Chapter 79 Going to the Battlefield
"Have you had breakfast?" Master's wife asked him while touching the top of Xingxing's head.
Xingxing felt the bitter and sweet taste in her mouth. She thought about it, nodded, and then stood on tiptoe to feed something into her master's wife's mouth.
It's candied fruit.
It tastes sweet. The old man couldn’t remember how long it had been since he had eaten this kind of snack that only children would eat.
She looked at the stars in surprise, but her gaze met the children's sparkling eyes.
"Grandma, is it sweet?"
There is a lot of intimacy hidden in the soft and sticky voice.
When Su Yujun followed the doorman in, she just happened to hear this sweet and soft question.
Her heart moved and she looked up.
In the main room, a small figure was nestled beside Jiang Qin, tilting his head and smiling at her with his eyes curved.
If people who don’t know the situation see this scene, they will probably subconsciously think that this is a very warm relationship between a grandparent and a grandchild.
Su Yujun didn't know how to describe how he felt at the moment.
She stood not far away, thinking about the news she got from Jiang Qin, thinking about how she had been unable to sleep since yesterday, wondering what the child looked like, why she had been deceived by that little stone, whether all this was true, and her young son who had died in battle at the border...
She is old, but although her eyesight is blurry, her heart is still clear.
When she found the child, she was naturally very happy. Even when she first met him and discovered that the child was well taken care of and did not suffer any hardship due to being lost, she felt that it was Feng Yao's spirit in heaven who had been protecting Jin Yuan, which was why she was able to send Jin Yuan back home safely under such a coincidence.
But later, she found that things seemed a little different from what she had imagined.
He was clearly only three years old, but Jin Yuan was always in great pomp and circumstance when he went in and out of the mansion and the palace. He wanted the best and most expensive food, clothing and other necessities. Sometimes, his childish eyes would reveal ambition and hostility that even an old woman like her would find frightening.
Like an adult who has been on top for a long time.
Rather than a young child who has just returned home after wandering outside.
The gap between adults and children is so huge that it is difficult for Su Yujun to even find a reason to convince herself.
But no matter what, at least Jin Yuan has the blood of the Wei family flowing in his veins, and he is also the only bloodline of Feng Yao.
Therefore, the Wei family is still kind to Wei Jinyuan from the bottom of their hearts.
In fact, the Wei family is not as wealthy as outsiders think.
Maybe it was true in the past, but the Wei family is now deserted. The only son and grandson are all fighting in the border areas. The emperor and the court do not allocate funds to the army in a timely manner. It can be said that for most of the year, the soldiers on the border have to find food for themselves.
In the military, this situation is called a gathering mission, also known as wild hunting.
That is, they would send a team of good fighters to hunt and gather food in places where there are foods, such as mountains, forests, rivers and lakes. No matter it is rabbits, pheasants, wolves, or wild fruits, vegetables and fish, in short, as long as it is edible and will not kill people, they will bring it back like plundering the land as food for the whole army.
In the last letter from my eldest son Wei Fengyan, he also said that when soldiers were fighting with the enemy, they would always lose innocent lives because their shields were too poor or their swords and guns were not sharp enough.
The Wei army dared to fight and struggle, but they had no money, no money to eat, no money to replace better and newer equipment, and even the leather armor used for defense was tattered. When they went to fight the enemy, they could only rely on their lives.
Without funding from the imperial court, Wei Fengyan, as the commander-in-chief, had to pay for it himself.
Where did Wei Fengyan get his money from? He wanted to support so many soldiers, and there was no other possibility except that the Wei family supported him from behind.
Su Yujun had lost count of how much money the Wei family had put in. She and her daughter-in-law even sold their dowries to support their son who was fighting on the battlefield.
So in the eyes of outsiders, the Anqing Marquis Mansion is at its peak and is in great favor with the emperor, but the family members know their own business. As the mistress of the Anqing Marquis Mansion, Su Yujun knows clearly that the Wei family has been devoured long ago, and there is nothing left except the bright surface.
