Chapter 411 Kin

Chapter 411: Family Reunion

The situation suddenly developed with the speed of thunder and lightning, changing in an instant.

Chi Yu, carrying a small bundle on his back, looked back at Fang Jinrong and the two servants, Zhifan and Zhimao, peeking from the doorway, and somehow ended up following Meng Wan to his "new home."

The reason was that Lady Yu, eager to reunite with her newly found son, wanted to take him home to share the good news with the whole family. Meng Wan, a homebody who rarely left the house except for work, preferring to stay indoors and avoid the heat, unexpectedly agreed, breaking his usual pattern.

Meng Wan's new home was far from Qingxiao Residence—it took half a shichen (about an hour) by carriage to get there. In the carriage, Meng Wan was so overheated that he could barely keep his composure. Chi Yu thought he was about to blow up, but he didn't. Meng Wan had endured far worse hardships; it was only in recent years that his circumstances had improved. He had since become an extremely patient hunter.

At the entrance of Stone Lane was a large boulder, making the lane easy to identify. Four households lived in the lane, and the Meng family was the first, occupying a three-courtyard compound of moderate size.

The gatekeeper, seeing the master of the house return, hurried over to greet them. Lady Yu held Meng Wan's hand as they descended from the carriage, instructing the servant, "Quickly go fetch the master and the eldest young master—tell them the third son has been found!"

After saying this, she seemed to remember something and slapped her thigh, calling out to the servant who had just run off, "Almost forgot—go to Second Aunt's house and bring her here too." She had one son and one daughter, both apparently married, as their titles had shifted from "young master" and "young miss" to "eldest master" and "aunt."

Indeed, Meng Wan, the third child, was already thirty-one, so the two older siblings would be even older.

Meng Wan wiped his sweat with his handkerchief and subtly dodged Lady Yu's hand as she reached back to take his. His movements were natural, and Lady Yu, not thinking much of it, joyfully led him inside.

It was also a three-courtyard compound, but compared to the bright, elegant, and tranquil Qingxiao Residence, the Meng household felt cramped.

The household had few servants—just a gatekeeper and a sweeper in the front courtyard, and two more in the main and rear courtyards, totaling four: two maids and two male attendants.

Lady Yu, being perceptive, first brought Meng Wan to the eastern wing of the rear courtyard. "Wan Geer, you'll stay here from now on. This was your second sister's room when she lived at home. Xi Geer lives in the western wing across from you. He doesn't know yet that you're his third brother—I'll call him over shortly to keep you company."

Meng Wan smiled and agreed. He was handsome, and when he tried to be likable, he was genuinely charming. Even as a married man with children, he still evoked sympathy and affection. Lady Yu pulled him aside for a few more heartfelt words—about how hard these years must have been and how the family would make it up to him—before reluctantly heading to the front courtyard to make arrangements.

Once she was gone, the smile faded from Meng Wan's face. Chi Yu brought water for him to wash up. "Fulang, are we really going to stay here?"

After washing his face, Meng Wan wrung out the cloth and wiped his neck and arms, finally feeling a bit cooler. "We'll stay three to five days and then go back—consider it an outing."

The Luo family of Lin'an was different from the great clans of Yangzhou and Suzhou. Yangzhou was dominated by the Lou family, who prized their reputation for scholarly integrity, which is why Song Tingzhou could control them.

The Suzhou clans, caught off guard when Li Xiuwen first found a way in, and then betrayed by his own son, never had a chance to react. Those who should be arrested were arrested, and those who should be executed were executed. The common people don't contend with officials—when even the Provincial Administration Commissioner had been dealt with, who would dare to step forward?

The Luo family was different from those other clans. They had operated for generations, with wide connections and ruthless methods. From He Niang in Lingnan to Cat Ba Island in Annam, one could see they were skilled at scheming, united as a family, and not easily dismantled.

Land reform was important, but it was only temporary. These entrenched clans were like tumors—if not broken up and removed, they would find loopholes again in a hundred years.

The Luo family was the greatest obstacle to the southern campaign, and they had already grown wary. When attacked, they scattered, making it impossible to pin them down. Even if a few were cut down, it was of little consequence to the Luo family.

To deal with people, you first need to know their background. The Luo family wasn't foolish—they wouldn't open themselves up for others to probe. But they were anxious, especially after Provincial Administration Commissioner Gao Siyu was arrested—they grew even more desperate.

When people are anxious, they become unsettled; when unsettled, they develop baseless fears and start concocting all sorts of harebrained schemes.

Meng Wan leaned against the soft bedding and let out a light sigh. They were the ones in a hurry now—why not just play along with them for a while?

Soon the rear courtyard grew lively. A woman with a loud voice was speaking outside, "Mother, are you telling the truth? My third brother has really been found?"

