Cheng Pei Shi supported the swaying Old Madam Yun, while a quick-witted maid beside her had already brought over a wooden stool. Old Madam Yun examined the wooden plaque in her hands over and over, as if looking at the world’s most precious treasure. The old madam, whose heart had been dead as ashes, from the moment she saw the wooden plaque, had all the withered dryness in her eyes swept away. As long as the Yun Family had a male descendant alive and the ancestral line unbroken, she, Yun He Shi, would be worthy of the Yun Family’s ancestors. The two girls would have someone to depend on. Even if she died immediately now, she would smile in the afterlife.
“Madam Cheng, where is the owner of this wooden plaque? Why hasn’t he come himself?” After the initial surprise, doubts arose in Yun He Shi’s heart.
“Brother Ye is currently with the Left Military Guard army in Longxi. Without military orders, how would he dare return to the capital privately? Congratulations, Old Madam! Your grandson is truly an outstanding talent. At merely fifteen years old, he has been enfeoffed as Baron of Ping’an County and appointed as Military Consultant Secretary at Lanzhou Zhichong Prefecture—a seventh-rank official! When the court investigated officials and traced their ancestral homes, they discovered your connection with Brother Ye. Brother Ye originally thought himself an orphan, raised by his teacher since childhood, completely unaware that he still had relatives alive. When the authorities informed him that you were still living, he was so overjoyed he coughed up blood. After waking, he immediately sent someone by fast horse back to the capital, entrusting this consort to search for your whereabouts. After inquiring everywhere, I finally found you, Old Madam. Here is also Brother Ye’s letter.” After speaking, she produced Yun Ye’s letter.
Old Madam Yun took the letter and opened it. She saw the entire page filled with fine characters written with some unknown writing instrument—strange to look at yet not ugly, even possessing a certain aesthetic appeal. Written horizontally from left to right, unlike others who wrote vertically from right to left. Old Madam Yun forced herself to overcome the unfamiliarity and slowly read it aloud. In the letter, Yun Ye explained his origins—fabricated origins, of course. To increase credibility, he emphasized that his teacher had found him in chaotic Chang’an, with the wooden plaque already on his person—the only proof of his identity. After finding him, his teacher searched everywhere for Yun clan members but couldn’t locate them. Feeling that chaotic times were approaching, the teacher could only take the infant away from Chang’an and live in seclusion on the desolate plains of Longxi. Only after his teacher’s death did he return to the mortal world in early May, hoping the clan members could help find his parents.
Reading this, Old Madam Yun’s tears flowed freely, her mouth continuously saying: “Who else could you be? You are my eldest son’s child! Your ill-fated mother, to save your life, fled the Yun residence with you in her arms three days after giving birth. Your father was hacked to death trying to save you—I held your father in my arms and watched him die with my own eyes. This old woman thought a weak mother and young child could never survive the pursuit. I never imagined Heaven had eyes—you ultimately left the Yun Family with one surviving seedling!” She bent down to pick up Erya by her leg, kissing her repeatedly, leaving the little girl bewildered, her bright dark eyes blinking as she stared at her grandmother in confusion.
“This must be the young lady of your household. She’s truly beautiful—in a few years, countless talented young men will compete to propose marriage!” Cheng Pei Shi pinched the little girl’s cheek and casually hung an emerald green jade lock around her neck. Then she picked up Daya, and the old servant standing beside them opened a brocade box containing a milk-white bracelet. Cheng Pei Shi took the jade bracelet and slipped it onto Daya’s wrist. The bracelet was somewhat large, and Cheng Pei Shi smiled: “It’s a bit big now, but in two years it will fit perfectly. Old Madam, with such a grandson and granddaughters, you are truly blessed!”
Old Madam Yun came from a wealthy family and had seen many treasures. The meeting gifts Cheng Pei Shi gave the two girls were both rare, top-quality jade pieces. She originally wanted to refuse, but Yun Ye’s letter had made it clear that there was no need to decline the Cheng Family’s goodwill. So she accepted them accordingly—surely her Ye’er would have a way to return the favor.
