Tian Bilian turned her head and muttered, “Wasn’t she divorced?”
Xing Muzheng’s expression shifted, and his dark eyes grew cold. Tian Bilian was startled and quickly shrank behind her mother.
Liu Ying scolded her daughter and quickly turned to smile at Xing Muzheng. “Good nephew, don’t take offense. Bilian only heard the gossip from the tavern guests back at the inn, saying you dismissed that Miss Qian!”
“Gossip from the tavern?” So the matter had already spread far and wide. It was likely because he’d stopped the bridal sedan, and Jiaoniang had gone to bang the gong at the magistrate’s court, stirring up public chatter. Xing Muzheng beckoned Ding Zhang over and whispered a few words into his ear. Ding Zhang nodded repeatedly, answered with a bow, and quietly withdrew.
Liu Ying and her husband perked up their ears but couldn’t catch a word of what was said. Their anxiety only grew. “What is it, good nephew?” Liu Ying asked. “Are those people outside just spouting nonsense?”
Tian Linwen followed up with an awkward laugh. “People these days are so brazen—spreading false rumors even about a Marquis! If that’s all lies, we’ve really been misled.”
Xing Muzheng simply gestured for them to sit. He didn’t confirm nor deny it, but instead asked about their journey—had they encountered any bandits or trouble on the road? The Tian couple sat stiffly as if on pins and needles, trying to maintain a polite demeanor. Liu Ying replied, “We traveled from Zizhou. There were two mountains along the way occupied by bandits—turns out it’s the same gang, they call themselves the Heavenly Way Sect. They say they rob the rich to uphold justice, targeting wealthy travelers and armed escorts. We dressed in rags, so they didn’t bother with us. Oh, and they abduct women too! Any young and pretty girls, they inspect one by one, and if they fancy someone, they take her away to be a mountain wife. I was terrified they’d take our Bilian, so I smeared her whole face with pot ash, just in case—”
Tian Linwen gave Liu Ying a subtle kick under the table. Liu Ying immediately fell silent, then gave an awkward laugh. “See how I ramble the moment I start talking.”
“No harm,” Xing Muzheng said. The more he looked at his aunt, the more she reminded him of his mother. After years of war, he’d missed his mother’s final moments. It was a deep regret buried in his heart. Seeing her twin sister now brought a sliver of solace. Fearing his cold temperament might make his aunt and uncle uncomfortable, and with Jiaoniang not yet here, he continued with the earlier topic. The Heavenly Way Sect became the new center of conversation.
Tian Linwen gave Liu Ying another kick. Liu Ying looked at her husband, saw him making faces, and finally turned to Xing Muzheng, hesitant. “Good nephew, earlier you mentioned your wife, Madam Qian…”
Just then, Qian Jiaoniang stepped in from the side door of the hall, lifting the curtain. Xing Muzheng immediately turned, stood up, and smiled as he waved her over. “Come here, take a look—see who our guests are.”
So he really was happy—there was a smile in his eyes. No wonder, his mother and her sister looked far too much alike. Qian Jiaoniang’s gaze flickered slightly, and she turned to look at the four members of the Tian family, already wearing a face full of surprise and delight. “Auntie, it really is you! I’ve missed you so much!”
She rushed forward and hugged Liu Ying tightly, overwhelmed with emotion, unable to speak clearly. “When did you—you didn’t even send word—when did you arrive in Yuzhou?”
Liu Ying’s eyes widened, her body stiff as she was nearly strangled by Qian Jiaoniang’s embrace. She stammered, unsure what to say. She looked toward her husband, who also wore a bewildered expression.
Qian Jiaoniang let go, wiped her eyes, and gave a formal bow to Tian Linwen. “Uncle, are you well?”
Then she turned to look at the pair behind him. “Ah! These must be Yongzhang and Bilian. I can’t believe how much they’ve grown!”
Tian Linwen clapped his hands with a laugh. “So this is our niece-in-law! After all these years, I hardly recognized you!”
Tian Yongzhang and Tian Bilian exchanged a glance, hesitating to step forward and greet her.
Xing Muzheng came to stand beside Qian Jiaoniang. “You recognize Auntie?”
