Xiao Manor.
Shangguan Yan got someone to tidy up Xiao Yan’s room and placed an urn containing Xiao Yan’s belongings beside the memorial tablet on the table. It was impossible to find Xiao Yan’s corpse after he was buried in the snowy mountain. Even the burial was done in a cenotaph.
Xiao Yan was only two years older than Yan Jiuchao. When Shangguan Yan married into the Xiao family, he was still a child. Although his parents were still alive, the family was not peaceful. So he grew up by Shangguan Yan’s side.
It could not be said that she had transferred her maternal love for Yan Jiuchao to him, but the human heart was made of flesh. The child she had raised for so many years was gone overnight. Shangguan Yan was very sad, but Xiao Zhenting was probably even more sad.
Xiao Zhenting had no children in his life. He really treated Xiao Yan as his son. Moreover… Xiao Yan was the last legitimate son of the Xiao family. According to the ancestral teachings of the Xiao family, if Xiao Yan died, the Xiao family would have no descendants.
“Madam.” Nanny Fang walked over gently and bowed behind Shangguan Yan.
Shangguan Yan came back to her senses and straightened Xiao Yan’s urn. “You’re back?”
“Yes, Master has returned. He’s in the study. Are you going over?” Nanny Fang asked.
Shangguan Yan paused and shook her head. “No, I’ll rest in the west wing tonight.”
Nanny Fang wanted to say something but hesitated. Ever since Xiao Yan’s accident, Madam had not slept with the Master for many days. Although it was reasonable to restrain themselves during the mourning period, they were husband and wife after all. How could they sleep in separate rooms every day?
“Have you prepared all the meals I asked you to prepare?” Shangguan Yan asked.
Nanny Fang said helplessly, “Yes, I’ve already watched Master eat the braised deer meat and stewed deer bone soup. Madam, are you really not going back to your room to rest?” Wasn’t she afraid that the master would get a nosebleed from the heat at night?
Shangguan Yan waved her hand. “Alright, you can go and rest too.”
Nanny Fang wanted to ask again, but when she saw Shangguan Yan’s expression, she couldn’t bear it anymore. She vaguely guessed what Madam was up to. “Madam, forgive me for being blunt, but is it really appropriate for you to do this?”
Shangguan Yan lowered her eyes and said, “It doesn’t matter if it’s appropriate or not. It’s fine as long as we can leave a descendant for the Xiao family.”
Nanny Fang sighed and returned to the room. Shangguan Yan also went to the west wing. She closed the door and looked at the study room from afar.
Xiao Zhenting was handling official business in the study. He had long handed over his military power and was only hanging around in the imperial court. He did not have much on hand, but there were some post-war matters that needed to be dealt with.
“Master, it’s midnight,” said the maidservant on duty.
Xiao Zhenting pressed his sore forehead. “Where’s Madam?”
The maidservant said, “She rested.”
“In the west wing again?” Xiao Zhenting asked.
The maidservant braced herself and said, “…Yes.”
Xiao Zhenting sighed and got up to go to the west wing. If she didn’t come to him, he could go to her.
It was late at night and everyone was resting. The courtyard was quiet. Xiao Zhenting did not dare to wake Shangguan Yan up. He gently pushed open the door and walked over without a sound.
The moonlight was faint and landed on the exquisite body behind the curtain.
It was unknown if the deer meat was too strong or if he had been holding it in for too long, but Xiao Zhenting felt his heart burning. He lifted the curtain and lay on the bed, gently hugging her from behind. Suddenly, Xiao Zhenting felt that something was wrong. He took his arm away and stood by the bed. He shouted sternly, “Who are you!”
The decisive Marshal Xiao’s voice could silence thousands of troops, let alone a weak woman. The woman on the bed fell down and trembled. “It’s… it’s me…”
“Shui Xiang?” Xiao Zhenting recognized her voice.
Shui Xiang was Shangguan Yan’s new maidservant. She was often brought along by Shangguan Yan and even brought her to the temple to pray for blessings. Xiao Zhenting did not take it to heart, but who knew that she would climb into his bed.
Xiao Zhenting’s face turned cold. “Did Madam ask you to lie here?”
This was Shangguan Yan’s room. If it wasn’t for Shangguan Yan’s silent permission, which suicidal maidservant would dare to lie on it?
Shui Xiang nodded, trembling.
Xiao Zhenting was so angry that he rushed out of the door!
