The carriage arrived at the door and Mrs. Lu opened it.
Huazi was the first to rush out, throwing herself at Xu Lanyin, sobbing and crying. She felt that her master had neglected her too much.
Xu Lanyin smiled and stroked Huazi's head to comfort it. Mazi also flew down from the sky, stood on Huazi's back and pecked at it.
When Qin heard her daughter had returned, she happily went out to greet her. She was disappointed to see she was alone, with neither Xu Lanting nor Zhao Xingchen back. But when she heard Zhao Wuping had returned safely and had been promoted to an inspector in the Judicial and Censorate, she brightened up again.
She clasped her hands together and said, "Amitabha, the child is finally back and has a promising future." She then quickly told Mrs. Lu to go to the market to buy meat, vegetables and wine.
Xu Lanyin and Qin returned to their room and whispered to each other that she was going to the capital to sell blackroot grass. Zhao Wu would go to the county government office tomorrow, visit his master at Daxiang Temple the day after tomorrow, and leave for the capital the day after that.
Qin said worriedly, "Mother still doesn't want you to go to the capital, for fear that you'd be recognized."
Xu Lanyin smiled and said, "It's not that easy to recognize him. Zhao Wu stayed in the capital for several days, and no one recognized him. Don't worry, mother, Chai Jun has already been to our house, and he didn't recognize me. He confirmed that Xiao Xingxing is his son Chai Zixiao..." She told him that Zhao Xingchen would not return to the Princess Nanyang's Mansion for the time being.
Although she had doubts before, now that it has been confirmed that Zhao Xingchen is Chai Jun's son, Qin still sighs.
Xu Lanyin continued, "Mother, it was Old Master Zhou who asked Zhao Wu to go out on this errand. He also said that Old Master Zhou was the grandfather of the late Crown Prince Liu Zhaoyin. Could he be the master of the family before my father?"
Qin said, "That should be the case. The place where your father and I met earlier was the Zhou family, but he was not yet the Grand Tutor at that time. Alas, I never thought that Wu'er would be sent by him to do such a dangerous thing again. Fortunately, the child was lucky enough to come back."
Her face darkened, and she still felt a little resentful towards the Zhou family. Her husband had died, and they hadn't even given an explanation. Even if they had told them where her husband had died, they would have been able to go and pay their respects.
She said, "Fortunately, Wu'er didn't stay in the capital, so he could stay away from the Zhou family. Your father is their family's secret guard, and he has no choice but to work for them. Wu'er will serve under Lord Min from now on, and they can't always reach out to us and force Wu'er to do things that will put his life at risk."
Xu Lanyin didn't want to say much, so she changed the subject and asked about some family matters.
Qin muttered, calculating the days, that Xu Lanzhou's provincial examination should be over and he would rush back as soon as the results were released. The family's fields were all looked after by the old man, and the couple were in good health. Xu Ershi, though of average ability, was sweet-tongued and, thanks to the care of Lord Tang, was currently doing well in the government. The Hu family was about to move to the provincial capital; Hong Zhen had gone to the capital, and Hu, along with her two children, had returned home there as well...
Xu Lanyin asked Qin to stay home and prepare. If Xu Lanzhou passed the provincial examination, Qin would accompany him to the provincial capital. After Xu Dashi returned, she would ask him to prepare for the shop's move. If he failed, she would ask them to come back and prepare everything, and move as soon as she and Zhao Wucong returned from the capital.
Qin didn't want to go to the provincial capital at all, but since all her children had gone there, she couldn't stay alone in her hometown.
Before dinner, Zhao Wu, Constable He, and Coroner Tang all came to the Xu family.
Zhao Wuxian came to the inner courtyard to meet Qin, and then accompanied the two people to drink and eat in the outer courtyard.
Qin and Xu Lan were eating in the upper room. It had been a long time since the mother and daughter had had such a quiet meal.
Qin smiled and said, "Yin'er is almost seventeen years old. Many girls of this age are married and become mothers. Some time ago, a few matchmakers came to our house to propose marriage. There were two good young men who were single and had shops at home..."
Xu Lanyin hurriedly said, "Mom, you can't arrange a marriage for me without my consent."
Qin said, "Mother knows Yin'er has high standards and won't look down on them, so she found excuses to turn them down." She added, "Wu'er is a good kid. He's good-looking, has a good temper, and is going to be very successful now. You two..."
Xu Lanyin quickly stopped her and said with a blushing face, "Zhao Wu and I are siblings. It's impossible. I've already told mother this."
Qin glanced at Xu Lanyin, laughed out loud, and said, "You two are not siblings, so it's not impossible for you to be husband and wife. You've never blushed before about this. Look at you now. Go look in the mirror yourself."
Xu Lanyin didn't need to look in the mirror to know how red her face was. She was puzzled. In her past life, she'd gone on so many blind dates and never blushed, always looking like a queen. Even when some cheeky men asked for hugs and kisses after just one or two meetings, she'd refused without blushing or even beating her heart. What was wrong with her today?
Even she felt a little disgusted with herself. Was it because she had been a little girl for so long that she became childish? She even blushed because of Xiao Zhao.
Seeing her daughter was embarrassed, Qin said, "How about, mother go and tell them?"
Xu Lanyin stopped him, "No, mother, please don't say anything nonsense in front of him. He not only treats me as his sister, but also as his mother. I have never thought of it in this way. If he knew you were thinking this way, it would be awkward for us to get along in the future. Besides, he is just a naughty kid who knows nothing and is not suitable to be my husband. I have already made up my mind. If I don't meet a man who really suits my taste, I would rather live alone."
She ignored Qin's nagging, finished the rice in the bowl, and went back to her room.
She didn't turn on the light, but sat by the window looking at the starry sky outside. She could vaguely hear the loud voice of Constable He in the front yard.
Thinking about how much I missed Zhao Wu when he was not around, how happy I was when he came back, and how I couldn't help blushing just now... Could it be that this old guy really fell in love with the little flower?
Xu Lanyin twitched her lips, somewhat incredulous.
Thinking of Zhao Wuming's charming smile, clear eyes, and his defenselessness towards her, as well as the voices in his heart that she had heard before, she realized that it was just the reliance and trust of a frank little brother on his older sister, without any other thoughts.
He's just a naughty kid, so just treat him as your younger brother. Don't have any other improper thoughts, and let this pure and intimate brother-sister relationship continue...
Xu Lanyin felt a dull pain in her chest.
After an unknown amount of time, there was no sound from the outer courtyard, and the lights in the west wing came on.
The chess master knocked on the door and said, "Miss, the bath is ready."
Xu Lanyin just got up and went to the bathroom to wash up.
Perhaps because she was tired after sitting in the car all day, Xu Lanyin fell asleep as soon as her neck got stiff.
She was sleeping soundly when she was awakened by a few noises. It was Peanut hitting her small window.
Xu Lanyin didn't move, and the small window continued to ring. One, two, three, eight...
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