The old man turned on the light outside the house, illuminating the pathway that led to the backyard. It also helped his wife to see as she unlocked their front door. Madam Rong took out her keys from her saddle bag and unlocked the door, turning on the lights inside before letting Meng Yanran and their guests step inside their home.

  "Welcome to our humble home. It's not as grand as those hotel rooms you might have been used to, but I hope you'll be able to enjoy your stay with us. Please take a seat and let me change the sheets in one of our guest rooms. Is that all the luggage you have?" The old woman eyed the luggage Feng Tianyi was holding.

  He and Tang Moyu packed very lightly since they were only planning to spend a weekend here and would be back in Shenzhen before Monday comes.

  "Ah, please let me help. I'll pull our luggage instead. It's not that heavy." Feng Tianyi said when he realized what Madam Rong intended to do.

  "But your legs…" Tang Moyu reminded him, before eyeing the steps leading to the second floor.

  "It's not that high. I can manage, Moyu." He muttered, before following the old woman's lead, not giving the empress to argue with him.

  Feng Tianyi followed closely behind the old woman and took the steps carefully. He was able to walk around now without feeling much pain on his legs. His condition was improving each time he finished his therapy sessions back in Shenzhen.

  Had he known he would be able to gain the freedom of walking again, he would have agreed with his mother to take up rehabilitation therapy as soon as he could. He shouldn't have wallowed in self-pity for years, blaming himself for allowing the accident to happen.

  Tang Moyu only sighed and was left with Meng Yanran as Mister Rong went to the kitchen to find something to serve their guests. She took the time to look around the house, which was filled with old furniture that still served their purposes.

  The floor was made of hardwood and was kept in its pristine condition, in spite of the years it served. On the walls, there were several picture frames with family pictures and some cheap paintings, which were obviously done by an amateur. Overall, the place was like any house Tang Moyu had seen before.

  "Please take a seat. Are you here for a business, Miss Tang?" Meng Yanran chose not to ignore the empress anymore. It was useless to pretend that she didn't know who the woman was.

  "No, I'm merely accompanying my…" Tang Moyu paused as she considered how she should introduce Feng Tianyi. In the end, she chose to stick to what he had claimed earlier. "…my husband to check someone in this town."

  "Ohh…" Meng Yanran had no idea how to respond to that. If they were here for a private matter, then there was no need for her to be wary of them.

  Tang Moyu stared at her for a moment and pondered if she should reveal the truth. However, she decided not to, since the reason they were here was Feng Tianyi's business. She only tagged along to make sure he would be fine. Silence engulfed the two women as they were both deep in their own thoughts.

  A moment later, Feng Tianyi came back with Madam Rong. The empress noticed the scowl on his face and how he tried to avoid looking at her. Was he mad? She wondered. What had she done wrong this time for him to act like this?

  However, the empress wouldn't understand the frustration the devil was struggling with right now. If he had known this would happen, he would have convinced Tang Moyu to check in at a hotel first before going to the bar where Meng Yanran was working. It would have saved him from the headache and irritation as people continued to ruin his plans of having the empress to himself, alone, just the two of them.

  Feng Tianyi knew that Tang Moyu meant no harm, nor was she planning to offend him. She might have agreed with the old woman to poke for more answers as to why Meng Yanran had chosen to stay here than going back to Shenzhen after her divorce was finalized. Still, he couldn't help but be upset. Everything wasn't going on his plan and he had to go along with the changes.

  Throughout dinner, he remained silent and only talked when the old couple asked him a question. He let Tang Moyu answer the rest of their questions without revealing anything about the reason why they were here. At least, the empress was level headed enough not to disclose his business here.

  After dinner, Meng Yanran excused herself after helping clean the dirty dishes in the sink, leaving Tang Moyu and Feng Tianyi with the old couple. Tang Moyu followed Meng Yanran's retreating figure until she was totally out of sight.

  "It's the first time we met someone who also knew Miss Meng." Madam Rong said, aware that Tang Moyu's attention was on their other guest. "She came here a few weeks ago, one stormy night. She was shivering from cold and had nowhere to go as the hotels around were fully booked. It happened to be a festival season during that time."

  "So she's been staying here with you since then?" The empress asked with curiosity.

  "En." Mister Rong confirmed. "Miss Meng has been with us and has chosen to work at the bar to repay our kindness. She looked like she just ran away from her life and abandoned everything behind her. Something bad must have happened for her to refuse to look back or talk about where she came from. What about you, Miss Tang? How come you know Miss Meng?"

  "To be honest, Meng Yanran and I don't know each other on a personal level, but I do know her cousin. She's a good friend of mine." Tang Moyu explained to the couple.