Union

Chapter 163 She is not

Having just met Yun Ying, Gu Yuanxi felt that she looked vaguely familiar, as if she were an old acquaintance. However, he had a wide circle of friends and couldn't recall where he had seen her face before.

He didn't think much of it at the time, and just turned around and went down the mountain.

Even after traveling quite a distance from Linghui Temple, he still felt uneasy. A sense of emptiness pervaded his body, making him feel uncomfortable all over.

Gu Yuanxi didn't know what was wrong with him. He took a few more steps forward, and his heart became more and more anxious and restless, as if he had missed something of utmost importance.

It was at that moment that he reined in his horse, circled around for a long time, and finally returned with his servants.

He didn't know what he was supposed to do after returning. He only had an intuition that led him step by step closer to the temple fair and into its atmosphere.

While wandering aimlessly around the temple fair, he suddenly saw Chen Yanzhou and Yunying, the girl he was strolling with.

The young woman, Yunying, was wearing a mask, so her face was not clearly visible. But it was precisely because of this that Gu Yuanxi was so startled when he saw half of her face that he staggered and knocked over the sugar painting stall set up by the uncle next to him.

Gu Yuanxi couldn't remember how he got to the two of them. All he could think about was Yunying, and in a moment of impulse, he reached out to grab her wrist.

"Yuanxi, what are you doing?" Chen Yanzhou's face turned cold, and he grabbed Gu Yuanxi's arm.

Gu Yuanxi seemed to be possessed for a moment.

Fortunately, he quickly came to his senses and couldn't help but look at his hands.

He had an extra hand on his arm; the hand had well-proportioned joints and long, slender bones—it was definitely Chen Yanzhou's hand.

Gu Yuanxi twisted his arm slightly, and Chen Yanzhou, sensing the opportunity, released his hand.

Gu Yuanxi looked at Yun Ying, then at Chen Yanzhou, and finally said, "This is not the place to talk. Let's find somewhere else to talk."

Chen Yanzhou looked at Yun Ying, who had no objections, so he nodded and said, "Let's go to Linghui Temple."

The three of them squeezed out of the crowd and headed towards Linghui Temple.

The mountain path leading to Linghui Temple is not difficult to walk, but nowadays there are many people coming down the mountain, so people need to be careful when passing by. Otherwise, if you accidentally bump into someone, there will inevitably be another argument.

Chen Yanzhou carefully protected Yun Ying, shielding her behind him. Meanwhile, Gu Yuanxi, seemingly doing something, also cautiously extended a hand to block Yun Ying's path.

The two men stood one in front and one behind, sandwiching Yunying right in the middle.

Yunying didn't know what was going on, but the fact that a young, unfamiliar man was approaching her made her uncomfortable. So she moved even closer to Chen Yanzhou, feeling a little more at ease and less anxious.

The journey was silent; none of the three spoke.

After finally arriving at Linghui Temple, Yun Ying wanted to sit in her courtyard to talk, but Chen Yanzhou led Gu Yuanxi directly to the back mountain.

The back hill of Linghui Temple is covered with plum blossoms. Before the Lunar New Year, when the capital was covered in snow and ice, the plum blossoms were in full bloom, attracting hundreds and thousands of literati and artists to admire the flowers and paint every day.

But after the New Year, the weather grew hotter day by day, and the plum blossoms stopped blooming. As a result, the back hill became deserted and quiet, and since few people came here, it was indeed a good place to talk.

The three of them sat down at a stone table next to the plum tree.

The stone table was paired with three stone benches, and on the benches were cushions woven from cattails. The items weren't anything special, but they were quite convenient to sit on the stone benches.

The three of them took their seats one after another. Chen Yanzhou looked at Gu Yuanxi and said, "Tell me, you came back after leaving, and just now you were thinking... what exactly do you want to do?"

Gu Yuanxi looked at Chen Yanzhou, but his eyes were fixed on Yun Ying out of the corner of his eye.

Yunying had already taken off the deer mask.

Without the mask, the face looked familiar, but no longer gave him the same shock. But if you only looked at the lower half of her face…

Gu Yuanxi was very uncertain.

Because of uncertainty, there are some things he doesn't want to ask.

But what if? Even if there's only a one in ten thousand chance, he shouldn't miss it.

Gu Yuanxi finally spoke, "I came here not to see you, but to ask Miss Yunying a question."

Yunying and Chen Yanzhou exchanged a glance, and then Yunying turned her head and said, "Young master, please speak frankly."

Gu Yuanxi looked straight at her. "Perhaps this question is a bit presumptuous, but I still want to ask, where does the young lady live, and are her parents and relatives still alive?"

Chen Yanzhou frowned and looked at Yun Ying, saying, "If it's difficult, just don't say it."

