Chapter 660: The Child Has Something on His Mind [Many thanks

"Liu Lang, have some tea."

Xu Xu Zaijing reached out his hand and said with a smile.

Liang Han nodded, and while gazing at the tall sword placed inside the room, he lifted the tea cup and began to drink.

After tasting only one sip of tea, Liang Han's eyes lit up as he nodded; just as he was about to say something, the cotton curtain at the doorway was lifted by someone.

Brother Qingyun stepped into the room, glanced at Seeing Qingcao standing beside Xu Xu Zaijing, clasped his hands, and said, "Young Master, a message came from the front courtyard saying the Yu family has sent the person back."

"Good! Let's go take a look."

While speaking, Xu Xu Zaijing looked toward Seeing Qingcao, who stood nearby looking somewhat nervous.

"Let's go!" Liang Han said with a laugh as he rose to his feet.

Donning cloaks to ward off the cold and holding hand warmers, everyone left the room together.

Walking along the path toward the front courtyard,

Xu Xu Zaijing smiled and asked, "Liu Lang, how did you think of sending the person to Brother Yu first?"

Liang Han lifted his chin proudly and said, "Brother Jing, your younger brother has been mixing around in Bianjing for so long; I've heard about and witnessed quite a few things!"

"Who knows whether that fellow pretended to be someone else upon seeing profit? Having him make a stop at Physician Little Yu's place is, in any case, more prudent."

Xu Xu Zaijing nodded: "Brother Yu once served as a Capture Envoy and possesses superb medical skills; Liu Lang, you are thoughtful!"

Hearing these words,

Liang Han smiled and clasped his hands in acknowledgment.

Passing through corridors and doorways, everyone arrived at the main hall of the front courtyard.

Inside the room,

Xu Xu Zaijing looked at Yu Yu Huguang, who wore an expression of springtime triumph with a smile on his lips, handed the hand warmer to Brother Qingyun, clasped his hands, and said with a smile, "Brother Yu, I troubled you today!"

Yu Yu Huguang chuckled, then spoke with feigned seriousness: "Han Wulang, if you keep talking like this, don't come to me for help in the future!"

Xu Xu Zaijing hastily smiled and said, "I wouldn't dare next time."

"Hahaha!"

As the two conversed, Liang Han standing nearby clasped his hands and greeted them.

Afterwards, Xu Xu Zaijing turned his head to glance at Seeing Qingcao, then looked at Yu Yu Huguang.

Yu Yu Huguang's smile faded slightly; he nodded gently and said, "Han Wulang, rest assured. When I took that young fellow's pulse, I deliberately asked a few questions; there were no signs of lying."

Glancing at Seeing Qingcao, Yu Yu Huguang's mouth twitched slightly as he said, "His appearance bears some resemblance to this young lady."

"Good, that is best of all!" Xu Xu Zaijing nodded repeatedly and said, "Seeing Qingcao."

"Ah?" Seeing Qingcao was momentarily stunned.

"Go to the side chamber next door and take a look!" Xu Xu Zaijing said with a smile.

"Yes, Young Master!"

After Seeing Qingcao performed a curtsy, she bowed once more to Liang Han and Yu Yu Huguang, then stepped out of the hall toward the courtyard.

Once Seeing Qingcao had left the room,

The smile vanished from Yu Yu Huguang's face as he looked at Xu Xu Zaijing and said, "Han Wulang, I sense that the child has something weighing on his mind."

Xu Xu Zaijing was momentarily stunned, then looked at Yu Yu Huguang in surprise and raised his thumb: "Brother Yu, you are this good!"

"Do you know what is troubling him, Han Wulang?"

"Brother Yu, I do know."

Seeing Liang Han's curious expression, Xu Xu Zaijing shook his head and said, "Liu Lang, this matter is a private affair; it is not proper for me to speak of it."

Liang Han raised his eyebrows slightly, showing a hint of regret.

Inside the side chamber within the courtyard,

The bright midday sunlight filtered through the paper windows, making the room extremely bright and clear.

A charcoal brazier stood in the center of the room; not much charcoal burned within it, evidently indicating it had been lit not long ago.

