relics
“This is… Brother Nianling’s child,” Chi Yuming said slowly.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Youyi was so excited that she rushed forward to hug the child and wanted to see the child's face clearly. She saw that the child looked seven-tenths like Zhao Youli. Chu Chanyin, who was standing to the side, saw the child's face and felt that the child was exactly the same as Zhao Youyi when she was a child.
Zhao Youyi held the child in her arms, tears streaming down her face as she stroked the child's cheek, her fingers almost trembling.
"Is this my brother's child?" Zhao Youyi's eyes reddened as she stared intently at Chi Yuming.
Chi Yuming nodded. "This was sent to Jiangzhou by Brother Nianling two years ago. He only handed the child over to me and didn't say anything else."
The child in her arms looked at her face, and after a long while, called out in a soft voice, "Auntie..."
She had seen Zhao Youyi's portrait. Her father had pointed to the person in the portrait and said, "That's your aunt. She's the person who loves you the most in this world besides your father."
Zhao Youyi was almost in tears, never expecting that the child would recognize her. "Hey, I'm your aunt..."
Zhao Youyi's tears fell onto the child's face. The child reached out and touched her face, feeling her wet tears. "Don't cry..."
“This child’s name is Zhile,” Chi Yuming said, looking at Zhao Zhile.
"Zhile, meaning contentment brings happiness, is a good name." Zhao Youyi wiped away her tears and looked at Chi Yuming. "Cousin Ming, thank you for taking care of Zhile."
Chi Yuming gently shook his head. "She was very well-behaved and obedient. Ever since I learned of Brother Nianling's passing, I have been very worried. I wanted to go to Shenjing to find you, but I heard that you... disappeared after marrying His Highness Prince Chu."
"After leaving Shenjing, I went to Yunzhou, and now I'm in Wanzhou. I've reorganized the Zhao family army and decided to avenge my brother," Zhao Youyi explained succinctly.
Looking at the little girl who bore a striking resemblance to Zhao Youli, Zhao Youyi's heart, which had been filled with loneliness, finally felt a glimmer of warmth.
Chu Chanyin reached out and patted her shoulder. Chi Yuming's sharp gaze fell on Chu Chanyin. "Why would His Highness Prince Chu be in Jiangzhou?"
Chu Chanyin smiled slightly and said, "I came with Awan."
Upon hearing this intimate address, Chi Yuming's expression turned strange. Of course, he knew that Zhao Youyi's courtesy name was Nianwan, and a young woman's given name was usually not told to people who were not very close to her. Chu Chanyin was able to call her by her courtesy name, so their relationship must not be as distant as the rumors suggested.
Recalling the childhood friendship between Zhao Youyi, Zhao Youli, and Chu Chanyin, his expression unconsciously turned strange. Zhao Youyi, however, was only immersed in the joy of finding the last relic left by his elder brother in this world, and carefully held Zhao Zhile in his arms.
"A-Wan, now that we've found Zhi Le, let's go back to the inn," Chu Chanyin said, turning to Zhao Youyi.
“Your Highness, why must you leave so soon? Zhile still has many belongings at the manor. Why not let Niao Niao and Zhile return to the manor together for a while?” Chi Yuming smiled politely. Their eyes met in mid-air, sparks flying.
Zhao Youyi, however, tugged at Chu Chanyin's sleeve, "Why don't you come back to Cousin Ming's residence with me, cousin?"
She was the one who dragged Chu Chanyin to Jiangzhou to accompany her in the first place, so how could she possibly leave Chu Chanyin alone to go to the Chi residence?
Seeing her action, Chu Chanyin nodded without hesitation and said to Chi Yuming with a forced smile, "Then I'll have to trouble Brother Chi."
Chi Yuming was startled when he saw Chu Chanyin smiling like a fox. He had known for a long time that Chu Chanyin was good-looking. He had been like this since childhood, bewitching Zhao Youyi like a fox spirit, making her disown him, her real cousin. He never expected that Chu Chanyin would marry Zhao Youyi. Just by looking at this fox spirit, he knew that nothing good could come of it!
Chi Yuming glared at him angrily. This vixen even deliberately brought up the fact that he was several years older than him!
Since Zhao Youyi had said so, Chi Yuming couldn't say anything more and could only lead the group back to his residence.
The Chi family is a prominent merchant family in the area. Now, Zhao Youyi's maternal uncle is in charge. Upon learning that Zhao Youyi has arrived in Jiangzhou, he hurriedly went out to greet him.
"Greetings, Uncle." Zhao Youyi was holding Zhao Zhile and it was inconvenient for him to bow, so he could only call out to him.
Seeing his sister's only remaining child, Uncle Chi was so moved that tears streamed down his face. He hugged Zhao Youyi tightly and said, "Child, it's good that you're back, it's good that you're back."
"Uncle!" Zhao Zhile called out to him in a clear and cheerful voice.
Uncle Chi then noticed the little one in Zhao Youyi's arms and chuckled as he gently pinched the little girl's nose.
"Uncle," Chu Chanyin called out as he approached.
Uncle Chi was so surprised to see his suddenly appearing nephew that his brow twitched. Of course he knew who the person in front of him was: the famous Prince Chu. The child raised in the next courtyard had indeed called him uncle when he was young, along with Zhao Youli and the others. However, now that the Prince Chu had made great military achievements and was renowned for his virtue, how could he still be worthy of being called uncle?
"Your Highness is too kind to this old man," Uncle Chi said, breaking out in a cold sweat from the shock of his words.
