kind of disaster befell them? My old man not only risked his life for his master's family but also sacrificed his leg. This matter has been weighing on my mind for decades, and I want to know the truth."
Sheng Fugui's gaze was fixed, his mind seemingly wandering a thousand miles away.
Startled by the Adoptive Mother's inquiry, he instinctively raised his cup to drink. As he set the teacup down, it suddenly shook, spilling half its contents.
Yan Rongshi's sharp eyes never left Sheng Fugui, carefully observing his unusual behavior at this moment. Without saying a word, he stood up to fetch a cloth and wiped up the tea spilled across the table.
"His master's family..." Sheng Fugui finally came to his senses and calmed down. "I knew them; they were old friends of mine as well. They indeed encountered a great calamity in the capital."
Yan Rongshi refilled the empty teacup.
Sheng Fugui's expression softened a bit as he cupped the hot tea in his hands and slowly took a couple of sips.
Suddenly, he chuckled. "His master was quite old. The 'Young Master' and 'lady' he called out to were his master's son and the son's fiancée who hadn't yet formally married into the family."
Sheng Fugui, seemingly recalling something, suddenly wanted to laugh out loud but forcibly suppressed it, his face beaming with excitement.
"His master's entire family was implicated in a major disaster. The old man was sentenced to death, and the son was sentenced to exile. The fiancée hadn't officially married in yet, and I had thought she would certainly abandon the son and run away. So, it seems the fiancée followed the son, and they were both rescued by Zhuang Jiu? Haha, haha!"
Sheng Fugui abruptly stood up in excitement, pacing back and forth in the room seven or eight times. He then turned back and tightly grasped the Adoptive Mother's hands, repeatedly saying, "Your husband is indeed a hero! I truly didn't misjudge him!"
The Adoptive Mother's face contorted in pain, "Ease your grip a bit, old man..."
Ying Xiaoman quickly went over to extract her mother's hands from Old Sheng's grasp. Then it was her turn to have her hands tightly held by Sheng Fugui's thick, calloused hands as he praised her repeatedly: "Worthy of being his daughter, a hero gives birth to a tigress! Xiaoman is also a good child!"
Ying Xiaoman's expression also twisted a bit as she endured the pain and said, "I'm not his biological daughter, I'm... I'm adopted..."
Sheng Fugui paused for a moment. Then he chuckled again, "Adopted or not, you're still Zhuang Jiu's daughter. He raised you to have exactly the same temperament!"
"Thank you for your praise, Old Sheng, ouch, please loosen your grip a bit..."
It was Yan Rongshi's turn to stand up and extract Ying Xiaoman's hands, discreetly observing Sheng Fugui's uncontrollably excited expression and movements, while continuing the conversation.
He directed his questions to the Adoptive Mother.
"So, it seems Uncle's master's son was sentenced to exile, and his unmarried fiancée voluntarily followed him. The two of them were rescued by Uncle during their journey into exile. Uncle's leg was injured because of this."
"Since they weren't married yet, the rescued couple must have been quite young. As a young couple from another place, I wonder if they stayed with Uncle for a while. Have you ever met them, Aunt?"
Sheng Fugui's old eyes indeed instantly shifted over, staring intently at the Adoptive Mother.
The Adoptive Mother thought for a long time.
When she married the Adoptive Father, he had already been settled in the village for four or five years.
"I don't have any impression of them," she shook her head. "Perhaps they stayed with the old man at first, but had left by the time I married into the Ying family?"
Sheng Fugui's face showed undisguised disappointment, his white-haired head drooping down.
After a moment of silence in the room, Yan Rongshi casually continued the conversation:
"Uncle's master's family must have been from the capital. Being able to afford to hire a guard, even if they weren't extremely wealthy, they should have been at least moderately well-off. With the family encountering such a disaster and the young son sentenced to exile, their property would certainly have been confiscated. Although it was a blessing in misfortune that Uncle rescued them, I'm afraid their hardships were only beginning."
