The Slender Waist-Chapter 606 - 437 Mother’s Past_2
"Without your mother, there would have been no Ni Rong in this world, nor would there have been the lady of the castle master today, just a tragic death beneath Tu Mountain... a lonely and wild ghost."
Ni Rong, that was Lady Tu’s maiden name, right?
Feng Yun gave a slight smile, noticing she had omitted some inconvenient truths, but it didn’t concern her mother, so she didn’t ask.
"How long did my mother live on Tu Mountain?"
Lady Tu said, "Three years."
She didn’t hesitate, her words were firm and decisive. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Feng Yun was somewhat surprised, "Three years?"
She had never heard about this before.
Lady Tu nodded.
"She left the day after my wedding without saying goodbye. During those three years, we lived together at Tu Family Fort, sharing our lives, our meals and our rooms, it was very happy, ah, those were the happiest three years of my life..."
Feng Yun’s eyes glistened, "Really?"
Lady Tu knew she wanted to hear more, so she smiled, nodded.
"What we experienced at Tu Family Fort, those were the days the former me had never dared to dream of... Your mother was incredibly intelligent, yet she acted with great humility. She taught me many things—the same things you saw on Tu Mountain, but she forbade me from telling others, as they came from her..."
After finishing, she laughed softly again.
"But that visit to the smelting workshop at the fort, she couldn’t help herself and gave a few pointers, which immediately caused a huge shock to two craftsmen, who insisted on coming to her doorstep, kneeling down to beg her to take them as her disciples..."
"And then?"
"Your mother, fearful of being discovered, reluctantly agreed. She really was a good person, always willing to share her knowledge with those who genuinely sought her help."
Feng Yun faintly remembered her first visit to Tu Family Fort, where those quite proud old craftsmen showed deep reverence when they mentioned their master...
Could it be that the master whom craftsmen respectfully spoke of, the one who amazed Feng Yun at Tu Family Fort with her exceptional talent... was actually her own mother?
No wonder...
She felt that some of the items at Tu Family Fort bore a striking resemblance to those mentioned in the books left by her mother...
Lady Tu said, "Those things that left you in endless praise, actually all owe their existence to your mother..."
Feng Yun received confirmation, yet her heart filled not with joy, but with regret and sorrow.
Why did such a wonderful mother marry Feng Jingteng?
If she could choose, Feng Yun would rather have no place in this world and would have her mother choose a better man, avoiding a leap into the fire pit...
Lady Tu’s eyes were brimming with nostalgia, "Your mother’s virtues, character, and talent were truly beyond reproach..."
As she spoke, it seemed she recalled something amusing, the corner of her lips curling slightly.
"Back then when Old Tu took a liking to me, I was utterly at a loss. Your mother was incomparably beautiful, far beyond the likes of an ordinary woman like me, I suspected Old Tu had gone blind, or had other motives..."
Feng Yun began to laugh, a sparkle in her eye.
She could no longer clearly remember her mother’s face.
The original portraits in the house had all been burned after Chen Family’s arrival.
Year after year, the image of her mother in Feng Yun’s mind gradually faded...
She was too young then, too young to have any power to resist...
"Later, I asked old Tu," Lady Tu spoke warmly, her voice becoming increasingly gentle, "I said, I am but an orphan girl, lacking in everything, inferior to her in every way, why would the young castle master abandon the bright moon for a mere firefly?"
Feng Yun smiled, "What did the Tu Fort Master say?"
Lady Tu tugged at her lips and chuckled.
"He said, your mother was perfect in every way, but he didn’t deserve her, didn’t dare to harbor any hopes. He also said your mother acted strangely, not like ordinary people, and he didn’t dare to get close... Oh, he was so naive and foolish back then, and even blind..."
Talking about the past made Lady Tu’s face beam with sweetness and happiness.
It was clear that she was very satisfied with marrying Tu Boshan and becoming the mistress of the Tu Family Fort.
Feng Yun said, "Then my mother... in those three years, besides teaching you and taking on two older disciples, she didn’t do anything else? She never mentioned going home? Not even her real name or identity?"
"Never," said Lady Tu, "Your mother was very mysterious. She was different from ordinary people."
Mysterious?
It was the first time Feng Yun heard someone describe her deceased mother as such and found it incredibly fitting.
Wasn’t it mysterious?
There was an aura of unknown mystery about her mother in every aspect.
Lady Tu continued, "Initially, she only said her name was Ping Feng, and due to accidentally falling into the water and being frightened, she had completely lost her memory. Later, she said she must be from Fanyang, hailing from a family of scholars..."
Lady Tu couldn’t help but sigh when she mentioned this.
"She remembered bit by bit, occasionally recalling something and telling me a little more. The last time, she said that her ancestors were from a great family that had migrated southward early, but her predecessors missed the opportunity to win the emperor’s favor. By her father’s generation, things worsened as he was exiled to Yiyang for an official post... Her mother took her brothers with her, leaving her alone at home..."
Feng Yun asked, "And then?"
Lady Tu said, "I was happy for her when I heard her recalling her family history, so I offered to accompany her home to look for her relatives. Unexpectedly, she declined. She also said that without her parents by her side, not being particularly favored by her grandparents, she didn’t enjoy life in the manor and preferred living a refined life in the mountains, letting them worry a bit..."
She sighed, "It’s strange when I think about it, your mother was two years younger than me, yet she was so decisive. I believed her words and spent days frolicking with her on Tu Mountain, never once suspecting she might deceive me...
Until later, when she left a letter and disappeared without a goodbye. I asked the young castle master to search for her everywhere to no avail, and even went to Fanyang myself, but sadly, there was no family with the surname Ping, no young lady named Ping Feng, nor a place called Yiyang...
Only then did I realize that everything she said was a fabrication."
"She didn’t deceive you," Feng Yun lowered her eyes, her gaze deep and distant, "My mother’s childhood name was Fengfeng. My maternal grandparents indeed took my uncles and left their homeland, never to return."
Lady Tu, astonished, "It’s really true?"
Feng Yun nodded.
Lady Tu said, "I’ve been troubled by this for many years, and to think it was actually like this... She didn’t deceive me..."
Feng Yun said, "No, she didn’t."
Her mother’s marriage was arranged by her grandmother, and her entry into the Feng Family relied solely on an ancient marriage arrangement and Feng Jingteng being smitten by her looks.
It’s said that when Feng Jingteng visited the Lu Family, he originally intended to break off the engagement, but upon seeing Lu Sanniang, he instantly regretted it. Without having time to go home and inform his parents, he used the gifts intended for an apology to propose instead, and with his charm, he managed to make the old Lady Lu beam with delight, thus winning his bride...
This story was often related as an amusing anecdote,
but the three years her mother lived on Tu Mountain, Feng Yun had never heard anyone mention...
It seemed unbelievable to her.
At that time, what exactly had happened to her mother to make her take refuge at the Tu Family Fort for three years, or was it for some other reason? Lady Tu didn’t know, nor could Feng Yun inquire further...
"That letter, I’ve kept it too, tucked inside those two notebooks," Lady Tu said this and suddenly looked at Feng Yun, "I don’t know whether I should show it to you or not..."
