Chapter 566 - 211: Crossing Swords

Chapter 566: Chapter 211: Crossing Swords

The brother and sister wept in each other’s arms, their faces drenched in tears.

Their cries were so loud they startled all the neighbors.

Heads began to peek out from behind the doors of the surrounding houses. Seeing Xu Su Ying embracing a strange man, their eyes widened as if they had just witnessed a scandalous affair.

Seeing this, Xu Yanlin’s scalp prickled with alarm. He hurried forward to separate his uncle and aunt.

"Let’s go inside to talk. We can’t stay out here." Any longer and all sorts of nasty rumors would start spreading.

Xu Shiling glanced over at them. Seeing his imposing and dignified air, the prying neighbors grew fearful and quickly pulled their heads back.

Seeing this, Xu Shiling finally looked away.

"Little Sister, come on, let’s go home first. I have so many questions for you. You have to tell me everything—where have you been all these years...?"

The siblings helped each other into the house. Xu Yanlin took the opportunity to throw an arm around Yao’an’s shoulder and guide him inside as well.

"What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and get inside."

Yao’an had a troubled look on his face. "My mom was just grumbling at home the other day, saying that because of her amnesia, even if your uncle showed up and insisted she was a daughter of the Xu family, she wouldn’t dare believe it. She was afraid you guys were trying to trick her. But did she need any tricking? The moment she saw your uncle, she got so excited the old address just slipped right out."

The corners of Xu Yanlin’s mouth twitched as he fought back a smile. He was truly relieved and now found himself in the mood to tease the younger boy.

"What do you mean, *my* uncle? That’s *your* uncle. Be a little sweeter later and call him ’Uncle’ a few more times. Your uncle is loaded. If you get on his good side, he might toss you enough spare change to eat out three times a day."

The mention of eating out reminded Yao’an of his own troubles. With a miserable look, he said, "Cousin, it’s not that I’m a glutton, but the food at my private school has no substance. I’m a growing boy! Even four meals a day isn’t enough for me, and all they serve is watery broths and bland dishes. I’m hungry from morning ’til night."

"Alright, alright, stop with the sob story. I’ll have someone order a full spread from the restaurant. It’ll be delivered shortly."

Xu Yanlin called for a servant boy behind him to order the feast. Yao’an, in turn, called for two of their household servants and sent them in different directions: one to the Salt Transport Department to fetch Chen Song, and the other to the Chen family to get his older brother, sister, and brother-in-law.

Once that was taken care of, the two of them headed for the front courtyard.

Yao’an explained, "My older brother was asked a favor—to take someone to the Zhao Family’s home to have my brother-in-law look over an exam paper. My brother-in-law doesn’t like to get involved in that sort of thing, and my brother doesn’t like to meddle either, but the request came from a Scholar in Qingshui County. His father has some connection with my dad, so my brother couldn’t refuse and had to take the man over. This gives them the perfect excuse to leave, so I expect they’ll be here soon."

The two arrived at the entrance of the small parlor as they spoke.

Inside the parlor, Xu Shiling and Xu Su Ying were still crying opposite each other.

Xu Su Ying sounded truly aggrieved. "I really did lose my memory! If I’d remembered I had such a wonderful family to return to, I would have come back ages ago. Life out there has been so hard! I had to raise my child on my own, work to earn money... I’m not a fool. You think I don’t know a life of comfort when I see one?"

Xu Shiling was breathing heavily. "And what about Chen Song? What does he do for a living? You were already marrying beneath your station with him. How could he have the heart to make you do all this? He could afford to take a wife but not support her and their child? If that’s the case, what right did he have to get married at all!"

Xu Su Ying’s confidence faltered, and she rushed to Chen Song’s defense.

"Putting aside the fact that he didn’t know who I was, he’s just a man from the countryside. He saved me from the river and then begged everyone he could think of to get my residency registered. That alone was more than decent of him. Not to mention, when he saw I had nowhere else to go, he grit his teeth and married me, a woman with no past. He’s already done more than enough. How can you blame him for not hiring maids and wet nurses to serve me? He’s a man, not a god! It’s not like he suddenly struck it rich the moment we married. If I’d arrived with a massive dowry, that life would’ve been easy. But I didn’t have one, so we scraped by together. And we’ve managed all these years, haven’t we?"

"You’re still defending him?" Xu Shiling’s anger flared. "From the day you were born, our whole family treated you like a princess, holding you in the palm of our hands, terrified you might face the slightest displeasure. At home, you would only wear cloud-smoke silk and would only sleep in a rosewood canopy bed. But out here, you’ve certainly learned to rough it. Eating chaff and wild greens, raising a child, washing clothes, cooking... You... are you trying to break our hearts?"

As he spoke, Xu Shiling’s eyes reddened again.

It was a heart-wrenching sight: a big, burly man with a face full of pain.