"Mother, I have a question." Lili moved to the door of the study and closed the door.

Madam Yang glanced at her: "Just ask, why make it so serious?"

After thinking for a moment, Lili carefully asked, "On the day you found me, did I see anyone else?"

Those words were like a pebble thrown into a lake, creating ripples before gradually returning to calm.

The air seemed to freeze; everyone remained silent, and the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Yang and Shen Laosan's expressions froze for a moment, and time seemed to stand still. Only the curtains by the window swayed slightly, as if telling the aftershocks of what had just been said.

"Wh-what?"

Yang and Shen Laosan exchanged a glance, utterly astonished.

Yang nudged the dazed Shen Laosan, signaling him to speak.

After a moment of contemplation, Shen Laosan tentatively asked, "Lili, have you heard something recently?"

“No.” Lili shook her head. “Mom and Dad, don’t worry, Lili just wanted to ask.”

Yang and Shen Laosan exchanged another glance, even more confused.

Lili's eyes darted around, and she decided to just be frank, since she didn't think it was anything worth hiding.

Lili squeezed between the two, taking their hands on either side: "Actually, it's like this..."

Lili recounted in detail her inexplicable familiarity with Gu Ziqi and Bai Yu, as well as the anxiety she felt when Gu Ziqi ran towards her this morning.

"Mom and Dad, I have a feeling this isn't a coincidence."

Lili asked earnestly, "So Lili wants to ask, what exactly happened on the day Lili was abandoned?"

Yang looked at her intently, a surge of emotion welling up inside her.

At the same time, Yang recalled the first day she found Lili, a soft and tiny little dumpling, shivering in her arms, her whole body wet.

Heartache filled their hearts once again. Lili had grown up so much, and the two of them had never mentioned these things to her.

Not only Yang and Shen Laosan, but the entire Shen family tacitly avoided mentioning that day.

In their hearts, Lili is a member of the Shen family, not by blood, but with a bond stronger than blood ties.

Lili silently observed their expressions, knowing that her parents had thought of something bad again. She pulled them close and hugged them, saying, "Mom and Dad, please don't be like this. Lili is actually very happy, and I didn't mean anything by it. I just wanted to know what was going on."

"Sigh." Old Man Shen sighed. A man in his thirties is usually steady and elegant, but at this moment his eyes silently reddened.

Lili is his beloved daughter who has been cherished for so many years. How could he not feel heartache when he suddenly thought of what Lili went through back then?

“Wanniang, tell Lili. Lili is growing up, she will eventually know. The child Lili is talking about... may really be related to Lili.”

After saying that, Shen Laosan turned his back with a complicated expression.

Shen Laosan felt uneasy. Gu Ziqi was of noble status, the young master of the Chongbo Marquis's mansion. If Lili was really related to him, her status must also be quite high.

Lili's intuition was right. What Shen Laosan was worried about was whether Lili would be harmed if they returned to that bloody and turbulent place.

Now, with His Highness the Crown Prince protecting them in Nanlin County, the capital...

well.

Shen Laosan sighed again. He had to admit that he was more worried about Lili's biological parents than this.

Lili and Yang watched Shen Laosan's melancholy figure with mixed feelings. The mother and daughter exchanged a glance, then silently took each other's hands and left.

Shen Laosan shouted from behind, "Hey, why are you leaving? It seems I'm getting old; even my wife and daughters dislike me."

"Pfft."

Lili couldn't stop laughing. Shen Laosan was only in his early thirties at most, how could he be an old man?

Madam Yang covered her face and smiled, gazing wistfully at the flower bushes by the study door. The two of them didn't go far, but simply admired the flowers by the study door.

Yang looked at the few flowers, then at Lili's pretty face, her heart filled with complex emotions.

Lili, the person involved, was quite relaxed and even had the mood to tease Fan: "Why is Mother more nervous than me? Is she worried that Lili will run away?"

"Of course I'm worried. You're our precious darling, whom we've pampered for so many years." Madam Yang frowned. "But I'm not too worried. What kind of family would abandon you? Besides, don't I know my daughter well? Our Lili isn't the kind of person who would abandon her parents."

Lili immediately snuggled into Madam Yang's arms and rubbed her face against her: "Mother... no matter what, Father and Mother are still my Father and Mother, and my brothers are still my brothers. Lili will always be the daughter of the Shen family."

Yang's eyes welled up with tears. She sniffed and struggled to suppress her emotions so that she wouldn't cry in front of Lili.

