The sudden shout gave the women in the hall a fright. Auntie pressed a hand to her chest and complained:
“Speak properly, are you trying to scare your old mother to death?”
Old mother… Ji Baiqing glanced at her and said nothing.
Auntie didn’t notice the gaze from her sister-in-law. She looked at Xu Qi’an and asked:
“Is there a problem?”
Xu Lingyue immediately looked at her elder brother, and his birth mother looked over as well.
My woman has suddenly become my elder, is that a problem or not… Xu Qi’an gave a dry laugh.
“It’s nothing, only… only her status is a bit inappropriate.”
The moment he finished speaking, Auntie gave a sigh.
“I already know.”
She wore a deeply compassionate expression.
What exactly do you know… Xu Qi’an wisely kept silent and waited for Auntie to continue.
Auntie said:
“I already know. Big sister’s husband offended a treacherous, cunning, lustful and lecherous villain, someone he couldn’t afford to provoke.
“That villain killed her husband in front of everyone and made her a widow. You were close friends with her husband, so after learning of it, you avenged him for her, looked after her, and invited her to stay in the manor for a few days.”
Mu Nanzhi cooperatively put on a sorrowful expression.
Xu Qi’an was so stunned he nearly went blank. He thought to himself, that treacherous, cunning, lustful and lecherous villain, isn’t that me?
Auntie went on:
“As the saying goes, there’s always gossip around a widow’s door. Big sister couldn’t stay here for no reason, so that’s why I became sworn sisters with her. From now on, you are to call her Aunt Mu.”
Even now, Auntie firmly believed Mu Nanzhi and her nephew were innocent.
As for Xu Lingyue, she believed that Aunt Mu, whose identity was unclear but obviously noble, had secretly fallen for big brother after her husband’s death and wanted an illicit affair with him—Xu Lingyue had deduced that herself.
Still, Xu Lingyue also firmly believed it was one-sided affection on Aunt Mu’s part.
Relying on her overwhelmingly good looks, the Flower God had won the trust of the Xu family.
Mu Nanzhi glanced at Xu Qi’an and smiled.
“I’m fifteen years older than Ningyan after all. Calling me Auntie isn’t excessive.”
… Xu Qi’an’s mouth twitched. With a smile that wasn’t a smile, he called out:
“Aunt Mu.”
The Flower God nodded in satisfaction.
Ji Baiqing looked at him, as if wanting to speak but stopping herself.
Xu Qi’an understood at once and said flatly:
“Tomorrow I’ll bring Xu Yuanshuang and Xu Yuanhuai out. Auntie, I’ll trouble you to arrange lodgings for my mother and those two… younger ones.”
The Xu residence had originally been a three-courtyard estate. Later, Second Uncle Xu had bought the courtyard next door, knocked through the wall, and expanded it into something much larger.
And because the Xu family wasn’t large, there were empty rooms everywhere.
Xu Qi’an’s idea was that his birth mother could stay in the inner residence of the Xu household, while Xu Yuanshuang and Xu Yuanhuai should move into the newly bought courtyard next door, making a proper division.
Otherwise, if three strangers suddenly moved in, not only would the Xu family feel uncomfortable, Xu Yuanshuang and Xu Yuanhuai might not feel at ease either.
Of course, if the three of them wanted to move out and live elsewhere, Xu Qi’an wouldn’t object, but he wouldn’t take the initiative to suggest it.
That was how he saw it. Ji Baiqing’s maternal love for him was utterly genuine. Back then, if she hadn’t gone to such lengths to escape back to the capital and give birth to “Xu Qi’an”, there would be no him now.
So as the legitimate eldest son, he wouldn’t shirk the responsibility of supporting his widowed mother.
Ji Baiqing let out a sigh of relief. Now that Xu Qi’an had accepted her, and Yuanshuang and Yuanhuai could still remain by her side, she had no regrets left.
She really did want to live in the Xu residence, but not as a helpless dependant with nowhere else to go. She simply didn’t want to be too far from her legitimate eldest son.
She had missed this son for twenty-one years. Now that they had finally been reunited, she was unwilling to let go so easily.
…
Fengqi Palace.
The Empress Dowager was overcome by spring drowsiness. Reclining on a soft couch, she was half asleep.
Creak.
She heard the outer door being pushed open. Without opening her eyes, she frowned and said:
“We are tired. Do not disturb us.”
She thought it was one of the palace maids entering.
The Empress Dowager’s temperament was cold and indifferent. She was seldom angry and seldom pleased. Even when the maids and eunuchs of Fengqi Palace made mistakes, she could rarely be bothered to scold them.
As a result, there were inevitably a few maids and eunuchs who didn’t keep the rules.
Creak. The room door then closed, and steady, unhurried footsteps approached.
The Empress Dowager said nothing further. After some ten seconds of silence, she slowly opened her eyes.
During that process, her gaze didn’t immediately go to the visitor’s face. She first looked at the boots, then the robe, and only at last rested on the visitor’s face.
Like a gambler who had already lost everything, turning over the final card.
She wasn’t disappointed. She saw handsome features, temples touched with frost, and gentle eyes filled with the weight of years.
The Empress Dowager’s eyes instantly blurred.
The man smiled.
“I’ve come. I’m not too late, am I?”
