Chapter 100: Yan Zheng

“I’m back.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the Pei Rong couple could no longer hold back; they embraced Ma Bing and burst into tears.

The old lady struck her gently several times, sobbing, “You heartless girl! You’ve been in Kaifeng for so long but never came home to visit. Did you want us to die with our eyes wide open in regret?”

These few sentences brought tears to Ma Bing’s eyes as well.

The three of them hugged each other and wept bitterly, only parting after their eyes had swollen noticeably.

The old lady clung tightly to Ma Bing, refusing to let go. She pressed her to sit beside her and stared intently, fearing she might vanish any moment.

Pei Rong sent someone to bring hot water and towels. After washing their faces and applying cold compresses to their eyes, the swelling finally subsided somewhat.

After crying, it seemed as if the pent-up emotions of many years had largely dissipated, and Pei Rong’s spirits were surprisingly high.

He immediately gave orders, “Call the second madam to meet her sister. Go to the government office and tell the second master not to linger outside after work—he must return home to see his sister!”

The Pei Rong couple had four children in their lifetime, but only two sons survived. The eldest son followed his father’s military path and was now stationed in a local area with his family for experience.

The second son, on the other hand, pursued a scholarly career, compiling books at the Chongwen Academy. His position was prestigious but lacked real authority.

This was mainly because the country was currently at peace, with no border conflicts to fight. Given Pei Rong’s high-ranking position and the eldest son’s military responsibilities in a local area, it was impossible for the second son to hold significant power.

However, he was only twenty-seven years old now, very young for an official. It was the perfect time to build seniority. Once the old master retired, he could naturally rise in rank.

This was the result of Pei Rong’s meticulous planning for his descendants.

After finishing his instructions, Pei Rong gathered the influential stewards and servants in the household. Pointing at Ma Bing, he said, “Everyone, recognize her face. Our Pei family’s eldest daughter has returned. Whether at home or outside, you must show her respect! If anyone dares to bully her, I’ll have their skin peeled off!”

Pei Rong himself had a bold and unrestrained style, so his household wasn’t overly formal. However, there was one strict rule: discipline was enforced rigorously, akin to military training.

Although the number of servants in the Pei household was far fewer than those in similar households, they were all sharp and capable, and trustworthy.

Therefore, when the master spoke, everyone listened without questioning why there was suddenly an eldest daughter. They all turned their gazes to Ma Bing in unison, took a look to recognize her, and then bowed in unison, saying, “Greetings, Eldest Miss.”

Ma Bing originally wanted to decline, but seeing the old couple watching her with eager eyes full of anticipation, her heart softened, and she finally accepted.

“You may rise.”

Before the tragedy occurred, the children from both families often played together.

Since Pei Rong had no daughter of his own, he especially doted on little girls. He often carried Ma Bing on his shoulders when going out, proudly introducing her to others, “This is my little girl.”

The elderly steward took the lead, smiling kindly at her, “Eldest Miss has grown up. You probably don’t remember this old servant anymore.”

Ma Bing had an early memory. Although more than a decade had passed, many fragments of childhood memories still lingered in her mind. Looking at him carefully for a few moments, she matched this face full of age spots to someone from her memories.

Joyfully, she stood up, walked over, and held his hand, exclaiming, “Uncle Su! You’re Uncle Su!”

The steward smiled happily, both surprised and delighted, “Eldest Miss has such a good memory!”

He had originally been Pei Rong’s personal guard, following him all over the country. After the wars ended, his health deteriorated, so he retired from the military and continued to guard the former general’s household.

Suddenly meeting so many familiar faces, Ma Bing felt as if she had returned to her childhood, surrounded by elders, feeling warm both physically and emotionally.

“So this is my younger sister?”

Just as he was speaking, a young woman in her twenties entered, holding a little girl’s hand and smiling at the sight of Ma Bing.

Ma Bing turned her head to look, but she didn’t recognize them.

The old lady made introductions, and Ma Bing learned that this was Huo Mei, the wife of Pei An, the second son of the Pei family, and the little girl she was holding was their daughter, who was just six years old this year.

Huo Mei came from a military family and had an extremely cheerful personality. She didn’t wait for Ma Bing to greet her before pulling her in, giving her a quick look, and laughing, “The family has been talking about you for so many years, and finally I get to see you.”