Qian Jiaoniang arched a brow at him, about to reply, but Tian Linwen quickly interjected, “Good nephew, surely you didn’t know—years ago, your mother brought your niece-in-law to seek refuge with us. My wife and I took them in!”
His nephew, a Marquis, treated him with such respect and clearly didn’t know Qian Jiaoniang had met them before. And now that his sister was dead and couldn’t contradict them, the truth would depend on whose story sounded more convincing. As he spoke, Tian Linwen fixed his gaze firmly on Qian Jiaoniang.
Xing Muzheng looked at her in surprise. He had never known that his mother had once taken Jiaoniang to their aunt’s house for shelter.
“Yes, yes!” Liu Ying quickly followed her husband’s lead. “Back then, that grandson of mine was only two or three years old, all skinny and pitiful. If they hadn’t found us, he might have died!”
Then she turned to Qian Jiaoniang and asked, “Niece-in-law, isn’t that the truth?”
After speaking, she received an approving look from her husband. She turned back to Qian Jiaoniang with the look of someone facing a fierce battle.
Qian Jiaoniang, seeing the two of them tense and nervous, smiled faintly and nodded. “Isn’t that right? If it weren’t for you, where would we be today?”
Tian Linwen and Liu Ying exchanged a look and gave dry, awkward laughs.
Two or three years old? So Chou’er had already been in Zizhou at that age? Xing Muzheng felt a twist in his heart. It seemed the past nine years hadn’t been as easy as Jiaoniang had made them sound. But even with countless questions in his mind, he didn’t forget these were distant guests. He raised his hand to invite them to sit and talk.
Xing Muzheng took the main seat and patted the side table, motioning for Jiaoniang to sit beside him. She didn’t refuse and sat down beside him without hesitation. Tian Linwen and Tian Yongzhang sat to the left, Liu Ying and her daughter sat to the right. Seeing Qian Jiaoniang take the female host’s seat so naturally, the four Tian family members all had strange expressions. Tian Bilian nudged Liu Ying, who slapped her hand away and motioned for her to sit properly.
The maids brought out fine silver needle tea. Before they had even finished backing out, someone burst in—it was Xing Pingchun, who had rushed over in a hurry. He had still been asleep when he heard that his father had summoned him. Not understanding what was going on, he ran over in a panic, afraid of being punished again.
Dripping with sweat, he burst into the room, only to see his parents seated at the head, with four unfamiliar faces below. He halted abruptly, eyes seeking help from his mother—when suddenly a woman on the right rushed toward him, shouting affectionately as she pulled him into a hug, stroking his head and crying.
Xing Pingchun was squashed uncomfortably. He finally raised his head and, upon seeing the woman’s face clearly, cried out in shock, “Grandma!”
His voice rang out crisp and clear, loud enough that even the maids outside heard it. Xing Pingchun didn’t care. He turned around and tightly hugged Liu Ying, bouncing with excitement. “Grandma! Grandma! Mother, Grandma is alive! Father, it’s Grandma—it really is Grandma!”
Xing Muzheng seemed to glimpse a vision of the past—his son with his own mother. What a pity he’d never gotten to see his mother dote on his child; it was one of his deepest regrets.
Qian Jiaoniang said, “Chou’er, don’t be rude. She’s not your grandma.”
Xing Pingchun’s radiant smile froze. He looked at Liu Ying again, frowning deeply. But this grandma in front of him—he remembered her!
“Good boy,” Liu Ying said kindly, stroking his face. “I’m your great-aunt. You’ve grown so big, and so handsome—just like your father!”
“Great-aunt?” Xing Pingchun was stunned. So she wasn’t his grandma?
“Your great-aunt is your grandma’s sister,” Qian Jiaoniang explained. “They’re twins, that’s why they look exactly alike.”
If Jiaoniang and his mother had brought the child to the Tian family when he was three, then why didn’t he remember his great-aunt? Why hadn’t they stayed there long? Xing Muzheng looked over at Jiaoniang, but she simply focused calmly on Pingchun, her expression unreadable.
Tian Linwen, who had been watching Xing Muzheng closely, quickly put a hand to his forehead and said weakly, “Madam, let’s return to the inn.”
