“Little thing, what are you thinking about? Your sweetheart?” Yan Zhi’an walked over and patted her small face.
The sun was setting, the light like twilight. Yan Zhi’an had changed into a black and white everyday dress, elegant in color, with a touch of rare gentleness. Xunqi looked at her, her gaze falling on her cool, elegant brows and eyes. She wore a simple, elegant dress with the aura of a Divine Maiden. Such an ethereal, otherworldly woman, just looking at her felt like a desecration.
Xunqi’s heart felt warm. She didn’t dare look again, not daring to harbor any improper thoughts. But her strange behavior made Yan Zhi’an suspicious. “Are you really thinking about your sweetheart?”
“I’m thinking about the Patrol Battalion.” Xunqi closed her eyes. Yan Zhi’an bent down and sat down beside her. A cool breath pressed close, mixed with a faint, cold fragrance, stirring Xunqi’s heart.
She said again, “Tell me about my father.”
“Just a scholar.” Yan Zhi’an’s voice turned cold, like a clear spring in the mountains, dispelling the warmth of the spring day.
Xunqi didn’t ask again. She didn’t want to talk about it. Was it unwillingness, or was it impossible to talk about?
She grew more suspicious, but didn’t dare show it, because she loved her current life too much. She had power and influence, and someone to protect her. This feeling was like living in paradise.
“Mother, why are you so good to me?” Xunqi asked. My blood doesn’t flow through your veins. Why are you so good to me, even indulging my every whim?
Yan Zhi’an smiled, glanced at her, and said, “Because you are my child.”
Really? Xunqi forced a smile, her meaning unclear. “The Madwoman is also good to me. She said she’ll rely on me for her old age, so she has to be good to me.”
“Yes, you’ll provide for my old age too.” Yan Zhi’an said casually. “Do you miss the Madwoman?”
“Mm.” Xunqi’s voice was muffled.
The sun went down, and the evening wind was a little cold. Yan Zhi’an didn’t think much of it. She reached out and touched her cheek, her voice gentle. “On your next day off, I’ll take you to see her.”
“Okay.” Xunqi nodded along. Mother was different from the Madwoman. The Madwoman had found her, had no choice but to raise her. But Mother had gone to great lengths to get her back. What was she after?
Xunqi felt she was poor and had nothing. What did Mother really want?
“Come on, let’s go have dinner.” Yan Zhi’an stood up calmly, pulled the person up as usual, bent down to brush the dust off her clothes, and said, “Let’s go.”
Xunqi followed, looking at her with a complicated gaze, her eyes falling on the back of her neck, fair and soft. Could such a woman be intimate with someone else?
Xunqi inexplicably felt it wasn’t worth it, even if that person really was her father.
She was starting to get confused, even walking into a dead end, convinced that she was not the Yan family’s daughter, that the Left Prime Minister had never married or given birth.
Only this explanation could satisfy her. No one was worthy of touching her.
Walking back to the main courtyard, Yan Zhi’an released Xunqi. A snow-white fat cat pounced towards her. She bent down to pick it up, but a black shadow flashed behind her, quickly grabbing the fat cat by the scruff of its neck. “You follow the Madam around, eating nine meals a day. You’re getting fat.”
Chen Qingrong loved to eat, drink, and have fun, so naturally, the fat cat got plenty to eat and drink. If she thought something tasted good, she gave it to the cat. If she thought it didn’t, she also gave it to the cat. If she ate too much, she still gave it to the cat. As a result, the little body quickly got fat.
“Are you calling me fat?” Chen Qingrong heard this and walked out, immediately grabbing Xunqi’s ear. “Who taught you to gossip about your elders behind their backs?”
“I didn’t.” Xunqi protested her innocence. “I was talking about the fat cat. It has nothing to do with you. The cat is fat. Look at you, you haven’t gained any weight.”
“Oh, is that so? I’ll forgive you then.” Chen Qingrong snatched the fat cat from her hands. It was a bit heavy. “It does seem to have gotten fatter.”
Xunqi had been pinched for nothing, but she finally saw Chen Qingrong reflect on herself. She turned to look at her mother. “See, she pinched my ear.”
“Others can pinch her back for you, but she can’t.” Yan Zhi’an was helpless. “But I can get you a shop instead. Do you want one?”
“You want a shop? I’ll give you one!” Chen Qingrong’s eyes lit up. Who would want a shop? They’d be a fool. Working yourself to death, when you could just lie at home and be happy.
Xunqi was surprised, then quickly reacted. “I don’t want a shop either. I have money to spend. Why would I want a shop?”
“Little Qi, do you know? Other girls like to have shops as part of their dowry. Why don’t you want one?” Chen Qingrong felt the child was stupid. If you had a shop, the profits would be yours. You could do whatever you wanted.
Xunqi said with conviction, “My mother owns a mine. What would I do with a shop?”
For a moment, Chen Qingrong was speechless. She had to say, “Those who are favored act with impunity. Zhi’an, hurry up and get married and have another child. She’s too arrogant.”
Yan Zhi’an’s vision went dark. “If you two are arguing, don’t drag me into it. Did I provoke you?” How unreasonable.
The two backed down. Xunqi secretly glanced at her mother, suddenly feeling that she was extremely averse to marriage.
The three sat down and ate dinner as usual. Chen Qingrong couldn’t help but talk about the marriages in the capital, mostly about matters in the inner courtyards. After a while, she remembered something. “The Shangguan family is going to have a wedding. The Right Prime Minister’s nephew is getting married.”
