Minhu was quite surprised that Zhao Xingchen's arrival gave the two children so many insights and a sense of gratitude.
He also wanted to take this opportunity to further his relationship with his daughters. Thinking of what Xu Lanyin had said to him, he said to the two children, "Father gave birth to me, Mother raised me. She nurtured me, brought me up, cared for me, nurtured me, brought me up, and brought me in and out of her womb. I want to repay your kindness. Heaven knows no bounds!"
Min Jia didn't quite understand what he said, but she heard the word "mother". Daddy not only mentioned mother, but also put her together with father, which meant that Daddy began to like mother, and Daddy began to change for the better... She was so moved that her eyes were a little red, and her little nose sniffed.
Seeing his daughter's performance, Minhu was even happier and came to Xu Lanyin holding a child in each hand.
Xu Lanyin knelt down to greet him and said to Zhao Xingchen, "Come, meet Lord Min."
Zhao Xingchen had already recognized that this person was the high-ranking official who had saved them. Enduring the pain, he knelt down and kowtowed three times before complaining, "Master Min, those people were evil. They beat me, scalded me, and even tried to burn me."
Hearing such cruel words from the child's own mouth, Minhu's brows furrowed. He helped the child up and said, "Just call me uncle. I will avenge you for the suffering you've endured and bring severe punishment to those evildoers." He then took out a jade pendant from his waist and gave it to him as a gift.
Minhu also had dinner here. He ate alone in the living room, while Xu Lanyin and her three children ate in the side room.
Hearing the laughter in the other room, Minhu ate half an extra bowl of rice.
After the meal, he felt too embarrassed to stay here any longer. He looked at Xu Lanyin and said, "My daughter, Dad has gone to the outer study."
Min Jia didn't say anything, and Xu Lanyin smiled at him.
Seeing that the understanding Miss Xu did not even offer to take the children to see him off, Minhu had to leave in disappointment.
At night, Xu Lanyin lay in bed, looking at the moonlight coming in through the window, listening to Zhao Xingchen's snoring, and thinking about Zhao Wu who was in Feng County.
He must have gone to Longxing Inn by now, right?
The county was sealed off, and a rope was tied around the outside of the Longxing Inn, with the gate sealed with two X's. Even if it weren't sealed, no one dared to come here. Especially after dark, anyone who wanted to pass by here had to travel in groups.
People say this place is haunted, and you can hear faint crying sounds at night. It's not just one ghost crying, but a group of ghosts crying.
It was almost midnight, everything was quiet and the moon was bright in the sky.
A masked man in night clothes quickly jumped over the wall of Longxing Inn. He looked around and listened, then came to a big tree, pulled out a small shovel from his waist and started digging.
He dug for about half a minute, but instead of finding any bones, he unearthed a jar. He muttered to himself, "Could it be ashes?"
He threw down the shovel and muttered to himself, "I will expose your crime to the world, then I will avenge you and catch the person who harmed you..."
The jar was incredibly heavy. He shook it, and it made a creaking sound, unlike anything containing ashes. He opened the lid and peered inside, a glittering, dazzling jewel in the moonlight that made his eyes squint. He rummaged around, and it was filled with gold, silver, and jewelry... No, there was no silver, it was all gold and jewelry.
A few soft chuckles escaped his throat. Suddenly, his hand paused, and he pulled out a folded piece of paper from the bottom. He flicked the paper open with one hand, and the contents on it made his mouth grin even wider, his white teeth reflecting the treasures in the jar.
He put the letter in, closed the lid, and quickly filled it with soil. Then he jumped out of the wall holding the jar and ran to the post station in the dark.
At noon the next day, Zhao Wu, carrying a package on his back, went straight back to his guest room in Min Mansion.
The maid in the front yard came to tell Xu Lanyin that Master Zhao had returned from Feng County after finishing his business.
Xu Lanting smiled happily at Zhao Xingchen and said, "Little Xingxing, your daddy is back."
He helped Zhao Xingchen to act coquettishly.
Zhao Xingchen glanced at Xu Lanyin. He didn't know his father, and he would rather call his aunt mother...
Xu Lanyin smiled and said, "Let's go and kowtow to your father."
She led her three children to the guest rooms in the outer courtyard.
Zhao Xingchen became excited when he saw Zhao Wu. He ran over, knelt down, kowtowed to him three times, and said, "Thank you, big brother, for driving the bad guys away."
That day, Zhao Xingchen had just been scalded by the middle-aged beggar he called "Grandpa Tu" with boiling water and was about to have someone take him outside to beg when Zhao Wu rushed in first, hugged Zhao Xingchen with both hands, and kicked the bad beggar away. Zhao Xingchen would forever remember this man in his mind...
Xu Lanting laughed so hard that he jumped up and down, and shouted, "Xiao Xingxing, he is not your big brother, he is your daddy, daddy!"
Happiness came too suddenly, Zhao Xingchen couldn't believe it, he looked up at Xu Lanyin.
Xu Lanyin nodded and said with a smile, "Yes, he is your father." Then he said to Zhao Wuxiao, "I named this child Zhao Xingchen."
Zhao Xingchen quickly kowtowed to Zhao Wu three more times and said, "Hello, Daddy. It's so nice to be your son." He was so excited that his voice was choked, fearing that if he called him too late, Zhao Wu would change his mind.
Before, although Zhao Wu felt sympathy for the child, he had never considered becoming his father. It was only because Xu Lanyin wanted to adopt him, and he felt it was not right for an unmarried woman like Xu Lanyin to adopt a child, that he considered becoming a nominal father. He never expected that the moment he saw the child, he would truly feel like a father.
Zhao Wu smiled and picked up Zhao Xingchen, "From now on, your father will not let bad people bully you." He added, "Good people cannot be bullied. Whoever dares to bully me, I will beat him." He knew where the child was injured and avoided the injured area.
Zhao Xingchen was so excited that he couldn't hold back his tears any longer. He hugged Zhao Wu's neck and cried with joy, "I like it. Being daddy's son, I'm not afraid of being beaten anymore, wuwuwu..."
Zhao Wu coaxed him a few times and gave him a small gold locket he had bought in Feng County as a greeting gift. He then said, "I'm busy catching bad guys on weekdays, so you can live with your aunt. You must listen to your aunt and be a good child, so that your father will like you more..."
Every time he said something, Zhao Xingchen nodded in response.
Xu Lanyin smiled. In less than a year, that awkward boy had become a father quite competently.
After they talked for a while, Zhao Wu asked the maid to take the children to the yard to play, and asked Xu Lanyin to help him pack the things he would take away tomorrow.
When there was no one in the room, Zhao Wucai whispered, "I'd never dream of what's hidden under the tree. Hehe, it's not a dead person, but a treasure, and a secret letter." As he said that, he stuffed something into Xu Lanyin's hand.
Xu Lanyin opened her hand, revealing a yellow-green bead the size of a pigeon egg. She asked, "Is this the legendary Night Pearl or a cat's eye?"
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