The following day, Xu Rong, Xiao Xin, and others embarked on their return journey with the Duke of Ying's army.
When they left, they fled in panic, but when they returned, it was much easier. They followed the army and had nothing to fear from any villains, so they could just move forward with peace of mind.
However, Xu Rong saw Xiao Xin less often. It was unclear whether the Duke of Yingguo was doing so because Lin Ding loved Xiao Xin, or because he was interested in Xiao Xin himself. During the march, when there was nothing to do, he would often call Xiao Xin to stay in the central tent.
"The Duke asked me about my time in the Xiao family," Xiao Xin told her upon his return. "He also asked the Marquis."
Xu Rong nodded: "The Duke did this so that it would be easier for him to negotiate with the Marquis when he returned."
Since the Duke of England has decided to take charge of this matter, he naturally needs to understand the situation more clearly so that he can make a sound plan when he meets Lord Xiao.
Xiao Xin tacitly agreed. This trip was also beneficial to him, as it allowed him to avoid immediately facing Lord Xiao and give him enough space and time to process the changes in his background.
His relationship with Lin Ding was improving. Although he still couldn't bring himself to call him "father," blood ties were indeed a mysterious thing. He and Lord Xiao had been father and son for twenty years, and it wasn't until the last year, after he passed the imperial examination with top honors, that their relationship warmed up a bit, but it was still only slightly better than being strangers.
He and Lin Ding had only traveled together for a short time, yet they had already started arguing and giving each other the silent treatment. But no matter how fierce the argument was, everything would be normal the next day. Lin Ding would neither hold a grudge against him, nor would he feel that he had become distant from Lin Ding.
The further north they went, the colder the weather became, and the closer they got to the capital.
At this point, he was no longer interested in paying attention to Lin Ding. Even when the Duke of Yingguo summoned him, he refused to go, using the excuse of studying to stay by Xu Rong's side.
He couldn't express his unease, nor did he want to. Only when he was by Xu Rong's side did he feel somewhat at ease.
"Xiao Bao, don't be afraid," Xu Rong said, trying to comfort him.
Xiao Xin put on a stern face: "...Don't call me that."
But he looks like 'Xiao Bao', not 'Xuan Cheng'.
Xu Rong thought to herself, but suppressed a laugh and said, "Oh."
She agreed, but afterwards, she would still occasionally slip out the words "Xiao Bao".
Xiao Xin had no choice but to glare at her and let it go.
By the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival, the army finally arrived in the capital, and was able to admire the lanterns and eat a bowl of glutinous rice balls.
Madam Zhang received the letter and had already sent people to wait at the city gate. However, as the commander-in-chief, the Duke of Yingguo needed to go to the palace to pay his respects first, so only Master Zhang and Master Zhang Er were able to return home.
The palace also specially dispatched an envoy to greet the Duke of England at the city gate. The Duke of England followed the envoy and ordered Lin Ding: "You and your family should also go to the mansion to eat Yuanxiao (sweet rice balls)."
Lin Ding hesitated: "Godfather, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
The family reunion banquet hasn't even been held yet, and they've already brought their whole family to visit. How careless of them!
Master Zhang pulled him aside: "Come on, I've never seen you so concerned about your reputation before. What, you've become so refined just because you picked up the son of a top scholar?"
Thus, they split into two groups: those who went to the palace went to the palace, and those who went home went home.
In the distance, the magnificent mansion of the Duke of England was in sight. The beams, pillars, and vermilion gates had just been painted before the New Year, and brand-new palace lanterns had been hung. The servants at the gate had all changed into their festive New Year clothes. These servants had received new letters and knew that the Duke of England's recognized adopted son had come with them. So they rushed down the steps and shouted loudly, "Welcome back to the mansion, Master! Second Master! Master Ding!"
Although Lin Ding was adopted by the Duke of England, he was the only son of the Lin family, so the Duke of England did not allow him to change his surname, nor did he enter the Zhang family's ranking. Therefore, the servants only called him "Master Ding".
