Memories

Since Jiujie was born, she rarely went out. As she grew older, she became more and more interested in the outside world.

Sang Yao didn’t go out much on ordinary days, but Xie Yun would occasionally go out for meetings, which would take one or two hours each time.

Every time, Jiujie would watch eagerly and then ask, “I envy daddy. He gets to go out and play every day.”

“What is daddy playing?”

Xie Yun sat at the table, clearly not paying much attention. “Playing fun things.”

“What should Jiujie do if she wants to play?”

“Children are not allowed to play.”

Jiujie ran down from Sang Yao’s arms and stood next to Xie Yun.

When he wasn’t paying attention, she rubbed her chubby cheek against his face and said, “Please, please.”

“Daddy is the best, let children play.”

Xie Yun remained unmoved.

Sang Yao walked over and smiled. “Children can play. Your daddy is lying to you.”

As soon as Sang Yao approached, Xie Yun put down his pen and embraced her, asking, “Do you want to go out?”

He had been busy lately, and his time with Sang Yao had been greatly reduced.

They used to go out for a stroll occasionally, but they hadn’t done so recently.

Sang Yao thought for a moment and said, “In a few days, it seems to be the Flower Festival. We can take Jiujie out for a walk.”

Xie Yun agreed quickly.

On the night of the Flower Festival, Jiujie put on what she thought was the most beautiful dress and chatted with Jinglian outside, waiting for her parents to come out.

Xie Yun had just returned from outside and was changing clothes.

After Sang Yao helped him fasten his belt and put on a matching robe, she stood in front of him, tidying his clothes and saying, “It’s a bit thin. Will you be cold like this?”

Xie Yun looked down at her, his gaze gentle. “I won’t.”

“Don’t be stubborn.”

Xie Yun lowered his head and kissed her. “When have I ever been stubborn?”

He lifted the girl’s slightly cold hand that was hanging by his side and held it in his warm hand, saying, “Your hand is so cold. Why are you always worried about me?”

“I’m not cold.”

Sang Yao had just applied lip balm, but after being kissed by Xie Yun, some got on his lips.

She gently wiped his lips with her other hand and said, “You got lipstick on you.”

Xie Yun let her wipe it off, but as she was about to retract her hand, he said, “Then reapply it later.”

Sang Yao said, “No need.”

Before she could finish her words, Xie Yun lowered his head without hesitation and kissed her deeply. Sang Yao was stunned for a moment before instinctively opening her mouth to respond to him.

Aside from his technique becoming more skillful, his kiss had always been somewhat domineering, just like in the beginning. Even now, Sang Yao found it hard to resist.

When they parted, Sang Yao’s lipstick had completely smudged, but the color had not diminished at all. Instead, it had become even more vibrant from his sucking and nibbling.

Sang Yao pressed her lips together, feeling a bit shy. “Okay, let’s go. Jiujie is still waiting outside.”

Xie Yun stared at her red lips, still holding her and not letting go. He leaned down and lightly touched her cheek, still not satisfied. “Let me kiss you a little longer.”

“Jiujie must be getting impatient.”

“It’s okay.”

He finished speaking and kissed her again, but before their lips met, the door suddenly swung open.

Sang Yao was startled and quickly pushed Xie Yun away, wiping her lips in the process.

Jiujie was standing at the door, and Sang Yao curled her toes in embarrassment. She wiped her mouth again and said, “Jiujie, I almost fell just now, and your father helped me. We’ll be ready in a moment.”

Jiujie looked at her blushing mother and then at her calm father, negotiating with them. “But Jiujie has been waiting for you for a long time.”

She tilted her head and said, “Can’t you two be shy later at night when you come back?”

Sang Yao: “…”

When they walked onto the main street, it was already very late, and the night market was open. In addition to the vendors calling out their wares, there were also many flower sellers on the street.

Originally, they were supposed to go out during the day to enjoy the flowers, but they didn’t have much time together during the day. They had to wait until evening to take Jiujie out for a walk.

The child stopped and looked around curiously at everything along the way.

When they reached a temple, Jiujie noticed that there seemed to be more people here than in other places.

She looked at the people coming and going and asked, “Are they all little monks?”

Sang Yao explained, “They’re just here to pray at the temple.”

