Chapter 63: Make It Clear
The hall in Duke Ding’an’s Mansion was brightly lit.
Cheng Yuan sat on the chair, looking left and right with novelty, surveying the luxurious and extravagant lobby, until he was glared at by Liu Changqing and settled down.
Liu Changqing frowned and looked at his daughter Liu Chan sitting on the other side.
Previously it had been chaotic; his daughter appeared, a strange young lady also called Liu Chan appeared, the Embroidered Uniform Guards appeared and shouted to beat and kill, then suddenly it turned into recognizing kin, and a youth even turned into a young lady.
Chaotic to such a degree, there was too much to say; the Embroidered Uniform Guards drove everyone into Duke Ding’an’s Mansion.
“Sit down and explain it slowly!”
The Embroidered Uniform Guard Captain gripping a knife in his hand said through gritted teeth.
Could this matter be explained clearly? Liu Changqing thought to himself.
“What exactly is going on?” he asked in a low stern voice.
Liu Chan glanced at her father and said softly, “Father, please wait a moment; when A Sheng comes out, she’ll explain everything and you’ll know.”
Liu Changqing gave her a deep look and said nothing more.
Amid the shifting figures, Yang Hui also stood in front of Liu Chan, asking suspiciously, “You’re Liu Chan? What exactly is going on?”
Liu Chan had already learned outside that this was the young lady of Duke Ding’an’s Mansion, but she wasn’t much afraid and still said softly, “You’ll know in a moment.”
Yang Hui glared at her, then looked toward Wei Jiao sitting in the main seat in the hall, with a row of Embroidered Uniform Guards standing behind him.
Wei Jiao sat lazily on the chair, twirling the teacup in his hand, seemingly tasting the tea with great interest, and said to the Embroidered Uniform Guards behind him, “Taste Duke Ding’an’s Family’s tea now; in a moment, let Duke Ding’an taste our tea—this can be considered reciprocity.”
The Embroidered Uniform Guards beside him smiled and flattered, “The Captain knows etiquette and maintains integrity.”
What knowing etiquette and maintaining integrity; under the indoor lights, this young man before them appeared even more radiant and handsome; Yang Hui didn’t dare look more—the Embroidered Uniform Guards’ tea was no tasty treat!
Her expression terrified and anxious, she hurried inside.
“Mother—”
“What’s going on!”
“Is that person male or female!”
“Who exactly is it!”
“So now I’m the young lady, Yang Luo?”
In the side room of Duke Ding’an’s Mansion, Mo Zheng looked at Yang Luo and said softly.
“You’re the maidservant, A Sheng?”
Taking advantage of changing clothes, the two came into a room, able to speak softly.
Yang Luo looked at the young guard before her; not sure if it was because she now knew it was a woman, but the person’s originally sharp features had gained some softness.
“Sorry, things were too sudden; I…” Yang Luo said softly. “I originally planned to reveal my identity outright, but upon learning you’re a woman, I suddenly thought of a way to continue hiding my identity.”
The way was for the two to swap identities.
A maidservant compared to a young lady’s identity—though entering Duke Ding’an’s Mansion, it didn’t count as recognizing kin.
She could still continue hiding.
Mo Zheng was silent.
Seeing her not speak, Yang Luo apologized again: “Sorry.” Then hurriedly added, “If you’re unwilling, they’re outside; I’ll go explain everything to them right away—I’m still me, you’re still you…”
With that, she moved to go outside.
Mo Zheng grabbed her arm and shook her head gently: “No need, young lady. I said I’d be your guard; protecting your safety is my promise. If swapping identities keeps you safe, naturally there’s no problem.”
Yang Luo looked at her, tears welling in her eyes as she murmured, “A Sheng…”
Mo Zheng smiled: “If apologies are needed, I should say it first; after all, I hid it from you, young lady, and planned to keep hiding it.”
Hearing this, Yang Luo couldn’t help interrupting: “Then how did Liu Chan know?”
If not for Liu Chan’s cry of younger sister, she wouldn’t have discovered it.
Mo Zheng said, “That night, while you were asleep, I went to persuade her. Since it was night, me entering as a man would scare Miss Liu; before even speaking, it’d make her wary. So I met her as a woman.”
At this point, she seemed somewhat helpless.
“I told her I needed to guard the young lady as a man, but didn’t tell her you didn’t know; I worried that if I did, she’d grow suspicious and wary. In the end, she thought you knew, and when facing you, her behavior and words gave it away.”
So that’s how it was; Yang Luo looked at the youth before her—no, the young girl…
“You’ve been disguising as a man all these years?” she asked softly.
Mo Zheng nodded: “The hunter grandfather and his wife picked me up and raised me; it’s inconvenient for a girl to be a hunter and easy to be bullied, so the hunter grandfather had me always disguise as a boy.”