Despite this, after Jinyuan was brought back to the Wei family, Su Yujun and the eldest daughter-in-law would try their best to satisfy whatever he wanted and would never treat him unfairly.
Because they already feel a lot of indebtedness towards this child.
Later, when Jin Yuan met the emperor and received repeated praise from him, Su Yujun's uneasiness and inexplicable feelings about the child became even stronger.
It is extremely normal for a three-year-old child to be unaware of the intrigues of the court and the good and evil in people's hearts. But how could a child who was raised by a merchant family be loved by the emperor as soon as he entered the palace?
Then they said he had a noble fate, and then gave him the surname of the emperor...
Wei Jinyuan became Li Jinyuan.
But in Su Yujun's observation, she found that what changed was not just the name, but also the child's attitude towards his family.
If in the past this child would act coquettishly and speak softly to her grandmother, and even pretend to be innocent with a mature demeanor, then after changing her surname, Li Jinyuan looked at her family members in a somewhat undisguised arrogance.
He still called her grandmother, but his greetings were perfunctory and impatient, and there was always a strange adult look in his eyes when he looked at his sickly sister. Even when he looked at his eldest daughter-in-law, Li Jinyuan's aunt, his gaze was the kind that made people frown and feel uncomfortable.
The more Su Yujun got along with this child, the stronger the strange feeling in his heart became.
But he is Wei Fengyao's only child.
Based on this point alone, no one in the entire Wei family would say anything harsh to this three-year-old child.
What did she hear in the end?
The small jade stone that confirmed the identity was exchanged by Li Jinyuan from another child? ?
This matter was of great importance to the entire Wei family, so after Su Yujun received the letter, she burned it on the spot after reading it without telling anyone.
He even sent a message to Jiang Qin, who was originally going to bring the child to his house, to change the meeting place. Early this morning, he came to Liu's house openly under the pretext of visiting a former close friend.
Then as she entered the door, she saw the child.
No, it should be said that she saw her real grandson.
Even though she could only see half of the young and fair face from a distance through the dazzling daylight, Su Yujun was still so sure that this was Feng Yao's child, Feng Yao's real biological son.
Because that fair and tender little face is at least 50% similar to Feng Yao's appearance when he was young.
Perhaps it was because she stood there in a daze for too long, or perhaps it was because her gaze was too noticeable, the child suddenly turned his head and looked at her.
Jiang Qin and Liu Peili also saw her.
Liu Peili patted Xiaowu, who was standing beside him and instantly straightened up with nervousness.
After a moment of stunned silence, Jiang Qin stood up and said to her with a smile: "Sister Yujun, long time no see. Come up and sit down and talk."
She let go of Xingxing, and the next second Xingxing was protected by her brother behind her.
The two kids watched as their master's wife walked over and came back holding the hand of the grandmother who looked older.
As they came closer, the two children who were originally looking at them curiously also slowly raised their heads, like two little sunflowers that would automatically circle around the sun.
Jiang Qin was amused by the silly looks of the two children. She took Su Yujun to sit on the stool and then waved to let the two children come over.
Xingxing turned to look at her brother.
Xiaowu turned his head to look at the teacher.
Liu Peili: "...Go ahead, don't be afraid."
So Xiaowu took his brother's hand and slowly walked closer.
Miraculously, when standing in front of the grandmother, Xiaowu was not afraid of her power and status, nor did he feel uneasy as he had thought she would take his brother away.
Maybe it’s because I’m holding the star’s hand?
Xingxing's hands are soft and small. They have grown some flesh in the past six months. They feel warm and soft in her hands. Xiaowu's originally nervous mood instantly relaxes a lot.
It could also be because the old man’s eyes were so gentle and peaceful.
She did not behave out of control as expected. She just watched him and his brother get closer and closer with gentleness and concentration. Her eyes were a little red, but she did not show any of the expressions of regret or relief that one would show after recognizing one's relatives as in the storytellers' stories.
