Meng Yao hesitated for a moment, then shook her head, "No need, sister."
She had another consideration, the original body’s parents had sent her to the Meng Family to be raised, most likely to protect her.
That is to say, back then, they must have been in a dangerous situation.
Although more than thirty years have passed, no one can guarantee that the enemies of her original body’s parents are gone. If no one knows about this locket, then fine, but if someone does, making a big deal out of it would invite trouble.
This is, after all, not a law-governed society, and she wasn’t confident in protecting herself, moreover, there were so many family members.
Meng Zhu thought Meng Yao was afraid of trouble, so she said, "We’re family, you don’t need to worry about trouble or anything."
"Mom." Li Chang’an called out to Meng Zhu, "Auntie is in a mess right now, just let her have some quiet. We can talk about anything later."
Meng Zhu thought about it and agreed, this matter would be difficult for anyone to handle.
"You all should comfort your mother more." Meng Zhu advised.
Zhao Dahe replied, "Don’t worry, Auntie."
After Meng Zhu and others went back to their rooms, the Zhao siblings gathered around Meng Yao.
"Everyone go about your business, I’m fine." Meng Yao waved them away with a laugh.
Perhaps, if the original body learned about her background, she would be sad and conflicted. But she wasn’t the original body, such things didn’t resonate with her. To her, her background was very clear.
"Mom, don’t keep it bottled up." Zhao Dahe started, "We’ve all grown up, we can help share the burden. You don’t have to shoulder everything alone like when dad had his accident."
Meng Yao suddenly felt a bit touched.
"Let’s just let nature take its course," Meng Yao thought for a moment and said, "Right now, the most important thing for our family is your exam; everything else can wait."
Zhao Dahe suddenly understood, his mom was afraid it would affect him, so she kept everything inside.
"Mom." Zhao Dahe was teary-eyed.
This made Meng Yao a bit unsure of what to do, what had he imagined now?
"Mom, don’t worry, I am confident about the exam. As for our relatives, I will definitely help you find out everything." Zhao Dahe said with determination.
The initial goal of taking the imperial exam was to help Qin Zheng, but now, he had an even more important purpose.
After all, how can a brother’s matters compare to a mother’s?
Although both are important, a mother’s is more so.
With her son so dedicated, what else could Meng Yao say but agree?
"In any case, don’t overthink. For now, the most important thing is your exam," Meng Yao emphasized.
Zhao Dahe nodded firmly, "Mom, I’ll go back to study then."
Meng Yao looked pleased, displaying the satisfaction of an old mother, "Go ahead."
Zhao Dahe left, while Zhao Dajiang and his wife along with Zhao Xiaohua and her brother stayed.
"Mom, I will take good care of you," Song Xiu’er said.
Zhao Dajiang followed, "Mom, whatever you ask me to do, I will do."
"Okay, you two go rest then," Meng Yao said.
"Alright," Zhao Dajiang replied. Song Xiu’er hesitated to speak but didn’t know what to say to comfort her mother-in-law.
Two more got sent away.
"What do the two of you want to say?" Meng Yao asked Zhao Xiaohua and her brother.
"Mom, you aren’t pretending to be happy, are you?" Zhao Xiaohua cautiously asked, "Just like Second Brother said, don’t keep it inside, if you can’t talk to them, you can talk to me."
Speaking in an adult tone.
"What do you mean can’t talk to them?" Meng Yao asked with amusement.
"Big brother and big sister-in-law are a bit dull, Second Brother is unreliable, as for Xiaoshu, although smart, hasn’t figured some things out. I’m different; I’m not dull, reliable, smart, and have figured things out. I’m mom’s little confidante," Zhao Xiaohua spoke seriously.
"So, are you just using this to praise yourself?" Meng Yao teased her with a look.
"I was born to you, so praising myself is praising you, isn’t it? If mom wasn’t great, could she have given birth to such a wonderful daughter?" Zhao Xiaohua responded matter-of-factly.
Meng Yao patted Zhao Xiaohua’s head, "I know you’re trying to cheer me up, you’ve succeeded. Don’t worry, mom is not forcing a smile, I am truly okay. You don’t need to be so cautious. Although I don’t know my true background, having all of you with me makes me not dwell on it. Plus, now we’ve cut ties with the Meng Family, we don’t have to deal with them anymore, which is a good thing. I’m happy."
Zhao Xiaohua patted Zhao Xiaoshu’s shoulder, "See? I told you mom wouldn’t be affected by this and wouldn’t blame you. Mom, you don’t know, this silly boy has always thought it was his fault, that he overheard something he shouldn’t have."
Meng Yao also patted Zhao Xiaoshu’s head, "How could it be something you shouldn’t have heard? If Xiaoshu hadn’t heard it, I might never have known about this. We also wouldn’t have been able to cut ties with the Meng Family due to this matter. Imagine how stifling that would be. Now things are great! The Meng Family can no longer use me being their daughter against us. You’ve done our family a great service!"
"Mom, you’re not just comforting me, right?" Zhao Xiaoshu was still a bit cautious.
"Of course not, every word I say is true." Meng Yao reassured.
A smile finally appeared on Zhao Xiaoshu’s face.
Zhao Xiaohua made a face at him, "Zhao Xiaoshu, you lost, don’t forget your promise to make me a hairpin! I want one with several lilac flowers!"
"Mom, do you want one too?" Zhao Xiaoshu asked Meng Yao.
"If it’s handcrafted by Xiaoshu, of course, I want one. Let me think, hmm, how about one with bamboo," Meng Yao said.
Zhao Xiaoshu nodded happily.
Finally, having reassured everyone, Meng Yao sighed with relief. Turning back to her room and just lying down, the system’s voice echoed in her mind.
[Host, can you give me the luck you have received?]
Meng Yao was a bit baffled.
"Luck is my fortune, right?" Meng Yao asked.
[No, this luck comes from the gratitude of officials from Zhou Country.]
The system quickly explained.
[It won’t affect your fortune, actually, when this system is repaired, I will bring you good luck and your fortune will be very good.]
The system further explained that the County Magistrate was appointed by the Emperor of Zhou, and the True Dragon Qi of the Zhou emperor protected his officials. The sincere gratitude of these officials would generate luck.
It sounded mysterious, but the system seemed excited, indicating it was something good.
"What benefit do I get?" Meng Yao asked.
The system fell silent, unsure how to deal with a suddenly difficult-to-please host.
[In the future, there won’t be a need to spend a large amount of silver to upgrade the space.]
"So, originally it didn’t need a large amount of silver? Have you been deciding things on your own all along?"