"It's alright. A-Wan and I are husband and wife, so it's only right that she calls you uncle," Chu Chanyin said, putting his arm around Zhao Youyi's shoulder.
Zhao Youyi belatedly realized that since meeting Chi Yuming, Chu Chanyin had stopped calling her cousin and started calling her Awan, which made them seem closer... more like husband and wife.
Zhao Youyi did not refute Chu Chanyin in front of the Chi family, after all, what he said was true, and besides, Chu Chanyin had helped her so much, so it was okay to let him have a verbal advantage.
Upon hearing this, Uncle Chi glanced at Zhao Youyi, and seeing that she did not refute him, he then subtly glanced at Chi Yuming. "I see. Your Highness's presence at my humble abode is a great honor. I was so pleased that I misspoke. Please forgive me."
After saying this, he wanted to kneel down to pay his respects, but Chu Chanyin quickly helped him up: "Uncle, there's no need for that. You are Nianwan's elder, so naturally you are my elder as well."
Zhao Youyi's gaze fell on Chu Chanyin, whose demeanor was poised and measured. He had to admit that His Highness the Prince of Chu was indeed a man of great elegance. No wonder even in the capital, many noble ladies regarded him as the man of their dreams.
The group entered the Chi residence in a grand procession and went to the side hall for a meal. The maternal grandfather and grandmother had long since passed away, and the two maternal uncles had also separated from the family and lived separately. Therefore, only the eldest maternal uncle, his wife, and Chi Yuming were the three hosts. The eldest maternal uncle originally wanted to invite Chu Chanyin to take the seat of honor, but he gave up after Chu Chanyin declined repeatedly.
Chu Chanyin was better at taking care of children than Zhao Youyi, after all, he had raised Chu Muqing himself. Zhao Zhile was holding him in his arms and was so happy that he kept humming, calling him "uncle" affectionately.
Seeing that he was too busy taking care of Zhao Zhile to eat, Zhao Youyi used serving chopsticks to put his favorite dishes into his bowl. The two smiled at each other. Chi Yuming, who was sitting opposite, looked at this scene that resembled a family of three and felt that even the sweet soup in his mouth tasted particularly bitter.
Zhao Youyi briefly explained the current situation of the Zhao family army to his uncle and aunt. Upon learning that the Zhao family army was short of food and fodder, Uncle Chi immediately said that although he could not supply a large amount of food and fodder, he could provide silver.
Zhao Youyi readily agreed. Since they were plotting a rebellion, they certainly couldn't lack resources in the rear, and the more money they had, the better.
Chu Chanyin took Zhao Zhile to the backyard to pack things. For some reason, Zhao Zhile liked this cheap uncle very much. Perhaps it was because Chu Chanyin was so handsome, like a fox spirit, Chi Yuming thought resentfully.
"Cousin Ming." Zhao Youyi noticed that Chi Yuming's gaze was fixed on the direction Chu Chanyin and Zhao Zhile had left, and asked with some confusion, "What's wrong? Why are you staring at His Highness Chu and Zhile in that direction?"
Chi Yuming snapped out of his daze and looked at his cousin whom he had admired since childhood. His emotions surged. When they were young, Zhao Youyi always chose Chu Chanyin over him, her biological cousin, and Chu Chanyin, her distant cousin. Chi Yuming had always been unwilling to accept this and never understood why.
They are clearly closer, they are clearly the ones who were betrothed as children, so why does Zhao Youyi only have eyes for Chu Huaicong?
“Cousin, Chu Huai Cong is a dangerous person.” Chi Yuming’s words were exactly the same as they were back then. The difference was that back then he didn’t understand what this feeling was, but now he understood, and he only felt a burning anger.
He was jealous of Chu Chanyin.
Chu Chanyin easily won everyone's favor. Zhao Youyi liked Chu Chanyin, and Zhao Zhile couldn't wait to call Chu Chanyin "uncle" as soon as he saw him. Even his own grandparents preferred this noble Chu King's legitimate son to him, their own grandson.
On what grounds? Why?
Fueled by anger, Chi Yuming's eyes reddened as he glared at Zhao Youyi: "Niao Niao, he's your cousin too, why did you choose him and not me?"
Zhao Youyi wanted to explain that her marriage to Chu Chanyin was fake, but when she looked up and saw the emotions in Chi Yuming's eyes, she knew that whether it was real or fake no longer mattered.
“Brother Ming, there’s no reason for this,” Zhao Youyi sighed. She and Chi Yuming were a few years apart. When they were young, Chi Yuming would study and learn to read in the study, while she would practice martial arts in the backyard. The two of them never had anything in common. Or perhaps their blood relationship was too close, and she only regarded Chi Yuming as her older brother.
“In my heart, you have always been my cousin, unlike Huai Cong,” Zhao Youyi said earnestly, taking a step back.
"Different? How are they different? Is it just because he is the high and mighty Prince Chu, while I am merely the son of a wealthy merchant?" Chi Yuming grabbed her shoulders tightly and asked, "We are clearly cousins who were betrothed since childhood, so why have you always been closer to him? Why have you always chosen him! Given the same wooden sword, you didn't choose the one I carefully selected, but instead chose his dented wooden sword!"
"Back then, I could have married you with just one letter from you, so why did you choose Chu Huai Cong?" Chi Yuming stared blankly into her eyes, trying to find the answer.
Zhao Youyi effortlessly broke free from his grasp. After all, she had practiced martial arts since childhood, so she was naturally stronger than Chi Yuming, a scholar who couldn't even kill a chicken. "It was never me who chose him, but rather that he was so good that I couldn't bear to refuse him."
"He is unique, and no one can compare to him."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
