Chapter 98 The Little Bell Disappears
Since the dressing was changed, Fu Yunxiu's wound has gradually improved, and in just seven or eight days, he was able to walk normally.
Chen Baixun said he wanted to celebrate and invited him to have tea at Yaoyuelou.
The Inviting Moon Pavilion is owned by the Chen family. It has three floors and occupies a huge area, making it a magnificent sight even in the entire Beishan Prefecture.
After Mantou gave his name, the waiter hurriedly bowed and led the two up to the third floor.
"This Moonlit Pavilion is my master's private place, and we never receive guests from outside," the waiter said, leading them inside, but they did not see Chen Baixun.
Tea was already prepared inside. The waiter brewed the tea and said, "My master will be here shortly, please wait a moment, young master."
After the waiter closed the door and left, Fu Yunxiu, having nothing to do, looked around.
The room was decorated with great elegance, featuring poems by literati, paintings by artists, and several pieces of porcelain that were placed perfectly.
Mantou's eyes were drawn to a painting, and upon closer inspection, he discovered it was an original.
“Young Master, the Chen family is quite wealthy; they even have genuine works by Master Qi Hong.” Mantou clicked his tongue repeatedly, but before he could speak, Fu Yunxiu suddenly gestured for him to be quiet. “Shh.”
Mantou, puzzled, stepped closer and heard a familiar voice, "Young master, it sounds like Aman."
Fu Yunxiu nodded. Although eavesdropping was not a gentlemanly thing to do, he also wanted to know what Aman was thinking.
"Why would my sworn brother ask this?" Aman asked, somewhat puzzled.
Last night, Xiaolingdang cried and begged for the Eight Treasure Gourd Chicken from Yaoyuelou. She was coming back from the shop and thought of bringing one for her, but she happened to run into Chen Baixun, who came to check the accounts.
Originally, it was just a matter of exchanging pleasantries, but unexpectedly, he changed the subject and asked about this.
"Never mind why I'm asking, I just want to know what you're really thinking. Is there really no possibility between you and Fu Yunxiu?"
Aman smiled but didn't say anything. The meaning was already clear.
"Why?" Chen Baixun was puzzled. "You two clearly still have feelings for each other, and Mantou made it clear what happened back then. He was wrong, but he was forced into it. He did take the wrong path, but at the wedding banquet that day, before he even saw what that woman was holding, he selflessly stood in front of you..."
Chen Baixun paused, "To be honest, at the beginning of the month, if I were in that position, I probably wouldn't have been able to be so resolute. I know that you agreed to the Feng family's marriage proposal not because you liked Feng Yan so much, but because Feng Yan was good to Xiaolingdang, and Xiaolingdang liked him too. You wanted to find a father for Xiaolingdang to complete her family. Since that's the case, and now Xiaolingdang also likes Fu Yunxiu, why don't you give each other a chance?"
From the explanation given by Mantou about what happened back then on the day Fu Yunxiu fell into a coma, Chen Baixun had already deduced that Xiaolingdang was not Aman's biological daughter. As for Xiaolingdang's background, Aman didn't say, so he didn't ask.
Aman remained silent for a long time before finally speaking, "Brother, it's not enough for Fu Yunxiu to like me or me to like him. There's a life between us."
Aman didn't say the second half of his sentence.
Therefore, she couldn't be with Fu Yunxiu without any reservations, and she couldn't pursue and enjoy happiness with a clear conscience.
"Brother, I'll pretend you never said those words, and please don't mention them again. I have other things to do, so I'll be going now." With that, Aman took the packaged gourd chicken and left.
Chen Baixun watched her departing figure for a long time before finally getting up and going to the next room.
Inside the Moon-Viewing Pavilion, Fu Yunxiu was still standing blankly by the wall.
"Did you hear everything?" Chen Baixun asked.
Fu Yunxiu didn't reply and silently returned to sit down.
"That's all I can do to help you," Chen Baixun said. "As for the rest, it's up to you."
"By the way, do you know what exactly is the knot in Yuechu's heart?" Judging from the conversation just now, Yuechu doesn't seem to be completely indifferent to him; it's just that she has a knot in her heart that she hasn't untied.
Fu Yunxiu shook his head. "I don't know either."
But he guessed it was related to Xiaolingdang's biological mother. She remembered that at the Cliff of Rewind, they said Aman was rescued by a widow with a child. Later, the widow and the child disappeared.
