Chapter 353: Chapter 140: Parentage (Part 3)
De’an was speechless. "What’s so wrong with taking a shortcut? Why should people look down on it? The ones who are truly pathetic are those who accomplish nothing but still put on airs and refuse to lower their heads. Besides, their family wronged my mother. If I benefit a little from them, I’ll just consider it them repaying a debt. You could even say they’re the ones getting off easy. As for the person who harmed my mother... that family sent a steward out looking for her, so the culprit must have been found by now, right...?"
"What does that have to do with anything? Nothing! That’s enough. I’ll discuss this with your mother later. You just stay out of it."
After saying his piece, Chen Song stood up and walked out with his head lowered.
De’an was exasperated. "Dad, after all that talk, you still haven’t told me which family Mom actually comes from."
"I’m not telling you. It’ll save you the trouble of going to their door to freeload and embarrassing your mother and me."
With that, Chen Song returned to the easternmost room.
That room used to be occupied by Chu Xun and Huang Chen. Now that they had both returned to their hometowns, the room was vacant, so Chen Song had moved in.
He entered the room, shut the door, and sat stiffly on the bed, completely motionless.
But his mind was in utter turmoil.
’So a toad like me actually managed to marry a swan?’
’What if my wife goes back to her family and decides to just kick me to the curb?’
Mr. Chen was deeply troubled. His head hung low, all his former energy and confidence gone.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, De’an sat on the stool by the stove, muttering to himself. "That wasn’t right of Dad... He should have either said nothing or told us everything. Saying half and hiding the other half, just to keep us hanging... This won’t do. How am I supposed to sleep tonight knowing such a huge secret? Hey, Sis, let me borrow that Jade Pendant of yours for a bit. I want to have a replica made."
Chen Wanqing finished kneading the dough and was about to go outside to wash her hands.
She casually asked De’an, "What do you need a replica for?"
"To go fishing, of course. I’m planning to take a few strolls around the Capital City and wait for someone to take the bait."
De’an recalled a crucial piece of information: Wang Jun’s servant had once mentioned that the wealthy family who gave Zhang Lanshan a ride was likely from the Capital City.
They all had accents from the Capital City and carried themselves with an impressive and dignified air. You could tell at a glance that they were the servants of a powerful family.
’Heh, what’s the point of all this wild guessing? Dad won’t say which family it is, but we can just ask Zhang Lanshan. It’s the same thing.’
Chen Wanqing shot her brother a glare. "Don’t be ridiculous! Dad has his reasons for not telling us. You’d better not cause any trouble."
"How is this causing trouble? Aren’t you curious about Mom’s origins, Sis?"
Chen Wanqing shook her head. "I’m not."
"Even if you’re not, Jing is. You wouldn’t want to disappoint him..."
Zhao Jing chuckled softly. He scooped up some water with a ladle and poured it over Chen Wanqing’s hands so she could wash them.
"I’m not curious either."
"I don’t believe you."
"I’m really not, honest. You have to believe me. If Mother’s identity is confirmed, your sister’s status will rise along with it. I’m afraid she might abandon her humble husband and find someone from a better family."
"PFFT!"
"PFFT! COUGH COUGH COUGH!"
The siblings both choked, then turned to glare at Zhao Jing in unison.
"Can you say anything that makes sense?!"
"Jing, if you say one more ridiculous thing, you can sleep with De’an tonight."
"Alright, I’ll stop. But Mother must have her reasons for keeping this from us. I think we should hold off on doing anything rash for now. Let’s wait until we can ask her, and then we can decide on our next move."
De’an muttered, "You think I don’t get that? I do. The problem is, I’ve asked, and Mom won’t answer. It was one thing before, when none of us knew anything, so I wasn’t that curious. But now Dad knows! The truth is just a step away. How can you expect someone as curious as me not to go digging? It’s torture."
"Think about this," Zhao Jing said. "Aren’t the books and exam papers in the Xie Family’s Book Collection Building a much bigger challenge? If you have the spare energy to investigate Mother’s past, you’d be better off using that time to pick out some useful books."
They had already made arrangements with Mr. Xie to visit the Xie Family’s Book Collection Building in the next day or two to select some books. Each of them could choose ten books to take back to Qingshui County, but they had to be returned within two months at the latest.
Their plan was to first return to their hometown to pay respects to their ancestors and spend a few days with their family. Afterward, they would come back to the Prefecture and focus on studying the manuscripts left behind by scholars of the past in the Xie Family’s Book Collection Building.
