The room in the "Di" series of the inn had passable lighting, but the conditions inside were only average.
There was only a bed, a table, and a chair. Su Xiaoqi sat on the room's only stool, leaving Zhang Yu to sit on the end of the bed.
She stared at her mistress, eager to know the answer to this question.
Su Xiaoqi smiled, "What do you think?"
Zhang Yu shook her head, "They look very alike. My first thought was that they must be related.
But one is in the capital, and the other is in Bashu. Someone like her wouldn't go all the way to Bashu, would she..."
Zhang Yu hesitated, afraid to jump to conclusions.
But her general idea was that it was impossible for people in the world to look so alike.
If they looked so similar, they were either mother and daughter or sisters.
But considering the age difference between Huan Niang and Xiao Xique, they definitely weren't sisters.
"If we can prove that Huan Niang went to Bashu, or that Xiao Xique was born near the capital, wouldn't that prove they are related?"
Su Xiaoqi tempted Zhang Yu.
Zhang Yu's curiosity was immediately piqued. She stood up impulsively, "Madam, don't worry, I'll go investigate immediately. If I can't find anything, we still have the Yan Yu Pavilion."
Su Xiaoqi smiled and let her go.
By this time, Xiao Xique had already fetched the medicine and brought it over after boiling it.
Su Xiaoqi let her feed medicine to Huan Niang.
She also took the opportunity to insert a few needles into her head.
These needles would help the blood clot in the back of her head dissipate faster, allowing her to recover her memory.
Su Xiaoqi believed that no matter how Zhang Yu and the others investigated, the truth of some matters always lay with the people involved.
What others saw and heard was merely their own perception and not to be taken as fact.
Xiao Xique knelt on one knee on the stool, carefully scooping the medicinal soup with a spoon and feeding it to Huan Niang's mouth.
Her movements were gentle and cautious, as if she were afraid of disturbing Huan Niang.
Su Xiaoqi watched from the side, her lips involuntarily curling into a smile.
If things were as she imagined, it might be a good thing for Xiao Xique.
If not, it would be nice for Xiao Xique to have a godmother!
She had already positioned Huan Niang as Xiao Xique's mother and was more proactive in treating her illness.
Moreover, after Huan Niang had taken the medicine and regained consciousness, she had extended an invitation to her.
"Would you be willing to help clean the back kitchen of Chen Jin Ji?" Su Xiaoqi inquired.
"I, I, can I? I, I don't know if I can do it well." Huan Niang seemed overwhelmed with gratitude.
Su Xiaoqi said, "Let's try first. Once you're cured, you can go to the front and learn to make pastries, how about it?"
"Learn, learn to make pastries? I, I can do it?" Huan Niang was so moved that tears streamed down her face. She held Su Xiaoqi's hand for a moment, then reached for Xiao Xique.
She didn't know why, but she inexplicably liked this young girl named Xiao Xique.
Perhaps it was because her name and her daughter's name both contained the character "xi" (joy).
Her poor daughter. Before she conceived her, she was full of happiness, thinking she had found someone noble and pure from the inside out.
Their relationship was unrelated to power, transactions, social status, or arranged marriages.
Unfortunately, in the end, she was too naive.
She joyfully welcomed the birth of her child with him.
But it ended in disappointment, no, despair.
Her child, she never even saw her face, and then she disappeared.
They told her that the baby was stillborn.
But it clearly wasn't.
She still remembered hearing her cries, so loud and clear.
She should have been full of vitality.
But she, dragging her exhausted postpartum body, searched for her but never found her.
Not even a body was seen. No one helped her, only the man's cold, piercing gaze!
At that moment, she finally regretted it.
She regretted leaving home, leaving her parents, and abandoning her status for him...
But what was her status, and where was her home?
Hiss, she couldn't remember, she couldn't remember...
"Ah..." Huan Niang wailed in pain, gasping for breath and collapsing with her head in her hands.
Seeing her like that, Su Xiaoqi knew her acupuncture was having some effect, but it wasn't significant yet.
She needed to continue with a few more acupuncture sessions, which should help her recall the things she was unwilling to remember.
