Chapter 79: Afraid that our daughter looks like you

Hearing this, Zhou Linjin did not show any disappointment, as if he had already expected her to say that.

"No matter who you gave it to, I ate it anyway," he said. "I want to eat it."

Chen Lianxiu smiled, her tone was not bad, and she didn't seem to be determined to go against him, but she said: "If you want to eat, let others cook it. I won't do it."

At that moment, Bi Cha came running over and saw the two of them standing under the eaves. He said, "My dear, everything is ready. Don't stand here in the wind. Come with me."

Chen Lianxiu said, "Your husband is hungry. Ask someone to make him something to eat."

"What? My dear, are you hungry?" Bi Cha was a little bit unbelieving for a moment, because Zhou Linjin seldom ate anything else after dinner at night, and he knew Zhou Linjin's habits very well.

Zhou Linjin covered his lips and coughed a few times, then said in a muffled voice, "I don't want to eat anymore."

Having said that, he left in a hurry without looking back.

Chen Lianxiu watched his back disappear at the end of the corridor. After a moment, she said to her maid, "Make him a bowl of noodles."

After that, she didn't care about what happened to Zhou Linjin anymore. She just went back into the house and closed the door.

The tightly closed doors and windows blocked out the sounds from outside; even the sound of rain was muted. As the candlelight flickered, Chen Lianxiu took a deep breath and felt completely dazed, as if it were still five years ago.

She quickly decided to stop herself from thinking about the past. She might have to live here for a while, so there was no point in thinking too much. Gradually, she stopped caring.

An An was sleeping soundly in bed. Chen Lianxiu was not in a hurry to sleep. He sat beside the bed and looked at her quietly for a while.

She could never get enough of her own daughter, and there was nothing about her that displeased her.

But as he stared at it in a trance, he couldn't help but think of what happened tonight, the woman who died in this mansion, and Zhou Linjin's actions in the rain just now.

In the end, Chen Lianxiu was just glad for herself and An An that they didn't end up like Su Qiong.

It had been a busy night, and Chen Lianxiu felt a little sleepy after sitting for too long, so he planned to push An An inside. However, An An was probably not used to the new place, so when Chen Lianxiu moved her slightly, she woke up with a startle, looked at Chen Lianxiu, and burst into tears.

Chen Lianxiu tried to coax her for a while but to no avail. Suddenly, the servants came in and crowded around noisily. Someone even asked, "Should we go and ask the young master to come over?"

Chen Lianxiu had no choice but to pick up An An and quickly said, "No need, she just had a nightmare. You all can go out, it's nothing serious."

After everyone left again, only Chen Lianxiu and An An were left. Perhaps because she was being held by Chen Lianxiu, An An slowly stopped crying, but she was still sobbing.

The more Shen Lianxiu looked at her, the more she seemed afraid.

An An was a relatively obedient child and rarely bothered Chen Lianxiu like this. Chen Lianxiu was also puzzled. She had been in the Duke's Mansion for so many days, and she didn't seem to be unwell at first. If she said it was because she changed her sleeping place tonight, this was the third time An An had changed her sleeping place since coming to the capital. There was no reason for her to react so strongly tonight.

The more Chen Lianxiu thought about it, the more anxious she became. She didn't want the child to fall asleep again in fear. After An An felt a little better, she hugged An An and asked softly, "What happened today? Why are you crying so much?"

An An covered her eyes and continued to sob, unable to hold back her tears again.

This made Shen Lianxiu feel even more distressed, and she quickly put her cheek against An An's forehead: "Tell your mother quickly, okay? Did anyone bully you?"

An An has been playing with Zhu Er these days. Chen Lianxiu doesn't believe that Zhu Er will bully An An, but there are other children in the Duke's Mansion, so it is not impossible that she will bully An An who has just arrived.

"No..." An An finally spoke, her voice soft and tearful, "I want to go home... Mother, please don't... don't, An An..."

It took Shen Lianxiu a while to figure out what An An meant, and she hurriedly asked, "Why would Mother not want An An?"

"That person said this is An An's home..." An An started crying again, "It's not An An's home. An An wants to go home..."

Chen Lianxiu then remembered that An An cried for the first time tonight, and it seemed that it started after Zhou Linjin said, "This is your home."

An An usually calls Zhou Linjin "Uncle" or "Uncle Zhou", but today he just calls him "that guy", which shows that he dislikes him deeply and has already held a grudge against him.

Shen Lianxiu suddenly felt like laughing, and asked again: "Don't you like that this is your home?"

An An explained clearly this time: "They said that this means that my mother is going to have a new family, and if she has a new family, she won't want me anymore."

"'who are they?"

"People in the village used to say..."

After going around in circles, Chen Lianxiu finally understood why An An was crying. It was probably because someone told An An a story in Baixi Village before. If Chen Lianxiu remarried, she would move to another place to settle down, which means she would have a new home. In this situation, if someone was a little mean and joked that your mother might not want you, An An might remember it in her heart. In this way, Zhou Linjin's words became the fuse.

While comforting An An, Chen Lianxiu patiently said to her, "Those were just jokes and nonsense from others. Don't take them seriously. How could A Niang not want An An? Absolutely not."

With Shen Lianxiu's assurance, An An finally calmed down, but she still asked: "Then why did he say this is my home?"

"Because..." Chen Lianxiu was also speechless for a moment after An An's question. After thinking for a while, he said, "We live here, so this is An An's home."

An An stopped talking and buried her head deeply in Shen Lianxiu's chest. After a while, she finally fell asleep.

Chen Lianxiu breathed a sigh of relief, put her back on the bed, and tucked in the quilt. This time, An An did not wake up again.

