“Master, see you tomorrow.”
Chunxiang and Tong Yiyi saw Yan Ge off from work together.
*Chunxiang was among the people Yan Ge bought along with Deng Mama, Taohua, Zhao Cheng, Zhang Yuan etc.
“See you tomorrow,” Yan Ge led Yan Jin away.
Tong Yiyi stared intently at Yan Ge and Yan Jin’s fading figures.
Chunxiang ruffled her hair affectionately. “Yiyi, do you really want to play with Little Jin that much? Don’t worry, he’ll come over tomorrow.”
“Little Jin is cute, but I like Boss Yan.” Tong Yiyi looked up at her, a shy smile on her face. “Sister Chunxiang, do you think Boss Yan will like me as much as he likes Little Jin?”
“He will,” Chunxiang bent down and hugged her. “Look, it’s about to rain. Let’s go, I’ll carry you back to your room.”
Chunxiang attempted to lift her, but couldn’t. She couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, I didn’t expect you to be so small, yet so heavy.”
Tong Yiyi pushed away her arms and pursed her lips, smiling. “Sister Chunxiang, I’m not a child anymore. I can walk on my own.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
“Boom—” thunder rumbled, and the rain began to pour.
They hurriedly ran towards the house.
“Yiyi, quickly go to your room and change into dry clothes. Don’t catch a cold.”
“Okay.”
After Tong Yiyi left, Chunxiang wiped the rain off her face. Fortunately, they ran fast, so she was only slightly wet. Deng Mama and Tao Hua were tidying up in the hall, and she walked over to help.
“Did the master leave?” Deng Mama asked.
“Yes, he’s already gone,” Chunxiang smiled. “I thought Yiyi would be reluctant to part with Little Jin, but it turns out she’s reluctant to part with the master.”
“They’re just kids, they all admire heroes,” Tao Hua teased.
Chunxiang poured the leftover tea from the teapot. “But you wouldn’t expect her to be so small yet so heavy. Earlier, when I saw that it was going to rain, I was going to carry her, but I couldn’t lift her.”
Deng Mama, who rarely spoke, suddenly spoke up. “What did you say?”
Chunxiang paused. “Deng Mama, I was saying that it was going to rain and I couldn’t lift Yiyi.”
Deng Mama muttered in a low voice, “Small yet heavy…”
“Yes,” Chunxiang and Tao Hua hua exchanged glances.
They looked at Deng Mama with concern. “Deng Mama? What’s wrong with you?”
“It’s nothing,” Deng Mama put down the cloth. “I’ll leave this to you. I’m feeling tired, so I’ll go rest in my room.”
“Alright.”
After dinner, everyone retired to their rooms. Zhang Yuan accompanied Tong Yiyi to the door of the woodshed. “Yiyi, are you scared of thunder at night? Should I take you to Chunxiang’s room?”
“No need,” Tong Yiyi shook her head obediently. “Brother Zhang Yuan, you underestimate me. After being kidnapped and experiencing all sorts of hardships, I’ve seen it all.”
Zhang Yuan looked at her insistence and left the lantern before departing, shaking his head. It was hard to know what to say to her. Originally, Deng Mama arranged for her to stay with Chunxiang, but she insisted that she was just freeloading here and didn’t want to take up Chunxiang’s room. That she would feel even more uncomfortable. Such a pitiful little girl.
When the entire company headquarters fell silent, the quiet woodshed suddenly echoed with a few “crack-crack” sounds, as if bones were being dislocated.
Flashes of lightning intermittently illuminated the small figure lying on the straw mat in the woodshed. She was covered with an adult’s clothes, rubbing her face with her hands and shaking her neck, emitting cracking sounds. Her features gradually transformed! She stretched out her limbs, and the bone-dislocating sound continued as her limbs elongated. In no time, the child’s figure completely changed, though she was still shorter than an average adult woman, her face clearly that of a thirty-something adult!
Outside the window, Deng Mama stood silently, taking in the scene with her eyes. Her pupils contracted sharply, her expression grave!
