Chapter 207: Reconciliation Attempt
After she said that, the room was enveloped in a pin drop silence.
Except for her children who had been aware of it, Zhou Wenzhi and Zhou Shuran were hearing it for the first time.
Even for Xiao Fenghao and others, they still feel surprised whenever their father’s real identity was mentioned, so they just kept their silence.
Zhou Shuran sucked in a cold breath. "E-elder sister... he is the Emperor?"
The status was so unbelievable that Zhou Wenzhi frowned and wanted to make sure. "Ran’er, are you sure?"
Sighing, Zhou Anran explained to them about the first time they met after so many years, how he saved her from a landslide, and his guards.
"They call him ’His Majesty’..." she explained.
Zhou Wenzhi’s face grew thoughtful. He had been hearing bits of information from Zhou Defeng, but not one of it was about the imperial family.
Perhaps he should ask his good brother about such information later.
Seeing their tense and worried look, Zhou Anran suddenly remembered her eldest son’s words and added. "Or he might not be the Emperor... his current identity is still unclear."
She glanced at her youngest daughter, but Xiao Qingya’s inner thoughts stayed quiet.
Zhou Wenzhi let out a breathe. "Since they call him with such a title... let’s treat him like one."
He proceeded to tell his daughters and grandchildren to be careful around him; it didn’t matter whether he was their father, because human hearts were unpredictable.
If Xiao Yuanwei had just recovered his memories, his true intention still needed to be tested a few times, because some people became like a different person once they held power in their hands.
They listened to his words carefully, and a heavy feeling settled on their hearts, especially for Zhou Anran’s children.
The next day, Xiao Yuanwei actually came again early in the morning, still bringing his previous subordinates with him.
"Father-in-law," he greeted Zhou Wenzhi shamelessly, and then turned to Zhou Anran. His tone softened. "Wife."
He also nodded at his children in acknowledgement.
His subordinates still felt some shock when they saw the similar scene again like yesterday. They thought it was a dream, but now apparently it wasn’t.
Their master really had lectured them to treat the Zhou family members respectfully, openly admitting they were the family he had built during his years missing.
Zhou Wenzhi and others had their eyelids twitched. They were still not used to it, and perhaps, it would take them a lot of time before they gradually accepted his sudden change.
Xiao Yuanwei proceeded to tell his subordinates to bring the boxes of gifts inside. No matter how Zhou Wenzhi and Zhou Anran refused, they were ultimately defeated by his words.
They found out that perhaps Xiao Yuanwei really wanted to pursue Zhou Anran again.
Zhou Wenzhu cleared his throat. "Let’s go back to the fields."
They were going to continue installing the bamboo water irrigation again. Everyone nodded, and they went directly to the fields in their small convoy.
Xiao Yuanwei’s subordinates were a little conspicuous because they were each riding on their own horses. It was only him who took the carriage.
Originally, he invited them to take the carriage with him, but they refused. He didn’t insist much, understanding that their acceptance would still take a while, especially Zhou Anran’s.
He did remember how hard it was when it came to winning her heart back then. She was a filial child who cared about her family, putting their happiness first before hers.
In order to take care of her younger sister and other family members, she was willing to postpone her own marriage, focusing on working in the fields.
It didn’t take long for them to finally arrive at their destination.
"Go back to work!" Xiao Yuanwei immediately ordered his subordinates.
"Yes, Master!" They all chorused and went to do their task again.
Zhou Wenzhi and Zhou Anran exchanged glances, already determined that Xiao Yuanwei wasn’t angry at their refusal to ride in his carriage.
In the end, the process of installing the bamboo water irrigation took several more days. Even when Xiao Yuanwei couldn’t be present, he would still send his subordinates.
"He directly accompanied us for two days since early morning," Zhou Wenzhi told his eldest daughter. "Emperors usually held morning courts."
Zhou Anran nodded thoughtfully, planning to observe more.
Even after the process of installing the bamboo water irrigation finished, they soon found out that he still went to visit, even bringing another familiar face with him, Su Wan.
"Sister Anran, long time no see!" She grinned at her. When she received the look from her brother, she immediately changed her form of address.
"No, it’s not Sister Anran, I should call you sister-in-law!" She corrected herself.
Zhou Anran was rather speechless. She didn’t know how to respond to that. Su Wan naturally noticed her awkwardness and didn’t make it difficult for her.
Only heavens know how happy she was when she found out that she had been correct about her imperial brother having a family with Zhou Anran during the years he was missing.
"Brother, why don’t you invite Sister Anran and her children to meet our parents?" She had proposed, but was met with an awkward stare from him.
He had to explain. "It has been so many years after all, and with my change of status, they don’t feel comfortable with it yet. I have to take it slowly."
Then it dawned on Su Wan that her imperial brother hadn’t been able to reconcile with his wife and children yet. And thus, she was determined to help him.
"Don’t worry, Imperial Brother. I am close with Sister Anran, so I will visit her along with you." She patted her own chest, making it her mission to make them get together again.
Xiao Yuanwei also tried to get close to the children. He sighed when he saw Xiao Fenghao. "Hao’er, you resemble me the most."
Xiao Fenghao was alarmed. "I don’t think so. I resemble an ox more..."