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Chapter 44: Ask Mother

After returning to the west room, Zhou Yu carefully fed An’an until she finished eating. Seeing that her complexion had recovered significantly, he finally felt relieved.

He gently touched her delicate little face and said solemnly, “An’an, don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone about your unusual abilities. I’ll even help your family hide it. I absolutely won’t let you fall into danger!”

An’an’s lips curled high in a smile. She knew he was speaking from the heart—and that his promise came with a long shelf life!

Heh! So happy! What a handsome uncle—if you know how to talk like this, then say more of it, please!

Ding! Energy +1.

An’an smiled even more brightly and clung tightly to Zhou Yu, refusing to let go.

Zhou Yu pulled out a detailed map of the Great Zhou from his person, carefully spread it open on the kang bed, and cautiously asked, “An’an, can you help point out a general area?”

Looking at a map? Easy peasy!

An’an slipped out of Zhou Yu’s arms and climbed onto the kang.

The map was drawn on silk, making it portable, yet still very detailed.

An’an studied it for a while, recalled the information she saw through her clairvoyance, then stretched out her chubby little finger and pointed to a spot.

She turned her head to look at Zhou Yu. Seeing that his brows were tightly furrowed and that he remained motionless, she poked him again and pouted, “Hey! This!”

Zhou Yu felt a heaviness in his heart. He had already sent people to investigate that area three times but had found nothing.

He slowly put away the map and held An’an in his arms again. Even though the room temperature hadn’t changed, he felt a chill over his body.

A question lingered on his tongue for a long time, but he couldn’t summon the courage to ask it.

An’an yawned. She was getting sleepy. Handsome uncle, do you have anything else to ask?

Seeing her like this, Zhou Yu held her even closer, as if he could draw strength from her tiny body.

After a long moment, he asked softly, “An’an… are they… still alive?”

His voice was so faint, like a spider’s thread—on the verge of snapping, and trembling slightly.

Sigh, he must be afraid.

An’an gently patted his chest with her little paw and gave him a definite answer: “Mm.”

She actually wanted to explain more clearly, but she still couldn’t speak in full sentences! Besides, there were many things she knew but couldn’t say outright—breaking the rules would result in punishment for her too.

Ahh… so sleepy…

Zhou Yu was about to ask more, but then noticed the little hand on his chest had slid down. He looked down to see the little one already fast asleep.

He glanced over at Zhao Hu’s kang bed—there was no bedding there. Clearly, An’an usually didn’t sleep in this room.

So, he carried her to the door of the east room and asked how she should be settled.

Aunt Zhao immediately brought An’an’s bedding over and apologized, “Lord Zhou, sorry to trouble you with watching over her. We just have a bit more work to finish up.”

Zhou Yu glanced at the sky. “Auntie, didn’t Xu Xia bring some candles? You should light them while you work—be careful not to strain your eyes.”

While laying out the bedding, Aunt Zhao waved off his concern, “It’s alright. We’re used to it.”

“That won’t do,” Zhou Yu said sternly. “Damaging your eyesight is a lifelong matter. Don’t worry—I have plenty of candles. More than enough.”

Aunt Zhao could only agree.

When she returned to the east room, she whispered to Qin Ying, “Lord Zhou is quite attentive for a man—he’s good at looking after a child.”

“Mother,” Qin Ying glanced outside, “Didn’t you pour Lord Zhou a bowl of hot water?”

Aunt Zhao slapped her thigh, “Oh no! I was so focused on making food for An’an, I completely forgot about Lord Zhou!”

Qin Ying shook her head helplessly, “Good thing Lord Zhou is easygoing. Otherwise, he might’ve taken offense at our poor hospitality.”

Aunt Zhao was full of regret.

Seeing this, Qin Ying quickly consoled her, “It’s fine, it’s fine. You can still bring it now. Make a bowl of hot rice cereal for An’an, and bring the dried mushrooms I roasted for him to snack on.

“I’ll finish up the remaining chores. You go cook. Let’s have Lord Zhou and Brother Xu stay for dinner tonight.”

Aunt Zhao agreed and went to do as instructed.

Qin Ying lit a candle and focused on the finishing touches. The rest were fine details that required extra attention.

Zhou Yu watched as the little belly under An’an’s quilt gently rose and fell, her cheeks rosy—clearly, she was sound asleep.

He wanted to immediately send word to have the area An’an pointed to thoroughly searched again, but he also feared she might roll off the kang in her sleep. He truly felt torn.

Suddenly, An’an turned over and mumbled, “Ask… mother…”

Zhou Yu’s heart stirred. He leaned in, wanting to hear more, but only caught the faint sound of An’an’s breathing. He gave up on questioning her, gently pulled up the quilt, and tucked her in.

At dusk, Xu Xia and Zhao Hu returned dragging firewood behind them. Judging from their haul, they had gathered quite a bit and had even borrowed a cart from the village, which was now piled high.

As soon as Zhao Hu entered, he cheerfully shouted for his mother, proudly showing off their haul.

Aunt Zhao quickly told him to keep it down and thanked Xu Xia, preparing hot water for them to wash up.

After brushing the dust off and cleaning his hands, Xu Xia went to see Zhou Yu.

To his surprise, the usually composed young master looked visibly anxious. Startled, he quickly asked, “Young Master, has something happened?”

“There’s news about the second and third young misses!” Zhou Yu clenched his fist and named a location. “Send word to Ding Qi immediately. Have him investigate thoroughly!”

Xu Xia frowned upon hearing it and hesitated. “Young Master, where did you get this information? Haven’t we already checked that place three times?”

Zhou Yu closed his eyes and tried to calm his emotions. Lifting a hand, he said, “I was too anxious. Let’s slow down—take it step by step.”

Dinner was a large stew. Aunt Zhao had also made meatball soup and blanched bok choy, garnished with fresh green scallions and cilantro—quite appetizing.

But during the meal, Zhou Yu was clearly distracted. This made Aunt Zhao uneasy. She cautiously asked, “Lord Zhou, is the food not to your taste?”

She had even steamed a few wheat buns especially for Zhou Yu and his attendants—her own family was eating cornmeal buns.

“No,” Zhou Yu forced a smile, “It’s very good—especially the meatball soup.”

He wasn’t just being polite. The meatballs were made from grated white radish, yet had a particularly savory flavor.

Aunt Zhao couldn’t help praising Qin Ying, “It was my Yingzi’s idea—to roast mushrooms until dry, grind them into powder, and add a bit when cooking. It makes everything taste amazing.”

Zhou Yu’s gaze shifted to Qin Ying’s face. Thinking of An’an’s sleep-talking, he asked, almost without realizing, “Miss Qin, may I ask you something?”

Qin Ying quickly put down her chopsticks.

Zhou Yu said hurriedly, “This is a casual setting. No need to stand on ceremony.”

Qin Ying picked her chopsticks back up but merely held them, not eating any more. “Please ask. If it’s something I can help with, I’ll do my best.”

Zhou Yu organized his thoughts, then said, “It’s like this—if two girls were separated during wartime, where might they possibly end up?”

After a pause, he added, “They’re still alive, but the people searching for them have never been able to find them.”

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