Jiujie pointed to a huge tree nearby that was covered with colored paper and said, “I want to go see that.”

After agreeing, Sang Yao took Jiujie there. After Jiujie was hung with a ribbon by Xie Yun, she asked for another one.

At this point, she saw that others were writing on the ribbons and wanted to try it too.

She took a pen and ran a little distance away, saying, “I won’t let you two see.”

Sang Yao didn’t chase after her. She turned to Xie Yun and said, “Can she write?”

Xie Yun said, “I’m not sure.”

“Let’s wait and ask later.”

Jiujie did encounter a word she couldn’t write.

She frowned and thought hard for a long time but couldn’t figure it out. At this moment, a man next to her quickly wrote a few words on the ribbon and folded it up.

Looking up at him, she said, “Um, mister.”

The man responded with a sound and looked at her, his voice gentle. “What’s wrong, little girl?”

Jiujie stared at the man’s handsome face and then pointed to her ribbon. “Mister, can you help me write a word?”

“The word Beautiful Flower I forgot how to write it…”

The man looked at the ribbon with very childish writing on it, asked for Jiujie’s position, and then wrote the word ‘ Beautiful Flower’ on it.

“Is this okay?”

Jiujie praised, “Great! Mister, your handwriting is so nice, even better than my dad’s.”

Just then, Sang Yao walked over and said, “Jiujie.”

The man next to Jiujie paused when he heard this, and slowly turned around.

The familiar face of the man caught Sang Yao’s attention, and she was pleasantly surprised. “Yang Dage, when did you come back? I didn’t hear about it.”

“I just came back temporarily. I’ll be leaving again in a few days,” Yang Wenchuan said, glancing at Xie Yun next to Sang Yao. “Mr. Xie, it’s been a long time.”

Xie Yun nodded, his expression as unreadable as usual.

He stood beside Sang Yao and waved to Jiujie. “Jiujie, come here.”

Jiujie pointed at Yang Wenchuan. “Daddy, this handsome brother helped me write!”

Hearing Jiujie calling him “daddy” eased Xie Yun’s expression a bit.

He nodded and said, “Don’t forget to thank the brother.”

After Jiujie politely thanked him, Yang Wenchuan looked at the child’s adorable face and said, “Sang Yao, she’s your daughter.”

Sang Yao nodded. “She’s three and a half years old this year.”

“Very cute, just like you.”

Xie Yun held Jiujie’s hand, glanced at the cloak in Yang Wenchuan’s hand, and asked, “Mr. Yang, are you not alone today?”

In fact, he no longer cared about Yang Wenchuan.

If they hadn’t coincidentally met today, he would have forgotten about him. But for some reason, no matter how many years had passed, he still found this person detestable.

Yang Wenchuan nodded and then looked at a girl under the flower tree who was tying ribbons.

Sang Yao exclaimed, “Big brother Yang, did you get married?”

Yang Wenchuan looked at the surprised expression on the girl’s face and said, “Not yet.”

After a pause, he added, “I haven’t decided yet.”

Sang Yao nodded and said, ” Big brother Yang, you’re not young anymore. You should have gotten married long ago.”

Yang Wenchuan nodded and said, “I’m about to.”

He then said, “I have some matters to attend to. Sang Yao, let’s talk next time.”

Sang Yao smiled and said, “Then we won’t disturb you! Big brother Yang, take care!”

Yang Wenchuan smiled and didn’t say anything, watching the family of three walk away.

At that moment, the girl under the flower tree turned around and ran towards him. “Brother.”

Yang Wenchuan handed her the cloak and said, “Put it on, be careful not to catch a cold.”

The girl took it and exclaimed, “Brother, Capital is much more fun than Jiangnan! I don’t want to go back.”

Yang Wenchuan said, “Then stay a few more days.”

“Really?”

“Sister, why are you suddenly so easygoing?”

---

When Jiujie was three or four years old, she realized that she was always the youngest child in the mansion and would address everyone as big brother or big sister.

She was a bit dissatisfied and often thought about having her parents bring another baby into the family so she could have a sister or brother to play with.

So she asked Jìngliǎn, “Master Jing, do you know how to have a baby?”

Jiujie often asked some strange questions, and Jìnglian was used to it.

He replied seriously, “You have to conceive first, and when the months are enough, the baby will be born.”

