Chapter 415 Origins

Chapter 415: Background

Meng Wan barely exchanged a few words with Song Tingzhou before he fell asleep in his arms, his brow relaxed, lips slightly upturned, body at ease—sleeping in a posture of complete trust.

Song Tingzhou looked down at his serene sleeping face, his heart churning with tenderness, filled with warmth. He carefully adjusted his position and carried him to bed to sleep.

The night outside the window was deep, moonlight streaming through the window lattice and casting mottled light and shadows on the floor. The room was so quiet that only the sound of their even breathing could be heard, along with the steady, powerful heartbeats in each other's chests, beating one after another, weaving into the most reassuring melody.

Early the next morning, as the sky was just beginning to lighten, Song Tingzhou opened his eyes to find Meng Wan still sound asleep in his arms—soft and warm to the touch. He was sleeping very soundly, his long lashes casting a small fan-shaped shadow beneath his eyes, his breathing even and long, carrying a faint warmth that brushed against his neck.

Song Tingzhou remained perfectly still, his gaze glued to the sleeping face, the tenderness in his eyes nearly overflowing.

Outside the window, the morning light was gradually dispelling the remnants of the night, the faint sound of birdsong drifting in. Tao Shiyi asked softly from outside the door: "My lord, Lord Ge brought the people back last night and then left. Among them are a young lad and a woman who claim to be your husband's relatives. How should we deal with them?"

Meng Wan, still half-asleep, heard the voice and mumbled indistinctly against Song Tingzhou's ear, "That woman Yu is suspicious—she's definitely not my birth mother."

Song Tingzhou patted him on the back. "Got it. Sleep a little longer. I'll go check it out and come back to keep you company."

A warm, soft sensation brushed against his face—Meng Wan kissed him and then rolled over to go back to sleep.

Song Tingzhou got out of bed, dressed, and washed up, then headed to the backyard where the "suspects" were being held without eating breakfast. Those thugs were tied up and had spent the night right in the courtyard—or perhaps they hadn't slept at all, because by the time Tao Shiyi got up, they were already wailing and crying out for their mothers in the courtyard.

"My lord, spare us! We were just blinded by greed, trying to scare that young lad—we didn't mean to do anything, my lord!"

Song Tingzhou walked past them, initially keeping his eyes straight ahead, but after hearing the man's tearful plea, he actually stopped and gave him a cold, piercing look. "Shiyi, shut them up."

Tao Shiyi didn't say a word. He crouched down swiftly and cleanly, grabbed the jaw of the thug who had been crying out and gave it a sharp, forceful twist—"crack"—dislocating his jaw. The man couldn't even let out a cry of pain, only a hoarse wheezing sound from his throat.

The remaining five were filled with terror, instantly falling silent, not daring to take a deep breath.

After giving his orders, Song Tingzhou went to the room in the furthest corner, where Tao Ba was personally standing guard at the entrance with his men. "My lord, the dozen or so skilled fighters Lord Ge captured have been locked up separately. The most formidable among them is a woman—Chi Yu was injured by her last night."

Perhaps because of his sincere heart and simple mind, Chi Yu had improved rapidly over the years, now ranking among the top second-rate experts. Last night he was injured partly because there were too many skilled opponents, and partly because Lady Yu was no weaker than him.

Song Tingzhou pushed open the door and entered. The room had a bed, a table and chairs, with warm congee and a few small dishes set out. Unsure whether Lady Yu and Meng Xi truly were Meng Wan's family, Tao Ba had treated them with relative courtesy.

Lady Yu had been given a sedative, barely managing to sit on the floor by the bed, limbs hanging limply. The young lad on the bed was also weak all over, but hadn't slept soundly—he woke at the sound of movement, turning his head to meet a pair of cold, sharp eyes. His mind went blank, and he instinctively tried to shrink back, barely managing to sit up hugging his knees.

"Mother, wake up, Mother."

No need for his call—Lady Yu had already snapped awake the moment Song Tingzhou entered.

The door opened, morning light spilling across the threshold into the room. The tall, silent man stood against the light, an oppressive aura emanating from him.

Lady Yu's gaze remained relatively calm: "Son-in-law, isn't this a bit harsh on us? We are, after all, Wan Ge's mother and younger brother."

Song Tingzhou had just arrived in Lin'an and hadn't yet appeared before anyone. An ordinary person wouldn't have guessed who he was. Lady Yu's first words revealed she was no ordinary woman—though at this point, even if she claimed innocence, no one would believe her.

Song Tingzhou didn't answer her question. His gaze passed over her and landed on Meng Xi.

There were indeed similarities to Wan'er—the facial features were alike except for the eyes. Perhaps because of his youth, his face had softer, rounder lines. It was highly likely he truly was related to Wan'er.

Seeing him stare at Meng Xi without speaking, Lady Yu's expression turned unpleasant: "Where is Wan Ge? He dotes on Xi Ge—he would never let anyone lock him up."

"Not lock him up, so he can conspire with outsiders to harm my husband again?" Song Tingzhou finally spoke, his tone far from friendly.

He had dealt with too many villains; his heart had long since grown several times harder than when he was a scholar in Sanquan Village.