But because of her calmness at the moment, Xiaowu slowly relaxed her nerves. After bringing her brother in front of her, she mustered up the courage to speak first on her brother's behalf.
"Madam Hou, I am... Xingxing's brother. This is what happened that day..."
Xiaowu held his brother's hand, stood in front of his brother's relatives, and slowly and seriously told them what happened that day.
Finally, he said very sincerely: "I did not lie to you. We have already eaten the half piece of wheat bread, but there were other people on the road that day. Maybe if you send someone to ask, they can still remember it."
After saying that, Xiaowu held his brother's hand and waited quietly for the other party's answer.
In fact, Xiaowu still wants to say a lot.
He wanted to say: If you don’t like Xingxing, it doesn’t matter. I can raise him and always be his brother.
He wanted to say: If you want to recognize Xingxing, you must send the other child away, so that Xingxing will not be bullied or wronged when he returns home.
He wanted to say a lot of instructions and "threats", but he calmly swallowed the words back just before they came out.
The 8-year-old Xiaowu didn’t quite understand how to weigh the pros and cons, but he had his own instinct for survival. He felt that saying these words would not be good for Xingxing, so he didn’t say a word.
From beginning to end, he did not make any move to push the star forward so that the old man could take a closer look at it alone.
Because Xiaowu felt that doing so would be like pushing Xingxing away alone. He was afraid that Xingxing would be scared, and he was also afraid that he would always have to stand behind Xingxing and watch him.
That's why Xiaowu didn't push Xingxing forward. He always stood side by side with Xingxing, and anyone could see his protective attitude towards Xingxing.
Su Yujun's eyes were looking at Xingxing, and when Xiaowu opened his mouth, they fell on him.
After Xiaowu finished speaking clearly, Su Yujun nodded at him and asked, "You said you are Xingxing's brother? Did you grow up with him?"
Xiaowu had been shouting "Xingxing, Xingxing" before, so Su Yujun also shouted "Xingxing".
Xingxing stood beside her brother the whole time and said nothing, not showing any of the liveliness he had shown towards Jiang Qin when Su Yujun walked in just now.
But as long as you look at him, you will find that the child just doesn't speak, but his pair of extremely clear eyes with clear black and white are always quietly watching and observing the person in front of him.
While Su Yujun and Xiaowu were chatting, Xingxing retracted her gaze and lowered her eyes to see her brother's fingers trembling with nervousness as he held her hand.
But Xiaowu remained calm on the surface. He nodded and answered the old man in front of him: "Yes, I picked up Xingxing in the suburbs of Beijing. He was still very small at that time. After I picked him up, he has been with me since he grew up. I treat him as my older brother and he is my younger brother."
"Child, do you remember when you first picked up the star, besides that small stone, was there anything else on it?" Su Yujun asked carefully.
Xiao Wu frowned and thought for a while, then shook his head and nodded: "There is nothing special, but there was a lot of blood on Xingxing's swaddling clothes at that time. I was afraid that the blood would cause trouble, so I took off the swaddling clothes and buried them next to my father's grave."
After saying that, Xiaowu was lost in thought for a moment.
Perhaps he never thought in the past that one day he would blurt out his identity as an old beggar and call him "Dad".
But the old beggar picked him up and raised him, so he didn't feel uncomfortable when he called him father.
There was even a sense that this should have happened a long time ago.
"Good kids, I understand. I believe you." Su Yujun said slowly, his eyes turning back to the stars.
Then I met these beautiful and clean eyes again.
"Star……"
Her voice trembled slightly, and she no longer sat on the stool. In order to keep her eyes level, she half-knelt down without caring about her image, with the hem of her clothes falling to the ground, but her hands were raised tentatively.
She moved slowly, as if waiting for the stars to hide.
But the stars didn't hide.
