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Xu Jinrong frowned, stepped forward and sat down beside him, saying, "Since you're not feeling well, there's no need to get up. Your mother and brother are returning home today, and the first thing they'll do is come to visit you. From now on, you must take good care of your brother, and he will naturally become closer to you as well."

Liang Ge slowly lay back down, his eyes turning to Xiao Bao again. Xiao Bao grinned and nodded vigorously at him, which made Liang Ge feel as if he had been pricked by a needle, and he hurriedly looked away.

Xu Jinrong stared at him for a moment, then shook his head and said, "When I left, you were fine. How come you're like this now? I told you before, I don't want anything else from you, I just hope you can get better. Medicine is necessary, but it's just for conditioning. If you have no vitality and are so listless every day, even if you take medicine like it's food, it won't help. You're not a child anymore, you should understand things. Your mother and I both hope you get better, and you have to be strong so that no one will look down on you."

Liang Ge's expression changed slightly, his eyes reddened a little, and his gaze shifted between Xu Jinrong and Danmei. His lips moved slightly, but he ultimately closed them again.

"Brother Liang, do you have anything to say? Please speak."

Seeing his expression, Danmei knew he wanted to speak, so she said...

Liang glanced at her, hesitated for a moment, and finally, as if summoning great courage, turned to Xu Jinrong and whispered, "I... I heard a few days ago that the nun from Jingyin Nunnery came and said... Aunt's hysteria has worsened; she's more confused than lucid, and it seems like she's about to pass away... I... I want to go see her..."

"No need! I've told you so many times before! She was a vicious snake back then, harming Sister Hui's mother. I didn't send her to the Qingmen County government, and allowed her to go to the nunnery to cultivate herself at her own request. That was already because of you. Now she has only herself to blame. Don't mention this topic in front of me again!"

Xu Jinrong's face darkened immediately, and he reprimanded him.

Liang Ge flinched slightly and lowered his eyelids.

"You're not feeling well, so you should rest. If you need anything, just have the maid get it for you."

Xu Jinrong seemed unwilling to say more. He stood up, picked up Xiaobao, and went outside. Danmei beckoned the maidservant over, asked about her daily diet, and told her to let her know immediately if anything happened. She glanced back and saw Liangge staring at her with his eyes wide open, his eyes full of sorrow. She sighed and slowly went out as well.

Danmei returned to her room. Xu Jinrong, having been away for some time, had a lot of accumulated business at the former yamen. After saying goodbye to her, he changed into his official clothes and hurriedly left. Xiaobao, on the other hand, was living in such a large house for the first time and was full of curiosity. Xiqing led him around, climbing the artificial hill, crossing the covered corridor, and going over the stone bridge, having a great time. Since it was Danmei's first time back, Steward Xu came to report on some matters of the mansion. He also mentioned that the old lady had been living there since she was sent back to her ancestral home in Qingmen a few years ago. Xu Jinrong had tried several times to bring her to Huaichu, but she had refused each time, saying that she would live out her days there and would not go anywhere else. He said he would send someone over in a few days to check and ask if there was anything to convey.

When Xu Jinrong returned in the evening, Danmei mentioned what Steward Xu had said during the day. Xu Jinrong thought for a moment and said, "My mother doesn't know about Xiaobao yet. I'll write a letter and send it to her to make her happy... She doesn't know about you yet, as for Xiaobao..." He smiled and said, "Just use the same words you used to fool your parents to fool her."

Danmei chuckled and went over to lay out paper and grind ink for him, then sat down to watch him write. When she saw that he mentioned Liang Ge at the end of his letter, saying that everything was fine, she hesitated for a moment, then looked at him and slowly said, "I came back from Liang Ge's place today, but I keep thinking about the eyes he looked into when he last saw me... I feel very uneasy..."

Xu Jinrong paused, his pen stopped for a moment, then he continued writing, grunting, "Children are all like this, they'll get better in a while."

