Chapter 045 Acting Skills

When Miao saw Xu Zhenying's confident look, she felt that her daughter was becoming more and more unfamiliar. She stared at those familiar eyes and the sharpness that could not be hidden in them, and in a trance she saw the once gentle and well-behaved Xu Qingying.

Her heart trembled strangely, and she blurted out almost without thinking: "Who are you?!"

Xu Zhenying was stunned for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face, his eyes narrowed slightly, "Of course I am Xu Qingying."

"No, you're not my daughter—" Miao retreated in fear, her face pale as paper. She pointed at Xu Zhenying and said, "Where did you come from, you wandering ghost? Why are you occupying my daughter's body? Get out now, or I won't let you go!"

Yeah, I was discovered.

It turns out that the person who knows her daughter best in the world is definitely her mother.

Xu Zhenying didn't expect that Miao would see through her plan so quickly. She had thought about this day a long time ago and had rehearsed her speech in advance.

The idea of ​​reincarnation and time travel is incomprehensible to people of this era. They might even treat her as a demon and sacrifice her to the gods. Even if it is a close relative, Xu Zhenying does not want to take this risk.

After all, life is precious, and she finally has a second life.

Xu Zhenying was silent for a long moment, staring at Miao and saying, "I'm not a ghost, I'm Xu Qingying. If you don't believe me, I can tell you some things that only you and I know. For example... during the Spring Festival when I was ten, you had a fight with Dad and lied that you were going back to your mother's house. In fact, you took me to a restaurant for a big meal and ordered my favorite sauce-flavored duck. At that time, I also met your childhood friend in Bianjing City... Aunt Lan..."

Miao was still staring at her warily, but not as panicked as before. She half-believed and half-doubted, "If you were a ghost, you would naturally count with your fingers. Then let me ask you, why has your behavior changed so drastically? My Ying'er would never talk back to my second brother like that, and she would never think of a backpack—"

"Well." Xu Zhenying looked up at the sky outside, a rare hint of confusion in her eyes. She sighed slightly, then looked at Miao, "Mom, can you believe it? I've already died once. That night when I vomited blood after being imprisoned—"

Miao's body swayed, and she almost lost her balance. Xu Zhenying, ignoring her ashen face, held her and continued, "At that time, I woke up to pitch blackness. I walked aimlessly, and then I walked across a bridge in a daze. When I opened my eyes again, I was in another world. In that world, my name was Xu Zhenying. I had a father who loved me very much. He gave me all his love and taught me everything he had learned in his life. He not only taught me to read and write, but also supported me in becoming a female official. Unfortunately, I died young in that world, and died in an accident at the age of 32."

Although it was just a lie to fool the Miao family, Xu Zhenying still thought of Old Man Xu and his eyes became slightly sore.

Now we are separated forever and there is no going back in this life.

When Miao heard this, she believed everything and just hugged her and cried.

Xu Zhenying had no choice but to continue making up his story: "After I died, I returned to the place where I started. Then, for some unknown reason, I thought of you, Daddy, and Mom. Do you think this is the return of memories from my past life?"

Miao hugged Xu Zhenying and started crying, practically beating her chest and stamping her feet, crying heartbrokenly, "My son is here, it must be that the King of Hell took pity on me, Miao Bihe, and sent you back to me!"

"Then I heard someone say, 'Why is it this person again? Are you mistaken?'" I tried to see the person's face, but I couldn't make it out clearly, as if I were in a fog. Then I passed out, and when I opened my eyes again, I was back in that cell. I'd clearly lived for over thirty years, but in the blink of an eye, I was a thirteen-year-old girl again. Mother, do you think that was a dream, or did it really happen?"

Miao leaned over Xu Zhenying's head, weeping uncontrollably. She hated herself for not protecting her daughter that night, for not even knowing she'd lost her daughter. She also hated herself for only scolding and educating her. Her daughter had gone through so much alone, still feeling lost and afraid, yet she kept blaming Xu Qingying. Now that she thought about it, wasn't everything Qingying did for the Xu family?

If Qingying and the Zheng family had not broken off the engagement, where would they have gotten those supplies?

If it weren't for Qingying, these people would have no idea what leg wrapping was. These past few days, she saw that almost everyone in the team had their legs wrapped, and they were also indebted to the Xu family. Everyone who saw her greeted her politely. To be honest, this felt more glorious than being in Bianjing City!

