After considering this, Jiang Li said, “If it is convenient for Magistrate Pan, let’s register the pastry shop under your name. I will have the shop sign changed to ‘Ji Family Pastry Shop.’ However, this is only for the name; the house deed and land deed will remain in my name and will not be changed.”
Jiang Li did not explain the reason for doing this, and Pan Shiyan did not ask.
Hearing that he would have a way to stay in contact with his daughter, Pan Shiyan was very happy.
However, Pan Shiyan had other opinions regarding the name of the pastry shop.
“Could it be changed to ‘Ji Family Pastry Shop’? I want people to know that A-Yan once existed. Miss Jiang, please rest assured, I will have people spread the word about the nominal ownership you mentioned, so that others know that I am the owner of that pastry shop.”
“Very well. Perhaps we can just tell the public that Magistrate Pan found his daughter, and since she loves pastries, he bought the Jiang Family Pastry Shop.”
After Jiang Li and Pan Shiyan reached an agreement, she left with A-Gua.
A-Gua felt no attachment and did not even look at Pan Shiyan once.
To A-Gua, the father figure, Pan Shiyan, was a total stranger.
Not only had she never seen him since she could remember, but she also frequently saw her mother wiping away tears because of him.
Therefore, in A-Gua’s memory, her father was not a good person from the start; he only made her mother sad.
Later, the experience of her mother bringing her to the capital only made A-Gua dislike, and even hate, the father, Pan Shiyan.
Jiang Li did not want to interfere too much in the father-daughter relationship between A-Gua and Pan Shiyan. She felt a connection with A-Gua and was willing to take extra care of her.
In her previous life, Jiang Li had raised two ungrateful sons, but she had never raised a daughter.
If A-Gua was unwilling to return to her father, Pan Shiyan, then after Jiang Li eventually divorced from the Yin family, she could simply take A-Gua with her and raise her as her own daughter.
After what happened at the teahouse, A-Gua understood that Jiang Li had no intention of abandoning her.
Consequently, A-Gua was in a very good mood.
“Sister, I like the pastry shop. I can help with the work.”
Jiang Li smiled: “You are still young; you don’t need to work. I left you at the pastry shop just to place you there temporarily. If you are interested in picking beans, you can sit and play, but don’t overexert yourself. Do you want to study? I can send you to live at the Jiang residence, and I will find someone to teach you.”
Jiang Li thought that since A-Gua was clever, perhaps studying would be a better choice for her.
Surprisingly, A-Gua shook her head firmly: “I don’t want to.”
“Why? Does A-Gua not like reading?”
“I heard people say that scholars are often cold-hearted. A-Gua does not want to become someone like Father.”
Mentioning Pan Shiyan, A-Gua’s eyes filled with sadness.
It wasn’t Pan Shiyan she was thinking of, but her mother.
Jiang Li did not press the matter further; instead, she took A-Gua’s hand and went to a candied hawthorn stall to buy her a treat, then sent her back to the pastry shop.
Jiang Li exhorted: “Be good. I will come to see you again when I have time.”
Suddenly, A-Gua grabbed the corner of Jiang Li’s sleeve: “Sister, when are you moving out of that other person’s house? There is a place to stay at the pastry shop. Or, can I live with you at the Jiang residence?”
Jiang Li remembered that when she placed A-Gua at the pastry shop, she had mentioned that she was currently living in someone else’s house.
Warmth sprouted in Jiang Li’s heart, and a smile tugged at the corner of her lips: “It won’t be long. When the time comes, we will live together.”
A-Gua was very happy and finally smiled like a child.
Jiang Li informed the shopkeeper of the change in ownership. After Pan Shiyan finished his duties at the office, he came to handle the matters and had the new sign made.
Afterward, Jiang Li returned to the Yin residence quietly.
After Pan Shiyan finished his duties, he first went to the pastry shop to meet with the shopkeeper; the new sign was put up quickly.
Seeing the words “Ji Family Pastry Shop,” Pan Shiyan felt an incomparable heaviness in his heart.
He had already entrusted someone to investigate the situation with Ji Yan, wanting to clarify if it was true.
But Pan Shiyan also knew that getting the truth from his mother, Madam Song, would be faster.
Pan Shiyan composed himself and returned home, where Madam Song had already prepared dinner.
Seeing Pan Shiyan return, Madam Song’s eyes were full of smiles; she looked entirely like a benevolent and kind mother.
As Madam Song set the bowls and chopsticks for her son, she asked: “Was it busy at the office today? Why are you back so late?”
Pan Shiyan did not answer her question, instead asking: “Mother, do you know that Yan-niang fell ill and passed away?”
Madam Song’s movements stalled, and the expression on her face stiffened: “What did you say?”
Pan Shiyan had lived with Madam Song for many years and could clearly see how clumsy her performance was.
But why had he never noticed anything unusual before?
For five whole years, if he had discovered his mother was lying to him sooner, perhaps Yan-niang would not have died.
Pan Shiyan summoned his servant and questioned him in front of Madam Song.
The servant said he was still looking, that he hadn’t found Ji Yan and her daughter, and that Ji Yan might have remarried.
Pan Shiyan found it laughable; he had been paying the servant his monthly wages all this time, yet the man had been deceiving him.
Pan Shiyan said coldly: “You and I have been master and servant; out of consideration for our past, I will not sell you off. I will have the steward return your deed of sale to you. From now on, you have no relation to the Pan household.”
The servant was stunned and began to beg for mercy and admit his fault.
Although he had only been with Pan Shiyan for a few years, his life had been stable, and he never had to worry about food or clothing. If he were kicked out, he didn’t know if he could live better than he did now.
The servant pleaded with Madam Song: “Old Madam, please, I beg you to persuade Master.”
Madam Song frowned and said: “Shiyan, stop acting foolishly. It’s just a woman. Even if she died of illness, what does that have to do with anyone else?”
Tears welled up in Pan Shiyan’s eyes, and his voice trembled: “She was my wife. If it weren’t for you interfering, why would I have been separated from her? You even drove her away and refused to acknowledge her. Mother, I fear I will have no way to be a filial son to you in the future.”
Madam Song panicked and hurriedly asked: “What do you mean by this?”
“My heart is dead. After learning of Yan-niang’s death, I only wish to follow her in death. I do not want this official position anymore, either.”
Madam Song said angrily: “For that cheap woman, you don’t even want your own mother? You worked so hard to pass the imperial exam and become a top scholar; if you resign, who are you doing justice to?”
“I don’t understand. You are my mother, she is my wife; why must I choose one over the other? I cannot hold you accountable for what you have done. I will give you two choices: either I resign and return to my hometown, or you return to your hometown alone.”
Madam Song realized that her son had not given her a choice at all.
She could not let her son resign, so this was his way of chasing her away.
“For her sake, you don’t even want your mother.”
Pan Shiyan closed his eyes helplessly; it seemed that no matter what he said, his mother would never understand.
Pan Shiyan said: “Since Mother is unwilling to choose, I will go to my superiors tomorrow to resign. I will take Yan-niang’s remains back and spend the rest of my life guarding her grave.”
Madam Song was truly afraid. She knew how much her son loved that woman, but she never expected that after five years, he would still be unable to forget her.
“Fine, I will return to my hometown.”