Chapter 95 The Lost Little Bell
After parting ways with Chen Baixun, Fu Yunxiu fell seriously ill upon returning home. He felt weak all over and lacked energy, sometimes staring blankly for hours at a time. The doctor said it was a heart ailment, commonly known as "heart-loss syndrome."
As the saying goes, a mental illness requires a mental cure. Since Mantou couldn't get anything out of Fu Yunxiu, he could only secretly go to Aman.
He had originally intended to explain the events of that year to Aman and ask her to come and see him, but after learning that Aman was about to get married, he kept quiet.
Ah Man is doing well now, and we shouldn't bother her anymore.
And he finally understood what the young master's heart problem really was.
Nothing is more heartbreaking than watching your loved one marry someone else.
Fu Yunxiu lay in bed in a daze for seven or eight days, and before he knew it, it was the 27th of the twelfth lunar month.
As the festive atmosphere of the New Year grows stronger in the city, Mantou feels a pang of longing as he watches the crowds coming and going on the streets every day.
Years ago, when Aman was around, the two of them would handle all the New Year's preparations, and the young master would occasionally offer some suggestions. Later, after Aman left, he took over the task alone. This year, however, he's far from home, and even going out to experience the festive atmosphere has become a luxury.
"Young master, why don't you go out for a stroll? You haven't left the house for days." "I heard Cuiping Street is quite lively, let's go take a look. How can you get better if you stay indoors all the time?"
After much pleading and dragging, Mantou finally managed to pull Fu Yunxiu out of the inn.
According to Xiao Er, if you walk through this street and then two more streets, you'll reach Cuiping Street. It's the largest and most bustling market in Bingzhou City. During festivals, it's filled with vendors selling food, lanterns, monkey shows, and street performers—it's incredibly fun!
The master and servant walked through the streets, and in the distance, Mantou saw a troupe of acrobats performing by the roadside.
"Young master, let's go take a look." Mantou was very interested and pulled Fu Yunxiu to go over.
Fu Yunxiu wasn't interested in this, and he didn't like squeezing into crowds, so he just waited in a less crowded spot.
The steamed bun squeezed around for ages but couldn't get a good spot; all it could see were the backs of other people's heads.
"Young master, let's go!" Mantou looked dejected, but then his eyes lit up when he saw the food stalls nearby. "Young master, there are roasted chestnuts over there. I'll go buy some to try."
It seemed that Mantou had really been cooped up in the inn these past few days, finding everything fascinating. Fu Yunxiu let him be, and the two walked around, stopping here and there, until Fu Yunxiu spotted a general store.
The display was filled with toys that children love: rattles, spinning tops, diabolos, and all sorts of other things. But what caught Fu Yunxiu's eye the most was the small pink clay figurine, with its tiger-headed, adorable appearance, and a perfect resemblance to the little girl.
Subconsciously, Fu Yunxiu walked towards that stall.
"Hey sir, take a look and see what you'd like. These are all the latest trendy gadgets."
"How much is this clay figurine?" Fu Yunxiu picked up the clay figurine and looked at it, liking it more and more as he looked at it.
"This costs eighty coins. If you really want it, I'll give you a discount," the stall owner said enthusiastically.
But Fu Yunxiu didn't haggle anymore and directly told Mantou to pay.
This was the first time Fu Yunxiu had felt the urge to buy anything after walking all this way. Mantou looked at it with curiosity, and after paying, he turned around and saw Fu Yunxiu holding the small clay figurine, looking like he couldn't put it down.
In that instant, Mantou suddenly realized something.
Young master, could it be that you bought this clay figurine because of Aman's daughter?
Thinking about it carefully, the little girl was cute and adorable, and her eyes narrowed into slits when she smiled, which seemed to resemble this clay figurine somewhat.
But Mantou always wanted to know if that little girl was actually the young master's child.
He didn't dare ask Aman, but judging from the little girl's figure, she was only two or three years old, which matched the young master's appearance. But if she really was the young master's child, he didn't seem to care at all that Aman was marrying someone else with his daughter.
Mantou was truly confused. She wanted to ask the young master, but she was afraid of touching on his painful past. After all, the young master was still heartbroken over Aman marrying someone else.
After walking for a while, Mantou felt hungry and wanted to ask Fu Yunxiu whether they should eat lunch here or at the inn. But as he turned around, he bumped into a child.
The little girl was dressed in a pale yellow winter outfit, but there was something black stuck to the white fur of her little cape, which looked rather out of place.
The little girl was bumped on the bottom by a steamed bun and sat on the ground wailing.
The loud crying immediately attracted a crowd of onlookers.
Mantou panicked immediately. He had never coaxed a child before, especially a delicate little girl.
Just as he was panicking and at a loss, Fu Yunxiu suddenly noticed something amiss.
