Miao Chu

Chapter 139 Apology
The boy looked to be eight or nine years old, even taller than Liang Yan by a head, and already quite heavy. When he bumped into Song Miao, she was in great pain, and because of the force, she stumbled. Luckily, she didn't fall, but she managed to support him and lift him up.

When you lift it up, you have to look down to see it.

The man had two buns on his head, and the hair between the buns was covered with something that looked like broken branches from dead trees. Upon closer inspection, it looked like the tip of a plant's root stem that had been broken off—that's where the licorice flavor came from.

The boy bumped into Song Miao, used the momentum to regain his balance, and without looking back, chased after his other companions.

The steward of the Xiang family had followed them out. Although he frowned upon seeing this, he did not say anything.

However, even though he didn't speak, someone else spoke up for him.

Liang Yan had also left the house early.

When he was being surrounded and cursed by several children earlier, even when they pointed fingers at him, he only defended himself and did not resist at all. But now, seeing that the child bumped into Song Miao and then ran away, and seeing Song Miao holding her waist and arms, frowning as if she was injured somewhere, his face immediately changed and he shouted, "Xie San'er, you stop right there! You bumped into someone and then ran away?!"

The boy turned around and shouted, "What does it have to do with me if that little wench blocks my way? I haven't even bothered her yet!"

He keeps using the word "Laozi" all the time, especially his tone—sloppy, vulgar, and effeminate. I don't know where he learned it from.

Upon hearing this, Liang Yan was furious and chased after the attacker like a cannonball.

He got a free lunch; the old chicken was a bit fishy and dry with little meat juice, so it didn't die in vain.

Having been robust since childhood, and now full of energy after a good meal, Liang Yan ran even faster than the boy, taking three steps at a time. He pounced on the boy, grabbed his collar, and pulled him back with all his might.

The boy named Xie San'er initially fought back fiercely, but after a while, he found Liang Yan's fighting style terrifying. Liang Yan didn't dodge his punches, seemingly determined to inflict damage on both himself and his enemy, as if they were going to die together. Especially when he looked up and saw Liang Yan's red eyes and ferocious expression, the boy, still a child, felt fear and cried out, "Stop hitting me! Stop hitting me! I apologize! I apologize to that woman!"

He was saying this, but then he looked ahead.

His companions had long since disappeared.

He was indignant, but dared not say anything. He was forced by Liang Yan to stand in front of Song Miao and forced to apologize.

Song Miao was very displeased with his attitude.

It was rare for Liang Yan to bring someone back, especially since it was to stand up for her. And given how arrogant this kid had been before and how he was behaving now, she wasn't going to let him off easily. She asked in a cold voice, "What's your name? Who are you from?"

Liang Yan was about to answer when Song Miao gave him a look, and he quickly shut his mouth.

Xie San'er apologized curtly, thinking that nothing had happened and was about to leave when he suddenly heard Song Miao's question. His heart skipped a beat, but he was unwilling to answer and simply turned his head away.

Song Miao then ignored him and turned to ask, "Thank you for your help, Steward. May I ask which family he belongs to?"

He added, “He acts so unreasonably, he bumps into people and doesn’t apologize, but he’s foul-mouthed and bullies the weak. Others might not care because he’s just a kid, but I’m always sharp-tongued and won’t let him off easily!”

The steward, fearing that Song Miao might misunderstand and think that the Xiang family was bullying Liang Yan, which would damage the reputation of the host family, had wanted to explain earlier but couldn't find a reason. Now that he had a way out, he hurriedly said, "Although I don't know, it's most likely a child from the Xie family."

He added, "Since we've come here to stay, and the adults are all busy, the Xie family was worried that the two young masters would be alone, so they called some of the clan's boys to keep them company. Who would have thought these boys would have such a temperament? It's really...sigh! I'll call someone to ask..."

He spoke while watching Song Miao's expression.

Song Miao had no intention of letting the matter rest.

She knew that the Xiang family was only staying temporarily, and even for the sake of the relationship between the two sides, they would most likely not stand up for Liang Yan—which was perfectly reasonable.

The Xiang family is difficult to manage, but she is different.

He was just passing through and wasn't afraid of offending anyone. No matter how powerful a dragon is, it can't suppress a local snake. He had a large number of people on his side, it was a legitimate job, and Han Li was backing him up. He could take advantage of the situation.

Given Liang Yan's current predicament, even if nothing is pursued, the other children will not remember his kindness; instead, they will think he is easy to bully.

It's better to make a real fuss, even if the adults only give it a little restraint, than to let it run its course—it can't get any worse.

She stretched out her hand, lifted her sleeve slightly, and revealed her wrist.

The child had bumped into her, and as he tried to brace himself, his fingernails dug into the back of her hands and arms, leaving several deep red marks that were now bleeding.

