Union

Chapter 187, Section 186: Qianzhou
Yunying and Chu Yanliang, the cousins, met an hour later.

Chu Yanliang is truly a gentleman like jade, with a gentle and refined appearance that makes him approachable.

Yunying finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Cousin, cousin..."

Just as Yunying breathed a sigh of relief, Chu Yanliang's eyes reddened, and he stammered, "Cousin."

Perhaps feeling that his disheveled appearance was too unseemly, Chu Yanliang turned away after calling out to the person and subtly wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes.

There's no mistake, this is my aunt's daughter.

She looks quite similar to her sisters in the family.

Most importantly, it was the feeling she gave him—a closeness that only blood relatives could have.

Chu Yanliang immediately wanted to go back and write a letter to his grandfather at home.

He encountered his uncle's steward at the post station in Qianzhou. The steward was ordered to deliver a letter to Jinzhou, and thinking something terrible had happened, he stopped the letter.

When I opened it, I saw this devastating message.

He then questioned the butler relentlessly, and the butler told him everything he knew, but he was still not satisfied.

He feared that his uncle might be missing his daughter so much that he had mistaken her for someone else, or that he had fallen into a trap set by someone with ulterior motives.

It's no wonder he thought that way.

This is because before my aunt died, the midwife and the old nanny who were with her both lost their lives. No one knows whether my aunt gave birth to a male or female cousin; nor does anyone know whether that child is still alive.

Moreover, it's too much of a coincidence; it's like a meticulously planned conspiracy, which always makes people uneasy.

Having seen the person, Chu Yanliang's heart was completely at ease.

There was no conspiracy, no scheming. It was truly a case of God taking pity on my uncle and returning my cousin to him.

Given that Chu Yanliang and Yun Ying are still completely strangers, even with Gu Yuanming and Yang Lingjia trying to find topics to talk about, there's not much to say.

They only exchanged a few words before Chu Yanliang was taken away by Gu Yuanming and his wife.

Yunying finished her small task for the day, breathed a sigh of relief, and lay back on the cushions.

At this moment, she sincerely hoped that the people sent to Qianzhou could find her adoptive parents as soon as possible and confirm her origins.

If she were truly a daughter of the Duke of Xuan's family, she could also allow herself to develop feelings of attachment and joy towards her family.

If not, you should withdraw as soon as possible.

Otherwise, the longer she stays in the Duke's mansion, the more she indulges in this pampered and loving atmosphere. When she finally leaves, she'll probably be in deep trouble.

Yunying thought about it carefully and concluded that she was probably not born to her adoptive parents. After all, no parent would sell their own daughter into slavery unless they were desperate.

But whether she is a child of the Duke of Xuan's family is uncertain.

I hope time will pass quickly so that I can give everyone an explanation as soon as possible.

……

In the evening, Chen Yanzhou brought Gu Yuanxi some cakes and pastries.

Gu Yuanxi had just returned from outside and was talking to his cousin.

He was puzzled when his personal servant brought in a food box. A sweet aroma of pastries wafted from the box, and upon seeing the name of a well-known old pastry shop in the capital, Gu Yuanxi asked, "Did Father buy this? Did you send some to Grandmother, Sister-in-law, and Sister?"

The servant winked at his master.

Gu Yuanxi kicked him, "Why are you making those faces? Just say what you want to say."

"Then I'll be frank." The servant blinked at him and said, "Young Master Yanzhou sent someone to deliver it, specifically requesting that it be given to you, Second Young Master."

Gu Yuanxi was about to ask, "Why did you suddenly send me a box of pastries? If you're going to send someone, send a deer or a sheep. I love meat, I don't like these sweet and greasy pastries."

But Gu Yuanxi swallowed the words back before he could say them.

He stared at the food box so intently he almost burned a hole through it.

She even gave it to him, probably hoping he would act as a matchmaker and deliver the snacks to his sister.

WTF!

Gu Yuanxi said, "Just say I don't like it and give it back to them."

"It's too late, the person is already gone."

Gu Yuanxi: "..."

Chu Yanliang sipped his tea, silently watching this scene.

At first, he didn't think anything was wrong, but the name Yan Zhou sounded strangely familiar. After thinking about it carefully, he realized that this person was his second cousin's good friend.

But it seems he has forgotten something. What is it?

Chu Yanliang frowned, deep in thought.

Gu Yuanxi called back the servant who had lost the food box, took a deep breath, and said, "Never mind, just take the food to Grandmother and say it's a gift from me to her."

My grandmother is old and suffers from various ailments. Besides, she has almost lost all her teeth, so she doesn't eat many pastries and mostly consumes liquids.

Whether Grandmother will eat the snacks or not is uncertain, but she will definitely give them to Yunying.

