Ci Jinzhi

Outside the bookstore, Sun Yan was hiding in a hiding place and stared at the door of the bookstore. His palms were all sweaty because of nervousness.

He has never felt that time has passed so slowly, and the sweet chirping of birds coming from the trees has become extremely noisy.

I don’t know how long I have been suffering like this, but I finally saw Xin You walking out of Qingsong Bookstore. A woman in a blue cloth dress was two steps behind, with her body slightly bowed, as many servants do to their master.

Sun Yan’s eyes fell on the woman’s face and never moved away.

It’s Cui Niang!

Even though they had been separated for more than ten years, the poor and bumpy life left deep marks on the woman's face, which no longer looked as beautiful as he remembered, but he still recognized her at a glance.

Xin You walked very slowly, Shitou Niang walked two steps behind her, unconsciously slowly getting further and further away from Sun Yan.

Sun Yan was watching eagerly, and suddenly Shitou Niang glanced back. He was so frightened that he immediately ducked back, his heart beating wildly.

Xinyou took Shitou Niang into the carriage and went to the embroidery workshop.

The embroidery workshop is indeed researching new patterns. Shitou Niang has been doing sewing work all year round. Although she is not good at embroidery, she has some experience in basic styles.

 After such exchanges, Shitou Niang seemed to be in a good mood on the way back to the bookstore.

“Sister-in-law Sun, if you like the embroidery workshop, you can go to the embroidery workshop to work.”

Ms. Shitou was stunned for a moment and shook her head: "My boss is joking. The little woman's hands are so rough that she can't touch those fine fabrics. It's good to be in a bookstore. I can see Shitou at any time, which makes me feel at ease."

“There are fourteen stones, right?”

 “It’s exactly fourteenth this year.”

“It’s so fast. The first time I saw the stone, he looked like a child.”

Stone Girl looked sad and happy, and murmured: "Yes, it's so fast."

“Did it remind Sister-in-law Sun of something sad?” Xin You apologized.

"No. My boss knows that the little woman brought the stone to Beijing to find his father. After so many years, she has given up long ago. We, the two of us, have been able to meet so many kind people from our boss and Shopkeeper Hu, and we are now living as we are now. Contented."

Xin You moved her lips, wondering what if Daddy Shitou showed up?

 But I still held it back.

She didn't even know if Sun Yan was indeed Shitou's father, whether his appearance would be good or bad for the mother and son who were living a stable life.

After sending Shitou Niang back to the bookstore and explaining some things to Shopkeeper Hu, Xin You went to the place she had made an appointment with Sun Yan.

Sun Yan had already drank several cups of tea, but his voice was still very dry: "Shitou... is our wife..."

Xin You didn't answer, and Sun Yan thought to himself: "That year, my family was really in trouble. In order to have a good life in the future, I left Cuiniang temporarily and went to Beijing to pursue my career. Unexpectedly, I became seriously ill and was thrown into a mass grave by the shop owner. After I died, I was penniless after I survived. Even when I was begging, people thought I was young and refused to give alms. Finally, I had no choice but to purify myself and enter the palace..."

Sun Yan never mentioned such unspeakable past events to anyone, but seeing Shi Shi and his son today had such a great impact on him that he couldn't help but tell Xin You.

“Didn’t Eunuch Sun send someone to his hometown to look for someone later?”

“I went, my hometown was hit by a disaster, and the whole village was gone...”

Xin You listened silently and asked, "When will Eunuch Sun meet Sister Sun and Shitou?"

Sun Yan’s expression changed: “Our family has no intention of recognizing each other!”

Xinyou raised his eyebrows.

Sun Yan lowered his head and took a sip of tea. The hand holding the tea cup couldn't help shaking: "How can our families recognize each other..."

　　After his wife and children lived a stable life, he suddenly appeared in front of them, letting Cuiniang and Shitou know that the person they had been looking for for so many years had become an eunuch? Sun Yan couldn't breathe when he thought about this situation.

 No, no, no, absolutely not!

He immediately bowed to Xin You: "Xin Daizhao, please keep our family's secret secret."

“But Sister-in-law Sun will always be thinking about her.” Xin You reminded.

This is a family matter. Sun Yan doesn't want to recognize her because of her own special circumstances. She can't make her own decision and go to Mrs. Sun's house to talk too much.

Sun Yan smiled bitterly: "That's fine, at least in Cuiniang's heart, I am still her husband. It doesn't matter if you speculate that I am dead, or that I got along well and abandoned her. It is better than letting her know that her husband has become a rootless eunuch. powerful."

"I see."

 “Thank you for your kindness.”

 Sun Yan looked at Xin You and felt eager. He had countless questions to ask about Shi Shi and his son, but in the end he suppressed them all.

Looking at Cuiniang's appearance, he knew that she was doing well now. If he wanted to know more, he could just ask around slowly.

Xin You asked him something: "Eunuch Sun went to Qingsong Bookstore today to congratulate you?"

Sun Yan was stunned for a moment, then nodded after hesitating for a long time.

If the existence of Cuiniang and Shitou had not been discovered, he would have been on business, but it was different now.

He didn't want Cui Niang to know his current situation, and he was also grateful to Xin You for taking care of their mother and son. No matter in any aspect, he was not merciful.

 In terms of loyalty to Emperor Xingyuan, Sun Yan certainly had it, but it could be big or small in many things. For example, whether He Qingxiao knew Xinyou's identity a long time ago, this answer would determine He Qingxiao's life or death, but it was of no concern to the emperor.

Having known for a long time, the emperor was angry and killed He Qingxiao to vent his anger. Unknowingly, He Qingxiao escaped, Xin You felt relieved, and the emperor was less angry.

Sun Yan quickly convinced himself and had a choice: "Mr. He liked to go to Qingsong Bookstore to read books several years ago, right?"

"That's right." Xin You heard what Sun Yan meant and raised the corners of his lips, "Eunuch Sun can have a chat with Shopkeeper Hu. Shopkeeper Hu knows it."

 “That’s okay.” Sun Yan simply agreed.

 He wants to deliver a message to the emperor, so those who should ask will naturally ask.

Soon Sun Yan met with Shopkeeper Hu.

Shopkeeper Hu had already learned the identity of the **** from Xin You, and when asked by Sun Yan, he told about He Qingxiao: "You said Mr. He, he loved to come to our bookstore to read books a few years ago, and he just didn't want to buy..."

After hearing this, Sun Yan’s mouth twitched.

Haunted Changle, is he too poor or too thick-skinned?

It’s a pity that shopkeeper Hu doesn’t know what Sun Yan is thinking, otherwise I’m afraid he would have to reply: We all have...

The question about He Qingxiao was just for errands. Sun Yan didn't ask for details. He lowered his eyes and took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and asked about Shi Shi's mother and son.

Speaking of Shitou and his son, Shopkeeper Hu talked a lot. He talked about the difficulty of the mother and son's new arrival in the capital, and also talked about Shitou's illness: "I gave him half a year's salary in advance, but being sick means burning money. No matter what, it's not enough." Shitou... that kid was lucky. He met his boss who was visiting the bookstore. At that time, his boss was not the owner of our bookstore. Seeing that Shitou was pitiful, he gave him two taels of silver on the spot. Later, he even arranged for Shitou's wife to have an easy job. …”

After hearing this, Sun Yan’s attitude toward Xin You changed. If it was gratitude before, now it is deep gratitude.

 This saved Cuiniang’s life!

After shopkeeper Hu finished speaking, he asked puzzledly: "Do you know Shitou?"