The Wife of a Loyal Servant - Chapter 14

Upon returning home and seeing Madam Wang and Xiao Shitou, the house immediately bustled with warmth and noise.

Cheng Shaotang naturally didn’t mention the dangers he had encountered on the way back—he only shared a few trivial details. Fortunately, Madam Wang cared only about whether he had returned safely and didn’t trouble herself with anything else.

At first, Xiao Shitou still found his father somewhat unfamiliar. No matter how Madam Wang coaxed him to call out, he refused to open his mouth. But after Cheng Shaotang lifted him high a few times, the little boy happily wrapped his arms around his neck and called “Daddy!” more cheerfully than ever.

Ling Yu watched the father and son play for a while. After a short rest, she went to clean the various things from the day’s stall, preparing them for use again tomorrow.

“I heard from Mother that you’ve grown much more sensible these days, and you’ve worked hard,” Cheng Shaotang said with satisfaction, holding his son while casting an approving gaze at Cheng Shaoan.

Cheng Shaoan giggled foolishly as he scratched his ear. Seeing that Madam Wang and Ling Yu were nowhere around, he instantly began complaining miserably: “Big brother, you have no idea how outrageous sister-in-law is! She threatens me over the smallest disagreement and gives me absolutely no face—she’s awful!”

“What did she threaten you with?” Cheng Shaotang asked, curious.

“She threatened to tell my cousin that I wet the bed at five, almost got kidnapped at seven because I was greedy, and got chased by a dog naked when I was eight! Tell me, isn’t she going too far?!” Just thinking about it made him furious, but since she had those humiliating stories as leverage, he had no choice but to yield.

The next moment, he shot his brother an angry glare. “Big brother, did you tell her these things?”

Cheng Shaotang almost burst out laughing, but he forced it down so his brother wouldn’t explode further. Hearing the accusation, he quickly shook his head. “It wasn’t me. I’ve never told her any of that.”

“Not you? Then it must have been Mother?” Cheng Shaoan muttered irritably. “Mother, honestly—why does she tell sister-in-law everything? Who’s really her biological son here?”

Cheng Shaotang finally couldn’t hold back his laughter.

He had more or less figured Ling Yu out. She might appear gentle and mild-mannered, but she was firm at her core. Thankfully, she was patient enough to coax Madam Wang. Madam Wang herself was soft-tempered, and after years of relying on her eldest son for every decision, she naturally became accustomed to following her eldest daughter-in-law when he was away. As a result, the two women got along quite harmoniously.

Ling Yu returned the wooden basin she had borrowed from Aunt Niu next door, casually brushing off Aunt Niu’s not-so-subtle probing about how much money their family had earned lately. After teasing Aunt Niu’s little granddaughter Niuniu for a bit, she took her leave.

When she stepped out of Aunt Niu’s house, she spotted a young man pacing back and forth beneath a pine tree not far from their home. In his arms he held a square object wrapped in blue cloth. Several times he seemed ready to head toward their front door, but each attempt ended with him taking half a step before shrinking back again.

Ling Yu narrowed her eyes in puzzlement as she stared at the man. Only when he seemed to make up his mind and turned to leave toward the village entrance did she finally see his face clearly.

“Xiao Mu, it’s you? You’re here to see your brother Cheng, right? Why not come in and sit?” She hurried forward, smiling at the young man, who looked a little startled.

“Sister… sister-in-law.” Xiao Mu hadn’t expected her to recognize him.

“Your brother Cheng only returned today. He’s probably inside talking with his brothers. Brother Shaotang, Xiao Mu has come to see you!” Ling Yu warmly led him inside.

Xiao Mu seemed a little distracted, preoccupied with something, but Ling Yu didn’t notice and called out toward Cheng Shaotang inside.

Cheng Shaotang was helping Xiao Shitou walk. Watching the little guy toddling along on his short legs so steadily brought a smile to his lips. When he heard Ling Yu call, he paused, scooped up his tired son who had stretched out his arms for a hug, and then saw Ling Yu approaching with a young man dressed in short work clothes. It was Xiao Mu, a newly arrived guard at the escort agency.