But she didn’t disturb the person inside; instead, she quietly turned and vanished amidst the roar of thunder and lightning.
Early in the morning, when Yan Ge arrived at the company, he heard Deng Mama’s report, and his eyes widened. Not out of fear for the hidden danger lurking around him, but out of curiosity. So, it turned out there really was someone in this world who could use bone-shrinking skills? Wasn’t that just a legend?
“Is she really that powerful?” Yan Ge asked.
Deng Mama replied, “Yes. I happened to have seen her once many years ago, so I hadn’t remembered until now.”
Tong Yiyi’s real name is Feng Yiyi. She was born with a height of only four feet, already petite, and her advantage in practicing bone-shrinking skills was greater than others. Because she liked to transform into a child, she had a natural talent for acting. The martial world gave her a nickname, ‘The Ever-changing Doll.’ Don’t underestimate her innocent appearance; she was ruthless and cunning. There was nothing she wouldn’t do to achieve her goals. Even someone with great martial arts skills could accidentally fall prey to her tricks.
Yan Ge nodded. “Based on what you’ve said, it’s possible that her target is me. She knows I have a child with me, which is why she disguised herself as a child. I have no grudges with her, so obviously, she’s working for someone else, but I don’t know who. However, since she appears as a child, I can’t just act against her rashly. If it were to be known by others that I bullied a child, I need to find a way to force her to reveal her true identity first.”
Deng Mama said, “Master, I have a solution.”
Yan Ge said, “Please go ahead and speak.”
Deng Mama said, “Although Feng Yiyi has exceptional martial arts skills, she has a weakness.”
Yan Ge exclaimed, “Deng Mama, you mentioned that you only met her once, so how do you know so much about her?”
Deng Mama remained silent.
Yan Ge didn’t pursue the matter upon seeing her reaction. Deng Mama had been with the company for so long that her loyalty was unquestionable.
“Don’t worry, it was just a casual question—”
But Deng Mama suddenly knelt down, trying her best to maintain a steady pace of speech, yet Yan Ge could still sense her inner unrest. “Master, these are things that this servant heard from her husband.”
Yan Ge was startled and reached out to support her. “Deng Mama, what are you doing? Just speak. But this is the first time I’ve heard you mention your husband.”
Deng Mama stood on the side. “Actually, the reason why this servant came to the capital was to find her husband.”
“Find your husband? Are you saying your husband is in the capital?” Yan Ge was puzzled. “Why do you say ‘find’ him? Was he a talented scholar who, after achieving the top rank, immediately abandoned his ordinary wife and remarried a nobleman’s daughter for power and wealth?”
Deng Mama looked at him, her expression somewhat helpless. “It’s not like that. As far as I know, he hasn’t remarried.”
“You’ve already found him?” Yan Ge was perplexed. “If so, why haven’t you been together with him?”
Deng Mama’s expression was complicated and unclear. “I deliberately appeared in front of him before, but he didn’t seem to recognize me…”
“Really? Has he lost his memory?” Yan Ge felt like he was listening to a fantasy tale.
Deng Mama shook her head and sighed softly. “This servant doesn’t know…”
Yan Ge said, “In any case, since he hasn’t remarried, it’s a good thing. Deng Mama, you should make a move when the time is right. Otherwise, when he truly remarries someone else, you’ll regret it. After all this talking, who is he exactly? Do I know him?” He picked up the teacup and took a sip.
Deng Mama said, “Yang Zhuo.”
“Pftt—” Yan Ge sprayed the tea he was drinking out of his mouth, his eyes widening in surprise. “Am I hearing correctly? Yang Zhuo? The Commander of the Imperial Guards, Yang Zhuo? Are you saying he used to be a member of the martial world?”
“I’m not clear about why he entered the palace to work and even became the Commander of the Imperial Guards,” Deng Mama knelt on one knee. “I didn’t mention it before because this servant was worried that if you and the Emperor knew he came from the martial world, you would suspect him of having ulterior motives for entering the palace. But now, this servant can be sure that General Yang has no ulterior motives towards the Emperor or you.”
