"I... I didn't lie to you," Su Wan'er stammered, not knowing how to explain.
Long Xiaojiu frowned and, after pulling the two of them apart, fled in a hurry.
Su Wan'er instinctively wanted to chase after her, but Si Junlin stopped her.
"Don't cause any more trouble. She was going to leave anyway. Do you really want this South Border spinster to go on an expedition with us?"
"Xiaojiu is angry. Wait for me. I'll go and explain it to her clearly."
"Don't you dare." Si Junlin seemed to have gotten used to the inner strength in Su Wan'er's body. He grabbed her back easily.
You...
Just as Su Wan'er was about to argue with him, Yue'er beside them started crying. It turned out that she had tried to escape again during the commotion but was caught by two soldiers and brought back.
"Don't be afraid. Uncle already knows that you didn't mean to hurt Uncle," Su Wan'er said. Maybe because of her repeated kind acts, Yue'er seemed to trust Su Wan'er a little.
"Then let me go, Uncle. I want to find my mother."
"Do you know where your mother is?" Su Wan'er had already guessed that her mother was probably killed by Yu Wenshan when she was captured. And if it weren't for... the token in her hand that protected her from the gu worms, she might have become another victim of Yu Wenshan.
"I... I don't know."
"Is your mother really the leader of the Black Tiger Stronghold?"
"No, that... that's not my mother. I don't know who that is. My mother is a princess," Yue'er said, staring with her big eyes.
"Princess?" Su Wan'er was surprised. She thought this was just a child of a commoner Yu Wenshan had captured from some village. If what the child said wasn't just a joke her mother used to tell, was she Si Junlin's niece?
"But I don't remember. There shouldn't be any princesses in the palace now, right?" Most of the former emperor's younger princesses had been sent to marry into other countries for peace, and the older ones were now in their fiefs.
"Nonsense. How could a princess be here?" Si Junlin seemed to have thought of something and leaned closer to Yue'er.
He had noticed from the beginning that this child was not an ordinary one. Even when everyone was in so much pain that they fell to the ground, she didn't seem very scared.
"Which country's princess is your mother?"
"My mother is the eldest princess of the Great Gong. But she told me not to tell others. Uncle, can you help me find her? I'll make her thank you and give you her treasure, okay?"
Sure enough, the eldest princess of the Great Gong. Presumably, she was the daughter of Princess Leshui of the former dynasty, who had tried to rebel with the imperial jade seal and proclaimed herself princess. It seemed this child was truly of royal blood. But now that the Great Gong had been overthrown by the rebellion and the Jin Kingdom had taken its place, there was no such thing as a princess anymore.
"Treasure? What kind of treasure?"
"It's a big piece of beautiful jade. It's so nice, with two dragons carved on it."
Now Su Wan'er completely understood. This treasure was probably the imperial jade seal of the Great Gong.
Originally, the jade seal had disappeared when the rebel army occupied the Great Gong Palace. Then there had been an uprising led by the daughter of Princess Leshui, who wanted to re - establish the Great Gong Dynasty. This had been a headache for the royal family of the Jin Kingdom in the early years. Who would have thought that the princess had now been killed by Yu Wenshan.
But where on earth was the jade seal? If it fell into Yu Wenshan's hands, it would be a big problem.
"When your mother was taken away, did those people rummage through your house?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen my mother since she was taken away. Uncle, take me to find her," Yue'er said. Now she seemed to have overcome her fear and began to think that Su Wan'er was someone she could trust.
"Don't worry. Don't be afraid. You follow Uncle first, and Uncle will take you to find your mother, okay?"
If she were an ordinary person, there might still be a chance of survival. But if her mother was really the daughter of a princess of the former dynasty, Yu Wenshan would have killed her without hesitation.
Su Wan'er could only comfort her like this for now. The child was only five years old. Since they had met, it was fate. So let her stay with them.
"Now that the matter is clear, please send this child back, Your Majesty," Si Junlin reminded Su Wan'er. They definitely couldn't take a child to the battlefield.
"Send her where? I'm going to take her with me." Now that her identity had been found out, her mother must have suffered misfortune. Where could she go?
"Let her follow, Wan'er. We can just keep her in the camp," Gu Jingtian seemed to have taken pity on the child.
They were about two days away from the camp. That night, everyone made a fire and rested on the ground. Yue'er seemed to be very attached to Su Wan'er and never left her side. Su Wan'er held her in her arms and leaned against a tree to rest.
In the distance, a thin figure finally couldn't hold back and appeared. Su Wan'er motioned for her not to come closer. She gently placed Yue'er beside the fire and then walked over.
"I guessed you'd come back. Tell me, how long have you been following us?" Since she already knew about the identity swap between her and Si Junlin, she must have been following them for more than a day.
"Why should I tell you?" Long Xiaojiu was very awkward. On the one hand, she blamed the former Su Wan'er for making her... fall in love with someone who was actually a woman. On the other hand, now that her Emperor Uncle was back, she was eager to talk to her.
"Xiaojiu, since you know, don't be angry. I had no choice," Su Wan'er tried to get closer to her. "If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, you wouldn't have believed me even if I told you."
"I believe you. I believe whatever you say. But why didn't you tell me?" It had been a false hope for her. If she had known earlier that the emperor of the Jin Kingdom was such a grumpy person, she would never have said she wanted to marry him.
"Xiaojiu..." Just as Su Wan'er was about to persuade her further, unexpectedly, Long Xiaojiu hugged her tightly and said, "Emperor Uncle, I missed you."
Finally, this was normal. Su Wan'er was comforted to receive this long - awaited hug.
"Xiaojiu, it's okay. Don't run around anymore. I'll protect you from now on." She really couldn't bear to see her fight alone against the ruthless Yu Wen family.
"No... No, Xiaojiu doesn't need your protection. Xiaojiu came back tonight just to see you," Long Xiaojiu said, as if she had made up her mind, and then reluctantly let go of her.
"You're still leaving?"
"Yes. I'm going back to the South Border now. I can handle my own affairs."
"Hey, Xiaojiu..."
"Are you going to chase after her?" Si Junlin walked over at some point.
"Huh? When did you come?"
"I think she's more sensible than you. Fortunately, she knows that the matters in the South Border shouldn't involve you, a Jin person."