8 Chapter 8 Love at First Sight_1

Lady Wu washed the fool meticulously and noticed a necklace around her neck. It wasn't until she was clean that the true form of the necklace was visible: an orange silk thread held an orange crescent-shaped wooden pendant. Perhaps because it was wooden, it had remained with her. Lady Wu leaned in to take a closer look at the pendant, and saw the character for "moon" carved on one side.

The fool's hair was as messy as a bird's nest, and Lady Wu had a hard time combing and washing it straight. There was a long scar in her hair, already crusted over. Qian Yixiu guessed she must have hurt her head, which was why she had become foolish.

Lady Wu probably guessed the same and kept saying sympathetically, "Poor thing, such a fine girl, how did she end up in such a state." Her hands were even gentler from then on.

After the bath, Lady Wu helped her dress. The foolish girl knew how to wear clothes, but she moved slowly.

Lady Wu was slender, so the clothes were not very large, but they were still too big and long on her. As Lady Wu straightened out her clothes, she instructed, "Since Manjiang left, mother has been even busier. You might not help around the house, but you must at least do simple things like dressing and undressing yourself..."

Lady Wu led the fool into the main room, where Qian Manjiang had already returned. Seeing this beautiful girl, he blushed instantly, struggling to contain his elation.

Her eyes might have appeared dull, but they were as clear and watery as the Jade Pool atop the mountains. Her sharp, melon-seed face reminded him of peach blossoms in March. And those petal-like lips, the delicate little nose, the long black hair falling over her shoulders, the slender waist that one could circle with their hands...

Bright eyes, white teeth, a face as lovely as the moon and as beautiful as a flower, enchanting and stirring... Qian Manjiang thought of all the phrases used to describe beautiful women that he had read in books.

He had prepared himself to marry a woman who was both old and ugly. He never imagined that Heaven would bestow mercy upon him and that his mother would bring home such a pretty wife. What a pleasant surprise!

Foolish—oh, no, let's say she's just youthful; he wouldn't have been able to marry her otherwise.

Seeing the joy on her son's face, Lady Wu also became cheerful, and her previous dismay faded away. She said, "Your wife does have some bruises and scrapes on her body, but aside from those injuries, her skin is still delicately fair and soft, and there are no calluses on her hands. She must be the daughter of a respectable family, I don't know how she got separated from her family. She's a pitiful creature. Now that you've married her, treat her well and don't despise her for her illness."

Qian Manjiang was too excited to be shy, he quickly shook his head and said, "I don't despise her, not at all. She's so pretty, if she weren't ill, I couldn't have married her." After speaking, his face turned even redder.

Thinking about the girl with the birthmark and remembering what the Middleman had told her, Lady Wu felt that the money she spent was well worth it. She looked at the foolish girl with compassion and said, "She doesn't know anything, not her name, where she comes from, or how old she is." She then showed the necklace to her son, "This is the only thing on her."

Qian Manjiang took the necklace and examined it, saying, "There's a 'moon' character; could this be her name?" He smiled at the little fool and said, "Yueyue, I'll call you Yueyue from now on, okay?"

Perhaps those two characters touched the deepest part of the fool's heart, because when she heard Qian Manjiang call her "Yueyue," her motionless eyes turned towards him, and they sparkled with a bit of light. She smiled at him sweetly, brightening the entire room.

Qian Manjiang's heart fluttered uncontrollably, and without caring that his parents were present, he walked over and put the necklace back on her. Seeing an injury of about two to three centimeters at her hairline, he asked with concern, "Yueyue, does it hurt here?"

Perhaps sensing Qian Manjiang's kindness and pain, or maybe the name "Yueyue" was too endearing, the fool smiled at him again and tugged at his sleeve, calling out, "Brother."

Her voice was as pleasant and melodious as a oriole's, and she spoke in the official language.

Qian Manjiang looked at the small hand pulling on his sleeve, feeling both delighted and shy, with excitement causing sweat to bead on his forehead and the tip of his nose. He smiled and said, "If you like this name, then that's wonderful. The thread and pendant are orange, so from now on your surname will be Cheng, and your full name will be Cheng Yue. Is that alright?"

Cheng Yue seemed to understand and actually nodded. Qian Manjiang then led her to sit down beside a bench and poured her a bowl of water. Cheng Yue, who was thirsty, held the bowl and began to drink. After finishing, she looked at Qian Manjiang and giggled foolishly.

Qian Yixiu saw that although Cheng Yue's eyes still appeared dull, her mood was significantly better than before. Her walk, her sitting posture, and the way she drank water were all very elegant, clearly indicating she had received an excellent education.

This type of elegant charm was not something that could be feigned, nor was it something that a so-called "star-model crash course" could produce in a few months. Hmm, the beautiful little mother must have quite a story.

Qian Manjiang happily said to Lady Wu, "Mother, it seems that Yueyue is not that foolish. With proper teaching, she should be able to take care of herself. Perhaps she could even help mother with some work in the future."

Lady Wu responded, "I don't expect her to help with work. As long as she can take care of herself, I will be Amitabha." Then, to Qian Manxia, she said, "Go, tell your sister-in-law where the latrine is."

Qian Manxia, finding Cheng Yue beautiful and seeing her older brother's fondness for her, grew fond of Cheng Yue as well. She went forward, took Cheng Yue by the hand, and said, "Sister-in-law, come with me."

Cheng Yue didn't move but looked at Qian Manjiang. Qian Manjiang said, "Alright, I'll go with you." Realizing that wasn't quite right, he added with a blushing face, "My sister will accompany you inside, and I'll wait outside."

Lady Wu was overjoyed to see her son's fondness, but her heart skipped a beat when she turned around and saw her husband's stern face.

As the children went out, she spoke, "Husband, although the girl is a bit slow, she is quite good-looking, and Manjiang likes her..."

Qian Sangui sighed and said, "It's not just that the child is good-looking; her features are too striking, and with her illness, I'm afraid it might bring calamities. Even normal girls who are beautiful attract ill-intentioned people, let alone when her mind is obscured. Once Manjiang is gone, we'll just have a few weakly people at home, and I'm afraid we won't be able to protect her."

Lady Wu, realizing that her husband made sense, anxiously asked, "Oh dear, what should we do? Should we send her back? But the child is so pitiful. The middleman sold her to us cheaply because he didn't see her true appearance, thinking she was dumb and thin, not worth much money. If he had seen how pretty she is, he might sell her to some unfavorable place."

Qian Sangui waved his hand and said, "We can't send her back. If we do, the child would suffer, and Manjiang would also be reluctant. Forget it, this child was brought back by you, and it must be fate that she has with our family, so let's keep her. Just remember that in the future we should try to not let her go out, and if she does, someone must accompany her."

To the delight of the entire family, after receiving everyone's comfort, Cheng Yue was no longer as scared and nervous as she was at the beginning. She seemed not too foolish, with abilities to eat, dress, undress, and use the latrine on her own, and she could even engage in simple conversations. The only issue was that she couldn't remember her past, and her intelligence was like that of a child of a few years old. This was already much better than at the start.

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Thank you to Qian Yi Yi Ren Yan and Milan Two, Hera@Qianlin for their support. Thank you for your recommendations and comments.

The name has been changed, as the editor that signed me said the original name wasn't very appealing, so we picked a new one. The original blurb was written for the former name, but since it's been changed, the blurb has been altered as well.

In this initial phase of the new book, I seek clicks, recommendations, favorites, and comments.