This commentary carried a tone of regret, causing not only the Adoptive Mother to sigh repeatedly, but also making Sheng Fugui unable to finish the half cup of tea in his mouth.
Yan Rongshi continued asking nonchalantly: "Old Sheng, you should know about Uncle's master's family. What exactly was their situation?"
Sheng Fugui's eyes were blank for a moment before he managed to say, "A moderately wealthy family."
Yan Rongshi nodded and stopped speaking, beginning to drink his tea.
In the room that had suddenly gone quiet, though the conversation had stopped, the thoughts it had provoked couldn't be halted. The many associations sparked by the recently opened topic continued unabated.
The momentary joy on Sheng Fugui's face disappeared, and as he thought more, his expression became increasingly grave, gradually darkening.
After a while, he let out a heavy sigh.
"The son of his master's family, although somewhat spoiled, could probably manage to survive hard times. But his fiancée..."
Sheng Fugui shook his head: "She was truly pampered and sheltered. She wouldn't have survived more than a few years out there."
The Adoptive Mother didn't quite believe it. "There are ways to live in good times and ways to live in hard times. Women are like water. They can endure more than men."
Sheng Fugui waved his hand, his face breaking into a bitter smile as he thought of the unmarried fiancée.
"Women from rural areas can endure hardship. But these delicate girls from the capital, raised in luxury since childhood, can't even comb their own hair or dress themselves without servants. Thrown out into the world, they can't survive, they just can't survive." He sighed twice, "They can't survive."
The Adoptive Mother exclaimed in surprise: "Can't even comb their own hair? That must be from a really wealthy family. Surrounded by a group of maids, not needing to comb their own hair, just stretching out their hands waiting for someone to dress them... Oh my, the fiancée that my old man's master's family betrothed was actually such a young lady from a great house?" She repeatedly expressed her astonishment.
Sheng Fugui snorted, "Which of the older generation would want to betroth such a daughter-in-law who had never done a day's work in her life? High status and a big temper, marry her to worship like a Buddha? It was the son himself who insisted, saying he'd die without her, after the two of them had fallen for each other!"
Yan Rongshi interjected at the right moment, "Regardless, it's truly a matter of life and death loyalty. For an unmarried fiancée to be willing to follow her betrothed into exile and hardship is quite rare and admirable."
Sheng Fugui's expression immediately softened by seven or eight degrees. He sat lost in thought for quite a while.
"Well, so many years have passed. The young lady couldn't endure hardship, so she's probably long gone. I wonder about my... that..."
He suddenly stopped speaking, paused for a moment, and then continued under Ying Xiaoman's curious gaze: "I wonder about that old friend of mine, that is, Zhuang Jiu's master's... son. Where he is now, and if his wife left him a child before she passed."
The Adoptive Mother murmured a prayer.
"Heaven is merciful and pities those who suffer. The young couple my old man rescued at the cost of his leg, so young and having endured so much hardship, they must have left behind a child."
The muscles on Sheng Fugui's face twitched slightly, as if he were about to cry or laugh. A layer of tears welled up in his cloudy old eyes, and he turned his head away, using the shadow cast by the candlelight to hide his face.
After a while, he only said, "Let's hope so."
Yan Rongshi once again refilled everyone's empty teacups. Sheng Fugui's expression was now extremely gentle as he held the teacup in his hands and thanked him.
"You're Seventh Young Master, right?" He chatted casually with Yan Rongshi for a few sentences: "When do you plan to marry Xiaoman?"
Yan Rongshi answered softly, "The two families are in the process of exchanging betrothal gifts. As for what comes after, we'll have to wait until Xiaoman returns to her hometown this year to pay respects to Uncle before deciding."
Sheng Fugui repeatedly praised them, saying "How filial" and "Good, good."
The tea was poured around the table, finishing just as it reached Ying Xiaoman. Yan Rongshi lifted the empty teapot and shook it, saying, "I'll call for the shopkeeper to bring a fresh pot."
He walked to the door. Under Sheng Fugui's suddenly vigilant gaze, he didn't go out, but just stood inside the doorway and called, "Shopkeeper!"
