The Mute Wife Who Brings Prosperity-Chapter 577 - 544: The Origin of the Jade Pendant

Tang Yuan pulled his nephew into a secluded small side courtyard, where there were only two wide-mouthed water jars, and perhaps because the place was small and remote, there wasn’t a single person in sight.

Tang Yuan stopped and looked at his little nephew. The side of his face that had been hit was already swollen high, and his nose was twitching, looking very pitiful.

After all, he’s still just a four-year-old child who understands nothing.

Tang Yuan felt remorseful for being too harsh. He slowly squatted down, gently wiped the tear tracks at the corner of his eye with his fingertip, and said in an extremely gentle voice, "Yongyong, your second uncle shouldn’t have treated you like that earlier. How about I apologize to you?"

Tang Yong stepped back a bit, clearly traumatized by the beating and somewhat frightened of him.

Tang Yuan had never lacked patience with Jiang Qingyu and Tang Yong. He held his nephew’s soft little hand, "Tell your second uncle, have you said anything to Second Granny these days? Or has she asked you anything?"

Tang Yong shook his head.

He didn’t say, he didn’t say anything at all.

His second uncle had warned him before, if he dared to say even a word, he would be sent away to another place.

"If it wasn’t you who spoke, then why would she know about your mother and me..." Tang Yuan’s gaze was suspicious.

He trusted Qingyu, but Tang Yong was only four years old, and children were the least resistant to temptation. If the Xu Family promised him some benefits, there was no guarantee Yongyong wouldn’t inadvertently spill something he shouldn’t.

The thought that Xu Jia might know, and thus the whole capital might find out, gave Tang Yuan a headache. He looked at his little nephew with a helpless gaze.

He took a deep breath and stood up, "Come, let’s go find Second Granny."

...

Elsewhere, Xu Jia was walking leisurely and encountered a few familiar women along the way, stopping to greet them.

Although Ah Gui was just a servant, he was still considered a guest to the Song family. Therefore, even if the other servants were too busy to touch the ground, he could still afford to be especially idle.

Taking advantage of his master’s break, Ah Gui came out to see the grand occasion of the banquet at the Song Mansion. After walking a short distance, he saw a woman ahead dressed in a water-red embroidered white plum jacket and skirt, talking with someone beside her. A faint golden forehead decoration was vaguely visible on her brow, different from the usual kind. It was made by catching a dragonfly, removing its wings, lightly painting them with gold, then cutting and pasting them on the forehead, shimmering beautifully with every move, and her light makeup and peachy face made her unforgettable.

Ah Gui stood still, shocked, and instinctively reached into his arms to take out the double-sided carved Blood Jade Pendant, clutching it in his palm.

At this moment, a low and calm voice suddenly came from diagonally behind him, "It’s been so many years, and you still haven’t returned the Jade Pendant?"

Startled, Ah Gui turned around, meeting Song Wei’s scrutinizing gaze. He shivered, "You... do you still remember me?"

Song Wei’s gaze fell on the Jade Pendant in his hand, "A few days ago, you intentionally dropped the Jade Pendant into the lotus pond, wasn’t it to make me recall what happened back then?"

It was before Song Wei got married, something he’d mostly forgotten. Just now, passing by and seeing Ah Gui standing there, holding that Jade Pendant, somehow reminded him of many years ago in Ningzhou, where a clumsy boy had secretly taken a Blood Jade Pendant off a little girl, and he had seen it.

Song Wei didn’t expose it on the spot but later blocked that boy in an alley, ordering him to return the Jade Pendant.

The boy who stole the Jade Pendant was Ah Gui now. Back then, he was quite young and, stealing for the first time, was inevitably scared when caught by an adult like Song Wei. So he clutched the Jade Pendant and fearfully returned, while the little girl who lost the Jade Pendant sat by the roadside, crying sadly.

Ah Gui hesitated for a long time. Just as he was about to cross the street to return the Jade Pendant to the little girl, she was taken away by a richly dressed woman.

Seeing Ah Gui in a daze, Song Wei followed his gaze and realized the person he was looking at was Xu Jia. Realizing something, Song Wei asked, "Why did you steal back then?"

Ah Gui lowered his head, "My mother was seriously ill, and we had no money for treatment. I was really desperate..."

Song Wei did not approve of his action, "You thought you had no other way out, so you stole from someone else. Do you realize they might have been driven to despair by losing something important to them?"

Ah Gui was speechless. He had been young then, with his mind full of ideas to gather money for his mother’s treatment, without thinking this far.

Song Wei asked him again, "What happened afterward? What about your mother?"

"She died from illness," Ah Gui answered.