Tears instantly burst from her eyes. The Empress Dowager turned her face away and let them roll down in torrents.
She had waited for those words for half her life.
…
The lanterns were just being lit.
At the dining table, Xu Xinnian held his bowl and ate with his head lowered, occasionally glancing up to study Ji Baiqing.
Her appearance had both surprised him and not surprised him.
An extra elder suddenly appearing in the family was naturally surprising.
What wasn’t surprising was that he knew Nangong Qianrou had led troops to wipe out Qianlong City in one sweep, so bringing back a few “captives” was perfectly normal.
He thought it was quite good. Since elder brother had brought back his birth mother, then this aunt surely couldn’t be a problem.
After Xu Xinnian and Xu Pingzhi returned to the residence, especially the latter, the harmonious atmosphere from the daytime suddenly became somewhat stiff and heavy.
Probably only the fox cub couldn’t sense the subtle change in atmosphere. Baiji stood upright on Mu Nanzhi’s lap, its two front paws braced against the edge of the table. When it wanted roast chicken, it pointed at it with a little paw and said in a childish young girl’s voice:
“I want to eat this!”
When it wanted braised pork, it raised a paw and pointed at the braised pork.
And Mu Nanzhi would pick some up for it.
Xu Pingzhi, who hadn’t spoken again after greeting his elder sister-in-law, finally couldn’t hold back after draining a whole pot of wine.
“Ningyan, where did Xu Pingfeng run off to?”
Hearing that, Xu Xinnian instinctively looked at his elder brother.
The matter of Xu Pingfeng’s death had been kept from Second Uncle by the two brothers.
Now that he had seen elder sister-in-law today, Second Uncle Xu had finally been unable to resist asking.
Xu Qi’an chewed his rice and said in a tone as calm as water:
“He’s dead. He died the day I returned to the capital. I killed him myself.”
Xu Pingzhi fell silent for a moment. With no particular expression, he gave an “Oh”, lowered his head, and continued eating, shovelling down his food much faster than before.
Not long after, he was the first to finish. He wiped the corner of his mouth.
“I’m done.”
Without giving anyone a chance to speak, he got up and left the inner hall, walking into the inner courtyard through the night.
Only two or three minutes later, those in the hall heard faint sounds of loud, grief-stricken sobbing drifting over from the inner courtyard.
Nobody spoke. They all pretended not to hear and continued eating.
Baiji’s pointed ears twitched. It turned its head towards Mu Nanzhi and was just about to speak when a piece of meat was stuffed into its mouth.
So Baiji happily ate the meat.
“Ahem.”
After his father’s crying had stopped, Xu Erlang cleared his throat, raised his chin, and announced:
“I’ve already advanced to the sixth rank, the Scholar realm. You may not know this, but in the Confucian system, sixth rank is a watershed. Only scholars who reach this realm can be counted as true pillars.
“Because sixth-rank Scholars possess considerable combat ability, and among those of the same realm in the major systems, they are among the very best.”
He used phrases like “true pillars” and “among the very best” to hint that reaching this stage at his age was enough to prove his exceptional talent.
Xu Qi’an nodded.
“Not bad. Erlang’s talent is indeed quite good.”
Xu Erlang had just been about to say a few modest words when he heard his big brother say:
“If Auntie doesn’t count, then Erlang’s talent is a bit better than Second Uncle’s. In this family, he’d rank fourth.”
What do you mean, fourth? Is big brother jealous of my talent and trying to suppress me?… Xu Xinnian said coolly:
“Elder brother, don’t joke around. Who are second and third?”
Xu Qi’an pondered and said:
“Second and third are hard to say, but you’re definitely fourth.”
Xu Xinnian raised an eyebrow and said irritably:
“Could it be that Lingyue’s cultivation talent is better than mine?”
Xu Qi’an immediately looked at his graceful and refined younger sister.
“What rank are you now, Lingyue?”
At his current cultivation, he had long since noticed that Xu Lingyue was secretly cultivating Daoist techniques.
Xu Lingyue replied softly:
“Seventh rank, Guiding Qi. I asked a master from Lingbao Temple about it.”
??
A string of question marks flashed through Xu Erlang’s mind.
Lingyue is seventh rank?
When had she started cultivating? It seemed to have been after big brother started travelling the jianghu, when she had taken a master at Lingbao Temple and begun learning the Daoist cultivation methods.
That was only about four months ago?
Thinking of that, Xu Erlang was stunned.
Advancing to seventh rank in four months, what kind of talent was that?
Xu Lingyue said aggrievedly:
“I didn’t know this was the ability of seventh-rank Guiding Qi, because I was just fumbling about on my own and cultivating at random.”
As she spoke, she crooked a finger and drew over a plate of food, making it float before her.
Self-taught to seventh rank?! Xu Xinnian’s mouth slowly fell open as he stared dumbstruck at his younger sister.
Dad, let’s cry together… He suddenly twisted round and looked towards the inner courtyard.
…
In the pitch-black lightless depths of the sea, Desolation’s enormous body drifted with the currents. When it reached a certain abyss, five or six thick tentacles suddenly stretched out from the lightless chasm and aggressively blocked its path.
“What rotten luck, to run into this thing here.” Desolation muttered.
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