Ying Yiren's Family

On this day, Qingnu came to visit again, carrying a large pile of meat.

"Miss Shaodian sends us these things every day; I truly cannot thank you enough! Please, accept my bow!"

Ying Yiren was filled with emotion as he watched Qingnu arrive with so many gifts once more.

Now that the states of Qin and Zhao were at odds and had been at war for years, he, a Qin hostage, suffered constant disdain in Handan. Aside from Lu Buwei, Qingnu was the only person who treated him with such kindness!

Qingnu looked at Ying Yiren, who was blocking the doorway to bow to her. After a moment of silence, she said, "Are you sure you want to block me from entering? Careful, or I might hit you."

Hearing this, Ying Yiren hurriedly stepped aside.

"Please do not take offense, Miss Shaodian..."

Qingnu walked inside and set the items on the table. When Zhao Ji saw this, she said anxiously, "Miss Shaodian, you've brought so many things again. We haven't even finished what you sent yesterday!"

"It’s not for you, it’s for the child!"

Qingnu delivered the classic line for someone visiting relatives with gifts. She walked over to Zhao Ji’s side, staring at her belly, and asked, "How are you feeling today? Has the little guy kicked you yet?"

"He hasn't been born yet. Miss Shaodian, you seem very certain that it is a son?"

Zhao Ji looked at Qingnu with some surprise.

Qingnu nodded and said, "Of course I know! I have great abilities."

Behind them, Ying Yiren walked up. He looked at Qingnu, smiled, and said to her, "Since that is the case, I shall be bold. Would Miss Shaodian be willing to give this unborn child a name?"

"A name?"

Qingnu blinked and pointed at herself. "Are you sure you want me to choose it?"

Ying Yiren nodded and said, "Though the natural way is for parents to name their child, if not for Miss Shaodian, Zhao Ji and I would have died in Handan long ago. Your kindness is like giving us a second life! This name should be chosen by you."

When Ying Yiren said this, Qingnu took a deep breath, her eyes shining.

"Fine! I'll choose!"

She pretended to be deep in thought, pacing back and forth. Suddenly, she clapped her hands and said, "I have it! How about 'Zheng'?"

"Zheng?"

"Ying Zheng?"

Ying Yiren repeated the name Qingnu had given the child and laughed. He cupped his hands and said, "A fine name! Thank you, Miss Shaodian, for granting this name."

"Thank you!"

Zhao Ji also nodded her thanks to Qingnu.

"Oh, there's no need for you to thank me. Be careful with your stomach."

Qingnu waved her hand and helped Zhao Ji sit down.

The child in that womb was the one Qingnu had been waiting for through countless years—the one called the Ancestral Dragon, Ying Zheng. His future providence would be even richer than that of the Three Dynasties! If anything went wrong, Qingnu feared she would have to throw herself off the Kunlun Mountains!

Qingnu sat in Ying Yiren's home for a while until Lu Buwei arrived.

For some reason, perhaps because Qingnu was naturally incompatible with merchants, Lu Buwei was incredibly sharp-eyed and always pried into her business. If she hadn't been worried that hitting him would affect the future Ying Zheng, Qingnu would have lost her patience long ago!

Little Ying Zheng was born in winter.

This was a rare year where Qingnu did not hibernate!

Even Hongluan was astonished. She flew circles around Qingnu, clicking her beak. "My, my, the sun must have risen in the west!"

Qingnu waved her off and said, "What's with you? You complain when I sleep, and you complain when I don't! You're such a difficult bird to please."

"Hmph!"

Hongluan snorted and asked, "You aren't waiting specifically for Ying Zheng, are you?"

"I am! So what?"

Qingnu nodded, making no effort to hide it.

"I'd like to see just what kind of sacred being this boy you praise so much is~"

Hongluan muttered.

Just then, the messenger sent by Ying Yiren knocked on Qingnu's door and reported, "Miss Shaodian, my lady has given birth. It is a boy!"

"Little Ying Zheng is born!"

Qingnu's eyes lit up. She grabbed Hongluan and ran straight to Ying Yiren's house.

At this moment, Ying Yiren's home was in a state of chaos.

Zhao Ji was still resting; she was exhausted.

The newborn Ying Zheng had already been wrapped in swaddling clothes under the midwife's care. When Qingnu arrived, she happened to run into Ying Yiren, who was waiting anxiously at the door.

As soon as Ying Yiren saw Qingnu, he bowed to her. "Miss Shaodian has blessed us; both mother and son are safe!"

"Uh..."

Qingnu felt a bit bewildered as she watched Ying Yiren bow and thank her.

"It's not like I was the one who delivered the baby..."

she muttered.

Regardless, she had to see little Ying Zheng first!

When Qingnu took little Ying Zheng from the midwife's hands, even she, usually cheerful and optimistic, fell silent. After a period of eerie stillness, she turned to look at Ying Yiren and asked, "Are you sure it's this child?"

"Yes! Is there a problem?"

Ying Yiren nodded.

Qingnu clicked her tongue and said, "He's so ugly. It doesn't match my imagination at all."

Hearing this, Ying Yiren laughed and said, "The midwife said that all newborns look like this. Once some time passes and he grows a bit, he'll look much better."

Qingnu looked down at little Ying Zheng.

The infant, who likely couldn't even see clearly yet, didn't cry or make a fuss in her arms; he was perfectly quiet. Even the midwife nearby was amazed, saying, "The young master was crying quite energetically in my arms, but he’s quiet now that he’s with the young lady?"

"Miss Shaodian shares a destiny with Ying Zheng!"

Ying Yiren remarked with a sigh. Suddenly, he bowed deeply to Qingnu and said, "Miss Shaodian, I have an audacious request. I wonder if you might agree to it?"

Qingnu glanced at him and said, "Speak."

"I wish to ask Miss Shaodian to be Zheng'er's Teacher!"

When Ying Yiren said this, Qingnu narrowed her eyes. She handed little Ying Zheng back to the midwife, walked up to Ying Yiren, and grabbed his collar. "Do you know something?"

Ying Yiren’s expression was a bit awkward. Seeing Qingnu’s threatening gaze, he explained, "Master Buwei told me that Miss Shaodian has an extraordinary origin! Perhaps you are related to the Guiguzi of the past. Therefore, I thought that if someone as capable as Miss Shaodian could be Zheng'er's Teacher, his future would surely be a smooth path!"

Qingnu let go of Ying Yiren and looked back at little Ying Zheng, who had started crying in the midwife's arms again.

She walked over and took him back.

Little Ying Zheng stopped crying immediately.

She clicked her tongue and said, "Fine! I've been outmaneuvered by you people again! For the sake of the destiny we share, I agree. From this day forward, he is my disciple!"

"Thank you, Miss Shaodian!"

Ying Yiren was overjoyed and thanked her profusely.

Just as Ying Yiren had said, the baby looked better once he grew! By the time little Ying Zheng was two or three years old, he already looked different from other boys. He possessed an imposing nobility!

He also grew closer and closer to Qingnu.

In the year Ying Zheng turned three, Qingnu went on a long journey to the State of Western Zhou.

Though called a state, it now consisted of only the city of Luoyi.

The reason she came here was for one thing: to take the heart-blood of the last King of Zhou, Ji Yan.