The small person stood obediently in front of her, and when her hand touched his head, his beautiful eyes gradually curved.
At that moment, Su Yujun felt as if all the changes had finally returned to normal and her absurd fate had finally come to an end. She sighed silently and peacefully in her heart, her palm firmly resting on the child's head.
"Xingxing, I'm your grandmother." She rubbed the head of the child in front of her and introduced herself in a gentle voice, with a hint of expectation in her old eyes.
The next second, her little hidden expectation was seriously satisfied by the child.
"Grandma~" Xingxing called her obediently.
"Yeah!" Su Yujun agreed very quickly, but tears finally fell from her eyes.
Her hands dropped down and she gently hugged the child in front of her, "Good boy, you've suffered a lot these years, haven't you?"
There was a sigh and satisfaction in his tone, but more of it was a sense of indebtedness and guilt.
Xingxing felt like she was being embraced by a warm embrace.
Very strange, yet somewhat familiar.
Like my master’s wife and grandmother before.
But it was much more powerful than the hug from my master's wife and grandmother, so it felt a bit like my brother's. My brother always liked to hug me with this kind of strong yet restrained hug.
It’s like stars are not stars, stars are very precious treasures.
It’s like hiding a treasure in your arms, but you’re afraid it might break if you hit it too hard.
Therefore, Xingxing felt that her grandmother's arms were more like her brother's arms.
He didn't reject it and was held obediently.
However, when I raised my eyes, I met my brother's gaze.
Her eyes were also red and wet, and she pursed her lips with a complex expression of envy and relief.
The stars winked at him.
The next second, the brother burst into laughter and finally became the 8-year-old brother who loves to cry but is easy to coax.
Children should do childish things.
Eat, sleep, be loved, cry, be laughed at, be hugged...
Jiang Qin handed the old sister a clean handkerchief. After she wiped away her tears, she smiled and said to her, "We are old now. We should not squat on the ground all the time. Sit down quickly. Let's sit down and talk slowly if there is anything."
Su Yujun then stood up, but she held Xingxing's little hand and never let go.
Compared to the two emotional women, Liu Peili was probably more rational, so he asked before the conversation started: "Do you need to confirm it again? Will there be any hidden dangers in the future if you make such a rash decision about Xingxing's identity?"
He was not speaking for the Wei family, but seeing that Su Yujun had directly acknowledged Xingxing's identity, he wondered if she was too impulsive. What if the child of the Wei family also had another story? Who should he believe? Even if Su Yujun acknowledged Xingxing's identity, what if others did not?
Liu Peili really wants to be good to Xingxing, so he would rather be the bad guy and make it clear in advance than let the little guy be speculated and suspected by everyone when he returns to Anqing Marquis Mansion.
"No, thanks." Su Yujun shook her head and refused.
She reached out and held Xingxing in her arms, took a piece of cake from the table for Xingxing to eat, and gave another piece to Xiaowu who was also sitting next to her. Then she smiled and said calmly to Liu Peili and Jiang Qin: "You may not know that Xingxing does not need any proof, not even the jade that represents her identity. As long as she appears in the eyes of my Wei family, no one will question her identity."
"Because Xingxing's face looks a lot like his father and uncle when they were young, but he looks more like Jin'an."
Wei Jinan is the only male among the younger generation of the Wei family.
"Even if it was not me sitting here today, but my daughter-in-law or my granddaughter, they would be able to confirm the identity of Xingxing without hesitation."
Hearing her so confident, Liu Peili apologized and said no more.
But he didn't leave either. He had made up his mind to support the two children today, so he had to sit here and wait for Su Yujun to talk about the arrangements for Xingxing and the other child.
If he was not satisfied, Liu Peili would never let Xingxing go back to Anqing Marquis' Mansion.
But Su Yujun never thought of letting Xingxing return to Anqing Marquis Mansion.
After she said this, she faced the equally surprised and displeased looks from the couple, hugged Xingxing, and sighed helplessly.