"We mother and son were forced into this. Those people threatened Xi Ge's life. I'm just a woman—what could I do?" Lady Yu's eyes reddened slightly as she spoke, her voice taking on a hint of choked emotion. She studied Song Tingzhou's expression, only to find his face still cold and stern, and her heart sank.

Song Tingzhou naturally wouldn't believe her story. "Since you've been exposed, stop putting on this hypocritical act. Even if you don't tell the truth now, this official has ways to find out where you came from."

"Tao Ba, drag the young lad off the bed." Song Tingzhou ordered coldly.

Lady Yu instinctively moved to struggle up, but forcibly restrained herself, feigning indifference: "Son-in-law may not know, but Xi Ge isn't my biological son. Even if you dragged him out and chopped him to pieces today, the only one who'd grieve for him is your husband."

Meng Xi's face was full of terror, trembling as he was dragged off the bed, the hard ground jolting his body. He looked at Lady Yu's expressionless face, his small frame shaking like a leaf in autumn wind.

"Mother... you... what did you say?"

His voice was thin and weak, carrying a trembling note of disbelief as tears welled up without warning. "I'm not your biological son? Then... who am I?"

The mother-son confrontation was touching, but Song Tingzhou's heart was as hard as iron. "Since you know my husband treats him well, why do you keep conspiring with outsiders to deceive him?"

Meng Xi wept in agony. "I didn't—I thought Third Brother would be fine. I wanted him to move out. Panpan said... I... I was afraid..."

Song Tingzhou didn't want to hear these childish fancies. He only wanted to quickly resolve this mother-son pair, calmly instructing his subordinate at the door, "Tao Ba, drag him out and break both his arms first."

Lady Yu's pupils contracted violently. "No!"

No one in the room listened to her. Tao Ba only followed Song Tingzhou's orders, dragging the young lad out without a shred of pity.

Lady Yu hesitated, her mind racing in turmoil. She was weighing Xi Ge's position in Meng Wan's heart, and Meng Wan's position in Song Tingzhou's heart.

Until a miserable scream pierced the morning stillness, like a blade stabbing through Lady Yu's heart. Her face instantly turned deathly pale, her body trembling uncontrollably, all her previously feigned composure and coldness shattered.

She jerked her head up, looking at Song Tingzhou, her eyes showing genuine fear for the first time—and a hint of... pleading?

"Lord Song!" Her voice was hoarse. "Let Xi Ge go. He truly knows nothing. I'll talk—it was the Luo family who deliberately lured him. He really is Meng Wan's biological younger brother!"

Song Tingzhou finally gave her a proper look. "Continue."

Meng Wan's father was technically also his father—a father with no blood relation.

Meng Wan's mother came from an impure background. Yangzhou's "thin horses" were famous throughout the land, and Lin'an was no different. She had been a poor young girl bought at a low price by a broker, destined to be trained and sold at a high price. Once trained and grown, she would be sold at a premium to high-ranking men as a kept mistress, and if fortunate, might climb to the position of concubine.

The term "thin horse" was coined to cater to wealthy men with peculiar tastes—a deformed product of corrupt customs, a contemptuous label for such trained young women and men.

Of course, brokers wouldn't accept those of average appearance; they only took children who were naturally beautiful.

The wealthy of the south favored slender, delicate young women and men. These children were collected by brokers, then handed to female madams for upbringing and training—tea brewing, flower arranging, qin, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and needlework. Those slightly less beautiful were trained in reading expressions and managing household affairs.

Though the madams taught them skills, they never treated them as human beings, beating and punishing them at will. Until they were grown and given away, these children never ate a full meal, all to maintain their slender figures. Many couldn't bear it and chose suicide—but Meng Wan's mother was not among them.

She was special. She was foolish, never learning anything well, but her face was stunning. Even the madam, who had seen countless beauties, couldn't help but marvel—even if she learned nothing, that face alone was enough to drive the upper class to madness.

The madam turned a blind eye to her shortcomings. Her head wasn't suited for learning, but her heart was suited for love. The secluded estate where thin horses were trained was surrounded by barren mountains and ruined temples, and by sheer coincidence, when she snuck out to play, she encountered a gentle, handsome young man with a jade-like countenance.

No one could resist being captivated by Meng Wan's mother's face. The handsome young man, despite already being betrothed to someone else, deceived her anyway. His family had some money but couldn't rival the wealthy merchants of the south. Eventually, unable to withstand the pressure and having offended people, he fled and vanished without a trace.

Meng Wan's mother had lost her virginity—a cardinal sin among thin horses, punishable by being sold to a brothel to be degraded. The madam's heart softened only twice in her life; the second time, she sent the girl to the countryside and sold her to an old widower with two children, by which time Meng Wan's mother's belly was already swelling.

Meng Wan was born into an ordinary fisherman's family. The old widower raised him for only a few years before secretly selling him while Meng Wan's mother was away.

Meng Wan's mother couldn't spare a thought for her son, because she had witnessed her beloved return in glory with a wife and children. The impoverished life had already worn her down to the bone—she was too delicate, withering without the nourishment of love.

