Volume 9, Chapter 631 – Clues About the Jiang Clan Descendants (Part 3)

Mu Ruoyi didn’t dare delay. Her Soul Tether emerged from her body and instantly linked with the shadowy figure. The walnut tree’s memories began surging into her mind like an unstoppable tide.

Normally, when Mu Ruoyi used her spirit-linking technique, the memories she viewed always flowed backward, as if she were rewinding time. However, the walnut tree’s recent memories were all about the Liu family and held no real value. So, she quickly “fast-forwarded” further back until she reached the earliest section of memory, approximately forty years ago, and only then did she begin reviewing carefully from that point onward.

Mu Ruoyi skimmed quickly at first, but during the tree’s earliest two years of memory, she found nothing useful. As General Li had said, the Chen family were indeed descendants of loyal ministers from the previous dynasty. Though nearly a thousand years had passed, the household would occasionally discuss old stories of the fallen court, in secret of course.

It wasn’t until around thirty-five years ago that Mu Ruoyi finally found something worth noting.

That day, at noon, a ragged beggar knocked on the Chen family’s gates. His clothes were in tatters, his body filthy, but he carried a tightly wrapped, spotless bamboo basket.

One of the Chen family’s servants opened the door, only to frown in disgust upon seeing the beggar. “What do you want?” he barked.

“Brother, I haven’t eaten for five days now,” the beggar pleaded pitifully. “Could you spare me a bite of food?”

“Get lost! Who has extra food these days? If I feed you, what am I supposed to eat?” the servant snapped impatiently.

The beggar licked his cracked lips and carefully opened the basket, revealing a small infant, about a year old. He begged again: “Then… could you at least give some rice porridge to this child?”

The servant glanced down and saw the baby’s rosy cheeks and tiny fingers stuffed in her mouth, sucking adorably. Startled, he muttered, “This is strange. A beggar carrying around a baby? How are you supposed to feed it?”

“What can I do, big brother? I couldn’t abandon the child. A life’s a life, after all,” the beggar sighed helplessly.

“Where did you get this child?” the servant asked curiously.

“Found her on the road,” the beggar explained.

“Boy or girl?” the servant asked, a trace of hope flashing in his eyes. If it was a girl, he’d take her in himself; boys were nothing but a burden.

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“A boy, of course! If it were a girl, who would throw her away in times like these? Am I right?” the beggar replied.

“Whether boy or girl, just get out of here,” the servant said coldly, instantly losing interest.

“Ah Hua, what’s going on out there?”

At that moment, the Chen family’s master and his wife, having overheard the noise from the main hall, walked over.

“Master, it’s just a beggar. I’ll drive him off immediately,” Ah Hua responded quickly.

“Master, please!” the beggar shouted desperately. “Please save this child! ‘He’ hasn’t eaten in two or three days!”

“Shut it! Get lost right now!” Ah Hua roared and shoved the beggar roughly.

“Wait,” the master interrupted firmly. “Bring him inside.”

Ah Hua could only obey, leading the beggar into the courtyard.

“You mentioned a child just now?” the master asked.

“Yes,” the beggar said, repeating the explanation he had given earlier.

The Chen master and his wife approached to take a closer look. Indeed, inside the basket lay a baby around one year old. Though supposedly a “boy”, the child’s chubby, pink cheeks and delicate features made him irresistibly adorable.

“Poor thing,” Madam Chen sighed softly. “Such a sweet child… What kind of parents could be so cruel as to abandon you?”

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“It can’t be helped,” the master lamented. “In times like these, raising a son is too great a burden. The poor simply can’t afford it.”

“Even so, how could they just throw the child away? Flesh of their own flesh!” Madam Chen protested.

The master shook his head helplessly, then ordered the servants to fetch some steamed buns for the beggar and some porridge for the baby.

After finishing the porridge, the beggar didn’t leave. Instead, he suddenly dropped to his knees before the master and madam, bowing deeply. “Thank you, Master Chen, Madam Chen, for your kindness.”

“Get up,” the master said quickly, trying to pull him up. “It’s just a few buns; no need for this.”

But the beggar remained kneeling, pleading, “Master Chen, Madam Chen, I beg you… Please adopt this child. If he stays with me, he’ll starve to death sooner or later.”

“What?” the master frowned, clearly displeased by the audacity.

“Please,” the beggar begged, knocking his head against the ground. “Like Madam Chen said, this is a life we’re talking about!”

The master hesitated. He had already grown fond of the baby during this brief interaction.

“Husband,” Madam Chen said softly, her heart melting. “Why not agree? The poor thing has no one.”

“But our son is already in his twenties, nearly thirty, and still hasn’t settled down. If we adopt another boy this young, won’t he resent it?” the master asked worriedly.

“So you’d rather watch this child starve to death?” Madam Chen countered firmly.

The master paced back and forth, wrestling with the decision. Finally, gritting his teeth, he declared, “Alright… We’ll take the child in.”

“You’re wise, Husband,” Madam Chen said joyfully, praising him.

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“Thank you, Master Chen! Thank you, Madam Chen!” the beggar said, kowtowing repeatedly before leaving swiftly without lingering.

“This beggar has some dignity,” Madam Chen remarked, a hint of admiration in her tone. “Came quickly, left quickly, no pestering.”

“Alas,” the master sighed. “In a world this chaotic, even a man of dignity must end up a beggar.”

“Master, I’ll take the child inside to change his clothes,” Madam Chen said and hurried off with the baby in her arms.

The master nodded, then gazed at the lush walnut tree in the courtyard. “Walnut tree, oh walnut tree! May you thrive each year so this child can grow up healthy and plump beneath your shade.”

Inside, Madam Chen began removing the baby’s clothes. Normally, one standing in the courtyard couldn’t see inside, but thanks to the walnut tree’s branches extending toward the window, Mu Ruoyi could see everything clearly through her spirit-link.

Madam Chen removed the child’s tiny pants, and froze. Her breath caught in shock as she realized the infant wasn’t a boy at all, but a girl.

“How could this be…?”

Madam Chen’s face shifted from astonishment to unrestrained joy. Stumbling over herself, she ran to the hall and called out: “Husband! Husband! Come quickly!”

“What’s wrong?”

The master hurried in, puzzled.

“M-Master… she’s… she’s a girl, not a boy!” Madam Chen’s voice trembled with excitement.

“What?!”

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The master rushed inside, checked the baby himself, and was stunned to discover the truth.

“Good heavens…” he muttered, frozen in place.

“Who would’ve thought!” Madam Chen exclaimed in delight. “A girl! We’re truly blessed, the heavens reward good deeds!”

But the master’s brows remained furrowed, unease clouding his face. “This doesn’t add up. Why would she be a girl?”

“What do you mean, Master?” Madam Chen asked, confused.

“Think carefully,” the master said gravely. “Girls are incredibly precious in times like these. Even if the beggar wanted to sell her, he could’ve gotten several hundred taels of silver. Why would he be reduced to begging on the streets instead?”

“Perhaps he’s a good man,” Madam Chen suggested hesitantly. “Maybe he couldn’t bring himself to commit such a heartless act.”

“Even so,” the master countered, “why lie to us? If he’d told us upfront she was a girl, we’d have been far more likely to adopt her. Why beg so desperately?”

Madam Chen thought for a moment, her brows furrowing. Clearly, she too sensed that something about this situation was deeply wrong.

The master fell silent and began rifling through the basket. Soon, he found a folded slip of paper tucked inside a torn piece of cloth.

He unfolded it, and his eyes widened instantly, veins reddening with fear.

“What is it?”

Madam Chen leaned in to look, and her body began trembling violently.