Chapter 5: Relatives Meet, Words Unspoken

  The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and the cold wind blowing from the north of Yanmen Pass makes people tie up their clothes tightly, just wanting to hurry forward. After a few days, they left Hukou and said goodbye to the merchant group heading north, Zhao Xing and his mother and son were in front, Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao carried goods behind, and searched all the way to Changzi County.

  In the distance, a village nestled between mountains and water came into view - it was Li Family Village. As they entered the village, a picturesque scene unfolded before Zhao Xing's eyes. The village was surrounded by green trees, with distant blue hills sloping gently upwards. Amidst the thatched haystacks in the threshing ground, the occasional sounds of children playing hide-and-seek and the distant neighing of horses and lowing of cattle blended together, adding a sense of serenity and harmony to this ordinary village.

  Arriving at a three-sectioned mansion, Zhao Xingniang and Li Yujie knocked on the door ring.

  After a moment, an old white-haired servant emerged. "Master Zheng!", Li Yujue stepped forward and greeted him.

  "Ah, it's Yu Juan back!" The family servant, called Zheng Bo, was taken aback for a moment before rushing forward to greet her warmly after seeing clearly who the arrival was.

  Seeing Zhao Xing holding a gun and bow behind Li Yujiao, Zheng Bo asked with some hesitation, "Who is this?"

  "Zheng Bo, this is my child. Xing Er, quickly call Zheng Grandfather." Zhao said with some pride on the side.

  "Grandpa Zheng is great!" Zhao Xing straightforwardly stepped forward and sang a loud "hurray".

  "Alright, alright, alright!" Zheng Bo muttered to himself as he welcomed the four of them into the courtyard. "It's been over ten years since you got married and came back to your maiden home, right? Time flies, and now the kids are even taller than me! Truly, time waits for no man!"

  "Who says it isn't? Mr. Zheng, how's your health been in recent years?" As they walked further inside, Mrs. Zhao chatted with Mr. Zheng about family matters.

  "Alas, Master's body is not as good as it used to be. He has been worrying about the young masters and misses, and now he's just like me, old and useless!" Zheng Bo sighed and said.

  "Is my mother all right?" Zhao asked cautiously.

  "Your mother... Ah, your mother passed away two years ago. She couldn't withstand a bout of pneumonia and left us..." Zheng Bo said with a lack of enthusiasm.

  As soon as she heard this, Li Yujiao stumbled and Zhao Xing hurried forward to support her.

  As they entered the main hall of the courtyard, Zheng Bo invited Zhao Xing and his companion to take a seat, then hurriedly went to the back yard to call out Zhao Xing's maternal grandfather Li Qing to meet them.

  A cup of tea, accompanied by the sound of a cane tapping on the green brick floor, only to hear a trembling voice coming from outside the hall door, "Yu Jie is back, hurry up and support me to meet her..." As he spoke, an old man with white hair, pale face, leaning on a cane walked out from behind the screen.

  "Father!" Zhao hastily came forward to support him, "Your daughter is unfilial, letting you worry..." Zhao said with a choked voice.

  "Jiang Er, your mother didn't get to see you come back, she's gone..." Li Qing said with a sorrowful shake of his head.

  "Jiang Er has already heard Zheng Bo say that it's a daughter's unfilial behavior, and she came back late." Zhao Xingniang said with tears in her eyes.

  "Xing Er, this is your grandfather, hurry up and kneel down to pay your respects!"

  "I've seen Grandfather!" Zhao Xing knelt down and solemnly bowed his head to Li Qing.

  "Great! Great! Great! Get up quickly!" Li Qing excitedly helped Zhao Xing get up.

  Looking at Zhao Xing, who was as elegant as a jade tree in the wind and had an air of heroism about him, and the two fierce-looking but neatly dressed servants behind him, Li Qing's eyes showed a hint of admiration and comfort. Thinking of his own useless sons and grandsons, Li Qing felt a deep sense of helplessness and bitter disappointment.

  After the relatives met, they inevitably exchanged pleasantries and family news. Zhao Xing was solemnly introduced by his mother to several uncles, a few male cousins, and some female cousins.

  Looking at the large group of brothers and sisters in front of him, Zhao Xing felt a bit overwhelmed. Just remembering all their names would take some time. It was indeed true that "a thin camel is bigger than a horse", Li Qing's family branch may not be as prosperous as his other brothers' families, but it was still incomparable to ordinary small households.

  It is said that Zhao Si has passed away, and now Zhao Xing and his mother have nowhere to settle. Li Qing did not show any sign of disdain or contempt, after all, the two in front of him are his own flesh and blood, and he should at least take care of them a bit. As for the attitude of several newly recognized cheap uncles and cousins, although everyone doesn't say it out loud, you can tell from their expressionless faces.

  Among the crowd, there were also a few young men and women around Zhao Xing's age, with excited expressions on their faces, filled with curiosity and enthusiasm for Zhao Xing's arrival. They were Li Jinsi, the youngest son of Zhao Xing's second uncle, who was 13 years old; Li Jinwu, the eldest son of Zhao Xing's third uncle, who was 17 years old; and Xu Wanting, the daughter of Zhao Xing's eldest aunt, who was one year older than Zhao Xing.

  Li Jinsi, although weak in literature, has been fond of military books and strategies since childhood, dreaming of being a good minister to assist the wise king; Li Jinwu is tall and strong, surprisingly one of the few great warriors in this mountainous area; Xu Wanting inherited the beauty and virtue of the Li family's daughter, although only 15 years old, she has already grown up like her name, elegant and refined.

  These few people were much more enthusiastic about Zhao Xing's arrival than the other relatives. Li Jinwu pulled Zhao Xing, constantly touching the long gun in his hand; Li Jinsi surrounded Zhao Xing, sizing him up from head to toe, as if pondering something; Xu Wanting and her aunt, who was also Zhao Xing's mother, were whispering to each other, their bright big eyes occasionally glancing over at Zhao Xing.

  Zhao Xing thought to himself: It's said that the dragon gives birth to nine sons, each different from one another. Just by looking at these distant relatives, you can already tell them apart. From now on, he'll need to carefully distinguish between them and see if he can find a few who can follow him in his struggles.