Mrs. Han was holding a piece of jade, slowly carving it, carefully rubbing and then carving at a leisurely pace, with earnestness and indifference.
Han Xuzi had been standing in the room for a while already.
"Are you still in the mood for carving up to now?" Han Xuzi spoke coldly.
Mrs. Han paused at the sound, turned her head to see Han Xuzi, and was overjoyed. She hurriedly dropped what was in her hand and rose to greet Han Xuzi, "Father, when did you arrive?"
"I’ve been here for a while; I was planning to visit Jinnian and stopped by to see you!"
Mrs. Han was taken aback, "Visit Jinnian? Jinnian is at the Yun Residence in the Capital City, does father mean to return to the capital?"
"You don’t know, you actually have no idea?" Han Xuzi didn’t know whether to be angry or furious.
Han Xuzi called out softly to the outside, "Han Zhong, you come and tell her!"
Han Zhong entered the room and spoke in a low voice, recounting Yun Jinnian’s experiences at the Yun Residence over the years.
Mrs. Han was shocked, astonished, and in disbelief, "How could they, how could they treat Jinnian !"
"When Jinnian went to the temple, did she come to see you?" Han Xuzi asked.
Mrs. Han quickly shook her head.
"Do you know that Jinnian came here, and stood across the road for a long time looking at Zhuangzi before leaving?"
"The sixteenth day of the first month? It was the sixteenth day of the first month!" Mrs. Han cried out softly, and tears started to fall.
That day, she cried without understanding why.
Mrs. Han felt an immense heartache.
After a long while, Mrs. Han squeezed out a sentence through her clenched teeth, "The Yun Family, a bunch of hypocrites, all hypocrites!"
Han Xuzi stood up, "I’m going to see Jinnian. As for the path you take from here, it will be up to your own decisions!"
Mrs. Han sat alone in the room.
Bai Que entered the room cautiously, "Madam!"
"Your servant is here!"
"Send Yun Qi to see me!"
Bai Que’s eyes flickered slightly, and she nodded, "Yes!"
Yun Qi received the message from Bai Que in the Capital City, looked at the letter with only four words, "Let’s meet up!"
Although the handwriting was not from Mrs. Han, Yun Qi nonetheless held the letter for a long while.
"Someone, prepare hot water, and instruct the kitchen to make some of madam’s favorite pastries, and clean up the main courtyard thoroughly!"
Yun Qi knew that Mrs. Han would not care about these things, but for some inexplicable reason, he wanted to do everything properly, in case Mrs. Han would come back.
Almost eight years had passed, and for the first time, Mrs. Han wanted to meet him.
After bathing and changing clothes, he dressed in the style Mrs. Han liked and headed for Zhuangzi in the carriage...
After lunch, Yun Jinnian leaned against the window and zoned out again.
Mrs. Yuan was inside the room making New Year’s clothes for Yun Jinnian; Ming Yang and Ru Yue were also busy making holiday garments.
Under the tutelage of the royal nannies, the two of them had changed a great deal both in mindset and thought.
Han Xuzi had been watching Yun Jinnian from the roof for quite some time.
The child, at the age of eleven or twelve, should be at the most boisterous age, yet Yun Jinnian was just zoning out, not uttering a word, staring at the sky with big, watery eyes that were hauntingly empty, without knowing what he was looking at?
Han Xuzi turned and left.
He inquired at the temple gatehouse and met with Hui Ling, who led him to see Yun Jinnian.
"In these years, Mr. Han seems to have rarely returned to the Capital City!"
"Hmm" Han Xuzi responded faintly, "During this time, thank you, Master, for taking care of my niece!"
"Mr. Han is too polite. The Fourth Miss is kind and intelligent; the temple also relies on the Fourth Miss’s care to provide warmth and food for the humble ones like me!"
Han Xuzi did not say any more.
When they arrived at the courtyard where Yun Jinnian lived, Hui Ling stepped forward to knock on the door. Mrs. Yuan came to open the door, and upon seeing Han Xuzi, she knelt down with a thud, "This servant pays respect to the old master, wu wu..."