“That’s true.” Yan Ge nodded. “I’ve heard from Yuchen that Yang Zhuo was promoted by him after ascending the throne. If Yuchen didn’t trust him, he wouldn’t have promoted him. In that case, I’ll ask Yuchen about it.”
“Thank you, Master,” Deng Mama said. “Master, it’s still important to deal with the problem of Feng Yiyi. Her weakness is…”
As he reached the entrance of Tenglong Palace after returning from work, Yan Ge happened to see Yang Zhuo leading a team of Imperial Guards on patrol, walking towards them. He took a few more glances from a distance.
“Xiao Ge, what are you looking at?” Huangfu Yuchen followed his gaze, puzzled.
“Yuchen, let’s go inside first. I have something to ask you.”
Both of them sat down on the couch, and Yan Ge asked, “Today, Deng Mama told me something…”
Huangfu Yuchen listened and was also greatly surprised. “Such a thing actually happened? It might be true.”
“So, Yang Zhuo really lost his memory?” Yan Ge said. “Otherwise, he wouldn’t have failed to recognize Deng Mama.”
Huangfu Yuchen nodded. “That was ten years ago. Back then, when I was still the Crown Prince, I once inspected the military training in the western capital on behalf of the late emperor. On the way back, I saw a young man covered in blood lying by the roadside, with only a faint breath remaining. It was evident that this person was from the martial world. At the time, I didn’t have many people with me and initially didn’t want to get involved. If his enemies were to chase after him, we might not be able to handle it. However, I suddenly noticed that his hands were covered in bloodstains, indicating that he had crawled a considerable distance to reach the roadside. Seeing his strong will to survive, I felt a sense of awe and brought him onto the carriage, using the best medicine from the palace to save him. This person was Yang Zhuo. But after he regained consciousness, he only remembered his name as Yang Zhuo and had a vague recollection of engaging in a fierce battle with a group of people. Other than that, he didn’t remember anything. When he learned that I saved him, he insisted on following me to repay his debt of gratitude. After observing him for some time and confirming that his memory loss was not feigned, I kept him by my side and arranged for him to join the Imperial Guards. Over the years, he has been unwaveringly loyal to me, so as soon as I ascended the throne, I promoted him to the Commander of the Imperial Guards.”
Yan Ge couldn’t help but ask, “He’s already in his thirties and still unmarried. Don’t you find it strange?”
“Baby, I’m not as… inquisitive as you,” Huangfu Yuchen lightly brushed his lips and smiled. “However, curiosity does exist. I once planned to arrange a marriage for him, but he rejected it. When I asked for the reason, he couldn’t explain clearly and only vaguely felt that it shouldn’t be done.”
The flame of curiosity burned brighter in Yan Ge’s eyes. “Could it be that subconsciously he remembers being married before?”
“I don’t know. Shall we call him over and ask?” Huangfu Yuchen suggested.
Yan Ge shook his head. “We shouldn’t act hastily in this matter. The situation between him and Deng Mama is too special. If we mishandle it, both of them might feel awkward. I’ll handle this.”
Huangfu Yuchen felt that Yang Zhuo was definitely going to be unlucky, but he had no intention of warning him and instead looked forward to the outcome.
The next day, while Yan Ge was busy in his office, Jiang Gan sent Yan Jin over.
“Papa, take me to the amusement park,” Yan Jin tugged on Yan Ge’s hand and swayed back and forth.
“If you want someone to take you, ask your father or let your imperial father take you. I’m very busy,” Yan Ge stared at the account book, swiftly writing words. He used his left hand to pat Yan Jin’s head.
“But I want you to take me. Among the three fathers, I like you the most,” Yan Jin stood in front of the desk, his two chubby hands on the edge of the table, his two grape-like eyes looking at him, glistening with tears that were about to fall.
Yan Ge helplessly put down the pen. “Alright.”
As they stepped out of the threshold, they saw Tong Yiyi timidly hiding behind a pillar and appearing hesitant.
“Yiyi, come with us!” Yan Jin ran over, holding her hand and smiling.