Jiujie didn’t really understand what it meant to conceive, but it didn’t matter to her. She asked, “So how do you conceive?”

Jìngliǎn hesitated, “Well…”

He said, “Husband and wife just need to sleep together.”

Jiujie said, “You’re lying! My dad and mom sleep together every day, so why don’t I have a sister or brother yet?”

It was difficult for Jìngliǎn to explain this. He couldn’t say that it was because his master persistently drank medicine, so they didn’t have children.

After pondering for a moment, he said, “Every child is like a little butterfly. When there are so many flowers for them to choose from, they will definitely choose the ones they like.”

Jiujie thought for a while and then said, “So you mean, there hasn’t been a little butterfly choosing my parents yet.”

Jìngliǎn said, “Miss is really smart.”

Jiujie asked, “Is it tiring to have a baby?”

Jìngliǎn nodded and said, “Of course, it takes a long time.”

“When the lady gave birth to Miss, it was very hard.”

Jiujie wrinkled her little face and then asked eagerly, “Master Jing, can you tell those little butterflies that if they want to come, can they fly to my dad?”

“Let my dad have the baby so my mom doesn’t have to work so hard.”

Jìngliǎn hesitated, “Miss, that’s not possible.”

Jiujie was puzzled, “Why?”

He said, “Your father has a bad temper, and the little butterflies don’t like him.”

Jiujie didn’t say anything for a long time. She looked at Jinglian with her bright eyes and nodded after a while, saying, “I see!”

Jìngliǎn then whispered, “Miss, you must not tell Young Master about this.”

“Why?”

Because if Young Master hears it, your Master Jing is done for.

“Because Young Master is emotionally fragile, and he would be sad if he heard it.”

Although Jiujie often complained about her dad, she loved him very much.

After hearing this, she nodded and said, “Okay, Master Jing.”

Afterwards, she suddenly looked puzzled and asked, “Master Jing, why are you so old but still don’t have any babies? Do the little butterflies not like you either?”

But in the end, Jiujie didn’t get her wish.

When she learned what it meant to conceive and that a child had to live in her mother’s small belly for ten months before being born, she was so scared that she never mentioned it again.

She prayed every day that no little butterfly would choose her mom, and preferably not her dad either.

---

As Jiujie grew older, her clingy and affectionate nature became more pronounced.

She was cute, sweet-talking, and called her siblings affectionately, becoming very dear to them.

Shen Miaoyi and the old Xie, as well as other colleagues who had seen Jiujie, all loved this exquisite sweetheart.

If it weren’t for Xie Yun’s reputation, I’m afraid people would have to queue up to marry into the family.

Because of the good management in recent years, the scale of the embroidery workshop under the Xie family has grown larger and larger.

It started with fabrics and clothes and later expanded to accessories and other items.

On this day, a merchant from Zanghai came to the mansion. He specialized in the transportation of overseas goods and was a well-known tycoon in the south. Even in the court, his name was quite well known.

Having business dealings with the Xie family, he had sought to see Sang Yao many times in the past, but Sang Yao had never met him until today.

As they talked, Jiujie was led by Jinglian to play on the side. She glanced at the bearded merchant and whispered to Jinglian, “Master Jing, my mother is really amazing. I can’t understand what she’s saying.”

Jinglian looked over and sighed, “Yes.”

Over the years, Lady Sang had grown a lot. He had no doubt that even without their master, Lady Sang could stand on her own.

After playing for a while, Jiujie felt bored and said to Jinglian, “Master Jing, let’s go find Yunting!”

Jinglian agreed and after informing Sang Yao, he led Jiujie out.

Jiujie rarely took the initiative to find Yunting. She only did so today because she was feeling bored.

After all, that child was not likable at all. He was frail, prone to illness at the slightest breeze, and spent every day recuperating.

He was still a loner, having lived in the Xie family for several years without showing his face.

At first, she didn’t want to say a word to him. Later, when her mother saw that she was ignoring Yunting, she told her that Yunting had no relatives and was very pitiful, asking her not to ignore him on purpose.

After that, she would occasionally go and play with him.

When Jiujie arrived, Yunting was sitting by the window reading a book.

The bright afternoon sunlight fell on his brows and eyes, calm and without ripples, a bit like a little monk in a temple.

