Yang Ling stepped back. Having his hand struck by Mo Zi, he was still quite pleased. “Minister Mo Zi, reuniting with an old friend has truly filled my heart with joy. Inevitably I forgot propriety—please don’t blame me.”
“Reuniting with an old friend?” Mo Zi glanced into the carriage. “Minister Yang, my younger sister says she doesn’t know you. Could you have mistaken her for someone else? Besides, my sister hasn’t been in Great Zhou for long.”
“I met your sister in Nande, last March. That day, Dou Zi was selling flowers outside a tavern. The flowers were actually quite nice, but the person was dark and thin, the same color as a wall corner. Seeing her listless under the blazing sun, I said I’d buy a flower from her. But I hadn’t brought small change, so I gave her fifty taels.” He turned back looking for a witness. “Qiaoqiao, do you still remember when we went with Mother to Grandfather’s house?”
Yang Qiao remembered. “Ah, after we finished eating and were about to leave, you were nowhere to be found. You made us wait forever, and Grandfather even sent people to search for you. You came back with a camellia and dog paw prints all over you. So it turns out you encountered Dou Lu!”
Yang Ling turned around, giving Mo Zi an expression that said “see, I’m not lying.”
“Did Minister Yang wait specifically for me to disembark just for this reunion with an old friend?” Since her sister didn’t want to acknowledge him, as the older sister she naturally supported her completely. Mo Zi asked in return.
Yang Ling became serious. “Minister Mo Zi, this humble officer has come to convey His Majesty’s oral decree, commanding you to enter the palace immediately for an audience.”
Mo Zi bowed. “I obey the decree.”
But Yang Ling hadn’t finished. “Minister Yuan’s meaning is for you to go home first, settle in, rest a moment, and restore your energy before going to see His Majesty.”
Mo Zi looked at Yang Ling with a smile. “Why doesn’t Minister Yang speak more plainly?”
“This humble officer has always thought Minister Mo Zi extraordinarily intelligent, understanding at a hint.” Seeing Mo Zi reward him with an eye roll, he quickly said, “I’m the one conveying the decree—I’ll turn a blind eye. Just go home, but two hours at most.”
Mo Zi nodded and entered the carriage.
Yang Ling gazed at the dust raised by the carriage convoy before finally restraining his relaxed expression and rubbing his brow.
Yang Qiao, just having set foot on home soil, was still in high spirits and didn’t notice her brother’s profound gaze. “Brother, are Father and Mother well? Is everything fine at home?”
Yang Ling summoned his own family’s carriage. “Qiaoqiao, Father’s old illness relapsed. Not long after you departed, he submitted his resignation. He’s already returned to our old home in Yunzhou. A few days ago, I sold the mansion back to the Ministry of Finance.”
Yang Qiao couldn’t believe her ears. “Brother, what are you saying?”
Yang Ling smiled. “Don’t worry. Father has that old leg problem—you’re not unaware of it.
All these years, for our sakes, he remained in officialdom, but he’s long wanted to return to his native place and be a leisurely person. Now that I’ve entered government service and you’ve also made something of yourself, he finally made up his mind. Mother too—she always says country folk are more genuine and honest, easier to deal with than noble ladies. When Father said he wanted to leave, she immediately began packing. We didn’t know when you’d return, so rather than wait for you and have you go through the trouble, they went ahead to settle things back home.”
“But… but there was no need to sell the house. Brother, you could live in it.” Yang Qiao still couldn’t accept this sudden news.
“Me living alone in such a large mansion would be wasteful. Besides, the Yang mansion was bestowed by His Majesty because of Father’s official position. Since Father has resigned, and my official rank isn’t sufficient, naturally it must be returned.” Yang Ling explained this way.
“Then… should I go directly back to Yunzhou?” Yang Qiao couldn’t help glancing back at the dragon ship.
Seeing this, Yang Ling seemed thoughtful but said, “No need to be so hasty. I’ve spoken with Minister Jiang and his wife—you’ll temporarily stay at the Jiang mansion. You also know Bai Shi—she’s kind-hearted and excellent at cooking. She’ll fatten you up a bit, otherwise if you return to Yunzhou like this, Father and Mother will scold me to death. Moreover, you’re still a female official. You need to report clearly to His Majesty’s side before you can leave.”
Yang Qiao’s smile was somewhat bitter. “As long as Father is alright.”
“He’s fine.” Yang Ling leaned close to his sister’s ear. “He’s just tired of being an official and used this old illness to escape back home. You needn’t worry. When His Majesty permits you to return home, I’ll personally escort you.”
At this moment, Mo Zi was also having an intimate conversation with her own sister. “Dou Lu, you truly don’t know Yang Ling?”
Dou Lu wrinkled her face, quite helpless. “I wouldn’t say I know him. After being separated from you, Sister, I settled down in Nande with Adoptive Mother. I grew some flowers and went to sell them in front of taverns early every morning to help with household expenses. He was very strange—buying just one flower yet insisting on giving me fifty taels of silver. I said I didn’t want the silver and would give him the flower for free, but he refused and followed me for several streets. I thought he had ill intentions, so I called over the neighbor’s big yellow dog, and only then did he run away.”
“Oh, so that’s how he got chased by a vicious dog for five streets.” Mo Zi couldn’t suppress her laughter.
“He deserved it.” Dou Lu also laughed.
“Though I knew your days in Nande were hard, thanks to Yang Ling’s account, I now know just how hard they were. Dou Lu, I should have found you sooner.” Last March, she had been hiding under Qiu Sanniang’s wing for a good half year, working as a maid but at least with food and clothing assured.