So back then, it was Little Bell's mother who helped Aman lure away the pursuers, but she accidentally fell off a cliff and died.
Perhaps, this is the root of Aman's inner conflict.
But it doesn't matter. Whether or not Aman can forgive him in the end, being able to see the mother and daughter from time to time and silently protect them is already a blessing for him.
After leaving the Inviting Moon Pavilion, Mantou was still troubled. "Young Master, should I go and ask Aman?"
"What do you want to ask?"
"What exactly happened at the Cliff of Reflection back then? You and Aman shouldn't be wasting your time like this." Mantou was very angry. If it weren't for the interference of the Shen siblings back then, the young master and Aman would probably be together long ago, and their little son or daughter would already be born. Instead, they're wasting their lives like this.
“No need,” Fu Yunxiu said. “Since Aman doesn’t want to talk about it, we shouldn’t dredge up his painful memories. It’s good enough as it is now.”
"But..." Mantou wanted to say something, but suddenly realized something was wrong and his eyes sharpened. "Young master, someone is following us."
Fu Yunxiu frowned. "Grab him."
The two quickened their pace, and the stalker, momentarily careless, lost track of them. Unconvinced, he ran forward to investigate, only to be suddenly appeared out of nowhere, grabbing him and pinning him against the wall.
“Tell me, who sent you to follow us?”
The man was restrained, but he still wouldn't behave, struggling incessantly while laughing and saying, "Young Master Fu, how have you been!"
Fu Yunxiu had never seen this person before, but from his address, he knew whose man he was. "Where is your master? Take me to see him."
"Heh, you want to see my master? No way." The man was pinned against the wall, struggling to speak, yet he remained defiant.
Mantou pulled a dagger from his waist, pressed it against the man's neck, and stabbed him an inch deep, drawing blood. "Since you won't talk, then I'll send you to see the King of Hell."
Feeling the coolness of the dagger and the warmth of the blood, the man realized he wasn't joking and begged for mercy, "No, no, no, don't kill me, I'll talk, I'll talk."
"Take us there," Fu Yunxiu said coldly.
The two followed him through an alley, and after several twists and turns, they entered a courtyard.
"Young Master Fu, please." The man gestured for him to enter, his smile malicious. Fu Yunxiu glanced at him, then pushed open the door and went inside.
Mantou wanted to go in, but was stopped by that person.
"Young Master?" Mantou was a little worried.
Fu Yunxiu waved his hand, "It's alright, you can wait for me here."
Outside, the wind was biting cold, but inside the house it was warm and cozy. Fu Yunxiu went inside, walked around the screen, and sure enough, he saw an old friend.
Shen Yan seemed to have been waiting for his arrival. Upon seeing him, she smiled brightly, took a teacup, and brewed hot tea. "Sit down."
Fu Yunxiu sat down but did not accept his tea. Shen Yan was not annoyed and smiled as he placed the teacup on the table, "You arrived a few days earlier than I expected."
Fu Yunxiu had no intention of exchanging pleasantries with him and went straight to the point, asking, "What are you planning to do now?"
"What am I going to do?" Chen Yan toyed with the wine cup in his hand. "Of course, I'm going to take your life. Do you want to see you and that concubine get back together?"
"So, you found Feng Yan's mistress?" Although it was a question, Fu Yunxiu was almost certain of it.
"It's me," Shen Yan said without hiding it.
He came to Bingzhou before the New Year and, upon learning that the concubine was getting married, began to plan the matter.
It makes no sense that his sister was jilted on her wedding night, lost all face, and hanged herself, while the culprit had a harmonious and happy marriage.
He wanted them all to experience the same suffering his sister had gone through.
He sent people to investigate Feng Yan, intending to ingratiate himself with him and then frame him. However, he didn't expect that the seemingly respectable man was actually a restless scoundrel, secretly keeping a mistress in the countryside, and even having a child with her already grown up.
He had someone reveal Feng Yan's impending marriage to his mistress, but he hadn't expected that the seemingly gentle woman would actually be so fierce, causing a scene at the wedding banquet with scissors in hand.
It's a pity that Fu Yunxiu wasn't stabbed to death.
So later, he secretly had someone switch Fu Yunxiu's medicine.
Although he really wanted Fu Yunxiu to pay for his sister's life, it seemed rather pointless for him to die like that. Torturing him would be more fun.
