Reunion

"He said he was coming with me to pray for blessings, but he fell asleep before we even got to Red Elephant Temple."

Lin Yunwan hugged Qi Zaijun and shook her head.

After leaving the palace, the son insisted on going everywhere to play, but ended up sleeping the whole way in the carriage.

They carried me off the carriage, but I couldn't wake them.

Nanny Lü smiled and said, "Madam, let me hold you!"

Lin Yunwan nodded and handed the child to Nanny Lü, Cuiqin put a veil on her.

She said to Nanny Lü, "I'll take Cuiqin to pray for blessings. You take Jun'er to the Side Room to rest for a while."

"Yes."

Upon arriving at Red Elephant Temple, Nanny Lü went to the Side Room, Lin Yunwan offered her prayers and then went to look at the calligraphy.

Yun Yi said that Chang Gong's Clerical Script looks a lot like hers.

Upon arriving at Red Elephant Temple, she couldn't resist wanting to see the characters Chang Gong had written when he was a child.

As soon as I arrived at the entrance, I saw a pair of brand-new couplets that looked very familiar.

Lin Yunwan stopped a Novice Monk, frowned, and asked, "Why have the couplets here been changed?"

The novice monk clasped his hands together, looking utterly bewildered. "Esteemed benefactor, this... this humble monk must go and ask the Abbot."

Lin Yunwan nodded.

As soon as the novice monk entered, he saw a young man emerge from the room. The young man stepped over the threshold and calmly said, "It was this junior who changed it."

Lin Yunwan turned her head and looked at the young man.

The boy had delicate features and a well-defined face. He stood there quietly, showing no shyness whatsoever!

Chang Gong, the young man before me is Chang Gong!

Lin Yunwan's heart was churning with turbulent emotions, but fortunately she was wearing a veil, so no one around her could see her expression.

She then turned to look at the new couplet on the wall, written in Clerical Script.

It's not just like her handwriting; it's surpassed hers completely!

No wonder he looked familiar.

How could her students not look familiar?

Lin Yunwan tried to speak several times, unsure of what to say, but finally nodded in praise, "The newly changed couplets are exceptionally well-written."

"Thank you for your kind words, Madam."

Lin Yunwan gripped her handkerchief tightly and invited him, "I have also studied Clerical Script. I wonder if I would have the opportunity to learn from you, young master?"

"It would be my great honor."

Lu Chang'gong bowed deeply, his voice very low.

He said, "There is a quiet bamboo grove at Red Elephant Temple. Madam, please come with me."

Lin Yunwan, wearing a veiled hat, followed.

Cuiqin was wary of strangers, Lin Yunwan told her to step back and whispered, "This young master's calligraphy is quite good. I'll discuss calligraphy with him for a bit. You go and keep watch outside."

"Yes."

Cuiqin led her people away.

Lin Yunwan followed Lu Chang'gong to the vicinity of the bamboo forest, where she removed her veil and asked in a soft, gentle voice, "Chang Gong, the imperial examination is just around the corner, why are you here?"

She couldn't help but sigh, "You've grown taller and more grown up."

Several years had passed since they last met, and if it weren't for that couplet, she wouldn't have recognized the child at all.

Lu Chang'gong stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes stinging and red. He choked back a sob, "You... you haven't changed much."

He thinks about his mother day and night; he should be happy.

But he really wanted to cry.

Lu Chang'gong, still choking back tears, said, "You're still as young as ever."

Lin Yunwan smiled slightly, "I'm already over thirty, I'm still young!"

Lu Chang'gong lowered his head, finally showing a hint of the shyness he had as a child. He pursed his thin lips, his face flushed, and said, "I'm not trying to flatter you, you haven't aged at all."

Suddenly it dawned on him that he was no longer her son.

He looked up at Lin Yunwan with shame, wondering if she had blamed him.

No.

Her gaze was still so gentle, just like when she was his mother.

"Chang Gong, what's wrong?"

Lin Yunwan watched his expression change several times, and she became very curious.

Lu Chang'gong could not calm his emotions.

He opened his mouth, but remained silent for a long time.

He saw that she had styled her hair in a married woman's bun, which meant she was married, had a husband, and probably had children.

He was nothing more than an adopted son she had cared for for a period of time!

Or perhaps it was the adopted son of her ex-husband, whom she despised...

Will his mother also despise him, or... has she already stopped caring about him?

Lu Chang, breathing softly, asked, "Can... can I still call you Mother?"

His heart tightened, fearing his mother would refuse.

Lin Yunwan joked with him, "At my age, you don't call me 'Mother,' but you expect me to call you 'Sister'?"

"Mother. Mother..."

Lu Chang'gong's tears streamed down his face.

If only he were truly her biological son, he could throw himself into his mother's arms without a care in the world.

But he isn't.

From the age of nine when he entered the household, he could no longer openly indulge in his mother's affections.

Lu Chang'gong lowered his head, tugged at Lin Yunwan's sleeve, and sobbed for a long time.

