A Ru also looked up at Mu Fengqie, an expression of sudden realization dawning on her face. No wonder she had felt an immediate sense of familiarity when she first laid eyes on Mu Fengqie. It was because they resembled each other so much. Perhaps this was the elder sister who had been separated from the family!
"Don't you have only a mother and no father? Are you the princess who was born outside the palace to our father the emperor?" A Ru asked excitedly.
In her excitement, A Ru blurted out all the details. By the time she realized her mistake, it was already too late. Mu Fengqie had already guessed the truth.
No wonder A Ru had been reluctant to tell them where she lived. She was the princess of Tianlin Kingdom. The current emperor of Tianlin was her uncle, which meant this little princess was her younger sister!
"Um... could you please forget what I just said?" A Ru said with a look of shame.
Xiao Mu and Zhu Fei both shook their heads vigorously, looking at A Ru as if they had seen a ghost.
Mu Fengqie suddenly came up with a brilliant idea. Since she knew nothing about her so - called uncle, she didn't dare to recognize him rashly. Now she could use this little princess to get closer to the palace.
"Since you're a princess, your status is special. It's too late for you to go anywhere else. You can stay here tonight, and we'll take you back tomorrow," Mu Fengqie said, trying to suppress her excitement.
A Ru nodded vigorously and then sighed. "I promise I'll go back with you obediently tomorrow. I just want to stay here for one night."
Mu Fengqie also nodded. She tossed and turned all night and couldn't fall asleep. She was going to meet her uncle tomorrow, and she had a strange feeling in her heart.
The first ray of morning sunlight shone on Mu Fengqie's face. She quickly opened her eyes and woke up A Ru, who was still sleeping soundly beside her.
"Let this princess sleep a little longer. I haven't slept enough yet!"
"If you don't get up right now, I'll throw you out."
Finally, under Mu Fengqie's threat, A Ru got up obediently. After they all washed and dressed up, they set off for the palace.
A Ru felt a surge of emotions. The place she had been so eager to escape from was now where she was returning. Only after leaving the palace did she realize how wonderful the outside world was, but after being away from home for so long, she began to miss her father and mother.
As a child of the royal family, although she had enjoyed endless wealth and honor since childhood, she had missed out on a lot of fun compared to ordinary children.
A Ru led them to the Yangxin Hall. From a distance, Mu Fengqie saw a man and a woman sitting on chairs. The man looked to be in his late thirties. The woman sitting beside him had a gentle expression.
Presumably, these were her uncle and aunt. The man looked a bit stern, but the woman seemed much gentler.
The emperor and the empress first saw the cute and naughty A Ru. The emperor's expression immediately darkened, while the empress burst into tears at the sight of A Ru.
They had doted on A Ru since childhood. The sudden disappearance of the princess was something they couldn't bear. Fortunately, she had returned safely.
"You unfilial child! How dare you come back? I'll break your legs!" The emperor gasped for breath in anger.
Mu Fengqie couldn't help but take a sharp breath. It seemed that her so - called uncle was extremely terrifying. It would be better to postpone the matter of recognizing her kin.
The empress quickly pulled the emperor back and comforted him. "A Ru is back. Our daughter has finally returned. Do you still want to scare her away?"
The emperor snorted but didn't mention beating A Ru again. A Ru happily ran to the empress and began to act coquettishly.
"Father, Mother, I met some kind people. It was this elder sister who took me in. I almost caused trouble for her because of my naughtiness, but she still took me in. She's really a kind person!" A Ru happily introduced Mu Fengqie to the emperor and the empress.
The emperor and the empress had been so happy that A Ru had returned safely to the palace that they didn't notice the people standing in the hall until they heard her words.
The moment the emperor and the empress saw Mu Fengqie, they were stunned. They both stood up at the same time and quickly walked towards her.
"Yu'er... is that you, Yu'er? Have you finally come back to see your elder brother?" the emperor said with tears in his eyes.
The empress's eyes were also red. Her eyes were full of pity and love. "Is it really Yu'er?"
Looking at the emperor and the empress, Mu Fengqie knew that they must have mistaken her for her mother. Her father hadn't recognized her at first either. It seemed that she and her mother looked exactly the same.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness, I'm not Yu'er. Yu'er is my mother..."
Mu Fengqie's words echoed in the ears of the emperor and the empress. After a while, they came to their senses. Yu'er had been away from Tianlin for a long time. The emperor had doted on Yu'er, his younger sister, the most. The empress had also treated Yu'er like a younger sister. That's why they had lost their composure.
"Yes, this is not Yu'er but Yu'er's daughter. Your Majesty, we've finally found her..." the empress said with a slight sob.
Mu Fengqie never expected things to develop like this. On the way here, she had been very nervous, worried that after so much time had passed, the emperor would not recognize her as a relative.
Who would have thought that the emperor and the empress would be so excited when they saw her and would recognize her even before she said a word.
"Yu'er's daughter has finally returned. Child, what's your name? Where have you been all these years? Have you been well?" the emperor asked a series of questions.
A Ru was completely confused, like a monk trying to figure out something beyond his understanding. She wanted to know what was going on. Who on earth was Yu'er?
She asked suspiciously, "Father, Mother, how do you know Sister Mu's mother?"
"She's your cousin. Yu'er is your aunt, my favorite younger sister!"
Seeing Mu Fengqie, the emperor was reminded of the happy times he had spent with Yu'er. They were siblings born of the same mother, so the emperor had doted on Yu'er. As the saying goes, an elder brother is like a father. But unexpectedly, Yu'er had secretly left Tianlin. In the end, he never waited for Yu'er to return. Instead, he received the news of her death.
So after that, the emperor had cut off all relations with Qin Dynasty. He had also been secretly looking for that child for many years, but to no avail. He had thought that the child was no longer alive. Unexpectedly, God had finally sent the child back to him. Yu'er's spirit in heaven could finally rest in peace.