287: Chapter 67 Embracing Both

Guanqi Wenxuan, one of the independent courtyards in Canhe Village, was also Wang Yuyan's usual residence in the village.

After leaving the pavilion, Li Qingluo headed straight here.

She reached the door and lightly knocked: "Yu Yan, it's Mother. Open the door, I have something to tell you."

Inside the room, Wang Yuyan was tossing and turning on the couch, unsure how to face Meng Li. Hearing Li Qingluo's words, she became even more agitated. She turned over and directly covered her head with the bedding, pretending not to hear.

At the door, Li Qingluo saw there was no response from inside. She tried pushing the door and found it locked, realizing Wang Yuyan was inside.

She sighed softly and got straight to the point: "Yu Yan, actually, your cousin already knew about your background."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an immediate sound of the door being opened from inside the room.

A moment later, the door was opened.

Wang Yuyan stared fixedly at Li Qingluo and asked coldly: "What did you say?!"

"Cousin already knew about my background? How is that possible?"

"How could he know? If he knew, why would he treat me... so well?"

Li Qingluo sighed lightly: "It's a long story. Let me go inside and tell you slowly."

Hearing this, Wang Yuyan moved aside to let her in.

After Li Qingluo entered, Wang Yuyan cautiously glanced around, and only after confirming everything was fine did she close the door, turn around, and sit opposite Li Qingluo in the room.

"Speak. What exactly is going on?"

Li Qingluo organized her thoughts internally before speaking: "This all goes back to when you first wanted to study martial arts with your cousin..."

In just a moment, Li Qingluo finished telling the abridged version of the truth.

The omitted part naturally involved the debt relationship between her and Meng Li.

To make the abridged version reasonable, Li Qingluo had to beautify Meng Li to a certain extent. For example, even though he knew Wang Yuyan's background, he didn't mind because he liked her. He hadn't said anything because he was worried Wang Yuyan would be sad if she knew.

This was the solution Li Qingluo came up with after careful consideration.

Although doing this would make Meng Li's image in Wang Yuyan's heart even better, indirectly benefiting him, it was still better than exposing the truth and ending up with mutual destruction.

As expected, after hearing it, Wang Yuyan's eyes filled with tears. She murmured "Cousin" a few times, then got up and left.

"Where are you going?" Seeing this, Li Qingluo subconsciously asked.

"I'm going to find Cousin."

Li Qingluo: "..."

...

On the other side, in the Ink Plum Garden.

"Do you think I'm ridiculous?"

Mu Wanqing finished recounting her experience, voiced her grievances, her eyes reddened, tears streaming down her face, as she looked at Meng Li and asked.

Meng Li sighed, reached out, and pulled her into his embrace, gently patting her back to comfort her.

In the original plot, Mu Wanqing developed an emotional entanglement with Duan Yu first due to an oath. Later, upon learning her background, the biggest pain point was that lovers became siblings. The impact of this tragic fate, where love was lost due to moral constraints, was immense. That's why she didn't consider the injustice created by Qin Hongmian treating her as a tool for revenge while she herself kept oscillating between choices.

Now that Mu Wanqing had no entanglement with Duan Yu, and her worldview had shifted somewhat after being in Canhe Village, the sins committed by Qin Hongmian became apparent.

In a matter like this, Meng Li, as an outsider, didn't know what to say other than, "The sins of the ancestors must be paid by the descendants."

Mu Wanqing leaned against his chest, comforted by his actions, feeling her sense of grievance and desire for release amplify. For a moment, her eyes stung and her heart ached. She wrapped her arms around his waist in return, buried her head in his chest, and burst into loud sobs.

After crying for a while, her sobs gradually quieted down.

Meng Li felt that Mu Wanqing's emotional venting was almost complete. He wanted to tease her, to completely turn her sorrow into joy, but just as he was about to speak, he heard a call.

"Cousin!"

