Xiao Huzi sighed, despairingly saying, "Didn't Brother Anci give me a bunch of books? I've been reading them from morning till night, and all I want is a day off. My dad thinks I've gone too far and makes me kneel in the ancestral hall, kneel, kneel, kneel... my knees are going to be ruined."
Xiao Huzi took the purse off his waist, placed it on the stone table, and looked up at the Jin Shanyao.
"Auntie, what's the point of worshipping that pile of broken wooden planks? Can they read for me or write my essays? They can't do anything, so why should I kneel on them?"
Jin Shanyao glanced at her purse, then at Xiao Huzi, and nodded firmly. "You're right."
"I knew it, only Auntie understands me..."
Xiao Huzi picked up the purse and retied it around his waist. Under Jin Shanyao's shocked gaze, he spoke up, "We can't just do the same just because others are doing it, right? We need to have our own ideas, right?"
Jin Shanyao stared at the purse at Xiao Huzi's waist, pursed her lips, and decided not to offer any opinion this time. She felt there was a reason why Xiao Huzi was beaten.
Seeing Jin Shanyao's fierce gaze, Xiao Huzi subtly slipped his purse into his belt, not a single corner showing.
"I told my dad, ancestral halls are a joke. If even one ancestor was cuckolded, you've all been kowtowing to the wrong person."
If you really want to worship them, you might as well enshrine my mother and grandmother; at least that would prove that my mother is my mother... So..."
Xiao Huzi pointed to his own butt, his meaning clear without words.
"That's right... Why did they hit you?" Jin Shanyao a little confused.
Xiao Huzi squinted at her, "What else could it be? Because I didn't make offerings to them. Is it really worth killing me over something as trivial as who puts offerings on the altar?"
He sniffed. "Forget it, there's nothing more to say. The past is too painful to recall. I can only say that life is hard without you."
Jin Shanyao thought the Hu family had gone too far, beating Xiao Huzi just because of who should be on the offering table. Besides, he wasn't wrong! This time, she sided with Xiao Huzi. In a family, no one should be beaten just because they told the truth.
"Here's what I'll do: I'll draw you a few more... so you won't get bullied when I go back to the capital."
Xiao Huzi's eyes widened. "You're leaving? What will I do if you leave?"
He panicked completely, grabbing Jin Shanyao's hand and pleading, "Auntie, do you think we could spend some money to buy me from my mother?"
The Jin Shanyao, and the resolute voice rang out, "No..."
Xiao Huzi's head buzzed, and he stared at her in disbelief, "Auntie... you refused without even asking the price??"
Jin Shanyao chuckled and ruffled his hair. "Silly boy, Auntie can't buy you. You have your own path to walk."
Xiao Huzi pouted, looking at her with teary eyes, "Auntie, my path is full of thorns... How could you bear to leave me?"
Jin Shanyao cupped his little face in her hands, her eyes filled with tenderness. " Xiao Huzi, Auntie loves you very much, but Auntie can't stay with you forever. Now that things are settled here, I have to go."
Xiao Huzi assumed she was saying she wanted to return to the capital. He gritted his teeth, took off the longevity lock from around his neck, and then took out his purse and coins from his belt and put them together.
"Please give me a few more Beating-Resistance Talisman Paper; I'm afraid I won't survive until I grow up."
Jin Shanyao chuckled, "Alright... Auntie will draw it for you right away."
In the study.
Xiao Huzi sat obediently opposite her, watching Jin Shanyao talismans. "Auntie, I copied your pattern at home, but it's not working!"
Jin Shanyao chuckled, "I infused my brush with Spiritual Power; since you don't have Spiritual Power, it won't work."
She handed the drawn talisman to Xiao Huzi and casually asked, "Will you go to visit your grandparents' graves after they pass away?"
Xiao Huzi stared at the talisman and replied, "Go for it... Although they beat me, they were very kind to me. They even gave me all the chicken legs from home... Besides, I don't think that death is the end of it. I believe they just went to the Underworld to wait for me, and we'll meet again sooner or later."