In these years, he had grown a lot taller. Although they were both six years old, he was half a head taller than Jiujie because he didn’t like going out and fell ill every now and then, making his skin almost transparently white.

From the small yellow flower that was thin and yellow in childhood, he had turned into a thin and weak little white flower.

As Jiujie entered the courtyard, Yunting saw her.

He put down the book, a hint of a smile appearing on his tender face, and somewhat awkwardly said to her, “Jiujie, you’re here.”

Jiujie pushed open the door and walked in, asking, “Is your illness better?”

Yunting replied, “Yes.”

He stood up and quickly fetched a small iron box from the room.

He handed the box to Jiujie carefully, saying, “Jiujie, I heard that you like these little beads. Here, I’m giving them to you.”

Inside was a box full of high-quality night pearls, brought to him by Lu Li.

He knew he wasn’t Sang Yao’s child with Xie Yun, and he knew who his biological father was.

But he didn’t like Lu Li.

Even though Lu Li occasionally asked the Xie family to bring him things, he didn’t want them.

This box of night pearls was the first time he had ever asked Lu Li for something in all these years.

Jiujie glanced at the box.

She used to like these glowing little beads a while ago, but her father gave her so many that she got tired of them after just a couple of days.

She said, “Thank you, but I don’t like these anymore. You can keep them for yourself.”

Yunting slowly took back the small iron box and muttered a low “oh.”

Jiujie sat where he had just been sitting and casually flipped through the book he was reading.

She then realized that he was reading a Buddhist scripture.

“Are you really going to become a little monk?” she asked.

Yunting put the iron box aside and said, “No, I’m just curious, so I’m flipping through it.”

“Have you read it, Jiujie?”

Jiujie shook her head and said, “My dad said I still can’t understand it.”

She closed the scripture and saw Jinglian talking to a servant outside the window. After a few words, he walked towards her.

“Miss, I have some matters to attend to over there. I’ll be back soon. You can play with Yunting in the meantime.”

Jiujie obediently replied, “Go ahead!”

Jinglian had just left when Jiujie said, “Yunting, do you want to go out and play?”

Yunting didn’t like going out.

His happiest thing was to hide in his room and read. But when he met Jiujie’s bright eyes, he couldn’t help but say, “I do.”

Jiujie jumped off the bench and said, “Since that’s the case, I’ll take you to see the little squirrels.”

She grabbed Yunting’s hand and led him towards the door, eagerly saying, “Hurry up, or Master Jinglian will be back.”

Yunting followed behind her and asked, “Won’t Uncle Jinglian be angry?”

“It’s okay,” Jiujie said. “Uncle Jinglian is easy to please!”

They couldn’t leave the estate, but the Xie family’s estate was quite large. Jiujie could only stay in the West Garden on normal days. If she wanted to go elsewhere, she had to be accompanied by someone, which was annoying.

“There’s a small forest on the back hill. Last time I went, I saw the little squirrels. I’ll take you there.”

Yunting nodded and obediently followed her.

But at a corner, Jiujie suddenly stopped and crouched down with Yunting.

“That big-bearded man just now!”

A voice ahead said, “Please wait here for a moment. I’ll go get something and come back.”

The big-bearded man bent down politely and said, “Thank you.”

With a creak, the door opened, and the big-bearded man and his follower entered the room, then sat down by the window.

The window was open, and there was only a wall between them and Jiujie.

Yunting whispered, “He can’t see us. Let’s go.”

A muffled voice came from inside, “It’s great to be a high official. The wives they marry are so beautiful and capable.”

Jiujie frowned and asked softly, “Is he talking about my mother?”

The attendant said, “I heard that Lady Xie has already given birth to a daughter, but she still looks like a young girl, with no signs of having had a child.”

Jiujie affirmed, “That’s my mother.”

The person inside sighed and said, “When she was talking just now, there was a lingering fragrance around her, which made it hard for me to concentrate. She couldn’t be doing it on purpose, could she?”

He paused and continued, “If only she were in my room, I would give her whatever she wanted.”

The attendant said, “Yes, I heard that Mr. Xie is ruthless. It must be difficult to serve her!”

The man agreed, and began to speak ill in a low voice, “There’s no way. Women like her are ambitious and materialistic, always wanting to marry someone of high status. But the suffering involved, only they know.”