He squeezed through the crowd, picked up the child, and said, "Little Bell."
The little girl in his arms froze for a moment, then, upon recognizing a familiar face, shrank into his arms and cried even louder.
"Waaaaah... Uncle Fu..."
Upon hearing the name Xiaolingdang, Mantou immediately realized, "Isn't that Aman's daughter's name?"
Taking her little hand away from her eyes, I exclaimed—it really was Ah Man's daughter! She had been crying with her eyes covered, and I hadn't recognized her at all.
The children are here, but where are the adults?
Mantou looked around but couldn't see Aman.
Fu Yunxiu also noticed the problem. There were many people on the street now, and the little girl had probably gotten separated from Aman.
I wonder how worried Aman must be when she finds her child is missing.
"Mantou, look around and see if Aman is nearby," Fu Yunxiu said.
"Okay," Mantou nodded in agreement, dispersing the crowd of onlookers. "Alright, alright, stop watching, everyone, disperse."
The little girl in his arms had stopped crying, but she was still very upset and kept sobbing. Fu Yunxiu gave her a clay figurine to play with, and after a long while, she finally stopped crying.
Fu Yunxiu then asked, "Little Bell, tell your uncle, why are you here all alone? Where is your mother?"
"I... Uncle Feng took me to eat candied hawthorns, and my mother bought clothes." Little Bell's voice had a slight nasal tone, and it was soft and sweet, just like a glutinous rice ball.
Uncle Feng?
This must be the pedantic scholar Chen Baixun mentioned. At the time, I thought Chen Baixun was deliberately belittling this person out of jealousy, but I never expected that a scholar would be so unreliable, unable to even take care of a child.
Seeing that Xiaolingdang's hands were empty, Fu Yunxiu immediately ordered, "Mantou, go buy a string of candied hawthorns."
Upon seeing the food, the little girl smiled, but she still clung tightly to Fu Yunxiu's neck, as if afraid he would abandon her.
Her soft, warm little body pressed against his, her pink cheeks close to his, and the faint scent of milk emanating from her filled his nostrils. Fu Yunxiu felt his heart melt, and his voice involuntarily lowered.
The little girl was beautiful, and her smile made her look like a lucky baby from a New Year's painting. Although Fu Yunxiu had been ill for a few days, his handsome appearance remained undiminished. The sight of the two of them walking down the street naturally attracted a lot of attention. Many women, overflowing with maternal instincts, crowded around them, eager to get closer.
This put Mantou in a difficult position, as he had to guard against others getting hurt by touching Xiaolingdang and the young master, while also looking around for any trace of Aman.
On the other side, when Aman heard Feng Yan say that the child was missing, she felt a sudden darkness before her eyes.
During the Lunar New Year, the streets are full of people taking pictures of beggars, and she usually doesn't dare to let Xiaolingdang leave her side for even a moment.
Just now, Xiaolingdang saw other children eating candied hawthorns in the shop and cried and wanted some. When Feng Yan saw her talking to the shop owner about the price, he volunteered to take her there.
She trusted him, which is why she let him take care of the child.
"It's all my fault. I just saw the candied hawthorn vendor walk away and wanted to hurry up, but who would have thought... It's all my fault." As he spoke, he slapped himself.
“Now is not the time to worry about these things,” Aman said, not having the energy to comfort him. The most important thing was to find Little Bell. “Where did you get separated from her?”
"Just...just..." Feng Yan pointed left and right, his vague words making Aman jump up and down in frustration.
"Where exactly is it?"
"It's...it's over there." There were many people on the street, and he hadn't been paying attention to where he was going, so he was a little disoriented for a moment.
"Okay, I'll go look over there, you go to the east, and Aunt He, you go to the west." If Little Bell can't find anyone, she'll definitely panic and run around.
"good."
"Yes, madam."
The three split up. Aman called out Xiaolingdang's name while asking the vendors on the roadside, "Hello, have you seen a little girl, about this tall, with a bun hairstyle and wearing a light yellow winter coat?"
"Never seen it before, never seen it before."
"I don't know, I don't know."
"I didn't notice, I didn't notice."
With the year-end approaching, the streets are crowded and vendors are doing good business. Who has time to pay attention to a little girl?
"Little bell, little bell." Just when Aman was in a panic, she suddenly heard a familiar name called, "Aman."
That's the sound of steamed buns.
Aman followed the sound, but there was a large crowd, and he couldn't see anyone at all.
Ah, all Aman could say in response was, "Steamed bun."
Upon hearing the response, Mantou realized he hadn't misheard; it was indeed Aman's voice. He quickly said, "Don't worry, Little Bell is with us."
Upon hearing this, Aman's tense expression finally relaxed, and she seemed to lose all her strength, falling to one side. Fu Yunxiu appeared just in time to support her, saying, "Be careful."