She was a very smart person. After a brief explanation from the messenger, she immediately connected this eldest daughter with the Yan family mentioned by the Pei family during festivals over the years.

“Truly beautiful!” Huo Mei looked left and right, even reaching out to touch Ma Bing’s face.

Ma Bing smiled slightly, feeling unusually shy.

Huo Mei laughed a few times, then patted her daughter’s back, “Go and greet your aunt.”

“Yes!” The little girl readily agreed, quickly bowing down, but Ma Bing swiftly lifted her into her arms.

The two stared at each other for a long time, neither feeling shy.

The little girl had single eyelids, big eyes, a high nose bridge, and a small mouth, looking very energetic. However, only her eyes and facial shape resembled Huo Mei; she probably looked more like her father.

Ma Bing was about to speak but didn’t know the girl’s name, so she heard Huo Mei say with a smile, “Her nickname is Xiao Xia (Little Shrimp).”

“Xiao Xia?” Ma Bing nodded, “Sounds so lively.”

“Not that ‘Xia’ (summer),” the old lady chuckled, “It’s the ‘Xia’ (shrimp) you eat.”

Ma Bing: “?”

Huo Mei said, “When I was pregnant with her, I especially loved eating shrimp, but I was afraid to eat too much, so I craved it even more! When this little creature was born, she indeed loved eating shrimp, so we named her Xiao Xia!”

There was indeed some reason behind it, and besides, noble families often used humble names for their children, believing that such names brought good fortune and made the child easier to raise. It was just a name for family use, so it didn’t matter.

Ma Bing couldn’t help but laugh, turning to Xiao Xia, “Loving to eat shrimp makes you a good girl. Auntie is an excellent cook. I’ll cook it for you later.”

“Really?” Xiao Xia was indeed very happy, her mouth opening to reveal two pink gums below, quite toothless.

Ma Bing was startled but couldn’t help laughing out loud.

Xiao Xia quickly covered her mouth, her little face blushing red.

She was a big girl now, after all, and felt shy.

Ma Bing quickly apologized sincerely. Feeling respected, Xiao Xia was very happy and readily forgave this aunt she had just met.

“Why did Aunt come back so late?” Xiao Xia suddenly asked.

Everyone fell silent.

After a while, Pei Rong said, “Your aunt had things to do… she lived far away… it was hard to come back…”

How far away it was, nearly causing eternal separation.

Xiao Xia nodded as if she understood, then asked Ma Bing, “Then, Aunt, you didn’t come back for such a long time. Did you miss home?”

That sentence almost brought tears to Ma Bing’s eyes again.

How could she not miss home?

She missed it desperately.

She missed the desolate and lonely northwest, the endless Gobi Desert and mountains, even the yellow sand, withered trees, and crows in the sky, the cold stone tablets on the ground, and the three corpses buried together underground.

When her adoptive parents helped bury them, the young Ma Bing even asked them to dig an extra hole, pointing at it and saying, “When I die in the future, I can reunite with Father, Mother, and Brother.”

“There, there, everything is fine now. Everything will be better from now on!” The old lady quickly stepped in to smooth things over, then pulled everyone to sit down and chat.

Pei Rong slapped his thigh, extremely happy, and said to the steward, “Such a rare day of reunion, unfortunately, the eldest son’s family is far away.”

The steward smiled, “The eldest master will come back for duty in the future. Then we’ll reunite again. We’ve waited over a decade, so a little longer won’t matter.”

“Right, right, you’re absolutely right,” Pei Rong nodded repeatedly, “Oh, quickly bring paper and brush. I must tell him that his sister has returned… Ah, what great news! Truly great news! Hurry and tell the kitchen to prepare a grand feast. Today, the whole family must have a good meal together!”

“Alright!” The steward was also delighted and hurried off running.

The family gathered around, chatting and laughing, and before they knew it, it was noon. Upon receiving the news, the second master of the Pei family, who usually had his meals at the yamen, actually rushed back home on a fast horse without delay.

As soon as he entered, he noticed the young girl sitting beside his parents and hesitated to approach.

Ma Bing turned around, and the river of memories surged backward, as if she had returned to those days when the two Pei brothers used to play with her and her brother.

