"Congratulations, Sister. You've found your daughter." Jinniang pulled Zhen Yinglian in front of him, looked her up and down several times, and said with a smile, "You must be a Yinglian. Look at your little face. When you grow up, you will definitely be a great beauty. Sister, you are so lucky!"
Zhen Yinglian pursed her lips, smiled, and lowered her head shyly.
Madam Zhen Feng's face bloomed with a smile, and she looked several years younger. "It's all thanks to you. Yinglian, this is Nanny Jin. Thanks to her, Mother can come to Jinling safely. It's all thanks to her that we can be reunited. "
Zhen Yinglian knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Jinniang. "Thank you for taking care of my mother on the way. Yinglian is very grateful."
"You're welcome." Jinniang hurriedly pulled her up. "Your mother helped me first. It's just a small matter."
"Nanny, you can't say that." Zhen Yinglian smiled shyly. "If it weren't for you, Mother wouldn't have come to Jinling so quickly. If you were a few days later, I don't know where Yinglian is. A good deed that Nanny casually does is a great kindness to me and my mother. "
"Look at this child's sweet mouth. It's like she has eaten honey. She will have a great fortune in the future. " Jinniang praised with a smile. "Now that Yinglian has been found, one of Sister's wishes has been fulfilled. When we find Yinglian's father, Sister's family will be reunited. That will be perfect."
"How can it be so easy?" Madam Zhen Feng frowned and smiled bitterly. "I'm already very satisfied to find Yinglian. I don't dare to ask for anything else."
Zhen Yinglian's face immediately tensed up when she heard that it was about her father.
Jinniang felt that it was inappropriate for a child to overhear this topic, so he sent the Yinglian to find the maids to eat snacks. After she left, he carefully asked, "I heard from Sister that Yinglian's father left with a crippled Taoist priest. At that time, I felt strange. If Yinglian's father wanted to abandon the secular world, why didn't he find a proper temple or Taoist temple to become a monk? Why did he leave with an unknown crippled Taoist priest? Could it be … that they had some history? "
Madam Zhen Feng was silent for a long time and then sighed deeply... if it was someone else, I wouldn't say a word. When Ying Lian was three years old, her father brought her to the front of the street to watch the bustling scene. Who would have thought that they would meet a monk and a crippled Taoist priest on the way. When the Taoist priest saw the Yinglian, he suddenly burst into tears and said to her father, 'Why are you holding this unlucky thing in your arms? Give her to me! 'Yinglian's father thought that the Taoist priest was either a madman or a kidnapper, so he hurried home with the Yinglian. Then the Taoist priest pointed at her father and laughed, saying, 'The spoiled Yinglian is laughing at you for being an idiot. After the Lantern Festival, it's time for smoke and fire to die down. "
"… After the Lantern Festival, it's time for smoke and fire to die down …" Shuijing repeated several times and looked at Jinniang. "At that time, the Taoist priest only said these four sentences?"
Jinniang nodded and said, "Zhen Shiyin was very concerned about this matter and kept talking about it at home. Madam Zhen Feng also remembered these words in her heart."
"Zhen Yinglian went missing on the Lantern Festival two years later, and then a fire broke out in the Zhen family. Could it be related to these words?"
