"Who arranged for him to stay in the Capital?"
"My Lord, wasn't it you who said we should properly settle this poor soul?"
Pei Huaiyu gave a cold snort, taking large strides to follow, "Send him out of the city to do business. Don't let him stay in the Capital and be an eyesore to the Prime Minister."
Uncle A-Jiu wiped away a cold sweat, not daring to speak. Obviously, Miss Ruan had merely glanced in that direction without even stepping up to acknowledge him, and then left with the little young master.
He had no idea what his master was thinking. Originally, he had been sent to bring the little young master back, but he hadn't expected his master to follow them as well. They had trailed them the entire way, yet made no move.
From the west street to the east street.
Ruan Jiaojiao had taken An'an along to play everywhere.
Uncle A-Jiu had never seen his little young master—usually as taciturn as his own master—look as happy as he did today.
The little young master held a kite in one hand and a sugar figurine in the other, listening to Ruan Jiaojiao chattering away endlessly. He had no idea what she was talking about, but judging by the look of utter adoration on the little young master's face, it certainly must have been some glorious, heroic deed. Could she possibly be telling the story of his master's rise against all odds along the way?
In the city and out in the countryside, there were always comedic storytelling performers who used Lord Chancellor as the subject of their tales, and Uncle A-Jiu always went to listen whenever he had a day off.
Actually, he was overthinking it...
Along the way, Ruan Jiaojiao had been recounting the embarrassing moments of the lofty and untainted Prime Minister.
There were plenty of embarrassing moments, after all; no one was perfect.
Neither was Pei Huaiyu.
For instance, he couldn't hold his liquor at all, and once when he got drunk in the middle of the night, he insisted on going door-to-door introducing himself as her wife. In the dead of night, he had even dragged her up the mountain to kowtow at his parents' graves, and on the way back, he stubbornly insisted on picking wild fruit for her, only to fall asleep halfway up the tree.
However, she wouldn't be telling this story to An'an.
Ruan Jiaojiao brought An'an to the front of a theater house.
An'an looked at Ruan Jiaojiao with a puzzled expression. He had long since figured out that Ruan Jiaojiao was a servant in their estate.
She was wearing a maid's uniform, after all, so it wasn't hard to guess.
At the same time, he looked anxiously toward the direction behind them.
Uncle A-Jiu was definitely following them!
Yet having walked for so long, Uncle A-Jiu still hadn't appeared, which meant this certainly wasn't at his father's orders to bring him back to the estate.
An'an's little brain began to fret over Ruan Jiaojiao's silver: "This is the most famous theater house in the Capital. If we go inside to listen to the opera, your wages for the entire month will be gone. I usually don't carry money when I go out, but... could you wait for me a moment?"
He wanted to go find Uncle A-Jiu to pay the bill.
Before he could take two steps, Ruan Jiaojiao took his hand and walked straight inside without hesitation. "Wait for what? Didn't you hear the waiter say the most exciting part of the opera is about to start?"
The moment Ruan Jiaojiao arrived, she requested the best seats.
"Don't worry, I still have a little pocket money. Those two taverns we passed earlier both belong to me. If you run into any trouble later on, just drop my name and you can go to either of those two taverns to find people to help you."
Though the place where she lived was remote and the roof genuinely leaked, that was simply due to the principle that a tall tree catches the wind; being overly wealthy often invited disaster. She had never had any demands regarding her quality of life, and for the sake of simplicity and keeping a low profile, she had just stayed wherever was convenient.
To make a living, she had opened a few small shops.
Never had she imagined that in two years' time, she would already be able to expand to the Capital.
Pei Huaiyu didn't drink alcohol, but because she made a living through brewing, she was far from ignorant about the fragrance of wine.
When she had been in his bedchamber just now, she had spotted two jars of her own home-brewed wine right on the table.
Tracking her down through the wine...
Perhaps that was how it happened. With his sharp mind, Pei Huaiyu had followed the clues and quickly caught up with her.