She stood up, walked over to the person across from her, and said with a smile, “Second Brother.”

“Second brother…”

Many years ago, there was a little yellow-haired girl who followed them eagerly, calling out in such a crisp and clear voice.

She calls her own elder brother “brother,” and refers to the two brothers from the Pei family as “eldest brother” and “second brother.”

How many years has it been since I last heard this sound?

Pei An widened his eyes, staring at her intently, his eye rims gradually reddening. He reached out his hand, wanting to touch her but not daring to, his voice trembling as he said, “You’ve grown up, you’ve grown up… Zhengzheng has grown up…”

The little girl Yan Zheng from my memories has grown up safely.

Watching them recognize each other, Pei Rong was also filled with countless emotions.

Back in the day, the two old brothers joked that if one had a son and the other a daughter, they would become in-laws by marriage. Little did they expect that while children were indeed born, the age gap was too wide, so they could only be siblings.

However, with two sons at home, Pei Rong had long been keeping an eye out for promising young girls, eager to snatch up a good one as a daughter-in-law whenever he spotted her.

Even after all these years, the old habit still hasn’t changed.

At the polo field, when Ma Bing was first introduced to him, his old habit flared up again, and he thought, “Ah, this young lady is truly wonderful—she ought to be brought in as a daughter-in-law.”

But when he came to his senses, he realized—what daughter-in-law? His two brats had already become fathers themselves many years ago!

In the end, they had to sift through a whole bunch of nephews and grandnephews before finally finding one who was somewhat suitable.

However, plans can’t keep up with changes. Before they could be implemented, they became family…

Now that all the members of the Pei family in the capital had gathered, Pei Rong called for the banquet to begin. Everyone sat around the table, chatting as they ate.

What everyone is most curious about is how Ma Bing managed to survive back then and how he has been living all these years.

“…When the enemy raised his sword, the wet nurse turned and shielded me in her arms, leaving a gap between us. Though the sword pierced through her body, it did not fully reach me.” As Ma Bing spoke these words, the scar on his chest throbbed faintly with pain.

She knew her wounds had long since healed, but the past experience was too cruel—not only remembered by her mind, but also by her body. Every time she recalled it, the pain would return.

“One of my mother’s personal guards was injured in the early years. After marrying a local female healer, he retired. Later, when they heard the border was in urgent danger, they rushed over overnight, but still arrived too late—only managing to pull me out from a pile of corpses.”

Ma Bing said with a despondent expression.

If they hadn’t arrived in time, even if I hadn’t suffered fatal injuries, I would have bled to death.

“It’s not too late, not too late!”

The old lady held her hand and said with heartfelt sympathy.

This is our benefactor! And also a loyal one.

After all, it’s just the two of them—what difference would it make even if they went?

But still, I went without a moment’s hesitation.

If they hadn’t risked their lives to rush there, not even this last trace of the Yan family’s bloodline would have survived!

Unfortunately, he has also passed away now.

I’ll definitely have someone make a fine memorial tablet and enshrine it with great care.

Ma Bing took a deep breath to calm his surging emotions and continued, “Fearing the enemy might return, they dared not linger. Worried that someone might seek to exterminate the Yan family descendants, they set fire to the mansion…”

At that time, the city gates were in imminent danger and houses were damaged, so her parents gathered all the nearby children into their home to protect them collectively.

But unexpectedly, when the battle reached its climax, the reinforcements never arrived, and even the Marquis’s residence fell.

By the time Pei Rong arrived, Yan Xiong and his wife Ma Qiudi had both died in battle, with only a handful of their personal guards surviving. The marquis’s residence had been burned to the ground, and among the hundreds of charred remains inside, none could be identified. As a result, everyone assumed that all four members of the Yan family had perished.

Even Pei Rong thought so, and thus no one in the world doubted it anymore.

“One of my personal guards who saved me was once granted the surname Ma. They had a daughter slightly older than me, but unfortunately, she was lost during a rampant plague…”

They poured all their paternal and maternal love into their little master, holding nothing back.

And the Yan Zheng of the past also regarded them as her second parents. As their daughter, she patiently bided her time, grew up slowly, and ultimately became the Ma Bing of today.