"I asked around and got some truth from Madam Zhen Feng. After this incident, Zhen Shiyin became much colder to the Yinglian and no longer cared about her as much as before. He also took precautions against the fire in the house, afraid that it would cause a fire. Unexpectedly, the Gourd Temple next door caught fire first, causing the Zhen family to suffer as well. "
Wen Dongyan pondered for a moment and said with a frown, "It's no wonder Zhen Shiyin was concerned. It's not like there aren't any children who are unlucky to their parents. Many people keep this a secret. The Taoist priest and the Taoist priest acted strangely, so Zhen Shiyin might have thought of them as otherworldly experts. After the Lantern Festival, when the fire broke out in the house, he might have believed them even more. That's why he didn't hesitate to leave with the Taoist priest in Da Ruzhou. "
"It's just a little strange …" Wen Dongyan looked puzzled. "If the Zhen Yinglian was unlucky and would implicate their parents' lives, then the fire in the Zhen family should have happened before the Zhen Yinglian went missing. After the Lantern Festival, the Zhen Yinglian was no longer with the Zhen couple and could no longer control them. Shouldn't their lives be better and better? But in fact, after they separated from the Zhen Yinglian, their lives became worse and worse. In the end, they barely had enough to eat and wear, which was obviously different from what the Taoist priest said about implicating their parents. "
"I'm afraid that the Zhen Yinglian was actually the Zhen couple's savior. With her by their side, they could be rich and powerful. Without her, they would be poor and destitute. However, the monk and the Taoist priest interfered and said the Zhen Yinglian's fate was reversed. "
Wen Dongyan finally understood why Zhen Shiyin didn't even allow a wet nurse to accompany a five-year-old village official's daughter to see the lanterns. Instead, he only sent a manservant. He probably had the idea of abandoning the Zhen Yinglian for a long time. However, as long as there was a conscience in a family, even if the family didn't have enough food to eat, they wouldn't abandon their children. Zhen Shiyin was a famous person. If he did such a thing, he would definitely be cursed to death. He could only find other ways to deal with it. Wen Dongyan felt that the manservant must have taken the Zhen Yinglian out more than once. At first, the manservant named Huo Qi might have been so nervous that he didn't dare to let the Zhen Yinglian out of his sight. However, after a long time, he became bolder and didn't take as good care of the Zhen Yinglian as before. That was why the incident of the Zhen Yinglian being abducted during the Lantern Festival happened.
Wen Dongyan heard that Zhen Shiyin cried day and night after the Zhen Yinglian went missing. He even fell ill before Madam Zhen Feng. Wen Dongyan didn't know if it was because of guilt or regret. In short, he definitely had a psychological problem. This could also explain why after the Zhen family's fire, Zhen Shiyin moved thousands of miles away to live in Da Ruzhou. He said that he wanted to seek refuge with his father-in-law, but in reality, he was uneasy and didn't have the courage to stay in Gusu. Otherwise, families who lost their children wouldn't be willing to move away from their original place of residence. This was because they were afraid that their children wouldn't be able to find their original place. In their hearts, if they moved to another place, their children would never be able to come back.
Jinniang continued, "That monk Lai Tou and the crippled Daoist also mentioned something like Mount Beimang, the Great Illusionary Land, and the Three Tribulations. However, because Zhen Shiyin only mentioned it once in front of Madam Zhen Feng, she couldn't remember it clearly."
"Mount Beimang …" Wen Dongyan fanned himself with his goose feather fan and frowned. "Mount Beimang is the place where generations of nobles are buried. Did they mention Mount Beimang as a metaphor? Also, I've never heard of the Great Illusionary Land. What are the Three Tribulations? " He pondered for a moment. "However, one thing is certain. This monk Lai Tou and the crippled Daoist are indeed planning something. I just don't know if the incident in the past was also a part of it."
Shuijing's fingers slowly tapped on the table. His eyes were obscure.
Jinniang hesitated for a moment and said, "Master, can you let Madam Zhen Feng and her daughter stay? I've been with Madam Zhen Feng for a few days and found that her character is really good. Moreover, this Yinglian girl is getting older and has a good appearance. It's rare that she's still so pure. If she goes out, I'm afraid she'll be targeted by thieves … "
Shuijing originally had the intention to let Madam Zhen Feng and her daughter stay. After all, he had searched for so many years and finally found people who were related to Monk Lai Tou and the crippled Daoist. How could he let them go so easily? Naturally, he had to keep them under his watch.
"Do as you deem fit." He waved his hand and dismissed her. "If they do anything strange or if some strange people come looking for them, just report to me."
"Yes, I'll take my leave." Jinniang sighed in relief.
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