Just hearing her name
Upon hearing this name, Lee Soo-man's face stiffened considerably. When they first arrived in Lingnan, Xiao Jiu often asked Zhang Chunfeng when he would arrive, but later she asked less frequently, and Zhang Chunfeng became increasingly mentally impaired, completely unaware of the name.
No one around asked, so Lee Soo-man hid the name deep in his heart, like a bright needle hidden there. As long as his heart didn't move, it wouldn't hurt.
Xiao Jiu's cries today stirred Lee Soo-man's heart, causing him to feel pain again.
As soon as Xiao Jiu finished speaking, she noticed that Li Xiuman's expression was off. If neither she nor Li Xiuman knew about Zhang Chunfeng, he should have been as overjoyed as she was. Why was he like this?
The doubts that had been lurking in my heart finally began to sprout.
"Brother, did you already know that sister would pass the high school entrance exam?"
Lee Soo-man was stunned again. Xiao Jiu's eyes were too bright and too innocent. Lee Soo-man really didn't know how to tell this lie again.
He hesitated, unsure of what to say, but Xiao Jiu had already understood from Lee Soo-man's silence.
"Brother, have you been lying to me all along? You knew all along that Sister Chunfeng wouldn't come! Why are we here!" Xiao Jiu shouted, grabbing Li Xiuman's hand tightly.
"Brother, we're family! Shouldn't family be together? Let's go to Kyoto to find Sister!" Xiao Jiu blinked, almost unable to imagine what Kyoto was like. Her sister was an official in Kyoto!
Xiao Jiu was immersed in joy when she suddenly felt Lee Soo-man slowly pull his hand away.
“Xiao Jiu, we can’t go to Kyoto.” He said stiffly, “We will have to live separately from Chunfeng from now on.”
"Why?" Xiao Jiu frowned, but then remembered that Li Shi was also with Zhang Chunfeng!
"Mother is still with my sister, how can we abandon her! Mother is our own mother!"
Li Xiuman shook his head, "We separated from Chunfeng. Mother lives with Chunfeng, and we live together."
Xiao Jiu understood the meaning of dividing the family property; the two brothers would eventually separate when they grew up. But Li Shi hadn't passed away, and they didn't have any property to divide. Even if they were to separate, they could do so in Jiangnan, so why did they have to go all the way to Lingnan?
“But now that my sister is an official, if we go to him we’ll have money to pay for Brother Chun’s medical treatment,” Xiao Jiu reminded. “Besides, we haven’t seen Mother and Sister for a year. Even if we’ve separated from the family, we can still go and visit them.”
Li Xiuman shook his head, "Xiao Jiu, Mother doesn't want to see us."
Xiao Jiu sat silently in the chair, still unable to understand the ins and outs of this matter. What did she mean by "Mother wouldn't want to see them"? That was her own mother! How could that be? Xiao Jiu's stomach rumbled. She looked at Zhang Chuntian, who was lying on the bed with a high fever, and then at Li Xiuman, whose face was pale.
There are such high-ranking officials in the capital, yet they don't seek them out; are they destined to starve to death? Xiao Jiu racked her brains for a reason, thinking and thinking...
Realize it all at once!
"Could it be that after you went to high school, you abandoned us because you thought we were poor?" Xiao Jiu shook her head as soon as she finished speaking. Zhang Chunfeng clearly said that we would all be family from now on, so how could he abandon her?
"Xiao Jiu, don't even think about it anymore. Chunfeng has nothing to do with us anymore," Lee Soo-man said stiffly.
Xiao Jiu's cheeks puffed up with anger. "Brother, what can't you tell me! Why is it none of our business! We're family! She's now the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and what about us? If we don't go to find our sister, are we just going to watch Chun Tian die of illness here?!"
Li Xiuman soaked a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from Zhang Chuntian's forehead.
"I'll always find a way to make money. Don't worry, I'll look for a way to make money tomorrow when I feel better."
Xiao Jiu was still stomping her feet on the ground.
“Brother, why can’t you understand me? You’ve managed to save Chuntian this time by finding money, but what if the miasma comes again? The weather is alright now, but what will we do when torrential rains rage in Lingnan in July and August? Since ancient times, apart from those who have been exiled, people in Lingnan have always fled. We’ve come all the way from the wealthy Jiangnan region to here; people will laugh their heads off if word gets out! Mother originally said someone would take care of us, but now we’ve fallen out with that person and been kicked out. What’s the point of staying here? Why not go back to Jiangnan? Are we just going to wait here for the torrential rain to come?”