A moment later, footsteps approached quickly. Someone outside called, "What can I do for you, honored guest?"
Yan Rongshi opened the door and handed out the empty pot, "Trouble you for more tea, please."
After a brief exchange, the shop assistant brought hot tea. Yan Rongshi closed the door again, carried the new pot of tea back to the window, and poured fresh tea into Ying Xiaoman's cup and his own.
The wariness in Sheng Fugui's eyes faded. The dagger in his palm was tucked back into his waistband.
"Good tea," he inhaled deeply. "Little Dragon Phoenix, how many years since I've tasted it. This inn has excellent tea and snacks."
*
Outside the room, the "shop assistant" deliberately walked away with heavy steps, quickly went downstairs, and gathered the troops.
The entire inn, from the owner to the assistants, had all been detained for questioning. How could there be a real "shop assistant"? The one who came to deliver tea was the Imperial Guard Commandant on duty on the second floor.
When Yan Rongshi had called out "Shopkeeper" earlier, the Commandant instantly realized something was wrong inside.
"There's unusual activity in Room A26. Young Lord Yan and the Ying family are inside. Brothers, be prepared. Adapt to the situation."
The guards were puzzled. The Palace Guard had just sent word that they were still pursuing three fugitives a dozen miles away. What could be happening in Room A26?
The Commandant couldn't figure it out. He gave orders to prepare in a low voice, then hurried to Room A2 in the east to inform his own Wild Goose Commander.
Another call for the "shopkeeper" came from Room A26.
This time, a box of mutton bone soup was passed out the door, with instructions to reheat it in the kitchen, add more soup and meat, and bring a pot of wine.
The kitchen quickly sent back a large, steaming bowl of meat soup and a warmed pot of fine wine.
Outside the tightly shut windows, wind and rain raged.
It was nearly the third watch of the night.
Two oil lamps burned in Room A26. Four people sat around a square table, drinking hot soup and warm wine.
In the rising steam, the Adoptive Mother and Sheng Fugui, the two elders, sat across from each other, savoring their wine contentedly. Ying Xiaoman and Yan Rongshi sat close together, sipping soup and picking out meat for each other. The scene appeared quite harmonious.
"You've raised a fine daughter!" Sheng Fugui praised the Adoptive Mother. "She's kindhearted! Such a young lady, but she acts with righteousness and courage."
He examined Ying Xiaoman carefully in the lamplight, liking her more and more:
"And she's so pretty too. This little girl was found by Zhuang Jiu somewhere? What luck, to find such a perfect child in some mountain valley. It's like hitting the jackpot eight lifetimes in a row."
The Adoptive Mother sipped her wine happily and laughed, "At first I thought the old man had stumbled upon incredible luck in the mountains too. But later I heard Seventh Young Master say it couldn't have been such a coincidence. Most likely it was prearranged, and he went to someone's home specifically to adopt her. I agree - what family abandoning a baby girl in the mountains would use such fine swaddling cloth?"
She started gesturing, "Seventh Young Master saw the swaddling cloth - it was top quality brocade with woven patterns, the kind only used by good families in the city, right?"
Yan Rongshi responded casually, "Indeed."
Ying Xiaoman bristled again, standing up angrily and shouting, "Mother! You've had too much to drink again! No more!"
Sheng Fugui chuckled softly. As he laughed, he wiped the corner of his eye.
Looking at the fresh-faced young girl before him, he thought longingly of his son and daughter-in-law, whose fates were unknown. Perhaps there were even grandchildren? They'd be in their teens or twenties by now...
His daughter-in-law had a bad temper and was spoiled, but she was truly beautiful, no less radiant than the girl before him. The two families' social status didn't match, so he had initially opposed the match, but his son had insisted he'd rather die than separate from her.
He had locked his son up and beaten him severely, nearly breaking his leg. But what happened? His son still wouldn't give in, and his daughter-in-law felt sorry for him. She climbed over the wall in the middle of the night to find him, and the two became inseparable!
