"Brother Crown Prince, why are you smelling me?"

As the second prince spoke, he rubbed his eyes vigorously.

The prince pointed to his clothes: "You have... a very complicated smell, it smells strange."

"Huh?"

Zhao Wenqi lowered his head and smelled the undershirt on his chest.

I went to bed late last night and didn't shower, so my undershirt definitely smelled of barbecue and hot pot.

He smelled like a giant roasted meat soaking in a hot pot.

It smells delicious.

The second prince took a deep breath and closed his eyes in bliss: "You don't understand, Crown Prince. This is the taste of happiness."

Crown Prince: ...What exactly happened?

Did my second brother take the wrong medicine?

The He family.

On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, He Youyou also slept in and didn't get up.

Fortunately, there's someone reliable at home.

Ali greeted guests who came to offer New Year's greetings in the main hall.

"Master Cheng, I am truly sorry. My mother went to bed late last night and is still asleep. Why don't you go back first, and I will accompany my mother to your residence to pay my respects another day?"

Cheng Tingrui glanced towards the backyard.

Then, with a sigh, he said, "Fine, I'll leave the gift here. Please ask Ah Li to tell your mother that I'll come back when she has time."

"good."

Cheng Tingrui then instructed his servants to carry the New Year's gifts into the He family's residence.

Box after box, load after load.

A continuous stream of visitors.

Ah Li was astonished: "Master Cheng, so many?"

Is it possible to empty your house just to offer New Year's greetings?

"Not much, just goods that our caravan sold from various places. We picked out a little of everything, and that's all. Keep it and use it slowly."

Since her mother wasn't present, Ahri took it all on her own initiative.

Firstly, he knew that the Cheng family business was a partnership with his mother, and since these goods were transported by a caravan, his mother had a share in them.

Secondly, having seen many good things, he didn't value them too much.

Ah Li saw Cheng Dangjia to the door.

An old servant who had accompanied them squinted and looked Ah Li's face over and over again.

As Cheng Tingrui's carriage drove away, the old servant followed beside it, frequently turning back to look in the direction of the He family's residence.

This unusual behavior, of course, did not escape the master's notice.

Master Cheng is a person who observes everything around him with meticulous attention to detail.

Cheng Tingrui lifted the carriage curtain and looked intently at the old servant.

"Renbo, what are you looking at?"

The old servant named Renbo approached and replied through the carriage window, "Master, that young man from the He family just now looks like an old friend."

"Whose old friend?"

“An old friend of the master.”

Cheng Tingrui pondered for a moment: "We'll discuss this in detail when we get home."

The Cheng family had many old servants.

From the housekeeper to the cook, they were all elderly people who had worked for them for twenty or thirty years.

Cheng Tingrui was raised by these old servants from a young age.

He grew up, and these people gradually entered old age.

In recent years, the household has acquired several quick and efficient servants, but there isn't even a single young maidservant.

Inside and out, only a few old women took care of his daily life.

The Cheng family's old house, like an old man in his twilight years, is quiet and lifeless.

A few sparrows occasionally landed on the roof tiles, hopping around and foraging for food in the snow.

Cheng Tingrui was in his study, with the door closed, talking to his old servant.

"Uncle Ren, please continue."

"Yes." The old servant's eyes were filled with memories. "When Master used to travel as a merchant, I was always by his side. That year, when he went south to Yangzhou, a wealthy merchant in Yangzhou hosted a banquet for Master. During the banquet, a beautiful woman was invited to perform songs and dances. That woman was not only good at singing and dancing, but also proficient in poetry and literature. She and Master sang together, like a perfect couple."

Cheng Tingrui's father, Cheng Jiduo, was exceptionally talented and eloquent in his youth, and his appearance was also remarkably handsome, bearing a six or seven-point resemblance to Cheng Tingrui.

"And then what?"

"Later, the wealthy merchant from Yangzhou, seeing that the master favored the beauty so much, decided to buy her and give her to the master as a maid. She accompanied him in his studies every day, adding fragrance to his sleeves. What a pity..."

Unfortunately, the good times didn't last long.

Before a year had passed, Cheng Jiduo contracted an illness while traveling as a merchant, and his condition deteriorated rapidly.

"Master ultimately didn't survive that winter; he passed away before the New Year even arrived. As soon as he was gone, the head of the Cheng family sent people to collect all of Master's personal belongings and had this beautiful maidservant sold off. We don't know where she was sold to. Alas, what a pitiful fate awaits this delicate beauty."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Tingrui guessed, "Could it be... that the young man from the He family looks like that maid?"

Renbo nodded: "They're alike, their eyebrows and eyes are extremely similar, both having a pair of affectionate phoenix eyes. However..."

As he spoke, his gaze fell on Cheng Tingrui's face: "His nose and mouth look just like yours."

“You mean…” Cheng Tingrui suddenly realized a possibility.

"This old servant is merely guessing; I cannot be certain. Since this young man is someone else's son, perhaps it's just a coincidence that he looks like her," the old servant added.

Cheng Tingrui shook his head: "Ali is not He Youyou's biological son, but an adopted one. I'm afraid it's not a coincidence. And his age? Does it match?"

The old servant thought carefully: "That was sixteen or seventeen years ago, and we were about the same age then."

Cheng Tingrui's heart suddenly started pounding.

They went to retrieve their father's private property documents with the official seal, but they couldn't get them.

Could it be that there are other seals in the hands of others?

"Master, should we investigate this matter?"

The old servant was also somewhat excited, his hands trembling almost imperceptibly.

Suddenly, the discovery that the master might have left behind some offspring, and that the master might no longer be all alone, how could one not be happy?

However, Cheng Tingrui's wildly beating heart suddenly calmed down.

The brain quickly regained its composure.

"Investigate! But don't alert anyone. Even if you find out anything, don't mention it to anyone." He paused, then added, "Especially the He family. Don't let anyone from the He family know anything."

Renbo asked in surprise, "Master, are you not going to acknowledge him as your son?"

Cheng Tingrui pondered for a moment and said, "He is doing very well in the He family. He has everything and lacks nothing. He has a bright future and is cared for by his family. This kind of life is already excellent."

“Master, but… but you can’t be all alone. Without parents to protect you, without brothers to help you, you have to bear everything by yourself…”

"No need to say anything more, I won't change my mind."

Cheng Tingrui waved his hand, signaling him to leave.

He silently sat down behind his desk, raised his hand, and held his forehead.

I felt a little irritated.

Just verifying their identity is enough.

Ah Li is He Youyou's adopted son, so there's no need to change anything.

Besides, Ahri calls her mother, so what about herself?

Does that mean I should call her aunt?

Call her Aunt He Youyou...

No.