Liu Ming'an was fishing, and with great success.
The wooden bucket he and Zhou Yi had brought was already full of fish of various sizes, including a turtle.
Throughout the afternoon, Liu Ming'an repeated the motions of casting and reeling, gradually discovering the joy of fishing.
When he came to his senses, the sky had already darkened. Liu Ming'an looked up and realized it was already dusk.
"Brother Zhou, I need to head home. Are you going to keep fishing?" Liu Ming'an asked Zhou Yi as he put away his fishing rod.
Zhou Yi had his fill of fun, and with the darkness setting in, it was getting chilly to sit there. So he stood up as well, saying, "I'm done too. Let's go home!"
The two men walked back carrying a bucket of fish. Zhou Yi belatedly realized that he hadn't eaten dinner yet.
But that wasn't the main issue.
The key problem was that he had inadvertently caused Liu Ming'an to miss dinner at home too!
"Brother Liu, will your wife be angry if you return home at this hour?" Zhou Yi asked, feeling a bit embarrassed. He didn't know what kind of relationship Liu Ming'an and Jiang Ning had, but in his own home, if his father did something like this, he'd be sleeping in the guest room that night.
Liu Ming'an smiled reassuringly at Zhou Yi, "It's alright, Jiang Ning is very understanding."
Most importantly, Jiang Ning was going out tonight, so there would be no one at home.
As Liu Ming'an thought about this, he sighed inwardly, looking up at the bright moon in the sky, his heart filling with an indescribable worry.
He hoped that Jiang Ning would be safe and successful, Liu Ming'an thought.
The two walked along Jinse Street for a while, chatting casually now and then. At a certain point, Liu Ming'an suddenly spotted a familiar figure in his line of sight.
It was that old lady who had mistaken him for someone else!
Liu Ming'an immediately recognized the confused elderly woman. She was still dressed in simple but neat attire. At this moment, she was standing alone at the corner where they had met yesterday, holding a paper package, looking as lost as a child, with a clearly sorrowful expression on her face.
Liu Ming'an's heart tightened. He handed his fishing rod to Zhou Yi, saying, "Brother Zhou, let's part ways here. I have something to attend to. We'll meet again another day."
"Huh? I was planning to share half the fish with you," Zhou Yi looked at Liu Ming'an in surprise.
"No need, Jun Yue Restaurant is close by, you can take them all there," Liu Ming'an said. He waved goodbye to Zhou Yi and started walking towards the old lady.
Zhou Yi assumed he was just in a hurry to get home and didn't think much of it. He took the rod and the bucket, turned his steps, and headed down a small alley connecting Xichun Road and Jinse Street.
"Old Madam Lou, why are you here alone?" Liu Ming'an asked as he stopped beside the old lady.
Yesterday, that Mr. Lou had called her "grandmother," so clearly this elderly lady must be the wife of the old Grand Preceptor.
The old lady's gaze was vacant, just like yesterday, and she didn't seem to hear Liu Ming'an's question.
Liu Ming'an used the same trick as before, waving his hand in front of the old lady's eyes to attract her attention.
"Old Madam Lou, where are your maids and servants? Why aren't they with you—"
Before he could finish, the old lady's hand, like a withered tree branch, grabbed onto Liu Ming'an's sleeve. Her cloudy eyes suddenly filled with tears.
"Qingzhi!" the old lady called out with deep emotion.
"Ah~ You've mistaken me for someone else again," Liu Ming'an smiled helplessly.
"Qingzhi, mother bought you some sugar-coated nuts, look..." The old lady raised her other hand, offering the paper package to Liu Ming'an, her face showing a hopeful and pleading expression. "Won't you stay? Won't you come home with me?"
Liu Ming'an was taken aback. He looked at the package of sweets, then at the old lady's silver hair, wrinkled face, and her old, dim eyes. He understood this was a mother's deep longing for her child, and felt a surge of sympathy.
Liu Ming'an reached out and took a piece of candy from the package, putting it in his mouth. The sugar-coated nuts had a filling made of crushed peanuts, walnuts, melon seeds, and almonds, covered with a layer of sugar, fried in oil, sprinkled with white sesame seeds, and rolled in soybean flour. It was crispy, sweet, and fragrant in his mouth.
