Chapter 4: Gaining Auntie’s Favor

Madam Wei was first shocked, then overjoyed.

She couldn’t be bothered with the servants gossiping nearby and immediately interrupted, “Xing’er? What about him?”

The servant, caught talking about the masters, instantly dropped to her knees in panic. “Madam, the Young Master has returned to Weirui Courtyard.”

“That I know. Repeat what you just said. What happened to Xing’er?”

The servant trembled and stammered, “Just now I saw the Young Master smile… at a little girl. But I don’t know who she is. I heard she’s someone the Young Master brought back from outside.”

Madam Wei hadn’t expected this day would truly come.

All her daily incense burning, vegetarian meals, and chanting scriptures for her son—who lacked part of his soul—had finally borne fruit.

Despite being ill, she didn’t care anymore. She practically flew to Weirui Courtyard, desperate to see for herself.

---

At that moment, Yaoyao was sitting on a large stone in Weirui Courtyard, happily swaying as she munched on an osmanthus cake.

The first thing Xie Yixing did upon returning home was bathe and change clothes.

While the maids boiled water, he brought Yaoyao to sit beneath the osmanthus tree in the courtyard and stuffed a bundle of osmanthus cakes, delivered by the steward, into her arms.

He counted them—six in total.

Given Yaoyao’s tiny mouth, it would take her a while to finish. Just enough time for him to clean up.

Though they’d only spent one night together, he could already tell this little girl was a total foodie.

Earlier, when a servant called him “shizi” (Young Lord), she perked up and asked, “Persimmons? Where are the persimmons? Yaoyao wants sweet, sweet persimmons!”

That had made him laugh.

Though this time, he hadn’t even realized his expression had changed.

But all the nearby servants looked like they’d seen a ghost.

---

By the time Madam Wei entered Weirui Courtyard, Yaoyao was just picking up her third piece of cake from the jade plate.

One glance was all it took for Madam Wei to be charmed by this adorable little girl. When she learned she was the one Xie Yixing had brought home, her reaction wasn’t the slightest bit hostile—instead, she smiled warmly and asked, “What’s your name, sweetheart?”

Yaoyao obediently put down her cake. “Auntie, my name is Yaoyao.”

“Yaoyao? That’s your nickname, right? What’s your formal name?”

Madam Wei noticed the girl’s attire was not that of a poor child. Her fair skin and delicate features didn’t look like someone who had suffered hardship.

She figured she’d have someone look into it. Hopefully her son hadn’t stolen away some noble family’s daughter—if her family came looking, it would be a problem.

Yaoyao blinked her big, clear eyes. “Yaoyao is just Yaoyao. My parents never told me I had another name.”

Madam Wei asked more specifically, “How many people are in your family? Do you remember where you live?”

Yaoyao looked down and started counting on her pudgy little fingers. “There’s Yaoyao, Daddy and Mommy, Big Sister, Second Brother, Aunt Xue, Mama Liu…”

She listed a whole string of people, making Madam Wei’s head spin.

“Yaoyao, why don’t you first tell me where your home is?”

She had no choice but to interrupt and try to get a clear address.

But Yaoyao shook her head. “I don’t remember. Daddy and Mommy said I’m not allowed outside. They said there are lots of bad people out there.”

“Since your parents said there are bad people outside, how did you end up here?”

After chatting for a while, Madam Wei found the girl more and more interesting.

Yaoyao answered honestly, “My mommy took me out. But I wasn’t good. I didn’t listen to Mommy and insisted on buying candied hawthorn from a street vendor. Mommy got mad and left me behind.”

“What kind of mother does that?!”

Madam Wei was stunned.

Even after all the heartbreak her son had caused her, she’d never once thought of abandoning him.

But this girl’s mother left her behind just over some candied hawthorn? Did she not know how common child kidnappings were in the capital these days?

“Yaoyao, could your mommy be a stepmother?”

That was the only explanation Madam Wei could think of.

Yaoyao shook her head. “Mommy is Mommy. Why would she be a stepmother?”

Now Madam Wei was certain: this child had been abandoned by her birth family.

If it were a noble household’s daughter, the city would be in an uproar searching for her—just as they had been when her own son disappeared.

But no one had come looking. There hadn’t even been a whisper of news.

Clearly, they didn’t want her anymore.

Poor little Yaoyao.

Madam Wei raised her hand and gently patted the girl’s head, quickly noticing the two little buns on top.

“Did your mommy do your hair like this?”

Yaoyao proudly lifted her chin. “Nope! It was the Persimmon Brother who gave me the osmanthus cake!”

“Persimmon Brother?”

Madam Wei couldn’t help laughing. Even the maids beside her chuckled.

“Yaoyao, that’s not quite right. It’s shizi (young lord), not shizi (persimmon).”

“There’s a difference?”

Even though Xie Yixing had explained it to her earlier, she still didn’t see how it mattered. Persimmon cakes were sweet and fragrant—she liked them a lot.

The Young Master smelled sweet and fragrant too—she liked him too.

Last night, when she had snuggled into his arm to sleep, she’d been enveloped in his comforting scent. It made her think of the jasmine plants her father had grown for her mother.

Suddenly, she felt a pang of homesickness—she missed her mommy, her daddy, her big sister, her second brother, Aunt Xue, Mama Liu… even the fat bunny she raised in the backyard.

---

The Marquis of Chengming finally relaxed upon hearing his son was home safe.

Using that as an excuse, he made another trip to the prison and tried to pry some information from the warden.

That’s when he learned: someone had tried to poison the inmates that very morning.

Luckily, the guard assigned to deliver food had a stomachache and left the meals by the outer bars while he went to the latrine. Before anyone could eat, rats got into the food.

Moments later, the rats died—poisoned, lying dead in a row with their feet in the air.

When the guard returned and saw the scene, he immediately alerted the warden.

Upon investigation, they discovered the tainted food had come from someone high up in the hierarchy.

Thankfully, because of the Marquis’s earlier warning, the warden had kept the prisoners under tight watch and hadn’t allowed any harm to come to them. He had already moved them all to a different cell.

Though the new cell was small, it was clean and free of rats or snakes.

Even better, the guard in charge of that section was the Empress’s own younger brother. No one would dare make a move under the nose of the emperor’s brother-in-law.

That was finally enough to put the Marquis’s mind at ease.

Just as he was about to leave, the warden reminded him, “If you don’t have to, My Lord, best not to leave the city by the southwestern road. Word is, there was a gruesome death last night on the southern route. Looks like a wolf attack.”

“Strange thing is, people have lived near the south gate for years and never seen a single wolf. But last night, a whole pack descended and ate a couple traveling in a cart. I heard their livers were torn out—only their skins were left.”

The Marquis nodded without concern.

After leaving the prison, he and Xie Yun returned to the street they’d searched the night before.

They questioned a group of gossiping aunties, but none of them had seen a four- or five-year-old girl in a goose-yellow coat.

By afternoon, the Marquis had a good guess about what had happened.

Most likely, the little girl had been taken in by someone.

It was the Lantern Festival the night before—people from the Five Villages had come into the city.

He’d have his men focus their search around those villages. Maybe something would turn up.

---

Back at the Marquis estate, he’d just started feeling drowsy and was about to nap in his study when Madam Wei suddenly rushed in, all flustered.

Her first words were, “Our son has hope!”