I picked up a son on the street
Upon hearing that the child was awake, Tang Feng quickly asked, "Was anything wrong during the night?"
"No, not at all," Liu Yiwan replied to Tang Feng while straightening his clothes. "She snuggled into my arms and fell asleep before we returned last night, and I didn't hear a sound all night. Young Master, please don't worry. I've instructed the kitchen to prepare breakfast first, and I've also arranged for someone to take care of the child. You can go see him after breakfast is ready." Tang Feng nodded, straightened his collar, and sat down at the round table to pour himself a glass of water. "Don't tell my father about yesterday's incident yet. I've thought about it. Last night it was dark, and the assassin's weapon was so ordinary. Maybe he killed the wrong person. If he really came to kill me, he'll come again."
After listening, Liu Yiwan said, "Young Master, I understand. You're not planning to tell Young Master Zhang either!"
"I'll talk to him another day! Go to Wanchun Lane for me today." After saying that, Tang Feng took out two jade pendants from a small box. They were given to him by the old woman last night. Tang Feng had cleaned the bloodstains off them and put them in the box yesterday.
Tang Feng examined the two jade pendants, then gave the one engraved with Qin Jiujiu to Liu Yiwan. "Go to Wanchun Lane, find Miss Qin Jiujiu at Yunhai Pavilion, bring plenty of silver, and redeem her."
"Young Master, this is your third time marrying!"
"Three heads! It's not what you think. Oh, and don't take our family's silver with you. Go to the street and exchange it for some loose change. I don't want to get beaten up again."
"You still remember being beaten? Fine! I'll go get it, you wait here." With that, Liu Yiwan left. Tang Feng, seeing Liu Yiwan gone, looked again at the jade pendant in his hand, "Qin Liuliu."
"Young Master! Breakfast is ready, and the child is already seated. You see..."
"Okay, I'll go right now." Tang Feng tied the jade pendant to his waist and got up to go to the small courtyard.
Upon entering the backyard, Tang Feng saw the child sitting on a stone stool, calling out "sister" to the left and "brother" to the right, making the servants attending to Tang Feng laugh heartily. Tang Feng turned to the maid beside him and asked, "Is the child causing any trouble?"
"Young Master, no, this child isn't shy at all. Everyone loves him; he's so sweet-talking and adorable." Tang Feng nodded after hearing this and walked straight to the child, sitting down in front of him. Yesterday, the child was filthy and unrecognizable, but now he was all cleaned up, chubby and fair-skinned like a little dumpling. His big eyes were bright and clear, and his short legs wobbled on the stone bench. Tang Feng was quite taken with him at first sight.
"Qin Liuliu?"
"Yes, I'm here!" Qin Liuliu suddenly yelled, startling Tang Feng, who dropped the half-eaten pork ribs with fermented black beans onto the stone table. "Ahem... How old are you?"
"Nine years old!" Tang Feng looked at Qin Liuliu and felt that he was different from other children. Tang Feng, who had never been particularly fond of children, subconsciously found them quite cute. Tang Feng reached out and ruffled Qin Liuliu's hair. The old woman in the manor had styled Qin Liuliu's hair into a bun, making Qin Liuliu's face appear even rounder.
"Um... I'm a friend of your father."
"Mmm," Qin Liuliu munched on the ribs Tang Feng had put on his plate. Because he was too small to hold an adult's chopsticks, he could only grab food with his hands, making a mess of his mouth. He had no time to listen to Tang Feng's rambling.
"Logically speaking, according to seniority, you should call me... Dad. But! My surname is Tang, so just call me Uncle Tang!" Tang Feng always wanted to take advantage of Qin Liuliu, but then he thought about how her older sister would be arriving at the mansion that afternoon, and if she heard Qin Liuliu call him Dad, she'd probably slap him. Seeing that Qin Liuliu wasn't calling him that, but just staring straight at him, Tang Feng felt a little guilty. "Brother... Brother is fine too."
"Tang Guoguo," Qin Liuliu jumped off the stone block, still chewing on a rib and speaking incoherently, her hand still clutching the pork bone she had finished eating. She wobbled towards Tang Feng. It was said that Tang Feng liked Qin Liuliu, but Qin Liuliu liked Tang Feng just as much. Since her mother's death, no one had ever touched Qin Liuliu's head. Apart from her nanny, no one had ever smiled at her. This older brother, though seemingly a bit unreliable, gave Qin Liuliu a strange sense of security.
Qin Liuliu buried her face in Tang Feng's arms, smearing the grease from her mouth all over him. She hugged him and started crying, as if trying to release all the pent-up frustration of the past years. Tears streamed down her face. Tang Feng picked her up and sat her on his lap, taking a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe her face.
"Guoguo, from now on... can Liuliu... follow you?" Qin Liuliu asked, still chewing the meat she hadn't swallowed, hiccuping as she tried to speak. Tang Feng almost laughed. "From now on, you'll follow your brother. Wherever your brother goes, you'll go, okay?"
"Okay, pinky promise."
"Okay! I'll pinky swear with you!"
After the two finished their meal, Tang Feng summoned the head nanny of the manor to take Qin Liuliu out to buy some things. Qin Liuliu was currently wearing clothes that Tang Feng was wearing when he was a child. Since he was now in the Tang manor, Tang Feng couldn't possibly mistreat him. He waved his hand and gave the head nanny fifty taels of silver before letting them leave. The old lady could also see that Qin Liuliu's status in Tang Feng's eyes had only increased. In order to get some favor money from the young master, she was willing to go all out. She took out her private savings and ordered a sedan chair for Qin Liuliu to sit in, while she walked outside.