Li Xiuman sighed deeply. How could he not know that Lingnan was really not a suitable place to live? The relatives that Li had mentioned turned out to be people with ulterior motives. He should indeed go back to Jiangnan. At least he would still have some land back in his hometown and wouldn't starve to death.
Can...
He had promised the Li family that if he returned after this matter, and if the Li family...
What exactly did he say to Xiao Jiu? Did he say that he and Zhang Chuntian were not brothers at all, but rather his male wife? Did he say that as a male wife, he had not fulfilled his duties and had secretly pledged his life to his sister-in-law? Did he say that his mother, Li, had once knelt before him with scissors, begging him to leave Zhang Chunfeng?
"Xiao Jiu, we really can only stay in Lingnan for the rest of the year," Li Xiuman said helplessly.
Looking at the silent Lee Soo-man, Xiao Jiu felt for the first time that he really had a lot of things he was hiding from her.
Why keep it from me?
"Does your brother think I'm not a member of the Zhang family after all, which is why he's hiding so much from me?" A thirteen-year-old child can't learn to be polite yet. A person who has been wandering for years and hasn't felt loved is most prone to getting stuck on trivial matters.
Upon hearing Xiao Jiu's words, Lee Soo-man hurriedly pulled her into his arms.
"What are you saying? I didn't mean that. I also want to go to Kyoto, but... Xiao Jiu, I'll talk to you when you grow up." Lee Soo-man's embrace was still so dry and warm. Every time Xiao Jiu was hugged, she sincerely thanked Zhang Chunfeng.
She was the one who took her in, gave her a home, and let her experience what it's like to have an older brother.
Xiao Jiu didn't say anything, took the handkerchief from Li Xiuman's hand, told Li Xiuman to rest, and said she would take care of Zhang Chuntian herself.
She didn't mention Zhang Chunfeng again, but while she didn't mention him during the day, Xiao Jiu had a series of questions on her mind as night fell.
Why is this happening? Why is this happening?! If Li Xiuman won't tell us, then we can only ask Zhang Chunfeng! Sister Chunfeng probably doesn't know how hard things are for us. If my brother doesn't want to go, I'll go myself. We don't even have to meet! I can get some money to treat Zhang Chuntian's illness.
Xiao Jiu carefully planned her next move. She didn't believe Li Xiuman could make any money; even if he did, it would be from hard labor. Such money wouldn't guarantee a proper meal, and it wouldn't last. Her only options were to go to Kyoto to find Zhang Chunfeng or return to Jiangnan to farm.
Lee Soo-man will not choose either path, and will only starve to death here! If his elder brother will not choose, then Xiao Jiu can!
Having figured this out, Xiao Jiu tiptoed out of bed. She had no luggage to begin with; when she fled from Lingnan to Jiangnan, she had taken nothing and simply wandered off. If she could make it to Jiangnan alone then, she could make it to the capital alone this time! Xiao Jiu put on her shoes, took only a steamed bun left over from last night, and was about to leave when she suddenly saw Li Xiuman holding a bracelet in her hand.
She naturally recognized the bracelet; it bore Zhang Chunfeng's name. Xiao Jiu suddenly realized that if she arrived in the capital like this, no one would believe she knew Zhang Chunfeng. Having a token might save her a lot of trouble.
"Brother, I'm leaving." Xiao Jiu whispered in Li Xiuman's ear, then carefully took the bracelet from Li Xiuman's hand and put it into her own pocket.
Because Zhang Chuntian was sick, he slept alone in the bed. Xiao Jiu and Li Xiuman had been sleeping together on the floor for more than a month. Li Xiuman had no suspicion of Xiao Jiu. When his bracelet was taken away and he heard the sound of the door opening, he thought Xiao Jiu had gone to relieve herself at night and continued to sleep without opening his eyes.
The nights in Lingnan are short, so Xiao Jiu quickly left the house and ran towards the capital under the hazy moonlight.
The Zhang residence in the capital.
Last year, Zhang Chunfeng was promoted to Minister, and the Empress bestowed upon him a new mansion, which was twice the size of his original residence and located even closer to the center of the capital.
This courtyard, with its unique scenery, exudes an indescribable sense of gloom.
On the surface, people came in droves to pay their respects to Minister Zhang, but in reality, his servants all knew that once Minister Zhang returned home, he always stayed in his house. He went to court and returned home daily, and then did nothing else. Whether the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel had the leisure to wander around his large residence is another matter entirely.
"My lord, the old woman is waiting for you in the backyard." That day, Zhang Chunfeng had just finished court when his maid came to report.
Zhang Chunfeng's face showed no joy or happiness. He nodded slightly and went to his room to wash and change.
Once everything was tidied up, she slowly walked to the backyard.
