The Miao King looked at him with an imposing aura despite not being angry, his aged eyes perceptive as flas: "Ao Rong, do you realize your cri?"
Manager Cen hadn’t heard this na in years.
He was montarily dazed, and long-lost mories surged forth, overwhelming his mind and pressing heavily on his spine.
"Ao Rong..."
He murmured to himself, struggling out of one heartbreaking mory after another.
He had thought that after so many years, he would have forgotten, but the past was still etched into his soul.
"So, you... knew all along."
Miaojiang people had co and gone in the Governor Mansion, yet none had recognized him. He had thought that there would never be a day when he would revert to being Ao Rong again.
The Miao King spoke coldly: "You are Ayuan’s trusted aide; how can I let you stay by his side without thoroughly investigating you?"
The Miao King’s thods—he should’ve always been aware of them and never harbored any faint hope.
Manager Cen knelt on the ground, not offering a single word in defense.
Indeed, from the mont he heard the na "Ao Rong," he had ceased struggling.
The day of his judgnt had finally co.
The Miao King declared: "You stole Miaojiang’s Holy dicine and fled in fear of punishnt. Your cri is compounded, and normally, your death would be unworthy of regret. However, considering your years of loyalty to Ayuan, the death penalty may be waived."
"Thank you, Miao King, for sparing my life," Manager Cen acknowledged, resignedly raising his left hand and about to break his arm with a sudden motion.
The Miao King flicked his hand, countering with Inner Strength and stopping him: "Your arm is aningless to . Keep it for your own use. Just rember this—your life was spared because of Ayuan. If you dare betray him, I will not only kill you but also unearth your sister from her grave and obliterate her remains to dust!"
Everyone has their weaknesses, and Ao Ling was Manager Cen’s fatal one.
Their parents had passed away early, leaving the siblings to rely on each other. Later, his sister married into the Central Plains but unfortunately contracted the plague.
To save his sister, he risked stealing the Holy dicine, but he was ultimately too late—his sister’s entire family perished in the epidemic.
Having lost his only family, his will to live dissipated.
Just as he was about to end his own life, he encountered seven-year-old Lu Yuan.
Young Lu Yuan offered him a stead bun: "A bad life is still better than death. If you die, won’t you leave no one to collect your body? How about this—give the silver you have on you, and I’ll take care of your corpse."
For so reason, he impulsively retorted, "What if you ran off with the money? You look like a little beggar; your words aren’t reliable at all."
Young Lu Yuan thought for a mont and earnestly nodded: "Your suspicion isn’t wrong. Alright then, I’ll co by daily to watch over you. If you die, the money will be mine. Words are wind—we should write sothing down. Wait!"
The small child ran off, pattering away, and ca back with a piece of red couplet paper torn from soone’s door: "Bite your finger and write a blood-letter."
Manager Cen laughed in exasperation: "You want my silver but demand my blood as collateral?"
Young Lu Yuan replied self-righteously: "I’m just a kid. What if I get injured while writing and then fall sick from the infection? I’d be too weak to deal with your corpse. You’re planning to die anyway, so infection shouldn’t scare you—write it!"
For a mont, Manager Cen found himself unable to argue.
Unexpectedly, he tried several tis but couldn’t even break the skin of his finger.
Young Lu Yuan snorted: "See, you don’t *really* want to die!"
"And what’s your na, little rascal?"
"I’m Ayuan."
From then on, young Lu Yuan ca to see him every day. Then, one day, young Lu Yuan stopped coming.
With his heart tethered to a new concern, he lost the urge to die.
Six years passed after their parting.
When he next saw Lu Yuan, the boy had beco the Attendant Student to the Xun family’s young master, gifted with the family na "Lu."
His relationship with Lu Yuan was never solely that of master and servant. The first twenty years of his life were for his sister; the remainder he was willing to dedicate to Lu Yuan.
"Ao Rong, at your command!"
-
After Manager Cen retreated, the Miao King summoned two loyal confidants.
The two had been the only ones to accompany the Miao King into the Capital City. When the Miao King was captured, it was these two who went to inform Liu Qingyun.
The Miao King turned to one of them and said: "Ruan Qing, I need you to handle sothing."