Yang Luo looked at her; later she became a bandit leader, was exterminated by the Imperial Court, beheaded, and her true gender still undiscovered—did that mean the head was cut off in advance without discovering the body?
Of course, she couldn’t ask that.
Yang Luo clenched her hand; A Sheng had disguised as a man until death without discovery, but at this moment, for her sake, she exposed her true gender.
“A Sheng, thank you.” She said softly, “It’s all because of me.”
Mo Zheng interrupted her: “Young lady will repay me in the future, right?”
Yang Luo nodded vigorously.
“That’s good enough.” Mo Zheng smiled and asked straightforwardly, “What should I do next?”
“First change back into women’s clothes to show I wasn’t lying.” Yang Luo said, thinking of that Wei Jiao, “Otherwise Wei Jiao won’t let it rest.”
Mo Zheng nodded and reached to undo her clothes.
Yang Luo hurriedly turned away; though a woman, it wasn’t proper to stare like this. Hearing the rustling sounds, besides the robe, cloth strips were undone and thrown on the ground—probably used to bind the chest and pad the shoulders and back.
Yang Luo’s mind wandered until she heard Mo Zheng say from behind that she was changed; she turned around to see a familiar yet strange person standing before her.
Actually, it was just a change of clothes, same face, but Yang Luo still felt the girl before her suddenly radiant and stunning.
“How to style the hair?” Mo Zheng asked, reaching up to gather the loose hair.
This raise of the hand revealed a slender waist and graceful figure—how had she hidden such a posture? She hadn’t noticed at all in daily life; thinking back to Lu County when pretending to be beggars, A Sheng had taught her how to disguise as a man—ah, so those were lessons from experience. Yang Luo’s mind wandered as she reached out: “Let me, let me.”
Mo Zheng sat down, letting her deftly comb and pin up her hair into a bun.
“I don’t know much about your uncle’s family matters; they’ll definitely question it later.” Mo Zheng said softly.
Yang Luo’s voice came from behind: “Time is short; I can’t tell you much. I’m your maidservant; I’ll explain. You don’t need to speak then.”
With that, Yang Luo’s hand reached over and put something around her neck…
Mo Zheng looked down to see a red cord with a jade pendant tied to it.
“This should be the token of my identity; my mother put it on me as a child and told me not to lose it.”
“Perhaps seeing this, they won’t suspect.”
Mo Zheng took the jade pendant and saw a date inscribed—this should be Yang Luo’s birth date.
Her gaze fell on the carved pattern, fingers slowly tracing it.
Dragon pattern.
In the hall, Duke Ding’an and his wife watched the young girl who walked out; perhaps having discussed something, their expressions had calmed somewhat.
Mo Zheng lowered her eyes and curtsied: “Uncle, Aunt.”
“Wait; don’t call us that yet.” Duke Ding’an said gravely, scrutinizing her face. “After my sister left the Capital City, we never saw her again, nor you. You, how do you prove you’re her daughter? Lu County sent news that she and her daughter both burned to death; what’s your story?”
“The young lady and I escaped from the back mountain.” Yang Luo fulfilled the maidservant’s duty beside her and explained, “The ones who burned to death were Madam and her maidservant…”
As she spoke to this point, Mo Zheng suddenly raised her hand to stop her.
“I know you won’t acknowledge me even if I come; all these years, mother never mentioned you and didn’t let me come find you.” She looked at the couple, expression calm. “So I had no plan to come to your door. On the road, I got acquainted with Liu Chan and borrowed her identity so my maidservant could become a companion reader, planning to earn a reputation and make a living in the Capital City. But the borrowed identity was exposed, so I had no choice but to come see you…”
As she spoke, she curtsied on her knees.
“After I explain clearly to the Liu Family and the Embroidered Uniform Guards, I’ll leave.”
Duke Ding’an and his wife were stunned: surprisingly like this, no intention of recognizing kin?
“But my leaving isn’t out of a thief’s guilty conscience.” The young girl’s expression turned proud again as she reached into her collar, pulled out the red cord, and handed over the jade pendant. “This was given to me by my mother; she said it’s related to my identity—perhaps you recognize it…”
Duke Ding’an and his wife looked at the jade pendant and immediately saw the inscription and dragon pattern; their faces changed instantly. Duke Ding’an made a gurgling sound in his throat, while Duke Ding’an’s Wife pressed down on the jade pendant and also grabbed Mo Zheng’s hand.
“Go where! Leave for what!” Her voice trembled as she gripped Mo Zheng’s hand tightly. “You’re not going anywhere! This is your home!”
With that, she raised her hand again and pounded Duke Ding’an fiercely.
“Even if you haven’t seen her, can’t you recognize it? What questions! This child looks exactly like my sister!”
Duke Ding’an’s lips moved, emitting a choked sob as he raised his hand to cover his face.
“My poor… niece.”
