I was listening to their conversation when suddenly there was a knock on the door, and a small, childish voice said, "I want to eat rice and meat, let me in."
The voice sounded a lot like the little girl's. I looked at them and said, "Please don't open the door."
"No, she comes to the inn from the village every now and then to ask for food, and then she stays here and won't leave unless you chase her away."
"How could she do this? She should have been getting along so well with a family."
“Who says otherwise? They all come late at night, and they’re just kids. Who would chase them away?”
The cooks and girls all stepped back. I felt that she was no ordinary child; she knew where the post station was at such a young age.
"Open the door, or I'll kick it!" Someone outside actually started kicking, cursing and kicking at the same time. What a brat.
“Young master, this is common. After we close the door, she leaves, but she comes back after a while, so we close the door as soon as it gets dark.”
A few more curses came from outside, then there was silence. I shook my head and rubbed my forehead. Suddenly, the door was slammed shut, probably by a large rock.
"I'll smash you all to death! You won't give me any food or meat! You're bullying me because I have no parents, and you all think you should spoil me. If I don't eat enough, I won't grow tall."
She started cursing again, wondering who taught her that. The people in that village might be a bit strange, but surely they didn't teach her to behave like this.
All my sympathy and pity for her today have vanished.
The door was pounded on loudly, and I heard the sound of weapons. The little girl screamed that she saw a ghost and then fell silent. Finally, the door stopped banging. I wanted to go out and see what was happening, but Xie Yuancheng told me not to go out.
The girls inside were all asleep, and I dozed off too. In my drowsy state, I felt the door open. I quickly looked up, and it really was open.
It was Xie Yuancheng and Ling Wu who came back. I quickly got up and ran over to talk to them.
Xie Yuancheng asked Lingwu to handle the outside affairs, and only after taking me back to the house did he speak: "We saw him on the way here, but he didn't answer our questions, so we went to the village first. Now everyone in the village has fled, and we only found a sign with a 'shaking' mark."
"This child is strange; he dares to walk alone at night."
“I asked the people at the post station, and they said she’s been knocking on the door frequently for the past year or so, which is why I told you not to open it.”
“The people inside the house also told me that she would bang on the door; she’s so young and already causing trouble.”
“Ying’er~” Xie Yuancheng pulled me down to sit: “If my deduction is correct, she is probably the illegitimate daughter of some minister in the court who left her here. She is brought to the inn for meals from time to time, which is why she knows so much.”
"Huh?" I thought it really meant both parents were dead: "Who is it?"
"They must be relatives of the Empress, but they were abandoned. Now everyone in the village has fled, and there's no evidence. I should have stopped them back then, and it wouldn't have become an unsolved case."
"Wouldn't it be alright for a little girl like her to live in the village?"
"Don't worry, she'll throw a tantrum if she doesn't eat well. The fact that she comes to the inn to find food shows her strong survival skills. She'll be fine. You can't be soft-hearted. We don't have time to correct her mistakes. The children at home are still young, and we have so many things to do."
I nodded: "I already knew when she came to bang on the door, so I didn't think too much about it."
"That's good. I've already sent people to chase after them along the way. Hopefully, we can find some clues. Change your clothes; we're about to set off."
"So rushed?"
"I'm worried you might change your mind. We have limited capabilities right now, and we haven't even figured out the other party's background. We absolutely can't take any risks. Teacher wants Lingwu to help manage Linyang. Let's see if we have the chance in the future."
"Okay, I'll go right away."
We traveled through the night. Xie Yuancheng and Lingwu were in great spirits, and I had completely forgotten about the matter after traveling all that way. But just as we reached the gates of Linyang City, Xie Yuancheng received a letter and remembered it again.
It is said that the people who escaped took the little girl away overnight. She shouted loudly and even bit the horse, so she was discovered and captured.
I yawned: "I'm so sleepy, let's go back to the mansion first."
"Ying'er, aren't you curious about what happens next?"
"What's there to be curious about? I can guess it all. She was offered a good family to raise her, but she thought they were too poor and ran away."
"Truly clever." Xie Yuancheng rode his horse towards the mansion. I'd better not judge a book by its cover and misuse my sympathy in the future. Whether she can be pampered like a princess depends on whether she has the fate and some fools who can see through her.
I thought of the three little ones and forgot all about the whole incident. Back when Xie Yuancheng was being chased and assassinated, he was even younger than the little girl.
Besides, she is a descendant of the Empress's family, and I would never take care of her. My life is already unstable, and I'm not that generous or stupid to raise my enemy's child.
Without stopping along the way, my heart nearly leaped out of my chest when I saw the Marquis of Anle's residence. Li Ruowei and Meng Anshi were standing outside, and I ran towards them as soon as I dismounted.
"Ying'er~ You've gone too far, leaving me behind again!" Xie Yuancheng called from behind. I looked at Li Ruowei's little daughter in her arms; she was so adorable.
"Sister~ what's her name?"
Li Ruowei held her daughter in front of me and said, "I just gave her a random name, Yuan Cheng, that little rascal. Later I changed it to Yan'er, but her real name is Meng Yanran."
"He gave her a random name~" I touched Yan'er's little hand; she was still dirty, so it wasn't good to hold her.
“Ying’er, I didn’t just pick it randomly. A gentle smile has such a beautiful meaning.”
I've noticed that Xie Yuancheng isn't good at naming his daughters. He even wanted to name Su Ling "Beibei" (meaning "baby").
"Alright, you've all had a long journey. Come inside and wash up, then we can have a good chat."
Li Ruowei's casual remark was worth countless remarks from Xie Yuancheng. I followed them inside, but Xie Yuancheng and Ling Wu still had to see their teacher, so I wasn't going to go with them.
I had just finished washing and changing my clothes when I started combing my hair in front of the mirror, and Bizhu came in carrying several boxes.
"Madam, you're finally back home." She's a little more mature than before, but still very obedient.
"Bizhu, are you doing well at the manor? There are too many things going on outside. You went to the capital last time and then left."
“The young lady needs to be taken care of, and I saw that there were enough people in the Ji family, so I came back with her.”
Bizhu still loves dressing me up. When I told her about the little girl I saw on the street, her eyes practically popped out of her head.
"There is such a village in Linyang! Just thinking about tiptoeing into the house, shrinking your neck, thinking you're cute, but to outsiders you look like a ghost, and children are easily frightened."
"When I first heard it, I thought it was strange. We're all from the same village, how could someone be so heartless? Now that you talk about it, it's true that there's always a reason why someone is pitiful."
"Yes, when I went out with Miss, some beggar children reached out for money. We gave them some, and then they brought more children to ask for money."
"How could there be beggars in Linyang?"
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