Chapter 62 (Combined Chapter) Xiao Mingzhang, Azhi...
As night fell, a bleak autumn wind swept in from the grasslands, passing through the streets and alleys, and disappearing into the boundless city.
When Yunzhu returned home, little Mu Zhaozhi had already fallen asleep under Ayan's care.
Her serene face was nestled in the bedding, the candlelight by the bedside casting a faint glow on her cheeks through the curtains, concealing the traces of her weeping and leaving only a hazy, indistinct haze.
Ayan followed Yunzhu, intending to complain about Xiao Mingzhang, but Yunzhu turned around first and asked, "Did she cry a lot today?"
Ayan paused, then nodded.
"Xiao Mingzhang contacted you himself?"
Yunzhu didn't speak, but turned back to look at her daughter again, tucked the blankets in a little more, and then said, "Let's go outside to talk."
Yunzhu and Ayan went to another room. After Yunzhu closed the door, Ayan sat down in front of her, looking preoccupied.
"Ayan, do you think I should tell Azhi about Xiao Mingzhang?" Yunzhu's sudden question left Ayan feeling at a loss.
Ayan asked in a daze, "What confession? Why confess? Didn't you never intend to tell her about this?"
"Do you know why Azhi is crying today?"
"..."
Why?
Ayan didn't know why Mu Zhaozhi was crying today, but she knew that Mu Zhaozhi had lied to her.
She didn't find the bracelet she claimed to have lost at the Zhang family's house. After returning home, she had to take care of the little princess while also being terrified, unsure how to tell Yunzhu about it. Just now, after Mu Zhaozhi cried herself to sleep, she found the lost silver bracelet in her little satchel.
If she hadn't been so exhausted from crying today that she was already asleep, she would have definitely dragged her out of bed and demanded an explanation.
For children, lying is the worst thing they can do.
Seeing Ayan's puzzled expression, Yunzhu finally told her what she had said to Xiao Mingzhang a quarter of an hour earlier.
"..." After hearing this, Ayan finally fell silent, which was rare for her.
After a long while, she asked Yunzhu, "So, according to him, Azhi cried today because she felt disgusted that he had been staying here all the time?"
"Yes," Yunzhu replied.
“Then tell Xiao Mingzhang to leave!” Ayan’s eyes widened as she said directly, “Azhi cried because she disliked him being here. Wouldn’t it be better if he didn’t stay? Does his foot have roots and have to stay here? He is Azhi’s father. He keeps saying that he loves Azhi, so why is he unwilling to do anything for Azhi?”
“That’s what I think too,” Yunzhu added immediately.
Ayan raised an eyebrow, then heard Yunzhu say, "But Xiao Mingzhang is unwilling, and he said... Azhi already knows about his existence, and she won't forget him anytime soon. Not to mention, her classmates are all still young, and they're at the age where they're all talking at once and are the hardest to manage. Now that this has happened, it's basically impossible to avoid it in front of her..."
"So what exactly does he want?" Ayan frowned deeply, not understanding. If Xiao Mingzhang was unwilling to leave, then what right did he have to talk about Mu Zhaozhi?
"He wants me to tell Azhi everything about his affairs." Yunzhu took a deep breath. She had just told Ayan why Xiao Mingzhang had come to see her today, and now she was telling her about Xiao Mingzhang's plan.
Ayan asked in surprise, "What do you mean by telling Azhi everything?"
“Tell A-Zhi everything, including the good things and the bad things, including his identity, his background, and the things he did to me back then.”
"Wait, wait, wait..." Ayan gradually felt that her brain was not enough again. She said to Yunzhu, "Tell Azhi all these things? How old is she? Can she accept all of this?"
This is precisely where Yunzhu's confusion lies. She said, "Xiao Mingzhang said that Azhi's precocity far surpasses that of ordinary people, and she is completely different from ordinary children. As the elders she comes into contact with every day, what we need to do most with her is not to deliberately hide things, but to intentionally guide her and give her complete trust."