"Is it good? You used to love these the most. I went to that special shop to buy them," the old lady said through her tears, but with a smile that revealed a hint of bitterness and heartache.
"It's delicious," Liu Ming'an answered with a smile, and saw the old lady immediately light up like a child.
"Then come home with me. I'll buy them for you every day," she said.
Before Liu Ming'an could say anything more, the old lady urgently tugged at his sleeve, pulling him in another direction. She held on tightly, as if afraid he might break free.
Liu Ming'an had initially intended to stay with the old lady until her family came to find her, but he hadn't expected her to want to take him home.
"Old Madam, let's just wait here for a while..." he tried to say.
The old lady ignored him, muttering "home" over and over as she kept walking forward.
Well, I might as well escort her home, Liu Ming'an thought.
After all, Jiang Ning wasn't at home, and it was cold out with the wind picking up at night. He was worried about the old lady getting chilled.
So Liu Ming'an said no more, allowing the old lady to hold onto his sleeve while he moved forward to support her as they walked in the direction she wanted to go.
They walked through two long streets, leaving the bustling market behind. The number of stalls gradually decreased, and the restaurants and shops along the street were replaced by spacious, grand mansions.
Liu Ming'an remembered what Zhou Yi had said about the layout of the capital city. It could be roughly divided into four districts and eight streets. The four districts referred to the area closest to the imperial palace, divided into east, west, south, and north, where the wealthy and noble lived. The eight streets were outside the four districts, where ordinary citizens resided.
As Liu Ming'an followed the old lady, their surroundings became increasingly quiet. He realized they must have entered one of the four districts.
As they turned a corner, he saw two figures ahead who looked like maids, carrying lanterns and searching anxiously. When they spotted the pair, their eyes lit up, and they rushed over in a few quick steps.
"Old Madam!" The two maids, who looked about the same age as Liu Ming'an, were covered in sweat and out of breath as they approached.
They first cast a wary glance at Liu Ming'an, then reached out to support the old lady's other arm, trying to pull her to their side.
"Old Madam, you went out again without telling anyone. The Grand Preceptor, the Young Grand Preceptor, the Madam, and the Young Madam have all been worried sick. Even the Young Master keeps asking, 'Where has great-grandmother gone?' Oh dear..." One of the maids, with a round face, spoke in a slightly reproachful but gentle tone, her expression one of relief.
Seeing that the old lady's maids had found her, Liu Ming'an let go of her arm, intending to take his leave.
But as soon as he stepped back, he saw the old lady brush off the maids' hands and look at him pleadingly. "Qingzhi! Come home with mother, please. I'm begging you, come home..."
The two maids exchanged a glance, realizing that the old lady was once again mistaking someone for her lost son.
"Old Madam, he's not who you think he is. You're mistaken," the round-faced maid said, trying to support her again, but the old lady avoided her touch.
"Qingzhi, come home with mother!" Tears welled up in the old lady's eyes once more.
The round-faced maid was about to persuade her again when the thinner maid pulled her back. "Yan Cui, it's no use. Only the Grand Preceptor and the Young Grand Preceptor can convince her. We can't do it."
"Then what should we do, Hua Fei? Should I go call them out?" Yan Cui furrowed her brow, looking troubled at the scene before her.
As the two were considering what to do, the old lady suddenly seemed to regain her clarity and ordered them, "There's no need for you to call anyone. I'll go back myself. I want to tell them I've found Qingzhi."
With that, the old lady forcefully pulled Liu Ming'an towards a mansion. The two maids could only follow, trying to placate Liu Ming'an, "Sir, we're sorry for the trouble. Please don't worry, once we reach the Grand Preceptor's Mansion, the Grand Preceptor and the Young Grand Preceptor will persuade the Old Madam. You'll only need to stay for a short while."
Liu Ming'an responded with a nonchalant "Alright."
He figured he might as well walk this extra distance, if only to indulge the old lady's longing for her son.