Chapter 60 Uncovering Past Events

"Yuan'er, are you also here to buy clothes?"

Cheng Yuan gave a slight nod, her gaze sweeping past the figure desperately trying to hide behind him, and smiled as she said, "The shop was a bit quiet, so I came out for a stroll. Are you not attending classes today, Elder Brother Wang?"

Wang Jiabin was dazzled by her smile and rubbed his ear.

"I am, but Brother Lu asked for leave yesterday, and the tutor didn't see him this morning, so he asked me to come out and look for him. We were just about to head back."

Using his peripheral vision, Wang Jiabin noticed Lu Bai's evasive posture and suddenly remembered their relationship; meeting like this must be extremely awkward.

Feeling somewhat reluctant, he still said, "Then Yuan'er, take your time looking, we'll be off first..."

Yet Cheng Yuan suddenly poured out a basket of words like beads rolling off a jade plate: "Isn't this Elder Brother Lu? Were the pastries from my shop still to your liking? You left in such a hurry earlier, I didn't get a chance to ask you. I heard you owed money at the gambling house yesterday and were beaten out—are your injuries feeling any better?"

A flash of confusion crossed Wang Jiabin's face. He looked at the ashen-faced Lu Bai.

"Brother Lu, you went to Yuan'er's shop early this morning? Wait a minute, you went to a gambling house? What did you do at a gambling house? And you owe money?"

After digesting Cheng Yuan's words, Wang Jiabin's face was a sheet of blank astonishment, as if he were re-evaluating Lu Bai.

Normally, what Brother Lu loved most was reading and reciting poetry, and at most, he would only place small wagers among classmates.

How could he suddenly go to a gambling house and even owe silver?

In a flash of insight, an incredible thought suddenly popped into Wang Jiabin's mind.

Before Wang Jiabin could process it further, Lu Bai spoke first: "I'm sorry, Brother Wang, I shouldn't have kept it from you. My purse was stolen by thieves yesterday, so I made a desperate gamble, lost my head, and wanted to try my luck..."

He rarely bowed his head or conceded, and his look of deep remorse at that moment softened Wang Jiabin's heart once again.

"You really are... I will help you keep this matter from the tutor, but don't ever do anything so impulsive again in the future."

Quietly playing the role of a bystander, Cheng Yuan noticed the twitching of Lu Bai's lips as he wanted to speak, and suddenly added, "Elder Brother Wang, Uncle Wang asked me to pass along a message to you: if your silver is running short, just go find him. He said he has never enjoyed a life of ease, but he has only you as a son, and his only hope is not to wrong you."

With that, she tacked on another sentence: "Elder Brother Wang, I know you are a sensible and clever person, so I suppose you wouldn't do anything foolish. Uncle Wang is also getting older."

Having said her piece, she turned away and went to the other side to converse with the proprietress about fabrics.

Her words were far from obscure; even Lu Bai understood them completely. He clenched his back teeth, staring at Cheng Yuan's back as if his gaze could breathe fire.

Because of these words, Wang Jiabin indeed felt a wave of regret for the impulse born of his earlier softness—thankfully, he hadn't spoken out yet.

If Brother Lu simply couldn't afford his tuition because thieves had stolen his silver, then both by reason and emotion, he could offer some support.

But if the debt was incurred at a gambling house, he certainly could not help him, especially since his own savings depended entirely on his father earning every single copper coin through back-breaking labor.

It wasn't as though he had never seen those people in gambling houses; on the contrary, he had seen plenty!

He opened his mouth to speak, hesitating, but Lu Bai spoke first: "Brother Wang, let's head back to the academy."

This served to gloss over the topic. Seeing that Lu Bai did not press the matter further, Wang Jiabin also felt a sense of relief inside.

The two of them departed. Cheng Yuan turned her head to look at their retreating figures, her eyes narrowing slightly against the piercing winter sun.

She only hoped that her soft-hearted neighbor and elder brother wouldn't do anything that would disappoint both her and Uncle Wang.

—

"Went out to buy clothes?"

The hour-long midday break was time off for the shop. When Cheng Yuan returned, Uncle Wang had already served up three large bowls of noodles, this time egg and shredded pork noodles.

Although Xie Changzhi was seated at the table, his gaze kept drifting toward the entrance of the shop. When he finally caught sight of Cheng Yuan, his eyes lit up, and he hurried forward to take the items from her hands.

"Yes, just wandered around a bit. Bought them because I liked them."

Cheng Yuan had bought several sets of clothing in total: two for herself, and one set for each of the others in the household.

"There's a set in there for you. After we eat later, see if it fits and if you like it. We'll take the others when we head back."

Xie Changzhi had originally thought she was buying them for herself, but upon hearing that there were new clothes for him as well, his eyes brightened even further.

"Thank you, Sister Yuan."

Seeing him looking as though his tail was practically wagging, Cheng Yuan felt a sense of satisfaction in her heart.

She hadn't raised him for all this time in vain; finally, when receiving a gift, he wouldn't feel overwhelmed with astonishment and inferiority.

Watching the harmonious, flirtatious atmosphere between the two of them, Uncle Wang was also immensely delighted.

"If your father were still around, seeing that you, Yuan'er, have found such a fine husband and even opened a shop to make money, he certainly would have been overjoyed."

Cheng Yuan's motion of feeding noodles to her mouth paused. She automatically filtered out the middle sentence and probed tentatively, "Uncle Wang, do you know how my father and mother met?"

The topic shifted too quickly. Uncle Wang frowned and thought for a long time before saying, "It was so long ago, I don't remember very clearly either. I only remember that one day that fellow brought your mother back. When your mother was young, she was even prettier, delicate and lovely, looking just like someone raised in Jiangnan. Ah, when have we rough rustics ever seen such a beauty? It's just a pity that your mother pledged her heart to your father; just a few days later, they held a banquet and got married."

"Your mother didn't like going out either, and after you were born, she stayed cooped up in the house all day long. Who among the villagers couldn't tell? Your mother must have been a young lady from a wealthy and influential family, perhaps fallen on hard times before coming back with your father. It's only natural she looked down on the countryside, but fortunately, Yuan'er is capable, and now you've finally made something of yourself!"

Uncle Wang had one flaw: once he started talking while eating, he couldn't stop. When he finished speaking and noticed Cheng Yuan's less-than-relaxed expression, it finally dawned on him.

He gave his own head a heavy smack: "Oh, my old brain is failing me! I shouldn't have been telling you these things. Matters of the older generation—Yuan'er, just treat it as if you heard nothing!"

Cheng Yuan shook her head and smiled at Uncle Wang: "It's fine, Uncle Wang. I was just suddenly curious about some things from my mother's youth."

Uncle Wang cautiously studied her expression for a long time, and seeing that she truly wasn't grieving, he said, "Perhaps the village chief knows something about this. When your father was young, he frequently went out to sell goods with the village chief, and that time he also returned with the village chief."

Hearing this, Cheng Yuan nodded, a trace of deep thought in her eyes.

—

"Can't I go in? Elder Brother, be accommodating. Why, I'm the younger brother of the daughter of his mother's sister-in-law, I just have a little something to discuss with him. What? Causing trouble? Absolutely not! Take a careful look at this face of mine..."

Half an incense stick of time later, Xie Yanzhi squatted dejectedly by the roadside, resting his chin on his hands and staring at the giant boulder inscribed with the four characters "Huaijin Academy."

The academy gates were tightly shut, and the guards refused to let him in no matter what, saying that if he was looking for someone, he should wait until classes were dismissed, when most of the students would come out, and he could find the person himself and pull them out.