“Right. Let’s get back to what we were talking about. What signature was my aunt talking about?” asked Feng Wu.
Uncle Qiu answered the question.
“That’s a long story.” Uncle Qiu smiled bitterly. “A lot happened after you left, Miss Wu. Granny Zhao and I managed to stop most of them, but there were things that we couldn’t do anything about.
“Your third uncle, who took office in the south, came back to the imperial capital last month. Ever since Lady Gu’s return, we’ve been having a lot of trouble at home.
“Miss Wu, Lady Gu isn’t a nice person. Be careful.”
Feng Wu nodded. “And then?”
Uncle Qiu said, “I’m running errands outside most times, and Granny Zhao takes care of domestic affairs. I think she should be the one to tell you everything.”
Feng Wu then turned to Granny Zhao.
Granny Zhao sighed. “Lady Gu was very warm at first and would visit us from time to time. Although your mother never talked, she didn’t seem to mind it at all.
“With time, my lady let her guard down. Lady Gu’s son came with her one time, and to be honest, he’s a very spoiled child. He ran around the house the whole time, and wanted everything he laid his eyes on. If he couldn’t have it, he would start shouting and crying.
“That time, he wanted something from your room. It was a set of 18 figurines.” Granny Zhao gestured at Feng Wu’s room.
Feng Wu searched her memory.
She recalled that the set had been a gift from Yu Mingye when he left the imperial capital.
It had been a moonless night when he left. He had patted her shoulder and beamed at her. “Xiao Wu, you’re meant to be my wife. Don’t get too close to Jun Linyuan, alright? Keep your distance!”
“Get lost!” Feng Wu glared at him.
Yu Mingye rubbed his nose and mumbled, “You never believe me when I tell you the truth.”
It had been very windy, and Feng Wu didn’t hear him. “What did you say?”
Yu Mingye looked at her sadly, and he sighed when he saw the confused look on her face. He had then tossed something at her. “Take it.”
“What is it?” Feng Wu caught it and saw that it was a square box.
Yu Mingye grunted. “One day, you’ll know that I’m the best!”
He then jumped off the wall and disappeared into the night.
Feng Wu called after him.
But her voice was lost in the night wind.
When she opened the box, she saw that it was a set of clay figurines.
They were all the size of her fingers.
Feng Wu had counted and saw that there were 18 of them.
“Miss Wu?” Seeing that Feng Wu was lost in thought, Granny Zhao waved her hand in front of her face.
Feng Wu looked at her.
Granny Zhao asked, “Miss Wu, are you alright?”
Feng Wu nodded and said, “Keep going.”
Granny Zhao nodded and went on.
