That Fair-Faced 'Sage' {Completed}

39. The Lost Memory

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Meanwhile, back inside Shuǐ ChénLín's lodge, LanFen gracefully handed a teacup to Shuǐ ChangSheng, who accepted it with equal grace, and instantly drank from it.

A deliberate move to show it wasn't poisoned.

"Good tea. Light, fragrant and sweet." Shuǐ ChangSheng gently dropped the cup. "You are well mannered. Wang ShanMei indeed taught you well."

LanFen had forgotten that her uncle had told these people parts of her story she would rather not have shared.

Her hand shook imperceptibly, but though she caught herself, it didn't escape Shuǐ ChangSheng's notice.

"Young Master Zhao. Every man has his past scars... You shouldn't be ashamed of your past. Instead, the big names in the Wulin, including myself, are the ones who should feel ashamed, for not stepping in and investigating what was happening.

"Besides, I already mentioned that your father and mother were friends, but that was an understatement... We three were more like siblings, so I should carry the most of that shame...

"I'm not sure if you remember, but I met you twelve years ago, on a visit to the Zhao Manor."

His words caught her off-guard, as LanFen didn't remember much from her early life, and she wondered if it was true.

'Is that how he recognized me at the hearing?' But could she trust his words?

Before now, only two major events from the early years of her life, had remained in her mind...

The first, was that Zhao Mao had once trapped her in a cave full of snakes, and the second, was that she had met Shuǐ ChénLín.

However, she suddenly realized that Clan Leader Shuǐ himself must have been present, if she had met Shuǐ ChénLín at the time, and with that realization, came a brief, forgotten memory...

It had been one random evening, when her mother had summoned her inside.

There, she had been asked to greet someone who, she now recalled, had been smiling a little too much!

'Who is this unnecessarily cheerful uncle?' LanFen had wondered at the time, but he had leaned down and placed a hand on callh of her tiny shoulders.

"Zhao Liu! You are named Liu after *Aunty Liu?! Hao! I'm your uncle, from today! And this is Chén, your big brother!"

*Zhao ZhuYong's mother, and LanFen's grandmother.

Shuǐ ChangSheng had gestured toward his son, and even then, a tiny LanFen had thought Shuǐ ChénLín had stood by the window, looking too rigid and responsible for his young age.

At present, LanFen nodded. 'Turns out I met Clan Leader Shuǐ as a child...'

She had also met Shuǐ ChénLín earlier than she thought, as she had completely forgotten that introduction.

Shuǐ ChangSheng continued speaking. "Unfortunately, our visit back then ended earlier than planned, because Zhao MinXue became an extremely ungracious host."

LanFen began to remember their Visit, almost as if that single memory had started a chain reaction, making her recall others.

"Everyone said it was because Fènghuáng-Jun defeated Zhao Mao so badly, that the 'mother of shame' visited the entire Zhao household!" She said, unable to stop herself from smiling.

She had even forgotten Shuǐ ChénLín and Zhao Mao had duelled each other! She hadn't witnessed it, but the servants had discussed nothing else for days!