Madam Yang gently embraced the delicate girl in her arms, patting Lili's back softly, just as she had soothed her to sleep when she was a child.

"Mother knows, Mother knows."

Madam Yang spoke softly as she recounted the events of that morning: "That day, your two aunts and I were washing clothes by the river when suddenly we heard..."

Lili listened intently; this was the first time she had heard about that day from beginning to end.

She suddenly turned into a child, completely bewildered, and only remembered that she seemed to have been thrown into the river.

“Mother… Lili remembers that day, she was wrapped in a quilt and thrown into the river. Judging from the voices, it seemed to be two old women.”

Madam Yang's expression was grave: "Afterwards, we also thought about it. You weren't a child of Xinghua Village, yet you appeared in the river in Xinghua Village. Either you were abducted and escaped here on your own, or you were abandoned. You were still young then, so we guessed it was the first case. We asked around the village to see if anyone had seen any strange people coming to Xinghua Village that day. However, we didn't find anything later."

Lili nodded, indicating that she understood.

Lili now understands why she couldn't find out. If she had a connection with Gu Ziqi, she would probably be a daughter of an official.

He held a high position, or, like Xia Ning, was framed by someone?

She wasn't necessarily abandoned by her biological parents?

Madam Yang instructed her, "I was wondering before, you've always been sensible and composed, why would you suddenly allow Ziqi to stay? Since you're in contact with that child, try to communicate with him more, maybe you can find something to help you."

"Uh-huh!"

Lili nodded.

Madam Yang smiled and lovingly covered her hand.

She wasn't worried that Lili would neglect the Shen family after finding her biological parents; Lili wasn't that kind of person.

On the contrary, she would be very happy if Lili had more people who loved her.

“We’ve never talked about this all these years, I didn’t expect you to ask about it on your own initiative.” Madam Yang sighed. “I was thinking of waiting until you grew up and got married before I could talk to you properly and see if there was a chance to find your biological parents. Now it’s good that you’ve told me, you’re just like our Lili.”

Lili smiled and said, "Our main selling point is that we're smart and have a good mouth, okay? There's no such thing as a misunderstanding or mystery that can be written into a 20-episode plot in an idol drama."

It's like when you're actually getting caught up in the gossip yourself; it's kind of a strange feeling.

"By the way, your dad hasn't been as busy with official duties lately, and he said he'd like to continue teaching you."

The Shen family's sons were all studying at the academy. At first, Madam Yang wanted to hire a female tutor for Lili, but Lili was even busier than Shen Laosan. Hiring a female tutor would probably mean she wouldn't be able to attend classes more than a few times a year. So, she simply let Shen Laosan teach her some classics, poems, calligraphy, and tea tasting in his spare time.

"Huh?" Lili tried to evade the question. "Oh dear, but Lili still has to..."

Madam Yang interrupted her: "There's no room for discussion. Your father already told me that your handwriting is still no different from when you were a child! You're very bright, so why aren't you willing to put in the hard work to improve your handwriting?"

Lili silently shut her mouth.

Who would understand? Even in ancient times, people had to go to school.

After saying a few more words to Lili, Yang let her go.

*

In a small courtyard on the northern outskirts of Liucheng, Shen Jiahao stood in front of a wooden stake, with a thick pile of logs beside him.

Shen Jiahao was holding an axe, chopping the pile of wood into firewood piece by piece.

By the time the small mountain of firewood was chopped up, the sun was almost setting.

The camera then pans to a whole wall of chopped firewood behind Shen Jiahao, clearly having been chopped for quite some time.

Shen Jiahao wiped his forehead, slammed the axe to the ground, and leaned against it with his hands on his hips: "Hey, this isn't working, I didn't use any strength at all."

Shen Jiahao wielded the axe a few times, and the heavy axe seemed as light as chopsticks in his hands.

"Forget it, let's just go chop down a few more stacks of firewood."

Shen Jiahao muttered to himself, tucked the axe into his waistband, and headed out.

Shen Zhongzheng pushed open the door and just then saw Shen Jiahao push open the courtyard gate.

Shen Zhongzheng smiled and shook his head, then called out to him, "It's rare to see you so impetuous."

Shen Jiahao stopped and scratched his head: "Master."

Shen Zhongzheng looked at the pile of firewood that had been split and nodded in satisfaction: "Hmm, not bad, I won't lack firewood for a year."

Shen Jiahao flashed his bright white teeth: "I was just about to go look at some more trees."

