Inlaid With Jade - Chapter 54
Chapter 54
Brother Mu Er
Young Li Heming learned to be unrestrained in the military camp, but the little girl was dignified and dressed in exquisite clothes. Undoubtedly, she was a lady from a wealthy family. Fortunately, they were in the imperial city, and no one dared to seek death in the Emperor’s territory. Otherwise, with her pitiful and decent appearance, she might be taken away and sold to a poor family as a child bride.
Li Heming had to buy some wine and return to the military camp later, so he didn’t plan to waste time in the scorching sun. He asked her directly: “What’s your name? Do you remember where you live? I’ll take you back.”
The little girl was wary of strangers, but not much. Li Heming had wiped her sweat, so she treated him as a kind man and told him obediently: “My name is Lin Yu.” But she couldn’t say where she lived.
Most girls went out by carriage, and she was so young, so how could she remember the way? After thinking for a while, she only said, “I live in Lin Mansion.”
Lin Mansion, Lin Yu.
Li Heming remembered that he had heard this name from his mother. He pondered momentarily and asked her: “Is your father Lin Zhengqing, the current Grand Chancellor?”
Lin Yu heard his father’s name from Li Heming and nodded eagerly: “Yes, it’s him, brother. Do you recognize my father?”
She called him brother all the time, which made Li Heming soft-hearted. He was already thinking about how to ask his mother to give him a sister when he went back.
Li Heming stretched out his hand and pinched her soft bun, saying: “I know where the Lin Mansion is. If you trust me, I will take you back.”
Lin Yu nodded: “I trust Brother.” But after saying that, she looked back at the pastry shop behind her and hesitated.
Li Heming followed her line of sight and asked, “Do you want to eat cakes?”
Lin Yu didn’t say whether she wanted to but frowned and said worriedly, “My brother said he would buy cakes for me, but he didn’t buy them and even got lost. If I leave, what will my brother do if he can’t find me?”
There were two young ladies in the Lin family but only one young man. Li Heming guessed that the brother she was talking about should be Lin Jing and thought inwardly: It’s not your brother who lost; it was you. Your brother might be looking for someone in the streets in a hurry now.
However, after hearing what Lin Yu said, Li Heming understood why she didn’t cry or make a fuss even though she was lost. It turned out that she didn’t think she was lost at all.
Li Heming did not correct Lin Yu’s thoughts but agreed with her and said, “I will take you back first. If you are worried about your brother, sending someone to find him is better than waiting here. What do you think?”
Lin Yu nodded and said, “Okay, thank you, brother.”
Li Heming picked her up: “It’s okay.”
The young man was thorough. Although Li Heming was only ten years old then, he was calm. He did not take Lin Yu back to the Lin Mansion directly but went into the store and used Li Fenglin’s money to buy two bags of chestnut cakes for Lin Yu. He also asked the store owner for two bowls of clear tea to moisten his throat. After the summer heat was relieved, he took Lin Yu back to the Lin Mansion.
Li Heming carried Lin Yu in his arms. Although he tried to walk in the shade of the tree wall, he still broke out in a sweat after a while. He looked ahead, his eyes bright, and sweat flowed down his temples. Lin Yu saw it, took out the small handkerchief Li Heming refused to use and wiped his sweat for him. Then, she raised the fan and gently fanned Li Heming, who was sweating all over his head.
Seeing her flushed cheeks, Li Heming said gently, “Don’t worry about me, fan yourself.”
Lin Yu didn’t stop; she shook her head slightly, “I’m not hot.”
Hearing this, Li Heming couldn’t help but lament for Lin Jing, who was in a hurry to find someone now: he would be beaten up if he lost such a well-behaved sister.
Children of five or six years old who had just learned to read and understand reason and had pure and clean minds were prone to admire calm young men a few years older than themselves. Li Heming gave Lin Yu cakes and sent her back home. At that time, she thought he was no different from a hero. She blushed and looked at his profile, gently fanning him, and asked, “Brother, what is your name? Where do you live? How can I repay you in the future?”
Initially, it was their good fate first meeting, but Li Heming did not tell Lin Yu his name by mistake. He was a young and arrogant boy. Because of his age, he could not beat anyone after training in the army for a year, and everyone jokingly called him a wooden stake that could not resist in a fight. Therefore, he refused to call himself the Li family’s second son in front of the soldiers. He considered himself a soldier in the camp; thus, when Lin Yu asked him, he did not mention his family name. He only said, “My surname is Mu, and I am the second child in my family. Everyone calls me Mu Er. As for repaying, there is no need. It’s just a small favor.”
He had a good demeanor. Hence, Mu Er, a cheap name ordinary people had, did not suit him. But at that time, Li Heming had tanned skin, short clothes, and was full of strength. On the surface, he did look like a farmer doing farm work. Thus, the young Lin Yu believed this and called him “Brother Mu Er” obediently.
Li Heming’s heart softened like spring water. While sending Lin Yu back, he thought about asking his mother to give him a sister.
Their meeting in their youth was only an ordinary old thing. Li Heming said that Lin Yu should have forgotten it. However, Lin Yu still vaguely remembered it, but she couldn’t match the vague figure of Mu Er in her memory with the heroic Li Heming now. She couldn’t remember it, and Li Heming didn’t plan to tell her that he was Mu Er.
A boy looked different every day, and more than ten years later, his appearance was very different. When Li Heming thought about his appearance and unpleasant voice back then, he felt it was better for Lin Yu not to know.