Mother-daughter relationship
Chapter 39: Mother-Daughter Love
Peng Zuoyong asked the imperial physician, who said that going out for a walk would help to cheer up and get rid of unexpected events. So he made some plans and set off on his trip without any hesitation.
There is an inn in the neighboring city, surrounded by mountains and water. Although it is outside the city, it is very close to the commercial street in the city. The scenery is different in the morning and evening, and the viewing experience is excellent.
The two quarreled over whether to have one room or two rooms. Yi Huan hurried downstairs, but unexpectedly bumped into a girl who was coming out of the stairwell holding porcelain plates. The freshly washed plates shattered into pieces on the ground.
"My lady, are you okay? My hands and feet are rough, please step back a few steps to avoid getting them wet."
Yi Huan thought the voice sounded familiar and asked, "Can you please raise your head so I can see?"
The woman in coarse brown clothes was dressed smartly, and her face without makeup looked a little weathered. Her foundation was good, but due to improper care, she had many dark spots, and she also looked a little cautious and flattering.
It turned out to be Qiu Sanniang.
"Qiu Sanniang? Why are you here?"
"So it's you." Qiu Sanniang blocked the rough hand and said casually, "Alas, those who are wandering around are all fate."
Qiu Sanniang noticed her luxurious attire and asked, "Auntie... why are you here? Are you still with him?"
"Yes. I remember you were pregnant then? What happened next?"
"I gave birth to a daughter, and we have been dependent on each other for these years."
Yi Huan curled his lips and said, "That's good. I'll pay for the plates. I'm also responsible for the broken ones."
Looking at Qiu Sanniang's clothes and work, she must have had a hard life.
Qiu Sanniang sensed her kindness and smiled sheepishly, "I'm sorry for the expense. Thank you very much."
"Would you like to come over to my house and sit down? If it doesn't bother you, I've just finished my work today. My house is nearby, and you can also meet my daughter Xiaoman."
"good."
A street away, in front of a dilapidated wooden door, Qiu Sanniang turned the key and said politely: "It's a small house, please sit anywhere."
"Xiaoman, come out and meet people."
A little girl, knee-deep in the hair, was standing by the door. Her skin was unusually pale, her hair white. Yi Huan swallowed his doubts and greeted her with a distant tone, "Hello, Xiaoman."
She has Peng Zuoyan's blood in her body and she is Peng Zuoyan's biological daughter. Yi Huan cannot treat her kindly and there is always a gap of dislike between them.
The father and daughter looked nothing alike. Xiaoman had a sickly look on her face, and she was timid and weak, like a newborn kitten, looking at the outside world with curiosity.
"Xiao Man, this is Aunt Huan, an old friend of Mother's. Why don't you say hello? Didn't Mother teach you to do that?"
The child thought for a moment, then smiled innocently and said sweetly, "Hello, Auntie Huan."
Qiuman is over four years old this year. His dark eyes are full of curiosity and purity, but the illness and pain on his face are very obvious.
Never mind, she is still a child, Xiaoman is innocent.
"Hey, Xiaoman is so good. Xiaoman, do you want to come out and play with me?"
Yi Huan waited patiently for the shy child to come out and praised him again. Qiu Sanniang looked at him gently while skillfully making a fire and boiling water.
After talking for a while, the child went to play by himself. She noticed that the child was different and asked, "Is Xiaoman sick?"
"She suffered with me when I was pregnant with her. She's been like this since she was born. She's easily infected with colds and has nosebleeds from time to time. The doctor just said she was developmentally delayed and weak, but couldn't find the cause. Poor Xiaoman has to endure the pain every day. She's different from normal children after all."
Based on these symptoms, Yi Huan guessed that it was leukemia, but this was ancient times and she didn't know any medical skills. Here, leukemia was a terminal illness.
"Come, Madam Huan, have some tea."
"Oh, okay, thank you."
