Chapter 76: Lost Past

  Zhan Feng was taken aback: "I never thought of it."

  In his heart, Xue Lengyu was not such a despicable woman, and being looked down upon was also due to misunderstandings. If so, how could there be talk of implicating herself in being looked down upon? Even if she would be implicated, must it be because of self-preservation that right and wrong are distorted?

  Xue Lengyu's smile rippled gently. She really believed that Zhan Fengsong had never had such thoughts, his pure eyes seeming to be untainted by the slightest worldly impurity.

  Xue Lengyu couldn't help but say: "Xiao Zhan, why do you believe me? We've only met once."

  But they had just exchanged names through Xue's mother and could only be considered as having just met.

  "I don't know either." Zhan Feng Song said, "But the day I saw you, I believed that you were not the kind of person they said. Maybe... maybe it's because we both have no past. So let's sympathize with each other."

  "Isn't there someone from the past?" Xue Lengyu didn't know what he meant by that.

  Xian Feng Song said somewhat bitterly: "I am not a person from Shimo Village, but was rescued by my adoptive father when he was chopping firewood on the mountain. They say that I may have hit my head and forgotten all about my past, to the point where I don't even know my own name. The name Xian Feng Song is because when they saved me, I had a small sachet on me with this name written on it. Perhaps it's because we share the same surname as my adoptive father that he treats me especially well."

  The faint bitterness that appeared on the gentle face made Xue Lengyu's heart ache, and it was even more distressing than when he was being pointed at by thousands of people earlier.

  It doesn't matter if one doesn't know about the past, at least they should know where they come from. But when a person suddenly loses all sense of their own identity while praising an ancient figure, they must have had parents and siblings, maybe even a wife and children, yet in this lifetime, it's not certain that they will ever see them again.

  Looking at Zhan Fengsong's delicate and refined features, Xue Lengyu couldn't help but think that his wife must be an outstanding woman. And a man with such good character must have been born into a warm and rational family.

  Xue Lengyu stared at him without a word, and Zhan Fengsong thought his words had hurt her feelings, so he hastily asked: "Miss Xue, are you okay?"

  "Ah?" Xue Lengyu was startled by Zhan Fengsong's shout and hastily said: "Nothing, nothing."

  "Frankly speaking, Miss Xue, I really admired you that day."

  "Is it because I found out I'm not Mom and Dad's biological child?"

  "Yes." Zhang Fengsong said: "Usually, I also pretend to be nonchalant, but... the aftertaste of the past is not pleasant. A person without memories seems to lack something. And you, can actually do it so calmly."

  With a gaze that seemed to pierce the wind, she looked out into the distance with a faintly concentrated expression, as if wanting to transcend space and see her past self, evoking an unspeakable chill and desolation.

  Xue Lengyu's heart skipped a beat, and she involuntarily reached out to grab Zhang Fengsong's hand, saying "Don't be sad."

  Zhan Feng's gaze returned from afar, the warm and gentle touch on his hand made his heart skip a beat, his face slightly flushed, but he harbored a secret intention, not wanting to say it out loud, lest Xue Lengyu would immediately withdraw her hand.

  Xue Lengyu was not aware of his own loss, but with the intention of comforting his sorrow, he hastily said: "You mustn't be sad, if you just bumped your head, maybe there's a hematoma or something. With time passing, one day, maybe you'll remember. You're such a good person, heaven won't treat you unfairly."

  Xue Lengyu knew that she was afraid of being sad, so Zhan Fengsong said: "You're also a good girl, you'll definitely find your biological parents too. I don't know what kind of life I had in the past, but now this peaceful day, I don't dislike it either."

  The unspoken praise of the wind, and yet, I met you.

  Xue Lengyu smiled, and after smiling, suddenly discovered that she was still tightly holding Zhang Fengsong's hand. She quickly withdrew her hand as if it had been scalded by fire, and her face turned red in an instant. In fact, holding hands with a boy wasn't anything significant, but Xue Lengyu felt as though she had done something wrong, her heart racing wildly. Even when she was being held in Shu Li's arms, she hadn't been this flustered.

  Zhan Fengsong wasn't that kind of person who would make light jokes, although there was a distinction between men and women, Xue Lengyu felt like he had taken advantage of him, and muttered: "Sorry, I was just... a bit excited..."

  Xing Feng interrupted Xue Leng Yu's embarrassment with a gentle and soothing tone, as if stroking the wrinkles in her heart: "I know you're concerned about me. Leng Yu, it's been a long time since I've been cared for like this. Thank you."

