Chapter 57 [V] First Meeting
Before leaving, Aunt Xue repeatedly told Li Yan that once she arrived in Jiangning Prefecture, she should go to the Liu family to find Aunt Liu first.
Li Yan is someone who doesn't like to trouble others, but after thinking it over, she felt that if she could have an acquaintance in a foreign land to guide her and give her some advice, perhaps this trip would be easier.
This may achieve twice the result with half the effort.
But Li Yan felt quite embarrassed about the sudden disturbance, so she brought a lot of things with her.
Following the directions given by the soldier, and after asking a few more people along the way, Li Yan finally found the Liu family's house.
A commander of a thousand men is a military rank. As the name suggests, it is a general who commands a thousand soldiers.
In this era, a commander of a thousand men was a fifth-rank official. In later generations, someone who could command more than a thousand soldiers would be roughly equivalent to a regimental commander.
Imagine, given her circumstances at the time, would she have had the opportunity to meet a regimental-level cadre?
Having traveled through time, I've now met the great Confucian scholar, the county magistrate, and now, I'm about to meet the commander of a thousand households.
Li Yan was still a little nervous.
but,
Thinking back to how kind Aunt Liu was when she came to her house that day, Li Yan felt less nervous.
Even the highest-ranking official was once just a roughneck in a village.
In other words, Xue Erlang was unlucky and died on the battlefield at a young age. If he had survived until now, he would probably be a commander of a thousand men.
After mentally preparing herself, Li Yan took a deep breath and mustered her courage to climb the steps.
The home of a fifth-rank general was not a grand mansion, but it was not a humble dwelling in a hutong either.
At least there are two stone lions in front of the gate, which makes it look different in terms of grandeur.
She knocked on the door, and an old man opened it, asking her who she was looking for.
Li Yan first asked if this was Liu Qianhu's house. After the old man said yes, Li Yan introduced herself, saying that she was a fellow villager of Liu Qianhu and had come to Jiangning Prefecture on business today, so she had brought some gifts to pay a visit.
When the old man heard her say that, he said he had to go back and inform the old lady.
Li Yan stood outside the door waiting, thinking about how warmly Aunt Liu had been when she came to visit her mother-in-law that day. She thought that now that a fellow villager had come to visit, she would definitely be warmly invited into the house.
Unexpectedly, the old man returned and refused to let her and Qingniang out.
"The old lady said she is unwell and will not see any guests today."
This result was unexpected for Li Yan. After a slight pause, she continued, "I am the wife of Xue Erlang from Xishui Village. My husband and your family's commander fought side by side on the battlefield. Unfortunately, he was unlucky and died on the battlefield before we won a victory. A few days ago, your matriarch came to my house to talk to my mother-in-law. Please make another trip and help explain the situation."
Upon seeing that she was the widow of a hero, the old man immediately said, "Then I'll go and ask her again."
When he returned quickly, he still said, "The old lady is really ill. It's not that she doesn't want to see me, but that she can't. I'm so sorry, madam."
Li Yan found it a bit strange. Even if Aunt Liu was really unwell, since the fellow villager had come to the door, shouldn't she be invited inside first?
Besides, if the old lady in the general's mansion was really ill, how could the gatekeeper not know?
The entire general's mansion was likely alarmed, and a renowned doctor was summoned to examine the patient.
She guessed... that it was probably just an excuse he made up because he didn't want to see her.
If she didn't want to see her, why was she so enthusiastic towards Aunt Xue before? Judging from their expressions, the two old sisters used to be quite close.
Li Yan was full of doubts, but she couldn't just block the door and refuse to leave, so she could only leave with a belly full of questions.
They went out early in the morning, and now the sun was already high in the sky. Both she and Qingniang were exhausted and hungry.
"Madam, what should we do now?" Qingniang was still young, and when she was turned away at the door, she was at a loss and almost burst into tears.
Li Yan said, "Let's find an inn to stay in first, have a good meal after settling in, and then slowly make plans." She came to Jiangning Prefecture this time to look for opportunities. But business is never easy, so she can only take it one step at a time.
They found a nearby inn, and after settling in, the two went to the lobby on the first floor for a meal.
Jiangning Prefecture was much more grand and luxurious than Huating County.
The streets here are lined with shops, and the people coming and going are all dressed smartly. Even the children of ordinary families seem more sophisticated than the people in Huating County, just by looking at their speech and clothing.
