Chapter 15: Red-crowned Cranes

“So you’re my mother’s concubine.”

When it came to having children, Meng Huan felt very motivated. Before, Wen Zhaoyin was too domineering during sex, and he would slightly resist for the sake of his dignity.

Now he completely went along with her fetish, sometimes even shedding a few tears to cooperate. Gradually, he got used to doing it that way.

If he had to take full control like before, he definitely wouldn’t be able to do it. It was too tiring. It was better to just lie there obediently and enjoy it like now.

Sometimes forming habits was scary. Meng Huan didn’t even notice that he was changing, but he would subconsciously control his volume when speaking, not say dirty words, and not take too big of steps when walking.

When a person stayed in an environment for a long time, they would be assimilated.

Meng Huan occasionally asked Wen Zhaoyin about his status. According to Wen Xi, status was very important to ancient men. Why did she like him but was unwilling to give him even this?

He was a modern person, so naturally he didn’t care, but Wen Zhaoyin was a true female-dominant woman. She couldn’t not understand these things.

But she only said that she had her own considerations and told him not to be anxious, that he would have what he should have.

What kind of answer was this? It was so ambiguous that people couldn’t figure out the meaning. Meng Huan wanted to ask more specifically, but the topic was changed again.

—

When he had nothing to do, he would walk around. The Wen family was still very big. The architectural style was a bit like Suzhou gardens. Every few steps was a scenery. Without a familiar person leading the way, it was easy to get lost.

“Wen Xi, do you think Wen Zhaoyin embezzled a lot of money to build the Wen family so beautifully?” He liked to tease Wen Xi when he had nothing to do.

Hearing the word “embezzle”, the latter hurriedly waved his hands, shaking his head so much that it might fall off. “Impossible, impossible. The family head is an honest official.”

“This servant hasn’t been in the manor for long, but I’ve also heard those people say that our Wen family wasn’t originally here. This was the residence of a big corrupt official. Later, when the old family head returned victorious from the battlefield, Her Majesty personally awarded it to our Wen family.”

So the luxury here had nothing to do with the Wen family. It was all left by the previous owner.

“So that’s how it is.”

Meng Huan looked at the buildings along the way. He had wandered around the west side a few days ago, so today he planned to walk towards the east. He heard that there was a pond left by the previous owner, with some fish and waterfowl. He might as well go take a look.

“Caw–”

“Caw caw–”

Before they reached the place, he and Wen Xi heard the distant cries. Who knew what kind of bird it was.

Wen Xi boldly guessed, “I heard that the previous corrupt official raised many rare birds and beasts. After his family was seized, more than half of those birds and beasts died from starvation due to lack of care, but there were still some half-dead ones left, including a few cranes.”

He had also occasionally heard the elders in the manor mention it, not knowing if it was true or false. At that time, he only heard it in passing. Because the place he was at was too far from here, and he didn’t know the specific location, he didn’t think of sneaking over to take a look.

Meng Huan quickened his pace, feeling especially expectant in his heart.

“Caw–”

“Hahaha, Little White, hurry and call! Call and I’ll give you shrimp to eat!”

This time, a child’s soft voice came, and the clear childish tone responded to the bird’s cry, making people smile involuntarily when they heard it.

He walked around a rockery, and his eyes suddenly opened wide. Lotus leaves stretched to the sky, and reeds swayed gently in the wind. There were also small pavilions and bamboo houses scattered in between. The scene was simply beautiful.

A girl about six or seven years old stood outside the small pavilion. Behind her followed two attendants carrying bamboo baskets, as well as a half-grown boy kneeling on one knee, tidying her collar.

She laughed innocently and brightly, not even caring that the boy was meticulously fixing her collar. She turned her head and reached into the bamboo basket to grab a handful of shrimp, then threw it to the few red-crowned white cranes in front.

“They’re red-crowned cranes!” Meng Huan was stunned for a moment. He didn’t expect the cranes Wen Xi mentioned to be red-crowned cranes. This bird was not commonly seen. In modern times, it was a protected animal. He had only seen it on his phone.