Little Lingdang, nestled in Fu Yunxiu's arms, saw her mother, wrinkled her nose, and burst into tears, "Mother... Waaaaah..."
Aman carefully took the little bell and held it in her arms, gently stroking her back and coaxing her, "It's okay, it's okay, Mommy's here."
"Mantou and I were shopping over there when we saw Xiaolingdang alone on the road," Fu Yunxiu explained, looking around. "Xiaolingdang said she came with someone surnamed Feng to buy candied hawthorns, but where is he?"
“He went to find Little Bell too,” Aman said.
"Such a grown man, and he can't even watch a child properly," Mantou couldn't help but exclaim. It's fortunate they saw him; if he were being harassed by paparazzi...
Mantou really couldn't bear to think about what would happen if such a cute little girl fell into the hands of those people...
At that moment, Feng Yan also came all the way from the market in the east. When he saw the little bell in Aman's arms, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
“Little Bell,” he ran over quickly, and when he touched Little Bell’s warm hands, his heart finally settled down. “Luckily I found her, otherwise I would have regretted it to death. Little Bell, I was wrong today. Whatever you want, I will buy it for you as an apology.”
Little Bell was feeling very wronged at the moment, neither speaking nor looking at him.
Feng Yan patted her head, and then finally noticed the two people standing next to her. "It was you two who helped find my daughter. I am deeply grateful. It's almost noon, so why don't we have a simple meal together?"
“No need, it was just a small favor, Young Master Feng, please don’t be so polite,” Fu Yunxiu said.
Feng Yan was startled, "Brother, do you know me?"
Fu Yunxiu was taken aback, then realized he had let something slip. He quickly explained, "Just now, Xiaolingdang said that Uncle Feng brought her to buy candied hawthorns, so I guessed it was a lucky guess."
"I see," Feng Yan said with a hint of shame. "It was my carelessness that almost led to a serious mistake. I must thank you, brother. May I ask your surname?"
"My surname is Fu," Fu Yunxiu said.
"So it's Brother Fu," he said, taking two steps back and bowing. "Thank you for helping me find my daughter."
Ever since Feng Yan appeared, Fu Yunxiu's eyes hadn't left him. He always felt that this scholar Feng lacked the arrogance expected of a learned man, and his behavior was quite strange. Just now, he clearly saw a flash of disgust and annoyance in Feng Yan's eyes when he bowed.
Although it was fleeting, he saw it clearly.
What is he disgusted by, and what is he frustrated about?
Fu Yun was still confused, so when Feng Yan invited him to dinner again, he readily agreed.
"Thank you for your presence, Brother Fu. This way, please."
The restaurant was not far from where they had just been talking. After they sat down, Feng Yan called the waiter to order.
After everyone had ordered, Feng Yan then instructed the waiter, "By the way, don't put any coriander in any of the dishes. Also, cut the ginger into large pieces. And make sure the soybeans in the braised pork knuckle are cooked until very soft."
After saying that, he turned back and explained to Fu Yunxiu with a smile, "Little Bell is a bit picky about food, please forgive her, Brother Fu."
"Everyone has a child, more or less," Fu Yunxiu said with a smile.
Moreover, the little girl's dislike of ginger is quite similar to her mother's.
During the meal, Feng Yan took great care of Xiao Lingdang. Even when Xiao Lingdang grabbed his clothes with her hands smeared with sauce, he didn't mind at all. He even patiently wiped Xiao Lingdang's hands and peeled shrimp for her, looking every bit the loving father.
Little Bell was very dependent on him, often snuggling in his arms, and tilting her head back to wait for him to wipe her mouth after she got it dirty.
The two seem to have a good relationship.
Could it be that he misread it?
Could it be that he, like Chen Baixun, has preconceived notions that Chen Baixun has ill intentions because of his identity and position?
On the way back, Xiao Lingdang fell asleep. Feng Yan carried her and walked side by side with Aman, glancing at her from time to time, looking as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.
After looking at herself for a while, Aman asked, "Does Zizhong have something to say to me?"
"Hmm..." Feng Yan pondered his words, "At the beginning of the month, you and that Young Master Fu, did you already know each other? I heard his servant call you Aman. Aman is your nickname, how come I've never heard you mention it?"
“I didn’t mention anything that wasn’t important. I used to work for Young Master Fu’s family when I was in Yongzhou, so we know each other,” Aman said.
“Oh, I see,” Feng Yan continued, “Is that young master Fu from an extremely wealthy family? Judging from his words and actions, he doesn’t seem like an ordinary rich man.”
“He was the son of the Marquis of Cheng’an,” Aman thought for a moment, then changed her words, “Now, perhaps he is the Earl of Cheng’an.”
“I knew he didn’t look like an ordinary person.” Feng Yan nodded, looking thoughtful.
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