He now knew Yunying's background.

This origin does not refer to Yunying's original family, but rather to where Yunying came from when she was sent to his side.

She was kept on the estate of the Marquis of Chang'an, and was a beauty specially given to powerful and wealthy people by the Marquis of Chang'an.

This background is not something to be proud of.

At the same time, her family background is even more embarrassing.

Her parents, who would sell their own daughter to a powerful and wealthy family for a pittance, must be no good people.

Chen Yanzhou was worried that Gu Yuanxi's words would hurt Yun Ying's feelings and remind her of painful memories.

Yunying indeed fell silent, reluctant to mention her parents.

But if she doesn't bring it up, will Gu Yuanxi really not investigate further on his own?
She wasn't keen for too many people to know how shameful her background was. But if Gu Yuanxi investigated, those shameful things would be exposed to even more people.

Since we can't hide it anymore, let's just say it.

Yunying said, "My home is not too far from the capital, it's in Qianzhou." She didn't say which county or village in Qianzhou, but only vaguely said, "My parents are both alive. Back then, my brother needed to go to school, my mother was seriously ill, and my family was very poor, so they sold me to someone else."

Having said that, Yunying didn't go any further.

Upon hearing this, Gu Yuanxi's expression clearly showed great disappointment.

Yunying's words implied that the parents were biologically related. He was being delusional, even assuming Yunying might have some connection to the family.

But can two completely unrelated people really look alike?
Perhaps.

After all, there are countless beings in the world, but only a limited number of human faces, so it's possible for them to bear some resemblance.

Gu Yuanxi tried to convince himself to let go, but he just couldn't.

He then spoke up, "I have another question, if I may ask you, young lady."

Before Yun Ying could say anything, Chen Yanzhou had already declined on her behalf, saying, "Since you know it's presumptuous, then don't ask."

At this point, he guessed that Yuan Xi's repeated questions were simply because he felt that Yun Ying might have some connection with the Duke of Xuan's mansion.

But how is that possible?

Yunying clearly has biological parents and a clear family history. Wait a minute... if they really are her biological parents, would they really be willing to sell such a beautiful and charming girl to those shady places?

Chen Yanzhou fell into deep thought.

Just as Chen Yanzhou was frowning in deep thought, Yun Ying glanced at him, then looked at Gu Yuanxi and said, "Young master, if you have any other questions, please feel free to ask."

Gu Yuanxi hesitated for a moment before finally asking, "May I ask how old you are this year, and in what month were you born?"

Asking a young lady's age was somewhat inappropriate. However, this young master Gu was not speaking without reason; he was genuinely searching for someone. Even if he was looking in the wrong direction, Yunying pitied his eagerness to find his family and did not press him on this matter.

She returned to her age.

If we count by her age, she just turned eighteen this year. As for her birthday, it's in mid-June.

Upon hearing this, Gu Yuanxi's eyes first lit up, then dimmed again.

The ages match, but the birth months don't.

His younger brother or sister must have been born in early July.

The capital was unbearably hot at the time, so His Majesty decided to set off for the Summer Palace in Qianzhou. More than half of the powerful officials and dignitaries in the capital were taken away, and even the defending troops were mostly withdrawn. This gave the rebellious prince the opportunity to rebel, bringing such great suffering to his family.

Thinking of these things, Gu Yuanxi still felt a suffocating pain in his heart.

My mother, a pampered noblewoman, ultimately died outside during childbirth.

Over the years, he hasn't dared to think about how painful and devastating his mother must have been when she passed away.

What made him feel even more guilty and ashamed was that, even after eighteen years, they still couldn't be sure whether his mother had given birth to a younger brother or sister, let alone whether the baby was alive or dead, or where it was now.

Gu Yuanxi left the back mountain in a daze and went down the mountain.

After seeing Gu Yuanxi off, Yunying returned to the courtyard with the Second Master.

During the conversation, the Second Master inevitably brought up matters concerning the Duke of Xuan's mansion.

Although it was only briefly mentioned, the horror and horrific events involved are enough to make one's breathless just thinking about them.

It was at this moment that Yunying suddenly realized that the affairs of the Duke of Xuan's family were so similar to what she had heard from Granny Wu.

Could it be such a coincidence that they're talking about the same person?
Yunying thought so, and so she asked the question.

Chen Yanzhou knew that she had gone down the mountain with Aunt Wu on New Year's Eve. Because of this, he took the time out of his busy schedule to specifically instruct Mo Xue to send some New Year's gifts to Aunt Wu's family.

It was because of that generous New Year's gift that Aunt Wu took even better care of Yunying. Even though she didn't have time to entertain her relatives and friends during the New Year, and didn't even go back to her parents' home, Aunt Wu was still happy and cheerful every day.