His foolish son had a fool's luck. In the end, his wife gave her heart to him completely...
In a flash of insight, a sudden thought crossed his mind, and the smile on his face faltered slightly.
Sheng Fugui spoke up: "Little girl, turn your head this way. Show me again how you looked when you were scolding your mother just now."
Ying Xiaoman's anger had already passed. She said in confusion, "I'm fine now."
"Show me your angry face one more time."
Ying Xiaoman: ?
She tried to recall her angry expression, wrinkled her nose, and glared with her bright round eyes: "Like this. Is that good enough, Uncle Sheng?"
Sheng Fugui suddenly stood up!
There was a resemblance, about a 50% resemblance. Especially when she was angry.
He abruptly pulled Ying Xiaoman closer to the lamp, examining her features carefully, inch by inch.
Her eyebrows, eyes, mouth, nose. His emotions surged, and the muscles of his face twitched involuntarily.
The Adoptive Mother stood up nervously, asking repeatedly, "What's wrong?"
Yan Rongshi took two steps forward, standing beside Ying Xiaoman. He watched the old man's unusual behavior closely, inconspicuously blocking Sheng Fugui's excited grasp, and moving in front of her.
His voice, however, remained as calm and gentle as ever. "What's the matter, Old Sheng?"
Sheng Fugui turned and urgently asked the Adoptive Mother, "Does the little girl have a natural ear fistula behind her ear?"
The Adoptive Mother was stunned. She couldn't say for sure.
"I think there might have been one on the left side when she was little, but I can't quite remember..."
Sheng Fugui strode over, intending to examine Ying Xiaoman's left ear.
As soon as he moved, Yan Rongshi was already in front of him, raising his hand to brush aside the long hair covering Ying Xiaoman's left ear, while gently persuading, "Old sir, bring the lamp closer for a better look."
In the bright lamplight, the scene changed to Sheng Fugui holding the lamp stand, peering closely. Yan Rongshi stood between them, his arm around Ying Xiaoman's shoulders, brushing back her hair to expose her left ear.
In the middle lower part of the left ear, there was indeed a small ear fistula. The fistula was a natural fine sinus tract, slightly indented into the ear, forming a small hole. It didn't hurt or itch, and Ying Xiaoman herself hadn't even known about it.
"What's wrong with the ear fistula?" She asked in confusion, touching the small indentation with her fingertip. "Is it bad?"
Sheng Fugui's hand holding the lamp stand began to tremble slightly.
Seeing the lamp oil about to drip, the Adoptive Mother quickly pulled him to the side. "Be careful now."
Sheng Fugui, in a daze, allowed himself to be pulled back to sit at the table.
He lowered his graying head, not even reacting when lamp oil dripped onto his hand. The Adoptive Mother quickly moved the lamp stand away.
The Adoptive Mother was both surprised and puzzled: "Old Sheng, how did you know our Xiaoman had an ear fistula behind her ear? Who told you? I had forgotten about it, and her father certainly doesn't know."
Sheng Fugui mumbled, "How could I have known? I only knew that my son had an ear fistula behind his left ear. Many people in our clan are born with ear fistulas. Everyone says it's a good thing. An ear with a fistula means abundant food and clothing, born to good fortune..."
While the Adoptive Mother was still in a daze, Yan Rongshi was startled when he heard the phrase "my son had an ear fistula behind his left ear."
As far as he knew, a natural ear fistula could be inherited.
Just like the natural shape of eyes or the texture of hair. If someone in the family was born with an ear fistula, every now and then, a child would be born with one.
Unlike the Ying family members who were in the dark, he knew clearly that this "Uncle Sheng" disguised as an old farmer was actually the master of Zhuang Jiu's household in the capital.
The "young master" and "young mistress" saved by Zhuang Jiu were Sheng Fugui's son and daughter-in-law.
In an instant, his mind raced like lightning, and he realized what Sheng Fugui must be thinking.
It was as if a tidal wave had hit, shocking him deeply as well.
His gaze instantly turned to Ying Xiaoman beside him. "You..."