The next day, Chen Lianxiu and An An, mother and daughter, both got up a little late. After getting up, they found that the sky had completely cleared up. Several pots of chrysanthemums in the yard were in bloom, and they were all rare varieties. Chen Lianxiu took An An to see the flowers.

After a while, Chen Lianxiu caught a glimpse of Zhou Linjin coming over.

When Zhou Linjin approached, An An, who was looking at the flowers with great interest, also noticed it. Although Chen Lianxiu had explained what happened last night, An An still seemed to be hostile to Zhou Linjin. As soon as she saw him, she hid behind Chen Lianxiu.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Linjin was curious. He reached out his hand to touch An An as usual, but she dodged him again.

After a night, Zhou Linjin's complexion looked much better. It was obvious that his fever had subsided, but he still had a nasal tone when he spoke.

Chen Lianxiu couldn't do anything with An An, so he had to take An An inside and settle her down before coming out again.

When Zhou Linjin saw her come out, he hurriedly asked, "What happened to An An?"

Chen Lianxiu said, "What you said last night scared him." Then he told Zhou Linjin everything.

Zhou Linjin didn't expect that his words not only failed to gain any favor, but also caused trouble for himself.

"I'll go in and see An An." Zhou Linjin had no choice but to say.

Shen Lianxiu shook her head: "She probably doesn't want to see you or listen to you now."

Zhou Linjin didn't insist any longer. After a moment of silence, he said, "Our daughter looks quite like you."

He seemed half joking, yet half serious, which made Shen Lianxiu look away and look at a pot of chrysanthemums in full bloom in the yard.

"I came here today to tell you something," Zhou Linjin continued, "Last time, your mother's tablet was smashed by Chen, so I asked someone to make a new one."

Chen Lianxiu suddenly turned his gaze and looked at Zhou Linjin in a daze.

Although she didn't say it, she had always kept this matter in mind. When she went to the Shen family to sever ties with them, she had already decided to make a new tablet for her mother. It happened that she had brought her grandparents' tablets from Baixi Village to the capital. She originally thought that she didn't want to let them be lonely anymore. Now that she had taken her mother's tablet and came to visit together, it was even more appropriate.

But a series of things happened one after another, so I had to put this matter aside for the time being.

I didn't expect Zhou Linjin had already done it.

Zhou Linjin said, "I have already placed your mother's tablet together with your grandparents' in that house. Don't worry."

Chen Lianxiu lowered his eyes and opened his mouth before saying, "Thank you."

Zhou Linjin smiled, but then his smile gradually turned bitter. He seemed to sigh, and finally said, "Speak well of me in front of An An."

***

The next few days were busy.

The situation outside became more tense. Originally, the funeral was to be kept for a while longer, but Zhou Linjin was afraid that if something happened in the capital, what would happen next would be unpredictable. So he decided to hold the funeral early, first for Mrs. Wu and then for Zhou Chang.

On the day of Zhou Chang's funeral, many court officials and colleagues came to see him off. The palace also sent envoys to give Zhou Chang more mourning honors and reward the Duke Cheng's Mansion generously. However, apart from expressing gratitude, there was no sign of joy in the Duke Cheng's Mansion.

Chen Lianxiu and An An followed the funeral procession all the way from the city to the outside of the city. What she saw on the way made her secretly shocked.

The capital city has become so desolate that it is unrecognizable. The once bustling streets are now left with only closed shops, and there are only one or two pedestrians along the way. However, the closer you get to the city gate, the more people you see. They all bring their families and many things with them. Some ride in horse-drawn carriages, donkey carts, and even ox carts, while others walk. It is obvious that they are trying to leave the city to seek refuge.

Hearing that King Hui's army was getting closer and closer to the capital, and the fighting on the border was also becoming tense, the Rong State decided to drag it out.

However, if he gave up the war with the Rong State first and transferred most of the troops back to the capital to support the king, once the Rong State broke through the border, they would immediately join forces with King Hui, and the situation would only become worse.

It was already afternoon when they returned from outside the city after the funeral. The number of people at the city gate had not decreased, but increased. They were all crowded at the gate, waiting to be let in one by one.

For some reason, Chen Lianxiu felt a little scared. These were originally ordinary people like her, living a pretty good life in the capital. However, just because of the changes in the outside world, they would be forced to leave the place where they had lived in just a few days, and might even have to live a displaced life, relying on relatives and friends, and go their separate ways.

Zhou Linjin was walking beside her and immediately sensed her fear. He moved closer and whispered to her, "Starting tonight, several city gates will be completely sealed. Only entry will be allowed, not exit. After a few days, even entry won't be allowed. These people have received the news in advance, so they are rushing out of the city."

Before Chen Lianxiu could say anything, he saw several people rushing out of a house not far ahead of the funeral procession, without even closing the door. Then another person came out from behind, shouting "robbery" as he chased.

Seeing that they were about to lose the chance to catch up, Zhou Linjin winked at his followers, who immediately stepped forward to capture the robbers, returned the property, and then called the city guards over. When the guards saw that it was the team from Duke Cheng's Mansion, they apologized repeatedly. Zhou Linjin didn't say anything, but just watched them take the people away.

“It’s such a mess…” Shen Lianxiu shook his head.

Zhou Linjin said: "Most of the guards have been transferred to the Forbidden City, and the city is full of people running around, so naturally they can't take care of it."

After that, the two of them said nothing more and went back to Duke Cheng's Mansion.

At nightfall, just as Chen Lianxiu had fallen asleep, she heard her maid come and report that there was someone outside the door who claimed to be Chen Lianxiu's sister looking for her.

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Author's words: An An: Always provoking me [Clown]