Perhaps due to having consumed medicinal soup, the youth, whose complexion looked much better than in the morning, stared somewhat absent-mindedly at the patterns engraved on the brazier, his thoughts drifting back to over a decade ago when his elder sister left home.

"Sister, don't go!"

"Sister, I won't be mischievous anymore; please don't go!"

"Mother, Brother, I will definitely obey; please don't sell Sister!"

The youth's memory of his elder sister remained that of him clutching her sleeve, wailing with a heart-rending cry.

Although he cried until he tasted his own nasal mucus and his throat ached for many days, he still could not make his sister stay.

"Crack."

Footsteps sounded from outside at the doorway.

Hearing the noise, the youth Yuan Yuan Feixing raised his head to look toward the door; gazing at the silhouette cast upon the paper window at the entrance, his eyes were filled with a complex mixture of tension and hope.

Outside the room,

Seeing Qingcao, intending to push the door open, paused with her hand before the door, her face full of hesitation.

Glancing back at the Xu family hall behind her, Seeing Qingcao took a deep breath, then reached out and pushed hard against the door before her.

"Creak!"

The door swung open.

Looking at the youth seated on the chair, Seeing Qingcao's eyes first showed a hint of unfamiliarity; after examining the youth's brows and eyes carefully, his appearance gradually merged with the weeping child from her memories.

As for Yuan Yuan Feixing, the sense of unfamiliarity in his gaze toward his own elder sister was even stronger, after all, a girl changes greatly as she grows up.

In his memory, his elder sister was still a dark-skinned, thin figure barely taller than himself.

But now, his own elder sister was more than a head taller than him!

Her looks and demeanor were such that he almost dared not recognize her.

Previously, at Little Liang Shan, there was a wealthy gentry member from the county who claimed to be a relative of Sister Xiaxue from the Wei family in the same village; he helped their family adopt a son and gave them a substantial amount of silver money.

Yuan Yuan Feixing had once seen the legitimate daughter of that wealthy gentry family amidst a crowd.

He had originally thought the clothes worn and jewelry adorned by that gentry family's legitimate daughter were sufficiently luxurious, yet today, even with his ignorance, he could tell at a glance that those clothes and jewelry could not compare at all to those of the sister before him.

Hearing his mother and elder brother and sister-in-law say that Sister was serving as a female attendant in a high-ranking household, why did she appear even more delicate and noble than that legitimate daughter?

Seeing the somewhat dazed youth before her, Seeing Qingcao said softly, "Little Brother."

"Sister."

After the brother and sister exchanged glances, the closeness of blood gradually dispelled the strangeness between them that had built up over many years.

"You've grown so tall!" Seeing Qingcao said with a smile, but as she smiled, tears unknowingly filled Seeing Qingcao's eyes.

The youth on the chair wiped the corner of his eye with his sleeve and smiled, saying, "Sister, you look truly beautiful now! Just, just like a fairy!"

Seeing Qingcao smiled through her tears.

While speaking, the youth attempted to rise from the chair, but having only stood halfway, he sat back down weakly.

Seeing this, Seeing Qingcao hurriedly stepped forward, her eyes full of concern as she pressed her brother back onto the chair: "Don't move around! Let me have a good look at you!"

"Sigh!" The youth responded with a nod.

After looking again at Seeing Qingcao beside him, the youth smiled and said, "Sister, previously Mother said that in her youth she was the most beautiful in the several villages surrounding ours; I didn't believe it before, thinking Mother was speaking nonsense."

"Now that I see you, I know Mother was speaking the truth!"

Hearing these words, Seeing Qingcao smiled.

After gazing at her own brother for a moment, Seeing Qingcao's smile vanished; looking at the youth's weak expression, she said with aching heart, "You must have suffered quite a bit along the way?"

The youth pursed his lips: "It was alright, mainly my travel funds were stolen by a petty thief, otherwise I wouldn't have..."

The look of aching heart in Seeing Qingcao's eyes gradually vanished, and she hatefully tapped her brother's forehead, saying, "You've really become bold! Daring to leave without telling anyone and travel a thousand li from our hometown to Bianjing!"

"If anything had happened to you on the road, what would you have had me, Mother, and Elder Brother and Sister-in-law do?"

The youth lowered his head and said, "Sister, my marriage betrothal was already settled, yet the person ran off with someone else! How could I have any face to remain in the village?"

