After staying in Mrs. Liu's yard for a while, Yu Jiao was allowed to leave only after being asked to have dinner.
Although it was almost evening, the market beside Wanfu Bridge was still bustling. A large crowd gathered on the bridge and cheers could be heard from time to time. It turned out that a few jugglers had come in at some point, breathing fire and performing magic tricks, attracting quite a few children.
Thinking that her son-in-law was busy with official duties and must be still in the Dali Temple, Jianjia smiled and said, "Miss, can we watch it for a while? It looks quite interesting."
Yu Jiao nodded and agreed. Seeing that there was a snack stall nearby, she asked Bai Lu to buy some. The three of them, holding some dried fruits, squeezed into the crowd to watch the fun.
From time to time, people threw coins into the gong, and the jugglers worked harder and harder. Seeing that the final highlight of the chest-breaking stone was about to begin, Yu Jiao also asked Jianjia to give a string of coins.
As soon as Jianjia put the money in, a dirty little hand reached out from the crowd and grabbed a handful of money from the gong.
The juggler had sharp eyes. He grabbed the hand and pulled the man out of the crowd. "Good boy, you stole from your grandfather! Don't you see what grandfathers do? You are looking for death!"
As he spoke, the juggler raised his fist and was about to hit the dirty boy who looked like a beggar.
The beggar boy was so frightened that he trembled all over. He hid while saying, "I know I was wrong. Please spare my life, please spare my life..."
Yu Jiao frowned slightly when she heard the voice and stared at the child. Seeing that the juggler's fist was about to hit the child, she hurriedly said, "Stop!"
The child looked up at the sound, his lips trembled, his eyes turned red, and tears fell, "Sister!"
Someone in the crowd recognized Yu Jiao and whispered her identity. Upon seeing this, the juggler let go of her hand.
Yu Jiao didn't care about anything else and went forward to hold Fei Ge'er's little hand. Fei Ge'er threw himself into her arms, his voice choked with sobs, calling "Sister" over and over again.
Jianjia apologized to the juggler and took out a string of copper coins from her purse and stuffed them into the man's pocket. The man took the money and stopped harping on the matter. He went back to inviting the crowd to continue watching the juggling.
Yu Jiao touched Fei Ge'er's messy hair and brought him back to Guihua Lane.
Jianjia ordered the servants to bring in food, hot water, and a towel. Yu Jiao took the towel and wiped the dirt off Fei Ge'er's face. She asked him in a gentle voice, "Why did you come to the capital alone?"
Fei Ge'er's tears fell, "My mother is gone. She asked me to come to the capital to look for my sister, but I don't know where my sister lives..."
Yu Jiao listened carefully for a long time before she figured out that after Liu Sanniang left Changkui, she took Fei Ge'er to a small village in Cangwu County in Lingnan. Last year, Baiyue had a new king, and they often harassed border villages, burning, killing, looting and committing all kinds of atrocities. Once, the Baiyue people rioted in the village where Liu Sanniang and her son settled, robbed women and stole food. Liu Sanniang was seriously injured by the Baiyue people. Fortunately, the Lingnan army arrived in time and saved her life.
"If I hadn't gone to school that day, I could have protected mother, and she wouldn't have been so seriously injured and couldn't recover..." Meng Fei blamed himself and burst into tears, "Mother was going to come to the capital with me, but she couldn't hold on on the way..."
He originally thought that he would be able to find a good doctor when he came to the capital. With his elder sister here, maybe his mother's injury could be cured...
Yu Jiao held Fei Ge'er in her arms and comforted him softly. Although she and Liu Sanniang had no mother-daughter relationship, she still couldn't help feeling sad when she heard that the person had passed away.
Yu Jiao said, "Didn't mother tell you to go to Liu Ci Fu's house to look for me? Why are you wandering on the streets in the capital?"
"I went to the residence of Lord Liu, but was chased out by the gatekeeper, and I couldn't get my words in." Fei Ge'er replied, "After my mother passed away, I continued on my journey with her ashes, but I met thieves on the way, and all the money I had was stolen. I had to beg all the way to the capital."
He was dressed like a beggar and had no token. He just said he wanted to see the third daughter of the Liu family. How could the gatekeeper pass the message?
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