Shen Feng and Du Xinshi were eating, while Xiao Long, unable to use chopsticks yet, held a spoon in his left hand and a fork in his right. He would tell Shen Feng what he wanted to eat, and Shen Feng would serve it to him. Just then, Zhang Xixi returned with people, clearly having found someone.
Upon entering the living room, Zhang Xixi quickly introduced, "Sister-in-law, this is Shen Feng, the City Lord of Yuzhou, and a good friend of Brother. City Lord, this is my sister-in-law, Tao Yaxiang, and my little nephew in her arms."
Shen Feng hurriedly said, "Please come in quickly. You haven't eaten yet, have you? Let's eat together."
At this moment, the child in Tao Yaxiang's arms began to cry. The child's face was rosy, but not with a healthy glow. Instead, it was excessively red, indicating prolonged exposure to the sun. The child was also dirty, struggling and reaching out.
The sudden crying of a child disrupted the previously quiet and harmonious home. Children's voices are naturally piercing, and in the stillness of the room, the atmosphere was immediately disturbed. Tao Yaxiang stood awkwardly, embarrassed by the situation.
When Tao Yaxiang learned that Shen Feng also lived there, she felt that Zhang Xixi, whom she had come to rely on, was also living under someone else's roof. Now, not only was she imposing on the hosts, but her child was also crying incessantly, which made Tao Yaxiang feel distressed.
"Don't cry, don't cry, it's okay. There are no bad people here. Don't cry," Tao Yaxiang tried to soothe the child.
Du Xinshi, with her experience, knew that a crying child was likely hungry. She quickly said to Du Fansheng, "Go get your milk bottle and formula. Hurry."
Du Fansheng then said in a childish voice, "Mom, I'm grown up now. I don't drink formula anymore."
"It's not for you to drink, it's for this little brother. Be good and go quickly," Du Xinshi explained. She knew Xiao Long should be eating, and the formula was for the child opposite. Zhang Xixi had mentioned that this child had gone missing shortly after birth, making him less than a year old, so formula would be appropriate.
Du Fansheng then ran back to his room, found the milk bottle and formula, and handed them to his mother. Du Xinshi was about to get up to prepare the formula, but Shen Feng quickly said, "Stop, stop, stop. You sit down. I'll do it."
Shen Feng then went to prepare the formula. Tao Yaxiang, seeing her dirty clothes, hesitated to sit down, fearing she might anger the hosts. Zhang Xixi noticed her expression and felt a pang of sympathy. Her sister-in-law, once proud and confident, had become so timid. Zhang Xixi quickly grabbed Tao Yaxiang's arm and made her sit down.
After preparing the formula and rinsing the bottle, Shen Feng cooled it down and handed it to Tao Yaxiang. "Sister-in-law, please let the child have something to eat. Zhang Jue and I were friends, and we fought together. Since you're here, you can continue to stay. If you want to work, you can, and if not, it's fine to stay at home. You haven't eaten yet either, so let's eat together."
At this moment, Xiao Long also walked over and looked at the dirty child, asking, "Auntie, how old is this brother?"
"One year old!" Tao Yaxiang replied quickly.
Du Xinshi also invited Tao Yaxiang to eat. Tao Yaxiang's journey from the northern grasslands to Yuzhou was arduous, and only she knew the hardships involved. Begging for food in troubled times was not easy; she often went hungry, eating spoiled food or even moldy steamed buns. Sitting at the dining table again, Tao Yaxiang felt a sense of unreality.
Afterward, Tao Yaxiang handed the child to Zhang Xixi beside her and began to eat heartily. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the rich food on the table, and she devoured it with the speed of a whirlwind. Seeing this, even Shen Feng, a dignified esper, felt embarrassed to compete for food.
However, while not competing for food, Shen Feng was concerned about Tao Yaxiang, wondering what would happen if she overate.
After finishing her meal, Tao Yaxiang suddenly realized everyone was looking at her and became embarrassed. Zhang Xixi then suggested taking her sister-in-law and nephew to wash up, to which Shen Feng and Du Xinshi agreed.
Zhang Xixi took her sister-in-law to her bathroom, thoughtfully found clean clothes for her, and borrowed Xiao Long's old clothes from Du Xinshi for her nephew. Tao Yaxiang's discarded clothes were all thrown away.
After washing up, Tao Yaxiang finally regained some of her energy. In Zhang Xixi's bedroom, she said mysteriously, "Xixi, I have something good to show you. You must not tell anyone, no matter who it is."
Seeing her sister-in-law's secretive demeanor, Zhang Xixi quickly promised, "I promise I won't gossip. Sister-in-law, what is it?"
Tao Yaxiang fumbled in the child's swaddling clothes and found a small bottle containing a pale green liquid. Upon seeing this, Zhang Xixi immediately understood and asked, "Is this an esper potion?"
