Returning Home

Mrs. Zhang, now intrigued, prompted: "Fuqiu, tell us what happened."

"I was young then." Fuqiu began: "I'm just a servant girl tasked with cleaning. The master I worked for had several concubines in addition to his wife, so naturally there were more illegitimate sons and daughters. I saw with my own eyes that a concubine's child pushed a few-year-old legitimate son into a pond, and the legitimate son almost drowned."

Mrs. Zhang gasped, covering her mouth: "How could a child so young be so cruel?"

Fuqiu explained: "They just want to fight for the inheritance. As long as the legitimate son is gone, the family inheritance will naturally fall to the illegitimate son."

Mrs. Zhang nodded: "It must be the influence of adults. After all, how could children understand such things?"

"Those concubines just wanted to use their children to climb higher." Fuqiu continued: "At the time, I was too young and scared witless. I was terrified someone would discover I'd witnessed the whole incident. Naturally, I couldn't focus on my work and started making mistakes again and again. In the end, I was sold out of the estate. That's how I met you, miss."

Zhang bristled: "These concubine schemes are strictly off-limits. They're a recipe for disaster—not to mention murder. Wenwu, listen up: 'No matter where life takes you in the future, stay far away from such manipulations. Got it?"

Resigned, Xu Wenwu assured her: "Mother, I understand! I promise I'll keep this in mind."

Mrs. Zhang nodded with satisfaction.

"Your mother's right." The old man exclaimed: "We'll need to talk to those boys back home and make sure they don't get any ideas like that. You see, I've got only your grandmother, and we're doing just fine, aren't we?"

"There's also Qibao." Mrs. Zhang reminded him: "When you are looking for a husband in the future, you can't look for someone who has a shady mind, understand?"

Qibao replied: "Aunt, I understand!"

The group chatted about this and that, stopping to eat snacks when they got hungry.

As the sun gradually set in the west, the entrance to Huamen Town could be seen.

When they reached town, the Dean's carriage pulled up alongside their cart. They exchanged greetings, and then parted ways. Kui Wu continued toward Xu Family Village with his passengers.

The closer they got to home, the more eager everyone became.

Soon, the carriage rumbled into the village. At this hour, most villagers would be at home preparing dinner, so there were few people around.

The carriage swayed to a stop in front of the Xu family gate, which was tightly shut.

Kui Wu got out and knocked on the gate.

Inside, they heard Uncle Fu's voice.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!"

The gate opened, and Uncle Fu stepped out. He paused in surprise upon seeing Kui Wu, then spotted the old man and Mrs. Zhang getting out of the carriage. His face cracked into a big smile.

"Old Madam, Second Madam, and Third Madam! The old man's back!" Uncle Fu shouted as he hobbled inside on his crooked legs.

Uncle Xu laughed: "Uncle Fu, slow down. You don't want to fall, do you?"

Inside the house, they heard Uncle Fu's call and rushed out one after another.

"Grandma!" Qibao, smiling brightly, ran towards Mrs. Wang.

As soon as Mrs. Wang saw Qibao, she spread her arms wide. She hugged her tightly, calling her sweet names.

Uncle Xu smiled and asked: "Big brother, was it fun in the city?"

Xu Dabo replied: "Qingyun City is big and lively, especially at night. So many people are out and about. It's different from our town. Our hot pot shop is doing great business."

Xu Erbo exclaimed: "Sounds like I should go check it out too."

"Miss, you're finally back! We miss you so much!" Yue Jiao hugged Qibao's arm and said coquettishly.

Mrs. Li laughed: "Why are you guys back at this time? Mother still said that you guys are not expected to come back for another two days!"

Mrs. Zhang replied: "We miss home! No matter how nice it is out there, it's not like being here."

The four wolves and one dog were also very excited. Bai Shuang and Bai Xue kept jumping onto Qibao and the old man, sometimes licking their masters' faces.

Xiaoba's tail wagged like a spinning wheel, making soft humming noises. He was so happy he looked like a wriggling eel.

Qibao gently stroked each of their heads, calming them down.

Mrs. Lin looked a bit miffed: "What's this, child? You think the white wolves and Xiaoba matter more to you than I do?"

Qibao laughed, threw herself into Lin's arms, hugged her mother's waist and called coquettishly: "Mother!"

Smiling, Mrs. Lin embraced Qibao: "Did you enjoy your time out there?"

"Yes, we had a great time and even bought some gifts! There's something for everyone."

Just then, several figures rushed in from outside.

"Grandpa, Sister! You're back!" Xiaowu, drenched in sweat, ran in and hugged the nearest figure, which happened to be his grandfather.

The old man patted Xiaowu's head, laughing: "Hey, little rascal! You're all sweaty again. Where did you go playing?"

"I was practicing my lightness skills with my brothers, Grandpa." Xiaowu replied: "When we saw the carriage at the gate, I knew you must've come home."

"Third Brother! Fourth Brother! Fifth Brother! Sixth Brother!" Qibao called out.

"Sister! We missed you to death!" Her older brothers, ignoring everything else, swarmed around Qibao, bombarding her with questions.

The old man said: "Okay, everyone stop talking in the yard and go back inside the house."

The servants were also overjoyed. They rushed around making tea and bringing out snacks. Dinner was almost ready, but upon seeing the family return, Aunt Jin and Aunt Yin started planning more dishes.

The family gathered in the hall and sat down as Mrs. Zhang opened the parcels she had brought.

Xiaowu rushed up and asked: "Aunt, did you bring any gifts for us?"

Smack!

Second Uncle Xu's hand landed hard on the back of Xiaowu's neck: "Always thinking about gifts! Your grandfather and your uncle just got back after a long day on horseback. Don't you care about us?"

Mrs. Zhang smiled: "Second, stop hitting the children. Xiaowu was just showing some interest, and that's a good thing!"

First Uncle Xu said: "Everyone brought gifts. Mother, this is what my wife and I picked out for you. Do you like it?"

Mrs. Zhang picked up a jade bracelet: "Mother, this bracelet is perfect for your age. The shopkeeper said jade is good for overall health. There's also this set of clothes. I saw similar ones worn by ladies in town. I'm sure you'll look even better in them than they do. So, I went ahead and bought them. Mother, would you like to try it?"

Mrs. Wang gently held Mrs. Zhang's hand: "You're always so kind. I love it. But don't forget to buy things for yourself too."

"Mother, don't worry." Mrs. Zhang said: "I got myself new clothes too."

Next, she gave each of the boys and the twelve guards a white jade hairpin, each pin unique in style.

"Thank you, Aunt!"

"Thank you, Madam!"

The boys eagerly accepted their hairpins, turning them over and over to admire the details.

"Second and Third Sister-in-law, here are some outfits for you, similar to mine but in colors that suit you better." Mrs. Zhang took out two more sets of clothing.

The two women graciously accepted the gifts, smiling and saying: "Eldest Sister-in-law, we have plenty of clothes already, more than enough."

"These are the latest styles from the city." Madam Zhang explained: "I thought they'd be nicer than what's sold in town, so I brought one set for each of you too."

Not only did the children receive gifts, but even the servants and maids were given presents. The girls got beautiful ornaments, and everyone was so happy they could hardly stop grinning.