… .
Tonight, it was not only Xiao Zhenting and Shangguan Yan who were unable to sleep, but also Yan Xie from the Yan Manor.
Yan Xie had forgotten the pain after his scar healed. During the day, he was almost killed by Yan Ruyu because he had touched her things. However, at night, he actually had the guts to have designs on those two jars.
He had thought about it. Yan Ruyu was someone who was going to marry into the Young Master Manor. Her standards were very high. To be able to make her so nervous, it must be some priceless treasure.
It just so happened that he was short of money recently. He will steal Yan Ruyu’s treasure and sell it to resolve his urgent needs.
Yan Xie meant what he said. After everyone fell asleep, he quietly entered his sister’s courtyard. He had grown up in the Yan Manor, so this small matter was not difficult for him. He went to Yan Ruyu’s study with ease and found the place where he had touched the mechanism during the day. When he opened it, the jar was no longer there.
“Heh, shifted it?”
Yan Xie snorted in disdain. He was not as good as Yan Ruyu in school, but even ten Yan Ruyu combined were not a match for him in terms of this kind of tricks.
Yan Xie rummaged through the room for a while and indeed found another mechanism. It was an inconspicuous inkstone on the desk. When he gently twisted the inkstone, a secret compartment opened on the desk.
“Tsk, what did I say?”
Yan Xie smiled smugly and took out the jar from the secret compartment. He then restored the mechanism and pretended that nothing had happened as he swaggered out of the study. He did not bring the jar back to his courtyard. Instead, he hid it in the grass in the garden.
Before dawn the next day, he went to Mrs. Yan’s courtyard and found an excuse to buy a gift for his sister to apologize. He brought the jar out of the manor.
He planned to call a bunch of scoundrels to broaden their horizons. However, he never expected that the moment he got off the carriage, he would actually encounter the girl who had beaten him up after he failed to flirt with her last time!
In a sense, Bai Tang was the same as Yan Xie. Both of them could not stay idle at home. Bai Tang pretended to be sick until she was about to grow mold. It was not easy for her to wait until her father went out and visit famous doctors for her when she sneaked out.
However, she did not expect to meet this lecher.
“It’s you?” Bai Tang’s eyes widened!
When Yan Xie saw her, he felt a faint pain in his butt. Was it easy for him to go out of the manor? Why did he bump into this lady! He did not bring any guards today. So Yan Xie ran!
Bai Tang’s eyes turned cold. “You still dare to run? I said that if you dare to appear in front of me again, I’ll beat you to death!”
Bai Tang chased after him as if she was flying.
Yan Xie was carrying a bag with two heavy jars in it. He wanted to run fast, but he was worried that the jars would break. In such a short time, Bai Tang caught up.
Bai Tang reached out and grabbed his shoulder. Yan Xie took a big step forward and finally dodged Bai Tang’s demonic claws. However, he had dodged it but the bag was pulled away by Bai Tang.
Yan Xie ran a few steps before realizing that the bag was gone. He hurriedly ran back. Bai Tang picked up the wooden stick on the ground, and Yan Xie stopped in his tracks. He, he, he had better escape…
“Brat, you ran fast!” Bai Tang threw away the wooden stick and picked up the bag she had accidentally pulled down. She raised her eyebrows strangely and said, “What is it? It’s so heavy.”
“Miss Bai!”
A carriage stopped at the entrance of the alley and Yu Wan jumped down.
“Miss Yu?” Bai Tang smiled in surprise and walked towards her. “What a coincidence to meet you here.”
It was not a coincidence. Yu Feng had clearly done it on purpose. He should just buy stones if he wanted to buy them. But he had to take a long detour and pass by the Bai Manor.
Yu Wan saw through it but did not expose him. She said to Bai Tang, “Our family wants to build a house. Big Brother and I are here to buy stones.”
The green bricks had been ordered in town, and the stone materials they had chosen were the most cost-effective one from the Capital.
Bai Tang nodded. “Your brother is in the carriage?”
“Ahem!” Yu Feng cleared his throat and pretended to be calm as he got off the carriage. “Miss Bai.”
Bai Tang thought to herself, I won’t eat you up. Why are you so shy? Fool!
Yu Wan thought of something and said, “I saw you holding a stick just now. What happened?”
Bai Tang asked, “Do you still remember that lecher from last time?”