Sheng Fugui suddenly threw back his head and laughed loudly. His laughter boomed, echoing in the room.
It all matched up, everything matched up!
Years ago, when he had been sentenced to death, everyone thought he had died in prison. When the tree fell, the monkeys scattered - the Sheng family dispersed completely. Only Zhuang Jiu, mindful of loyalty, had not abandoned his exiled son and daughter-in-law. He had rescued them on the way out of the capital, crippling his leg in the process.
With a crippled leg and the need to care for his son and daughter-in-law, of course he couldn't return to the capital. The fifty taels of silver entrusted to him in that time of crisis were never delivered, and from then on, they settled in a remote mountain valley.
Since his son and daughter-in-law were living under assumed names somewhere, if their life became stable, they might have had a child.
A few years later, Zhuang Jiu quietly brought home a baby girl, with the clan's natural ear fistula behind her left ear, and a face that looked just like his daughter-in-law's, with bright round almond eyes...
Sheng Fugui slapped the table and roared with laughter.
Joy was about to overflow from the old man's face. He stepped forward and grabbed Ying Xiaoman's shoulders, examining her carefully from head to toe, his heart brimming with happiness.
"She looks like him. Upon closer inspection, her mouth and ears resemble my son's."
The Adoptive Mother was displeased.
"Sheng, I know you're fond of our Xiaoman. But how can you brazenly claim someone else's daughter looks like your son?"
Ying Xiaoman said worriedly, "Uncle Sheng, please lower your voice. Your laughter is too loud. Be careful, they might hear outside. The imperial guards are still looking for you."
Yan Rongshi spoke up and asked, "Who is her mother?"
Sheng Fugui stopped laughing. His cloudy old eyes flashed with a keen light as he stared at Yan Rongshi for a moment.
When he turned back to Ying Xiaoman, his expression softened again.
"I had a vague feeling earlier that it was too quiet outside. There was no movement in the corridor, at first I thought it was because of the late hour."
"But even when I laughed loudly just now, no one came to check... There are likely troops stationed outside, waiting for me to walk into their trap."
Sheng Fugui looked at Ying Xiaoman tenderly, his gaze full of affection, reluctant to move away.
He slowly ate and drank a bit more, grasped his damp clothes, stood up, and pushed open the window.
The howling night wind brought rain into the room, the cold raindrops hitting Ying Xiaoman's warm cheeks, making her shiver.
A vague thought formed in her mind, but in her haste, it wasn't clear. She instinctively cried out, "Uncle Sheng! Be careful!"
Sheng Fugui said with a sigh and a smile, "I've lived long enough. The lives I've taken are more than your years, little girl. You stay in the room and sit tight. In the future, get married properly, visit your father's grave every year, and be filial to your mother. Don't worry about me, forget tonight."
"When I'm gone, take the two old scrolls I gave you last night to the Ministry of Justice and hand them to the official in charge there."
As he spoke, he had already walked to the window and opened it wide.
As he was about to leap onto the windowsill facing the incoming rain, Yan Rongshi took two steps forward and asked again, "Who is her mother?"
Sheng Fugui didn't rush to answer. He pointed at Yan Rongshi and said to Ying Xiaoman, "This Seventh Young Master of yours is quick-witted, little girl. You can't match his scheming. Fortunately, you can beat him in a fight. After you're married, if he dares to play tricks on you, cheat on you, or mistreat you, feel free to give him a beating."
Ying Xiaoman didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She clearly wanted to smile and say, "He's fine, why would I hit him?" But as she rushed forward and grasped the old man's rough, calloused hand, for some reason, a tear fell onto the windowsill, mixing with the heavy rain outside.
"Uncle Sheng!" she choked out, "There's still good wine and hot soup, please eat and drink some more."
Sheng Fugui raised his rough hand and wiped Ying Xiaoman's eyes, making her face feel hot.
"In my youth, I wallowed in luxury. I've had enough to eat and drink."
"Seventh Young Master, you come and listen too," he beckoned to Yan Rongshi.