"Don't be angry yet. I have no choice but to do this..."
She touched Xingxing's head, feeling guilty and bitter, but the child in her arms was quiet and well-behaved. Even though he knew that they were talking about him, even when he heard her say that she would not take him home, he did not get angry, nor did he break free from her arms. This made Su Yujun feel relieved and also strengthened her previous thoughts.
Su Yujun met Liu Peili's sharp gaze, but she was not afraid at all. She just said in a deep voice: "My Wei family is now in a raging fire. Seriously speaking, that child, although he still bears the title of the heir of my Wei family, his greater reliance is the one in the palace!"
"If I take Xingxing back now and expose the child's identity, he won't necessarily suffer any loss. On the contrary, Xingxing will be exposed to that person's sight more quickly..."
At this point, seeing the two people frowning in deep thought, Su Yujun couldn't help but smile bitterly: "You also know that my son Feng Yan is stationed in the desert, and my Marquis and Feng Yao both died in the desert inexplicably. I know that you two have noble character, so I won't hide it from you. My Wei family... is really about to be forced to be exterminated. Once my son and grandson also die on the battlefield, my Wei family will never have a good fate in the future."
"Now that Xingxing has been found, I dare not take him back. He is only three years old. I am really afraid that he will be killed by the tigers, wolves and beasts hiding in the dark."
"So instead of taking him back to the Wei family, I would rather...hide him."
In the last five words, from the hesitation at the first word to the last word, Su Yujun's tone was already firm and cold, as if she had made up her mind in just these five short words.
She wants to hide the stars.
"But it's so chaotic outside, where can we hide?" Jiang Qin had also been persuaded by Su Yujun and realized that Xingxing's identity would not only prevent him from enjoying a good life, but might instead bring him into dire danger.
"Master's wife, I'll stay with Xingxing!" Xiaowu, who had been quietly listening to the adults talking, suddenly spoke.
When everyone looked at him, he clenched his fists, his brows were firm, and he said fearlessly: "We won't go back, we won't recognize our relatives, and we will live the same as before. I will accompany Xingxing to study and grow up. As long as you don't say anything, no one will know of our existence!"
"No, you are not safe as long as you are in Kyoto." Liu Peili refuted Xiaowu's naive idea in a deep voice.
He looked up at Xingxing, his eyes carefully tracing her facial features, and then shook his head, "This face is the biggest risk of you being exposed. Unless you change your appearance, in Kyoto, as you come into contact with more and more people, no one can say for sure when you will be exposed. Even if others are not sure, as long as there are rumors, those people will chase you like dogs smelling blood, and you will not be able to hide sooner or later."
He is telling the truth.
A fact acknowledged by everyone here.
Xiaowu fell silent.
He clenched his fingers in annoyance, but his body trembled subconsciously because of the possible catastrophic crisis that the adults talked about.
He was not afraid of encountering any difficulties or crises, but he was extremely afraid of hurting the stars.
So, Xiaowu wanted to escape again.
But what is the world like outside? It is a chaotic world! It is a chaotic world where even walking to the outer city is dangerous. He and Xingxing may not even be able to leave Kyoto before they will collapse. Now that they can't stay in Kyoto, where can they go to make a living?
"Go to the battlefield." The childish voice easily interrupted everyone's thoughts.
"What?" Liu Peili looked blankly at Xingxing who said those three words.
Xingxing held her brother's hand and nestled in the warm embrace of her new grandmother. Her delicate eyes looked at the person opposite her and she repeated softly and seriously, "My brother and I are going to the war."
My elder brother wants to be a general and join the army.
The stars want to hide themselves, so that others don't recognize them.
Xingxing also wants to steal the luck of another protagonist, so the city where the war takes place is the best place for Xingxing and his brother to hide and live.
Everyone present was a smart person, so Xingxing didn't need to explain too clearly. When the word "battlefield" came out, they were already instinctively weighing the pros and cons.
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