The courtyard fell silent again. Even the four big maids had been sent away by Zhixin. In fact, Wen Ninghan hadn’t brought much back, so the room felt rather empty. There wasn’t much to do; the space was left open to her, ensuring no one would disturb her.
“So, what did you find interesting just now?” Qin Rongxi glanced at Nanny Lei, who was standing under the eaves. The distance was neither too close nor too far, allowing her to overhear without easily catching their conversation. But if anything happened, she’d be able to reach Wen Ninghan quickly.
It was a subtle, yet considerate distance.
“Do you really know that Nanny Lei?”
Wen Ninghan nodded and pointed to her head as she said to Qin Rongxi, “Seventh brother, you should believe me—I’m quite smart, right?”
Qin Rongxi was taken aback. “…Xiao Jiu, you… bragging about yourself…” She really had no shame.
But he couldn’t say that aloud. What if Wen Ninghan decided not to play with him anymore?
“Then you should also know that my memory is pretty good, right?”
In truth, her memory wasn’t just good. With the added advantage that no one knew she was born with innate knowledge, she could remember a lot of things.
Wen Ninghan recalled when she had first seen Old Nanny Lei. At the time, she had only felt that she looked familiar, as though she had seen her somewhere before. But now, after thinking about it carefully, Wen Ninghan was able to confirm it.
“This Old Nanny Lei, I’ve seen her at the Marquis’s residence.”
Qin Rongxi raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.
“You know, Seventh Brother, I didn’t spend much time at the Marquis’s residence. Before you took me away, I was very young and only moved around this courtyard, so I didn’t meet many people. This Old Nanny Lei, from what they said, has been in the Marquis’s residence all these years, never leaving for other places, let alone going to Jiangnan, thousands of miles away. So, the only place I could have seen her is here at the Marquis’s residence.”
Qin Rongxi understood and nodded in response.
“And this Marquis’s residence, the only place I could have seen her is this courtyard. If, as someone said, she was just a maid who swept the courtyard in a back hall, how could she have come here and made me feel familiar?”
Qin Rongxi, holding a piece of pastry, fell into a daze. “So, you’re suspecting that she’s someone from Aunt’s side?”
When Qin Rongxi referred to “Aunt,” he was talking about Wen Ninghan’s mother, Qin Xi.
Although reluctant, the Qin family had been keeping an eye on the general situation of the Marquis’s residence all these years while they were supporting Wen Ninghan.
After Qin Xi’s passing, most of the people who had stayed in the Marquis’s residence under her care were marginalized or even sold off.
It was precisely because of this that Wen Ninghan, without her mother’s protection, had faced such a difficult situation back then, almost losing her life.
After Wen Ninghan was taken in by the Qin family, many of the “old acquaintance” were reassigned—after all, the Qin family wouldn’t neglect its own people.
Wen Ninghan hadn’t expected to run into any “old acquaintance” at the Marquis’s residence, especially not at this time. She couldn’t help but wonder what this person’s intentions were now that they had appeared before her.
Before she could fully process her thoughts about this “old acquaintance” another unexpected visitor showed up at her door.
A rough servant, who had been stationed at the courtyard entrance, brought the news that Xiu Yiniang had come to pay a visit. Wen Ninghan was momentarily taken aback.
Who?
Oh, Xiu Yiniang.
Although after Qin Xi passed away, Wen Congyan never remarried, he still had several concubines and even some other women in his household. To protect Wen Ninghan from hearing too much, Old Master Qin had kept this matter from her.
However, Wen Ninghan was still familiar with Xiu Yiniang. That was because Xiu Yiniang, under the strict watch of Su Yiniang, had not only gotten pregnant but also successfully given birth to the only surviving son of the Marquis’s household—yes, the one and only illegitimate son of Wen Congyan after many years of effort.
Wen Ninghan stroked her chin, thinking to herself that perhaps she should find an opportunity to check her “father’s pulse” and see what kind of issues he had that made it so difficult for his generation to produce heirs.
Oh right, Xiu Yiniang, why had she come?
“Please come in.”
The yard wasn’t big, and one could see the slender figure of a woman in blue standing at the gate, her form graceful and delicate, like a willow tree swaying in the wind.