“Whose daughter is he marrying?” Xunqi asked, puzzled. Who would be foolish enough to marry their daughter into that family?
Chen Qingrong took a sip of soup and whispered, “A civil official’s daughter. You know, the capital is full of officials. I didn’t remember. Next time I hear, I’ll remember for you.”
“Whose family is so lacking in brains?” Yan Zhi’an said coldly, sneering. “The Shangguan family should be cut off from descendants.”
Xunqi blinked, glancing out of the corner of her eye, catching the cold smile on her mother’s lips. It was clear she was also disgusted. She said, “You only feel pain when the knife cuts your own flesh. The Shangguan family is ruining other people’s daughters. They should be cut off from descendants.”
“What are you two talking about? How are they ruining someone’s daughter?” Chen Qingrong listened to the mother and daughter speaking in riddles, feeling she couldn’t keep up. Then she thought, this is a big piece of gossip! She immediately asked Xunqi, “Quick, tell me. What do I not know?”
“You don’t know this?” Xunqi feigned exaggeration, her small face deliberately tense, making Yan Zhi’an, who was beside her, laugh into the table. Chen Qingrong patted her daughter. “Don’t laugh. I’m listening. Xunqi, you tell me.”
Xunqi moved a stool, sat beside the Madam, and said earnestly, “The Shangguan family comes from beyond the pass. They have a rule: if twins are born, whether both boys or both girls, they must kill the younger and keep the elder.”
“You’re running a fever. Twins are a great blessing. Killing the younger…” Chen Qingrong started laughing as she spoke, but after a few words, she couldn’t laugh anymore. “Come to think of it, I haven’t heard of any twins in the Shangguan family. Don’t scare me.”
Yan Zhi’an calmly drank her soup. Xunqi also lowered her head and ate her rice, leaving only her to stare blankly.
“Why hasn’t anyone told me? Why haven’t I heard this?” She felt something was wrong. She had been in the capital for quite some time and had visited every residence, including the Shangguan residence. How could she not know such a big thing? Was her intelligence network that bad?
She looked at her calm daughter. “When did you find out?”
“Her Majesty told me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know either.” Yan Zhi’an put down her soup ladle and lifted her eyelids. “The Shangguan family’s secret isn’t told to outsiders. Once a girl marries in, she can only accept her fate. If she gives birth to twins, and the child disappears, how would the mother know?”
“Monstrous!” Chen Qingrong was furious. “A child carried for ten months, born, and killed before it can even be raised. How do they know if it’s good or bad? Our dynasty has stood for a hundred years. Has the Shangguan family’s rule existed for a hundred years? If this continues, how many more girls will be deceived? No, I must announce this to the world.”
“I have the same intention. Madam, why don’t we do it together?” Xunqi smiled, her eyes squinting, pulling at the Madam’s arm. “What do you think?”
“I won’t do it with you. Your temperament is too wild. I’m scared.” Chen Qingrong backed out. Just the thought of her stabbing Third Young Master Sima’s manhood scared her.
Xunqi snorted coldly. “I’ll do it myself.”
“What do you plan to do?” Chen Qingrong was genuinely curious. “Are you going to kill your way into the Shangguan residence?”
“No, that’s too conspicuous. I have a plan.” Xunqi waved her hand, a smile on her small face. She said earnestly to the Madam, “I said, you only feel pain when the knife cuts your own flesh, and your heart aches. So, let’s start with that civil official’s family.”
The girl’s smile was deep, seemingly mocking and obscure. Chen Qingrong saw it and fell silent. The reasoning was sound.
After dinner, Xunqi stayed, holding her tea and refusing to leave, circling around her mother.
Yan Zhi’an sat at her vanity, removing her makeup. The bronze mirror reflected Xunqi’s moving figure. “A few days ago, you came after washing up. Tonight, you’re just going to stay?”
“Ah, no.” Xunqi blushed and denied it. She paced to her mother’s side and saw her let down her long, black hair, soft as silk. She remembered the first time they met, her mother seemed to have her hair down. Later, after she acknowledged her, she had tied it up.
Unmarried women wore their hair down. Married women tied it up in a bun. That was the custom of the dynasty.
She looked at the black hair, her heart heavy. Since her mother had been married before, why did she wear her hair down? This was also very strange.
“What are you thinking about?” Yan Zhi’an put down her comb and turned to look at her. “You look dazed. You’ve seemed troubled lately.”
After letting her hair down, Yan Zhi’an’s hair reached her waist, showing a hint of feminine softness.
Xunqi stared, her eyes going straight. “I was thinking about the Shangguan family matter and wanted to discuss it with you. What should I do?”
“Why discuss it with me? Go do it yourself. Just don’t hurt your teacher.” Yan Zhi’an smiled. Under the lamp, her brows and eyes were hazy, her distant-mountain brows ethereal. She continued, “Don’t implicate her. No matter how you cause trouble, she can clean up the mess for you. Understand?”
“I understand.” Xunqi nodded solemnly. “Mother, lend me your spies for a couple of days. I need to know what that family is doing.”
“Fine. I’ll have Wushuang arrange it. Are you going back to sleep?” Yan Zhi’an asked softly. She didn’t know what was going on in that little head of hers. Why was she sometimes clever and sometimes dazed?