Danmei knew he was just making excuses for her, so she pressed down on his wrist as he picked up the pen. Xu Jinrong reluctantly put down the pen, looked up at her, and said, "What did he say to you? You want to plead for them?"

Danmei shook her head: "He didn't say anything to me. I'm not pleading for either of them. I never really realized it before, but now that I have Xiaobao, I understand how difficult it is to raise a child, and how a mother and child are connected. Although Liangge only calls her Aunt, they are still mother and son, even if their bones are broken, their tendons are still connected. Although Aunt Zhou did wrong things in the past, her current state is a punishment from heaven. Now that she is dying, Liangge is filial, so why don't you let him go and see her? Suppressing it like this will probably leave him with a knot in his heart for the rest of his life."

Xu Jinrong looked at her carefully and shook his head, saying, "It's not that I'm heartless and determined to separate him and his son. You just don't know, I once sent someone to Qingmen to find the old woman who delivered Huijie's mother. Knowing that her evil deeds had been exposed, she was afraid I would pursue her, so she begged to go to a nunnery to cultivate herself and chant Buddhist scriptures to atone for her sins. Out of respect for Liang-ge, I granted her request and sent her to the nunnery, but I forbade her to leave. I thought she had some remorse, but who knew that instead of reflecting on her actions, she often complained and cursed the dead Chunniang, Zhao Zonglian who harmed her son, and even you. Although these were all actions taken during a hysterical episode, they were still her true feelings. Since she is like this, it is clear that she has never truly reflected on herself. If I let Liang-ge go there again, he will only be corrupted by her!"

The strange poison that Liang Ge suffered from back then was given to him by Zhao Zonglian when Xu Jinrong and his wife were serving in Huaichu, leaving only a few concubines in their mansion in the capital. Zhao Zonglian bribed the maidservant who served him with the poison for more than half a year. At first, because it was taken regularly, there were no abnormalities. Later, when Zhao Zonglian was dismissed along with Chunniang, and Liang Ge was taken to Huaichu, the supply of the medicine was cut off, and only then did the symptoms slowly appear. Danmei had heard Xu Jinrong mention all of this to her before. Thinking back on it now, I still can't help but feel a pang of sorrow. I sighed, "They were fighting amongst themselves, and their own mother was confused, which is why Liang-ge was dragged down with them. He was just an innocent child, yet he ended up like this. I shouldn't have interfered in this matter. But now that I'm back, it's a lifetime ahead of me. I want to get along well with that child. A child doesn't despise his mother for being ugly. No matter what she is, she's still his mother in his heart. If he can't let go of the past and always remembers the hatred, when he sees me with Xiao-bao and thinks about how he was prevented from seeing his mother even when she died, I'm afraid his resentment will only deepen. I think it's best to let him go and visit her, so that he can put his mind at ease. If you're worried, I'll go with him myself."

She started off cautiously, but by the end, her tone was resolute. Xu Jinrong knew she had made up her mind, and scratched his head in frustration. After thinking for a moment, he finally said helplessly, "You're so sharp-tongued, I can never win an argument with you. Since you think it's a good idea, I'll have Jiang Rui take you there tomorrow, and he can come back after meeting you."

Danmei was delighted to see him give in, so she sent a maid to Liangge's courtyard to tell him that she would send him to the Jingyin Nunnery first thing tomorrow morning.

After Xu Jinrong finished writing the letter, he asked someone to take it to Steward Xu and deliver it to Qingmen. The two then discussed when to arrange the marriage between Xiqing and Jiang Rui. They went to check on Xiaobao and found that Xiqing had already coaxed him to sleep. Just as they were about to go back to their own room to rest, a maid came and knocked on the door, saying, "Young Master is here and says he wants to see the Master and Madam."