"If I didn't leave the village, would I not be pointed at and discussed by those families, treated as a joke?"

Seeing Qingcao took a deep breath: "A wife gained through betrothal, a concubine gained through elopement! The betrothal was set, and the woman ran away; what does that have to do with you? The shame belongs to their family! Since she ran, we shall simply find another!"

The youth looked at the fire basin in the room and said in a low voice, "But! But there are always people saying it's because I lack ability and cannot compare to that family's people!"

After pondering for a moment, Seeing Qingcao said, "Nurture your body well; once you are recovered, return home immediately!"

The youth turned sideways, furrowing his brows, and said weakly, "I will not return!"

"Now that Sister-in-law manages the household, I am merely superfluous at home! It is better to come to Bianjing to rely on you, Sister, and earn my own money!" the youth continued.

Seeing his sister shake her head, the youth furrowed his brows and said, "Sister, if you do not agree, I will go find Young Master Liang Liu, who saved me; I will not stay in Bianjing, but will instead join the army!"

"You! When I left back then, how did you cry and shout that you would listen and not be mischievous?" Seeing Qingcao asked.

"No matter what you say, Sister, I will not return!"

Just as Seeing Qingcao was about to continue speaking, Hua Xiang entered the room carrying a tray; looking at the brother and sister in the room, she smiled and said, "It is time to eat."

"Where is Young Master?" Seeing Qingcao asked.

"Young Master went out to eat with Liang Liu Lang," Hua Xiang said, then glanced at Seeing Qingcao and Yuan Yuan Feixing, adding, "Truly like each other, worthy of being brother and sister!"

Looking at Hua Xiang who had entered the room, Yuan Yuan Feixing smiled with some embarrassment on his face.

After setting down the tray, Hua Xiang spoke two more sentences with Seeing Qingcao before departing.

Seeing Qingcao and her brother both sat by the table in the room; looking at the food on the table, Seeing Qingcao handed the chopsticks to Yuan Yuan Feixing, saying, "Eat."

"Oh, oh! Sniff, sniff! This rice porridge smells so fragrant!" Yuan Yuan Feixing said with a smile.

After drinking a few mouthfuls of porridge, Yuan Yuan Feixing said with a face full of pride, "Sister, I must say your brother here has great fortune! First, I fainted and was rescued from the roadside in the wild to beneath the city wall, then after I woke up, someone sent me meat soup; otherwise..."

"Slap."

The chopsticks in Seeing Qingcao's hand were heavily slapped onto the table surface.

Yuan Yuan Feixing immediately stopped speaking, and said hesitantly, "Sister, what is wrong?"

Seeing Qingcao frowned, her chest heaving as she said, "You have great fortune? Do you know why those people rescued you beneath the city wall?"

"Uh, perhaps because they are kind-hearted."

"Yes, the person who brought you to the outskirts of the city was kind-hearted! But why did the Imperial Guard send you meat soup? It was because Young Master scattered several hundred strings of cash, treating the Imperial Guard at several city gates to several days of suofen, tofu, and meat soup!"

"All just to keep an eye out for you!"

Looking at her speechless brother, Seeing Qingcao continued, "Without these things, who would have asked about you for no reason?"

"If no one had discovered you outside the city and brought you to the city wall, would you still be able to sit before me and speak today?"

Raising his head to look at his sister whose eyes held tears, Yuan Yuan Feixing, with a look of shame, said in a low voice, "Sister, you, please don't cry, isn't it enough that I admit I was wrong?"

"As for the silver money spent by Young Master Xu, I will earn it myself and pay it back!"

Seeing Qingcao picked up her chopsticks and said indifferently, "Very well! Since you wish to stay in Bianjing, then stay! Once your body is well, I will ask Brother Brother Qingyun to help you find a job, and you can slowly repay the debt first!"

"Oh!"

In the afternoon,

not far south of Pan Lou Main Street,

by the roadside,

there was an empty courtyard belonging to a temple,

within the courtyard a shed had been erected, beneath which donkeys, horses, and other livestock mostly lowered their heads to eat fodder from wooden troughs, while nearby several flatbed carts and carriages with compartments were parked.

Several carters with no work were sitting on the cart shafts basking in the sun, chatting intermittently.

