Reborn: Revenge of the Concubine’s Daughter

Feng Jiugu was 41 years old now. She was the sister of Feng Yilian, Bangzhu (the leader) of Caobang Organization, and the aunt of Feng Yang, the Young Bangzhu of Caobang Organization. She was a Hmong girl adopted by Grandpa Feng from the southwest area in his early years. It was said that she was an orphan girl of Grandpa Feng’s best friend. Her parents entrusted her to Grandpa Feng before they died. Because of her beauty, Grandpa Feng had planned to let her be the wife of his son when she grew up, but a fortune-teller said that she was a white tiger spirit in the previous life and would capture her husband’s life. Therefore, Grandpa Feng finally adopted Feng Jiugu as his foster daughter.

When Feng Jiugu was 18 years old, Grandpa Feng gave an open challenge to fight, so as to choose a strong husband for her. But a year later, the strong man died of tuberculosis. Grandpa Feng was surprised, so he found a Tangzhu (the leader of a sector in an organization) of Caobang Organization to be her husband. Half a year later, that Tangzhu sailed to the North Zhili Area (areas directly administered by the capital) to do a business. When he came back, he was drowned in a big storm but everyone on the same ship was fine.

Since then, not only were outsiders convinced that the white tiger spirit was fated to mourn her husband’s death, but also Feng Jiugu began to believe it. That Tangzhu was good at kung fu and swimming. After putting on a diving suit, he could swim across a big river. How could he be drowned? He died must because the white tiger spirit sucked out of his energy, and then the ghost caught him to the hell!

After Grandpa Feng died, Madam Feng became the wife in charge of Feng’s Family. She had a bad relationship with Feng Jiugu and often made trouble for her. Later, Feng Jiugu moved to a separate courtyard of Feng’s Family. Feng Yilian tried to get her home many times, but Madam Feng was displeased, so she didn’t come back to Feng’s Family in the end.

Madam Feng always made trouble for her with no reason, so Feng Jiugu didn’t live well in the separate courtyard, and she refused to take the money of Feng Yilian. Later, she met Madam Luo who had been “assigned” to Sanqing Temple to meditate half a year and had helped Madam Luo a lot. It was said that the friends someone made when she was in a low position and poverty were very precious, so when Madam Luo went back to Luo’s Mansion, she invited Feng Jiugu to live with her.

Feng Jiugu’s mother, the “Poison Lady”, once was a chivalrous woman in Jianghu. When Feng Jiugu was young, she also got some books about poison, venomous insects and medicine. She didn’t have those terrifying skills like her mother, but she had inherited her mother’s interest of working with medical bottles and jars. Therefore, Madam Luo appointed her as the administrator of Pharmacy at Luo’s Mansion. The standard for her eating and dressing was the same as that of Luo Baiqian and Luo Baiying. But in order to avoid gossip, Madam Luo didn’t use the money of Luo’s Family. Instead, she drew money directly from the profit of her dowry to support Feng Jiugu, as if she was supporting a sister from her natal family by using her natal family’s money.

Feng Yang, Feng Jiugu’s nephew, was not the biological son of Madam Feng. However, other children of Feng Yilian were all girls, and Feng Yang was the only son of him, so Madam Feng made Feng Yang her legitimate son and brought Feng Yang up by herself. About 10 years ago, Feng Yang ran away from home for no reason and the whole family searched him everywhere with vexation. All people of Caobang Organization were sent to look for their little master, and the government also sent many people to help, but no one could find Feng Yang, an 8-year-old boy.

A few days later, at dust, Feng Jiugu came back after going out to burn incense. She saw a little beggar squatting on the side door of the back lane of Luo’s Mansion with a uniform paste of mud on his face. Almost every morning, a carriage loading the steamed buns would be pushed out at this side door, so Feng Jiugu thought that beggar came to beg for steamed buns. Then she went forward and gave him a string of 1,000 qian, and told him that the steamed buns were only available in the morning, so he could come again at dawn of tomorrow. However, the little beggar didn’t accept the money. He jumped up suddenly and hugged Feng Jiugu, rubbed the mud on her clothes and cried and called her “mom”, which really scared her.

When Feng Jiugu saw his face, she realized that he was Feng Yang, the only son of her elder brother, whose family was looking for him worriedly.

