Xiujuan was sitting on a chair in the inn, listening disappointedly to the news from outside. None of it was related to her husband. Where on earth could he be? Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, Xiujuan leaped to her feet.
She remembered that her husband had once said that his sister was a favored concubine in the imperial palace. So, was her husband perhaps in the palace too? The mere thought of it got Xiujuan all excited.
But her excitement faded quickly. The imperial palace was no easy place to get into. However, she wasn't one to give up. In this world, there was nothing that money couldn't solve. If there was, it was simply because not enough money had been spent.
A steely determination flashed in Xiujuan's eyes. From then on, she focused all her energy on the palace. Once she got in, everything would fall into place. She had found out that a group of maids and eunuchs from the palace would be going home to visit their families in three days. That would be her chance.
When Mu Fengqie heard about this, she was utterly speechless. What on earth was this woman thinking? How could she have taken a fancy to Mu Rendong of all people?
"Go and fetch Qian Tu. Tell him I have something to discuss with him." This matter was somehow related to Qian Tu. After all, it was Qian Tu who had killed Mu Rendong. He also had a say in how to deal with this woman.
On his way over, Qian Tu had already heard about the matter. At first, he didn't want to get involved. Mu Rendong was already dead. No matter how hard she searched, she wouldn't find him. Let the woman search on her own. In time, everyone would forget about it.
However, after Princess Tianlin summoned him regarding this matter, he immediately realized that things were no longer simple.
"Your servant pays respects to the princess," Qian Tu said, bowing.
"Don't stand on ceremony. It's been a long time since we last met, hasn't it? Ever since I told you about your birth parents, we haven't seen each other again," Mu Fengqie said, lost in thought.
"Your Highness is right," Qian Tu said, scratching his head shyly. He had now found his birth parents.
After leaving the princess that day, he had wandered aimlessly through the streets. In the end, he realized that he had nowhere to go. His adoptive parents were gone. Even though he had a mansion in the capital, it was just a place to live. It didn't feel like home at all.
The next day, the doorman reported that there were visitors. However, he had never heard of their names before. When the doorman mentioned that they were an elderly couple, Qian Tu was stunned because he remembered what the princess had told him the day before. She had said that his birth parents would arrive in the capital in the next couple of days.
For a moment, Qian Tu was torn. He didn't know if he should meet them.
"If you don't know them, sir, I'll just send them away," the doorman said, seeing that Qian Tu had been silent for a long time. He thought that Qian Tu didn't know these two people, so he offered to drive them away.
"Forget it. Let them in. Show them to the main hall. I'll change my clothes and go there," Qian Tu said. The clothes he was wearing were for the training ground. It wasn't appropriate to meet people in them, so he'd better go and change.
"Sir, do you think the child will recognize us?" an elderly woman said nervously, pacing back and forth.
"No matter what, we can't force the child. After all, it's our fault. We let him grow up without our care for so many years. Now that the child has achieved something, even if he doesn't recognize us... we can rest assured that he'll have a good life," the old man said with a sigh as he sat on the chair. If their family hadn't been so lax in security and had their newborn child stolen by their enemies, things wouldn't have turned out this way...
Qian Tu stood outside the door, listening to their conversation. A warm feeling welled up in his heart.
"Ahem..." Qian Tu coughed twice. The people inside immediately fell silent and looked nervously at the door. When they saw Qian Tu walking in, the old woman burst into tears.
This was her son, the son she had been looking for for so many years. "Child... I'm your mother. Mother has finally found you," the old woman said excitedly as she rushed over and hugged Qian Tu tightly.
Qian Tu was startled by the old woman's actions. He stood there stiffly, not knowing what to do. He had thought about how they would feel when they saw him, but he had never expected them to hug him like this.
The moment the old man saw Qian Tu, he was sure that this was their son. The weight that had been hanging over his heart finally lifted.
"Dear, let go of the child first," the old man said, seeing Qian Tu's stiffness. He forced himself to hold back his emotions and spoke.
"Yes, yes, yes. I'm just too excited. Don't mind me, child," the old woman said nervously as she let go of Qian Tu after hearing the old man's words. She sat down awkwardly on one side.
Qian Tu let out a sigh of relief after the old woman let go. Although he had known that they would come looking for him, he still wasn't prepared. The three of them sat in the main hall in silence. The atmosphere was a bit awkward for a moment.
The two old people didn't say a word because they were afraid. They didn't know what Qian Tu was thinking. What if he didn't want to recognize them?
Qian Tu didn't say anything because he didn't know what to say. After all, this was their first meeting.
"Um..."
"Um..."
"You go first..."
"You go first..."
Qian Tu and the two old people looked at each other and smiled. "Then I'll go first. My name is Qian Tu. My adoptive parents gave me this name. They hoped that I would have a bright future. They were very kind to me. However, they were killed not long ago," Qian Tu said briefly about his own situation.
Then he asked, "I know you came to the capital to look for your child, but I want to know, don't you need to confirm? You just looked at me and were sure that I'm your child?"
"We've already confirmed. I don't know if you've felt this kind of blood bond, but the moment I saw you, I felt a very familiar feeling in my body.
Over the years, there have been children who came to claim kinship with us, but they weren't the ones. There was no blood bond. "The old man looked at Qian Tu seriously and said. The old woman beside him also nodded seriously. It was because of this feeling that she was sure at first sight that this was her child.
"I..." Qian Tu bit his lips. "Just to be on the safe side, I'd like to do a blood test to prove our kinship," Qian Tu said as he looked at the two old people in front of him.
"Sure, no problem," the old man agreed without hesitation. He believed that the person in front of him was his son. There was no way he could be wrong.