Jiujie crouched down, her face looking very unpleasant.

Yunting suggested quietly, “Let’s tell Lady Xie.”

Jiujie was still angry.

It was the first time she had heard someone curse her father and mother like this, and she was furious, saying, “No, I want to punish him myself!”

Yunting pursed his lips and asked, “But how do we punish him?”

“Do we have to kill him?”

Jiujie shook her head, “My father says killing is wrong, and human life is precious. If you must kill, you must think carefully first.”

She stood up, still holding Yunting’s hand, and said, “I have a plan!”

She went around to the front door and knocked lightly.

The door was quickly opened by the attendant. When he saw Jiujie, he greeted her politely, “Miss Jiujie, what can I do for you?”

Jiujie smiled sweetly and said, “Uncle with the big beard, can you help me with something?”

Faced with such a sweet and lovely little girl, it was really hard to say no, especially since Jiujie was the most favored young lady of the Xie family.

If he refused, what if the child went to complain?

“What do you need?”

Jiujie said, “My brother saw an injured squirrel in the small forest. It can’t move. We want to get it down, but we can’t reach it.”

She added sadly, “My mother won’t let me go to the small forest, so we’re afraid to ask the servants for help. Uncle with the big beard, can you please not tell my mother?”

Looking at the girl’s soft and lovely face, the big bearded man quickly agreed. He asked, “Where is it?”

Jiujie said, “Great! Follow me, uncle.”

She led Yunting all the way, talking to the old man very naturally along the way.

There weren’t many people in the small forest, and it was quiet all around.

She said to the attendant, “Can you wait here? My mother doesn’t allow me to enter the small forest, so it would be bad if someone found out.”

The attendant hesitated, “Well…”

The big bearded man waved his hand and said, “You wait here. I’ll be right back.”

Soon, Jiujie led the big bearded man to a large ditch.

The water in it was not too deep, but it was full of fallen leaves, and the surface of the water was dark.

There were many small insects swimming in it.

Juijie pointed to the large pine tree branch by the lake and said, “Uncle with the big beard, it’s on that branch. Can you see it?”

The big bearded man stared for a long time, but with the leaves concealing the view, he couldn’t see clearly. He said, “I don’t see it.”

Jiujie said, “The squirrel is very small. Uncle, can you climb up first? I’ll guide you.”

After hesitating for a moment, the big bearded man agreed, “Okay.”

Being somewhat overweight, he found climbing a bit difficult and soon lay on the branch below, with the dark water below him.

Staring at the bare branch in front of him, he moved some leaves aside and said, “I still don’t see it. Are you sure you two didn’t make a mistake?”

Jiujie said, “That’s impossible!”

She picked up a long bamboo pole from the ground, a pole that was used by Jinglian to knock pine cones down for her a long time ago. It was large and long, and Jiujie struggled to hold it.

“Don’t move yet. I’ll guide you.”

She said this, but she couldn’t move it. Yunting took it from her hands and whispered, “Let me do it.”

Jiujie’s expression changed slightly, and she whispered, “Do you know…”

Yunting interrupted her, “I know.”

Yunting looked up and whispered to the big bearded man, “Don’t move. I’ll guide you.”

No one would be on guard against two cute and adorable children, so even though the big bearded man felt a bit strange, he obediently lay on the branch without moving.

Just as he was about to speak, the bamboo pole struck his head hard—

His mind went blank, and his movements became unstable, almost falling down, but luckily his legs hooked onto the branch.

Before he could speak, the bamboo pole struck him again in a sensitive area. He screamed in pain and fell into the water with a splash.

The black water splashed onto the two of them. Jiujie jumped up happily and said, “Yunting, you’re amazing!”

The man in the water kept struggling, and Yunting pulled Jiujie’s wrist and ran. “Jiujie, run, be careful, he might come up.”

The small forest was not large, and the two of them quickly ran out. The attendant was still standing outside, and Jiujie said happily, “Your master fell into the water!”

“What?!”

Without thinking much, he immediately rushed in.

But the commotion here quickly caught Jinglian’s attention.

He had only been gone for a short time, and now both children were missing.

Jiujie saw Jinglian and ran, but Jinglian caught her. He said, “Miss, why are you running?”

