Chu Zhao had just told Xie Yanlai that even if it was painful, she wanted to remain clear-headed.
When Xie Yanlai mentioned that her father was meeting someone and didn’t want her present, she was fully alert and immediately guessed that her mother had arrived.
Even moments ago, hearing the voices inside and recognizing her mother, though shocked, she remained lucid. Everything that had seemed strange suddenly made sense—Xiao Man’s odd behavior, the sudden appearance of real bandits, the bandit guards who were so easily persuaded—
She was so clear-minded that, listening to Zhong Changrong’s words, she could deduce the past between her father and mother—the bandit beauty, the general suppressing the rebellion, the love and hatred.
She was even lucid enough to realize it was essentially a honey trap, with no real love or hatred involved.
If anything, it was the general’s shame and the bandit’s victory.
No problem. As someone who had already died once, she could accept this truth.
Until she heard the final sentence: This baby was—fake.
This baby—her. Chu Zhao looked at her own hands. She wasn’t even a byproduct of the honey trap; she wasn’t her father’s daughter at all!
Chu Zhao’s mind went blank. A buzzing filled her ears, so loud she couldn’t hear anything, yet it felt eerily quiet—she could hear her own breathing.
The only sound left in the world was her own breath.
Until someone shook her forcefully and called, “Chu Zhao.”
Chu Zhao’s gaze focused, and she saw Xie Yanlai’s face—
“Let her smell this,” a voice said.
The pungent scent made Chu Zhao sneeze, jolting her ears and clearing her mind. Only then did she realize she had somehow entered the room.
Xie Yanlai was still holding her. In front of her, Chu Ling sat up from the bed, and beside him—
As Chu Zhao’s gaze shifted toward her, the woman stepped back, flustered and wanting to hide but with nowhere to go. She could only turn away and bow her head.
Meanwhile, Zhong Changrong slapped himself across the face and called out cautiously, “A Zhao, you know me—Uncle Zhong never knows how to speak properly, only nonsense—”
Chu Zhao looked at him and laughed.
Her laughter made everyone around her worry again.
“Uncle Zhong, don’t I know exactly what you’re like?” Chu Zhao said with a smile. Without another word to him, she broke free from Xie Yanlai’s grip and hurried over to Chu Ling. “Father, lie down quickly. No matter how serious things are, you mustn’t get up now.”
Chu Ling let her support him and lay back as instructed. Chu Zhao also sat down by the bedside.
The room grew slightly tense.
“I’m fine,” Chu Zhao said, lifting her gaze to everyone present, not missing Mu Mianhong. Her eyes even lingered on her. “After all this time, I’ve only just learned your name. I’ve been calling you Auntie Ding all along.”
Mu Mianhong looked at her, her expression sorrowful and worried. She parted her lips and said, “It would have been better if you didn’t know.”
Chu Zhao shook her head. “Since things have happened in this world, one should know about them.” She stood up and bowed to Mu Mianhong. “Thank you.”
Mu Mianhong watched her but said nothing. What was there to say? This child was unnervingly calm; anything said might only upset her further.
Chu Zhao rose but didn’t sit back down. Instead, she bowed again.
“Thank you for saving me during the earlier attack,” she said.
Not only Mu Mianhong but Zhong Changrong and Xie Yanlai thought she must be confused—she seemed clear-headed, but she must still be disoriented. Otherwise, why would she thank her twice?
Zhong Changrong even shot Xie Yanlai a look, signaling him to let Chu Zhao smell the medicine again. Xie Yanlai ignored him, his expression cold.Zhong Changrong, feeling guilty for his mistake, didn't dare to glare at Xie Yanlai anymore and awkwardly averted his gaze.
Only Chu Ling smiled and said, "With this gratitude, are you at peace across two lifetimes?"
Chu Zhao looked at him, sat down, and nodded, wiping her tears. "Father, I am at peace. You must also be at peace and not worry about me."
Chu Ling reached out and patted her arm. "I'm not worried. I've seen with my own eyes how capable my A Zhao is. But A Zhao, since fate has allowed you to witness and hear this today, you should know the truth clearly."
Chu Zhao bowed her head. "Father, I understand now."
Chu Ling laughed. "What do you understand? That's just your own interpretation. You should hear it from me directly—Mu Mianhong and I met by chance, reunited and formed a bond, and fell in love upon our third meeting. Though we never held a wedding ceremony, she and I were truly husband and wife, and you are our daughter."
Upon hearing these words, Zhong Changrong turned his head away, while Mu Mianhong lifted her hand to wipe her tears.
"Since the General has spoken, I should also say it myself," she said. "The General and I did not meet by chance—I orchestrated it deliberately. At that time, our mountain stronghold—but let's not speak of that."
She looked at Chu Zhao.
"During our first meeting, I intended to assassinate him, but my skills were lacking, and I failed."
"After our second and third meetings, I stayed by the General's side. As time passed, the General treated me with sincerity and developed feelings for me. I was at a loss, unsure of what to do. When the General showed me the wedding dress—"
As she spoke, a flicker of reminiscence crossed her eyes, as if she could still see the red wedding gown her beloved had personally presented to her.
"I no longer knew what to do, so I could only flee. I had intended never to see the General again in this lifetime."
"But the mountain bandits from our stronghold committed countless atrocities, defying the law, and the court would not tolerate it. The General led a campaign to suppress the bandits, surrounding and slaughtering us until we had nowhere to turn."
"I was born in the stronghold, born a bandit. I could not stand by and watch my kin die, so I had no choice but to step forward and ask General Chu to let us go—"
She seemed to relive the scene—bodies strewn across the ground amidst spears and blades, the General's face upon seeing his beloved reappear before him, filled with surprise, shock, and pain.
"Mu Mianhong never sought the General's forgiveness, nor does she make excuses for her actions."
She looked at Chu Zhao.
"When my life failed to sway the General, I traded the lives of his daughter and mine for our survival."
"I held my daughter up against the blade, I cut her neck with the knife—in that moment, I killed my daughter with my own hands."
"I did not come today to see my daughter. I only came to see the General."
She turned her gaze to Chu Ling.
"The man I deceived and loved, Mu Mianhong, is about to die. I came to see him one last time."
"A Ling, this is our farewell in this life. In the next, let us not meet again."
She curtsied, tears streaming down her face in large drops, and without waiting for anyone in the room to speak another word, she hurried away.
The room fell into silence.
Zhong Changrong kicked a pillar, producing a loud thud that shattered the stillness.
"That vicious—" He wanted to curse, but out of consideration for Chu Zhao, he held back—one should never curse a mother in front of her daughter. But what kind of mother was she? Not a single word about her daughter, only declaring her dead.
He had forbidden Mu Mianhong from acknowledging her daughter, but now that she truly refused to do so, he was utterly enraged.How bitter, how bitterly fated is the General! How bitterly fated is A Zhao too!
Zhong Changrong let out a roar, turned around, and rushed out as well.
The room fell into silence once more, and in the next moment, Xie Yanlai's voice sounded again.
"Me," he said, pointing outside, "I'll be outside. If anything happens, call for me."
With that, he strode away without waiting for either of them to speak.
In the blink of an eye, only the father and daughter remained in the room.
Chu Zhao looked at her father and suddenly chuckled. "Father, your youth was far more thrilling than the tales circulating in the capital."
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