Hearing his voice, the girl looked this way. She tilted her head, then stood on tiptoe and waved at Meng Huan.

“Oh, this little girl is interesting. Whose child is this?” Meng Huan nodded at her and walked over.

Wen Xi followed closely behind him, also a little uncertain. “This servant doesn’t know, but I heard that the family head has a six-year-old daughter. It’s just that we humble ones have never seen the young miss.”

“Family head, which family head? Wen Zhaoyin’s daughter?” Meng Huan suddenly turned his head.

Wen Xi was startled by him, and his voice weakened. “It should be, but I’m not sure.”

Wen Zhaoyin had also given birth to a child with someone else? Meng Huan’s eyes turned, and he suddenly felt a little unhappy, but after careful thought, he felt it was reasonable. She was in her twenties after all. It was normal to have had a man before.

If she hadn’t had a man before, that would be abnormal. He should be more open-minded. After all, in modern times, one couldn’t require every girlfriend to be their first love, but he didn’t like women with too much romantic experience.

He still slowed his pace. “Then where is this little girl’s father now? Is he still with Wen Zhaoyin?”

“The main husband passed away before this servant entered the manor. Fearing that it would sadden the family head, Patriarch Zu ordered everyone in the entire manor not to mention it.”

“Passed away?” After hearing this, Meng Huan’s heart was all over the place. He didn’t know whether to feel relieved, regretful, or a little sad.

If that man was still here, would Wen Zhaoyin be with him…

He quickly shook his head, shaking off this strange speculation. How could there be so many ifs? How did he start becoming so indecisive?

“Young sir, you should be more restrained towards the young miss, lest you anger the family head.” Although Wen Xi had never seen her, he had heard that the family head Wen Zhaoyin doted on her only daughter extremely.

Meng Huan raised his eyebrows. “How could I possibly not get along with a child? Don’t worry.”

The two walked over. Just in time, the little girl wiped her hands clean and sat on the stone bench in the cool pavilion waiting for them.

Without waiting for them to speak, the little girl asked first, “Which household’s husband are you? How come I’ve never seen you in the manor before?”

There were many servants and pages in the Wen manor that she hadn’t seen before, but Meng Huan was obviously dressed differently from those people. He used the same fabric as her, so she could tell that Meng Huan’s status was unusual.

“Who am I? Little friend, when asking others, you should introduce yourself first.”

“Introduce myself?”

“That means you should say your name first.”

The little girl’s embroidered eyebrows curved, and her pink jade-like little face was full of smiles. “My name is Wen Shu. What’s your name?”

After Meng Huan told her his name, he tried to steer the topic to the red-crowned cranes. “Are these birds yours? Do you know what they’re called?”

However, Wen Shu was not so easily fooled. She kept holding on to the previous question. “You still haven’t said which household’s husband you are and what you’re doing in our Wen family.”

Meng Huan was stunned for a moment, feeling awkward and thinking about how to say it. He couldn’t directly say that he was her mother’s lover, right? He should be more proper in front of a child.

Wen Xi stood to the side wanting to say something, but then he remembered that Young Sir currently had no status and simply couldn’t be introduced. He also felt a bit anxious standing there.

It was the half-grown boy standing behind Wen Shu who rescued the two of them. He bowed and whispered a few words in her ear, and she already understood.

“So you’re my mother’s concubine.”

“Concubine” was a term for a mistress, which was not very accurate here, but no one corrected her mistake.

After Wen Shu learned of his identity, she was no longer as enthusiastic as before, but she didn’t show her dislike on her face. Instead, she simply said, “Those birds are red-crowned cranes. I rescued them.”

“I still haven’t finished the lessons Madam left me. If you want to play with my cranes, go ahead. I need to go back to practice calligraphy. These remaining shrimp are also given to you.”

After she finished speaking, she gestured for the servants to put the two bamboo baskets on the stone table, and holding the boy’s hand, she left with flair.