Old Affairs!

There were unfilial sons everywhere, but mothers who did not cherish their own children were rare in this world.

Li Yan understood his wife's feelings. He reached out and patted her shoulder, signaling her not to let her anger get the better of her, then said, "You treat Mu Yang as your son, so do you think I don't? Even after we had Sinian, did our feelings for him grow distant by so much as a fraction? Back then, we were worried Mu Yang would be neglected, so we treated him even better than before. In our hearts, what difference is there between Mu Yang and Sinian, between one born to us and one raised by us?"

"But you know perfectly well that Mu Yang is still part of the Lu family's bloodline. Back then, they thought Mu Yang had no chance of surviving after being struck by lightning, and they were also worried he might be deformed. That was why they staged that old 'civet cat for the Crown Prince' ruse, replacing the Crown Prince with a civet cat. To prevent the truth from being exposed, they forced you and me to leave Tiandu overnight and flee to Jiangnan. You didn't want to exchange the children either. After all, who would willingly hand their newborn daughter over to someone else? But in the end, didn't we still have to agree?"

"Later, when they discovered Mu Yang was still alive, they turned their attention back to him. When Mu Yang was five, the Nameless Old Daoist came here because of his reputation. Wasn't he invited by the Lu family? Otherwise, how could he have found this place? How could he have known that our family had a child bedridden with illness? Without that Daoist's medicinal decoctions and careful treatment over all those years, whether Mu Yang could have pulled through and survived until now would still be unknown. You knew what his condition was back then. We lived in fear every day, waking from nightmares again and again, terrified that Mu Yang's heartbeat would suddenly stop. It was so fragile and feeble, as though it might leave us at any moment—"

"The Nameless Old Daoist stayed in Jiangnan City for six whole years, only taking his leave after Mu Yang's condition stabilized and slightly improved. The Nameless Old Daoist left, but did that mean the Lu family's eyes turned away too? Impossible. I'm afraid the Lu family has still been watching Mu Yang grow. It's only because Mu Yang's condition remains worrying and he hasn't shown any exceptional qualities that they haven't taken him back yet—"

"Of course, they can't take him back now either. If they brought Mu Yang back to the Lu family, under what pretext would they settle him there? A distant relative? An illegitimate son from outside? Or—an eldest son and grandson they abandoned in the past? Wouldn't that be a slap in their own faces? The Old Master of the Lu family values his reputation so highly that he could never do something so foolish."

Luo Qi understood that her husband's analysis made perfect sense. She said quietly, "Since the Lu family can't take him back, Mu Yang is still our son. What else is there for you to worry about?"

Li Yan let out a bitter laugh, and even his resolute face held a trace of suffering that could not be dispelled. He said, "What I described is naturally the best possible outcome. If the Lu family doesn't want him back, Mu Yang will remain our son forever. Life with us may be plain and ordinary, but it will be peaceful and contented, without the intrigue and deceit of Tiandu's aristocrats."

"And their cold-blooded ruthlessness," Luo Qi said with a cold snort. "What are they incapable of doing?"

Li Yan smiled at his wife. He knew that Luo Qi had harbored a deep-seated grudge against the Lu family for many years.

"But what if the Lu family wants to take him back? Old Master Lu grows older with every passing year. Wouldn't he want to see his grandson before he reaches the end of his life? Lu Qingming is now the governor of a province, a powerful frontier official, and his voice in the Lu family grows louder by the day. Wouldn't he want to bring back his own son? Most importantly, there's Miss Gongsun—Miss Gongsun didn't understand what had happened before, but could she still not understand now?"

"If that's the case, then if the Lu family wants to take him back, it would be entirely reasonable. At that time, what power would we have to resist? Never mind that the Lu family is a mighty clan of Tiandu—even the entire Xifeng Empire ranks among the strongest in the world. And there's Miss Gongsun too. Miss Gongsun yearns desperately for her son, and her longstanding heartache surely hasn't healed. If she came to you and asked for him, would you give him to her or not?"

This time, Luo Qi fell silent.

She was hostile toward the Lu family, believing its men to be cold and ruthless, willing to use any means to achieve their goals.

But she did not hate Gongsun Yu. She knew that if Gongsun Yu learned the truth, she would likely suffer ten or a hundred times more than Luo Qi herself.

Besides, Luo Qi had originally been Miss Gongsun's maid, and it was Miss Gongsun who had helped clear and overturn the wrongful case against her parents. Otherwise, she would probably have fallen into the hands of her enemies long ago.

It was precisely because of this that she, an outstanding student of the Imperial Academy of Arts, had been willing to swear herself into servitude and spend her life serving Miss Gongsun Yu. Miss Gongsun Yu was truly the gentlest and kindest woman she had ever met, but—

"Miss's life is so bitter," Luo Qi said softly.