In the city of Bianjing, she relied on her second uncle, but in the exile team, she relied on her daughter!

What's more, her daughter actually worked as a court lady in another world!

Madam, what an outstanding person can do that! I believe that the parents in that other world, like her, have devoted all their efforts to their children.

Miao was filled with regret and hatred at this moment. She just hugged Xu Zhenying and sobbed, as if she was holding a lost treasure. She covered her mouth and looked around in fear. Then she sternly ordered: "My son, you must never tell anyone about these words. No matter whether it is true or false, since the King of Hell has given you a way out, you must not spread the word, lest he wake up the people in the underworld and come to take you back!"

Xu Zhenying felt a little touched, but he still said, "What if I'm exposed? My father in that world taught me a lot, and one day I'll be able to use it..."

"Just say it was your grandfather who taught you. Although he was a scholar, he always liked to read miscellaneous books. If anyone asks you about your ability in the future, just blame it on your grandfather."

Xu Zhenying nodded.

Miao wiped her tears, her eyes brightening. "Don't worry, I will protect Ying'er well from now on. Even if the King of Hell comes to snatch her away, I will fight him to the death."

Seeing Miao's confident look, Xu Zhenying thought to herself: Miao has finally passed this hurdle. She can give full play to her ideas in the future. It is not in vain that she had thought of so many excuses before.

Miao Shi felt sad too when she thought of Xu Qingying's untimely death in the other world, and how her parents there were still grieving. "I must erect a longevity tablet for your parents over there, wishing them a long and peaceful life."

Xu Zhenying originally wanted to say that Xu's mother had passed away a long time ago, but then he thought better of it and decided to let Miao find some psychological comfort.

The knot between mother and daughter was untied, and Miao felt a kind of joy of regaining what she had lost. Now she held Xu Qingying tightly and refused to let go. When she looked at Xu Zhenying again, she felt that everything was fine.

He has become more stable and decisive than before, and even his words and deeds have become much more mature. I think what Xu Zhenying said is true.

It must be the blessing of the Xu family's ancestors that allowed her daughter to come back to life and even learn a set of skills before returning to her.

In the future, she will definitely return to her hometown to worship her ancestors, light more than a dozen firecrackers, and thank the Xu family ancestors for their blessings.

But Miao couldn't help but be curious. She lowered her voice and asked stealthily, "Son, tell me the truth. Are you really an official? How high a position did you hold? Do you allow women to be officials in your place?"

Xu Zhenying was about to open her mouth when Pian Miao shook her head again. Fighting her curiosity, she interrupted, "Don't say it, don't say it. What if you reveal the secret and the King of Hell gets angry and takes you away? Ying'er, remember this: you can't tell anyone these things. You must keep them secret and take them to your grave."

"Of course. I won't tell anyone except Mom. I'm afraid they'll treat me like a monster and burn me to death."

Miao instantly transformed into a mother hen protecting her calves and said viciously, "Let's see who dares!"

After receiving Xu Qingying's guarantee, Miao's heart was freed from all the gloom, and she felt like she was reborn. She even began to secretly think that her daughter had been to the underworld and might have learned some magic. Who knows how much more capable she was than mortals like them. In the future, she must listen more to Qingying's advice.

Thinking this way, she began to believe Xu Qingying's words that the supplies would be returned, and her heart began to feel happy, full of hope for the future. Even if she was exiled to Qianzhou, with her daughter's ability, she was not afraid that she would not be able to make a living?

At noon, the large army began its routine rest. Liu Jieshi only gave them a small bag of food, and he himself ate the dry food from the Xu family.

Everyone in the Xu family had lost their temper in the past few days. They were already exhausted from the long journey, and they hadn't slept well and couldn't take a bath. They all looked miserable, with disheveled hair like beggars. At this moment, they didn't even have the energy to complain. They just accepted their fate, collected the food, and set up the pot to cook.

At this time, it was already the sixth day of exile.

Most of the people in the team had already eaten up their dry food. They either had to go to the next town to buy some, or they could only cook the food they brought with them, or they had to rely on the mountains to eat and pick some fruits or wild vegetables to fill their stomachs.

The eldest aunt was carrying the small bag of food, her face expressionless. Xu Deyuan, on the other hand, snorted coldly, staring at Xu Zhenying with vicious eyes. "Sixth girl, didn't you swear that Liu Jieshi would return the food to us within five days? Why is our whole family still starving and freezing?"