Given the British Duke's mansion's resources, all of this had already been arranged privately long ago, and they certainly wouldn't have waited for Lin Ding to come over before scrambling to discuss it.
The vermilion main gate was wide open, and the elderly Madam Zhang, her hair half-white, walked out leaning on a cane, supported by Madam Zhang the First and Second, her eyes filled with tears. Behind her followed some of the younger members of the Zhang family.
"Mother!"
"Mother, your son is unfilial and has caused you worry!"
Grandpa Zhang and Second Grandpa Zhang rushed forward, knelt down, and kowtowed repeatedly.
"Get up, get up quickly," Madam Zhang said repeatedly, then called to her two daughters-in-law, "Help your husband up."
Both ladies had red eyes. Madam Zhang said, "Old Madam, let the master be. He hasn't been by your side to fulfill his filial duties for many years. Let him kowtow a few more times now, and he'll feel better."
Grandpa Zhang replied, "My wife knows me well."
He kowtowed three times thoroughly before getting up.
Madam Zhang felt both sorry for her and comforted her: "Aren't your daughters-in-law fulfilling their filial duties just the same as me? Your duty to the country is what truly matters."
After exchanging a few words with his mother, the eldest son, Mr. Zhang, introduced her to his mother: "Mother, this is Lin Ding, Father's adopted son. He was very capable and made great contributions in Annam."
Lin Ding obediently stepped forward and knelt down. Madam Wei timidly followed and knelt down beside him. Xiao Xin and Xu Rong knelt down behind them as well. Master Zhang was about to introduce Madam Zhang, who had received a personal letter from the Duke of Yingguo, but he sighed and said, "No need. We are all family. Get up."
Her phrase "not an outsider" was a double entendre, which made Madam Wei feel embarrassed. Even Xiao Xin lowered his head. Only Xu Rong was at ease and even smiled when Old Madam Zhang looked at her.
At first, Madam Zhang frowned, but Xu Rong remained unaffected, finally managing to make Madam Zhang laugh: "—Rong girl, come here!"
Xu Rong went over and curtsied, saying, "Greetings, Madam. I wish you a belated Happy New Year and good health."
"It's pointless to pray, there won't be any red envelopes for you." Old Madam Zhang scolded, telling her to follow behind, and then led a group of people slowly inside.
Upon arriving at the main courtyard, Grandpa Zhang had two sons and a daughter, while Second Grandpa Zhang had two daughters and a son. They were all gathered in the main room, making it quite lively. However, after searching around the room, Grandpa Zhang realized that someone was still missing, so he asked, "Mother, where is my younger brother?"
"He went out to buy lanterns." Old Madam Zhang said with a hint of annoyance when she mentioned her youngest son. "I told him not to go out today, but he insisted on going out. He said he would be right back. You're all home now, and he still hasn't come back. I think he deserves a beating from his father."
"I'm still young. In a few years, I'll become more mature."
"I just ask that he causes less trouble," Old Madam Zhang shook her head.
However, the return of her sons together was a joyous occasion, and Madam Zhang quickly cheered up again. She sat at the head of the table, smiling as she watched her children and grandchildren chat. After a while, she reluctantly sent Zhang Da-ye and Zhang Er-ye's families away, saying, "Go on, wash up and rest first. Your families can also have a reunion. Come back when we have the banquet tonight."
Grandpa Zhang, Second Grandpa Zhang, and others took their leave one after another.
Only Lin Ding and Madam Wei remained in the room.
This was the first time that Madam Zhang had met Lin Ding, her adopted son. She shouldn't have sent Zhang Da Ye and the others away, leaving them alone to talk. But, coincidentally, she was also familiar with Xiao Xin and Xu Rong. Apart from their misplaced kinship, their marriages could be traced back to her interference—though she hadn't succeeded.
Therefore, Madam Zhang's feelings at this moment were far more complex and difficult to describe than those of the Duke of England.
“Rong girl,” Madam Zhang finally sighed, “do you know that your departure has turned our entire family upside down?”