Perhaps because this year's autumn imperial examination is held only once every three years, many scholars have come and gone.
Li Yan ate while observing her surroundings.
Qingniang was young and didn't have many complicated thoughts in her mind. Besides, she was still growing, so she just ate.
The food at the inn was rather simple, not comparable to what you'd find in a restaurant; it was mostly just home-style dishes.
Seeing that Qingniang had almost licked the plate clean by the end, Li Yan was worried that she hadn't eaten enough, so she asked, "Would you like some more?"
Qingniang quickly shook her head: "No need, I'm full." As she spoke, she let out a burp and then smiled sheepishly.
"Madam, we've finished eating. What are we going to do now?" Qingniang asked.
"I've been traveling all morning, I'm exhausted, let's go to sleep first," Li Yan said.
.
Meanwhile, back at the Liu residence, Aunt Liu was pacing back and forth in the room as if she were sitting on pins and needles.
She never expected that the widow of the Xue family would actually come to her house.
What is she here for?
Could it be that they've become suspicious and are deliberately coming to find out what's going on?
Otherwise, what else could she be doing here?
Ever since she found out that this Erlang was not her own son, Aunt Liu has been living in constant fear.
I made a special trip to the Xue family that day, just to find out about their situation.
She had no intention of continuing to associate with the Xue family. If she could, she would wish to never see the Xue family again for the rest of her life.
Oh, old man, he was always thinking of the Liu family and did all the good things. Now he's gone, leaving this mess for her to clean up.
Aunt Liu initially thought it best to tell Erlang the truth. However, considering his current salary and the tangible benefits his official position could bring to the Liu family's descendants, she hesitated.
If everything really comes to a head, this mansion, and the relief provided to the eldest son's family... will all be gone.
Furthermore, the future of her two grandsons will depend on their "uncle".
As long as Erlang never remembers his past, the Xue family will never see him again, and this secret can be kept forever.
Thinking this way, Aunt Liu's restless heart, which had been agitated by the arrival of the Xue family, gradually calmed down.
When the "son" returned from the camp that evening, Aunt Liu immediately sent someone to call him to her side.
The man was still wearing his black military armor, his dark hair was tied up high, and he had a sword at his waist. When he entered the room, he was holding the sword hilt.
I thought my mother was calling me in so urgently because someone from our hometown had come to visit.
Someone told him today that two people from his hometown are looking for him, and they're probably at his house by now.
Liu Erlang suffered a head injury on the battlefield for some reason, and has lost his memory ever since. He remembers nothing about his past.
Sometimes, fragments of the past would suddenly pop into his mind. But whenever he tried to think about them more deeply, he would get an unbearable headache, and in the end, he would just let it go.
He was quite excited and expectant when he heard that someone from his hometown was looking for him. He thought that if it was an old acquaintance, it might trigger his memories.
But after entering the room, Liu Erlang looked around and saw only his mother there, without seeing any fellow villagers. He couldn't help but frown.
Seeing him enter as if he were looking for someone, Aunt Liu couldn't help but ask, "What are you looking for?"
Liu Erlang sat down next to his mother and told her truthfully, "Today I heard from the soldiers at the city gate that people from our old home in Xishui Village have come looking for us."
When he brought this up, Aunt Liu, who was already flustered, became even more panicked.
"No, no, not at all." She even avoided looking at her son because she felt guilty, and her words were stammering. "Maybe you misheard? How come I don't know about this? Yes, you must have misheard. It's probably someone else's fellow villager who came looking for you."
Liu Erlang found his mother's words and actions strange, but since she said no, he didn't ask any further questions.
Seeing that her son wasn't asking any more questions, Aunt Liu calmed down.
Fearing that things would eventually come to light, Aunt Liu urged again: "Your eldest nephew is eleven years old this year. Can you think of a way to bring him to Jiangning Prefecture and arrange a job for him? You are a commander of a thousand men, so you must have some power."
Getting someone to come and reserve a spot is indeed a small matter for him.
But deep down he wasn't that kind of person; he didn't want to use his power to arbitrarily arrange things for his relatives.
But his mother kept bringing it up, and when he looked at the white hair at her temples and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, he couldn't help but soften.
