The man saw the young general looking troubled and stepped forward to advise, "General, since the young lady is not dead, she must have gotten married and had children. You don't need to worry about her. If we suddenly find her, we might even disturb her life..."
Gu Zhenshan's eyes shot to the man upon hearing this. He frowned, "Steward Cao, what do you mean by that? I am her own brother. Our kinship is not broken, so why can't we meet?"
He didn't like what he heard.
Steward Cao scratched his face and chuckled, "General, please calm your anger. If I may say something unpleasant, you've been looking for the eldest young lady all these years, haven't you, just to have her lift the 'curse' so that the madam and concubines can give birth to heirs sooner?"
"But in my opinion, this matter is pure fabrication and baseless rumor. If the concubines can't conceive, it must be due to physical issues. General, you should find some renowned physicians to examine them..."
Alas, when the eldest young lady was driven out of the general's mansion with resentment, she must have harbored some ill feelings.
But it shouldn't affect the young general.
Steward Cao was not a superstitious person. He believed that either the young general had physical problems, or those concubines were simply not destined to bear children...
Gu Zhenshan cursed upon hearing this, "You scoundrel! I married six or seven concubines in one go, do you think they all have physical problems? I am in my prime, and even the imperial physicians say I can father ten or eight children without issue. How can we not have children?"
These damnable servants always said things he didn't want to hear.
Steward Cao: "..."
Young General, don't take your anger out on me!
At worst, he could go to Feiyan Village to find her again.
Gu Zhenshan clenched his fists and glared at Steward Cao, "What are you standing around for? If you don't find my sister, I'll have your heads!"
Steward Cao flinched upon hearing this.
He was scared.
"Yes, I'll take people to look for her immediately!" Steward Cao replied, sighing as he went out.
They had been searching for so many years, and they hadn't even seen a shadow of the eldest young lady.
If they had even a slight clue, they would have a general direction.
Gu Zhenshan walked into the study and looked at the portrait on the wall, lost in thought.
The woman in the painting was slender and beautiful, her face exuding a youthful beauty and innocence. Especially her bright eyes, which seemed to hold a clear and vibrant spring.
"Sister, sob sob, eldest sister!" Gu Zhenshan suddenly rushed to the portrait and wailed, "Where on earth did you run off to? Sob, your brother misses you so much!"
The servants outside the door, about to enter to pour tea, heard the general's cries and sighed, retreating.
Meanwhile, at the old Yun family's residence.
Gu Shi, who was entertaining guests, suddenly sneezed...
She rubbed her nose and stared blankly out the window.
Old Man Yun saw this and asked in a low voice, "Old woman, what's wrong? Are you feeling cold?"
Gu Shi shook her head, "No, no, it's nothing!"
Today was a double celebration for the Yun family, so there were naturally many guests...
Yun Siman brought Xiao Xinling around Camel Peak Mountain. They returned just in time for dinner.
Xiao Jinheng and his imperial sister pretended not to know each other and sat next to Xiao Xitian.
"Hey, little village boy, this is for you!" Xiao Jinheng took out a brocade box from his sleeve and handed it over.
Xiao Xitian blinked her eyes, holding the brocade box curiously, "What is this?"
The brat said he wasn't going to give her a gift anymore, so was this...
"Open it and you'll know!" Xiao Jinheng said indifferently.
He feigned an indifferent demeanor, but his heart was full of anticipation.
He hoped the little village girl would like this gift.
He had gotten up early to go to the county town to buy it.
Xiao Xitian opened the brocade box with a puzzled expression, and there, nestled inside, was a pure gold hairpin...
The craftsmanship of this piece of jewelry was exquisite, with two teardrop-shaped pendants hanging from both ends. It would definitely not have been bought for one or two taels of silver.
Xiao Xitian exclaimed in surprise, "Brat, why are you giving me this?"
She was too young to wear such jewelry.
Have you ever seen a girl from Dashui Village wearing a pure gold hairpin on her head when she goes out? It would look out of place and invite ridicule...
Xiao Jinheng pouted and held the hairpin up to Xiao Xitian's head to measure it, "It's not for you to wear now!"
"Ah?" Xiao Xitian became even more curious, "When will I wear it?"
Xiao Jinheng shook his head helplessly, "You'll know when the time comes. Keep it safe!"
Xiao Xitian: "..."
Brat, you're being mysterious with me again.
Xiao Xinling quietly watched the two little ones and suddenly burst into laughter.
She finally understood why Heng'er was staying in Dashui Village. It turned out he had taken a liking to the old Yun family's youngest daughter.
Oh my, how old is this boy? He's already pursuing a wife, more precocious than she is...
The kitchen was too busy, so Granny Jin and Granny Gao also came to help.
After the guests were seated, dinner began.
Stewed green beans with pork bones, pig's trotters jelly with garlic sauce, salted duck eggs, stir-fried eggs with chives, braised pork knuckle, pig's blood sausage, deep-fried peanuts, and so on.
The staples included sticky bean buns, millet rice, and cornmeal pancakes, all served in abundance.
As for the wine, there was no shortage. Last time, Xiao Jinheng had bought two cartloads of sorghum wine and given them to Yun Siman, who in turn gave them all to Old Man Yun.
"Come, let me say something!" Old Man Yun raised his wine bowl and smiled at everyone, "Since our old Yun family moved to Dashui Village, we have received a lot of care from you villagers and the prefect. Now that it's our little girl's birthday, and my grandson has passed the scholar exam, we've prepared a humble meal. Please eat and drink to your heart's content, don't be strangers..."
After speaking, Old Man Yun took a big gulp of sorghum wine. He drank so quickly that he felt fire coming out of his nose.
Gu Shi saw this and quickly handed him a cornmeal pancake, "Eat some cake to settle it. Why are you drinking so quickly? No one is snatching it from you!"
"Hehe, I'm happy, so happy!" Old Man Yun grinned foolishly.
The village chief ate a few peanuts and put down his chopsticks, saying, "Old Yun, with Sweet Baby blessing your family, you'll become richer and wealthier in the future!"
"That's right!" Aunt Zhang also chimed in with a smile, "I've lived in the village for so many years, and I've never seen anyone who came as refugees and managed to live a good life within a few years..."
"Exactly!" Wang Suzhen nodded, "When you live a life, you need to be united. When the family is harmonious, all things prosper. Look at their family, except for that Liu Cuirong and Hu Xier who are always out of line, everyone else is excellent. How could such a family not prosper!"
Hearing these words, Old Man Yun felt as if he were bathed in spring breeze, and his heart was filled with joy!
Huang Shi took a bite of a dish and her eyes scanned the dining table.
She suddenly noticed something...