The two of them had already taken off their outer garments, and upon hearing the maid's words, they exchanged a glance with Xu Jinrong. Xu Jinrong then took her clothes and helped her put them back on. He pressed her to sit down on a chair, and then, wearing only his undergarments, went to open the door. Sure enough, it was Liang Ge being supported by a maid, standing outside the threshold. Seeing the door open, he didn't need the maid's support anymore; he came in and immediately knelt down.

"What are you doing here so late?"

Xu Jinrong glanced down at him and said slowly.

Liang Ge kowtowed to him and said, "I have come here specifically to thank Father for allowing me to visit Aunt." After saying that, he turned around and kowtowed to Danmei as well, before raising his head and saying, "Thank you, Mother, for speaking up for me."

Danmei was taken aback, but quickly understood. Xu Jinrong had forbidden him from going to Jingyin Nunnery for years, but now he had suddenly changed his mind. Liang Ge wasn't stupid; he must have realized it was because of her that he had come to thank her. She stood up and went to him, smiling, "You're a filial child. When you're better, take your younger brother with you to school. He's very mischievous; as his older brother, you should teach him more about manners so he can be proud of you. Do you agree?"

Liang Ge was startled, kneeling there. He looked up and saw her smiling at him, her expression extremely gentle, quite different from the resentful and sharp-tongued face he remembered of his aunt. He stared at her for a moment, and for the first time in his life, he vaguely felt that this woman he had to call "Mother" wasn't actually as treacherous and vicious as his aunt had often privately taught him. After staring blankly for a while, seeing her step forward to help him up, he felt a little flustered. He quickly forced a smile, kowtowed haphazardly, got up, thanked Xu Jinrong again in a low voice, and then retreated.

After Liang Ge left, Danmei saw that Xu Jinrong was still standing there in a daze, so she went up to him and gently punched his chest, saying, "Are you stupid?"

Xu Jinrong shook his head, then pulled her into his arms. As he did so, he removed the hair ornament from her head and threw it on the table, sighing, "I was just thinking that I don't think I've ever seen this child smile before. Although her smile just now was ugly, it could still be considered a smile."

Danmei hadn't thought of it before, but after he mentioned it, she thought about it carefully and realized it was true. She sighed and said, "You're not without fault too. I've never seen you smile at him either."

Xu Jinrong was struck by her words. He ruffled her loose hair, took off the outer garment she had just put back on, and laughed, saying, "If he were as reasonable as he was just now, I would find him pleasing to the eye, and that would be fine."

***

The next day, Danmei got up early. After getting ready, she went out with Xiqing and two other maids. She saw Jiang Rui already at the side gate, and Liang Ge was also standing by the carriage waiting. Compared to yesterday, he looked much better this morning, only his eyes were a little dark. When he saw Danmei coming over, he went up to greet her.

"Didn't you sleep well last night? Why are your eyes so dark?"

Danmei asked with a smile.

Liang lowered his head slightly, and the girl who came out with him said with a smile, "Knowing that he was going to visit his aunt today, the young master didn't sleep well last night and was eagerly waiting for dawn."

Danmei smiled and, seeing that he seemed a little embarrassed, patted his shoulder lightly. She then told them to get into their respective carriages, with Jiang Rui and another servant escorting them on horseback, as they headed towards Jingyin Nunnery.

The Jingyin Nunnery was located at the foot of Xiaoxi Mountain outside Huaichu City. It was quite a journey; it took until nearly noon, passing a village of only a few dozen households, before we arrived. The abbess of the nunnery had taken in Aunt Zhou, providing her and the accompanying maid with a small courtyard. She didn't have to worry about her food, clothing, or medicine; her only responsibility was to keep an eye on her and prevent her escape. The nun also received a considerable amount of incense oil offerings from the prefectural government each year, so she didn't complain much. If anything happened, she would simply send a nun to inform the prefectural government. Last month, seeing that Aunt Zhou's illness had worsened, with frequent hysterical attacks, she seemed to be nearing the end of her life. Although she knew that Aunt Zhou was merely a person expelled for a mistake, she feared that if she died, she would be held responsible. Therefore, she hurriedly sent a female disciple to find Steward Xu. Steward Xu brought a doctor over and prescribed a lot of medicine. She's been taking it ever since, but she doesn't seem to be getting much better. She just locks herself in her room all day, muttering to herself, and when she has a bit of energy, she starts crying and wailing. So, we've become too lazy to pay her any attention. Today, we'd just finished chanting the wooden fish and were about to go for our vegetarian meal when a large group of people suddenly arrived at the prefect's residence. When we learned that it was the prefect's wife with Concubine Zhou's son coming to visit, we hurriedly opened the gates wide to welcome them in and personally led them to the gate of Concubine Zhou's courtyard.

