Chapter 57: Kang Meng? Who is it?

Ningguang stopped speaking, merely ate a piece, then carefully put the peach blossom cake away, placing it inside her bosom, close to her heart.

The next day, as dawn just broke, Jiang Yunchu felt utterly relaxed; the sensation of crawling insects vanished, and all her bodily aches disappeared.

If one said she had been in hell before, now she felt as if she were in heaven.

Wait!

Jiang Yunchu struggled to open her eyes; she certainly didn't want to throw away her little life.

She still couldn't bear to part with her son and daughter, nor could she bear to part with those four maidservants.

"This is……"

That hoarse voice was like having swallowed blades; not to speak of opening her mouth, even just breathing through her throat gave a sense of obstruction.

"This is my house."

A voice sounded beside her.

However, that figure with its back to her, on the crude wooden table lay stacks of books; the wooden hut was small, yet all four walls were wooden bookshelves filled with books.

From their worn condition, these books were often flipped through.

"Who are you, senior?"

In Jiang Yunchu's heart, there were some guesses, but she didn't know if they were true.

If Bai Zhi and the others had taken her away, they would surely have chosen an inn or a medical clinic, but this style doesn't match.

"Isn't it me you're looking for?"

"Now you're pretending to be foolish?"

That woman turned her head; her skin had begun to sag, but her head of silver hair was too conspicuous, obscuring everything else.

"Jiang Yunchu has seen Ningguang Master."

Jiang Yunchu couldn't get up; she had no strength, and she hadn't expected that her first greeting would be made while lying in bed.

"Was it that old man Kang Meng who sent you here?"

Ningguang Master neither responded nor said anything else; she simply mentioned another name.

"Ah?"

She didn't know if it was just because she had just woken, her mind still a bit dull, lacking the boot-up cause; now she found some things hard to understand.

"Kang Meng? Who is that?"

Anyway, being on someone else's turf, she didn't bother to pretend; she'd just soften and harden her approach.

Ningguang Master pondered for a long time before uttering a name: "Kang Mengxian."

Kang Mengxian = Kang Meng?

Then……

"Kang Meng Master?"

She kept saying something felt off, she kept saying that name always felt familiar, she kept saying!

It turned out that one of the Four Great Scholars had always been by her side.

Why did her maternal grandfather still have her maternal uncle send her the names of those Four Great Scholars?

She deliberately drew a line beneath Ningguang Master's name.

His purpose was clear: to make her pay attention to this person; at that time she was worrying about the Master, and this special marking was meant to have her seek out Ningguang Master.

Moreover, Master Ningguang's preferences, as well as the only accepted apprentice gift, were written clearly below.

……

Did she not want to seek ordinary people? Did she insist on courting death?

Now those with accomplishments either have entered officialdom or have already joined the Great Academy; her modest background, no matter how much money she spent, could not sway hearts.

Scholars should pass on their name through the ages; silver money is merely an external thing.

She had visited many people, and there were some teachers harmed by Ning Hanmo; among those people, the scheming mixed‑in elements were directly filtered out by her.

Some genuinely talented people, after she had been repeatedly turned away at the door, owed apologies and gifts, yet not a single one was willing to come to the Wang Fu.

"Princess Consort, please spare me."

"Compared to this silver, I'd rather have my life!"

Thinking back to when he first arrived at the Wang Fu and was struck with a blunt stick, he had long regretted it; now to have him walk back into the fire pit is absolutely impossible!

Afterwards, those teacher gentlemen, as soon as they heard it was her, would immediately send her off on the pretext of going out to study.

Ningguang Master's side was her last hope.

"It seems you just found out."

Ningguang Master looked at her expression and then drew a conclusion.

"Kang Mengxian is just like that; he's a person who habitually plays tricks."

Jiang Yunchu looked at Ningguang Master's familiar tone, then she asked, "Ningguang Master, are you very familiar with my maternal grandfather?"

If they weren't familiar, it would be impossible to say such things.

Especially as the foremost scholar, her choice of words is all thought through.

"Before, we often drank together; his title of Kang Meng Master was still something I and Qing Feng shouted out while drunk, and over the years it just stuck."

Kang Meng Master……

Qing Feng Da Ru.

Ningguang Master.

Then……

"Cherry Blossom Hairpin……"

As soon as that name was spoken, Ningguang Master's complexion changed; she suddenly lifted her head and looked toward Jiang Yunchu.

"You're so smart, you should be able to guess."

"Her voice was a little cold, a little thin, with a hint of chill."

"But..."

"Jiang Yunchu saw her hand trembling slightly as she turned the page."

"As expected..."

"Is it my mother, right?"

"How could there be such a coincidence?"

"Kang Ying, Kang Mei."

"Cherry blossom and rose hairpin flower."

"She had asked her from the side, and the young lady Kang had evaded each time, showing guilt, showing unwillingness to speak."

"Since it wasn't the young lady Kang, it could only be Kang Ying, her mother."

"Mother!"

"Ning Hanmo had fallen asleep leaning against the doorframe; the sun shook his eyes, and only then did he wake up, incredulously listening to the sounds inside the room."

"That crisp sound, without any hesitation."

"The hand pushing the door open, he rubbed his eyes, once, then again."

"But no matter how he rubbed, it only grew blurrier; it turned out tears were coming out, and no matter how he wiped, the tears wouldn't dry."

"Sigh!"

"Jiang Yunchu smiled, wanting to hold that child in her arms, but she couldn't move now, her hands still bound."

"Mother... please don't leave, okay?"

"Ning Hanmo walked to the bedside, knelt on the ground, and carefully examined her; because medicine was applied, her face showed patches of green and purple, and she had lost a lot of weight, making her eyes appear larger; even with medicine on her arms, her clear green veins were visible."

"Good."

"Jiang Yunchu looked at his state, and her heart also felt a pang of pain."

"Familial affection—why bother caring about blood ties?"

"She didn't know Ning Chengyan, but she recognized Ning Hanmo as her son and Ning Yue Xue as her daughter."

"Her children—she needs no one to protect them; she will protect them herself."

"I can go beg those teachers."

"I can go house to house to apologize."

"If once isn't enough, I'll go twice; if twice isn't enough, I'll go three times."

"Mother, those are all my faults; I can bear them myself."

"Only yesterday did he learn that, while he was unaware, his mother, for his sake, had knocked on how many doors and eaten how many rejections."

"Each time, being turned away at the door, was because of the trouble he caused."

"He now truly knows he was wrong."

"Clearly it was his mistake, so why should his mother bear it?"