“Sister said before—being self-reliant, even if bitter, is sweet. I felt those days were happier than in Daqiu or Yuling. The flowers also had especially good spirit.” Life was impoverished, but her heart was very content.
“It’s all in the past. You haven’t forgotten, have you? Grandfather and Grandmother want you to live at the natal home for a while—they want to compensate you well. Remember, except for changing your name, everything else is negotiable.” Mo Zi wanted to send Dou Lu to the Min family before the great chaos that might be coming.
Dou Lu shook her head lightly. “I’m not going. I know Sister only acknowledged the Min family for my sake. Actually, I did it for the two elders. Having lost Father and regretted it for twenty years—how many more sets of twenty years do they have to think of us two? Now that we’ve met each other, knowing there are still other relatives in the world to care about—that’s enough.”
“Truly sisters of one heart—I think the same way. Honestly, suddenly knowing we have such a large extended family, especially that group of male cousins, gives me a headache. Whose granddaughters, nieces, or cousins we are—by today it’s no longer important. Because without them, we still became ourselves and walked our own path.” Without relying on the family clan, Mo Zi had stepped firmly, footprint by footprint, through her own abilities and persistence.
Dou Lu was the same. Having experienced many hardships, when she made the decision to sacrifice herself to save her adoptive mother, her thinking truly became independent and mature. After being captured to Daqiu, she displayed composure, cleverness, and courage—she even fooled Mo Zi.
Returning to the Yuan mansion, the head steward hurried to pay respects, telling her the master had not yet returned, and settled the Miao family and the Su family. Hua Ying took Dou Lu to rest. Luo Ying’s position was temporarily filled by A Hao and A Yue, whom she hadn’t seen in a long while, and Zan Jin traded shifts with Ding Gou.
Everything was orderly. After bathing, changing clothes, eating hot food and vegetables, and drinking good tea, Mo Zi felt she had truly returned home. “The items were retrieved.” Ding Gou said.
Mo Zi glanced at him. “Where are they?” If A Hao and A Yue still remained at the Yuan mansion and Ding Gou spoke in front of them, it meant they had decided on their object of loyalty and could be trusted.
“Handed over to the master.” Ding Gou answered, then asked, “Was the journey peaceful?”
“Smooth sailing all the way. A bit of excitement before disembarking that made General Xiao quite unhappy.” Mo Zi smiled.
“The heroic general wasn’t happy the entire time on the ship.” Ding Gou curled his lip.
“By the way, these past few days, has anyone been watching outside the mansion?” Mo Zi remembered to ask.
Ding Gou said with surprise, “How did you know?”
“General Xiao seems to think we have some conspiracy and sent people to monitor us. However, he’s currently in such a mess himself with no one to use—these people will probably be withdrawn soon. We need not bother with them.” Mo Zi was just saying this when she saw Ming Nian.
He came running in, quite excited. “Miss has returned!”
This lad, though he’d caused her quite a bit of trouble, was also someone genuinely devoted to her. Mo Zi’s heart couldn’t help warming. “I’m back. Is everything well at the mansion?”
“Well, very well. Aunt Jiao left, that Qiu Shuang also left—finally my eyes and ears are completely clear. The master personally showed his authority—Miss must remember to praise him.” After just a few sentences, his matchmaker appearance emerged again.
Ding Gou knocked on Ming Nian’s forehead. “The master and miss are fine—what are you worrying about all day?”
Mo Zi went to pat the back of Ding Gou’s head. “Who’s fine with whom? You’re spouting nonsense here? You’re unhappy that Qiu Shuang left, aren’t you? I’ll give you leave—go chase after her!”
“A real man—why worry about lacking a wife?” Ding Gou looked at her askance. “Not like you, all twisted and hesitant, not straightforward at all. Your situation with him—anyone with eyes can see it. Moreover, the master catches anyone and tells them they’ve taken a liking to you, that they’ve proposed marriage to you, waiting for you to nod—but you keep deceiving yourself.”
Mo Zi took a deep breath to avoid hitting him again. “That’s what he says, what you all see. I haven’t agreed yet. As long as I haven’t married for even one day, who knows who the groom will be.”
Suddenly, it became very quiet.
Mo Zi was pleased with herself. “What, nothing to say now?”
Ming Nian gave her a look of being beyond hope, his gaze passing over her toward the back as he said respectfully, “Master, you’ve returned.”
Mo Zi’s mouth hung half-open, her body stiff. Chagrined, she closed her eyes, then turned around with a smile, facing that refined man. “Yuan Cheng, you’re back?”
Yuan Cheng looked at her, his expression somewhat inscrutable. “Hearing you’d returned, naturally I had to return.”
Mo Zi chose selective amnesia, acting as if she’d said nothing just now. “Perfect—you can tell me about what happened in the capital these past few days.”
“Indeed perfect. Let’s go to the study.” Yuan Cheng smiled warmly.
The two entered the study. Everyone else waited outside. Only then did Mo Zi say, “Just now—”
“Just now you were absolutely right.” Yuan Cheng brought her a cup of cool tea. “As long as you haven’t married yet, who the groom will be is still uncertain.”
Yes, what she said was absolutely right. Dating couples can break up, and even after marriage one can—
“Or perhaps I should make the raw rice into cooked rice?”
With one sentence, he lightly demolished her self-righteous modern thinking, once again proving this man was utterly shameless.
“Yuan Cheng, if you dare try, I’ll dare make you lose your—” Before finishing her words, his hand covered her mouth.
“Don’t say such things so casually. I still want you to bear children.” His voice carried a hint of laughter.
Mo Zi glared at him forcefully, but he gently embraced her. For a moment she only felt warmth.
“Mo Zi, I drove away my birth mother and will never acknowledge her. Will you despise me for this?”