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This middle-aged man was slightly plump, but his light purple satin coat made him appear quite affluent.
This man was the steward of the Bai family, Steward Zhao, who was also Bai Zonggui’s cousin. He had been helping manage the household affairs for the Bai family for a long time. On the surface, he appeared to be smooth and worldly, but in truth, he was a very kind-hearted person. This time, he had come to deliver two pieces of silver, a task he had volunteered for.
Second Aunt Liu (Second Aunt) stared at the visitor, stunned. He looked strangely familiar.
Steward Zhao also noticed Second Aunt Liu and was momentarily frozen, wondering where he had seen her before.
Tan Erqian, seeing the two lost in thought, quickly called out, “Second Aunt, Second Aunt, what’s wrong?”
Second Aunt Liu lowered her head and asked her little nephew, “Erqian, where is this man from?”
Tan Erqian smiled and replied, “Second Aunt, this is Steward Zhao from the Bai family. His surname is Zhao.”
“Surname Zhao?” Second Aunt Liu froze again. He’s also named Zhao?
“Yeah, we usually call him Steward Zhao,” Tan Erqian said as he pulled Second Aunt Liu forward. They walked up to the carriage, and he greeted Steward Zhao with a smile, “Steward Zhao, this is my Second Aunt. She’s here to help me carry some things.”
Second Aunt Liu quickly regained her composure and smiled, “That’s right, that’s right.”
To hide her awkwardness, she lowered her head, grabbed some fabric from the carriage, and turned to walk inside.
Steward Zhao suddenly stepped forward, blocking her path. In a rough voice, he said, “You’re a woman; how can you carry such heavy things? Come on, let me do it!”
With that, he took the fabric, which wasn’t very heavy, from her hands. Then, he placed a small, light bundle into her hands. “Take this instead.”
Second Aunt Liu, hearing his voice, immediately recognized him. So it really is him.
Before she got married, she had an old lover whom she had met while learning midwifery in the county. The two had become deeply attached, and only a formal proposal was missing.
But the Zhao family didn’t think much of her, a woman from the mountains. They intervened and broke the pair up, forcing them to part ways.
Later, they had planned to elope. But when she waited all night at the city gate, he never showed up. Heartbroken, she gave up and returned to Fengping Village, where she married Old Liu.
To think that more than ten years later, she would run into him here.
The only difference was that he had changed so much. He had once been a handsome and capable young man, but now he had become a plump middle-aged man, to the point where she didn’t recognize him at first.
Tan Erqian, seeing her lost in thought while carrying a few small boxes, approached and asked, “Second Aunt, Second Aunt, what’s wrong?”
Second Aunt Liu snapped out of her reverie and looked ahead. She saw that Steward Zhao had already entered the house with some fabric.
She lowered her voice and asked Tan Erqian, “Is this Steward Zhao’s name Zhao Baili?”
Tan Erqian nodded. “Yes, that’s right. Second Aunt, don’t be fooled by how loud he speaks. Actually, he’s a good person.”
She, of course, knew that he wasn’t as kind as he appeared. He was, after all, a heartless man.
At this moment, Tan Erqian sighed and said, “He’s just had bad luck.”
“Bad luck?” Second Aunt Liu was surprised.
Tan Erqian glanced toward the door and lowered his voice, speaking slowly, “It’s said that Steward Zhao planned to elope with a young woman more than a decade ago. But when he waited for her all night at the city gate, he never saw her. I heard that the woman took the money and ran. After that, he was devastated, and his fortunes plummeted. He ate and drank excessively, gained a lot of weight, and has never married.”
Second Aunt Liu was startled, “Which city gate?”
Tan Erqian thought for a moment and said, “There are only two city gates in Pingyang County: the east gate and the west gate. I think it was at the east gate that he waited all night.”
Second Aunt Liu trembled at these words, almost losing her balance.
Yes, she had waited at the west gate.
It seemed that the Tan family was always doomed to bad luck.