Seeing Huan Niang in so much pain, Xiao Xique felt a pang of sympathy. She gently tugged Su Xiaoqi's hand and said,
"Sister Xiao Qi, if she really doesn't want to remember, perhaps we should let it be."
She truly couldn't bear to see a face that looked so much like hers enduring such pain; it made her feel sad just looking at it.
Su Xiaoqi sighed and said, "You can't bear it?"
Xiao Xique nodded.
As they were talking, Huan Niang, who had been lying in pain on the bed, suddenly interjected anxiously,
"No, no, Madam, Miss Xique, I know, I know you saved me.
I don't know how I forgot my past.
But I want to remember now, I want to remember my past."
Although she couldn't recall any specific events now,
she always felt that her past was beautiful.
The fleeting fragments of memory that crossed her mind also brought her a sense of joy.
She didn't know how she had been so foolish before to forget such a beautiful past.
"If you insist, I can help you.
But have you considered what might happen if you remember your past, and they are unwilling to accept you as you are now?"
"They won't, they won't..." Huan Niang suddenly became agitated.
After saying this, she seemed a little guilty, "I'm sorry, I don't know why I feel this way, but, but I just feel they won't."
She told Su Xiaoqi about the happy feelings from her fragmented memories.
Two figures inexplicably entered Su Xiaoqi's mind.
One was a young man in moon-white brocade robes.
The other was a noblewoman with an elegant and dignified demeanor, but a straightforward and generous personality.
After these two figures intruded into Su Xiaoqi's mind, they firmly took root there, impossible to shake off.
Su Xiaoqi even had a thought.
Huan Niang had lost her memory, but the other party had not.
If she brought the person to her mother and son, and they turned out to be old acquaintances...
How dramatic would that be?
Su Xiaoqi's breathing quickened with anticipation.
But she quickly controlled herself.
Because she thought of another possibility.
That family did have a daughter, but she had died long ago.
How could she have suddenly reappeared alive and well?
It was just a coincidence!
And even if she hadn't died back then, since it was publicly announced that she was dead.
It meant she must have done something that brought shame to the family.
To the point of being driven out of the family.
So even if she were found now, why would they recognize her?
This path would not work.
Su Xiaoqi didn't say anything more, and instructed Huan Niang to take her medicine properly.
She was to stay at this inn for the next two days and not go back to any dilapidated temples.
Huan Niang refused, saying she had no money and couldn't repay such a great kindness.
"You don't need to repay me. Didn't you agree to work at Chen Jin Ji? You can use your wages to settle it."
Seeing that Huan Niang was stubborn and wouldn't accept her help unconditionally, Su Xiaoqi deliberately brought up wages.
Huan Niang felt there was something wrong with this statement, but couldn't articulate it.
By the time she figured it out, Su Xiaoqi was already gone.
She left behind a young maid to take care of her.
"My name is Zi Yan, sent by my mistress to take care of you."
Huan Niang wanted to refuse, but Su Xiaoqi was already far away.
Zi Yan comforted her, saying that her current physical condition was very poor, and she should build a good foundation, otherwise, she might not be able to withstand the acupuncture.
She told her to recover quickly, and then she could repay her kindness however she wished.
Huan Niang was persuaded and became much more obedient.
The next day, Su Xiaoqi returned to give Huan Niang acupuncture again.
This time, Huan Niang's condition was better.
At least when she couldn't remember, her head wouldn't suddenly ache.
She could control herself and stop trying to recall.
For seven consecutive days, Su Xiaoqi brought Xiao Xique to give her acupuncture.
The blood clot had subsided, but Huan Niang had not fully regained her memory.
She only knew that she had come from a wealthy family, and she had images in her mind of living in that house before.
However, she still didn't know her name or know her parents and relatives.
Su Xiaoqi told her not to worry, that with the blood clot gone, regaining her lost memories was only a matter of time.
She could recuperate while slowly trying to remember.
Su Xiaoqi's original intention was for her to rest for a while longer.
But Huan Niang couldn't stay idle.
After completing a course of acupuncture, she returned to work.
Coincidentally, Zhang Yu sent back the news.
Su Xiaoqi obtained all the information about Huan Niang.