"A-Yun," Tang Mingfan seemed to have aged several years—since Tang Zhuyun's transmigration, apart from the initial incident of climbing into bed that caused him to appear so dejected, there seemed to have been no other moment like this, "You deliberately prevented Old General Xue from revealing the truth, didn't you?"
He was just pedantic, not stupid; he understood after a little thought.
Tang Zhuyun said, "Father, there's no real truth. The truth is that you and Mother loved each other. Grandmother mistreated Mother, but as for the difficult childbirth, in the end, it was fate. Who can fight against fate? Father, it's late, you should lie down."
Tang Mingfan shook his head, his eyes bloodshot. "I can't sleep. When I close my eyes, your mother's image appears before me."
On the table next to me were cold spring rolls and wontons, which looked completely untouched.
Tang Baixin himself, "I've already tried to persuade Father, but he just can't let go."
Tang Zhuyun said, "Father, you lie on the bed, let me massage your head, it will make you feel a little better."
Tang Mingfan was having a terrible headache, so after refusing several times, he finally agreed.
Tang Baixin laid out the bedding and helped Tang Mingfan over.
Tang Zhuyun rolled up her sleeves and sat down on the edge of the bed, extending her slender hand to press the acupoints on Tang Mingfan's head with varying degrees of pressure.
After a little over fifteen minutes, Tang Mingfan finally fell asleep.
Tang Baixin about to speak, but Tang Zhuyun stopped her by silencing her.
The brother and sister tiptoed out.
"A-Yun, you really have a way," Tang Baixin to himself. "Did your trip to the Xue Family go smoothly?"
Tang Zhuyun shook her head and said, "Father has just fallen asleep temporarily and will probably wake up soon. As for the Xue Family, if they are truly our maternal relatives, blood is thicker than water, how could things not go smoothly?"
No matter how harsh the Xue Family's words were, they still wanted to acknowledge her and her elder brother.
Therefore, no matter how much they hated him, they wouldn't do anything too outrageous to Tang Mingfan.
Tang Baixin remained silent for a long time before asking, "What do you think?"
"What?"
"The matter of recognizing relatives."
Tang Zhuyun was slightly surprised. "Could you possibly deny it?"
Didn't the ancients place great importance on bloodlines?
Shouldn't it be the modern person like her who hesitates about this kind of thing...?
"A-Yun, I certainly think we should acknowledge it, both emotionally and in terms of interests. However, this matter is not a good thing for the Prince," Tang Baixin seriously.
Tang Zhuyun had never thought about this question.
But after Tang Baixin's reminder, she immediately understood.
Perhaps they feared the Prince of Jin's Residence would become too prosperous... often, after reaching its peak comes decline.
In particular, the Xue Family holds real military power!
Associating with the Xue Family should be a major taboo for the princes.
Tang Baixin continued, "A-Yun, to be fair, the Prince treats you extremely well. As a man, I may not have the Prince's magnanimity."
"What do you mean?" Tang Zhuyun was a little confused.
"The prince didn't mind Linlin at all."
Tang Zhuyun wanted to roll her eyes. That was his own daughter, okay? What did he care?
But then again, even before the truth was revealed, Prince of Jin seemed to treat Linlin quite well and never scolded her for this matter.
Sigh, he always thought he was a fairy, and he knew that what happened before had nothing to do with him!
"And about your sister-in-law's matter, it's a matter of helping others achieve their goals; not everyone has that kind of magnanimity. Actually, thinking about it now, wasn't it also giving you face?"
"After you were kidnapped, the prince mobilized troops overnight to rescue you. In such an emergency, he was also able to take care of my father, who is getting old. I don't know I could do that."
"Your sister-in-law abandoned everything to be with me, and I've always told myself I have to treat her well. I often use the Prince as my role model..."
Oh my goodness, the Prince of Jin has become a benchmark?
Her older brother is such a good person.
"Therefore, A-Yun, you can't only consider your family in everything and hurt the Prince's feelings. Especially in this matter, it could mean the Prince's future prospects or even his life, so you must be even more cautious."
Tang Zhuyun was caught in a dilemma.
If they didn't acknowledge the kinship, the Xue Family would tear Tang Mingfan apart... But acknowledging the kinship is indeed what the eldest brother said; it's like stabbing Prince of Jin in the back.
It's difficult, really too difficult.
After returning home, she tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
As dawn approached, Tang Zhuyun was getting ready to prepare meals for the two men who were going to court when she heard Tang Baixin say that Tang Mingfan had a fever.
She rushed into the room to check on him; it wasn't just a fever, it was a high fever.
So the whole family started to get busy, getting medicine, boiling medicine, feeding medicine, and taking care of her... Soon someone would be coming to the house for the third-day celebration, and Tang Zhuyun was so busy that her hair was practically standing on end.
The Prince of Jin came to help.
Tang Zhuyun shooed him away. "You're going to court, so you can't help with things at home. The Xue Family... don't you want to go check on them?"
Recognizing kinship would be bad for the Prince of Jin; he must have realized that.
At this point, shouldn't we focus our attention on this matter, since it's a serious one?
The Prince of Jin clearly didn't think so, and said calmly, "No need. What are you trying to do?"
When he stood in the kitchen, Tang Zhuyun immediately felt that the entire kitchen looked miniature because of his tall stature.
"Let's have some noodles," Tang Zhuyun said. "Would you like a bowl?"
As she spoke, she bent down and added two pieces of firewood to the bottom of the stove.
The Prince of Jin said, "I'll help you light the stove."
Tang Zhuyun: "... No need."
Don't turn back and burn the fire out; then what's the point of cooking noodles?
The Prince of Jin, however, had already lifted his robe, sat down on a small stool in front of the stove, and skillfully started a fire.
Tang Zhuyun: Have you practiced it?
Perhaps her expression betrayed her true feelings, for Prince of Jin said, "In the Xiao Family, children over the age of seven must go to the border military camp for more than half a year of training every year. I went even earlier, at the age of six."
"Why?"
"Because I almost blew up the gunpowder depot with firecrackers," said the Prince of Jin.
Gunpowder?
Indeed, these are the Four Great Inventions of ancient China; the ancients were right.
Prince of Jin was quite mischievous as a child... It was probably only due to later events that he developed a cold and aloof personality.
The firelight illuminated his face, and the fleeting, warm longing in his eyes, a result of recollection.
"When I arrived, I was too small, so I was assigned to the cookhouse. Although I've always been tall, I still had to stand on a chair and carry a big spatula to cook..."
Tang Zhuyun could imagine the situation and couldn't help but say, "How come you didn't fall into the pot...?"
"I did fall in, but luckily I had just put in a lot of vegetables, so I didn't get burned. After that, I could only tend the fire. When I got back to the Xiao Family, they all laughed at me, calling me the 'Fire-Tending General.'"
Although Prince of Jin's childhood may have had its shortcomings, it also had its happy moments.
However, that happiness was later taken away by his own father.
Tang Zhuyun dared not talk to him about the Xiao Family, but she understood what the Prince of Jin was burdened with.
How could someone like that stop just because of her?
So Tang Zhuyun finally asked, "Your Highness, if I were the granddaughter of the Xue Family, Xue Family wanted to make amends to me and treated me very well, what would you do?"