Wine-scented Beauty

Chapter 265: Fate

Chapter 265: Fate

After calming herself down and telling herself not to overthink, she remembered she still needed to visit the peach grove. So she went downstairs. As Ji Meiqing was about to leave, she saw Yan Jin sitting by the door, looking utterly bored. She smiled; she had told him not to bother her, and he had spent the afternoon playing by himself. Seeing how well-behaved and yet so bored he was, Ji Meiqing took his hand and said, "Xiao Jin, come with me to the peach grove."

Yan Jin recalled his last visit to the peach orchard and said, "I think I'll skip it. The peach orchard is all bare now, and it's not as fun as this place."

Ji Meiqing said, "This is different. Last time, Brother Lu took you, so of course it wasn't fun. But this time, your sister is taking you. Let's go."

Yan Jin thought it made sense, so he and Ji Meiqing got into the carriage together. Actually, the peach grove wasn't far from the restaurant, and they could walk there, but Yan Jin was a child, so the journey was still quite long for him. Besides, it was getting late, so it was better to go and come back quickly.

This was Ji Meiqing's first time visiting the peach orchard in winter, and she was initially quite displeased with the sight of the bare trees. When she arrived at the wine production area, the workers were still there. Ji Meiqing checked for any oversights and reminded everyone, "The Emperor's birthday is approaching, and everyone bears a heavy responsibility. If we do well, everyone will be rewarded; if we fail and make mistakes, and the Emperor and Empress Dowager blame us, we will all face death. Do you understand?"

"Understood." Everyone stopped what they were doing and answered loudly. Seeing their high spirits, Ji Meiqing was relieved. She pulled Yan Jin, who was a little disappointed, to a barrel of fruit wine. Yan Jin said, "Sister, you lied to me. This time it wasn't as fun as the time my brother took me. At least that time it was my first time here, and I was a little curious."

Ji Meiqing raised an eyebrow and said, "Why would your sister lie to you? Look, there's something really delicious in this bucket." Ji Meiqing poured a bowl and handed it to Yan Jin, "Try it."

Yan Jin, knowing that Ji Meiqing and Lu Yu were involved in wine production, quickly waved his hand and said, "Sister, I don't drink alcohol."

Ji Meiqing took a sip first and then said, "Don't worry, why would I give you alcohol? This is fruit wine, zero alcohol, so you won't get drunk even if you drink a lot. And it tastes very good."

Yan Jin took a tiny sip with some skepticism, then drank the whole bowl, saying, "It really is! It tastes like fruit, though it's a bit strange, but it's really delicious." Sometimes Ji Meiqing really suspected that Yan Jin was a genius. He was only six or seven years old, yet he could converse fluently and knew a great deal.

Out of curiosity, Ji Meiqing couldn't hold back her question and asked directly, "Xiao Jin, how do you know so much about human relationships and human nature, when you're so young?"

Yan Jin's answer was quite unexpected. "The knowledge I have comes from what my parents taught my brother and me. As for why I understand the coldness and warmth of human relationships, it's probably related to my maternal grandmother's profession. She was a fortune teller, and I grew up around her, so I heard many stories from her. Yes, my maternal grandmother is dead." Yan Jin spoke as if it were a matter that didn't concern him.

This sent a chill down Ji Meiqing's spine. She thought that if Yan Jin were sent to be an assassin, he would definitely be the best. She shook her head, startled by her own thoughts.

During their conversation, a man came over and said, "Boss, we recently bought a little boy without your permission. He's about nine years old. We bought him because we felt sorry for him. But don't worry, we didn't use any public funds."

Ji Meiqing said, "It's fine to use public funds. I fully support you doing good deeds, but why are you telling me this?"

The man said, "We saved him, but we also have families to take care of, so we can't take care of him. Do you think we can let him stay here and work?"

Upon hearing that a boy was only nine years old, Ji Meiqing thought, "What can he do?" So she said, "You take care of him, and don't worry about the rest."

After the man thanked the boss, he went to pick up the boy. Ji Meiqing said to Yan Jin beside her, "Sister might have to adopt another boy later. Don't fight and make us worry, understand?" Yan Jin nodded, indicating that he would not do such a stupid thing.

A moment later, the man returned, this time with a boy behind him. Seeing his task complete, the man went back to his work. The boy kept his head down, so it was impossible to see what he looked like. Ji Meiqing asked calmly, "What's your name?"

Unexpectedly, this simple question elicited a name from the boy that surprised Ji Meiqing: "My name is Yan Shen!"

Ji Meiqing and Yan Jin exchanged a glance, then walked to Yan Shen's side and said, "Lift your head up." The moment Yan Shen raised his head, he was stunned, because he saw his younger brother Yan Jin, whom he hadn't seen for a long time. Yan Jin hugged him and said, "Brother, I've finally found you. I knew you'd be alright."

Yan Shen hugged Yan Jin and said, "Silly brother, I said I would protect you for the rest of my life, how did you end up here?"

Watching the brothers reunite, Ji Meiqing felt that everything was preordained, this was fate. Ji Meiqing spoke on behalf of Yan Jin, saying, "We found Xiao Jin on the road, and he's living with us now. He's already told us the whole story. You're so young, yet you have such a selfless spirit for your brother; you'll both be extraordinary when you grow up. So how did you end up here?"

Yan Shen thanked them and began to recount his experience: "After I attracted those people, I was too small and too weak to outrun them. I was also injured and captured. But it seemed that the person didn't want me to die. He sold me. All the buyers thought I was too young and refused to take me. In the end, it was the older brother here who bought me. And that's how I ended up here."

Ji Meiqing had considered countless possibilities in her mind, but she never expected it to be so simple: "Don't want your life? Do you know who that person is?"

Yan Shen shook his head. "I don't know. I've only ever seen his subordinates."

Seeing this, Ji Meiqing said, "Things here are almost done. Now that Xiaojin's brother has been found, Xiaojin shouldn't go back to the restaurant. Come home with me first." With that, she took the two brothers home. Once home, Ji Meiqing had Granny Liu treat them to a meal, then took them to bathe, and settled them in before returning to her room.

Lu Yu, annoyed that Ji Meiqing hadn't been home all day, simply ignored her. Ji Meiqing didn't care and said to herself, "Brother Lu, you can ignore me, but the news I'm about to tell you will definitely make you happy and realize that it's all fate." Lu Yu continued to ignore her.