Chen Yan took a small sip of tea before speaking again, "Speaking of which, you should be thanking me. Otherwise, your little concubine would have been entrusted to the wrong person, and you would never have had another chance."
Looking at his former best friend's sinister appearance, Fu Yunxiu once again hated himself for falling into the trap so easily back then.
Although he didn't believe that someone as proud as Shen Jiao would commit suicide so easily, she did die, and Shen Yan went mad as a result. Over the years, no matter where he went, Shen Yan would relentlessly pursue him and make constant small moves.
Although not fatal, it is still quite annoying.
If he had been alone before, it wouldn't have mattered, but the problem is that now Aman and Xiaolingdang are here too, and he is very afraid that this madman will hurt them.
“Chenyan, take it out on me. Aman was innocent about what happened back then.”
"She's innocent?" Shen Yan scoffed as if he'd heard something ridiculous. "She's innocent? Does that mean my sister deserves what she got? Why should you all be laughing and having fun while she's left alone in that cold underground? Fu Yunxiu, this is what you owe her."
Therefore, whatever he does, he has to endure it.
Seeing that he still insisted on this explanation, Fu Yunxiu knew that there was no need to continue the conversation.
"Madman." With a curse, Fu Yunxiu stood up and left without looking back.
The servant who had been following Fu Yunxiu came in with a puzzled look after he left. "Young Master, you just let him go like that?"
"Don't worry, he will soon deliver his life into my hands himself," Shen Yan said confidently.
Fu Yunxiu didn't tell Aman directly about Shen Yan's trip to Bingzhou, fearing it would frighten her. He only said that the weather was getting warmer recently, and more merchants were coming to Bingzhou, so he told the mother and daughter to be careful when going out.
Aman was looking for a better private school for Xiaolingdang, and she ignored Fu Yunxiu's words. Seeing that she didn't take it to heart, Fu Yunxiu thought of talking to Chen Baixun, but when he arrived at the Chen family, he found out that Chen Baixun had recently gone out to buy goods and was not in Bingzhou.
Left with no other option, Fu Yunxiu had to spend his own money to hire a few skilled thugs from a security escort agency to protect the safety of the mother and child.
Time flies, and it's already March. The little girl has been attending the private school for ten days now.
Compared to when she was crying and refusing to leave Aman's side at the beginning, the little girl can now recite a long passage of the "Three Character Classic" and even talk and laugh along the way, telling stories of fun things that happened at school.
The private school that Aman found was excellent. The teacher was an old scholar who was highly respected in the area. It was said that he used to teach at an academy, but he had retired due to old age.
The old man was a restless fellow; he got anxious and restless staying at home with nothing to do. His son, being filial, opened a private school at home so the old man could keep up with his studies.
His son and daughter-in-law were often away from home, so the private school consisted mainly of the elderly couple and two servants who took care of them. The servants usually assisted with tasks at the school.
The neighbors are all familiar faces. If someone has something to do, they can come to pick up the child later, but it has to be someone they know. Otherwise, they will never let the child take away.
For this reason, Fu Yunxiu visited several times but never saw Xiaolingdang. He could only follow the mother and daughter after school, listening to them chat and laugh.
As the mother and daughter arrived at their doorstep, Aunt He came out and was surprised to see them. "Madam, why are you back at this hour? I was just about to pick up Miss."
"I was delivering something to a guest and happened to be passing by the school, so I picked it up on the way."
Aunt He missed the little girl terribly after not seeing her all morning, so she picked her up and showered her with affection, making the little girl giggle with ticklishness.
After lunch, Aman took a nap with Xiaolingdang, and then He Ma took her to the private school. Several ladies were coming to the shop for makeup trials in the afternoon, and she had to supervise them personally.
The ladies were all regular customers and trusted Aman's skills, so they were very easy to talk to. After trying only three makeup looks, they all decided to stay.
Aman saw them off and happened to run into Chen Baixun, who was returning from an outing.
“I went to the mansion to look for you, and Aunt He said you were at the shop, so I came to check on you.”
Chen Baixun's trip was partly for business purposes, and partly to gather information in Xuzhou on behalf of Aman.
The cosmetics shop is doing very well now, and Aman is thinking about opening a branch. Xuzhou is close to Bingzhou and its wealth is comparable to Bingzhou, making it a good choice.
Chen Baixun explained what he had seen to Aman in detail, saying, "You'll have to go and see for yourself the rest."
"Thank you for your trouble, sworn brother."