Lady Yu launched into another tearful recounting, exclaiming that heaven had eyes and had brought their family back together. The married second daughter consoled her in an equally loud voice. Then came the voices of an older man and a middle-aged man—it seemed everyone had returned.

Meng Wan lay still with his eyes closed, appearing to rest while actually listening carefully to the commotion outside.

"Third Master, the madam asks for you. The master, eldest master, and second aunt have all arrived." A male servant knocked on the door of the eastern wing.

Meng Wan opened his eyes and replied flatly, "Understood, I'll be right there."

The servant immediately withdrew his hand. For some reason, having seen this Third Master just once, he felt something was off—as if he didn't quite belong in the Meng family.

He hurried a few steps away when the door behind him opened. Meng Wan held a folding fan against his forehead to block the sun, and when the servant looked back, Meng Wan smiled at him. "Let's go."

Everyone was waiting in the main hall of the central courtyard. Their expressions varied when they saw Meng Wan, but all turned to delight a moment later.

Seated in the main armchair was Old Master Meng, with graying hair, a slightly hunched back, and a thin, gaunt frame—not at all as portly as Lady Yu.

Beside him stood the eldest master, Meng Sheng, around thirty-five or thirty-six, in a worn hemp short robe, equally short in stature.

The second aunt was short and plump, though her complexion was fairer than her father's and brother's. Seeing Meng Wan, she grabbed his arm. "Third brother, are you really my third brother?"

"What, you doubt it?" Lady Yu could no longer contain herself. She pulled Meng Wan over and pushed him before Old Master Meng. "Wan Geer, quickly—call him father, call him eldest brother, and this is your second sister, Meng Lian."

Her emotions remained highly agitated. Before Meng Wan could speak, she asked the servant, "Where's Xi Geer? Hasn't he gotten up yet? Call him over to meet his third brother."

Meng Xi had been frightened last night. This morning, a physician was called to prescribe calming medicine, and after taking it, he fell asleep. Now that he had finally woken up to suddenly gain a third brother, he felt even more like he was dreaming.

Meng Wan did not call them father, mother, or brother as Lady Yu had urged. His biological parents had died long ago; he had only one mother now—Chang Jinhua.

Though he didn't change how he addressed them, the others were accommodating and didn't press the issue. Meng Wan was articulate and personable—he spoke little but made everyone feel well taken care of.

The family seemed harmonious, yet a hazy veil hung over this familial affection, because aside from Meng Wan and Lady Yu, the other four behaved strangely.

Feigned affection?

Meng Wan pretended not to notice the oddity, meeting Meng Lian's awkward attempts at conversation with a warm smile, smoothly picking up her words and putting her at ease.

After more than a decade apart, setting aside the initial excitement of reunion, a certain awkwardness between family members seemed perfectly normal.

At dinner, the table held four dishes and a soup: braised carp in soy sauce, stewed pork hock, steamed egg with minced meat, and a large basin of braised pork glistening with oil. The lightest dish was the untouched tofu soup.

Meng Wan's smile was becoming hard to maintain. He wasn't picky about food, but he had never deprived himself either. Faced with such a table in this heat, he couldn't bring himself to eat anything.

"You... third... third brother, why aren't you eating?" Meng Xi asked awkwardly.

To Meng Xi, Meng Wan had been a kind and handsome fulang—now suddenly becoming his brother felt wrong in every way. His heart felt stuffed with cotton, heavy and suffocating. In his sixteen years, he had never once heard that he had an older brother.

Meng Wan turned to look at him. The youth had fair skin, a small mouth, a high nose bridge, and in his youthful features there was actually a faint resemblance to Meng Wan.

Even he couldn't help but feel a flicker of doubt. He studied Meng Xi carefully as he replied, "I tend to lose my appetite in the summer heat. You should eat more."

"Oh." Meng Xi was used to the family's recent prosperity and rich meals, but his appetite had been stunted by childhood hunger. So even though he wanted to eat a lot, he couldn't manage much, and his figure remained slender and boyish.

Old Master Meng was much the same. He had clearly labored for years, doing hard physical work. Now he shoveled food into his mouth, picking through every dish to take the best portions.

The eldest, Meng Sheng, was similar—choosing fatty meat and the belly of the fish.

The second daughter, Meng Lian, ate everything without discrimination. She was quite plump, with a double chin. She wolfed down two pieces of greasy fatty meat at a time, washing them down with half a bowl of soup every so often. She'd pick up braised pork with her chopsticks while her eyes kept wandering to the other meat dishes.

The three of them—father and children—ate exactly the same way, with eyes only for the meat on the table. Meng Wan could see the impatience flashing in Lady Yu's eyes, though she didn't voice it. She and Meng Xi were not of the same breed as those three. Meng Wan had noticed this at first glance.

Meng Wan picked up a bite of rice and scooped some egg custard into his bowl, but set down his spoon without even tasting it. It was too greasy—the steamed egg was full of minced meat and oil, and in this heat, the very smell made him want to vomit.

