Liaodong Prefecture was located in the northeast of Daliang. To the east, Changbai Mountain served as a barrier, with Goguryeo ruling across the mountains. To the west, it bordered the Greater Khingan Mountains, while to the north, Liaohaiwei and Tielingwei were established to defend against the Jurchens from the north.
Traveling northwest, the impact of the earthquake gradually diminished until we reached a small county town near Liaodong Prefecture.
After passing this county town, it would take another half a day to reach Liaodong Prefecture. Seeing that it was getting late, Xu Rao told everyone to stay at the post station in the county town.
Qingqing was taken from her hometown town all the way here. She was very quiet the whole way. Sometimes she lay quietly in the carriage, and sometimes she sat and stared blankly at the places the carriage passed by. The scenery was something that a girl of ten years old had never seen before. Because her only relative had passed away, the novelty of seeing new things had vanished.
Chen Zhaoci arranged for a stretcher to move Qingqing from the car to her room at the inn.
Chen Zhaoci looked at Qingqing's legs and said with a smile, "The recovery is going well. Qingqing, you're still young and your body is in good shape. Your legs will definitely be the same as before in the future."
Qingqing smiled slightly at Chen Zhaoci. Chen Zhaoci sighed, stroked Qingqing's hair, and said, "Qingqing, can you tell me what you're thinking?"
Qingqing glanced at Chen Zhaoci, then lowered her head again, twisting her clothes with both hands, creating deep creases in the coarse cotton fabric.
Seeing Qingqing's expression, Chen Zhaoci knew that the girl had many worries on her mind, but she didn't know how to express them. So he simply sat down on the edge of the bed and said, "Qingqing, your master is your grandfather's friend of many years. Whether it's because of the friendship between your master and your grandfather or for some other reason, it's the best choice for your master to adopt you. In the future, your master won't stay in one place for long. He will take Abo and Ayuan to see different places. Qingqing, if you follow your master, you can see different scenery in different places."
Qingqing nodded gently and said, "Madam, I know all of this."
Chen Zhaoci wasn't really good at communicating with such a young girl. She had raised Xu Zhi herself. Although Xu Zhi wasn't a particularly outgoing person, she was understanding and always had Granny Lu by her side. Therefore, Chen Zhaoci had never known how to figure out what a young girl was thinking.
Chen Zhaoci said, "Qingqing, actually, if we really want to talk about it, I am the most suitable person to take care of you, but it was Mr. Wu who brought it up first. Since he brought it up, he must have his reasons."
Hearing this, Qingqing raised her head and looked at Chen Zhaoci carefully. Chen Zhaoci smiled slightly and said, "Mr. Wu and your grandfather were in the same examination. He was the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination back then. However, due to many things, Mr. Wu resigned from his official post and went into seclusion. Mr. Wu is our family's maternal uncle. We invited him to be the teacher of our two children. Qingqing, Mr. Wu has already said that he will take you to travel all over the territory of Daliang in the future so that you can receive an education like a boy."
Upon hearing this, Qingqing looked somewhat confused. Chen Zhaoci said, "Think about it carefully."
After Chen Zhaoci came out of Qingqing's room, he saw Wu Muyue standing in the courtyard with his hands behind his back. That night, the moon was bright and the stars were few, and the moonlight was like water. Chen Zhaoci saw that Wu Muyue's back was slightly hunched and felt that the old man's life had been quite bumpy.
Hearing Chen Zhaoci's footsteps, Wu Muyue turned around and asked, "How did your talk with Qingqing go?"
Chen Zhaoci said, "The little girl has probably suffered a great shock and is very insecure. She is not quick to accept information from the outside world, and her behavior shows that she is confused because of the unexpected death of her only grandmother. Even though you have told her that you want to adopt her and take care of her, she still feels that it is not real."
Wu Muyue nodded and said, "It's not even ten years old yet, it's really tough on her. Come with me inside again, I have something I want to say to her."
Chen Zhaoci agreed and led Wu Muyue to the door of Qingqing's room. They faintly heard sobbing. Chen Zhaoci did not knock, but stood at the door and looked at Wu Muyue. Wu Muyue naturally heard the panting coming from inside the room and raised his hand to knock on the door.
After a while, I heard someone inside say "Please come in," their voice thick with a nasal tone.
Upon seeing Chen Zhaoci and Wu Muyue, Qingqing quickly wiped her eyes again.
Chen Zhaoci moved a chair for Wu Muyue and placed it in front of Qingqing's bed. After Wu Muyue sat down, he looked at Qingqing carefully and said gently, "Qingqing, do you know you have an aunt?"
Qingqing nodded and said, "Grandpa Wu, I know. My grandmother once told me that I had an aunt, but she passed away a long time ago."
Wu Muyue said, "Your aunt is named Haoxin. She was born before our college entrance examination. I had just met your grandfather at that time. Your grandparents rented a courtyard in the capital with your newborn aunt. I went to give her a full moon gift when she turned one month old."
As Wu Muyue spoke, his thoughts drifted back to decades ago. Back then, not only he but also his classmates were full of vigor and ambition after passing the imperial examination. They were eager to make a name for themselves in the future and not let down their years of hard work.
Wu Muyue said, “Your Chen family is a prominent clan in the area. Your grandfather was from a branch of that family. After your aunt was born, your grandfather insisted on naming her according to the order of the men in the family.”
These were all things Qingqing had never heard of before, and she listened intently as Wu Muyue spoke.
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