Holding the bottom of the bowl, Yi Huan asked tentatively: "Don't you want him to know about Xiaoman's existence? He is the child's father and should fulfill his obligation to raise the child. He is also at the inn, I can go and tell him."
"Forget it, Madam Huan."
After so many years of experiencing the fickleness of human nature, Qiu Sanniang had long given up the idea of climbing up the social ladder and vying for favor. Firstly, she was no longer young, and secondly, Xiaoman had occupied all her thoughts, and nothing else mattered.
Qiu Sanniang explained calmly, "When I took the silver, I had no relationship with him. Xiaoman is my child and I will be with her no matter how long she lives."
Or was it because she had no confidence? Peng Zuoyan was not an easy person to deal with, not to mention that he was now the ruler of a country and could take their lives with just one word. Rather than risking her life for some money, she wanted to save the lives of both mother and daughter.
"Xiaoman, do you regret giving birth to her?"
"Madam Huan, Xiao Man is absolutely perfect. If she hadn't been with me, I don't know how I would have gotten through all these years. I don't know how I would have lived without her."
Thinking back to the past, Qiu Sanniang said coquettishly and angrily, "Xiao Man, this girl, has been naughty since her mother's womb. I thought she was a naughty boy. Maybe all her mischievousness was used up in my womb."
"It will be fine."
Before leaving, Yi Huan took out all the jewelry and banknotes he had on him. It wasn't much, but he wanted to help.
Qiu Sanniang hesitated for two seconds, suppressed the discomfort in her heart, and said with a smile: "I'm sorry, Madam Huan, my mother and I are really in financial difficulty. We need money for medicinal herbs and supplements. Thank you very much, you are a very kind person."
"I understand you. You raised Xiaoman all by yourself. You are amazing."
Qiu Sanniang stuffed her things into her arms and insisted on sending her back to the inn to protect her safety. When she saw someone coming to pick her up, she turned around in a hurry, not wanting to meet anyone she knew.
"You're back. Where did you go? Ah Huan, where are your jewelry?"
Yi Huan avoided his touch and replied calmly, "I gave it away."
"Where have you been? You're back so late."
"I ran into an old friend and chatted for a while."
Peng Zuoyan was still thinking about his old friend when he heard her talking about children.
"If you still have children living outside, and if they are not doing well, will you help them?"
Peng Zuoyan answered without hesitation, saying helplessly, "Ah Huan, our child died at your hands."
Yi Huan suddenly figured it out. No, Peng Zuoyang would not be kind to the child just because of blood relationship. He even wanted to kill Cui Luan's child, let alone Qiu Sanniang, who had no feelings.
Even if Peng Zuoyang knew about Qiu Man's existence, not killing him would be considered mercy, and he would not acknowledge him as a relative.
"Why do you ask?"
"I'm just asking casually, don't think too much about it."
Two days later, Yi Huan came to Qiu San's mother's house again. He had not been playing with Xiaoman in the yard for long when Peng Zuoyan came over.
"Why are you here?"
"Of course I came to see you."
Seeing her nervous face, Xiaoman asked with concern: "Auntie, are you okay?"
The two people, one tall and one short, met each other's eyes. Xiaoman was afraid of the cold and scrutinizing eyes, and she looked away in fear.
Peng Zuoyan had no blood connection with her. Even though he had found out the identities of the mother and daughter, he didn't feel sorry for having the baby. Instead, he felt that it was just an extra trouble and it would be better not to have the baby.
"Xiao Man, can you go back to the house and wait for me? I know this uncle, and we need to talk for a few words. Can you go back and wait for me?"
Yi Huan spoke anxiously, as if he was about to slap the child to death. Peng Zuoyan sneered, "What a worrywart! He loves to meddle in other people's business."
"Okay, Auntie, I'll wait for you at home to continue playing with me."
Yi Huan curved his lips and stroked her hair, saying softly, "Well, Xiaoman is so good."
After watching the child go into the house and close the door, Yi Huan turned around and walked three steps. When he still didn't see the child turn around, he impatiently grabbed his sleeve and pulled him outside.