He managed to fulfill his good brother's request, albeit with some difficulty.

Gu Yuanxi gritted his teeth, feeling uneasy. That damned Chen Yanzhou, how old is he, still lusting after his sister? But the thought of Chen Yanzhou one day calling him "Second Brother" seemed rather appealing.

Just as he was thinking this, Chu Yanliang suddenly spoke up, "These pastries were given to my cousin by Chen Yanzhou? I heard that the young master my cousin used to follow was also named Chen Yanzhou. Is that the same person?"

Gu Yuanxi: "..."

amount……

Finally, Chu Yanliang stood at the door with a dark face, watching his second cousin leave.

He also firmly stated, "Chen Yanzhou harbors ill intentions, and my second cousin is aiding and abetting him. I will inform the old lady about this matter later."

Gu Yuanxi rushed back, "No, no."

He was met with a firm "clang".

Chu Yanliang slammed the door shut without hesitation, nearly pinching Gu Yuanxi's nose.

Gu Yuanxi let out a strange cry, barely managing to dodge the attack, but the thought of possibly being scolded by her grandmother later made her feel utterly hopeless.

He spat at the servant, saying, "I've really sacrificed a lot for this title of 'Second Brother'."

The servant had no idea what he was rambling about, and just kept saying dismissively, "That's right, you've sacrificed a lot for this family."

Gu Yuanxi: "..."

WTF?

……

Yunying ate the snacks her grandmother brought, and afterwards, she heard strange howling coming from her grandmother's room.

A little while later, her sister-in-law came over, and Yunying asked her what had happened.

The eldest sister-in-law suppressed a laugh and pointed to the pastries on Yunying's table. Yunying was initially puzzled, but then made a bold guess, "These pastries, weren't they a gift from my second brother to Grandmother?"

Yang Lingjia: "Keep guessing."

“…This snack, could it be…a gift from someone else…” Yunying didn’t say the exact words, but she had already figured out the connection.

Yang Lingjia smiled at Yun Ying, "You're really smart, you guessed it right away."

Seeing that Yunying blushed slightly under her teasing, she realized that Yunying's face had turned slightly red.

Although her face flushed, it was unclear whether it was from her teasing or from the sweet feeling in her heart at the thought that Chen Yanzhou had sent the pastries indirectly...

In short, this younger sister is truly a beauty; just looking at her makes one's heart throb.

Yang Lingjia chatted with Yunying for a while longer before the imperial physician arrived.

Yunying had to repeat the process of applying medicine every day.

Every time she had to remove the gauze from her forehead to apply medicine, it was torture for her.

Fortunately, the pain lessened considerably when the gauze was removed today. The imperial physician asked Yunying if she was still feeling very dizzy, and Yunying shook her head, saying that she was feeling better today than yesterday.

Seeing this, the imperial physician stroked his beard and said, "Being young means you recover quickly."

She then instructed that the gauze should not be used for now, as the wound had already scabbed over. She said that once the scab fell off, she could apply some scar-removing cream.

Her forehead was badly injured, and it should have left a scar. But the Duke of Xuan's mansion certainly has no shortage of good scar-removing medicine. With more use, even if the scar cannot be removed, it will definitely fade to an acceptable level.

Yang Lingjia hadn't expected this, and was quite startled when she heard the imperial physician's instructions.

For a beautiful young woman like this, the worst thing about an injury to her face is a scar. If a scar remains, it's like a flaw in a beautiful jade, significantly reducing her value in the marriage market.

Besides, young girls love to look good, and what if it really leaves a scar...

Yang Lingjia quickly comforted Yunying, "It won't leave a scar, don't worry. I remember there are still a few bottles of scar removal cream bestowed by the palace in the storeroom. Let's use them first. If they don't work, we'll ask Grandfather and Father to ask the palace for more."

The palace was filled with fine medicines, including rare and precious ones like the Jade Spring Pill.

Such medicine was so coveted that even the concubines in the palace would fight over it; there were far too many wolves and not enough meat. But if someone asked, the emperor would surely grant them some.

Yang Lingjia said, "It's nothing serious. Just focus on recovering. Your grandparents and father will take care of the rest."

After leaving Yunying, Yang Lingjia went to the old lady's place.

The old lady was scolding her second grandson.

How can you side with outsiders?

Are you closer to Chen Yanzhou, or to your father or grandparents?
For Chen Yanzhou's sake, you actually betrayed the hearts of your father and grandparents!
Gu Yuanxi was in the wrong and dared not retaliate even as he was being verbally abused.

But in his heart he thought, if you won't let me accept Chen Yanzhou's pastries, then why don't you let your sister-in-law accept the dishes sent by the Rongguo Duke's Mansion?
There's no real difference between the two.