"Yes, Miss's life is bitter, and so are ours. But none of us has suffered as bitterly as Mu Yang. Just look at the life he's led from birth until now. He practically grew up soaking in medicine jars. From the moment he first learned to drink milk, he had to drink medicine too. For more than a decade, he's had to drink three large bowls every day. His appearance is nothing special, and people mock and ridicule him wherever he goes. Because of his illness, his intelligence was less than a tenth that of an ordinary child. Although his health has improved somewhat over the years and his intelligence has slowly recovered, that is precisely what worries me most—"

Li Yan looked at Li Mu Yang, who was chatting and laughing with Cui Xiaoxin and Li Sinian in the courtyard, his face filled with tenderness. He said, "A child his age is at the most sensitive stage, with the fiercest pride. When he was young, he could ignore people calling him dark and ugly, or perhaps he simply didn't understand what they meant. But can he still ignore it now? If he takes a girl he likes, would she like someone like Mu Yang?"

"What should we do?" Luo Qi clenched her fists, her heart aching terribly. "We have to find a way to help our child. Should we talk to him? Guide him properly?"

Li Yan shook his head and said, "Mu Yang suddenly asking for leave this time already made me suspicious. When I went to school to request leave for him, I took special care to ask a student at the entrance to his class. Mu Yang stopped going because the teacher suspected him of cheating on an exam."

"What?" Luo Qi flew into a rage and shouted, "Which teacher accused my son of cheating? Don't I know my own son? He comes in dead last in every exam—what would someone in dead last place need to cheat for?"

"That's not it. I heard Mu Yang did rather well on this exam—"

"So that means they can accuse my son of cheating? We parents have seen how hard Mu Yang has been working lately. He was injured that badly, yet he still hugged his schoolbag and read all day, doing several test papers every day. No, we can't let this go. I'm going to the school to find his teacher. My son may be foolish and easy to bully, but we parents can't foolishly let them bully us too. Otherwise, how stifled would the child feel—"

Li Yan grabbed Luo Qi, who was worked up, and said, "Don't be rash. Going to the school and making a scene now won't help. The most important thing is still the Literary Examination. Haven't you seen it?"

"Seen what?" Luo Qi asked.

"Hope."

"What?"

"Hope. The hope on Mu Yang's face." Li Yan said, "Look at Mu Yang's eyes. Has he ever been this eager to study before?"

Luo Qi took a careful look and found that her son wore a brilliant smile, his eyes glittering as brightly as the stars that often hung in the night sky.

"Mu Yang wants to attend university," Luo Qi said.

"Mu Yang doesn't merely want to attend university. He wants to attend Xifeng University," Li Yan said.

"How do you know?" Luo Qi looked utterly shocked. "Xifeng University is the empire's finest prestigious school. With Mu Yang's grades—he'll probably find it very difficult to get in, won't he?"

"I happened to overhear Sinian mention it. She said that her brother should go to Xifeng University first to scout the way and familiarize himself with the situation, and that she would get in a year later." Li Yan gestured toward Cui Xiaoxin with his chin and said, "I heard that young lady is going to Xifeng University too."

"What are we going to do?" Luo Qi was filled with worry. "If Miss Cui gets in but Mu Yang fails, how badly will that crush him? He finally put everything he had into doing something. He absolutely cannot fail."

Li Yan sighed and said, "Where there's a will, there's a way. This can only depend on Mu Yang's own efforts."

Luo Qi's eyes flickered. After pondering for a long while, she said quietly, "What if we ask the Lu family for help?"

Li Yan was stunned. He said, "Weren't you the one who least wanted any contact with the Lu family? You were just worrying that they would take your son away, and now you're thinking of sending him to them yourself?"

"If the child won't have to suffer grievances—" Luo Qi's eyes reddened. "What does it matter if I suffer a little?"

"—"

Cui Xiaoxin closed the textbook and said to Li Mu Yang, "Imperial History can come to a temporary end here. This is the subject you've mastered best and are most familiar with. Starting tomorrow, we'll review the Yin Yang Calculation Scripture. That's your weak subject, so it will require more time—"

"No problem." Li Mu Yang grinned. "I'll listen to Teacher Xiaoxin."

Cui Xiaoxin stood up and said, "It's getting late. I'll come again tomorrow."

Li Sinian ran over and took Cui Xiaoxin's hand. "Sister Xiaoxin, stay for dinner at our house before you leave!"

"No need." Cui Xiaoxin refused with a smile. "There are elders waiting for me at home. I can't make them worry."

"Sister Xiaoxin—"

Cui Xiaoxin merely smiled without agreeing to Li Sinian's request. She came to the Li family every day to help tutor him, yet had never once eaten a homely meal at Li Mu Yang's home.

Luo Qi and Li Yan also came out to urge her to stay. Cui Xiaoxin politely declined their kindness, then shouldered her bag and walked toward the door.

"Mu Yang—" Luo Qi pinched her son's ear and said, exasperated by his failure to live up to expectations, "You silly boy, what are you busy tidying up for? Hurry up and see Student Cui off."

"Oh, oh—" Li Mu Yang finally came to his senses, dropped his books, and chased after Cui Xiaoxin.

He rushed to the courtyard gate and saw a luxurious carriage stopped beside Cui Xiaoxin.

A man in a cyan robe quickly pulled open the carriage's brocade curtain and shielded Cui Xiaoxin's head as he invited her inside.

The curtain fell shut. The man in cyan glanced toward where Li Mu Yang stood, and the luxurious carriage slowly disappeared into the night.

Li Mu Yang stood beneath the dim, shadowy branches of the smoke-basket tree, his heart left aching and empty.