He cast a doubtful glance at Ling Yu, who still hadn’t noticed anything amiss, then stepped forward and asked, “How come you’re here? Have the matters back home been taken care of?”

“All handled.” Xiao Mu instinctively straightened his back as he replied.

“Come inside and sit.” Cheng Shaotang nodded and tried to hand his son to Ling Yu, but the little guy clung to his neck, acting spoiled and refusing to let go. Helpless, Cheng Shaotang patted his small bottom and let him stay.

Ling Yu poured them tea, coaxed Xiao Shitou to follow her outside, and left the room to the two men.

Cheng Shaotang took a sip of tea. Seeing Xiao Mu’s hesitant expression and noticing how tightly he held onto the square object wrapped in blue cloth, he asked in a low voice, “Is your father’s leg injury still giving him trouble?”

“No, no. My father’s leg is already healed. He asked me to thank you and the brothers at the escort agency on his behalf,” Xiao Mu said quickly when he realized Cheng Shaotang had misunderstood.

“Then is there something else you’re struggling to say?”

Xiao Mu’s expression was tangled and unreadable. He suddenly stood up and peeked outside, as if checking whether anyone was listening, then quietly closed the doors and windows.

Cheng Shaotang frowned at this string of strange actions but didn’t interrupt him.

Setting the bundle he had been holding onto the table, Xiao Mu took several deep breaths, as though steeling himself. “Brother… Take a look at what’s inside.”

As he spoke, he unwrapped the blue cloth, revealing a simple, pitch-black box.

“What is this?” Cheng Shaotang asked in confusion.

“This is the item Lord Ren Zhong entrusted to our escort agency that day,” Xiao Mu whispered.

“What?!” Cheng Shaotang’s face changed dramatically. “Why is this in your hands?”

He had considered that the chief escort might have secretly kept the item for himself, but he could never have imagined that it would end up with Xiao Mu—who hadn’t even gone on the mission in the first place.

“I watched you all sign the handover that day, but while you weren’t paying attention, the chief secretly switched the item.” At this point, anger filled Xiao Mu’s face.

“His little stunt of sleight-of-hand was clearly meant to use you as bait to face danger on the road. I couldn’t stand it, so that night I sneaked into his room and switched it back.”

“I originally wanted to deliver it to you quickly so your trip wouldn’t be in vain, but… but I accidentally took the wrong path…” A flush of embarrassment crept onto his face.

“Later, I thought no matter what, I had to deliver it to the Ren residence in Tongzhou so Lord Ren wouldn’t think you’d failed in your escort duty. But when I arrived in Tongzhou, I found something had happened to the Ren household, and you had already set out back to the escort agency.”

“So you were also in Tongzhou that day?” Cheng Shaotang asked in surprise.

“Yes, I arrived a bit late and didn’t run into you. With the Ren household in trouble, I didn’t know how to deal with the box. I could only bring it back and planned to discuss what to do with you when I returned.”

“Now the head escort chief is nowhere to be found, and our client, Lord Ren, has lost his life. It’s said his family also perished in the fire…”

“B-Brother, I…I know where the head escort went.”

“You know?” Cheng Shaotang was startled.

“H-he’s dead. The one who burned to death in that empty house on West Street last night was him! I watched with my own eyes as he carried the box I had swapped out into that house. Less than a quarter of an hour later, a man in black walked out with the box—but he didn’t come out.”

“After that, the fire started.”

Remembering what he’d seen that night, Xiao Mu trembled all over in fear.

Cheng Shaotang’s face changed drastically. “You really saw it with your own eyes?!”

“Y-yes, I saw it myself. Brother, I think the chief must have secretly switched the box that day because that man ordered him to. Otherwise… otherwise how could he have ended up dead like this?”

