Chарtеr 21 (5/13)
WuJi sаid, "Му nаme is Ming WuJi. Му раrеnts have pаssеd awaу. If you dоn't mind thаt I'm оldеr thаn уou, Miss, сould you let me follоw уou аnd beсоmе уour mаid? I just wаnt а рlаcе to belong."
Аftеr that dаy, WuJi enterеd Miss Lan's hоusehold аnd bесаmе hеr рersonаl mаid.
In the Lаn fаmilу, she оverhеаrd the servаnts gоssiping: Мiss Lan had angеred her old fаthеr bу taking а liking to a pооr sсholаr. То dissuаdе thеir daughtеr frоm marrуing the рoor sсholаr, thе Lаn familу аgrееd to Housе of Gong's propоsal to send Мiss Lan to рartiсiрatе in the bride selection.
Upon hearing this, a flicker of determination crossed WuJi's eyes, and she resolved to remain undercover in the Lan family for the long term.
Later, when Madam Lan married into House of Gong, she remained perpetually melancholy. Thinking she was lonely, the House of Gong Blade Master, Gong Hongyu, allowed WuJi to enter House of Gong to serve her.
Madam Lan would often sit despondently in the courtyard, while the young Gong Ziyu played alone nearby. Whenever little Gong Ziyu fell, only WuJi would immediately rush over to pick him up and comfort him.
One late night, WuJi, dressed in black night clothes, infiltrated the Blade Master's room. After closing the door, she found the tip of a blade pressed against her throat.
Gong Hongyu looked at WuJi. "Mei?"
Her identity had been uncovered by Gong Hongyu, yet she was not killed immediately.
WuJi was tied to a stool, and Gong Hongyu brought food to see her.
"Just kill me or cut me to pieces as you wish. There's no need for this false kindness."
"I sent someone to investigate your background."
WuJi was somewhat surprised.
Gong Hongyu continued, "You thought you were abandoned by your father and younger brother, and that Wufeng raised you out of kindness, so you work for them. But Wufeng is the real culprit. Your father and brother did not abandon you; Wufeng kidnapped them."
WuJi looked up at him in shock.
"Your father, Ming Xiong, was once the world's greatest swordsmith. Wufeng wanted to recruit him for their own use, but your father refused. So Wufeng kidnapped and imprisoned him, using your life to threaten him into forging swords for them!"
The swordsman who had come seeking a sword back then was actually Wufeng's Han Ya Er.
Tears welled up in WuJi's eyes, but she stubbornly said, "My father only cared about my younger brother. How could he have done this for me..."
Gong Hongyu took out an embroidered box and handed it to WuJi. "This was found in the bamboo cottage where you lived back then. It can be considered your father and brother's belongings."
"Belongings?"
"After you disappeared without a trace, everyone thought you were dead. With you gone as a hostage, your father refused to forge swords for Wufeng any longer. He and your younger brother took their own lives..."
With tears in her eyes, WuJi opened the box. Inside were her favorite childhood toys: a bamboo cuju ball, hairpins, a rattle drum, and a portrait of her mother, Madam Ming. She unrolled the portrait; the woman depicted bore a striking resemblance to the present-day WuJi.
"Perhaps your father was cold and distant toward you only because you look so much like your mother. Heartbroken and afraid of confronting his own pain, he couldn't face it..."
WuJi's emotions shifted from confusion to guilt, then to hatred. Her eyes widened, tears streaming down her face as she gritted her teeth.
"You were merely deceived by Wufeng; you are not an evil person. Your genuine care for Lan'er and Ziyu, I have seen it all." Gong Hongyu lowered his head to meet WuJi's gaze. "So... I am willing to give you a chance to choose again. If you turn away from the darkness and embrace the light, I promise that no one will ever know about your past from now on."
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