Chapter 52: A Big Secret

Jiang Yang looked in surprise in the direction Chi Mei was looking. Amidst the intertwining crowd and lamplight, a man wearing simple clothes had his hair tied up in a simple bun, revealing his fair profile, clear and gentle like a pool of warm water. He was holding a small baby in his arms. The baby was crying, and the man lowered his head, making gentle sounds to soothe it. In his hand, he held a small carp lantern, swaying it in front of the baby’s eyes to distract it.

Was this Chi Mei’s brother, Fu Yue?

Chi Mei ran towards Fu Yue and hugged him tightly.

Jiang Yang wanted to pull him back but couldn’t.

Fu Yue was startled and annoyed at being suddenly hugged, but when he looked closely and realized it was his own younger brother Chi Mei, he was overjoyed. However, when he saw that Chi Mei had completely transformed into human form, Fu Yue’s joy turned to pain: “How did you become like this? How did you come to be on land?”

Tears of long-awaited reunion welled up in Chi Mei’s eyes as he cried about the pain of separation: “Brother, I’ve finally found you. How are you doing now? Have you found that heartless woman?”

At the mention of Jiang Qingzhou, Fu Yue’s expression changed slightly, and he said, “I’ve already found her. She treats me very well.”

“Nonsense,” Chi Mei retorted, “Jiang Yang told me that during the Lantern Festival, it’s crowded and lively, and men need to be accompanied by women for safety when going out. If she really treated you well, how could she let you come to the Lantern Festival alone? Why isn’t she here with you?”

Fu Yue’s eyes darkened: “She’s been very busy these days, unable to take care of me and the child… But she, she does care about me. She knows I gave up my merman tail to come ashore and find her, so she found a house for me and the child to live in. Someone takes care of all our needs. Mei’er, you don’t need to worry about me.”

Chi Mei’s eyes narrowed, and he suddenly asked: “She found a house for you? Why didn’t she bring you to live in her home? I remember you once said she had already married a husband. Is it that her husband won’t let you in, or is it that she doesn’t want you to come in? So she just found some random house outside to send you and the child away?”

Having stayed in human society for a while, the stupid fish had gradually become smarter, his thoughts slowly becoming more comprehensive and thorough.

Fu Yue held the child, his downcast eyes covered by thick eyelashes, hiding the disappointment lurking in their depths: “She’s doing it for my own good, not sending me and the child away… Didn’t I say she treats me and the child very well? Besides, staying outside means I don’t have to worry about her husband’s attitude. Behind closed doors, we can live our own little life. We’re very happy.”

Fu Yue’s voice was hoarse, and it wasn’t clear whether he was saying this to Chi Mei or to himself, trying to numb his own feelings.

But clearly, these words could no longer deceive the now-smarter stupid fish. When it came to others’ love affairs, the stupid fish was always particularly clear-headed. There was a hint of resentment in his eyes as he said in a low, angry voice: “Brother, if she really liked you, she would be like Jiang Yang, bringing me into her home, not hiding you away without even giving you a proper status.”

When mentioning status, there was a hint of pride in the stupid fish’s eyes, making Jiang Yang too embarrassed to look up.

“Jiang Yang?” Fu Yue asked, puzzled.

“Jiang Yang is my wife-master. Brother, I’ve found someone I like too.” Chi Mei took Jiang Yang’s hand, the light from the lantern in his hand making the smile on his face look especially soft.

“How did you trick my brother into your hands?” Fu Yue looked at Jiang Yang, his eyes angry yet weary. Perhaps angry at the cunning human woman for deceiving the naive and innocent merman prince into cutting off his fish tail, and weary that both he and his brother had been taken advantage of by human women.

Jiang Yang smiled shamelessly: “It’s a long story.”

“You—” Fu Yue was at a loss for words.

Chi Mei stood between Jiang Yang and Fu Yue, saying: “Brother, Jiang Yang didn’t trick me. I wanted to stay with Jiang Yang forever, so I used a forbidden book to become human. It has nothing to do with Jiang Yang. She treats me very well.”

“Really?” Fu Yue asked skeptically.

Chi Mei nodded frantically: “Of course it’s true.”

Fu Yue composed himself and asked: “You just said she gave you a status. What status? Has she properly married you?”

“It’s almost like that. My current status is Jiang Yang’s little attendant. Although we’re not officially married, everyone in the Jiang family knows I’m Jiang Yang’s man!” Chi Mei said stupidly, his proud expression almost reaching the sky.

“……” Hearing the words “little attendant,” Fu Yue’s heart had already sunk halfway. His stupid brother was just as foolish as he was.

But he had just mentioned the Jiang family?

“Jiang Yang, are you Jiang Yang?”

Jiang Yang was slightly surprised: “How do you know me?”

Fu Yue said: “Your elder sister often mentions you.”

Jiang Qingzhou often mentions her? No way! Jiang Yang thought to herself, why would she mention her? Was it because she hadn’t hidden herself well enough?

“Elder sister?” Chi Mei, still not fully grasping the situation, asked: “Brother, how do you know Jiang Yang’s elder sister?”

Fu Yue looked calmly at Chi Mei and said: “My wife-master is your Jiang Yang’s elder sister.”

“Jiang Qingzhou is Jiang Yang’s elder sister?!” Chi Mei shouted: “I originally thought it was just the same name. This world is really small.”

When Chi Mei discovered Fu Yue and Jiang Yang couldn’t hold him back, Jiang Yang knew that sooner or later there would be a time of reckoning between her and Jiang Qingzhou. To be honest, she was indeed looking forward to seeing how Jiang Qingzhou would react when she found out that her own younger sister had discovered that her kept man was a merman.

“Where’s my sister? If she’s not at home, she should be with you, right?” Jiang Yang said to Fu Yue.

Fu Yue shook his head while holding the child: “She’s not with me. She’s really been very busy lately, rarely coming to see me. If she were here, she definitely wouldn’t let me go out alone with the child.”

“She hasn’t been with you during this time?” Surprise flashed in Jiang Yang’s eyes.

Jiang Qingzhou’s whereabouts had been very mysterious lately. She hadn’t been at the Jiang residence for a long time, nor had she been socializing with colleagues. Initially, Jiang Yang thought it was because of Fu Yue, that she was secretly going to see Fu Yue and the child. Who knew that even Fu Yue and the child were just a cover.

Judging from Fu Yue’s expression, he didn’t seem to be lying. But if Jiang Qingzhou wasn’t in the military camp, wasn’t at the Jiang residence, wasn’t socializing with officials in Changning County, and didn’t even look at her kept man, where could she be?

Jiang Yang lowered her eyes in thought, suddenly a heavy, dangerous light flashed in her eyes. Being from a prominent family, she had developed a natural political acuity, alert to any small differences compared to usual, and then linking together the scattered information she had collected.

Jiang Qingzhou had always stayed in the Changning County military camp, yet she rescued Fu Yue at the seaside; now Jiang Qingzhou’s whereabouts were uncertain, but there was no unusual activity in the military camp. There was also the depleted national treasury, and their mother Jiang Shuiping, who had withdrawn from political affairs many years ago to focus on spiritual pursuits… She seemed to have glimpsed some incredible big secret.