"Second uncle, why are you so nervous?" Xu Zhenying sat down cross-legged, his tone neither humble nor arrogant, "This is only the first day."

"Oh, you weren't the one forced to sign, so of course you're not panicking. What's the matter, Third Brother? Are you planning to put the entire 20 taels debt on our second branch? So, it's just my responsibility to honor Mother?"

"What are you talking about, second brother?" Xu Degui was provoked by this and immediately said, "These twenty taels must naturally be shared by the four families."

The eldest aunt immediately jumped up, then realized that she shouldn't have spoken out. She just glared at the people in the second house and secretly pinched Xu Dechi's lower back with gritted teeth. Xu Dechi understood and shouted, "Third brother, you are really calculating. Liu Ya agreed to the credit herself. She is just a girl, and she asked for twenty taels right away, and then asked us to pay for it each. How can this be justified?"

The eldest aunt then chimed in, "You're talking as if no one is being unfilial. Is this about money?! What's with the donkey cart asking for twenty taels? That's clearly Li Xiucai blackmailing us. We shouldn't have agreed! If I were to negotiate, he wouldn't even be able to get two taels, let alone twenty! In my opinion, the extra eighteen taels should go to the third wife!"

It was a rare occasion for Xu Deyuan to feel that what Huang Cui'e said made sense. He nodded frequently as he listened, and especially when he saw Xu Degui's frown, he felt even more proud.

Xu Zhenying smiled faintly, his pair of distinct black and white eyes sweeping across the room, inexplicably giving off a sense of intimidation. "Since everyone wants to divide it so clearly, those supplies were earned by me in exchange for my marriage, so strictly speaking, they have nothing to do with you. But I figured, we're all family, so why bother calculating everything? I've divided it equally among the several families."

These words left the first and second wives speechless.

Xu Zhenying struck while the iron was hot and said, "Since everyone is dissatisfied with this distribution plan, it's okay. We can overturn it and start over. We three families will give the twenty taels of silver, but the supplies we want back have nothing to do with you. Does anyone have any objections to this?"

"How can that be?!" Huang Cui'e cried out.

Xu Zhenying glared at him, raising his voice slightly, giving off an oppressive vibe. "Then, according to Auntie, it would be best if our Third House paid the twenty taels of silver, and we also gave you a share of their supplies?"

Huang Cui'e knew she was being unreasonable. Seeing Xu Zhenying seemed angry, she shrank her neck and muttered to herself, "Who knows if we can get those things back. She's so sharp-tongued, why doesn't she go and deal with Liu Jieshi? She's just a bully in her own backyard."

Huang Cui'e snorted, picked up the bag of rice, and vented her anger on Xu Minglu, the only concubine of the second house, and shouted, "What are you standing there for? You let me serve you like a slave. Why don't you go collect firewood and make a fire to cook? Do you still think you are concubines and young ladies in Bianjing City——"

Xu Minglu thought to himself: My aunt really knows how to pick on the weak. She didn't call the other daughters born to Lian, but only called her. It's obvious that she is bullying her and her daughter because they are not favored!

Huang Cui'e was holding back her anger. After waiting for everyone else to finish eating, she finally borrowed someone's pot. She poured the bran rice into the pot in anger, stirring it while angrily saying, "Eat, eat, eat. I'll stuff you all to death—"

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw a tall figure approaching. Little Huang looked up and almost fainted with fright. She dropped the stick in her hand and lost all her arrogance. Instead, she showed a humble and flattering demeanor, "Zhao Bantou, why are you here?"

Zhao, the squad leader, came closer, took a look at the contents of the pot, then frowned and asked, "Is this what you're eating? Where are your dry food?"

Huang Cui'e cursed in her heart, wasn't it you bunch of bastards who stole it away?

She didn't dare show any emotion on her face, but just bowed her head and said, "Captain Zhao, our belongings have all been taken away by the Jiecha Liu. He said that according to the law, exiled prisoners are not allowed to hide private property. These days, we have been eating the bag of food he gave us."

Zhao Bantou's expression was tense. He took a step forward, stirred the rice soup with his fingers, and then spat it all out with a "Puh!" "What is this? Is this edible? Go, call Liu Jieshi over to me!"