Zhang Xixi had been puzzled before. Zhang Jue had obtained two esper potions through his own efforts. One had been given to her, and the other to her sister-in-law. Yet, upon meeting again, Tao Yaxiang was still an ordinary person. Zhang Xixi found this baffling.
"Sister-in-law, since you have an esper potion, why didn't you use it? Why are you still carrying it? If you had become an esper, you wouldn't have had to beg for food when you came to find me. Don't you understand this?" Zhang Xixi was clearly upset, unable to comprehend why her sister-in-law had kept the remaining esper potion with her. There was no need to cherish it so much.
Tao Yaxiang said seriously, "This kind of thing is very rare. I want to save it for the child. It's still a time of chaos, and without being an esper, one can only drift with the current. When I was in danger in the north, someone leaked the news that I was carrying an esper potion, which is why I was being pursued. I saw many notices looking for me, and I dared not show myself."
Zhang Xixi quickly asked, "You were pursued? Who did it?"
Tao Yaxiang recalled and finally shook her head, "I don't know. But I heard that these people specialize in capturing espers and even take their heads. They don't dare to act against espers under the headquarters, but espers operating outside are easily ambushed. I disguised myself as a beggar and hid among the refugees to escape their pursuit."
Thinking of her sister-in-law, a frail woman, being targeted by a group of vicious individuals on her journey back, Zhang Xixi became enraged. She immediately said, "These people are despicable, preying on good people. If I have the chance in the future, I will kill them all."
Tao Yaxiang then handed the esper potion to Zhang Xixi, saying, "Since my son and I have come to rely on you, please keep this esper potion for now. I believe you won't turn us away, Xixi."
"Sister-in-law, what are you saying? How could I turn you away? You are welcome to live here," Zhang Xixi chided. After all, these were her last remaining relatives. No matter how much of a scoundrel she was, she wouldn't drive her family away. They had come to rely on her.
Tao Yaxiang said awkwardly, "Isn't it because when you were squeezed out of Yanjing before, you said something about 'don't bully a young person for being poor'?"
Upon mentioning this, Zhang Xixi finally remembered why her sister-in-law was worried about being driven away. Zhang Jue had realized that his family would be in danger if they stayed in the north, so he sent Zhang Xixi away. Zhang Xixi felt that she had been driven away by her sister-in-law and, in anger, had said, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Don't bully a young person for being poor."
Zhang Xixi had, of course, seen these words online and remembered them because they were quite famous. When she said them, she was merely expressing her displeasure, but Tao Yaxiang had taken them to heart and thought Zhang Xixi still resented her for what happened before.
Afterward, Zhang Xixi explained to her sister-in-law the things to be aware of when living in Yuzhou. Most importantly, she said, "Sister-in-law, please don't ask too many questions about the City Lord's romantic relationships. Even if you see something, pretend you know nothing. This is a matter of powerful families; don't get involved."
Tao Yaxiang quickly took Zhang Xixi's words to heart. After a long journey, her feet were covered in blisters, with many calluses. Her hair was dry and brittle, and she was exhausted. Now that she had a place to stay with peace of mind, she could finally sleep soundly.
Later, Zhang Xixi found Shen Feng and told him about her sister-in-law's experience of being pursued outside. She also handed him the esper potion, seemingly wanting him to keep it.
However, Shen Feng directly refused. He frowned and said, "Since it belonged to Zhang Jue, why should I keep it? You keep it. However, I have heard about people who hunt espers outside. It's an organization called the Tianya Alliance. Xu Xing encountered this once when she went out, but Xu Xing is very powerful and killed two enemies on the spot. Although I know about this organization, I don't know where its headquarters are, nor do I know their contact information, so it's difficult to eradicate them."
Zhang Xixi knew that Shen Feng didn't care about a random esper potion, as he actually possessed a large number of them. It was said that if Shen Feng fully trained espers, the number of espers in Yuzhou could even reach over a hundred, exceeding that of the headquarters.
Afterward, Zhang Xixi put away the esper potion and planned to find a comfortable and vacant position for her sister-in-law to work in.
Late at night, Du Xinshi coughed violently. Shen Feng quickly made her honey water. After drinking it, Du Xinshi felt much better and leaned on Shen Feng's shoulder, saying softly, "I want to meet Madam Chu tomorrow."
Hearing this, Shen Feng became nervous and asked, "Why do you want to see Zhaoyan? Is there anything I can't do?"
Du Xinshi smiled and said, "Of course, I'm not going to argue. Besides, my relationship with Madam Chu is quite good. I just want to ask her for a favor at this time. It's nothing major, so don't be so suspicious."
Shen Feng was skeptical. Although he didn't know Du Xinshi's exact intentions, it seemed she had no intention of arguing. Thus, he agreed and said, "I'll mention this to Zhaoyan in the office tomorrow."