"Why are you being so polite with me? By the way, Mother said you should bring Little Bell to the mansion for dinner tonight."
Just as Chen Baixun finished speaking, Aunt He suddenly burst in.
Before she could even catch her breath, she hurriedly said, "Madam, something terrible has happened! We've received word from the private school that Miss is missing."
"What did you say?" Upon hearing this, Aman's vision went black, and she nearly fell backward, but fortunately Chen Baixun caught her in time.
"What do you mean 'disappeared'? Isn't Xiaolingdang attending the private school? How could she just disappear like that?" Chen Baixun asked.
"I...I'm not sure either." Aunt He was also jumping up and down anxiously. "The messenger said that the teacher was taking a break from get out of class, and Miss was playing in the yard with the other children. When they heard that there were people selling candied hawthorns outside, they all ran out in a swarm. When they called everyone back inside, they found that Miss was nowhere to be found."
“Oh, there’s one more thing,” Aunt He suddenly remembered, “The messenger also said that a few days ago, a stranger kept lingering at the entrance of the academy and even greeted the young lady from a distance, as if they knew each other.”
"Know him?" Chen Baixun frowned, and a certain person instantly popped into his mind.
"It must be that kid surnamed Feng who won't give up. Don't worry at the beginning of the month. Take Wu Ma and look around the academy area again. I'm going out for a bit." After saying that, Chen Baixun hurriedly left the house.
A few miles away at the Feng residence, the sound of a cup shattering was followed by a woman's angry roar. The door was slammed shut, and Feng Yan came out, covering his face. He glared at her pathetically and walked away dejectedly.
After being jilted by the Chen family that day, he had no choice but to marry Wu Niang to save face. Who would have thought that the person who had always been so gentle and obedient to him would become a completely different person after marriage?
Not only did she control everything he did, but she would also take her anger out on him whenever she was unhappy. Even his mother was subdued by her and took his father to live in the lumberyard, leaving him alone to suffer.
As Feng Yan stepped outside, a cold wind blew, and he realized that the shrew hadn't even given him a thicker coat before kicking him out.
Feng Yan pulled up his sleeves and took out some money, thinking of finding a tavern to buy some wine to warm himself up. However, in a secluded alley, he was shoved into a sack and beaten without explanation.
"Hey, stop hitting me! Stop hitting me! I'll give you whatever you want!" Just when Feng Yan felt he was about to be beaten to death, those people finally stopped.
The sack was taken down, and Feng Yan finally saw the light of day again.
A large foot stepped on his chest, and Chen Baixun looked down at him, "Feng Yan, if you don't want to die, hand over the little bell now."
Feng Yan recognized Chen Baixun as the person who had hit him, but before he could even utter a curse, he was already being stomped on and unable to breathe. Now, hearing his question, he was even more confused.
"Wh-what little bell? I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Don't know?" Chen Baixun increased the force of his footwork. "I see you won't shed a tear until you see the coffin. Men, keep beating him until he tells the truth."
Chen Baixun moved his foot away, and the thugs, who had received the order, seized the opportunity to move. Feng Yan was already terrified and hurriedly put on a smiling face, "No, no, no, I'll talk, I'll talk."
"I did have that idea before, to kidnap Little Bell and extort money from her, then take her to the capital for the imperial examination, but I didn't get a chance to do it. Now that Little Bell is gone, it really wasn't me, I really don't know anything about it!"
Seeing his tearful and snotty appearance, completely lacking the demeanor of a scholar, Chen Baixun was certain he wouldn't lie. "Really, it wasn't you who did it?"
"No, if I did it, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death," Feng Yan swore.
Realizing he had wronged someone, Chen Baixun gave a look to the thug beside him, who understood and tossed out a bag of silver.
"I have wronged you in this matter. Is this silver enough to make up for it?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Feng Yan nodded repeatedly. This silver was at least fifty taels, enough for him to escape from here to the capital. As long as he could get away from this shrew, what did he care about being beaten?
Watching Chen Baixun's departing figure, Feng Yan even smiled and said thank you.
Meanwhile, Aman and Aunt He had searched all the streets and alleys near the academy, but they couldn't find any trace of Xiaolingdang.
Moreover, when asked, people on the street said they had never seen a peddler selling candied hawthorns, which was quite suspicious.
As the sun was about to set and there was still no sign of Little Bell, Aman's legs went weak and she collapsed to the ground.
