They stayed in Jiangzhou Prefecture for another half a month. After the flood, the lives of the local people gradually returned to normal.
Having some free time, they set out for Cishui in early autumn.
This trip had nothing to do with official business. Only Jiang Xu, Huo Wuyou, Sui Yunlang and a few servants were going.
As soon as Xue Zhiyi got on the carriage, Huo Wuyou followed as a matter of course. When he got on the carriage, someone patted his shoulder.
Turning around, he saw Jiang Xu looking at him with a stern face. For some reason, Huo Wuyou always felt that Jiang Xu's dislike for him was becoming more and more justified.
"There's another car behind." Jiang Xu's voice was a little stiff.
Huo Wuyou just felt that he was very unlucky. He was finally going to marry the person he loved, and his beloved also found his relatives as he wished. It should have been a double happiness, but the bad news was that he had just scolded his brother-in-law not long ago.
Unlike his usual glaring manner towards Jiang Xu, Huo Wuyou smiled with a guilty conscience: "Brother Jiang, what are you doing?"
What to do? If we couldn’t intervene in some things we disliked before, will we still be able to intervene in the future?
Without wasting time talking to him, Jiang Xusheng dragged Huo Wuyou and pushed him into another car.
He and Jiang Xu stared at each other like this all the way, and Sui Yunlang felt refreshed, as if he had achieved revenge.
On the fourth day, they finally arrived at Cishui.
This is a small town and the streets are still a bit muddy after the disaster.
As soon as they arrived at Cishui, someone recognized Jiang Xu and greeted them warmly.
They followed Jiang Xu to a house. Because no one had lived there for a long time, the stone steps in front of the door were already covered with moss. Lush vines hung down from the lintel, as if sealing the memories of this place for them.
"Hey, the top scholar is back?"
A passing woman smiled at them and said, "How many years have you been away from home since you entered the government school?"
Jiang Xu has always been a humble person. Upon hearing this, he just smiled and nodded: "I just happened to have some official business to attend to. I'll come back to see you after I finish it."
At this moment, an old voice was heard, and an old woman was seen sitting at the door of another house opposite. She was leaning on a cane, and raised her wrinkled eyelids to stare at Xue Zhiyi: "Hanzhu girl, where have you been? Why are you back so late?"
Xu Hanzhu, the name of their mother mentioned by Jiang Xu.
The woman's smile froze, and she tried to smooth things over by saying, "You're getting more and more confused with age. Where did this girl with pearls come from?"
After saying this, she looked at Xue Zhiyi again and said, "Young lady, are you the number one scholar's friend? Don't take it to heart. This old woman has become confused in recent years. Seeing that you look a bit like Hanzhu, she started talking nonsense again."
Because Xue Zhiyi had not yet obtained official documents to restore his identity, they agreed not to publicize the matter for the time being, and did not explain it to the woman.
The woman chatted with them for a few minutes and then left.
When Jiang Xu pushed open the gate, a smell of dust hit him in the face. He saw that this was a small courtyard with five or six small houses surrounded by white walls and black tiles. However, the walls were already covered with old water marks. There was a well and a withered flower stand in the yard, and the surrounding area was overgrown with weeds.
Jiang Xu said, "There used to be a small courtyard behind this yard. It was my father's school. Later, when my parents passed away, they sold that place and built a wall to separate it."
Xue Zhiyi raised her eyes and looked at the home she had never set foot in. It felt strange, but vaguely, there seemed to be some warmth enveloping her heart, which made her feel a little more peaceful.
She thought, although this place was not a wealthy family, it had the quiet and peace that the Xue family had never experienced. If her life had not been interfered with, perhaps she would be very happy?
Xue Zhiyi went into each of those rooms and looked around. She saw traces of life everywhere, but it was a pity that no one had left. She had missed her home for seventeen years.
Until I pushed open one of the doors, I realized that this room seemed to have never been lived in. Although it was simple, it had everything you need. There was a bamboo cradle next to the bed, and children's toys such as cloth tigers and rattles were neatly placed inside.
But in front of the window, there were the four treasures of the study and some dusty jewelry, all of which looked to be made of inexpensive materials such as aventurine and silver.
"Mother knew she didn't have much time left, but she also thought you would come back sooner or later, so she prepared some things for you. However, she didn't know when you would come back, so she prepared everything she had from childhood to adulthood."
Jiang Xu smiled with relief: "If she knew you were back, she would definitely be happy."
Xue Zhiyi lowered her eyes to hide the bitterness in them: Although she had missed seventeen years, fortunately she came back in this life, unlike in her previous life where she died with regrets.
As he spoke, Jiang Xu opened the wardrobe: "Mother used to be an embroiderer. During her last days, she made a lot of clothes for you."
Xue Zhiyi looked at those exquisitely embroidered clothes. They had no signs of being worn, yet they looked old.
The smallest one was only big enough for a newborn baby, but the largest one seemed to be as big as her.
Xue Zhiyi felt very upset, as if he could smell the longing that his mother poured into each stitch. But during that time, she was in the Xue Mansion, treating her enemies as her parents, and was unaware of all the pain.
Huo Wuyou watched quietly. Seeing her like this, he felt uncomfortable and kept thinking about finding a way to coax her.
So, when Xue Zhiyi was brought to the memorial tablet of the Jiang couple to burn incense, he knelt down beside her with a plop.
Jiang Xu was horrified: "Who told you to kneel? What does this have to do with you?"
Seeing him kneeling firmly on his knees, Jiang Xu was about to attack him: "Huo Wuyou, get up!"
Sui Yunlang saw this and chimed in: "That's right, what does it have to do with you? Are they your parents? Why kneel down?"
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