-
"I’m furious! Absolutely furious!"
Liu Qingyun stord into the room, venting her anger in a whirlwind.
Nanny Wan, Lady Du, and Nanny Hu exchanged bewildered looks, unable to figure out who had enraged their household’s true matriarch.
Nanny Wan rolled up her sleeves: "Let this old lady find out who’s to bla—I’ll beat them to the ground!"
Liu Qingyun slamd the table: "My own father—and he couldn’t even recognize his grandson!"
Thud!
Nanny Wan dropped to her knees.
"You there, co in!"
At Liu Qingyun’s command, several trembling individuals cautiously entered the room.
Liu Qingyun slapped a portrait onto the table: "Tell —who is this?"
The group huddled close, examining it from every angle.
Nanny Hu hesitated: "This... looks sowhat familiar."
Nanny Wan added: "Haven’t I seen that robe sowhere? Eh, doesn’t the son-in-law have a similar outfit?"
Lady Du exclaid: "What do you an? This is the son-in-law himself!"
Liu Qingyun froze, asking blankly: "Is it... *really* that difficult to recognize?"
All three nodded in unison.
After all, a portrait can’t be identical to a person, and they weren’t staring at the son-in-law’s face every mont of the day.
Lady Du chuckled: "Though, after a few more glances, it does grow strikingly similar."
Nanny Wan and Nanny Hu nodded fervently in agreent.
"What are you looking at?"
ng Qianqian’s voice ca from the doorway.
The three nannies turned their heads and were about to bow when they suddenly caught sight of the man beside her—a "farm-hand" looking man who seed to have been digging full stretch across ten miles. All three jumped in fright.
"Good heavens! Who is *that*?"
Nanny Wan grabbed a nearby stool in alarm.
ng Qianqian answered, puzzled: "My husband."
Even the servants who attend to Lu Yuan daily don’t necessarily recognize him. Her father, having never seen her son before and relying solely on a portrait, was understandably mistaken.
Liu Qingyun decided to forgive the old man this ti.
-
anwhile, Xun Yu and Bai Yuwei had perfectly missed the Miao King. Galloping back along the route, they searched high and low but saw no trace of him at the city gates.
Xun Yu questioned the guards stationed there: "Did you see an elderly man enter the city alone?"
The guards shook their heads.
"Think carefully once more,"
Xun Yu urged.
The leading guard replied: "Young Master Xun, there weren’t many people entering the city this afternoon. There really wasn’t any old man fitting your description."
Xun Yu pondered for a mont and said to Bai Yuwei: "Could it be that the Miao King has acquaintances in the Capital who picked him up?"
Bai Yuwei replied: "Grandfather never ntioned anything like that."
Xun Yu reassured her: "Here’s a plan—let’s head back to the mansion first, and I’ll have Jinyi Guards search later. In the Capital City, there’s no one the Jinyi Guards can’t find."
Bai Yuwei agreed.
As they arrived at the Xun residence, the Miao King’s guards sought them out.
"Young Mistress!"
The guard saluted Bai Yuwei.
"Ruan Qing?" Bai Yuwei’s eyes brightened. "Where is my grandfather?"
Ruan Qing replied: "The Miao King is at the Governor Mansion."
Xun Yu’s expression changed.
Bai Yuwei was also astonished: "Why would my grandfather go there?"
Ruan Qing explained the Miao King’s roadside wait for a carriage.
Xun Yu regretted deeply.
That old farr... was indeed the Miao King!
Xun Yu said, "Lu Yuan must have recognized the Miao King."
Ruan Qing shook his head: "The Miao King didn’t reveal his identity."
Xun Yu frowned and asked: "You’re saying that Lu Yuan doesn’t know the person he brought back was the Miao King?"
Ruan Qing confird: "Precisely."
Xun Yu calculated inwardly: as long as they retrieved the Miao King before Lu Yuan discovered his true identity, it wouldn’t be too late.
Bai Yuwei eagerly said: "I’ll go find Grandfather!"
Xun Yu’s gaze flickered, and he smiled lightly: "It’s getting late. Since the esteed Miao King has already settled in, why not wait until tomorrow? I’ll accompany you to pay our respects then."
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