Chapter Thirty-Four: Memories on a Rainy Night

  In March, the sea breeze in Danzhou is very gentle, and the breath of spring occupies the entire stage. A kind of unknown small yellow flower blooms all over the mountain, and every household uses the petals to make tea. While drinking, they chat with neighbors outside their doors. Therefore, walking on the streets of Danzhou Port, you can always smell that faint fragrance, which is not gloomy or greasy, but pure and refreshing, making people feel very peaceful.

  In the evening, it is the time when spring rain often comes, quietly entering the night with a gentle breeze, silently and quietly moistening the land, so that the black roofs of the entire city of Danzhou and the bluestone roads are covered with a layer of misty water vapor.

  A gentle patter of rain, softly falling on the awning outside the grocery store, didn't make much noise, only washing away the thin layer of dust, making the storefront look more spirited. However, today the grocery store was still not open, Fan Xian informed Old Lady once, then secretly came to the store, peeling peanuts while drinking with Wu Zhu.

  The people in the Earl's estate should have known that he liked to come to the grocery store, but they all thought that the young master was just greedy for the good wine brewed by the blind man himself. On the one hand, it was because Fan Xian really loved wine, and on the other hand, it was because he needed a relatively decent excuse. His interactions with Wu Zhu, although impossible to completely avoid others' attention, were still relatively careful.

  The kitchen knife is placed on the chopping board, the chopping board is dry, and there are no vegetable scraps on the blade. It seems that it has not been used for a long time.

  The sound of peanuts cracking open rang out, and Fan Xian tossed one into his mouth, slowly chewing until the dried fruit had all been chewed into a fragrant pulp that filled his nostrils. Only then did he pick up the small ceramic cup in front of him, about the size of three fingers, and bring it to his lips with a slight "ting" sound before drinking it down.

  What I drank today was not Huangjiu, but a tribute wine sent from Kyoto, with a slightly higher degree number, which made Fan Xian find a hint of Wuliangye flavor.

  He didn't rush to ask questions because he knew that Wu Zhu Shu was a simple man and wouldn't keep him waiting for long.

  Wu Zhu didn't sit opposite him, but instead sat in a dark corner of the room with a bowl of yellow wine, and a low, mournful sound began to emanate from him.

  "Miss Ye's surname is Ye, and her name is Ye Qingmei. I am her house servant. Many years ago, Miss and I left home..."

  "Ye Qingmei..." Fan Xian learned his mother's name for the first time, and inexplicably, a warmth spread across his heart. He smiled and took another sip of wine, tactfully not asking... where home was. If Wu Zhuo wanted to tell him, he would have done so already.

  "We lived in Dongyi City for a few years. The young lady was born intelligent, understanding everything, and had a compassionate heart, so from the age of fifteen, she started doing business in Dongyi City, but because she was too young, she hid behind the scenes and let the shopkeeper pretend to be the master."

  Fan Xian's hand, holding the wine cup, paused in mid-air as he couldn't help but ask: "What does doing business have to do with a compassionate heart?" He wasn't curious about why his mother was naturally intelligent or how she could make money from business at the age of fifteen, because over the years, he had already guessed that his mother must not be an ordinary person who could be inferred by common sense.

  "Wu Zhu replied in a cold tone: 'Because Miss sympathizes with the suffering of the people, she likes to do good deeds. When Dongyi City was hit by floods, Miss opened the most porridge shops. If you want to do good deeds, you must have money, so Miss started thinking of ways to make money.'"

  Fan Xian nodded in agreement with this logic.

  "The business was doing very well, and gradually people began to realize that the mastermind behind the store was a young lady, so some people started to get ideas, but they were all killed by me."

  Wu Zhu said it very calmly, but Fan Xian knew that the situation at that time must have been very tense. Since Wu Zhu uncle said that business was going well, then it must be going extremely well. As for being suspected of having a precious treasure, a 15-year-old girl owning such a large family property indeed easily triggered the ambition of unscrupulous people in the world. However, thinking that there was an extraordinary strong person serving as his mother's bodyguard, Fan Xian put down the heart that had risen without reason.

  He suddenly thought of something and frowned, asking: "Old mom's surname is Ye, could it be that the business you opened at that time was the Ye family?"

  "Yes."

  "It's actually the Ye family!" Fan Xian was shocked: "I've heard of this name before, legend has it that over a decade ago, the Ye family was the number one merchant in the world, but I never thought it was my mother's property."

  "I didn't know the Ye family's business was so big." Wu Zhu said calmly: "That doesn't fall within my scope of work. Miss thought I killed too many people, so she ended our business in Dongyi City and came to Qingguo, starting a new life in Kyoto."

  Fan Xian felt that things shouldn't be so simple, selling off the business in Dongyi City and coming to Qingguo, there must be a more convincing reason.

  Miss Wu continued: "After Miss came to Kyoto, she started doing business again and did it very well. Later, she got to know some people, including Mr. Si Nanbo. Everyone seemed to listen to her, follow her ideas, prepare to do something, change something, and then conflicted with the royal nobles of Qingguo in terms of interests."

  Wu Zhu paused for a moment, "Once Qing Guo was fighting with the Western Regions, the defense forces in Kyoto were empty, and it just so happened that something big had happened. I wasn't in Kyoto, and the powers that Miss could rely on also had some problems... Miss was killed by people sent by those princes and nobles. When I rushed back to Taiping Temple, I only managed to save you, then carried you here to Danzhou."

  This matter was very clear to Fan Xian, and it was also clear that those "enemies" had been killed off ten years ago. The person in charge of the revenge should have a connection with Ben Yi Lao and the Imperial Censorate.

  The prolonged silence made the sound of rain outside the grocery store unusually clear.

  "Is that all?" Fan Xian furrowed his brow and asked, feeling that his mother's life couldn't be summed up in just a few simple sentences. What business had she done, what things had she accomplished, to make the entire royal family of Qinghe come after her? Why did the renowned Inspector Fei show boundless respect whenever he mentioned his own mother?

  "Basically... it's over." Isamu chose his words carefully.

  Fan Xian sighed and confirmed that Wu Zhu Shu was indeed not good at telling stories. A bitter smile appeared on his handsome face, knowing he had to ask himself.

  "What business does my mother do?"

  "Luxury goods, military equipment, ships, grain, basically whatever makes money."

  Wu Zhuo answered casually, but Fan Xian jumped at the mention of a term. His experience in two lifetimes made him understand that people who could do this kind of business generally had a huge background behind them. Like his mother, an orphaned girl, she was able to start from scratch and reach such a terrifying level.

  "What about these businesses after Mother's death?" This was the point that Fan Xian was most interested in, after all, according to Qing Guo law, he should be the sole heir of this vast inheritance.

  It was later heard that Ye's family business had all been taken over by Qingguo's national treasury.

  Fan Xian smiled wryly and shook his head, it had turned into a royal affair after all. He immediately gave up the absurd idea of suing for family property and instead laughed: "The name Ye Qingmei must have been very impressive back then, I heard that when Mother entered the capital, she beat up the Capital Garrison Commander."

  The oil lamp in the room flickered, and upon hearing Fan Xian's words, Wu Zhu seemed to recall something from the past. The corners of his lips twitched slightly upwards, revealing a hint of warmth in his smile.

  Fan Xian's wrist stiffened, and the small ceramic cup fell onto the square table, rolling around. In his heart, he exclaimed: "He smiled... He actually smiled!"

  Lin Mei Mei has left.