Old Madam Yun now felt completely content having a son. Her Yun Family was already impoverished and destitute—what was there left to covet? If Ye’er were not a Yun descendant, with his noble rank, seizing the Yun Family’s property would require no effort at all. Moreover, Ye’er had written in his letter that even if he turned out not to be a Yun Family member, he would care for the Yun clan’s orphans and widows for life, telling the Yun clan members to feel free to live on his fief. He had already asked the Cheng Family to help build houses for them, and from now on, no Yun Family member would suffer harm. Thinking of this, warmth filled the old madam’s heart. She said to Cheng Pei Shi: “My home is humble, but since you are a guest here, please at least drink a cup of clear water.”
Entering the house, Cheng Pei Shi sighed repeatedly. The dilapidated walls, the roof through which the sky was visible, the narrow thatched hut containing only one bed and one loom. On a platform made of piled earth sat three coarse porcelain bowls filled with watery gruel so thin one could see their reflection in it. Her heart darkened: “Has Old Madam fallen into such dire straits?”
Looking up, she saw six portraits hanging on the front wall, with six memorial tablets arranged below them. She immediately bowed in respect, and Old Madam Yun returned the courtesy from the side.
“Are these the deceased male members of the Yun Family?” Old Madam Yun confirmed they were.
“But which one is Brother Ye’s ancestor?”
The old madam smiled without answering, then said to Madam Cheng: “I wonder if there are people who have seen Brother Ye? This old woman believes Brother Ye is eighty percent likely my eldest son’s legitimate grandson.”
Madam Cheng clapped her hands in approval, turned around and ordered the servants to summon Cheng Dong and several others inside. Soon several burly men entered the thatched hut and bowed respectfully to Madam Cheng.
“Cheng Dong, you several have met Lord Yun before. Can you still remember what His Lordship looks like?”
Cheng Dong cupped his hands in reply: “Reporting to Madam, His Lordship treated us commoners with respect and courtesy, and we got along very well. I remember His Lordship’s appearance.”
“Since that’s the case, look at the portraits on the wall. Are any similar in appearance to His Lordship?”
The four large men all pointed in unison at the fifth portrait, reporting together: “Madam, this portrait has almost no difference from His Lordship, only the age is wrong.”
“Correct, correct! This is what my eldest son looked like at twenty-five. Brother Ye is only fifteen this year—ten years’ age difference naturally makes some difference. My poor daughter-in-law, fleeing on a cold windy night holding her beloved child! The child was saved by a benefactor, but her whereabouts remain unknown. I fear her fate is mostly unfortunate!”
Seeing the old madam crying again, the two little girls also hugged Old Madam Yun and wailed. Madam Cheng shed tears along with them for a while, then remembered the task she had come for. She wiped her tears and said to the old madam: “Old Madam, please accept my condolences. The dead cannot return to life. Now that Brother Ye has been found, this is a day of great joy! I heard His Majesty has already issued an edict—Yun clan members in slave status shall have their slave status removed, those in lowly status shall be elevated, and all shall be accommodated at the Baron of Ping’an County’s residence. Soon your junior relatives will all gather together. When Brother Ye returns from Longxi and the whole family reunites, what a joyous occasion that will be! From now on there will only be good days. You should be happy—otherwise, if your health fails by the time Brother Ye returns to the capital, how could this consort face him?”
After Cheng Dong and the others pointed to her eldest son’s portrait, Yun He Shi’s last lingering worry dissipated like clouds and mist. Her entire body seemed enveloped in tremendous happiness. Her whole body felt soft as she smiled and nodded at Madam Cheng. This was truly, genuinely her eldest grandson! He had returned bearing immense glory! He had achieved the pinnacle that his ancestors and father had never reached! The Yun Family’s fifteen years of suffering had not been in vain! Those who had bullied the Yun Family, insulted the Yun Family, betrayed the Yun Family, ignored the Yun Family—look! This old woman’s grandson has returned! You will be punished—you will definitely be punished!