Jin Shanyao looked up in surprise, not expecting Xiao Huzi to be so quick to understand. "Then why don't you kneel in the ancestral hall?"
Xiao Huzi carefully put away the talisman and stared longingly at the Jin Shanyao. "I don't even know them. Isn't the saying that raising children is for old age security and to take care of you in your old age?"
Think about it, my great-grandfather gave birth to my grandfather, and my grandfather took care of my great-grandfather in his old age and saw him off in his final days. Isn't that a proper cause and effect?
My grandfather gave birth to my father, and my father took care of my grandfather in his old age and saw him off in his final days. Isn't this the end of cause and effect?
"When it comes to my generation... Auntie, who do you think I should take care of in my old age and see to my death?"
"Your parents?"
"Right..." Xiao Huzi placed his hands on the table, quite seriously, and said, "Auntie, what you drew isn't just a talisman, it's my life... You must infuse it with plenty of Spiritual Power."
"Okay... I'll infuse you with more Spiritual Power."
For several days in a row, Xiao Huzi would run to the Anzhi Hall whenever he had a spare moment, trying to persuade Jin Shanyao to buy him... until she ruthlessly left Qingzhou Prefecture.
The little one was crying so hard it was heartbreaking!
The capital city.
Meng Anci held a cornbread in his hands, took a dry bite, and swallowed it with tears in his eyes. More than two months had passed, and his aunt and sister still hadn't returned.
Uh... he felt a little choked up. He picked up the bowl, took a sip of cabbage soup, put it down, and continued to stare longingly at the gate of the Anzhi Hall. For some reason, he felt that April and May this year had been exceptionally long.
His sister is almost of marriageable age; surely she'll come back for the coming-of-age ceremony, right? They wouldn't lie to him, would they? They wouldn't just go back to Qingzhou Prefecture and never come back, would they?
Just as he was lost in thought, Dahuang darted out of the Anzhi Hall. Meng Anci jumped up and excitedly asked, " Dahuang... is it Auntie and the others who are back??"
He strode forward, but before he could open the door, he heard Qing He's voice from outside, " Dahuang... you jumped over the wall again. I've told you not to climb over the wall so many times."
Meng Anci excitedly flung open the courtyard gate and, sure enough, saw his aunt and sister standing by the oxcart. He cried out excitedly, "Auntie, sister... you're back!"
Jin Shanyao closely and exclaimed, " Anci, you've lost so much weight! Haven't you eaten?"
"How can I eat when you're not home..."
The group entered the courtyard while talking.
Jin Shanyao pulled Meng Anci up and down, then turned her head and saw the cornbread and cabbage soup on the stone table. She frowned. "You're going to eat this?"
Meng Anci nodded, "I want to save the good food so we can eat together when you come back."
Meng Anzhi stood to the side, unsure what to say for a moment, before finally managing to stammer, "How about... we go to Top Scholar Tower for dinner tonight?"
"Okay! I'll put the cornbread away right away."
Before Meng Anci could finish speaking, he had already slipped into the kitchen. When he came out again, the courtyard was empty.
Where are they?
He stood there, stunned. "Auntie? Sister?"
Am I hallucinating?
"What are you standing there for? Let's go..."
The sound of Jin Shanyao came from outside the courtyard. Meng Anci chuckled and ran outside.
The three of them were chatting and laughing when they turned out of the alley and saw Shi Chong standing not far away, looking in their direction.
Meng Anci paused, subtly shielding Meng Anzhi on the inside, his gaze darkening. "What's wrong with this person...? Ghost One, relentlessly haunting me."
Meng Anzhi smiled. "Don't worry about him. He'll leave eventually."
When Jin Shanyao followed the gaze, Shi Chong had already turned and left. She narrowed her eyes and was about to chase after him.
"Auntie," Meng Anzhi grabbed her, "Leave it to me."
Jin Shanyao thought for a moment and said seriously, "Don't let anyone die."
Meng Anzhi couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Auntie, what are you thinking... As long as he doesn't hurt me, I won't touch him. Let's go eat."
The three of them had a good meal at Top Scholar Tower and then strolled around the streets for a long time before going home.