"Be careful," a pair of hands reached out from the void and supported him just in time. Aman looked closely and saw that it was Fu Yunxiu.
This was the first time since their reunion that Aman showed such helplessness in his presence. "Young Master, Little Bell, she..."
“Don’t worry, I know Little Bell is there,” Fu Yunxiu said.
He had just run into Aunt He on the street, who was completely distraught and searching everywhere for someone. He learned from her that Little Bell had gone missing.
Almost instantly, he became certain that Little Bell had been taken away by the people from the eaves.
No wonder the thugs from that escort agency suddenly came to him yesterday afternoon to resign, saying they needed to escort an important shipment. He didn't suspect anything at the time and was even thinking of finding replacements today, but before he could find them, Little Bell was lost.
This inevitably raises suspicions.
As Fu Yunxiu had predicted, Xiao Lingdang was indeed taken away by Shen Yan's people.
Yunzhi carried her to show Chenyan. The little girl struggled fiercely, twisting her body, almost making Yunzhi, who was skilled in martial arts, unable to handle her.
"She's quite a feisty girl." Chen Yan pinched Xiao Lingdang's chin and examined her carefully. "It's just a pity that she ended up with a father like that. You can't blame me for it."
"I don't have a father, my father is dead." Little Bell was trembling with fear, but still mustered up the courage to retort.
When she was very young, her mother told her that she could not call Uncle Chen "father" because her father had gone to a very far place and would never come back.
Shen Yan found it amusing. This Aman actually cursed Fu Yunxiu like that, which showed how much she truly hated him, and Fu Yunxiu didn't even refute her!
He chuckled, then suddenly a hint of malice crept into his voice. "Who said you don't have a father? That Uncle Fu who's always following you around is your real father. What, didn't your mother tell you?"
Upon hearing this, Little Bell was so startled that she stopped struggling.
It was at this moment that Chen Yan finally saw what the little girl looked like.
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt like he'd seen this girl's features somewhere before, especially her mouth and chin, which looked exactly like that person's.
Chen Yan was momentarily distracted, and his hand unconsciously tightened. The little bell was pinched so hard that it hurt, and in the struggle, it bit him hard on the tiger's mouth.
"Insolence!" Shen Yan snapped out of his daze and slapped her face away. Looking at the round teeth marks on his hand, which were faintly oozing blood, he said angrily, "Yun Zhi, throw her into the woodshed. Don't let her out without my order."
We need to properly curb the little girl's arrogance and fierceness.
Yunzhi left with Xiaolingdang in his arms. Shenyan looked at the tiger's mouth, which was becoming increasingly red and swollen due to congestion, and was about to go back to his room to treat it when Yunyin suddenly came in from the outer room.
"Master, Young Master Fu has arrived."
“You arrived quite quickly,” Shen Yan smiled lightly. “Just tell him I’m not here and he can leave.”
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Author's Note: The story is nearing completion, so I'm posting a pre-order link. Please subscribe to my author page.
"The Painted Lady Ming Zhao"
Ming Zhao, a working-class woman, transmigrates into the body of Jiu Niang, the youngest daughter of the Ming family in the Great Feng Dynasty.
The Ming family was a renowned lacquerware family, but unfortunately, they had few descendants. This branch even had three daughters in a row, and with no one to carry on the family line, the grandfather, Mingde, eventually died with regret.
Ming Zhao, who transmigrated from another era, received a favor from her grandfather. In order to repay her and carry on her last wish, she and her childhood sweetheart and fiancé, Zhou Yuanqing, searched through ancient books and studied diligently. Finally, they created a set of exquisite ancient lacquerware to use for the World Trade Conference.
Zhou Yuanqing said that the two of them would get married when he returned this time.
Mingzhao, awaiting marriage, received not the joyous news of her fiancé, but the news that he had been ambushed and killed on the way, and that the lacquerware had disappeared without a trace.
The newly appointed magistrate, Shen Tingsi, was in charge of investigating the matter and eventually discovered that the murderer was a Japanese.
*
Mingzhao said that at first, he just wanted to fulfill his grandfather's last wish and let him rest in peace. Later, he wanted to find a way out and pass on this skill.
Shen Tingsi: When I first met Mingzhao, I thought she was just a young lady living in the shadow of her parents. Later, I found that she was just like her name, wise and intelligent, and dazzling.
[The wise enlighten others with their own wisdom.]
It's probably the story of an inspirational young lady and her loyal magistrate.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