Weren't they all meant for their younger sister?
Why did you let your sister-in-law pick up the phone, but not me? Is this discrimination?
Gu Yuanxi felt wronged, but unfortunately dared not say it.

It was at this moment that Yang Lingjia came in and told her about the scar that Yunying would have on her forehead.

The grandfather and grandson couldn't sit still any longer.

Gu Yuanxi immediately stood up and said, "I will find my father and grandfather and ask them to go to the palace to ask for medicine."

The old woman was also anxious, "Please get a few more bottles, one or two bottles probably won't be enough. My poor granddaughter, why is she so unlucky? She's suffered half her life, and she's finally found her home, but now her face might be scarred again. My poor He'er..."

Yang Lingjia quickly tried to comfort the old lady, but the old lady was so immersed in her grief that she wouldn't listen to her at all.

In her haste, Yang Lingjia didn't even know what she was saying before blurting out, "Speaking of which, shouldn't the people who went to Qianzhou to investigate my sister's background have arrived there by now?"

old lady:"……"

The old lady immediately stopped crying, her tears disappearing in an instant.

"They've been sent to Qianzhou, and they've probably already met He'er's adoptive parents. Bah! What a heartless family! They actually sold my precious granddaughter into slavery. I promise I won't let them off easily..."

Yang Lingjia: "..."

The two were talking about things in Qianzhou, but they didn't expect that at that very moment, the steward who had gone to confirm Yunying's background had just arrived at Changting Village in Baili County, Qianzhou.

Changting Village is far from the county seat, and the villagers rely on farming for a living, so life is not easy.

Because of its remote location, there are very few people in this village, so it is quite easy to find someone named Xu Shaotian.

However, even though Xu Shaotian found out about the person, he couldn't locate him.

Because the Xu family moved away six years ago.

As for where he moved to, some say he moved to a neighboring county, others say he moved to a nearby prefecture. In any case, no one has ever been to Xu Shaotian's new home, and no one knows where he actually lives now.

The person who came to Changting Village to inquire about Yunying's background was none other than the head steward of the Duke of Xuan's mansion.

This man was also a veteran of the battlefield; he was meticulous, thoughtful, capable, and loyal. But even such a capable and loyal person was somewhat dumbfounded when he heard this.

The trail has gone cold, what should we do?
The head butler scratched his head, a rare sight for him.

The villagers of Changting Village saw that the head steward was dressed in extraordinary clothes and had an imposing presence that was even more intimidating than that of the village chiefs in the surrounding area. They knew at a glance that he was no ordinary person, so they quickly found a respected elder in the village to entertain the head steward.

The old man inquired about the head steward's background, his purpose for coming, and his relationship with Xu Shaotian's family.

There was no way to hide it, so the head steward replied.

But after answering the first question, the old man asked again with doubt, "What kind of mansion is the Duke of Xuan's Mansion? And what does the Duke of Xuan govern? Is he a higher-ranking official than a county magistrate?"

To these villagers who had never left their village, the village head was already a formidable figure, and the county magistrate was practically a local emperor. But this man came from the capital…

The old man asked tremblingly, "What rank is the Duke?"

The steward sighed, "The Duke of Xuan's mansion is a hereditary dukedom, a second-rank noble title. The head of the household also serves as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, a third-rank title."

Whether it's a second-rank or third-rank official, it's still a far greater position than a seventh-rank county magistrate.

Even if the person before him wasn't the Duke of Xuan himself, he was still the steward of the Duke of Xuan's residence. People say that even a seventh-rank official is above the prime minister's gate, so this steward has more power and prestige than a county magistrate.

The people were in an uproar, and there was a lot of discussion about it.

It took the old man a long time to calm down before he tremblingly inquired about the purpose of the head steward's visit.

The head steward thought for a moment and realized that to find out about Yunying's background, he didn't necessarily have to start with Xu Shaotian and his wife. Among these villagers, there might be some who knew the truth.

He then subtly revealed his intentions.

The old man was shrewd and experienced. No matter how tactfully he spoke, when he heard him inquiring about Xu Shaotian's daughter, his heart skipped a beat. He thought: Could it be that her biological parents have come looking for her?

Sin ah.

He immediately told Shaotian to return the child. But the boy stubbornly insisted that the child was unwanted by the parents and had been given to him.

Thinking about all this, the old man sighed.

Before the old man could even speak, some of the bolder onlookers had already chimed in.

"You've come to inquire about that girl Yunying? How do you know that girl wasn't born to Shaotian and his wife? Could it be that you are Yunying's biological parents?"

"Oh dear, you're a step too late. That bastard Shaotian is a piece of trash. He sold Yunying to raise money so his son could go to school in the county town."

(End of this chapter)