Lady Yu asked with concern, "Wan Geer, is it not to your liking? Shall I have the kitchen make you something else?"

"No need." Meng Wan slowly wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, then smiled. "I'll be heading to the post station shortly to attend to some business matters. I'll come back later to rest. Please continue eating—don't mind me." He gave a slight nod and rose from the table, refined and dignified.

Old Master Meng lifted his head from his meal, unable to hide his surprise. "You know how to do business?"

Lady Yu also seemed delighted. "Oh! My third son is truly capable—what kind of business?" The south was prosperous, with many small workshops run by husband-and-wife teams; seeing women and young men working in shops was nothing unusual.

“I hired some workers to haul goods for people.” Meng Wan rose with a smile. He had already been through this before, politely but firmly shutting down their questions. With that, he walked off, Chi Yu trailing after him.

“Husband, are we really going to the courier station?” Chi Yu asked, following behind him.

Meng Wan swung his fan lazily as he walked out. “Since I said we would, let's just go check it out.”

With Na Tuo at the courier station in Lin'an, Meng Wan didn't really have to worry about it. He just wanted to find a real place to get a proper meal.

Na Tuo sent a subordinate to a restaurant to buy dishes for Meng Wan. Meng Wan and Chi Yu sat across from each other, eating. On the table were iced Longjing shrimp and sweet-and-sour fish, along with a pot of appetizing bamboo shoot and duck soup. That was when he finally felt like he was eating real food.

Meanwhile, in the courtyard next to the Meng family's residence on Stone Alley, Luo Zhan stood before Lady Yu.

“He really believed it?” Luo Zhan asked, somewhat skeptical. The idea had come from an elder in the clan, and he hadn't held much hope. It just so happened that a relative was genuinely connected to the Meng family, so he went along with it to test the waters. It went so smoothly that it made him uneasy.

“At first he was excited, seeming somewhat doubtful. But when the birthmark was mentioned, he seemed truly convinced. Perhaps it's because his maternal family has no one left, and the sudden news of relatives made him... ” Lady Yu trailed off, uncertain herself. She couldn't quite figure out what kind of person Meng Wan was. Sometimes she felt she could read his thoughts at a glance, other times he seemed too refined to be an ordinary man.

Luo Zhan didn't tell Lady Yu Meng Wan's true identity; there was no need to explain such things to those beneath him.

He told her, “Be kind to him, talk about his childhood, and make sure your family plays their part well. If they can't pull it off, keep them away from him. Keep Xi Geer around where he can see him as much as possible.”

There are many clever people, but can he still discern the half-truths of a made-up family connection?

——

After eating his fill, Meng Wan returned to reassure Fang Jin Rong, who'd been ditched out of nowhere. “I'll be back in just a couple of days, and then I'll definitely take you out of the city to play.”

He really did move into the Meng house. That evening, Xi Geer saw him return and came to the eastern wing to find him. “Th... Third brother, how did you get lost back then? Did you marry? Why haven't I seen your husband's family?”

Meng Xi was curious about him. As far back as he could remember, this third brother had never been part of the household, which meant Meng Wan had been sold off when he was little, or maybe even before he was born.

He knew the family had once gone through hard times. His eldest brother and second sister often mentioned how poor they were as children, claiming he was born into comfort, but Xi Geer vaguely remembered going hungry himself.

That afternoon, Xi Geer had looked in the mirror. He hadn't noticed it before, but today he saw more and more resemblance between himself and Meng Wan, and unconsciously felt a closeness to him. Humans are visual creatures; they always have a better first impression of attractive people.

Meng Wan had just finished washing up. He bathed frequently in summer, sometimes two or three times a day if it was too hot. “I wasn't lost. I was sold to the Bai family as a servant.”

Meng Xi felt a twinge of sympathy for him. Getting sold by your own parents to be a servant in someone else's house must've really sucked. He deliberately steered the conversation elsewhere. “Oh, I know the Bai family. Their big shot official used to be in Lin'an but was later transferred elsewhere. They're so wealthy, you must have had a decent life there?” he asked cautiously.

Meng Wan, dressed in cool, flowing undergarments that revealed his pale wrists and ankles, sat on the edge of the bed with a faint smile. “Decent? I suppose so. But the Bai family's young lady sold me off, which is how I met my later husband.”

“I... I see,” Meng Xi stammered, unsure how to respond.

Meng Wan's smile softened. “You look a lot like me.”

That cheered Meng Xi up a bit. He knew he wasn't as handsome as Meng Wan, but he was already renowned as a beauty in the area. “When I was little, people asked why I didn't look like my eldest brother and second sister. Turns out I take after you, third brother.”

Meng Wan's fingers drifted lightly over the bamboo mat under him, his gaze deep. “Yes, just like me.”