Song Miao said, “You know I make a living with my hands. If he had apologized politely just now, I wouldn’t have pursued the matter. But he had to act like this. I live in the official post station on the street, which isn’t far away. Please tell his parents to bring their children and come to apologize.”

The child's eyes widened.

When the steward of the Xiang family saw that Song Miaozhen was really going to pursue the matter, and that she was an outsider, he wished he could step in and help her. He quickly turned around and called over a sly-looking servant boy who was peeking in from inside the door, asking, "Do you recognize whose son this is?"

"I recognize him, he's Xie Rong's third son!"

“Take him home and tell his parents—you saw what happened, right? Even though he’s a young child and doesn’t know any better, the aggrieved family doesn’t want anything else, just an apology. Take the child home and explain things clearly to Xie Rong’s family.”

Xie San'er was truly anxious this time, and cried out, "Sister! Sister! I was wrong! Please forgive me, I promise I'll never talk nonsense again!"

Song Miao said coldly, "You're only admitting your mistake now because you're afraid of trouble. You don't even know where you went wrong. I'm not qualified to teach you. Let your parents teach you."

The servant quickly pulled Xie San'er away.

Xie San'er, who had been arrogant and foul-mouthed before, now knew fear and desperately begged the servant, crying and pleading all the way.

Liang Yan, standing to the side, stared with his mouth agape, both excited and anxious, wishing he could join in the fun, while also glancing back at Song Miao's bleeding arm from time to time.

After everyone left, Song Miao pointed to Liang Yan's shoes, which were wet all day, and said to the steward, "Young Master, you helped me catch people and got your shoes all wet. I wonder what size they are? I'll buy you a new pair tomorrow to return to him."

The steward hurriedly said, "No need to return them, no need to return them! We have plenty of shoes at home!"

Song Miao had some paper on her, so she used it to measure a sample before finishing.

Then the steward said, "Young lady, are you sure you can't accept that banquet? If you get to know that clerk Qian, you'll only benefit from whatever you need to do in Huazhou in the future."

Song Miao politely declined, saying that she had only accepted a job as a contractor. The manager then said, "There's another matter. The young lady gave us the recipe for cold chrysanthemum greens salad last time, but for some reason, our cook can't seem to make it taste the same. I wonder if you could spare some time to come and give us some pointers?"

He continued, "I'm sure you've heard it already, young lady. There are many notices posted outside. I don't know if you've seen them—our young master has gone missing. The whole family has been searching for him for days. My master has been going out from morning till night to beg for favors and pay homage to influential people. He hasn't had a proper meal in two or three days..."

Song Miao readily agreed, saying, "It just so happens that I'm coming to deliver shoes tomorrow. If the kitchen is convenient and has prepared the ingredients, I'll come and show you how to make them once."

Hearing that they could meet again tomorrow, Liang Yan looked at her with bright eyes, clearly happy, but there was also some indescribable sorrow in his happiness, and he would look at Song Miao's wrist from time to time.

Song Miao nodded reassuringly at him, urging him to go inside and change his clothes and shoes. After the man had gone far away, she said to the steward, "Master Xiang is only worried about his son. Even if you made dragon liver and phoenix gall right now, he wouldn't have the appetite to eat it."

The manager sighed and said, "I hope it will be of some use today. Everyone who is even remotely useful has been invited."

***
Because of this delay, Song Miao returned to the restaurant a little later.

At this time, the sky was dark and the clouds were low.

She and Han Li returned to the official post station with the food box. Almost as soon as they entered, a heavy rain started pouring down outside.

Amidst the sound of rain and the raging wind, the front hall was dimly lit. All the other tables were empty, but a lone person sat behind one of them. On the table was a small plate with some pickled vegetables and half a steamed bun.

Song Miao quickly called out to Han Li, signaling him to go and take a look.

As the two approached, the person behind the table looked up at the sound, his expression unreadable. At first, he seemed disappointed, but upon seeing Song and Han approaching together, he was filled with both anger and the joy of having found them again. All his unspoken words culminated in a single angry shout: "Where have you been?!"

He angrily continued, "When I woke up, Zheng Yan wasn't in the house. When I went out to look for him, I couldn't find Song the stall owner either. I asked around, but no one was there. Even the flatbread was nowhere to be found. If it weren't for the courier telling me, I wouldn't have known he went out with Lu Wenming. So it turns out I'm the only one left out, right?"

—It was Kong Fuyang.

As he complained, he looked up and saw Song Miao's expression, and couldn't help but say again, "Stadium owner Song, you're still laughing! Where did you and Zheng Yan go, leaving me behind???"

Before he could ask any further questions, Han Li stepped forward, placed the two food boxes on the table, and said as he opened them, "Seeing that you were sleeping soundly, I didn't want to disturb your sweet dreams—Stadium Master Song said you would definitely be hungry when you woke up, so he brought back braised fish and braised goose, along with a cold dish—I'm being so long-winded, do you still want to eat? If not, then forget it."