"The little girl's birth mother comes from a distinguished family. I see the girl's circumstances are ordinary, so you help her a bit, help her reunite with her ancestral family. It's good to have a big tree to lean on."
Yan Rongshi stood beside Ying Xiaoman and not only agreed verbally but also spoke aloud what Sheng Fugui was thinking but hadn't said.
"Don't worry, Uncle Sheng. Since Xiaoman's maternal family is distinguished, with her mother's family as a big tree to shelter her, I will certainly treat Xiaoman well and not let her down."
Sheng Fugui laughed and shook his head. "The naive girl found herself a clever one."
"Listen carefully, you two. Xiaoman's birth mother has a single character name, 'Zhao'. It's the character for 'summon' with a 'woman' radical. Her birth mother's family is related to the imperial family, with a senior member in the palace - the current Empress Dowager."
"Xiaoman's birth mother's surname is Yan, and her family is in the east of the capital, in Mogan Lane. There's a large mansion in Mogan Lane with a plaque that reads 'Xingning Marquis Mansion' - that's Xiaoman's birth mother's home."
"Remember this well: when Xiaoman goes to claim her kinship, never mention her birth father, only her birth mother. If anyone from the Yan family asks, say her father died early, and she's only come to claim kinship with the swaddling clothes her birth mother left behind."
"If the Yan family is willing to acknowledge her, they naturally will. If they pretend not to know and refuse, Xiaoman, you tell them that Lady Zhao was unmarried and always a member of the Yan family. After so many years of hardship outside, how could the Yan family ignore her? Is Lady Zhao not listed in the family genealogy?"
His words echoed in their ears, mixed with the noisy sound of wind and rain. By the time he finished speaking, he was already gone.
Ying Xiaoman wanted to call out but didn't dare shout. She leaned on the windowsill, momentarily dazed, her shoulders getting soaked.
Yan Rongshi closed the open windows one by one.
"Look up," he said, taking out a handkerchief to carefully wipe her face, wet with a mixture of tears and rain.
The situation had taken a sudden turn. Not only was the Adoptive Mother sitting dazed at the table, but Ying Xiaoman also stood by the window, unable to come to her senses for a long time.
"My birth mother, Lady Zhao. She's... from the Xingning Marquis Mansion, a Yan family member?" she murmured in disbelief and shock, "It can't be..."
"Let's remember it for now and verify later. As for Sheng Fugui," Yan Rongshi pondered, finding it somewhat difficult to decide.
He was a fugitive, who by law should be arrested.
But based on tonight's deductions, there was a high possibility that Sheng Fugui was Ying Xiaoman's grandfather. This made things a bit thorny.
He mused as he opened the door and said to the imperial guards waiting outside, "The man escaped through the window. Did anyone follow-"
Someone was standing stiffly outside the door.
His shoulder was bound with a white cloth that was still seeping blood.
Yan Erlang had been mulling over Xiaoman's words when he suddenly heard the Commandant's urgent report. Ignoring his injury, he immediately rushed to the west wing and quietly stood in front of Ying Xiaoman's room, listening through the crack in the door.
He had originally planned to adapt to the situation, make up for his mistakes, capture the old criminal in one fell swoop, and rescue the Ying mother and daughter from danger-
What did he just hear?
Xiaoman's birth mother's surname is Yan? From the Xingning Marquis Mansion in Mogan Lane in the east of the city?
With the single character name "Zhao".
Lady Zhao, isn't that his aunt who eloped with her lover many years ago?!
Xiaoman is his aunt's daughter?
— His cousin?
How did the girl he's been pining for suddenly become a relative?!
Yan Rongshi stood inside the door, Yan Erlang stood outside, their eyes met unexpectedly for a moment. Yan Rongshi calmly asked, "Did you hear everything?"
Yan Erlang opened his mouth in a daze, wanting to speak but not knowing what to say, then closed it again.
"You must have heard. That's good," Yan Rongshi thought for a moment, then changed his form of address: "In that case, we're all family now, Second Cousin."