Chapter 29: The Daughter of an Old Acquaintance

  Inside Yang's Mansion...

  "What nonsense! You damned little rascal, good-for-nothing son! Without even asking where they came from, you dare to bring people back home, are you trying to drive me to death?" Yang Ziting's roar was heard all the way outside the mansion on the main street, causing passersby to hurry by without daring to look around.

  In the main hall of the mansion, Yang Wenguan knelt down, lowering his head and not daring to make a sound, allowing Yang Ziting to scold him. When he heard the old master call himself a bastard, he whispered softly.

  Yang Ziting's ears perked up, and he asked in a low voice: "What are you muttering about? Speak louder."

  "Ch...child...I don't dare!" Yang Wenguan replied cautiously.

  "Hum! You dare to bring people home, what else don't you dare to do? Speak! Speak loudly!" Yang Ziting's anger was intense, his voice stern and authoritative, even Yun Qi, who was kneeling beside him, couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. What Yang Wenguang said earlier, the old master didn't hear, he really heard it clearly: You say I'm a little rabbit, but you gave birth to me, so you're an old rabbit too. Seeing Yang Ziting forcing Yang Wenguang to repeat what he said earlier, Yun Qi quickly intervened, "Old Master! Young Master was saying that you were right, Young Master knows his mistake!"

  Yang Ziting listened to Yun Qi's words and thought that Yang Wenguan had a change of heart, so his tone was slightly softer: "Is that so?"

  Yang Wenguan looked at Yun Qi with gratitude and hastily replied: "Yes, Father!"

  "Hmph! Set this matter aside for now, I'll settle the score with you later. Yun Qi, go bring that woman back to the young master and let me take a look."

  "Yes! Sir!"

  It's better to leave early, Yun Qi didn't want to kneel here anymore, feeling uncomfortable in his heart. His father had never punished him by making him kneel since he was a child, and had always taught him that a man has gold under his knees, only dying standing up, not kneeling down. Here, Yun Qi had knelt down just to follow the local customs, but now that he didn't have to kneel anymore, he quickly got up and went to call someone as Yang Ziting had instructed.

  Out of the hall, through the main courtyard, at the gate, he shouted to stop the woman and all the way reminded her to be careful with her words, etc., but the woman seemed not to have heard him either, only smiled slightly in gratitude towards him, and followed Yun Qi to the back of the hall. Yang Wenguan had also gotten up by this time, sitting on one side, his expression awkward, not daring to make a sound, it seemed that the old man's scolding still had quite an impact.

  When he saw the woman, Yang Ziting suddenly felt a sense of familiarity in his heart and couldn't help but ask: "Are you from the southern country? Where do you live? What's your name?"

  Suddenly, Yun Qi discovered that the weak and pitiful look on the woman's face had disappeared, replaced by a knowledgeable and reasonable demeanor, with the air of a noble lady from a powerful family. In a soft voice, she said: "Lord, my surname is Han, my name is Xue Xian, and I am from Huadu, South Country, where my ancestors have lived for generations."

  The old man was secretly shocked, and when he looked at the woman's eyebrows and eyes, they were indeed similar to that person. He then said: "Oh? You're surnamed Han? I wonder if you know the former Minister of Revenue Han Xiaochun?"

  When she heard the old man add a "previous" character before the word "Minister of the Household Department", the woman frowned, and a hint of sadness suddenly appeared between her eyebrows. After a long time, she said: "Han Xiaochun is indeed my father!"

  "Ah! You... you... are Han Xiaochun's daughter?" The old man had been prepared in his heart, but hearing the words from the woman's mouth still shocked him like a thunderbolt, and he dared not believe it.

  "Exactly!" The woman replied again.

  "Heaven's will... Heaven's will... Heaven's will!!!!" The old man repeated the phrase three times, each time louder than the last, and each time more sorrowful. By the end, his voice had cracked with emotion, and tears were streaming down his face. The woman seemed to be affected as well, and her own tears began to flow once again.

  "Child! Do you know who I am?" Yang Ziting asked excitedly, grasping the woman's shoulders.

  The girl shook her head.

  "This old man was a close friend of your father's, Yang Ziting!" The old man didn't mind that the woman didn't recognize him and after emphasizing "close friend", he introduced himself.

  "Ah! So it's you! You're the Grand Tutor Yang that my father always mentioned?" The woman was shocked.

  "It's really me!"

  "It was you. At that time, my father always said that Mr. Yang was a man of great learning and integrity, and he was one of the people my father admired most." The woman said excitedly.