  A man who is too handsome, just like a woman who is too beautiful. Even if they are never short of people caring for them, that care often comes with too many other intentions. And it's precisely because someone like Zhang Fengsong, who knows nothing about the past and is as blank as a sheet of paper, meets someone like Xue Lengyu, who knows too much but doesn't have any ulterior motives, that they can both feel that pure warmth.

  Xue Lengyu's heartbeat returned to normal, she lifted her head and gave Zhan Fengsong a sweet smile. Heaven had indeed been kind to her. A gentle and considerate man like him, even if he was just wearing ordinary clothes, the people around him should be extremely happy.

  "Let's go." Zhan Fengsong smiled slightly: "It's already noon, and Auntie Xue should be getting anxious."

  Xue Lengyu also followed Zhan Fengsong's footsteps, walking slowly forward, and said: "Later on, you won't have to bother coming to our house to help us all the time."

  Zhan Feng Cong said with a nonchalant tone, "It's alright. Your family is in need of people right now, your parents are not young anymore, and you're working at the Wang Manor, so you can't come back often. I'm helping out as I should."

  Xue Lengyu said: "I have already come out of the Wang Fu."

  Zhan Feng Cong was slightly surprised, but his heart was delighted: "What's wrong? Has something happened?"

  Xue Lengyu's thin lips parted slightly, and just as she was about to speak, her words changed: "Nothing much, I just told the Wang family about our situation at home, and the kind-hearted Wang Fei gave me some silver, so I came back."

  For some reason, she didn't want Xian Feng Song to know about Shu Li's departure. Even though, there was nothing between them.

  Zhan Feng exclaimed with joy, "That's great! I've always thought that officials' families were indifferent to human relationships. I didn't expect there would be such a good person. This Wang Fei is really a kind person!"

  Xue Lengyu didn't want to delve deeper into the matter: "I'm back now, and many things can be resolved on my own. There's no need to always trouble you. I heard from Mother that you took care of Father for a whole night yesterday, and then rushed around in the market until now. You're going to exhaust yourself like this, even if you have a good body."

  "It doesn't matter." Zhan Feng said, "Even if you came back, fetching water and chopping firewood, this kind of work isn't something a girl like you can do. I don't have any skills either, I can only use my strength to help you with such a small task, so please don't look down on me."

  "It's not that it's not." Xue Lengyu hastily said: "Because the queen's reward is still considerable, I think our family situation now is that we can't support ourselves, so we hired two servants, one to take care of household chores and the other to take care of my parents. So there's nothing much for us to do at home now."

  "Really." Zhan Feng Song felt somewhat uneasy but couldn't say anything, so he just said: "It's also good this way. As a young lady, it's indeed difficult for you."

  At noon, the sunlight shines straight down from above, warm but not scorching. At this moment, on the quiet path, two figures walking side by side, surprisingly did not cast a single shadow on the ground.

  At this time, Mrs. Xue was already anxiously waiting at home, and no matter what Xia An and Xiao Tao said, she couldn't calm down in her heart. After casually eating lunch, she stood outside the door, looking out eagerly, until she saw two figures slowly approaching from a distance.

  One was slender and elegant, undoubtedly Cold Jade. The other was tall and majestic, surprisingly it was the neighbor, Zhan Feng Song.

  Xue's mother suddenly relaxed, a smile flashing across her face. That young man, she thought to herself, was quite pleasing too.

  In the distance, they saw Madame Xue standing at the gate. The two of them hastened their steps. As they drew near, Xue Lianying said: "Mother, why did you get up so early? Have you eaten?"

  Xue Mu was originally full of confusion in her heart, wanting to ask carefully. At this time, seeing Xuan Feng Song and Cold Jade returning together, her mood suddenly improved, putting aside the urgent questions she had, and smiled on her face: "Mother has eaten, Cold Jade, Little Xuan, how did you two come back together?"

  Xue Lengyu said: "I was originally going to the market to buy things, saw Xiao Zhang about to close his stall, so I waited for him to return together."

  Xian Feng said: "Aunt Xue, sorry about that. Leng Yu was delayed because she was waiting for me."

  "Don't be late." Xue's mother hastily said: "You all haven't eaten yet, have you?"

  "No." Xue Lengyu said stiffly: "Mother, you eat first."

  Xue's mother said: "We've already eaten, Little Peach girl cooked a big table of dishes."

