Chapter 899: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 899: Caution and Planning (1)
The night passed, and by the time Mo Yan woke up, the fifteen birds that had drunk from the spirit spring had been trained by Xue Tuanzi into real messenger birds.
Mo Yan was eager to test them out, so she immediately wrote a letter to her father, warning him to be cautious of Zhao Fengnian, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and briefly explained the reason behind it. After writing the letter, she had one of the jet-black mynah birds deliver it.
The mynah bird was smart. Mo Yan carefully explained the address to it, and after confirming it understood and could find its way, she released the bird.
When Mo Qingze returned home in the evening, he found the messenger mynah bird perched on the steps outside the door of the Scholar’s Residence. At first, he thought the little creature was just resting, but to his surprise, it hopped onto his shoulder and extended a yellow claw toward him.
Noticing the letter tube attached to its leg, Mo Qingze paused. Uncertain whether the letter was for him, he initially didn’t plan to open it. Just as he was about to brush the bird off and continue on his way, the mynah bird pecked open the seal on the tube, its bright eyes fixed on him.
Amused, Mo Qingze reached out to poke the bird, which pecked his finger lightly while chirping with a "cheep-cheep" sound, looking surprisingly intelligent.
Smiling, Mo Qingze finally opened the letter in front of him. When he saw the familiar handwriting, his gaze shifted to the bird still perched on his shoulder, preening its feathers. A flash of understanding crossed his eyes. He carefully tucked the letter away and knocked on the door.
The door was opened by an elderly man, about sixty years old. Upon seeing Mo Qingze, the old man respectfully greeted him, "Master, you’re back!"
Mo Qingze smiled slightly and said, "Uncle Sun, I need to discuss something. Please tell Aunt Sun to delay dinner for half an hour."
"Yes, Master!" Uncle Sun hurriedly replied.
Uncle and Aunt Sun were a couple Mo Yan had bought from a shop recently to look after Mo Qingze’s daily needs. They were unfortunate people who had lost their son in middle age. Afterward, they lived with their only grandson and daughter-in-law. However, as they grew older and could no longer do farm work, they were kicked out by their grandson and granddaughter-in-law. With no other means of survival, they ended up selling themselves to find a living. But due to their age and lack of skills, no one wanted to buy them, even when they offered their services for a mere six taels of silver. Mo Yan happened to see them when the shop was about to turn them away, so she bought them and brought them home.
The couple now lived at the Scholar’s Residence, where they didn’t have to do much work. They mostly cleaned, washed clothes, and cooked for Mo Qingze, tasks that were relatively easy for the elderly couple.
Mo Qingze nodded at Uncle Sun, then went straight to his study with the mynah bird.
After reading the letter carefully, Mo Qingze's face showed a look of realization. The puzzling issues of the past few days had now been cleared up.
With his thoughts now in place, Mo Qingze couldn’t help but feel a bit of a headache. He took up his brush and wrote a simple reply to his daughter, which he placed in the mynah bird’s leg tube.
As he stroked the bird’s smooth feathers, thinking about how patiently the little creature had stood at one end of the desk while he was writing, quietly not making a sound, he felt a sense of fondness.
Turning around, Mo Qingze took half a piece of pastry from the drawer and broke it into small pieces to feed the bird. When he saw the little one’s eyes light up as it eagerly hopped over, he couldn’t help but laugh, speaking gently, "Eat up. When you’re full, take the letter back."
"Cheep, cheep!"
The mynah bird understood, chirped twice, and hopped onto his hand, eagerly pecking at the food. It quickly finished the pastry.
After eating its fill, the mynah bird disappeared into the night. Mo Qingze cleaned up the pastry crumbs on the desk, then decisively decided to have his daughter bring the bird over to raise it when he returned.
[End of Chapter]
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