"What does all this mean?" Even though she had read a lot of books about the Central Plains over the years, Ayan still couldn't fully understand what Xiao Mingzhang was saying.
Yunzhu then explained to her: precocious children are always different from ordinary people, especially someone like Azhi, whose intelligence is too obvious. In fact, her mind is much more delicate than that of ordinary children of the same age. If she didn't know about Xiao Mingzhang, it would be fine. What's most worrying is that she only has a partial understanding now. She is curious on one hand, and on the other hand, she has been instilled with the idea that she is not allowed to have contact with Xiao Mingzhang. In this way, suffering will grow.
"So, according to his wishes, after telling Azhi his true identity, Azhi will no longer cry when she sees him or hears news about him in the future?" Ayan asked.
Yunzhu nodded: "That's roughly the idea."
"Then why should we listen to him?" Ayan retorted. "What if what he says isn't right, and if we tell Azhi those things, it will only make Azhi even more heartbroken?"
“Xiao Mingzhang said that the reason Azhi cried when she saw him was because we never gave her the power to choose,” Yunzhu added.
Ayan still didn't want to do as Xiao Mingzhang said.
He spoke so easily, leaving behind endless troubles that she and Yunzhu had to deal with.
Ayan wanted to persuade Yunzhu, but when she turned her head, she saw that Yunzhu was still thinking seriously.
She asked doubtfully, "You're not really considering it, are you?"
“Ayan…” Yunzhu responded softly, then looked up firmly and said, “I believe Azhi will choose me.”
"Princess!" Ayan was so anxious she wanted to spin around in circles, and pulled Yunzhu outside to calm her down.
But Yunzhu said, "You actually believe it too, don't you?"
"..."
Ayan immediately stopped in her tracks.
Yunzhu smiled gently: "Ayan, let's give it a try. Azhi is mine alone, and I believe that will never change. I want her to grow up happily. Since Xiao Mingzhang has already appeared, why don't we tell her what happened? She has the right to know..."
Her princess must have been bewitched by Xiao Mingzhang... After hearing Yunzhu's words, this was the only thought left in Ayan's mind.
But she really didn't have a good way to refute Yunzhu.
Because she also believed what Yunzhu said: no matter what choice Mu Zhaozhi was given, she would definitely choose them in the end.
This will never change.
—
Mu Zhaozhi woke up the next morning.
The little girl cried a lot yesterday, and her eyes still hurt a bit when she woke up this morning.
She rubbed her eyes, and Yunzhu had already brought a basin of hot water into the room to help her wash up.
Mu Zhaozhi looked at Yunzhu and murmured softly, "Mother..."
"Are your eyes sore from crying?" Yunzhu asked with concern.
Mu Zhaozhi nodded slightly, and Yunzhu said helplessly, "Scholar Cai will be back in a couple of days. I asked for leave from school today, so I'll give you all a day off as well. You don't need to go to school today; you can rest at home."
"No need to go to school anymore?" Mu Zhaozhi blinked, her face filled with unconcealed shock.
Yunzhu let out a soft chuckle and tapped her head: "What, you don't even believe what your own mother says?"
"Of course I believe you!" The little girl's voice was crisp, sweet, and soft; without any effort, it was a hundred times more fragrant than the osmanthus blossoms at the crossroads.
Yunzhu glanced at her daughter again, then pondered for a moment before saying to her, "Azhi, after you finish breakfast, Mother has something she wants to talk to you about, is that alright?"
"What do you need me to tell you, Mother?" Mu Zhaozhi asked innocently. Even though she was only two years old, she could already do many things for Yunzhu, such as borrowing needles and thread from the aunt next door, or buying sugar and salt from the Liu family at the street corner.
“It’s not those things,” Yunzhu chuckled, and said to Mu Zhaozhi, “It’s something your mother wants to tell you about Xiao Mingzhang.”
Xiao Mingzhang.
Mu Zhaozhi's expression changed instantly. She became bewildered, helpless, and confused, not knowing what her mother was trying to say.
Isn't Mother the one who hates talking about him the most?