"Why are you here? Are you following me? Xiaoman has nothing to do with you. What do you want to do?"
Peng Zuoyan had an innocent expression on his face, pretending not to know: "So this is your old friend, a child?"
"Her mother is Qiu Sanniang."
"who?"
Yi Huan was extremely disappointed with his coldness in not recognizing him after he pulled up his pants. He said simply, "The person Meng Chenghe sent was Qiu Sanniang. After she followed you, she became pregnant. The child she gave birth to was Xiaoman."
"Who is Qiu Sanniang? And who is Xiaoman?"
"Qiu Man is your biological daughter!" Yi Huan's anger seemed more like he was expressing his indignation on behalf of Qiu Sanniang. "Qiu Sanniang lived with you day and night for several months in Gongzhou, yet you didn't even bother to find out about her. The child she's pregnant with is your own flesh and blood. Even if you had no intention, you turned your back on her. Xiao Man's health isn't good, and she relied entirely on Qiu Sanniang to save her life. Is this how you act as a father?"
Peng Zuoyan remained silent for a long time, trying to discern her words. He then tentatively said, "If you don't like them, I'll kill them."
"Ha! Don't you have a heart?"
"She gave birth to a child in secret and should have been put to death. I am doing you a favor by not caring about it. Unrecognized bloodlines are commoners. Only our child can bear the surname Peng. Ah Huan, a lowly person is not worthy of your investment."
Yi Huan sneered and pointed at him angrily, "Shameless words! Cold-blooded and indifferent, it's a tragedy to have a father like you. Qiu Sanniang's pregnancy was a coincidence. She was robbed of her money and forced to leave. It was Xiaoman's arrival that gave her some hope for the future. How could you say such a thing?"
Yi Huan was tired of roaring, so he took a step back and looked at him from bottom to top. The more he looked, the colder he felt in his heart.
This is the man who has imprisoned and forced her for most of her life, one of the top heroes of this era. He is rational and calm, dictatorial and powerful. These are words of praise for this era. Such a person fell for her alone. They are separated by two eras. Even if he changed, he could not erase his past sins, not to mention the current affairs.
The more Yi Huan thought about it, the more unreasonable it seemed.
"You are always cold-hearted. Even if she wasn't your child, even if she was just a strange x-year-old little girl, the look in your eyes just now was right! You oppressed and threatened her. What did you want to do? You didn't give birth to her and didn't raise her. You are unworthy of being a father."
"Ah Huan, why are you so angry? I'll change the way I look at her, okay? I won't look at her like that anymore. You tell me how you want me to treat them, and I'll definitely do it."
Peng Zuoyan finally managed to maintain the tenuous relationship between the two of them, and even said, "Ah Huan, I won't say anything more. I will do the same to you as you did to them. I won't mention it anymore."
Yi Huan closed his eyes with a chill in his heart. He felt exhausted both physically and mentally after dealing with him. He returned to the yard without saying anything else.
She naively thought that Peng Zuoyan still had a bit of warmth and hope in this world, but he was rotten to the core and no matter how much water was poured on him, he would not bear good fruit.
Yi Huan was very averse to his presence here. Qiu Sanniang's yard was too small, so Peng Zuoyan bought the house next door and directly built a wall. Whenever Yi Huan came, he would follow him and sit next door.
After he arrived, Qiu Sanniang was very reserved. Peng Zuoyan avoided Yi Huan and went to talk to Qiu Sanniang. "I will give you gold and silver. You can take her away and go wherever you want. Leave Yi Huan's side."
"My dear, we will behave ourselves and not cause any trouble, nor will we harm the lady. Please don't chase us away."
Peng Zuoyan paused to play with the beads, then stared at them coldly and asked, "You don't want to leave? Why?"
The reason why Qiu Sanniang was unwilling to leave was not only because of her own considerations, but also because of selfish motives.