The courtyard was located in the northwest corner of the nunnery, nestled against the mountain. Though small, it was a tranquil place. Danmei saw Liang Ge to the gate and then stopped, having a maid accompany him to invite him inside. Liang Ge took a few steps, glanced back at her, then quickened his pace and rushed inside.

The nun, eager to flatter, saw that it was noon and instructed the young nun to cook again, then said with a pained expression, "I'm sorry to trouble you, Madam. This nunnery is poor and can't produce anything good, so please don't be offended."

Xiqing smiled and said, "Master, you are overthinking it. I brought a food box with me when I came out. It contains only vegetarian dishes, nothing meat, so it won't offend the gods or Buddhas. I would be grateful if a young monk could lead the way to the stove to heat it up. If there are clean bowls and utensils, that would be even better."

The abbess was taken aback, but quickly agreed. She called a young nun beside her to take Xiqing away, and then accompanied Danmei to a Buddhist hall to sit down and chat. After a short while, they heard hurried footsteps outside, as if someone was running. Looking up, they saw a woman stumbling into the Buddhist hall, dressed in the blue robes of a nun from the temple, her hair still unshaved and wrapped in a blue cloth. Upon closer inspection, it was indeed Aunt Zhou, but she looked much older than she remembered, with a sallow complexion and sunken eyes, appearing to be in her forties or fifties.

Danmei recalled hearing from the nun that Consort Zhou had become somewhat disoriented these past few days. Although she looked extremely haggard, her eyes were still clear. Seeing the nun beside her panicking and shouting for someone to take Consort Zhou back and keep an eye on her, Danmei noticed Consort Zhou struggling and repeatedly calling out "Madam!" in a shrill voice. Although somewhat frightened, Danmei also ordered someone to stop. As soon as Consort Zhou was freed, she knelt down before her with a thud, kowtowing four or five times in one breath, already panting heavily. She prostrated herself and said, "These past few days, while lying in bed, I felt my soul was drifting away, as if it were trying to rise again. I knew it was the former Madam, whom I had harmed, seeking revenge. I died, and I deserved it. My only thought was of my Liang-ge; I struggled to stay alive just to see him one last time. Heaven have mercy, this child has actually come to see me today. I know the adults would never have such pity." "You are all so kind-hearted, Madam. I have no face to speak to you again, but I can't help but worry about my Liang-ge... Although he is my own flesh and blood, I have not properly taught him before... Now it is too late to regret. I beg you, Madam, to forgive my past mistakes and offenses for the sake of him being an adult's flesh and blood, and to take care of this child for me in the future. He is a pitiful child... In my next life, I will be your servant and repay your kindness..." As he spoke, he broke down in tears and fell to the ground, sobbing bitterly.

Danmei looked out the door and saw Liang Ge leaning against a doorpost, staring blankly at Aunt Zhou on the ground, tears streaming down his face.

"Brother Liang, come here..."

Aunt Zhou struggled to sit up, turned around and called Liang Ge in, ordering him to kneel down beside her as well, and she kept kowtowing.

Danmei quickly called a maid to support her and said, "Don't worry. Even without you, I will take good care of him."

Aunt Zhou's eyes lit up, and she choked up, saying, "With Madam's words, I can die in peace. Liang-ge, quickly kowtow to Madam."