After watching Qin Liuliu being led away by the head nanny, Tang Feng sat on the stone bench and began to recall the events of yesterday. Tang Feng didn't know why, but he felt that this whole affair was aimed at him. He tried to convince himself that it had nothing to do with him, but he couldn't help but recall: Who was the person who tried to kill him yesterday? He felt he'd seen that person's clothes somewhere before. Did the man and woman in his dream really exist? If so, who were they? Tang Feng rubbed his aching forehead. To be honest, Tang Feng didn't want to get involved in these things. He just wanted to live a good life in this world and be happy. Yesterday's assassination attempt made him suddenly realize that this world wasn't as peaceful as he had imagined, or perhaps the previous owner of this body hadn't lived a peaceful life.
Tang Feng squatted down, picked up a few pebbles, and threw them into the pond. "Hiss~ Should we investigate or not..." Tang Feng walked into the pond, looking at his reflection in the water. He said to himself, "What exactly happened to you? At such a young age, you even survived an assassination attempt. If it were you, what would you do? Run away?" He then threw in another stone, causing ripples on the water and blurring his reflection. Tang Feng stood up, brushing the dirt off his hands. "Let nature take its course! As the ancients said: 'When soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it.'"
"Young Master, I've brought Miss Qin. What happened to your clothes?" Liu Yiwan looked at the new clothes Tang Feng had just changed into that morning; in the short time she'd been gone, Tang Feng's chest was stained with oil, and the fabric was wrinkled and crumpled.
"Oh dear, Liu Liu used my clothes to wipe her mouth. Did you bring the girl back?"
"I've brought him back. The master went to court and hasn't returned yet, so I had the young lady wait in the main hall."
"I'm going to change my clothes."
Tang Feng returned to his room. Liu Yiwan rummaged through the closet for clothes for Tang Feng to wear, while Tang Feng sat on the bed, staring intently at the arrows he had brought back yesterday.
"Young Master is still thinking about yesterday's events," Liu Yiwan said, though her back was to Tang Feng, she knew what he was doing. "If you really can't let it go, I'll go to Nanshi and inquire for you."
"No, I won't investigate anymore. There'll be no results anyway." Tang Feng stood up, placed the arrows on the table, reached for his belt, and then, with Liu Yiwan's help, took off his dirty clothes.
"Young Master, please rest assured, I'm here with you, I won't let anything happen to you." Liu Yiwan had already dressed Tang Feng while speaking, and finally tied a sachet around Tang Feng's waist. "Young Master, all done."
"You can go now! I can go to Miss Qin's place myself."
Tang Feng walked through the corridor into the main hall and saw a thin, frail-looking girl standing there. "Miss, why don't you sit down?"
Upon hearing Tang Feng's voice, the girl trembled, turned around, and immediately knelt down. "This humble woman, Qin Jiujiu, greets my benefactor!" This grand gesture startled Tang Feng, who quickly helped Qin Jiujiu up. "Miss, there's no need for this. I brought you here so that you and your brother could recognize each other, and also so that you could stay here and live a good life, no longer wandering aimlessly." When Qin Jiujiu looked up, Tang Feng finally saw her face clearly—she was practically a giant female version of Qin Liuliu! Those big eyes, those cherry lips, she was a true beauty.
"I...I...thank you so much, my benefactor. Such a great kindness! I will serve you well for a long time to come!"
Tang Feng was quite pleased with what he heard. He had only ever seen the "raising a maid" type of story in novels before, but he never expected that heaven would actually give him this opportunity. Tang Feng couldn't help but chuckle to himself, "Ahem, you can live in my courtyard from now on. Your younger brother will live in the west wing, you will live in the east wing, and Liu Yi will sleep in the woodshed tonight."
"This isn't right! I can squeeze in with Liu Liu, how can we let Liu Engong sleep in the woodshed?" Qin Jiujiu grabbed Tang Feng, somewhat anxiously, but then realized she was being impolite and quickly let go. However, Tang Feng noticed the wound hidden in her sleeve. "How did you get that?"
"It was the maid in the attic who made the call. My benefactor, please don't cause them any trouble. It's nothing, really."
Tang Feng stared at it for a while, then finally sighed and asked, "How old are you this year?"
"Seventeen"
"Don't keep calling me 'benefactor,' it feels awkward. You're a year older than me, so I'll call you 'Sister Jiujiu,' but you can call me by my real name."
"How can this be allowed?" Qin Jiujiu was about to kneel down again after hearing this.
"Don't rush to bow," Tang Feng pulled Qin Jiujiu up. "It doesn't mean anything by it, it's just a form of address. Serving him is one thing, but Liu Yiwan is a man after all, and he's not as thoughtful as a girl. Sometimes you'll have to go out of your way to help him."
After listening, Qin Jiujiu pondered for a moment and nodded, saying, "Alright, I will naturally do as you say, but as for the form of address... I'll still call you Young Master like everyone else."
"Alright, that's settled then. Liu Liu and the head maid of the manor have gone out to make their purchases. I'll send someone to take you to your room to put your things down, then you can go find them! A young lady like you will surely have a lot of things, so I'll have a few extra people with you." After saying this, he turned and left. He hadn't gone far from the main hall when he bumped into Liu Yiwan, who was standing outside. Tang Feng waved to him, signaling him to come over.
"Young Master, what are your orders?"
"Go to the Zhang residence and invite young Master Zhang over. I have something to say to him."
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