Qiu Sanniang saw Xiaoman's happiness during this period. Xiaoman liked Yi Huan's company and loved to talk and laugh. She was relieved and wanted to maintain the status quo.
"Madam loves Xiaoman very much. If she leaves suddenly, she will definitely be suspicious. Also, Xiaoman is very happy. As a mother, I hope Xiaoman is happy every day."
Qiu Sanniang thought of something and muttered, "Besides, we, mother and daughter, have finally settled down. Even if we take the money, it might be stolen. It's not safe on the road either."
Peng Zuoyan frowned in displeasure, thinking that she was too worried and it would be annoying to look at her any longer.
"Do you know what you shouldn't say?"
"I know, and I'll tell Xiaoman too. We won't say anything, don't worry."
Glancing at the two people playing in the distance, Peng Zuoyao warned, "Qiu, forget about your childbirth. Don't have any other inappropriate thoughts."
Qiu Sanniang's heart trembled, and she knelt down repeatedly to express her gratitude, "I don't know how to do that. Thank you for your mercy and for sparing our lives. Both mother and daughter are grateful to you."
In the evening, Yi Huan coaxed Qiu Man to sleep. The child was not sleepy and whispered, "Auntie, I don't like him."
"Why, he looks so sour and scary?"
"Mother is afraid of him. She was also afraid when he was next door. He doesn't like me either. Auntie, I like you too, but can you please not invite him over? I don't want to scare Mother."
Qiu Man started crying as she spoke, but she also felt that this was a bit too much to ask and was afraid that Yi Huan would get angry.
Yi Huan hugged her while wiping her tears and promised, "Okay, baby, don't cry. I'll drive him away, okay? Don't cry."
"Aunt, you are so nice." Yi Huan was thinking about going back and telling Peng Zuoyan not to follow him again and not to open the doors of the two courtyards, when he heard her sweet words.
A playful thought flashed through his mind, and Yi Huan smiled: "Then who is better, me or your mother?"
Qiu Man was still thinking seriously, and Yi Huan looked at her with amusement and tenderness.
"Auntie played with me and took me to eat delicious food. In the past, I always waited for my mother to come back alone, but my mother is the best to me, and I love my mother the most in the world."
"In my heart, A Niang is the best. I will make a lot of money in the future so that A Niang doesn't have to work as an embroidery worker and we can have enough food to eat. I want to protect A Niang."
Yi Huan hesitated for a moment, unable to say that she might not live to grow up. It was too cruel to look at such an innocent face.
"Auntie, what's wrong with you?"
"I'm fine. I'm relieved. Xiaoman, you're a good child."
Qiu Man looked disappointed and said dejectedly, "I've been a burden to my mother. I'm not a good child."
"But to your mother, you are the best. Xiaoman, let me tell you a bedtime story. You will sleep well after listening to it."
"good!"
Yi Huan tucked the corner of the quilt for her and said, "Once upon a time, there was a tabby cat named Xiaohu. When Xiaohu reached the age of twenty, he could choose to be reborn. There were too many people waiting in line for normal and healthy babies. Xiaohu was eager to see his owner, so he found a window where no one was waiting and ran over. Xiaohu didn't know that he would have physical defects after becoming a human. He only knew that he had found his mother's love again and met his owner from his previous life once again."
"Then I want to be a kitten in my next life. No, I want to be a puppy, so that I can protect my mother." Qiu Man said this in a daze, without thinking of Xiaohu as herself.
Yi Huan touched her hair lovingly, knowing her fate, sadness welled up in his eyes.
Birth, old age, sickness and death are the norm in the world, but it should not be the old who dies before the young. How can you bear to let such a good girl die young?
Yi Huan will never forget what happened that day.
Yi Huan forgot the new shoes he prepared for the child in the inn. Xiaoman was playing by himself in the house, so she went back to wait.
Peng Zuoyan walked into the dilapidated courtyard, looking around with disdain. Inside, Xiaoman was reclining on the bed, playing with a stuffed animal. Catching a glimpse of him, the child instantly stopped playing and said, "You...they're not here."