An'an asked, "Since you can afford to open two taverns in the Capital, you aren't short on money. Why would you want to be a maid in the Prime Minister's Estate?"
"Perhaps it's fate."
Ruan Jiaojiao hadn't wanted to open a shop in the Capital either. She had always adhered to the philosophy of keeping a low profile, opening her shops in remote places, but her business partner had insisted on setting up shop right here to make a fortune, so she had simply gone along with it.
Never did she expect that less than half a month after opening in the Capital, Pei Huaiyu would catch up to her movements.
Perhaps this was destiny.
An'an asked, "Are you registered as a slave? I might be able to help you... No, slaves aren't allowed to engage in commerce, and Father is acquainted with Auntie..."
Ruan Jiaojiao interrupted the turning gears of his clever little brain, gently turning his head toward the stage. "Watch the opera properly."
The string and bamboo instruments chimed melodiously, blending with the rhythm of the drums and clappers.
It was only at this moment that Ruan Jiaojiao realized the troupe on stage was performing the story of the Ruan family and Prime Minister Pei, and right now it had reached the part where Madam Ruan abandons her husband and son.
What followed next was Prime Minister Pei's meteoric rise to power, Madam Ruan's lifelong regret, her destitution on the streets, and her miserable end.
The audience below the stage was utterly captivated, with cheers erupting wave after wave. Everyone was rooting for Prime Minister Pei with sighs of emotion, and loudly applauding Madam Ruan's desolate ending with great satisfaction!
Ruan Jiaojiao, the protagonist of the tale itself, watched leisurely and even took the initiative to order a platter of fruit, looking as though it didn't concern her at all.
Yet she knew very well that her gaze still instinctively drifted toward An'an, wanting to see his reaction.
An'an merely raised his eyes slightly, his gaze clear and calm.
So calm that it seemed as though he were listening to a story entirely unrelated to him.
"An'an, do you hate... Madam Ruan? I mean your mother, your birth mother."
She emphasized the words "birth mother."
Ruan Jiaojiao didn't know whether she should be grateful that Pei Huaiyu had kept her full name a secret.
Those who had met her and recognized her, aside from a few high-ranking official families, were practically never seen; as for the rest, they had either perished in that struggle for the succession or were living out peaceful lives in remote mountain villages.
People on the outside all knew that Pei Huaiyu had a ruthless ex-wife, but no one knew her full name, simply referring to her as Madam Ruan.
Thinking about it... Pei Huaiyu probably hadn't told An'an his mother's full name either. That was for the best.
In An'an's originally clear and calm eyes, a complex storm of emotions surged in an instant—there was grievance, anger, and even more of the resentment that comes with being abandoned.
He tightly bit his lower lip, his cheeks puffing out slightly as they gradually flushed red. He remained silent for barely a moment before speaking without the slightest hesitation, his voice crisp yet carrying an undeniable resoluteness: "I hate her! Of course I hate her!"
His words fell like a heavy hammer, striking a deafening echo within the crowded and noisy theater house as the audience dispersed.
The theater waiter reminded her, "Milady..."
Ruan Jiaojiao's expression merely paused for a moment amidst that hatred before she smiled and tossed a few pieces of broken silver to the waiter. "Continue with the next act. Oh, and bring me two more plates of chestnut cake."
"Does An'an like eating chestnut cake? I happened to notice earlier that An'an ate a bit more of the chestnut cake."
"I did not..." An'an turned his head away. "Teacher says a gentleman must not display his preferences outwardly."
Ruan Jiaojiao looked up and laughed, gently stroking An'an's soft hair. "You and your father have identical tastes."
Unable to help himself, An'an stole another glance at Ruan Jiaojiao. "Eat your own food. Stop staring at me."
"Your mother... hate her if you must. She deserves to be hated. She was a scoundrel, and a petty person too."
When the words fell, a brief silence settled between the two of them.
An'an lowered his head, a whirl of complicated emotions churning in his heart.