“It is possible, but… I don’t have much power, and it’s impossible for me to arrange anything particularly good for him. Besides, he’s only eleven, which is a bit young. Perhaps Mother should wait until after the New Year, when he turns twelve, before I make arrangements.”
Given Aunt Liu's eagerness at that moment, she couldn't wait a moment longer.
But since he had already said that, she couldn't appear too eager, so she could only say that she would listen to him.
"We can put the arrangements aside for now, but we need to bring Da Niu to the city first. He's eleven years old, still a young boy, so it's better to let him see the world first. Besides, being with you will teach him how to conduct himself and navigate social situations. When you arrange for him to join the army next year, he'll be able to adapt more easily." He added that his two nephews had suffered a lot, and since he, as their uncle, had become successful, he should take pity on them and let them enjoy some of the good life as well.
Although Liu Erlang had little impression of his two nephews, they were blood relatives after all, so he naturally had no objection to bringing them over to eat and stay in good conditions.
"Then let's take it."
Seeing that he had agreed, Aunt Liu immediately beamed with joy: "Hey, Mother will send someone to the countryside to pick him up right away."
After Liu Erlang nodded, he made an excuse that he was dirty and hot and left.
But after he left his mother's room, his furrowed brows not only didn't relax, but instead deepened. After thinking for a moment, he turned back towards the door and specifically asked the servant guarding it.
Aunt Liu forgot to check with the gatekeeper, so Liu Erlang found out as soon as he asked.
"I understand." Liu Erlang nodded, his expression relatively calm, only instructing, "Pretend I never asked you, and don't let the old lady know about this."
Although the old lady is of a higher generation, this general's mansion ultimately belongs to the master, and he is the head of the family.
Therefore, everyone in the household knows very well whose advice to listen to.
.
Liu Erlang found it strange that if such a thing had really happened, why would his mother hide it from him?
It's not unusual for fellow villagers to come to the city seeking refuge. Based on their interactions over the past few days and his understanding of his mother's character, she shouldn't be such a selfish person.
But since she's determined to keep it a secret, even if he went to her immediately and asked, she wouldn't tell him. So, it's better not to ask.
Liu Erlang sent people to find out where Li Yan and Qing Niang were currently living. After finding them, he did not disturb them immediately, but instead ordered his men to secretly observe their movements.
Upon learning that Lady Li was simply a businesswoman who had come to the city seeking business opportunities, Liu Erlang decided to find a chance to meet her.
That day, he happened to finish his shift early. After finishing his shift, he did not go home as usual, but went directly to the inn where Li Yan was staying.
Li Yan had been busy running around during the day for the past two days. When she returned to the inn in the evening, she heard the innkeeper say, "Madam Li, a fellow villager is looking for you."
"Who?" Li Yan was stunned for a while before she realized what the shopkeeper was talking about. "Fellow villager?" Who is that?
Then, following the direction the innkeeper pointed, she looked towards the southeast corner of the inn and saw a person sitting there.
They weren't too far apart, but they weren't too close either. From Li Yan's angle, she could roughly make out the outline of his face.
The man was dressed in dark clothes, had a tan complexion, and a slightly stern face.
At that moment, the first thought that popped into Li Yan's mind was—this person was none other than Commander Liu.
It's just strange that Aunt Liu refused to let her out the door that day, so why is Commander Liu coming to find her in person now?
Could it be that Aunt Liu realized how impolite she had been and felt guilty afterward, so she specially sent her son to apologize? And, incidentally, to invite her and Qingniang back home?
She couldn't think of any other possibility besides this.
The thought flashed through Li Yan's mind, and then Li Yan took a step towards the corner.
Liu Erlang, seeing her approaching, also stood up.
The two looked each other over, both appearing to be complete strangers.
Upon approaching, Li Yan stopped, squatted slightly, and greeted General Liu, saying, "Li greets General Liu."
Liu Erlang raised his hand from behind his back: "No need to be polite."
Upon closer inspection, she realized that the man was even more handsome than she had imagined. His features were perfectly proportioned, almost as if standing according to the golden ratio, especially his thick eyebrows, which flew like swords into his temples, making him appear extremely dashing.
Having already received the invitation, Li Yan forced herself to be more at ease and asked, "Did General Liu need something from me?"
"Madam Li, please sit down first." Liu Erlang gestured for Li Yan to sit down opposite him, and then he also bent down and sat down.
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