章節 29: Lifen Ma

Xinyi was so happy to see another lady with her and keep her from getting lonely. With another human around, her cheery disposition came back. Relieved was the word to describe the Qilin and the bird's feelings to see her smiling and laughing now.

That morning, she was so low in spirit and thought of selling her jewelry so she could travel and find Yan Ma. They tried to stop her, but she said she wouldn't change her mind. So, they brought in more animals to comfort her, but it added to her sadness instead. Xinyi thanked them but expressed to live a normal life with people.

The two tried to encourage and console her in any way they knew but to no avail. Then, they tried to make her laugh while playing in the pool, then this human came and played with her. So, they welcomed Madame Lei with open arms.

Actually, the two didn't know she was Xinyi's mother-in-law. Only the panda knew. Even though Shíjiān was a Qilin, she was still young and lack experience. She couldn't sense anything out of the ordinary from Madame Lei aside from the ring.

Later, while changing with Xinyi's clothes, she saw the painting got wet. "Oh my, I hope it's not damaged." She opened it and saw the color didn't fade or smear. Only the accumulated dust darkened the cloth. "Whew! Thank goodness, it wasn't ruined."

While staring at it, Madame thought of Ming and the panda's warning. She sat with her hands folded on her chest. "What could have happened? Anyway, he's living here. I can ask him later. For now, I need to give this ring and painting to Xinyi."

She left her room and brought the two objects to Xinyi's room. "Xinyi, may I go in?"

"Come in," said Xinyi.

Madame Lei watched Xinyi, busy arranging her clothes in her bundle. The mother-in-law sighed and thought of keeping her true identity from Xinyi until she had a good talk with the panda.

"Xinyi, my name is Lifen, but I want you to call me Ma. I'm not that very young as you think, and I want a daughter like you. So please, just call me Ma." She heard Xinyi's painful past from Yan Ma and Grandma Liu and felt sorry for the child. Now that she was here with her, she wished to fill the hole in her daughter-in-law's heart and make this child happy and to bring the newlywed couple together.

Xinyi turned around and softly said, "Lifen Ma." Her heart swelled as she said those words and tears welled up on her eyelids. "I love it too. It's wonderful to have a Mama," she said and became self-conscious and wiped the tears with the back of her hand. "Don't mind me…" and moved to turn her back.

However, Lifen Ma didn't let her. Instead, she pulled Xinyi into her embrace with no hesitations. "Don't hide your tears from me because I am your Ma now." Those words had layers of messages, but in Xinyi's ears, it only meant she had a mother now and broke the floodgates of tears and heartaches deep inside her.

Xinyi poured out her loneliness, resentments with her family, frustrations with her marriage, her disappointments with Ming, and her longing for someone to care and love her. She received her Lifen Ma's embrace and wailed like a child on the elder's shoulders while the mother-in-law brushed the back of her head.

An hour after, Xinyi's cries subsided but didn't leave Lifen Ma's arms right away because the latter's assuring voice and warmth filled that empty spot in her heart and feared to lose this warm arms if she let go... the same way she lost Yan Ma and Grandma Liu.

Years ago, she cried hard when Grandma Liu left the valley for a mission. She waited for days, to weeks, to years, but the old woman didn't come back. Then they took Yan Ma from her. Hence, she believed no mother would love her. But with Lifen Ma now, Xinyi couldn't bear to part from her or lose her too or regret accepting this motherly affection.

When she was young, Yan Ma tried to replace her mother's role but her mindset as a servant was a gap she couldn't breach. So, her respect for Xinyi as her master became the hindrance to fulfill that role but with Lifen Ma, there was no master-servant relationship. Only the understanding and care of a mother to her daughter. Therefore, Xinyi decided to hold this person in her life no matter what.

Minutes after, they heard their bellies' loud groaning. Both of them looked at each other and laughed heartily. Good timing, the panda came in and reminded them. "My Lady, you better change your clothes now and the food is now ready," the panda said.

"Xionmao, stop calling me formally. Just call me Xinyi," said Xinyi, forgetting she sounded like a panda in Lifen Ma's ears.

The latter's brain went static for a moment to hear the two communicating. Xinyi grunted and clicked her tongue the same as the black and white animal, and the panda replied with the same sounds. They conversed this way, disregarding the other person who couldn't understand a thing they said.

After catching up with the reality that her daughter-in-law was the young Sorceress who loved and could speak to animals, she minded her manners, closed her gaping mouth, and coughed a bit.

Xinyi then remembered her and felt ashamed. "Sorry, Ma. I got carried away. You see, talking to animals is a normal thing to me so, sorry," Xinyi said timidly as she made an awkward smile and patted the panda's head. "Ma, he is Xionmao. He is the guardian of this place. He is the oldest among the animals in the Gov… in here," and swiftly added, "Xionmao, this is my new Mama. You must respect her as you respect me."

Lifen grasped the unfinished phrase, 'Governor's estate', and saw the sadness in Xinyi's eyes and voice. From there, she realized part of the story why Xionmao warned her.

'I think she had resentments against Ming. This is quite a bit of a problem. How am I going to reconcile the couple? What will be her reaction if I tell her I'm her mother-in-law or even mention Ming?' She clucked her tongue and shook her head. 'I'm sorry, Ming. Your wife's and my return will take more time than I expected.'

創作者的想法
JoanB

Please give this author a favor. If you feel bored reading or find a lot of unnecessary things in this story, please tell to help me improve it. I would really appreciate it.

Creation is hard, cheer me up!

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