Upon receiving Wen Ninghan’s permission, she gracefully stepped forward and, in the blink of an eye, stood before her.
On that face, as beautiful as a blue lotus, there was an expression of excitement that seemed out of place. The upward-turned fox eyes broke the original delicate look, giving her entire demeanor an indescribable charm.
“This humble one, Liang Xiu, has met the young lady. It’s been many years since we last met. How have you been, young miss?”
“Mm?” Wen Ninghan set down her teacup. “Have I ever met Xiu Mama?”
If Nanny Lei seemed somewhat familiar, this Xiu Mama before her was someone Wen Ninghan was absolutely certain she had never met. Given the time when Liang Xiu entered the household, Wen Ninghan had already been taken away by the Qin family, so it was impossible that they had crossed paths.
Liang Xiu was genuinely emotional upon seeing Wen Ninghan. She held a handkerchief, wiping the corner of her eye, and the red marks at the corner of her eye, slightly swollen, suggested she had truly been crying before this.
“I apologize for my rudeness,” Liang Xiu said, bowing again. Only then, at Wen Ninghan’s gesture, did she carefully sit down on the embroidered cushion that Zhi Xin had brought. “I was just so moved to see you, Miss. I never imagined that in this lifetime, I would have the chance to see you in person again.”
Wen Ninghan: “…”
This sounded so strange.
So which of us is dying soon, why does she have the thought that we won’t be able to meet each other?
“Ah, I’m not good with words. I got so excited, and now I’m just rambling.”
Wen Ninghan: Indeed, not good with words, and definitely rambling.
“It’s normal that the young miss doesn’t recognize me. In the past few years, I only saw the young miss from a distance. At that time, the young miss was still in her infancy. Madam was holding you in her arms, and she smiled so beautifully…”
Wen Ninghan: The case has been solved. The person who knew her was not me, but my mother.
Wen Ninghan gave a thoughtful glance at Nanny Lei, who was still standing under the eaves. Unfortunately, this “old acquaintance” kept her eyes down, maintaining a calm and composed demeanor. She stood there motionless, not even acknowledging Du Yu’s gaze.
Really composed.
“Miss looks so much like the madam,” Liang Xiu said with a nostalgic expression. “It’s just that her eyes—there’s much more vitality in them.”
Talking about this made Liang Xiu even more emotional.
Qin Rongxi clicked his tongue, interrupting Liang Xiu’s sentimental words. “You traveled all this way, didn’t you? You must be here to catch up with my Xiao Jiu, right?”
He was most annoyed by people who went on and on without getting to the point. Plus, he had no interest in hearing this Xiu Mama and Wen Ninghan crying about the past. He didn’t believe there could be much memory between her and his aunt anyway.
She was only trying to get closer to Wen Ninghan with these words.
As for what she wanted—
“If you have something to say, just speak directly.”
It seemed that Liang Xiu only then noticed Qin Rongxi’s presence, her face turning pale. “I-I’m sorry. This young gentleman must be the young master of the Qin family, right? It’s my fault. I can’t help myself when I think of the madam.”
Qin Rongxi snorted. “Hold that thought. Get to the point.”
Liang Xiu: “…” She had never encountered such a direct conversation before.
Wen Ninghan couldn’t help but chuckle. “This is the Seventh Young Master of the Qin family, my Seventh Brother. What he said is exactly what I mean. If you have something to say, Xiu Mama, you can speak directly. But you must understand, as someone who has just returned to the household, with no support and only the title of a young lady, there’s not much I can do to help you.”
Hearing this, Liang Xiu’s expression twisted for a moment. Finally, as if making up her mind, she suddenly stood up and, with a swift motion, kneeled in front of Wen Ninghan.
Wen Ninghan: !!!
The ground was paved with blue bricks, and when Liang Xiu knelt, she used all her strength. Wen Ninghan could almost hear the painful, grating sound as her knees made contact with the hard bricks.
Even though a concubine wasn’t considered an elder in front of a legitimate young lady, Liang Xiu was of an age where this gesture made Wen Ninghan feel uncomfortable. The sight of it made her uneasy, and she couldn’t help but feel a little guilty.
To be honest, after all these years in this world, this was one thing she had never gotten used to.
“Miss, I beg you, please, save Ye’er!”