Meng Li glanced sideways and saw Wang Yuyan standing at the entrance of the Ink Plum Garden.

"I think I came at the wrong time."

Seeing Meng Li look over, Wang Yuyan said faintly.

Meng Li chuckled, laughed, and said: "No, you came at the perfect time."

Saying this, he extended his hand toward Wang Yuyan.

Wang Yuyan glanced at Mu Wanqing, showing hesitation, but finally stepped up to Meng Li's side and took his outstretched hand.

Meng Li was slightly surprised, but his movements were not hesitant. He pulled her in smoothly, drawing her into his embrace.

Instantly, Meng Li achieved the accomplishment of embracing both sides.

Wang Yuyan and Mu Wanqing faced each other in his arms, the atmosphere feeling somewhat delicate.

In a flash, the delicate atmosphere was broken by a light laugh from Wang Yuyan.

"What are you laughing at?" Mu Wanqing asked, glaring.

Wang Yuyan replied: "Laughing at you, your face looks like a little calico cat."

Meng Li looked down and realized it was true.

Mu Wanqing wasn't crying makeup smudged. Having followed Qin Hongmian around the Jianghu since childhood, she had no habit of applying makeup. The reason she looked like a calico cat was twofold: first, traces were left after her tears dried, and second, strands of black hair near her temples were dampened by tears and stuck to her face. The combination made her face look somewhat mottled.

Mu Wanqing's face flushed, and she quickly pulled away from Meng Li's embrace, walking to the well to use the water as a mirror to tidy herself up.

Seeing this, Wang Yuyan suppressed her smile, looked up at Meng Li, wanting to hug him to pour out the emotion in her heart. But after the small interlude served as a buffer, the surging intensity of her impulse had calmed down considerably. Even with a thousand words, she didn't know where to start, so she followed the subject at hand: "Why was she crying just now?"

"She was weeping with joy upon unexpectedly meeting her biological parents," Meng Li said concisely.

Wang Yuyan froze.

"Isn't she an orphan?" The information clashed with her existing knowledge, and she asked subconsciously.

Meng Li coughed twice and replied: "That's a long story."

"My father is Duan Zhengchun, and my mother is Qin Hongmian..." Meng Li was still thinking about how to phrase it, but Mu Wanqing spoke frankly, quickly recounting her background in a few sentences.

Wang Yuyan was stunned on the spot after hearing it.

When she recovered, she looked at Mu Wanqing and asked with uncertainty: "Are you sure your father is Duan Zhengchun, that Town South King of Dali?"

Mu Wanqing found her expression strange but didn't overthink it, nodding: "That's right. Just now, my mother and he came to the door together, saying they want to take me back to Dali to acknowledge my ancestors and grant me the status of a County Princess."

"Is there a problem?"

Wang Yuyan fell silent. After a few seconds, she countered instead of answering: "What are your birth date and time?"

Mu Wanqing frowned, confused: "Why are you asking that?"

Wang Yuyan didn't answer, just pressed: "Tell me first."

Seeing her insistence, Mu Wanqing developed a rebellious streak and snorted: "You tell me the reason first."

Meng Li looked at Wang Yuyan, feeling suspicious, and interrupted their tug-of-war.

"You... you already know your background?" he asked Wang Yuyan.

Wang Yuyan's expression stiffened, and she nodded. Then she looked eagerly at Meng Li and whispered softly: "I can still call you 'Cousin' in the future, right?"

Meng Li was pondering the core issue and didn't respond immediately. After a few seconds, he said: "No."

Wang Yuyan's expectant expression froze, then turned to grievance: "Why?"

Meng Li looked serious: "We will be getting married soon. In the future, you must call me 'Husband'."

"Pfft."

Wang Yuyan stopped her grievance, her sorrow turning to joy. Her face bloomed with a smile, and she raised her small fist to playfully punch Meng Li a few times: "Cousin, you are so wicked."

Mu Wanqing beside her: "..."