Chapter 15: Red-crowned Crane

As soon as the topic of having children was brought up, Meng Huan felt motivated. In the past, Wen Zhaoyin was too dominant during that act, and he would slightly resist to maintain his dignity.

Now he completely follows her preferences, sometimes even shedding a few tears to cooperate. Gradually, he has become accustomed to that way of doing it.

If he were asked to take control throughout the process like before, he certainly couldn’t do it. That would be too tiring. It’s better to just lie there obediently and enjoy it like now.

Sometimes forming habits can be scary. Meng Huan didn’t even notice he was changing, but he would subconsciously control his volume when speaking, not use foul language, and not take steps that were too large when walking.

When a person stays in an environment for a long time, they will be assimilated.

Meng Huan occasionally asked Wen Zhaoyin about his status. According to Wen Xi’s explanation, status was very important for men in ancient times. 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 matriarchal woman. She wouldn’t not understand these things.

She only said that she had her own considerations and told him not to worry, that he would have everything he should have.

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

—

When he had nothing to do, he would go for walks. The Wen family estate was quite large, with an architectural style similar to Suzhou gardens. Every few steps presented a new scene, and without a familiar person to guide you, it was easy to get lost.

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

Upon hearing the word “embezzle,” the latter hurriedly waved his hands, shaking his head so much it seemed it might fall off. “Impossible, impossible, the family head is an upright official.”

“I haven’t been in the mansion for long, but I’ve heard people say that our Wen family wasn’t originally here. This was the residence of a great corrupt official. Later, when the old family head returned victorious from the battlefield, Her Majesty personally bestowed it upon our Wen family.”

So the grandeur here had nothing to do with the Wen family; it was all left by the previous owner.

“Oh, I see.”

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 had heard there was a pond left by the previous owner there, with some fish and waterfowl. He wanted to go see it.

“Squawk—”

“Squawk squawk—”

Before they even reached the place, he and Wen Xi could hear bird calls in the distance, though they didn’t know what kind of birds they were.

Wen Xi boldly guessed, “I’ve heard that the previous corrupt official raised many rare birds and beasts. After the confiscation, those birds and beasts were left unattended, and most of them starved to death. But some half-dead ones remained, including a few cranes.”

He had heard this mentioned by an elder in the mansion by chance, but he didn’t know if it was true. He had only heard it in passing at the time, and since the place he was in was too far from this area and he didn’t know the exact location, he hadn’t thought about sneaking over to take a look.

Meng Huan quickened his pace, feeling very excited.

“Squawk—”

“Hahaha, Little White, call out! If you call, I’ll give you shrimp to eat!”

This time, a child’s small voice could be heard. The clear, crisp voice of a child responding to the bird’s call made people smile involuntarily upon hearing it.

He went around a rockery, and suddenly the view opened up before him. Lotus leaves stretched as far as the eye could see, reeds swayed gently in the wind, and small pavilions and bamboo houses were scattered about. The scene was incredibly beautiful.

A girl about six or seven years old stood outside a small pavilion. Behind her were two servants carrying bamboo baskets, and a teenage boy kneeling on one knee, carefully adjusting her collar.

She smiled innocently, not minding that the young man was meticulously fixing her collar. She turned her head, reached into the bamboo basket to grab a handful of shrimp, and then threw them to several red-crowned white cranes in front of her.

“It’s a red-crowned crane!” Meng Huan was stunned for a moment, not expecting the crane Wen Xi mentioned to be a red-crowned crane. This bird was quite rare. In modern times, it would be a protected species. He had only seen them on his phone before.

Hearing his voice, the girl looked over. She tilted her head, then began to stand on tiptoe and wave at Meng Huan.

“Oh my, this little girl is interesting. Whose child is this?” Meng Huan nodded at her and started walking towards her.

Wen Xi followed closely behind him, also unsure. “I don’t know, but I’ve heard that the family head has a six-year-old daughter. However, we humble servants have never seen the young mistress.”

“Family head? Which family head? Wen Zhaoyin’s daughter?” Meng Huan suddenly turned back.

Wen Xi was startled by him, his voice growing weaker, “It should be, but I’m not certain.”

Wen Zhaoyin had a child with someone else? Meng Huan’s eyes darted around, suddenly feeling a bit unhappy. But thinking carefully, he realized it was reasonable. She was in her twenties after all, it was normal for her to have had men before.

It would be abnormal if she hadn’t had any men, he should think more openly. After all, in modern times, you can’t expect every girlfriend to be your first love. But he didn’t like women with too much romantic experience.

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

“The Late Husband passed away before this servant entered the mansion. Fearing that the family head would be heartbroken, the Zu Jun ordered everyone in the mansion not to mention it.”

“He’s deceased?” After hearing this, Meng Huan’s heart was in turmoil, not knowing whether to feel relieved, regretful, or even a bit sad.

If that man were still here, would Wen Zhaoyin still…

He quickly shook his head, trying to shake off these strange speculations. There are no “what ifs.” Why was he starting to become so indecisive?

“Young master, please be a bit more polite to the young mistress, to avoid displeasing the family head,” Wen Xi said. Although he had never seen her, he had heard that family head Wen Zhaoyin extremely doted on her only daughter.

Meng Huan raised an eyebrow, “How could I possibly mistreat a child? Don’t worry.”

As the two of them walked over, the little girl had just finished wiping her hands clean and was sitting on a stone bench in the pavilion waiting for them.

Before they could speak, the little girl asked first: “Which family’s young master are you? How come I haven’t seen you in the mansion before?”

There were many servants and attendants in the Wen mansion that she hadn’t seen, but Meng Huan was clearly dressed differently from those people. He was wearing the same fabric as her, which indicated that Meng Huan’s status was not ordinary.

“Who am I? Little one, 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 delicately carved jade 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 towards the red-crowned cranes. “Are these birds yours? Do you know what they’re called?”

However, Wen Shu wasn’t so easily distracted. She clung to the previous question, “You still haven’t said which family’s young master you are, and what you’re doing in our Wen family.”

Meng Huan was startled, awkwardly thinking about how to respond. He couldn’t just directly say he was her mother’s lover, could he? He should be more proper in front of a child.

Wen Xi, standing to the side, wanted to say something, but then he remembered that the young master currently had no official status, so there was no way to introduce him. He stood there, also feeling a bit anxious.

It was the teenage boy standing behind Wen Shu who rescued them both. He bent down and whispered a few words in her ear, and her expression immediately showed understanding.

“Oh, so you’re mother’s xiao jun.”

Xiao jun was a term for a concubine, not quite accurate in this context, but no one corrected her mistake.

After learning of his identity, Wen Shu wasn’t as enthusiastic as before, but she didn’t show her dislike on her face. Instead, she simply said, “That bird is a red-crowned crane. I rescued it.”

“I haven’t finished the homework that my teacher left for me. If xiao jun wants to play with my cranes, go ahead. I need to go back to practice calligraphy. You can have these leftover shrimp too.”

After she finished speaking, she gestured for the servants to place the two bamboo baskets on the stone table, then gracefully walked away, holding the young man’s hand for support.