  "They are just nominal, not true. But I, the old man, have great respect for your father! Your father dares to do and be, loyal to His Majesty, and is a clean official. What a pity, what a pity!"

  Yun Qi and Yang Wenguan widened their eyes, both feeling a bit confused in their hearts. According to the plot, it shouldn't have developed like this. Could it be that simply saving a woman on the side of the road would lead to such a relationship? This time, Yang Wenguan had done something right.

  When Yang Ziting mentioned his father, the woman couldn't help but burst into tears. The old man could only comfort her from the side, and during this time, he also asked someone to call Mrs. Yang and Yang Wenxin over, and introduced the woman to her family members. As soon as Mrs. Yang saw Han Xueyan, she took a liking to her, holding the girl's small hand and asking about her well-being with concern. Yang Wenxin, being of the same age and also a beauty, naturally didn't have any generation gap, and joined in on the conversation. Looking at the three women chatting away, Yun Qi felt like crying and laughing at the same time.

  Under the comfort of the two women, Han Xueyan finally stopped crying and began to tell everyone why she ended up in this place. Even Yun Qi listened with indignation, as if he wanted to avenge the woman by going to her family's doorstep.

  It turned out that Han Xueyan's father, Han Xiaochun, was an honest and upright official, who was the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue at that time, with a rank of Grade 1. He often scolded Wu Weiren, the left prime minister, on the court for his unscrupulous tactics, thinking every day about how to extort money from the people and accumulate wealth and power, until he was eventually persecuted.

  One day after the morning court session, outside the imperial court, Han Xiao Chun was still chasing after Wu Wei Ren, scolding him loudly for being an unscrupulous official who took bribes and colluded with others to sell official positions. The latter's face turned black with anger, but he didn't bother to argue back and directly got into his sedan chair and left. That night, Han Xiao Chun was poisoned to death in the mansion, and it wasn't until the next morning that he was discovered.

  Afterwards, the Han family lost its pillar of support and became dispirited. Han Xiao Chun had two sons and one daughter before his death, just like Yang Zi Ting. His two sons were already married and living in the mansion, while his 18-year-old daughter, Han Xue Yan, was still unmarried and living at home. According to the customs of that era, women would come of age at 16 and then get married, but Han Xue Yan was strong-willed and insisted on only marrying someone she liked.

  Han Xiao Chun may have been a stubborn and hot-tempered person in court, but he doted on Han Xue Yan at home and indulged her every whim. A few months later, the two brothers of the Han family began to reveal their intentions to divide the household. The family was already in decline, with no one left in the imperial court, and guarding such a large mansion seemed pointless.

  Han Furen, who was getting on in years, tried her best to stop them but was powerless to do so. She spent her days sighing and eventually died of depression. Han Xue Yan's heart turned cold, and she thought of her father's younger brother, her second uncle, who lived in the south. She had met him when she was young, and his family had been very fond of her.

  With this thought in mind, Han Xue Yan made up her mind to leave. She packed some clothes, took some money that Yang Furen had left behind, and set off on the road to the south.

  Arriving at the south, she found her second uncle's house that day, but after understanding Han Xueyan's intention, they first pretended to be polite and then gave reasons why their family was also poor and had no power to take care of another person. Han Xueyan was smart and knew what they meant, but being in a foreign land, she had no way out and could only beg again, only to be coldly rejected. At this time, she finally understood that her second uncle's family had been good to her before because Han Xiaochun was an official in the capital at that time and had favors to ask of people, but now they showed their true face. While feeling the warmth and coldness of human relationships in the world, she looked for a place to settle down. Later, thinking she had met a good person, she was actually cheated and sold into a brothel. Han Xueyan thought about dying many times, but with a great hatred, she could only live a life of hiding and thievery. First, her money and belongings were taken away, and after several days of uneventful life, the madam began to demand that Han Xueyan receive guests, but the latter refused strongly. Finally, finding an opportunity, she secretly ran out, which led to the scene where Yun Qi and Yang Wenguan rescued her.

  "Ah, I see." Yun Qi listened and silently memorized the name of the brothel in his heart. He couldn't understand why he was deeply impressed by this woman at first sight, and he always wanted to do something for her. Although he had also been infatuated with Yang Wenqin before, that was just a common reaction when men met beautiful women. But this time it was different, Yun Qi only wanted to protect Han Xueyan, wanting her to stay by his side forever. This feeling, Yun Qi had experienced it once before, on another girl - his past life's lover: Xiao Ting!

  ………………

  Here is the translation:

  "Presenting today's first update!!!! If you support it, I won't say much. Everyone can decide for themselves..."