Yan Xie? Yu Wan nodded. “Ah, I have some impression of him. Have you met him?”
Yu Feng’s expression darkened.
Bai Tang wrung her hands. “I did bump into him, but unfortunately, he escaped again. That guy’s skills are not good, but his legs are fast like a rat!”
Yu Feng heaved a sigh of relief. It was good that he had escaped. He was really worried that she would catch him and kill him.
“I snatched this from that guy. Look at what it is.” Bai Tang squatted down and placed the bag on the ground. She opened it and saw two small white porcelain jars.
Bai Tang pulled off the jar lid and looked at it. She frowned and said, “What is it?”
Yu Feng also looked over. He didn’t see what it was. Bai Tang handed the jar to Yu Wan.
Yu Wan looked at it and sniffed it before saying, “It’s ashes.”
“Ah!” Bai Tang was so disgusted that she jumped three feet away.
“Why is that guy carrying such a thing?” Bai Tang quickly wiped her hands with a handkerchief.
Even in Yu Wan’s previous life, there were many taboos about dead people. It was no wonder that Bai Tang had such a reaction.
Yu Feng was a man after all. No matter what he thought in his heart, he remained calm on the surface. “Are both jars ashes? Why are there so little ashes?”
Aunt Luo’s son had died on the battlefield and his ashes had been brought back. He had seen that it was more than this. The two jars in front of him added up were not even as much as Aunt Luo’s son’s ashes.
Yu Wan shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s only a portion.”
“I thought it was something good. If I had known that it was ashes, I… I… I wouldn’t have snatched it!” Bai Tang stomped her feet anxiously. It wasn’t easy for her to rob someone, but she had snatched a jar of ashes. She really didn’t have the life of a bandit!
On the other hand, the more Yan Xie thought about it, the more afraid he became. If he sold the treasure and Yan Ruyu found out later, he could still redeem it. But if a girl of unknown origins snatched it away… Would Yan Ruyu chop him up in anger? He would die either way, but his intuition told him that being in Yan Ruyu’s hands was much worse than being in that girl’s hands.
Thus, Yan Xie ran back dejectedly.
Yu Wan naturally recognized him, but he did not dare to look up, so he did not recognize Yu Wan. It was even more impossible for him to recognize Yu Feng. The two of them had never seen each other before.
He mustered his courage and said, “You… return the thing to me… How much silver… I’ll get someone to bring it to you later…”
Bai Tang might have shouted out bids for other things, but it had to be ashes. Bai Tang did not want to make a killing.
Bai Tang said angrily, “Who wants your money? Isn’t it just two jars of ashes? I’ll return it to you!”
When Yan Xie heard that the other party had returned the item to him so easily, he was a little glad. However, after thinking about it, he suddenly felt that something was wrong.
What did she say this was?
Ash?!
… .
Yan Xie was Mrs. Yan and Yan Congming’s first son. When he was born, Old General Yan was still alive and the Yan Manor was still considered glorious. Yan Xie was not so unruly from the beginning. When Old General Yan was still alive, he was still smart and motivated.
However, ever since he had a sister, everything had changed. This sister was smarter, more motivated, and more likable than him. However, the old general never liked his sister. He once asked his grandfather, “My sister is so cute, why didn’t Grandpa carry her?”
The old general’s expression was very complicated.
He had always thought that his grandfather hated his sister because of the daoist’s words that she could not have any children. However, perhaps the daoist had said something else to his grandfather, but neither he nor his parents knew.
The daoist had once predicted that Grandpa would not live past sixty and Grandpa really passed away the night before his sixtieth birthday.
The daoist had also predicted that the Yan Family would go to jail. They really went to jail together.
The daoist’s prophecy had all come true. How could the prophecy about Yan Ruyu not having children be fake?
All the Yan Family members were buried. How did the two urns of ashes come about?
At this moment, Yan Xie seemed to have suddenly opened his eight extraordinary meridians. Some thoughts suddenly appeared in his mind.
“Yan Ruyu, if you want your things back, meet me day at Ning’an Temple, nine o’clock.”
Yan Xie placed a letter into Yan Ruyu’s boudoir. Unfortunately, today was the day Yan Ruyu went to visit the young kids in the Young Master Manor. Cai Qin couldn’t read, so she treated it as a piece of paper to wrap snacks. She put it and a few pastries on the table into the food box.
Two hours later, the lunchbox entered the Young Master Manor.