Actually, when Feng Jiugu heard about the disappearance of her nephew Yang, who was very close to her, she was also very worried for her elder brother’s family. Today, she went to the temple to burn incense for the safety of Feng Yang. Now she was very glad to see Feng Yang standing in front of her safely. But what he did really scared her. Not only did he pretend to be a little beggar and hide in this place, but he called her “mom”! Although she had married twice in her youth, her two husbands died before she had a child.

After talking with Feng Yang, Feng Jiugu learned that although he was brought up by Madam Feng, he had a bad time in Feng’s Family. Madam Feng was very strict with him. If he couldn’t recite the book, he would be punished to kneel all night in the haunted ancestral hall.

He had overheard a private communication between two whimsical maids that he might be the son of Feng Jiugu and Feng Yilian. They said that Feng Jiugu was not Grandpa Feng’s biological daughter. Therefore, Madam Feng didn’t like Jiugu and often went to the separate courtyard to make trouble for her. Little Feng Yang took these words to his heart. Remembering that his aunt had been so kind to him, he was even more convinced that Feng Jiugu was his mom, so he tried every means to escape from Feng’s Family. After making up (smearing mud all over his face) and hiding, he first went to the separate courtyard to find Feng Jiugu, and a few days later, he came here to find her.

After knowing the reason, Feng Jiugu told Feng Yang seriously that although she didn’t know which confidante of her elder brother gave birth to him, she had no romantic relationship with her elder brother and never had a child, so she was not his mother, but his aunt.

She was afraid of Feng Yang running away, so she took him to Madam Luo. Given the thoughts of Madam Feng, she worried that Madam Feng would take her anger out on Feng Yang. Therefore, Feng Jiugu hurried to wash him up and changed his beggar’s clothes, while asking Madam Luo to inform Feng’s Family in the name of Luo’s Family to get Feng Yang back, saying that Luo’s Family accidentally found him. Later, Feng Yilian personally came to take Feng Yang away. He no longer let Madam Feng bring up Feng Yang, but sent Feng Yang to Wudang Sect at Mount Taihe to be a laity, hoping that Feng Yang could learn some good skills to take over his business in the future.

More than half a year ago, Feng Yang came back to Feng’s Family after his studies and began to take over all businesses of Caobang Organization from Feng Yilian.

Feng Yang was no longer the snotty kid a decade ago. Except for his face, his temper and daily habits were so different from those in his childhood. He even couldn’t speak the simplest Yangzhou dialect. But Feng Yang was very clever and he spoke Yangzhou dialect when he was a child, so a few months later, he could spoke the same dialect as the locals.

Although Madam Luo had only seen Feng Yang once when he was a child, but she liked the boy with the black eyes that seemed to be able to speak. Now she saw him again, and his features were almost unchanged. Only the outline of his face was more masculine. Feng Jiugu missed her nephew so much, but she had no relationship with Feng’s Family for many years and could not find out any information about Feng Yang. Madam Luo thought that now that she happened to meet Feng Yang on the road, she must take him home to see Jiugu!

Thinking about this, Madam Luo jumped out of the gharry, walked to Feng Yang and warmly invited him, “Yang, if you have nothing urgent to do today, please come to Luo’s Mansion. Your aunt misses you very much. She heard that you went to the north to study. Every year, she made some winter clothes for you according to the size of the boy of your age. She wanted to ask someone to bring the clothes to you when you came home to visit your family. But you never came back, so she has several wardrobes of your clothes now!”

Feng Yang turned the folding fan in his hand, and looked a little bit worried. He explained in a low voice, “Madam Luo, you don’t know that when I learned skills in my childhood, I hit my head by accident. I forget many things and many people. Although I still remember that I have an aunt living in Luo’s Mansion, I cannot remember more details. For fear of upsetting my aunt, I dare not visit her. As for you, Madam Luo… I saw you in the garden of Guan’s Mansion two months ago and was introduced that you were the respectable Madam Luo.”

“Ah…! I remember you. You are the boy who hit the monkey away!” It dawned on Madam Luo that she was familiar with Feng Yang not because she remembered the little boy of ten years ago, but because she had seen him in Guan’s Mansion a few days ago!