Dressed in fine silks and satins, Madam Li sat gracefully in the hall. In the past, due to poverty, Madam Li could only afford coarse clothes. Now, she changes her outfits three times a day, wearing fine silks, satins, gold, jade, and jewels in turn. Zhang Chunfeng used to think that his mother was short and thin, but now, dressed in such fine clothes, her wrinkled face looked much younger.
"Spring breeze, why is it taking so long?"
“Mother spends her days either making clothes or listening to music; she has no idea how tired I am from going to court.” Zhang Chunfeng’s words were barbed, and Li sighed slightly but did not take offense.
"I'm doing this for your own good. How can I not go when other mothers invite me? Other mothers dress up like this, so I naturally have to dress well too, so as not to embarrass you. Besides, how much money can I spend on clothes?"
“Mother can spend as much as she wants. I’m afraid she won’t spend any money, and then others will say I’m unfilial.”
“How could your mother say such a thing? Your mother only feels sorry for you, Chunfeng, look.” Madam Li pointed to the ebony boxes in the hall.
"General Duan returned to the capital this morning. He didn't even see his own father, but came to bring you these things. I can tell that General Duan really likes you. His father is the General Who Stabilizes the Nation, and he's good-looking too. What do you think..."
Before Li could finish speaking, Zhang Chunfeng let out a cold laugh.
"He returned to the capital from Lingnan, and instead of seeing his own father, he came here. From a etiquette standpoint, this is already highly inappropriate. Yet you still accepted these gifts. Do you know that when I was still in court, I knew that among the gifts he sent were two tiger skins, which were originally intended for the Crown Prince. Now they're all mine? Do you think your daughter is more noble than the Crown Prince? That she can afford to suffer such a loss?"
Madam Li was stunned. How could a woman like her understand the intricate web of relationships within the court? Her mouth opened slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but she knew perfectly well that the tiger skin that originally belonged to the Crown Prince had ended up in her own daughter's possession! What if the Crown Prince were angered!
“Chunfeng, Mother, Mother doesn’t know any of this. I just think this tiger skin is really warm. This capital is much colder than Jiangnan. If you make a coat or scarf out of tiger skin in winter, it will keep you warm. Mother really keeps you in her heart all the time. I never expected it to be like this.” Li explained anxiously, looking at the trunk full of Lingnan specialties she had scavenged and complaining bitterly.
Born in Jiangnan, she had never seen anything like this from Lingnan before. So as soon as General Duan left, she hurriedly took a ruby hairpin from the box. The ruby on the hairpin had beautiful patterns that looked like flowers and grass, and it matched any of her clothes.
Lady Li hesitated, touching the hairpin in her hair. "Should we send everything back? Or just give the tiger skin to the Crown Prince?"
"Mother really knows how to make things difficult for me. Everyone in the capital knows that General Duan sent me these things, and I'm going to send them back in such a grand manner? Wouldn't that be a slap in the face to General Dingguo? As for His Highness the Crown Prince, does he really like receiving things that I don't want?"
Li was at a loss, and then Zhang Chunfeng continued his barrage of words, "Mother still wants me to marry General Duan. Little does she know that once the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked? After the Empress ascended the throne, the country was peaceful and there were no more foreign invasions. The current focus is on improving people's livelihoods, which is why I have been given an important position. The Empress values me and is wary of the Duan family's military power, yet you want me to marry into the Duan family. You are truly pushing me into a fire pit."
“I, I, Mother really didn’t have such thoughts. Mother never formally went to school, only learned a few words as a maid. Chunfeng, how could Mother have thought of such things? You are Mother’s daughter, how could Mother push you into a pit of fire?” Li Shi said, trying to squeeze out tears again.
Zhang Chunfeng waved his hand lazily, "From now on, Mother, you just need to go listen to music and make clothes. Don't worry about anything else, or you'll break my head sooner or later."
Li nodded repeatedly, looking at Zhang Chunfeng's increasingly handsome face, and sensing the irritation in her daughter's eyes.
Zhang Chunfeng turned to leave, while Li Shi gazed at the chest full of jewels.
"Spring Breeze, aren't you going to return these things?"
“My mother is already wearing the hairpin, why should I send it back?”
Li knew her daughter was still angry, but she wasn't afraid of Zhang Chunfeng being angry. After all, it was her own child, what could she possibly do to her mother?
She touched the hairpin in her hair, thankfully she had kept it.
After touching the hairpin, she looked at the two thick tiger skins and felt their fine texture. Suddenly, Li realized that the tiger skins came from Lingnan.
Lingnan. Li frowned, thinking of Lingnan and Li Xiuman.
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