"Mother, your son misses you so much..."

Lin Yunwan felt sad too, and touched his forehead.

Lu Chang'gong had grown up after all; after crying for a while, he quickly recovered.

Just like he had done outside, he wiped away his tears, stepped back tactfully, and bowed shyly. "Madam, I was so disrespectful."

He knew in his heart that no matter how much he missed his mother, he still couldn't reveal her identity.

Lin Yunwan pressed her eyelids and said gently, "Come with me for a walk up the mountain."

Lu Chang'gong asked Lin Yunwan, "Would Madam like to go and pay respects to the Grand Tutor?"

"I remember one year, you even took my maternal uncle and me to pay homage to the Grand Tutor."

Lin Yunwan remembered this and nodded in agreement.

After leaving Red Elephant Temple, they headed up the mountain together, talking a lot along the way.

Lu Chang'gong first asked Lin Yunwan how she was doing outside and why she had decided to come back.

Lin Yunwan naturally wouldn't say that she was doing poorly. She simply said, "The Capital is my home. My family is all the Capital. No matter where I am in the world, I will always return to my roots here."

She added, "I've heard about what happened to Yun Yi at the Mingshan Academy. I'm worried about him too."

Lu Chang'gong still felt a little guilty.

"It's my fault for being useless; I couldn't help Uncle Yi."

Lin Yunwan replied, "How can you blame yourself for this?"

Knowing her adopted son's personality, and seeing that it hadn't changed much over the years, she comforted him, "You are you, Lu family is the Lu family. They harmed Yun Yi; don't blame yourself."

Lu Chang'gong agreed and then casually mentioned the Lu family's affairs.

His mother knew everything, so he could work with her to deal with the Lu family from the inside out.

Lin Yunwan listened and asked questions at the same time.

"Mu'er? Concubine Zhu Qing chose that name herself? It's a good name."

Lu Chang'gong then said, "My Concubine said it was named for you. The person she admires most is you."

But when naming the younger generation, they had to avoid naming their elders, so they just chose the word "mu" for admiration.

"Have the lady and the Marquis moved out?"

Lu Chang'gong nodded. "They all moved out several years ago after Concubine Ge took over the household."

Lin Yunwan smiled. With Wei Shi's temper, she probably wouldn't tolerate Ge Bao'er, but she also wouldn't dare to Lu Zhengliu.

How is the Old Madam now?

Lin Yunwan spoke in a nonchalant tone, but what she really wanted to ask was whether the Old Madam was dead.

Lu Chang'gong also disliked the Old Madam, and said indifferently, "She's paralyzed from a stroke; her life is worse than death."

Lin Yunwan was not surprised.

Back then, when Old Madam Lu poisoned Ge Bao'er, how could Ge Bao'er let her get away with it?

Lu Chang'gong said calmly, "After you left, the Lu family has been without a mistress, and no one is willing to marry into the family. The Stewardess manages all the affairs, but in reality, it's Concubine Ge who holds the reins. He... later took a few Concubines, but only for procreation; he never gave them any respect."

"Concubine Zhu Qing is still very favored and helps manage the Inner Residence."

"The Lu family's Clan School has also disbanded. The Lu family almost fell apart right after you left."

It sounds like a complete mess.

But these were all expected events, and Lin Yunwan had no interest in listening to every detail.

"Concubine Ge is not an easy person to get along with. Chang Gong, how have you been these past few years...?"

Lu Chang'gong smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm doing very well."

Lin Yunwan wished to hear the details.

Lu Chang'gong then said, "Concubine Zhu Qing is very clever and takes good care of me. He... also favors me and Mu'er. I live in the Front Courtyard, and Concubine Ge is just a Concubine after all, so she can't really do anything to me. Lu Changzong has also been spoiled and is no threat."

"The Marquis's wife is gone, and the Old Madam is no longer involved. Now, no one in the Lu family can make things difficult for me."

"Only..."

Lin Yunwan asked, "But what?"

Lu Chang'gong pursed his lips and said softly, "Without you, this doesn't feel like home."

Lin Yunwan's gaze softened even more.

She cautioned Lu Chang'gong, "It sounds like you're doing quite well in the Lu family, but Concubine Ge is malicious. You and Zhu Qing must be careful. Don't let anyone else handle your daily meals."

In fact, given Zhu Qing's keen observation, all of her words were unnecessary.

Lu Chang'gong, however, sensed something amiss and frowned, asking, "You mean...?"

Lin Yunwan put it more bluntly. "Before I left, the Old Madam poisoned Concubine Ge, and Concubine Ge herself knew about it."

Lu Chang'gong was indeed a little surprised.

He thought about it carefully and suddenly realized, "No wonder the Old Madam suddenly became paralyzed. Concubine Ge later became so close to Nanny Yan, who served the Old Madam."

Perhaps she was poisoned by Concubine Ge!

He's really learned an amazing secret today!