Xu Rong blinked: "With the old lady here, it can't be turned upside down."
"Stop with the nice talk," Old Madam Zhang scolded. "I'm asking you, do you have any ideas about this situation?"
“Let’s all go back to our places,” Xu Rong said readily. “We won’t hold the Marquis accountable, and the Marquis shouldn’t hold us accountable either.”
"Difficult," said Madam Zhang, shaking her head with just one word.
While she was in the capital, she first vaguely learned that something had gone wrong at the Changxing Marquis's residence, and that someone seemed to have gone missing. Then, Madam Xu came to the door crying, saying that the Xiao family had tricked her into marriage, and that Marquis Xiao wanted to kill Xu Rong and Xiao Xin. It was all a jumbled mess and unbelievable. Old Madam Zhang was in a headache from listening to this, but she realized that something had happened, so she hurriedly summoned Madam Xiao back to her maiden home to ask her about it.
When summoned once, Madam Xiao did not come, saying she was busy. When summoned a second time, Madam Xiao finally came, but her face was pale and she looked extremely distressed.
It was from Madam Xiao's mouth that Old Madam Zhang finally got the truth: Madam Xu was right after all; something terrible had really happened to the Xiao family.
The concubine, along with her son and daughter-in-law, all three ran away at once.
Even Madam Xiao, who was usually domineering and autocratic, was dumbfounded. When Old Madam Zhang asked her, she only knew to say, "The Marquis said that we cannot let them tarnish the reputation of the Xiao family."
"So what does he want to do? Suppress them?" Old Madam Zhang was furious. "The Xu family already knows. Do you think he can handle them all? You should be grateful they haven't asked you for your daughter yet!"
Madam Xiao stared blankly, "Mother, what should we do?"
"Suppress this for now, don't let this news spread any further, it's embarrassing enough already," said Madam Zhang. "Just say they had some urgent business and went on a long trip."
Having grasped the direction, Madam Xiao had a better idea: "The Marquis has a cousin who is an official in Shanxi. Just say that the cousin is seriously ill and that Erlang and his wife should go to visit him on behalf of the Marquis. As for Madam Wei, just say that she suddenly fell seriously ill and has moved out of the mansion to seek treatment."
Regardless of how many people believe it, there has to be some kind of explanation on the surface, at least to temporarily fool outsiders.
After making up her mind, Madam Xiao asked, "Then what about them? Are we just going to let them run away like that?"
“If they really run away and never come back, then so be it,” Madam Zhang said slowly. “But I think they will come back eventually, and then we can talk about it.”
Madam Xiao asked in bewilderment, "Come back? Isn't that just sending them to their deaths?"
From Lord Xiao's perspective, Xiao Xin was an illegitimate son. Even if he couldn't execute him openly, he would definitely use underhanded methods.
“Because the Xu family girl ran away with them,” Old Madam Zhang replied. “She didn’t have to leave.”
In fact, from Xu Rong's personal perspective, it would be best for her to stay in Beijing and return to her parents' home.
But Xu Rong left, and Madam Zhang did not think that, given her character, she would fall from a noble lady of a noble family to the countryside, not even daring to keep her name, and living a life of hiding her face and hiding her true identity.
...
Xu Rong was slightly embarrassed: "The old lady knows me very well."
Madam Zhang shook her head: "No, this matter was beyond my expectations. I did not expect that you would be so deeply in love with Erlang, willing to go through life and death with him and never leave him."
Xu Rong: "...?"
She was stunned. Wait, weren't we supposed to be talking about serious business? How did we end up here?
The bend was too steep for her to keep up with, and her neck stiffened as a result. She dared not look at the expressions of the people around her.
Madam Zhang sighed slowly, "In my life, I have not done many things that force others to do something against their will. Making you marry Erlang was one of them. In the years that followed, I did have some regrets, but now I can finally let it go."
"Don't worry, I'll handle persuading Yingyu, at least so she won't make things difficult for you."
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