Chapter 13

County Governor’s Office’s back courtyard. A young man, dressed as a scholar and in his twenties, hurried toward a small courtyard. “Greetings to Master Lin!” The maids in the back courtyard saw the man and paid their respects one after another. They did not get up until he had walked far away. “This Master Lin practically treats the County Governor’s Office’s back courtyard as his own home.” “Keep your voice down, will you? The madam hasn’t said a thing; it’s not our place to comment.” “Alas, since Lin’s auntie is the favored concubine and her children are, therefore, favored too, the madam has no choice but to give her some respect.” “I wonder what Master Lin is doing at Shuangxin Courtyard?” “Who knows? Whatever it is, it’s none of our business…” Shuangxin Courtyard. As soon as Lin Cailiang entered the courtyard, he called out to a young woman of good looks and slender figure, “Hurry, get ready. We must go to the County Governor’s Office’s main gate immediately, the old lady has arrived.” “What?!” Lin’s auntie, who was watering the plants in the courtyard, was so startled that her watering can clattered to the ground. Seeing Lin’s auntie frozen in place, Lin Cailiang became increasingly impatient: “Oh, my dear sister, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and call for Wenbin and Yishuang. This is your first time meeting the old lady; you must make a good impression.” “I rushed over here to tell you first. I’m sure the madam will also receive the news soon, so you best be quick. If you manage to see the old lady before the madam does, the old lady will surely take a fresh look at you.” Just moments ago, he had been preparing to return home when he witnessed the conflict between the Government Official and Yan’s old lady. He took advantage of the moment the Government Official was stunned by Yan’s old lady’s status and ran to find his sister. Seeing the affection the master had for his sister, winning the old lady’s favor would certainly make their lives even better in the future. By then, Lin’s auntie had also come to her senses: “Right, right, you’re absolutely correct.” With that, she ran into the house like a gust of wind, simultaneously getting ready and instructing the maids to call her son and daughter. At the same time, someone had also gone to inform Yan Zhigao and his wife, Madam Li. —— County Governor’s Office’s main gate. Yan’s old lady tenderly wiped the dust from Yan Wentao’s face with a look of distress. Her third grandson was honest and obedient. Along the way, he had carried her on his back for most of the journey. Even though his legs trembled with fatigue, he didn’t utter a single complaint. Just seeing him pinned to the ground by the Government Official, unable to move, truly made her furious to the point of fuming. “Grandmother, I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt at all,” said Yan Wentao, trying to ease his grandmother’s worries—though as soon as he finished speaking, Daohua’s “devil’s claw” reached out and prodded his cheek forcefully. “Ouch, Daohua, what are you doing?” Yan Wentao exclaimed, covering his face. Daohua replied calmly, “Some people are swollen with pride; shouldn’t I expose that?” She did it on purpose, wanting to show her grandmother how badly her third brother was injured. At that moment, her feelings were those of disappointment. Even though she hadn’t spent much time with her parents in this life, she still had expectations for them, especially her father. As a county magistrate, she had hoped to see a diligent and benevolent official. But the behavior of those few Government Officials had thoroughly disgusted her. Their propensity to bully the weak was fully on display. If small minds indicate what larger behavior may look like, her father was probably not as good as her grandmother had described him to be. She knew her grandmother’s character well. Despite being just an old lady from a farming family, she was most sensible. Even the Clan Leader of the Yan Clan was always respectful toward her. Why? Because they admired her profound sense of justice. She wouldn’t make a fuss over those Government Officials, but her father definitely couldn’t escape a berating and scolding. While Daohua was contemplating all this, a young and beautiful woman, each hand holding a child, appeared at the County Governor’s Office’s main gate. “Who let these beggars in? Quickly, drive them away—they stink so much!” cried the little boy in the beautiful woman’s hand, pinching his nose and looking disdainfully at Daohua and the others. The little girl also seemed distressed and ordered one of the nearby Government Officials, “What are you standing around for? Go chase them away this instant!” Lin Cailiang, who was following behind, almost fell to his knees upon hearing his nephew and niece’s words. At this moment, there were only two words in his heart: it’s over! He had been so focused on urging that he forgot to tell his sister about Madam Yan’s attire. Madam Lin also suffered from the stench emanating from the five beggars not far away, but she still had some sense of propriety and didn’t send them away. With Madam Yan’s arrival, she had to display her virtuous and graceful side. However, she couldn’t hide the disgust in her eyes and it almost spilled out. In the distance, Daohua looked on with a playful expression at the beautiful woman and the two children who looked very similar to each other, for the first time not going to calm the furious Madam Yan. Why? She had guessed the identity of these three people. This woman must be her father’s favored concubine, Madam Lin, and those two children, the twins she bore, were her father’s beloved son and daughter. Indeed favored. The principal wife hadn’t arrived yet, but they had dared to come over with such grandiosity. This protocol… All of a sudden, Daohua felt it was not surprising that her father had been county magistrate for nine years. If one does not sweep one’s own house, how can one sweep the world? If one’s own household affairs were in such disarray, how could his official achievements be any good? His perception wasn’t that great either; these three were clearly an inefficient team, totally wasting the early warning they had received. Otherwise, being the first to rush to greet his long-traveled mother might not be proper, but it showed his filial piety. In this ancient era governed by filial piety, that was an excellent reputation. What a pity! These three really couldn’t wait to present their heads on a platter. On their first meeting, knowing Madam Yan as she did, they would be utterly defeated! “Mother!” Just then, an emotionally charged and excited voice came from the County Governor’s Office, and then everyone saw Yan Zhigao in official robes sprinting out, ‘thump’ kneeling before Madam Yan. The sound was so loud that Daohua felt pain on his behalf. “Son is unfilial, making Mother suffer!” Yan Zhigao did not hesitate and embraced Madam Yan at once. At that moment, Madam Yan was also streaming with tears, tremblingly hugging her eldest son’s head, so choked up she could not speak. Next to them, Daohua arched an eyebrow. Her father was ruthless; it wasn’t her saying, but the scent on them at this moment was genuinely hard to bear. Yet he simply buried his face against Madam Yan. Quite ruthless! All this, if it wasn’t for genuine emotion and not minding at all, then he was a master of disguise. While Daohua was thinking this, suddenly, her arm was grabbed, and turning around, she saw the dignified and beautiful Madam Lin looking at her with blurred eyes. “You must be Daohua, right?” Madam Lin’s voice trembled slightly, her gaze at Daohua was both loving and excited. Almost instantly, Daohua knew who she was. “Mother!” This call from Daohua was spontaneous. At that moment, she didn’t sense any disdain, but instead saw unmistakable joy in Madam Lin’s eyes. “Ah!” Madam Lin’s tears flowed down at once, and she pulled Daohua into a tight embrace. Leaning into Madam Lin’s embrace, feeling her excitement and joy, Daohua became somewhat stunned, swiftly glancing at Madam Yan and Yan Zhigao, still embracing and weeping together, a complex emotion welled up in her heart. The affection between mother and son, mother and daughter, are the purest feelings in the world, heartfelt and devoid of calculation, aren’t they? Daohua suddenly realized that she seemed to always look at everything around her with the perspective of her previous life, overlooking the fact that genuine feelings still existed in this world. Regardless of distance or appearance…