Yunzhu saw Mu Zhaozhi's expression clearly. In a short moment, she sighed softly and didn't rush to say anything more to her. Instead, she urged her to go eat first.
After they finished their meal, she and Mu Zhaozhi sat facing each other, sitting upright.
Yunzhu asked, "Azhi, did you already know that that person was actually your father?"
Mu Zhaozhi nodded.
Even though she already knew the outcome, seeing her daughter admit it herself, Yunzhu couldn't help but close her eyes for a moment, giving herself time to accept the truth.
She then asked, "And Ah Zhi, what else can you guess about your...father, about him?"
Mu Zhaozhi shook her head, somewhat unsure what her mother was asking.
Yunzhu then explained, "Can you guess his identity, his status, what he does?"
That was the question. Mu Zhaozhi pondered for a moment and then replied, "He is from Yunzhou, and he is the heir of the Huan Prince's Mansion in Yunzhou. The heir of the Huan Prince... seems to be a very high-ranking official, and the emperor's grandson... right?"
In just about a month, she was able to guess so much?
Yunzhu's initial melancholy gradually turned into shock, and she couldn't stop smiling as she asked, "What else?"
"besides……?"
Mu Zhaozhi thought for a moment, then shook her head.
That's all she knew about Xiao Mingzhang. There were also some things she guessed about, like what happened between Xiao Mingzhang and her mother, but she didn't know if her mother wanted her to tell these things herself.
Seeing her daughter shake her head again, Yunzhu inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.
Perhaps she was too nervous, but Mu Zhaozhi, who was only two years old, already had such a strong reasoning ability, which made her feel a little scared.
Fortunately, that was all she knew.
Yunzhu then slowly said to Mu Zhaozhi, "Actually, I should have told you these things a long time ago, but Zhaozhi, I'm very selfish. I didn't want you to have any more contact with him, so I've kept it from you until now..."
“Mother is not selfish!” Yunzhu said gently, but was interrupted by Mu Zhaozhi halfway through her sentence.
Yunzhu smiled, knowing that she was protecting her. She continued, "Alright, Mother is not selfish. It's just that, Azhi, Mother did have some ulterior motives, which is why you still don't know your true situation."
“Azhi, your mother will tell you everything now. You should have been a member of the Central Plains royal family. Your father is Xiao Mingzhang, the heir of the Huan Prince’s Mansion in Yunzhou. As for your mother, I was once his wife, the heir apparent of the Huan Prince’s Mansion…”
The past is a long story.
Yunzhu hadn't reminisced in a long time, and when she suddenly brought it up again, she realized that her story with Xiao Mingzhang was actually quite long. She had intended to deliberately omit some of the sweet moments she and Xiao Mingzhang shared in the Prince's Mansion, but she felt that without mentioning those things, she couldn't fully explain everything to her daughter, so she still gave a brief account.
Mu Zhaozhi listened attentively throughout, and when she encountered something she didn't understand, she would ask Yunzhu for clarification.
Yunzhu was very patient and told her daughter the truth little by little.
The mother and daughter sat facing each other at the table. It was just before sunrise, but before they knew it, it was noon.
Today, Ayan was not at home, so Yunzhu deliberately sent her away. Finally, after noon, Yunzhu finished telling the story. She breathed a sigh of relief and said to Mu Zhaozhi, "That's the end of Mother's story, Azhi. Mother thinks you should know most of what you want to know. If you have any questions, you can ask Mother in the future. Mother can assure you that from now on, there will be no more things that I will hide from you."
"Why did Mother suddenly change her mind and tell me all this?"
Compared to the things from the past, what Mu Zhaozhi was curious about all morning was actually this.
Why is her mother, who never talked to her about these things before, telling her all of this today?
“Because…” Yunzhu paused, looking into her daughter’s pure eyes, and said, “Mother knows about what happened to the Zhang family yesterday.”
Mu Zhaozhi widened her bright eyes in an instant.
Yunzhu then widened her smile even more, saying, "Azhi, now that your mother has told you all this, from now on, our Azhi will have no weaknesses left, right?"