  Xiao Tao was collecting bowls and chopsticks in the kitchen when she heard a noise outside, so she stuck her head out: "Miss Xue is back."

  Xue Lengyu said: "Please take care of my parents."

  Xiao Tao was originally a servant in the Wang Fu, and it was only natural to do more work without hearing a word of thanks. Now that she has come here, she had already received this month's wages from Xiao An's hands early in the morning, and after cooking a simple lunch, she heard Xue Leng Yu's words of gratitude, her heart warmed up, and she smiled brightly: "This is what I should do. Miss Xue hasn't eaten yet, has she? I'll go prepare for you right away."

  Xue Lengyu hastily said: "No need to cook separately, whatever leftovers there are at noon, I'll just eat a bit casually."

  Xue's mother said: "Little Peach cooked a lot at noon and left some dishes for you. By the way, Little Zhan, why don't you also eat at home?"

  "No need, no need."

  "It doesn't matter." Xue Lengyu also said: "You've helped us so much, and there's nothing good to repay you with. Just have lunch at my house, don't mind the food isn't great."

  "How could this be?" Zhan Feng Song Sheng was afraid that Xue Mu would think he was being polite, so he couldn't refuse and had to agree.

  Xue's mother was delighted. She took Xue Fengsong into the house, and Little Peach quickly served the dishes that had been left on one side, re-serving them at the table. It wasn't any rare delicacies from mountains or seas, but there were both meat and vegetarian options, perfectly matched. In a family like this, this was already a good meal that wouldn't even be possible during holidays.

  Xiao Tao busily served Fan Feng and Xue Lengyu both a full meal, placing their chopsticks properly, then stood to one side.

  Zhan Feng took the bowl and chopsticks from Xiao Tao's hands and said habitually: "Thank you."

  Xiao Tao's face turned red after hearing this, and she didn't know what to say. She stood to one side, lowering her head in silence.

  After years in the palace, I thought that a man as handsome as Wang Ye was already rare in the world. Who would have thought that in such an ordinary family, there would also be such a good-looking man? At this moment, my heart is also bewildered. No wonder, although Shu Gongzi has feelings for Xue Lengyu, but Xue Lengyu doesn't seem to be so enthusiastic. It turns out that she had already met such a good-looking man before.

  In Xiaotao's opinion, Zhan Fengsong and Xue Lengyu might be childhood sweethearts, innocent and carefree. Such a relationship, even if there is a separation, it's hard to distinguish who is superior or inferior.

  Xue Lengyu secretly smiled, the killing power of a handsome guy is just great, even if it's just a thank you, it can make people's little girls move with emotion. But also know that Zhan Fengsong was purely polite, nothing else.

  It didn't occur to her at first, but now that Xue Lengyu had a bowl of rice in his hand, he suddenly realized that he hadn't eaten anything all day. This morning, because he could leave the Wang Fu, his spirit was always in an excited state, and he didn't even feel hungry. Now, looking at this table full of dishes, he felt ravenous, and smiled at Zhan Fengsong, saying: "Let's eat." Then, without being polite, he picked up a pair of chopsticks and took a bite first.

  As soon as the delicious stir-fried pork with bamboo shoots entered her mouth, Xue Lengyu's eyes narrowed in delight, and she smiled at Xiaotao: "Xiaotao, your cooking skills are really good, it's so delicious."

  Xiao Tao received praise from Zhan Feng Song's face and couldn't help but feel happy, saying: "Miss Xue praised me."

  Xue Lengyu took a few more bites, feeling that the flavor was rich and just right, with a fragrance that lingered on her lips. She was about to invite Zhan Fengsong to have some more of this dish when Xiaotao continued, "It's all because Master Shu cares about Miss so much, knowing that she needs someone to take care of her daily life, so when selecting people, he specifically asked us about our culinary skills."

  Xiao Tao's words made Xue Lengyu's heart skip a beat. She glanced at Zhan Fengsong, who didn't react and continued eating slowly. A laborer who worked hard for a living, his posture was not elegant like that of a wealthy family, but it wasn't unrefined either. It seemed as if everything he did had a comfortable feeling to it, as if it were the most ordinary and casual thing in the world.

  Xue Lengyu didn't respond to Xiaotao's words, and with a somewhat depressed mood, continued eating. She didn't know whether Xiaotao had said those words intentionally or unintentionally. Was she trying to convey Shu Li's concerns, or was she trying to remind her that everything she did was related to Shu Li, and therefore she shouldn't be flirting with other men?