There were side rooms in the courtyard, and the sounds of drinking and playing finger-guessing games occasionally came from inside the houses.

A burly man, his face flushed red from drinking, lifted the cloth curtain and stumbled out.

Suddenly,

Amidst the sound of hooves, two fine steeds galloped from outside the courtyard into the yard.

"Neigh!"

The two fine steeds slightly reared their hooves and let out a whinny.

The man, drunk and leaning against the wall, widened his eyes and shouted, "What do you think you're doing! Daring to rein in your horses recklessly in our courtyard! Do you know whose place this is!"

Amidst his shouting, the coachmen who had been sunning themselves nearby also stood up and walked over.

The riders on the two fine steeds paid no attention to this man, instead looking toward the house not far away.

"Where is Elder Tian Xing?" one of the riders, not very old, called out in a clear voice.

Seeing that no one was paying him any attention, the drunk man, emboldened by alcohol, instantly became somewhat angry and strode toward the two riders, cursing under his breath, "You thieving bird-bastards, I, Laozi, and—"

Before he could finish his sentence,

this burly, drunken giant was grabbed by his hair from behind and yanked aside.

A young man dressed in brocade hurried over with clasped hands, smiling ingratiatingly as he said, "Young Master, are you the one from Young Master Liu's carriage?"

"Elder Tian Xing has sharp eyes; today my Young Master has matters to ask you," Diao Che said, not dismounting, merely tugging the reins.

Upon hearing this exchange, the previously blustering drunk man sobered up instantly; after swallowing hard, he shrank back to the side.

"Ask away, Young Master; this humble one will certainly tell all he knows and hold nothing back!" Tian Xinglao said with clasped hands, then glanced at Brother Qingyun beside Diao Che.

"Two days ago, a coachman with white beard and hair drove some ladies of the noble Kang family out of the city; I wonder which one it was?" Diao Che asked.

Hearing this, the young man called 'Elder' though not yet old frowned in thought, then said with a hesitant expression and clasped hands, "Young Master, I do not know if this is good news or bad?"

"Hmm?" Diao Che frowned.

"To be honest, that coachman is an elder among my humble clan," the young man said with clasped hands.

Diao Che nodded: "Good news! Regarding the matter mentioned when we last came here, that elder of yours has handled it."

"Ah?" Not only did Tian Xinglao look astonished; the other workers at the ox-and-horse carriage yard in the courtyard also began whispering among themselves.

In Xiguozhi Lane,

within the residence of the noble Kang family,

in the front hall for receiving guests,

Jin Chui, also known as Jin Cui Mama, who served beside Wu Da Da Niangzi, smiled and stood up upon hearing footsteps from behind the screen.

Soon, Lady Kang Wang emerged from behind the screen, accompanied by an elderly nurse.

"Greetings, Lady Wang Da!" Jin Cui Mama said with a smile, bowing slightly.

"Jin Cui Mama is too polite; please, sit!" Lady Kang Wang said with a laugh.

Previously, the Old Lady Wang had taken charge and directly dealt with Mother Qi and her entire family, who had served beside Lady Kang Wang; now, only the elderly nurse sent by the Old Lady Wang remained at her side.

"This slave dares not!" Jin Cui Mama said with a smile: "This slave came abruptly to your honorable residence primarily to express gratitude to the Lady."

Hearing this, Lady Kang Wang, looking utterly puzzled, said, "I wonder why Jin Cui Mama says such a thing?"

Jin Cui Mama laughed and said, "Previously, a distant relative of this slave came to the capital to seek refuge, but lost contact halfway! Only today did we learn that he had lost his travel funds on the road and actually fainted from hunger just outside the city."

"Yesterday, when the young lady of your honorable household returned to the capital, she saw my relative lying unconscious by the roadside and, out of kindness, bestowed a string of copper coins, which allowed my relative to buy food and save his life."

"Oh!" Lady Kang Wang nodded with sudden understanding.

Then, after glancing thoughtfully at Jin Cui Mama and thinking of Jin Cui Mama's mistress, Wu Da Da Niangzi, Lady Kang Wang turned her head and said, "Go, have Zhao'er's mother come to the front hall to receive the guest."

(End of Chapter)