Transmigrated into a minor official in a county government, with children at home waiting for rice t

Everyone present was stunned!

Wang Yue'e stood frozen in the corridor, her gaze fixed on the west wing door, and it took her several breaths to recover.

She glanced at Zhang Sanlang, then at Huangfu Ce, and finally turned to Zhou An.

Zhou An stood by the stone table, his face drained of color, as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over his head—the kind that comes in a large, all-you-can-eat bathtub.

Huangfu Ce leaned against a pillar, stroked his chin, and looked thoughtful.

Even someone as worldly-wise as Zhang Sanlang was stunned by A-Yun's words, and after a long while, he managed to utter a few words, "Nonsense! She..."

Huangfu Ce spoke first, "Third Master, this girl A-Yun lost her father at a young age, so she probably sees you as...as someone to rely on. I heard from Yue'e that you treated her very well after you moved back to the old house, so perhaps she has harbored feelings for you."

Wang Yue'e's lips trembled slightly. "How could she... how could she say such a thing? Isn't this just causing you trouble?"

Zhou An stood by the stone table, his face changing rapidly from white to red, then back to white, like a lantern flickering in the wind.

His lips moved several times, as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't say anything.

He raised his finger and pointed at Zhang Sanlang, then at the west wing. He made a gurgling sound in his throat, as if he had choked on a piece of glutinous rice cake, unable to swallow or spit it out.

Zhang Sanlang waved his hand helplessly, raised his chin at Wang Yue'e, and said, "Madam Huangfu, go and call A-Yun back. I have something to say."

Wang Yue'e responded and hurriedly turned to walk towards the west wing, her steps quicker than usual.

Before long, she returned with A-Yun in her hand.

Ah Yun, her face flushed and head bowed, was dragged two steps forward and one step back by her mother until she was finally pulled in front of Zhang Sanlang.

Wang Yue'e pulled her to the corridor and made her stand aside, her gaze shifting between Zhang Sanlang and Ayun, her expression quite complicated.

Zhang Sanlang walked up to A-Yun and looked at her.

A-Yun didn't dare to look up, her chin resting on her chest, her shoulders still trembling slightly.

Zhang Sanlang straightened up, his lips twitching. "A-Yun, raise your head."

A-Yun slowly raised her head, her eyes red-rimmed, and a drop of water still clinging to the tip of her nose. She glanced at Zhang Sanlang, then hurriedly lowered her head again.

Zhang Sanlang shook his head helplessly, his voice softening, "Ayun, if you don't want to get married so early, you can tell your Uncle Zhang. How dare you talk nonsense? Your parents and I have always treated each other as equals..."

Upon hearing this, A-Yun's tears fell again.

She wiped her eyes with her sleeve, raised her face, and choked out, "Uncle Zhang has been so good to me. Last year when my mother was sick, your stipend wasn't much, and Ximei and Qingge were still drinking porridge every day, yet you were willing to help pay for a doctor!"

"The money I earned from pasting paper boxes wasn't enough to buy rice, and you brought three bushels of rice directly to the west wing! Also, when you cooked something delicious for Ximei, you always saved some for me too! And you shared the plain silk with me..."

"You never thought I was stupid, never thought I was a girl. I just... I just felt... since I'm going to get married anyway... I just wanted to..."

She couldn't continue, her face flushed red to her ears, her shoulders trembled, and tears streamed down her face.

Zhang Sanlang was silent for a moment, then sat down on the stone bench, patted the empty space next to him, and said, "A-Yun, sit down."

A-Yun raised her head, glanced at him quickly, moved to the edge of the stone bench and sat down, placing her hands on her knees and constantly rubbing the hem of her skirt.

Zhang Sanlang turned to look at her. "A-Yun, you lost your father when you were seven or eight. Your mother has suffered a lot raising you all these years. What do you long for in your heart?"

"I long for an elder to support you and shield you from the storms of life. After I moved back to the old house, you often came to help Ximei with needlework. I saw that you were diligent and well-behaved, so I took extra care of you, without any other intentions."

"Ultimately, this is just about neighbors helping each other. You feel warm inside and like you have someone to rely on. This is only natural, not about romantic love. You rarely go out, so you probably don't see many young men. It's not surprising that you might have misunderstood something for a moment."

A-Yun raised her head, tears still on her face, her gaze somewhat lost.

Zhang Sanlang pointed to the old locust tree in the yard. "Look at that old locust tree. It shades half of our yard, providing coolness in the summer and shelter from the wind in the winter. Your feelings for me are like those for that old locust tree—mostly gratitude."

A-Yun's gaze followed his finger, landing on the old locust tree, then looked away, as if she understood something.

Seeing that she seemed to be realizing something, Zhang Sanlang quickly pressed his advantage, "Your mother married Mr. Huangfu, and you have a stepfather. Although he's only been in this family for a short time, look how he treats your mother!"

"He checks the doors and locks the windows at night to protect your mother, and teaches you to read during the day. He truly cares for you and your mother. He will fill the void in your heart that you lack. It's just that it hasn't been long yet, so you don't realize it yet."

A-Yun's eyelashes trembled. She turned her head and glanced quickly at Huangfu Ce under the eaves.

Huangfu Ce stood there, his hands hanging down, no smile on his face, but he nodded gently at her.

Zhang Sanlang's expression softened. "Ayun, I love you and Ximei equally. Now that you have a stepfather, you should have someone to rely on. If your family doesn't object, I, Zhang Shouli, will recognize you as my goddaughter today. Are you willing?"

A-Yun was stunned.

She looked up, tears streaming down her cheeks, her mouth slightly open.

Wang Yue'e stood under the corridor, stunned for a moment, then her eyes reddened, and she covered her mouth with her sleeve.

Huangfu Ce's eyes lit up. He took two steps forward, cupped his hands in greeting to Zhang Sanlang, and said, "Third Master, I couldn't ask for this. I'll accept on behalf of A-Yun."

Wang Yue'e nodded quickly, "Yes, yes. Third Master, our whole family is willing!"

A-Yun was still sitting on the stool, looking blankly at her mother, then at Zhang Sanlang.

Wang Yue'e walked over, squatted down in front of her, and took her hand. "A-Yun, quickly call him godfather."

A-Yun's lips moved, and the voice squeezed out from her throat, "God... Godfather."

After she cried out, tears welled up in her eyes again, and this time she sobbed out loud, throwing herself into Wang Yue'e's arms, her shoulders shaking.

Zhang Sanlang let out a long breath and stood up. "Mr. Huangfu, recognizing someone as a godfather isn't something that can be done with just a few words. Go and prepare incense, candles, and red paper, and write a godfather/godfather certificate. Now that you've brought it up, let's complete the formalities."

Huangfu Ce quickly responded and turned to walk towards the west wing.

He took two steps and then stopped, turning back to look at Zhou An.

Zhou An stood under the eaves, his gaze fixed on A-Yun, as if his soul had been ripped from his body. It was unclear whether he had heard Zhang Sanlang's words about recognizing A-Yun as his goddaughter.

Before long, Huangfu Ce came out of the house, carrying a rough porcelain incense burner, three sticks of incense, and two pieces of cut red paper.

He placed the incense burner on the stone table and lit the incense sticks.

Wisps of smoke rose, curling gently, and slowly dispersed beneath the old locust tree.

Huangfu Ce walked up to A-Yun, unfolded the red paper, and laid it on the stone table.