Song Wei once more looked at the Blood Jade Pendant, "Since you didn’t return the Jade Pendant, why didn’t you pawn it to cope with emergencies?"

Ah Gui’s expression turned gloomy.

He did pawn it, but when he returned home with the silver, his mother had already passed before they could hire a doctor. Later, when he sold himself to the Xu Family, with the help of the young master, he redeemed the Jade Pendant. For all these years, he has never been able to forget the scene of that little girl crying by the roadside. He’s always wanted to return the Jade Pendant but didn’t know her name or where she lived, so he kept it with him for years.

This time, accompanying the young master to the capital, he unexpectedly found that the man of the house bore a striking resemblance to the man who caught him back then.

Several times, he wanted to directly ask Song Wei if he remembered him but feared he had the wrong person and would court disaster, so he deliberately dropped the Jade Pendant into the lotus pond.

As it turned out, he hadn’t been mistaken; Mr. Song was indeed the same gentleman from back then.

Returning to his senses, Ah Gui timidly asked, "Sir, do you still remember the appearance of that girl?"

"It’s been many years, and I can’t remember clearly," Song Wei shook his head, "Besides, even if I did remember, she’s grown up now, and her appearance must have changed from when she was a child."

"But I thought that lady looks very much like her." Ah Gui pointed towards Xu Jia, "I might not recognize her face, but I remember the forehead decoration between her brows. In all these years, I’ve never seen anyone else with the same."

With that, Ah Gui handed the Jade Pendant to Song Wei, "Please, sir, could you help me? I want to return this to her."

Song Wei said, "Actually, have you considered that after all these years, she might not need this Jade Pendant anymore? If you return it abruptly now, what if it affects her?"

"But it’s her thing." Ah Gui insisted.

Seeing his determination, Song Wei reached out to take the Jade Pendant and casually called over a passing maidservant, instructing gently, "Someone in the mansion found a Jade Pendant, suspected to be Second Granny Tang’s. Take it and give it to the madam, and in her name, please ask Second Granny Tang to come verify."

The maidservant understood, took the Jade Pendant, curtsied, and left quickly to Qingteng Residence to relay Song Wei’s instructions verbatim to Wen Wan.

Wen Wan had just finished bathing and changing, and was about to go out to entertain guests when she received the Blood Jade Pendant from the maidservant. She nodded and asked the maidservant to invite Xu Jia.

After the maidservant left, Wen Wan held the Jade Pendant up to the light for a closer look.

Having spent these years by Song Wei’s side, she’d learned a bit of skill, and she could see at a glance that this jade was an extraordinary piece. She hefted it in her palm and laughed, "If it really belongs to Little Sister Jia, then she’s indeed gained a treasure."

All the other servants in the courtyard had been sent out on errands, leaving only Yun Cai and the nanny to accompany Wen Wan.

Hearing this, Yun Cai responded, "Perhaps it’s part of Second Granny’s dowry."

Not yet certain if it was Xu Jia’s, Wen Wan made no comment.

...

Xu Jia and a few friends had moved to the pavilion, happily chatting when a young and pretty maidservant interrupted, "Second Granny, my lady is inviting you."

Xu Jia recognized this servant as from the Song Mansion, so their lady naturally referred to Wen Wan, who just finished her confinement.

It just so happened that Xu Jia wanted to see her too, so she nodded, bid her friends farewell, and followed the young maid to Qingteng Residence.

Wen Wan sat by the cradle, singing a tune for Qi Bao.

When Xu Jia entered, she heard it and teasingly said, "Your precious gem has such grandeur, an extravagant month-old feast. Even a Royal Princess might not receive such attention." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Wen Wan turned her head, smiled, and invited Xu Jia to sit, then replied, "You’ve been here long enough; haven’t you seen through it yet? Those guests aren’t here for my daughter; they’re just picking a day to visit us for something new."

Before, having seen the improved mechanical beast, Xu Jia understood Wen Wan referred to it and raised her brows, saying, "If that were in our house, it might not have such a spectacle. It boils down to Mr. Song’s capabilities."

Wen Wan waved her hand, "Let’s not talk about that. I have something to show you."

With that, she took the Blood Jade Pendant from a box behind her and handed it to Xu Jia.

Seeing the Jade Pendant, Xu Jia was taken aback, "This... how does the lady have it?"

Wen Wan explained truthfully, "A servant handed it to me earlier, saying it was picked up in the mansion, suspected to be a guest’s belongings, possibly yours. So I asked someone to invite you over to have a look."

"Picked up just now?" Xu Jia murmured to herself, then said, "I used to have an identical one when I was younger, given to me by my grandmother on her deathbed. But I lost it carelessly. If this one was just found in the mansion, it might not be mine."