Chen Yanzhou knew that Yunying had gone to the Wu family as a guest, but he didn't know that she was still at the Wu family listening to the old lady "telling old stories".

Chen Yanzhou paused for a moment and said, "The noblewoman that Old Madam Wu mentioned might really be Yuanxi's mother."

Upon closer reflection, wasn't it right near Linghui Temple that Yuanxi's mother's body was found?

For this reason, the Duke of Xuanguo's mansion would send people over every year to light two eternal lamps and donate incense money, just to pray for the deceased wife and children.

Speaking of this, we must mention General Gu Wangchen, who was in charge of pacifying the west.

Chen Yanzhou said, "During the two years after Yuanxi's mother's accident, General Pingxi was obsessed with finding his child. At that time, he refused to eat, drink, or rest, and almost died. Later, the Duke of Xuan and his wife saw that this was not a solution, so they sent him to Tingchan Temple, hoping that Buddha could dispel his obsession."

But that didn't help much.

General Pingxi lived in the temple for a year. After that, he returned to the capital, bid farewell to his parents, and went straight to the northwest to join the army.

At that time, he was young, but he was already a fifth-rank Imperial Guard Captain. He protected the Empress Dowager during the rebellion and was promoted to the fourth rank.

There are very few fourth-rank officials in the entire capital who are under thirty years old.

Unfortunately, General Pingxi felt guilty towards his wife and children and was unwilling to stay in this sorrowful place. He abandoned everything and went to the northwest to join the army.

In the past one or two decades, he had only returned home once, for his eldest son's wedding. This is the second time...

The two chatted idly until they arrived at Yunying's residence.

The accommodation was very simple, just an ordinary guesthouse.

The furnishings inside were extremely simple, and all the items were plain and austere.

Seeing this scene, and thinking about the splendor and wealth of the capital, Chen Yanzhou could not tolerate Yunying continuing to stay here.

He grasped Yunying's hand and said, "Come back to the capital with me tonight."

"Back to Beijing?"

"I'll take you to see the lanterns when we get back to the capital. There's no curfew in the capital these days, and it's incredibly lively every night."

Where there are people, there is more liveliness.

The capital city is a place of wealth and prosperity; it can be without anything else, but it will never lack fun.

The festive atmosphere in Beijing is strong, and being surrounded by such everyday life makes people more enthusiastic.

In short, Yunying cannot stay on the mountain any longer. Otherwise, the next time she sees him, she may not recognize him, and all she will see is the ancient temple and the dim light of lamps.

"Alright, come with me to the capital. I've arranged a courtyard for you, and everything is ready inside."

After hesitating for a moment, Yunying decided that going to the capital was not out of the question.

but……

"I don't want to live in your courtyard. I have money, I'll buy my own little courtyard." Living in his courtyard would be shameful, as if she had become his mistress.

She doesn't want that.

Upon hearing this, Chen Yanzhou readily agreed.

"Row."

As long as she's willing to come down the mountain, let alone buy a courtyard house, he can find a suitable one for her immediately, even if she wants a five-courtyard mansion.

But we've got to put that aside for now. The most important thing right now is to get her down the mountain before she changes her mind.

Chen Yanzhou was a man of action; as soon as he said he was going down the mountain, he urged Yunying to pack her things quickly.

Yunying thought to herself, "Why is it in such a hurry?"

It's past lunchtime now, let's at least have lunch before cleaning up.

But Chen Yanzhou was really anxious.

He instructed Mo Xue to fetch some vegetarian dishes while helping Yun Ying tidy up her usual belongings.

His hands never stopped moving, and his mouth never stopped either. He even introduced to Yunying that the houses over there were not expensive and the environment was good; there were also some houses that looked nice on the surface, but the houses were all dilapidated and no one could live in them at all.

He rambled on and on, as if he knew a lot about this stuff. Yunying listened to a lot of his "experience," but the more she thought about it, the more she felt that it was just hearsay and probably wouldn't be of any real use.

In the late afternoon, Yunying and Second Master went down the mountain together.

Before heading to the capital, Yunying took the Second Master to Aunt Wu's house, personally gave Aunt Wu a sum of money, and bid her farewell.

Aunt Wu never expected that the promised day off would turn into her being fired.

Although Yunying said that if she wanted to find work, she could go to the capital with her and continue to serve her, Aunt Wu thought about the mess at home and ultimately refused Yunying. She then went back up the mountain to get her things and returned home.

Happy Chinese New Year! Haha~ In the new year, I hope everyone earns more money, gets less angry, is often happy, and has no anxiety; avoids internal conflict and insomnia, eats well, and is in great health!