“Brother, now that this thing is in my hands, what if… what if…” Xiao Mu’s face crumpled, his voice trembling with fear. “Had I known, I should’ve pretended not to hear when my sister-in-law called earlier. Now you know about it too—if that person finds out, will you be dragged into this as well?”

“Don’t panic. Things may not be beyond saving yet.” Cheng Shaotang was in turmoil himself, but seeing how lost Xiao Mu looked, he could only try to comfort him.

“You swapped the item, but the chief still carried the box to meet that man. Maybe he didn’t know it had been switched, or maybe he knew and made a fake to avoid trouble. In the end, he still couldn’t escape death—clearly the other party intended to silence him from the start.”

“By now, that person has likely realized the chief deceived him and will definitely keep searching. The chief’s family… has probably also met with misfortune.” Cheng Shaotang’s expression was grave.

“Th-then what do we do with this thing?”

“If there are still survivors in the Ren household, then of course it should be returned to them. But for now… we can only hide it temporarily,” Cheng Shaotang said after some thought.

“Just now outside the door, I was already thinking—maybe I should bury it in the ground and pretend none of this ever happened.”

“That works too. Let’s find a safe place to bury it first, and then—”

“Why are all the doors and windows shut? In this weather, it must be scorching inside!” Ling Yu’s voice suddenly carried in from outside, startling Xiao Mu. He quickly rewrapped the box in the blue cloth and shoved it hastily under the table.

“It must be the strong wind,” Cheng Shaotang lied without batting an eye.

Ling Yu didn’t notice anything, setting the dishes she carried onto the table with a smile. “Since you’re here today, why don’t you stay for a simple meal before heading back? Just plain home cooking—don’t mind it.”

“Thank you, sister-in-law,” Xiao Mu answered timidly, still shaken.

“Where are Shaoan and Mother?” Cheng Shaotang asked.

“They’re eating in the west room,” Ling Yu replied casually.

“Dad!” Xiao Shitou toddled in, holding his special wooden bowl in one hand and a small wooden spoon in the other, calling in his soft babyish voice.

Ling Yu laughed the moment she saw him. “Are you planning to help your father greet the guest?”

The little guy blinked innocently at her and simply shoved his utensils straight into Cheng Shaotang’s hands.

Cheng Shaotang chuckled and picked him up. “In that case, let him stay here. I’ll watch him. You go and eat.”

Ling Yu agreed with a smile. She washed the little bowl and spoon clean, ladled in some rice porridge, handed it to Cheng Shaotang, and reminded him not to feed her son anything else before heading out.

After finishing her own dinner, she herded the dozens of well-fed chickens back into their coop, quickly tidied up the kitchen, and when she returned to the main room, it was already empty.

She put away the clean bowls, plates, and chopsticks, wiped the table with a cloth, and accidentally swept a chopstick to the floor. Bending down to pick it up, she saw a square object wrapped in blue cloth beneath the table.

She recognized it as Xiao Mu’s. Just as she was about to take it out, Cheng Shaotang’s voice came from behind: “Don’t touch it!”

Startled, she withdrew her hand, staring blankly as Cheng Shaotang lifted the wrapped bundle and walked out without a word of explanation.

Ling Yu found it odd but didn’t think much of it. Later that night, as the couple lay in bed drifting to sleep, she vaguely heard Cheng Shaotang ask, “How do you know Xiao Mu?”

“He’s a brother from your escort agency. What’s strange about me knowing him?” Ling Yu yawned.

“He’s been at the agency less than half a year. He went back to his hometown three months ago and only returned the day before yesterday.”

“Then—” Ling Yu jolted awake. Meeting Cheng Shaotang’s probing gaze, her heart lurched.

Oh no—she’d forgotten. At this point in time, she shouldn’t know Xiao Mu at all!

But what could she do? In her past life, she and Xiao Mu had been closest. He often came to their home for meals. It was Xiao Mu who brought back Cheng Shaotang’s ashes after his death, and Xiao Mu told her the cause.

“Xiao Yu,” Cheng Shaotang asked in a low voice, “are you hiding something from me?”