Chapter 41 – Searching for People

Aunt Zhao was completely confused.

Qin Ying simply took the garment, flipped the sleeve inside out, and placed a piece of fabric underneath it. She began mending it based on the original material.

Then, from the fabric scraps in her bundle, she chose a piece slightly darker than the clothing, folded it in half, and cut out two oval-shaped patches. Taking one of the patches, she secured it roughly in place at the elbow with large stitches. As she sewed, she tucked the edges inward, preventing the patch from unraveling.

After finishing the sewing, she stitched along the edge in a zigzag pattern. This not only made the patch sturdier but also more aesthetically pleasing. Then she removed the initial rough stitches.

She handed it over to Aunt Zhao and said, “Mother, do you understand now?”

“Oh, oh, oh!” Aunt Zhao nodded repeatedly. “My daughter is really clever! Lord Zhou clearly said he cares about appearances. Of course, the patch has to look good!”

Then she asked, “But the sleeve on the other side is fine—why patch that one?”

“Look,” Qin Ying gestured, “If the two sides are different, it’s obvious that it’s a patch. But if they’re the same, people might think it’s a new design.”

Zhou Yu, for the sake of convenience while working, always wore narrow-sleeved robes—areas easily seen by others.

Aunt Zhao’s eyes lit up. “That’s what I said! My daughter’s the smart one!”

“Don’t praise me too much, Mother!” Qin Ying shook her head with a smile. “I’m not the first to come up with this idea. When I was young, I saw many military generals. Their clothes usually had extra layers at the elbows—more durable and helped prevent injury.”

An An wasn’t happy about this. That handsome uncle really knew how to put people to work! Even if sewing and patching wasn’t hard labor, staring down at the fabric for long periods could give her mother and grandmother sore necks and eyes!

She flipped through her functions—alas, she could do nothing!

Helpless, she ended up throwing a little tantrum to get her mother and grandmother to hold her, letting them rest a bit.

After night fell and visibility became poor, needlework couldn’t continue. So the family sat around in the dark, peeling corn kernels by touch.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yu suddenly sneezed loudly and couldn’t help but rub his nose.

Xu Xia laughed and asked, “Could it be that the old master is thinking of you?”

“The letter to Grandfather should have arrived by now, right?” Zhou Yu thought of his elderly grandfather and felt a deep sense of longing.

The old man had lived a hard life—losing his wife as a young man, then his daughter and son in middle age.

Xu Xia quickly said, “With Second Master and the Ninth Prince taking care of him, the old master is doing just fine. You needn’t worry too much.”

But Zhou Yu’s brow furrowed even deeper. “Uncle is helping the Ninth Prince train troops?”

“Yes,” Xu Xia replied. “Second Master is currently the Ninth Prince’s most trusted aide.”

Zhou Yu’s brows were tightly knit, his worry plainly written on his face.

Seeing his expression, Xu Xia tried to console him. “There’s no need to be overly concerned. From what I see, the Ninth Prince isn’t like the former emperor.”

Zhou Yu snorted. “Even if the late emperor has already ascended to the heavens, he’s not someone you and I can discuss casually.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” Xu Xia chuckled. “It’s just the two of us here, after all! Young Master, don’t be angry. The Ninth Prince doesn’t have it easy either—barely survived death more than once. The only one he can truly trust is his maternal uncle.

“He also places great trust in you. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have written multiple times to invite you to join him.”

“I don’t have the talent for serving the nation or stabilizing the realm,” Zhou Yu replied indifferently. “Just managing little Qinxian has me worn out already. How could I possibly be of help?”

After a moment of silence, Xu Xia asked, “What about Second Young Master and Third Miss? How should we arrange for them?”

“Don’t concern yourself with that.” Zhou Yu glanced at him. “I already wrote about it in the letter to Uncle. I told him to send them to their maternal family. I can barely feed myself here—how could I look after them?”

Xu Xia quietly let out a breath and wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead. “That’s good, that’s good.”

Zhou Yu couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “What? My younger sister isn’t good enough for you?”

“No, no!” Xu Xia quickly waved his hands. “I’m not good enough for Third Miss! You know how she is—still hasn’t settled down, always changing her mind.

“In a couple of years, if she thinks she was too foolish when she was young and decides to make life difficult for me…

“Sigh, are you helping your family or helping reason here? You’re putting me in a tough spot!”

Zhou Yu couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

After the laughter, he sighed again. “Tell Ding Qi and the others to search in another direction. Big and Second Sister are not foolish. They’ll have found a way to avoid danger.”

Xu Xia immediately agreed.

Zhou Yu was the eldest legitimate grandson of the main family and was conferred the title of heir at just one year old. The “Big Sister” and “Second Sister” he referred to were his two legitimate younger sisters, Zhou Qi and Zhou Mian. The “Third Miss,” who had been endlessly entangled with Xu Xia, was Zhou Wen, the legitimate daughter of the second household.

Zhou Qi and Zhou Mian had originally been with Zhou Yu’s father, the Marquis of Cheng’en, Zhou Shuo. During their flight from danger, they were ambushed. Zhou Shuo died protecting his daughters, and the two young ladies soon went missing afterward.

Zhou Yu had spared no effort in searching for them, but after four years, there was still no news. Old Master Zhou often wrote to urge him to give up, saying the girls were probably already dead—but Zhou Yu never believed it.

Xu Xia tried to comfort him again and changed the subject to the new clothes. “Young Master, that Aunt Zhao really has skill. This new outfit fits me perfectly!”

Zhou Yu gave a soft snort.

Xu Xia’s eyes lit up, and he leaned over, grinning. “You still have two pieces of cloth that haven’t been cut yet, right? I think you should ask Aunt Zhao to make something for you too. It’ll be nice for New Year!

‘New year, new look!’ We should try to bring in some good luck.”

Zhou Yu lowered his eyes and said flatly, “You know I don’t believe in that stuff.”

“Oh come on, Young Master,” Xu Xia still smiled. “Speaking of this, I’ve got something to say!

“You say this kind of superstitious stuff doesn’t work, but it’s hard not to believe! Since we came to Qinxian, haven’t we tried everything we could think of?

“Yet we couldn’t even get a drop of water?

“But after coming to Tongshu Village and benefiting from the Zhao family’s luck, we suddenly struck water!”

Zhou Yu’s heart sank, and he intentionally said, “Fine, let’s say the first well was coincidence. But the other two had nothing to do with them.”

“You can’t say that,” Xu Xia waggled a finger. “If it weren’t for the good fortune from that family, we probably wouldn’t have gotten the second and third wells either.

“And not just that—since we arrived, everything’s been going well! I’m thinking, either we’re riding on their luck, or this place itself is blessed for us!”

Zhou Yu gave a dry chuckle. “You’re just making things up now.”

“How is this nonsense?” Xu Xia widened his eyes in protest. “It makes perfect sense!”

Zhou Yu’s heart stirred. If he asked An An, would she be able to find his two missing sisters? Even a small clue would be good.

With that thought, the next day he took Xu Xia with him to visit the Zhao household again.

Aunt Zhao was folding up the mended clothes. When she saw them arrive, she quickly unfolded the garments again and said, “Lord Zhou, take a look—see if they’re to your liking?”