A weakness?
What is a weakness?
Mu Zhaozhi hadn't learned this word yet, but she could vaguely guess its meaning. She silently looked at her mother for a moment, and then suddenly put her little feet on the ground and rushed into her mother's arms.
“Mother, I understand. From now on, I will never cry again. Father is not good, and Mother doesn’t want him, so I won’t want him either. I will not cry because of Father anymore. I will only be with Mother. In this life, I will only be with Mother. Wherever Mother goes, I will go!”
Before Yunzhu could even ask, Mu Zhaozhi had already inadvertently delivered the answer she wanted directly to her.
Yunzhu stared blankly at her daughter who had suddenly rushed into her arms. Looking at her soft, dark hair, her heart melted instantly.
She hugged her daughter tightly, holding her slender, frail body close to her chest, burying her face in her neck, and said, "Yes, Mother knows. Azhi has always been Mother's good child, the most adorable child in the world!"
—
After explaining everything to Mu Zhaozhi, the next day, when Yunzhu went out and met Xiao Mingzhang again, she felt as light as a swallow.
She no longer had to hide everything from Mu Zhaozhi, nor did she have to be suspicious of Xiao Mingzhang, fearing that he might say something that would reveal her identity.
Because she herself had already exposed everything.
When she saw Xiao Mingzhang, she even greeted him after a long time.
Xiao Mingzhang looked at Yunzhu in surprise, and after confirming that she was greeting him, a relieved smile slowly appeared on his face, just like Yunzhu's.
It seems his idea worked.
After greeting Yunzhu, he then greeted Mu Zhaozhi, who was no taller than his knees.
“Azhi…” Xiao Mingzhang leaned down and said.
Mu Zhaozhi held Yunzhu's hand. In fact, when she first saw Xiao Mingzhang, she was a little nervous and wanted to avoid him. But she remembered what her mother had said and her mother's words, so she mustered up her courage and looked directly at Xiao Mingzhang.
"I will never cry with you again from now on," Mu Zhaozhi said solemnly, looking up at Xiao Mingzhang.
"Oh?" Xiao Mingzhang asked a thought-provoking question.
Mu Zhaozhi then said firmly and seriously, "You are not worthy to be my father. If my mother will not reconcile with you, I will not reconcile with you either. Don't even think about making a move on me again!"
She's still a child, and can't hide her thoughts. It would be a lie to say that Xiao Mingzhang wasn't hurt by Mu Zhaozhi's words, but compared to the Mu Zhaozhi in front of him a few days ago, he could clearly feel that the Mu Zhaozhi now was normal and relaxed.
So the feeling of relaxation ultimately outweighed all the sadness.
Xiao Mingzhang and Mu Zhaozhi looked at each other for a long time before he said to her, "Since you know everything, you must also know that I am trying to win you and Mother back. You can't speak too confidently, what if one day you come back to the Prince's Mansion with me?"
"You're dreaming!" Although it was still an unpleasant remark, Mu Zhaozhi's expression today was much better than in the past few days. She said this to Xiao Mingzhang with ease, without any sense of grievance or impending tears.
Xiao Mingzhang couldn't help but smile.
That day, he personally escorted Yunzhu and Mu Zhaozhi to the school.
These were Yunzhu's last few days working at the school. In three more days, Cai Xuejiu would return, and her temporary position as teacher would come to an end.
The rest was teaching the town's girls to ride horses and shoot arrows.
If we teach horseback riding and archery separately, Yunzhu's skills can be largely freed up.
At noon, the scholar's wife came and had lunch with Yunzhu, and asked her about her plans for the future.
"Is she only teaching the children to ride horses and shoot arrows, and nothing else?" The scholar's wife had seen Yunzhu's patience and care for the children these past few days, but since her husband was going back to teach, she couldn't keep Yunzhu. She could only hope that Yunzhu would have some other plans for the future.
Otherwise, given her abilities, it would be a waste for her to only be a horse riding and archery instructor.