"You should know your own background, right?"
"I, I only have my mother, no other relatives."
Although Qiu Man was small, she could see that the other party was unhappy and looked at her as if she were a trouble.
Father, she had longed countless times for someone like this to help her mother fight off the bad guys, bring them food, protect them, carry her on his shoulders, and gently hold her hand with his other hand.
Family reunion was Qiu Man’s wish before she met Peng Zuoyan. Now, she wants him to go far away. Her mother is afraid, and she is afraid too.
"I never considered you my child." Peng Zuoyan stood and spoke, as if communicating with a stranger: "If I knew your existence in the beginning, I wouldn't be here now."
Peng Zuoyang didn't want Yi Huan to have too close a relationship with him and the mother and daughter. He wanted to break away from the past and move on with Yi Huan cleanly. He didn't want irrelevant people and things to get between them.
"I don't want to recognize you either." Qiu Man nervously pinched the little tiger's tail and said softly, "I'm very happy to be my mother's daughter."
Peng Zuoyan sneered and stared at her without saying a word.
Qiu Man became uncontrollably nervous. At first her legs started shaking, and then her whole body began to tremble. She was also stubborn. She held onto the edge of the bed and gasped for breath, refusing to ask him for help.
Peng Zuoyan didn't struggle or hesitate as to whether to call for help or not. He just looked down at her coldly, without a trace of emotion in his eyes.
I still feel a little bit detached and relaxed in my heart.
The willow-like wrist slowly drooped. Peng Zuoyan turned around in boredom, only to see Yi Huan, who was shocked and sad. He hurried forward to cover her eyes and said to himself, "Ah Huan, it wasn't me."
"It doesn't matter."
As long as you don't shout out those words, it will be enough to disappoint her.
Yi Huan pushed him away and walked to the bed. He tried to check Qiu Man's breathing with a slight hope, but then withdrew his hand in disappointment.
After a few seconds of pausing, Yi Huan said in a strong voice, "Xiao Man, I've got the shoes. Do you want to try them on to see if they fit?"
Yi Huan put new shoes on the child, touched them carefully, and tears came to his eyes.
"Xiao Man, I'm sorry."
"Ah Huan, it's none of your business..."
Peng Zuoyan was frightened by her angry look and stopped where he was at her words.
"Don't come near us!"
Her eyes were filled with even more despair and disappointment than before. Peng Zuoyan had a premonition that they would drift further and further apart, and he said hastily, "Ah Huan, she had an accidental illness. Even calling in a doctor wouldn't have helped. It's not your fault or mine. Don't blame yourself too much. Ah Huan, I didn't hurt her. I didn't mean to kill her."
"No one here wants you, why don't you leave? Do you think that if she dies, I won't have to stay here any longer and can follow you?"
"That's not what I meant."
Yi Huan stood up and walked in, suddenly asking, "Watching your daughter die with your own eyes, how does that feel?"
Before Peng Zuoyan could say anything, Yi Huan interrupted him sarcastically: "Oh, I forgot, you have no heart, you have no feelings. Here, laws and morals cannot hold you accountable. You are truly lawless."
"Ah Huan, I have a heart, and it's enough that I only have a heart for you."
"But I have a conscience! You are so hateful. You killed so many people, but why didn't you die?"
Peng Zuoyan's shoulders slumped in disappointment, and he felt extremely uncomfortable because of her words. He pleaded softly, "Ah Huan, don't talk to me like that. Can't I change next time?"
"Hey, Xiaoman, you called me."
Yi Huan returned to the bedside and coaxed her as if she were still there, "Xiao Man, don't you want to listen either? Okay, auntie will help you plug your ears so we can't hear it."
Peng Zuoyan opened his lips to say something, but Yi Huan hummed a nursery rhyme to stop him and turned a deaf ear to him.
"Xiao Man, let's take a nap. Auntie will stay with you all the time."
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