Chapter 40

Erya immediately leaned in eagerly, letting out an awed “Wow!”

Yun Shuang chuckled at her. “What are you ‘wowing’ at? Can you even read it?”

Erya shook her little head honestly. “Nope.”

Yun Shuang smiled helplessly and pointed word by word. “Yun, Yi.” She looked up, beaming. “Erya, that’s your formal name.”

Then she continued, “Yun, Yin — that’s your brother’s formal name.”

‘Yi’ symbolized elegance, beauty, and gentleness, while ‘Yin’ conveyed nobility, order, and moral character.

Yun Shuang couldn’t come up with names sourced from ancient texts like true scholars might — so she poured her most sincere hopes for the children into their names.

The two children instinctively repeated the names aloud after her, a strange and powerful feeling blooming quietly in their hearts, gradually filling them with warmth. It felt as if the earth beneath their feet had just become more solid. These were their names. They had real names now.

Erya — no, Yun Yi — clapped her hands with glee and skipped around. “My name and Brother’s name sound so pretty! Mother, you’re amazing!”

Yun Yin quietly repeated his own name a few times, then his sister’s — with a solemn little expression. “I’ve memorized them.”

I’ll never forget.

Yun Shuang smiled as she watched them, suddenly feeling that no matter who their biological father might be, these children were hers — and that truth would never change. That alone was enough.

That night, the three of them slept soundly — not a single dream in sight.

The next morning, just after breakfast, an attendant from the inn came by and said, “Miss Yun, someone is here to see you. They say they’re from the Luo family.”

Yun Shuang had worried that Steward Li wouldn’t be able to find her after she checked into Qifeng Hall yesterday, so she had asked the inn attendants to visit the Luo family on her behalf. She raised her eyebrows—so Steward Li already had an answer for her? That was fast!

She’d expected to wait a few more days.

She replied at once, “Please invite him up.”

Upon seeing the visitor, she smiled and said, “Steward Li—I didn’t expect you to come in person.”

Steward Li returned her smile warmly. After entering the room and waiting for Yun Shuang to close the door behind them, he suddenly bowed deeply and said solemnly, “I heard about what happened yesterday. Never in my wildest thoughts did I imagine Mr. Chang would commit such a disgraceful act of betrayal, even harming you in the process. He is one of our own from the Luo family. Given what’s happened, both morally and formally, we owe you an apology. I’ve been restless all night since receiving the news. That’s why I came uninvited first thing this morning. I hope you won’t hold it against me.”

Yun Shuang quickly stood and helped him to his feet. “You’re being far too courteous, Steward. What he did was truly unexpected. Anyone would’ve struggled to guard against it. As you can see, I wasn’t harmed at all—please don’t take it to heart.”

Though Li Youcai rose as asked, the worry on his face lingered. He sighed and said, “I never expected our Luo family to suffer blows back-to-back like this. You’ve been gracious—but the Luo family must show our stance regardless.”

With that, he placed a finely crafted box made of huanghuali wood, decorated with floral carvings, onto the table. When he opened it, inside was a beautiful dark blue embroidered pouch, bursting at the seams, alongside several strings of copper coins. Beneath them were neat stacks of silver notes, folded with care.

Li Youcai gently pushed the box toward Yun Shuang. “Inside, you’ll find 400 taels in silver notes, and 80 taels in loose silver. I had the last 20 taels converted into copper coins for easier use. These notes can be exchanged at any major bank across Da Qi.”

Yun Shuang, holding back the surge of emotion, glanced at the box and smiled. “Steward Li, that’s very thoughtful of you.”

“As for the few requests you made yesterday,” he continued, “I spoke with Mr. Chen last night—we’ve decided to accept all of them.”

Steward Li bowed deeply again and said, “If Miss Yun ever needs assistance from the Luo family in the future, we’ll do everything in our power—we won’t refuse.”

“I already sent someone last night to look for a suitable home for you,” he added. “Of course, buying property isn’t something accomplished overnight. Once we’re ready, we’ll notify you right away.”

Yun Shuang’s lips curled slightly in a smile. She nodded, “Thank you for going to the trouble, Steward Li. That works out well—I need a little time to take care of a few things myself. If you need to find me, just come to Changsheng Village outside the city.”

After exchanging a few more words, Li Youcai took his leave.

Once Yun Shuang had walked him out, she returned to find Yun Yi and Yun Yin leaning over the table, their little heads squished together, gazing at the box with wide-eyed awe.

“Brother, brother—is all this money ours? It’s so much! I can’t even count that high!”

Yun Yin kept a serious expression on his face, but his eyes sparkled.  

“Probably. Mother helped catch a bad person. This is the reward they gave her.” He still remembered how she’d taken him to the Luo household a few days ago to help solve the case.

“Wow! You get that much money for catching bad guys? Yi—I-I want to catch bad guys too!”

Yun Shuang couldn’t hold back a laugh. She scooped the two kids up and solemnly warned them not to talk about the money to anyone—otherwise, it might attract dangerous attention.

Yun Yi immediately covered her mouth and mumbled, “I won’t tell, Mother! Not even if someone gives me a whole bunch of malt candy!”

Yun Yin quickly chimed in, “M-me too! I won’t tell either!”

Yun Shuang laughed and gently patted their head.

Later that afternoon, an inn attendant informed her that the alarm outside the city had been lifted. So Yun Shuang gathered her bundles—and her two children—and headed for the spot she had arranged to meet Lao Li.

Two days ago, when she asked Lao Li to head back first, he had said he’d return the next day to take them home. So yesterday, Yun Shuang arranged for someone to wait at their agreed meeting spot—but Lao Li never showed up. Most likely, the city’s lockdown made it difficult for him to come. Today, however, Lao Li arrived as promised. As soon as they met, he apologized earnestly: “Miss Shuang, I’m terribly sorry. The barbarians outside the city stirred up trouble again yesterday, and Village Chief Huang ordered us all to stay home. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to come…”

Yun Shuang smiled and replied, “I understand, Uncle Li. No need to worry. It’s harvest season and everyone’s busy. I’m the one who’s troubled you—I should be the one apologizing.”

Without waiting for further words, she began loading her purchased goods onto Lao Li’s donkey cart and said sheepishly, “Uncle Li, I bought some items. If anyone asks later, would you mind saying these things were bought by you folks? Once we’re back, I’ll explain everything to you and Sister Hua properly.”

Lao Li looked a little stunned at the pile of belongings, but since Yun Shuang had already said so, he could only nod and accept.

From there, the journey went smoothly, and they soon returned to Changsheng Village.

Lao Li helped her unload all the bags into her house first. Then Yun Shuang took her two children and paid a respectful visit to Sister Hua’s home to thank them properly. She briefly explained that she had reported Wu Chengqi’s whereabouts to the guards and received a reward for it. She didn’t say exactly how much silver she’d earned—only mentioned vaguely that the officers had been quite generous.