"Teaching people to ride horses and shoot arrows doesn't earn much. Are you really not going to consider other options?"
"I'm not considering it for now." Knowing that the scholar's wife meant well, Yunzhu told her the truth, "I want to spend more of my remaining time reading books and spending time with Azhi."
"Reading?" The scholarly lady asked, puzzled. "Isn't reading something to do in your spare time? Why do you need to do it specifically? Azhi is mostly at school anyway, so why does she need you to accompany her all the time?"
"That's different."
Yunzhu shook her head. Mu Zhaozhi possessed extraordinary intelligence, a fact that almost everyone who had met her would realize. However, many people only noticed that the child was clever and did not think much further. As her mother, Yunzhu still had to think about how far Mu Zhaozhi, with her intelligence, would go in the future.
She didn't want to fall behind her daughter too quickly, and she didn't expect that in less than two or three years, Mu Zhaozhi would surpass her in the number of poems and characters she knew.
Anyway, she's not short of money. If she reads more books, not only will she and Mu Zhaozhi have more to talk about in the future, but she might also find some new things to do.
There are houses of gold and beauties in books.
Seeing that Yunzhu wouldn't listen to reason, the scholarly lady finally gave up. But after spending a short time with Yunzhu, she thought of Xiao Mingzhang again and suddenly asked, "What about your brother? I see he's so persistent and generous. Is he determined to take you back this time? He hasn't left yet. Do you have any plans?"
"..."
Unexpectedly, as they chatted, she brought up Xiao Mingzhang again. Yunzhu laughed twice and said, "No matter what, I will not go back with him."
The scholar's wife nodded.
These past few days, Xiao Mingzhang has been staying in this town, and she and her neighbors have gotten to know this man to some extent.
This is a man of considerable background and wealth, but his identity and background are unknown. His insistence on taking Yunzhu back suggests that he and his sister may have been born into a wealthy family, and therefore need their daughter to return for a marriage alliance.
Arranged marriage... In ordinary families, this word is rarely used. Only someone as beautiful and elegant as Yunzhu could make her feel that everything was reasonable.
It's reasonable to want her to return for a marriage alliance; and it's also reasonable for Yunzhu to refuse.
Seeing that Yunzhu still had no intention of discussing the matter further, the scholar's wife, being very proper, did not ask any further questions. She chatted with Yunzhu for a while about the children in the school. In the last three days, there were many things that Yunzhu needed to hand over properly.
The two chatted at the dinner table for a long time, and only left when it was almost time for their afternoon classes to begin.
In the small town's school, the children are very self-disciplined. Whether it's morning or afternoon, when it's time for school, they will all appear at their desks without needing to be reminded.
But today, when Yunzhu returned to the school and looked around at the children in front of her, she found that Mu Zhaozhi was gone.
Fearing she might have missed something, she looked again and again, and after confirming that she was not there, she asked the children around her where Mu Zhaozhi had gone.
The children looked at each other, but none of them knew where Mu Zhaozhi had gone.
Yunzhu felt a chill in her heart and immediately sensed something was wrong. She didn't have time to think it through or explain it to anyone. She immediately put down her textbook and ran out of the school.
She knew that Xiao Mingzhang's guards were always lingering around her and Azhi, and wouldn't go too far.
But just as she rushed out of the school and before she could even call out for help, Xiao Mingzhang appeared in her sight first.
Yunzhu had no time to pay attention to Xiao Mingzhang's timely appearance. She hurriedly shouted to the person on horseback, "Xiao Mingzhang! Azhi, Azhi seems to be missing!"
"I know!" Xiao Mingzhang dismounted, grasped Yunzhu's hands tightly, and said.
"You know?" Yunzhu asked, her face full of questions. Only then did she notice that Xiao Mingzhang had a sullen face and had ridden all the way here on horseback. His aura was more sinister than she had ever seen before.
Her eyes were filled with worry, and then Xiao Mingzhang said, "Azhi was taken away by the Eleventh Imperial Uncle's men."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Update!
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