"I don’t know either." Zhi Wan shook her head. "But I’m certain my parents knew him, and they were more than just acquaintances."
Otherwise, why would he have been willing to block the hot oil for her?
"Oh, Auntie, did my parents really not have any other relatives in this world?" A thought occurred to Zhi Wan, and she couldn’t help but ask.
"Why do you ask?" Lady Wei was surprised.
"The man in the black robe... his eyes are very similar to mine." Zhi Wan shared her discovery.
Hearing this, Lady Wei looked at her eyes.
Wan’er had a pair of very beautiful and captivating peach-blossom eyes.
She had only ever seen eyes like that on Wan’er’s father, Zhi Yu.
Wan’er had inherited her father’s eyes.
At this thought, she asked in astonishnt, "That man also has eyes like yours?"
"Yes." Zhi Wan nodded affirmatively.
Although the fine lines at the corners of the man’s eyes suggested he was no longer young, she wouldn’t mistake those eyes. They truly resembled hers and her father’s.
That was why she concluded that the man was not just a simple acquaintance of her parents, but very likely a relative of her father’s. And it was for this reason she had asked her aunt.
"I’ve never heard that your father had any other relatives." Lady Wei was quite puzzled. "Back then, when your father ca to the Capital City alone for the imperial examinations, he t your mother. Your maternal grandfather also took a liking to your father, so he betrothed your mother to him. When they married, no relatives from your father’s side attended. Your father once said his parents had passed away long ago and never ntioned any other family. So, we all assud he had no one left."
Hearing this, Zhi Wan was at a loss.
If her father had no other relatives in this world, then the man in the black robe couldn’t possibly be family.
It was the sa on her mother’s side; they had no other relatives left long ago.
Her mother was the daughter of her maternal grandfather’s old age. When her father was appointed to his post, her maternal grandfather retired and went with her maternal grandmother to Yangzhou to live out their retirent with her parents.
When she was three, her maternal grandfather and grandmother passed away one after the other.
For as long as she could rember, no other relatives ever visited their ho.
’But if the man in the black robe isn’t a relative of my parents, why do his eyes look so much like mine and my father’s?’
’And why did he block the hot oil for ?’
Zhi Wan just couldn’t figure it out.
At that mont, in a secluded courtyard in Yangzhou, an old doctor was nagging incessantly as he applied dicine to a man. "Well, wonders will never cease. How could a man like you get scalded by hot oil?"
The man was none other than the man in the black robe.
He sat on the chair, indifferent, letting the old doctor drone on in his ear.
He held his cup and drank his tea as if the large, red burn on his back belonged to soone else.
The old doctor glanced at his expression and deliberately teased, "Don’t tell you ran into a pretty girl and were so captivated you couldn’t move, and that’s how you got oil splashed on you? Were you trying to play the hero saving the damsel in distress, hoping to win her heart?"
Hearing this, the man in the black robe finally couldn’t take it anymore. "It’s a real waste you’re not a storyteller."
Upon hearing that, the old doctor’s hands grew a bit rougher. He snorted coldly, "If I were a storyteller, you brat would have gone to see the King of Hell long ago. Would you still have the chance to sit here and talk back to ?"
The man in the black robe hissed in pain and finally fell silent.
After he finished applying the dicine, the old doctor instructed, "The weather is too hot. Keep your shirt off until the wound heals, don’t let it get stuffy. For the next few days, don’t let the wound touch any water. You have to sleep on your stomach, don’t put pressure on the injury..."
"Enough, I know." The man in the black robe interrupted him with a frown.
"Now you think I’m long-winded?" The old doctor was a bit annoyed. He slung his dicine box over his shoulder and was about to leave, but a thought made him turn back. "You’re not young anymore, you brat. You should hurry up and remarry. What happened back then, with Miss Hui’s difficult childbirth... it had nothing to do with you. It’s been so many years. You should have let it go by now."
After saying his piece, he left with a sigh, not caring whether the man in the black robe had listened or not.
Once the old doctor left, the small courtyard fell silent.
The man in the black robe put down his cup and walked to the window.
The courtyard wasn’t large, but it seed so empty and desolate.
He suddenly felt a profound sense of loneliness.
Miss Hui and his younger brother had both left him, one after the other. He was all alone in this world.
’I don’t even have a single relative...’
’No, I have one!’
Thinking of the young lady he had t these past two days, a flicker of light appeared in the man in the black robe’s desolate eyes.
「Jiangning.」
Miss Liu stroked her growing belly, feeling extrely anxious.
Chen Jiu had promised he would co to save her, but he hadn’t shown up all day.
’Was Chen Jiu just tricking ? Did he have no intention of rescuing at all?’
At this thought, the light in her eyes dimd.
’I can’t just wait to die in this cell...’
Just as she was growing frantic, a few muffled thuds sounded from outside.
It sounded like sothing heavy falling to the ground.
Her spirits lifted, and she rushed to the cell door, straining to see outside.
The next mont, she saw Chen Jiu, dressed in night-prowler clothes, walking quickly toward her.
"Chen Jiu..."
Seeing him, Miss Liu’s eyes welled up, and she nearly burst into tears.
"Miss Liu, I’ve kept you waiting." Chen Jiu said as he quickly unlocked the cell.
The mont the cell door opened, Miss Liu rushed out.
Chen Jiu followed closely behind.
After they were out of the prison, Chen Jiu said to Miss Liu, "I’ve repaid my debt to you. From here on, I won’t accompany you wherever you go. You should be careful on your own." With that, he turned to leave but was stopped by Miss Liu, who grabbed his arm.
"Chen Jiu, you can’t just leave ..." Miss Liu pleaded.
Chen Jiu looked troubled. "But I can’t betray Lu Zhan. He’s my master, and he still holds my indenture contract..."
"Run away with ! We can go sowhere nobody knows us and live in seclusion. You won’t have to worry about any indenture contract," Miss Liu said urgently. "I have a stash of silver, enough for us to live the rest of our lives without a care in the world."
Chen Jiu froze for a mont, then asked hesitantly, "Really?"
"Really!" Miss Liu said with certainty. Seeing him waver, she quickly added, "I have silver. If you’re with , you can eat and drink as you please. Isn’t that better than being soone’s slave? Chen Jiu, don’t hesitate. You’ll never get anywhere following that dog of an official. You’re better off coming with ."
Chen Jiu gritted his teeth as if he had made up his mind, and nodded firmly. "You’re right. I’m done being a slave. But Miss Liu, if I go with you, there’s no turning back. You can’t go back on your word later and not give silver to spend."
"Silly, the silver I’ve hidden is more than we could spend in a lifeti. Why would I be stingy with your share? Let’s go, quickly." Without another word, Miss Liu grabbed Chen Jiu’s hand and pulled him toward the docks.
It was only when they were on the boat that Chen Jiu learned Miss Liu’s destination was, of all places, Yangzhou.
Fortunately, he had secretly left a trail of markers for his brothers to follow.
They arrived in Yangzhou just before dawn.
Afterward, Miss Liu led Chen Jiu into the city and to a small courtyard.
"Miss Liu, is your silver hidden in here?" Chen Jiu asked in a low voice, eyeing the unremarkable little courtyard.
Miss Liu didn’t speak, her eyes fixed on the tightly shut courtyard gate.
A mont later, she finally raised her hand and knocked on the gate.
Before long, a shirtless man ca and opened the gate.
When he saw the man’s face, Chen Jiu’s pupils contracted. He stood frozen to the spot.
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