A moment later, the food was brought out of the food box. Sure enough, there was a whole fish, weighing about a pound, a whole braised goose leg, a cold dish of mixed shredded lettuce, two steamed buns, and a bowl of rice squeezed upside down next to the goose leg.

Upon seeing this, Kong Fuyang's expression changed almost instantly, and he burst into laughter, his face blossoming like a chrysanthemum. He quickly exclaimed, "I knew that Stall Owner Song had always treated me the best! Zheng Yan must also care about me! Oh dear, I was just being cheeky, don't mind me, don't mind me!"

As he spoke, he began to eat the half-eaten steamed bun in his hand.

He took only two bites, then shook his head and nodded, saying, "In terms of taste, it's not as good as the small dish that Vendor Song casually made, but considering that Vendor Song and Zheng Yan brought it back for me, the sentiment behind it makes the dish taste even better—do you know the sweet dew on the willow branch in Guanyin Bodhisattva's jade bottle? Just touch that a couple of times, and it's about the same effect..."

After saying that, he looked at Song Miao and then at Han Li, and asked, "You know what I mean, right?"

Song Miao suppressed a laugh and shook her head.

Seeing her shake her head, Han Li naturally shook his head as well.

Kong Fuyang stomped his feet and sighed, saying resentfully, "All they do is shake their heads. I don't know if they're pretending to be stupid or if they're really stupid. They insist that I point it out—never again will they do things without my knowledge! Even if they do, they should do it the same way they did today and make amends!"

He added, "We've only known each other for a short time. Others may be good, but they're not the same as us. You two always put me on the cusp of everything. As the saying goes, new clothes are worse than old ones, but old friends are worse than new ones. If we're going to make a comparison, to put it bluntly, I'm the original wife. Do you understand?"

He sighed again, "Having seen the vast ocean and the towering Wushan Mountain, all that remains is our affection—Miss Song, next time there's something delicious, please remember to spare me a bite!"

Seeing that his mouth was never still, Song Miao smiled.

Han Li took the bag off his shoulder and handed it back to Song Miao, saying, "After walking for half a day, Song, you should go back and rest early—it's raining so heavily this afternoon, it's not good to go out."

As they were talking, they heard voices outside. A moment later, a group of three or four people burst in, shaking off their raincoats as they called for the courier and scanned the front hall with their eyes.

The courier hurriedly ran out from the back. Seeing the group, he clearly knew them and quickly greeted them, then asked, "Oh dear! It's a day off, but with such heavy rain, why are you gentlemen out here?"

The men complained, “What can we do? They say a wealthy traveler lost his son and couldn’t find him anywhere. He reported it to the authorities, and now the whole yamen, along with its officers and patrolmen, are out there looking for him.”

The courier then asked, "Is it that child surnamed Xiang? We've already asked him these past two days, but he's not here."

"Since it's an errand, we should at least go in and take a look—is there any important person there that we can't afford to offend?"

They went to the back and searched each room one by one, knocking on doors.

Seeing that the men complained but did their jobs without any compromise, Kong Fuyang couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Zhengyan, you asked Magistrate Cen for two people to help deliver messages in the residence on their days off, but Magistrate Cen said that none of his subordinates agreed, that everyone needed to rest, and that he couldn't force them or give them compensatory leave. He even offered to assign you two of his household servants to help—but it doesn't seem like everyone is resting! In this heavy rain, how can you be so attentive!"

Han Li then made a shushing gesture, indicating that the walls were listening.

Kong Fuyang then shut his mouth.

Song Miao guessed that it was probably because Xiang Yuan had found Qian Yashi and that this person had spoken up, which was why this had such an effect.

If it's true, no wonder Xiang Yuan wanted to host a grand banquet for the other party, and no wonder Manager Xiang said that knowing this clerk would only bring benefits and no harm.

No words were spoken that night.

The next morning, while Han Li was leading his men to report to the Huazhou government office, Song Miao was about to go out shopping with Dabing when a courier came to report that several people had come to inquire about her name.

Song Miao followed her out the door and indeed saw the messenger from yesterday leading the way, with a man and a woman standing beside them, and the weeping Xie San'er among them. When they saw her come out, they hurriedly bowed and apologized, and urged their son to go forward and apologize as well.

Unlike Xie San'er, his parents looked like honest people. They seemed quite nervous, apologized very sincerely, and offered compensation.

The younger one, after a night's rest, seemed like a completely different person. He not only apologized honestly but also knelt down to admit his mistakes, listing all the wrongdoings he had committed and promising never to bully anyone again.

Song Miao stepped forward to help her up.

The next day, Xie San'er changed his clothes and changed the ribbons to tie his two little pigtails. But strangely, he still had a faint smell of licorice on his body. Looking down, he saw that in almost the same place on his head, there were many broken roots that were not quite the same as yesterday.

(End of this chapter)