So, Yuan An brought the little dark child back home, surprising Xia Su, Old Granny, Shi Tou, Xiao Yu, and the rest of the servants. They were all taken aback, wondering what this strange creature was that their young mistress had brought home. Yuan An, while drinking water, explained that he wasn't a monkey, really not a monkey, and urged them to quickly boil water and use soap to clean him up.
The household servants worked together and used three large pots of water to finally clean up the child and reveal his true appearance. With his hair combed and dressed in a short robe and small coat, the child stood before Yuan An looking like a completely different person. His face was round, eyebrows arched, and his eyes sparkled like bright stars. His curled eyelashes resembled those of a little cat. His pointed nose and plump lips made him look like he was holding beads in his mouth. He looked at Yuan An and allowed her to inspect him, but also hesitated, shyly touching his clothes and reaching out to touch nearby objects, showing that he wasn't entirely sure about everything.
Yuan An, after looking at him closely, felt delighted. She thought he was so handsome with all his features being petite, delicate, and perfectly shaped, as if a skilled artist in the palace had crafted him with utmost care. Even though he was still dark after being cleaned up, his skin was tender and rosy, indicating a good constitution. Yuan An walked over and compared her height with his, only to find that he was a head taller than her. Playfully, she reached out to pinch his face, but he reacted quickly, covering his face in pain and looking at her without saying a word.
Curious and joyful, Yuan An asked him many questions, "What's your name? How old are you? Where do you come from? Who are your parents? What have you been eating? How did you become so good-looking?"
However, the child didn't answer any of her questions, leaving Yuan An even more delighted. "Don't know any of that? Even better! If you know, I'll take you back to your parents. If you don't know, then you'll stay here with me!"
Still, the child remained silent, frowning while looking at Yuan An.
"Are you mute?" Yuan An finally understood. "It's alright even if you are. I'll just treat you like a little cat and raise you." Yuan An had never been raised by her mother, so she never learned proper etiquette, the distinction between high and low status, or gender differences. Whenever she saw something cute or interesting, she couldn't help but touch and play with it. The child's dark and reddened complexion made her like him as much as she would like a little dog or cat. She liked him a lot. Speaking to him, she reached out with both hands to try and pull his round and plump ears.
Before she could reach his ears, the child suddenly grew unhappy and pushed Yuan An, making her fall to the ground, and she winced in pain due to her injured ankle.
Shi Tou and the other servants, who were just entering with food, witnessed this and immediately got angry, rolling up their sleeves and moving in to discipline the child. Shi Tou grabbed him by the collar, scolding, "Hey, little rascal, who do you think you are? Do you know where you are? Do you know who this is? We'll teach you a lesson! We washed you, dressed you in good clothes, and you still dare to push our mistress? You're looking for trouble!"
They were about to start encircling him to give him a good beating when Yuan An quickly got up to stop them. "Don't lay a hand on him, don't lay a hand on him! He's probably just annoyed because I said he's mute. Since he just arrived and doesn't know the rules yet, don't make things hard for him."
After she said this, she pulled him over and personally took out the food from the lunchbox one by one to feed him. "Here, are you hungry? Come, come and eat. Eat as much as you like!"
The child didn't hesitate and began eating heartily.
Yuan An stepped back to talk to Xiao Su, asking if the living arrangements had been prepared.
Xia Su replied, "Young mistress, the servant's quarters are full, but there's a small room by the stable for overnight stays. We can let him stay there for now."
"Alright, it's warm and clean there, which is good enough," Yuan An said, "Is the bedding prepared?"
"Don't worry, it's all set."
Yuan An turned around after speaking and glanced at the boy. He was enjoying his meal, she couldn't help but smile before leaving. Little did she know that the boy put down the chicken leg in his mouth and stared at her back with interest.
Now, Yuan An had other matters to attend to. She took the heirloom left by Ru Yue and went down to the underground storeroom to show it to the gentleman residing there. She recounted in detail how she had found the evidence and how she almost lost it to the assassins, and also how she had witnessed the assassins jumping into the residence of Minister Pei.
Yuan An spoke excitedly, gesturing animatedly, but the gentleman had his head leaning against something and didn't respond for a long time. Yuan An found it strange and went to see what was going on. When she looked at him face to face, she discovered that he had fallen asleep, even with drool was coming out.
Enraged, Yuan An picked up something hard nearby and knocked on his head, waking him up. Holding his head in pain, he asked, "What happened? What happened?"
Yuan An scolded, "You were sleeping so deeply that you even bumped your head on the table!"
"Oh, really? I bumped my head on the table? Then, why are you holding my tortoise?" The gentleman was still confused.
Yuan An realized her mistake; she was still holding the tortoise. She laughed it off, saying, "I was just going to use this to scratch." She rolled his eyes, then got angry, "You really... I was in such a hurry to find you, wanting to seek advice from you! Yet you act like nothing is wrong!"
The gentleman touched his head and squatted to search for something in a drawer, not sure if he was speaking to Yuan An or muttering to himself. "What do you think I am? Do you think I'm a god? That I know everything? So, they chased you, what about it? It's good enough that you're still alive. You even know where the rat hole is, shouldn't you be squatting at the door waiting for them? If they are tracking you, shouldn't you be tracking them?"
These words resonated with Yuan An, and she seemed to understand something. She turned around and walked out.
"Hey!" The man called after her from behind.
Yuan An turned back, and he tossed her a heavy little box. "What's this?"
"It's medicine for injuries. You sprained your ankle, right? Apply it, and it'll be fine."
"Oh, thank you." Yuan An stretched her arm and bowed from a distance before leaving the storeroom.
The man shook his head and muttered to himself, "What else can I do? The child's heart isn't bad, but she's already so foolish. How can I stand by and watch you continue to limp?"
Yuan An returned to her room and opened the box. She inspected her ankle, which was red and swollen. After cleaning it, she applied the ointment given by the man, feeling a cool sensation that instantly reduced the swelling and pain. In the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the pain was completely gone, and her ankle was back to normal. She couldn't help but admire the man's skills; the man in the basement was truly skilled. The man's words also made sense, and she decided to follow his advice!
~Thank You for Reading, Please Comment Below~
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