He glanced at the panting Yunting beside her and asked, “Young Master, are you okay?”

He guessed right. He knew they would come to the small forest to look for the squirrel!

Not letting the servants follow them and bringing Yunting out as well, this was not the first time.

This time he would definitely report to the lady of the house!

The commotion in the forest quickly reached the house.

The soaking wet big bearded man and his attendant encountered Jiujie and Yunting, who had been successfully captured.

Inside the room, Sang Yao sat on the grand chair, looking serious.

Sang Yao was usually very gentle and rarely got angry over trivial matters, nor did she hold grudges.

She would only be angry with Xie Yun, so this was the first time Jiujie had seen her mother so angry because of something she had done.

Jiujie was somewhat afraid. She had always been a well-behaved child, so what if her mother thought she was no longer obedient after this?

The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. She didn’t even dare to look up at Sang Yao.

The two children stood obediently against the wall, already changed into dry clothes, their heads lowered.

Sang Yao asked, “Who put him in the water?”

Jiujie tugged at her clothes, about to speak, but Yunting whispered, “…it was me.”

Probably afraid that Sang Yao wouldn’t believe him, he added, “Jiujie is weak, she couldn’t move him.”

In fact, after Jiujie’s embellishments earlier, Sang Yao already had a rough idea of what had happened. But why they had acted wasn’t that important.

She was just very dissatisfied with the two children for taking such reckless and dangerous actions without permission.

What if the man wasn’t intimidated by the power of the Xie family and had malicious intentions?

These two six-year-old children were like little chicks in his hands.

Because Yunting was in poor health and rarely spoke, Sang Yao was always have a bit of pity towards him.

So even though he said that, Sang Yao didn’t say anything to him for the moment.

In silence, Yunting lowered his head again and whispered, “Mother, Jiujie originally wanted to come and tell you, but I stopped her.”

“I didn’t think it was necessary for you to know, so I took Jiujie to the forest to teach that person a lesson.”

“Mother, I was wrong.”

“I’m sorry.”

Jiujie let go of her wrinkled clothes, feeling conflicted. In the end, she mustered up the courage and said, “That’s not true…”

Yunting insisted, “It’s true.”

“You’re lying, it was me who said that.”

“I didn’t lie.”

Sang Yao thought to herself, did these two really think she couldn’t see through them? She was originally very angry, but after watching these two kids push the blame back and forth, her anger subsided to about five points.

She waved her hand and said, “Alright, I understand.”

She didn’t expose them, but instead looked at them and said, “Regardless of whether you lied or not, next time you must not act impulsively. Understand? If there’s anything, you must tell me first. You’re so young, it’s easy to have accidents.”

Yunting said, “I understand.”

Sang Yao glanced at Jiujie and said, “I won’t punish you for now, but I will tell your father about this.”

Jiujie puffed out her cheeks and said, “Thank you, Mother.”

After Jiujie and Yunting left the room, they were silent for a moment.

Yunting spoke first, “Jiujie, are you mad at me?”

“I’m sorry.”

Perhaps because they had walked too much today, Yunting’s face was noticeably paler, looking particularly fragile.

Jiujie sighed and said, “I’m not angry, I’m just afraid that my mother will be angry.”

“It’s okay, Madam seems to have calmed down.”

Seeing Jiujie silent, Yunting felt a little uneasy and said, “Jiujie…”

Jiujie, recalling something, suddenly lifted her head, a hint of dissatisfaction on her pretty face. She said, “Can you stop calling me Jiujie?”

Yunting was stunned for a moment, then asked, “Then… what should I call you?”

Jiujie’s steps were a bit lively.

She seemed to have forgotten what had just happened.

After thinking for a while, she stopped and stood in front of the boy who was half a head taller than her, tilting her head and said cheerfully, “You should call me sister.”

“But I’m only a month older than you.”

Jiujie had always been the youngest child in the mansion, always calling “big brother” or “big sister” to others, and never had a child call her sister.

She had been envious for a long time.

Jiujie tugged at his sleeve and coquettishly said, “It doesn’t matter, Yunting, Yunting, just call me sister. If you call me sister, I’ll play with you every day, okay?”

Yunting’s pale face flushed slightly. He softly agreed, “Okay.”

After a pause, he added, “Sister.”