Upon learning Meng Wan had been sold, the last thread connecting her to that man was severed. She fell ill directly and never recovered, her beauty fading into death.

Meng Xi was indeed Meng Wan's younger half-brother. The old widower didn't particularly like him either. Meng Wan's mother was too beautiful—he spent his days out on the boat fishing and couldn't keep her, and he always felt Meng Xi looked nothing like him. He preferred the eldest son and second daughter his late wife had given him.

Lady Yu married the old widower when Meng Xi was three years old. The Yu family had seven or eight children at the time—their own, plus those of the deceased eldest brother. Meng Wan's mother was the daughter of the Yu family's deceased eldest brother, while Lady Yu was their own child. At that time, aside from the boys, the remaining daughters and xiaoge boys were all sold off.

But Lady Yu wasn't as good-looking as her cousin, so she was sold to the Luo family for training and became an outstanding shadow guard, passing as Meng Xi's mother in public.

That went on for thirteen years.

Meng Wan was roused by Meng Xi's screams. He leaned against the eaves with his arms crossed, listening to the whole thing with no expression on his face.

Honestly, he didn't feel a thing, because it wasn't his life anyway. His mother in this world was Chang Jinhua. His parents in his last life weren't well-off, but he was their only son and they adored him. He never went without parental love.

"Wan'er." Song Tingzhou walked out of the house and naturally reached out to straighten the damp outer robe on him. "Did you eat breakfast? Eleven went out and bought some—it's all in the kitchen."

Meng Wan looked up at him and let out a soft chuckle. "To me, that was just some story that has nothing to do with me. Don't worry about me." When was the last time he'd seen Song Tingzhou look that tense?

Song Tingzhou's gaze rested on his face, and seeing his eyes curved in a genuine smile with no trace of anger or sorrow, the tension in his face eased. "Still, you gotta eat first. You've lost a lot of weight."

Meng Wan looked down and pinched his own belly—it did seem a bit thinner. He extended one finger and hooked it around Song Tingzhou's index finger. "Let's go eat together?"

Song Tingzhou wrapped his entire hand around Meng Wan's. "Alright."

Tao Eleven had bought breakfast rather casually. Song Tingzhou usually ate with everyone, and it wasn't until Meng Wan appeared in the kitchen that he remembered he'd forgotten to ask what his husband liked to eat and hadn't bought more variety. The kitchen only had congee and steamed buns.

"It's fine—you guys worked hard coming all this way. When we get back to Shengjing, I'll treat everyone to a real meal." Meng Wan picked up a bun while Song Tingzhou carried the pot of congee.

Tao Eleven tried to carry the plate of buns for Meng Wan but was refused. Meng Wan wanted to go back to their room and eat with Song Tingzhou.

Song Tingzhou washed his hands and sat back down at the table. Meng Wan handed him a plate of buns and said casually, "I'm not this Meng Wan. By the time Mother bought me, I was already me. I don't know if I took over his body, because everything—from my face down to the moles on my skin, and the two scars I've had since I was a kid—is exactly the same as mine."

Meng Wan was confused at first, but later he stopped caring. After all, he was just himself.

Song Tingzhou abruptly looked up at him, his second reaction being to take the buns Meng Wan offered and set the congee he'd fixed in front of him.

The air hung still for a moment. Sunlight cast bright patches across the table through the paper window. Song Tingzhou's hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly, his deep eyes locked onto Meng Wan, his Adam's apple rolling subtly, a complicated swirl of emotions churning underneath—confusion, understanding, and a faint hint of barely there... fear. He spoke with difficulty, "Are you gonna disappear?"

Meng Wan had been a little nervous, but at Song Tingzhou's words, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "What are you thinking? I'm a real live person, not some ghost or demon."

That was good—his beloved would still be by his side.

Song Tingzhou's suspended heart instantly settled back into place, the fear in his eyes receding like the tide. He stood up, sat down again pressed close against Meng Wan, thigh against thigh, arm against arm. After a moment of silence, he began to confess as well. "A long time ago, I wondered if you were a young master from a wealthy family who'd drifted to Sanquan Village, or perhaps a mountain spirit who'd come down to cultivate."

Meng Wan couldn't help but laugh twice, finding it... rather endearing that Song Tingzhou said such things with such a serious face.

He scooped a spoonful of congee and fed it to Song Tingzhou's lips, saying with a half-smile, "Aren't those all things from storybooks? I didn't expect my Zhou Lang, who seems so straight-laced, to read stuff like that too."

Song Tingzhou obediently swallowed the warm congee. Now that it was out in the open, there was no embarrassment—they were an old married couple after all. "I used to be so afraid you'd suddenly leave me."

He didn't know when it started—perhaps when Meng Wan was writing his books, or even earlier when Meng Wan spoke to him about enlightenment—Song Tingzhou suddenly realized Meng Wan was extraordinary.

He didn't dare ask, keeping it buried in his heart, worried that Meng Wan might be a spirit from some mountain, afraid that bringing it up would ruin Meng Wan's cultivation, and even more afraid that he would leave him.

Because of love, he was weighed down by countless concerns; because he cared, he measured every step, terrified that a single misstep would lose the treasure in his arms.