His Peasant Wife : Yao Ling

Yao Ling laughed softly. "All of you misunderstand my gesture. What I mean is I don’t know..."

The other three sighed in relief. Then, Lin Jian asked in puzzlement, "How come you still don’t know? Did Tao Gu Gu tell you nothing? Or she also doesn’t know about this matter too?"

"Not exactly," Yao Ling answered.

"Then...?" Yao Ying asked.

"That’s what I want to talk about before... The next part of the story will be told to us only with Lin Jian’s presence. She... really wants to meet you, Lin Jian. It seems like your mother told her a lot of things about you..." Yao Ying answered.

Lin Jian nodded in understanding and he felt touched. His mother had never forgotten about him all of this time and it seemed like she had never blamed him too. The more he thought about it, the more he missed her. With a shaken voice, he said, "I will go with you tomorrow."

Xiao Fang asked, "Can I go with you too?" She directed the question at Lin Jian because she knew that this matter related to him the most --- not Yao Ying or Yao Ling.

Lin Jian was a bit hesitant at first, but then... he decided to nod his head. It would be better if Xiao Fang listened to Tao Gu Gu’s story by herself, after all, this would save them the trouble and at the same time, if Han Xiang was indeed an impostor... she would understand that they didn’t lie to her in purpose.

The next day, they went to Tao Gu Gu’s house and she already waited for them to arrive. Her family was working, just as the Mi Hui people had arranged for them, so she was the only one at home. She was quite surprised because there were actually so many people, unlike yesterday. She furrowed her eyebrows, feeling a bit reluctant. After all, the next part of the story was very important and she didn’t want just any people to listen to the story.

"Why are there so many people?" Tao Gu Gu asked Yao Ling with a soft voice despite her own reluctant feeling. She saw that there were two women and two men --- she didn’t know which one was Lin Jian.

Yao Ling quickly answered, "Tao Gu Gu, I will introduce them to you one by one. Don’t worry! I would never bring unimportant people. They are all related to this matter..." Then, she introduced Yao Ying as her husband and Lin Jian’s best friend, Xiao Fang as Han Xiang’s best friend, and the last person was, of course, Tao Gu Gu’s beloved Lin Jian.

Tao Gu Gu listened to her introduction carefully and when she heard Lin Jian’s name, her whole body started to tremble. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, because she was feeling too happy and touched at the same time. The Ce Fei’s son... She was finally able to meet him. "Are... are you really Lin Jian?" Tao Gu Gu asked in a weak voice. She couldn’t believe that this day would really come...

Lin Jian quickly answered politely with a hint of affection, "Tao Gu Gu, it’s me... Lin Jian." After listening to yesterday’s story, how could he not feel any affection toward this loyal old woman?

Tao Gu Gu finally wasn’t able to laugh because after listening to Lin Jian’s voice, her tears were flowing down like a river from her eyes. In her heart, she said to herself, ’Ce Fei ah~ your son comes to find you and he never forgets about you... This servant hopes that you also live happily ah~... This servant wishes that both of you could meet with each other too!’

She murmured to herself, "You are so big now... How many years have passed in the blink of an eye? I hope the Ce Fei will be able to meet you too." Tao Gu Gu touched Lin Jian’s face, tracing it and trying to imprint it in her memories. "You are so handsome..." Tao Gu Gu praised, making Lin Jian’s face beet red. She was able to feel the outline of his face and it seemed perfect to her. Even if he was ugly, he was the most handsome young man to her --- Yes, she was that biased!

The other three snickered when they saw his bashful expression. Lin Jian saw that and he glared at them! He decided not to care about the trio.

Lin Jian looked at Tao Gu Gu and then held both of her hands and said, "Tao Gu Gu, thank you for loyalty... Thank you for taking care of my mother." Without her, his mother probably would have died a thousand times.

"No need... no need... it was my own choice back then and also, I love your mother --- she’s like a little sister to me," Tao Gu Gu said. In their era, it was rude to say that a mere servant thought of her master as a little sister, but the people inside the room didn’t care about it for one bit or even felt offended. They believed that the Ce Fei must have been feeling the same way --- she treated Tao Gu Gu with care and just like an older sister.

Lin Jian felt touched and smiled softly at Tao Gu Gu. Without a second thought, Lin Jian hugged the old woman tightly without hurting her, "Then... I can also count you as my aunt." This woman had been sacrificing her whole life for his mother and sister, so he indeed wholeheartedly treated her as his aunt. For this day onward, she would guarantee Tao Gu Gu’s life and wellbeing --- including her family. He had a sudden plan in his head that he would bring her home with him after the matter regarding Mi Hui’s mission finished.

Tao Gu Gu felt touched and said, "This servant doesn’t dare, but Young Master’s heart... this servant understands. This servant has been rude for calling Young Master’s name directly. This servant asks for forgiveness."

"Tao Gu Gu, please don’t say that..." Lin Jian said weakly. He was confused with her sudden formality.

"Young Master ah~ Hierarchy is very important. This servant is only a slave and this servant should know this servant’s place better after serving the Ce Fei for such a long time," Tao Gu Gu answered. She didn’t want Lin Jian to feel responsible about her own family. Her niece had been spoiled rotten and sometimes a bit selfish, so she needed to establish their master-servant relationship clearly. Tao Gu Gu was afraid that her niece would take advantage of their relationship.

"But..." Lin Jian tried to change Tao Gu Gu’s mind.

Before Lin Jian could finish his words, Tao Gu Gu cut him off, "There’s no but, Young Master... Or... I won’t tell you the next part of the story..." She decided to choose a shortcut by threatening him because she knew that the latter would keep trying to persuade her.

Lin Jian was helpless with the old woman’s stubbornness, so he could only nod his head. Tao Gu Gu smiled when she was able to make Lin Jian give up. "Good!" Tao Gu Gu said with a smile. After meeting Lin Jian, she felt better and her will to live started to come up once again.

Lin Jian hesitantly asked, "Tao Gu Gu, do you mind telling us about Han Xiang now?"

Tao Gu Gu asked them curiously, "I’m a bit confused. You should have heard everything from my niece about everything. Why do you want me to tell you the details?"

The quartet looked at each other and finally, Lin Jian answered her question, "We suspect something but we don’t know whether it’s correct or not."

Tao Gu Gu furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

Lin Jian went to explain everything in details. This time, Yao Ling decided to take a step back and let Lin Jian do all the talking. She knew that this matter didn’t really involve her and Yao Ying, so it was better if they stayed silent and became the onlookers.