"Alright, let the trees go, that's enough." Shen Zhongzheng snatched the axe from his hand and piled it up next to the wooden stake.

Shen Zhongzheng, as expected of someone who had fought on the battlefield, was over forty years old but still exuded righteousness. His demeanor was somewhat intimidating at first glance, majestic and imposing.

The more time you spend with him, the more you realize that he is a loyal and upright person.

Such a person is absolutely loyal to the country.

In occasional conversations, one can sense Shen Jiahao's love and loyalty to Dajin, as well as his resentment and helplessness.

Shen Jiahao never quite understood what was wrong with the Great Jin Dynasty, that it could lose such a loyal and talented general.

Seeing Shen Jiahao staring blankly at him, Shen Zhongzheng smiled and said, "Tell me, what are you thinking about?"

"without."

"Let me guess," Shen Zhongzheng pondered, "Could it be something that happened a few days ago?"

Shen Jiahao remained silent.

Seeing his expression, Shen Zhongzheng knew he was right.

Shen Zhongzheng didn't rush to speak, nor did he rush to comfort or question him. Instead, he picked up a piece of firewood and used his internal force to strike the somewhat dejected Shen Jiahao.

Shen Jiahao reacted quickly, kicked off with his foot, and used a backflip to kick the firewood away.

The firewood shattered in mid-air and fell to the ground.

Shen Jiahao regained his senses and saw Shen Zhongzheng's ever-present sword heading straight for him.

Shen Jiahao immediately pulled out a piece of firewood to defend himself.

The two fought for about ten rounds before Shen Jiahao begged for mercy.

"Master, stop hitting him! Stop hitting him!"

Shen Zhongzheng raised an eyebrow and sheathed his sword.

Shen Jiahao sat down on the wooden stake, somewhat frustrated, no longer trying to hide his dejection.

Shen Zhongzheng leaned against the woodpile and said, "Xiao Ye told me that a few days ago, the First Prince hired assassins from the martial arts world, and Lili was almost injured?"

Shen Jiahao suddenly became agitated: "It wasn't just injury, it was death! If I had been even a little bit later..."

The steely man's eyes reddened, and his vision was obscured by mist. Shen Jiahao hurriedly wiped his eyes, not wanting to lose face in front of his master.

Shen Zhongzheng didn't say anything, but instead patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction: "Cry, there's nothing to be ashamed of. It's not shameful for a man to cry."

A low sob began.

Shen Zhongzheng sat down next to him and said to himself, "When I first started learning martial arts, I was full of passion and dreamed of becoming a great hero who would save the world. Later, I suffered from the calluses on my hands, the broken wooden dummies, and the worn-out soles of my shoes... I became more disciplined after experiencing the hardships of learning martial arts. Later, when I learned swordsmanship, I got excited again. I was young then, and the idea of ​​a swordsman traveling the world was all the rage. I thought to myself, I also want to be a dashing swordsman, traveling the world with my sword."

Shen Jiahao raised his head and looked at him.

For some reason, Shen Zhongzheng laughed: "I was born into wealth and never had to worry about food or drink. I was the first in my family to learn martial arts, just because I thought it was cool and stylish, without any other purpose. So when I first started learning, I didn't see much progress. Until one day, I went to the palace to visit my sister and accidentally walked into the Cold Palace, where I happened to see a favored concubine executing a disfavored concubine."

I was stunned, and then I was terrified. My sister had just entered the palace, and I was terrified. Serving the emperor was like walking on thin ice; would my sister one day suffer the same fate? So, for the first time, I comprehended the essence of swordsmanship. My essence was to protect my family. Only when I was strong enough could I have the means to protect them. Later, I joined the army, established a military command, and with the help of myself and my maternal clan, my sister climbed step by step to the rank of Imperial Concubine.

At this point, Shen Zhongzheng gave a wry smile.

"Unfortunately, they still fell into the trap in the end."

Shen Jiahao was speechless, unsure how to comfort him. This was the first time Shen Zhongzheng had brought up the past in front of him, and he was at a loss for words.

Wasn't he the one crying? How did it become Master who's sad?

“Master, don’t be sad. I heard from Lili that His Highness said that although the situation in the Great Jin is chaotic, it is also chaotically stable. The First Prince and the Third Prince of the Great Jin have been fighting for five years without a result. How can this not be a good thing!”

Shen Zhongzheng: "……."

That was a good way to comfort you, but don't do that next time.

Shen Zhongzheng slapped him to shut up.

"Listen to me, okay?" Shen Zhongzheng said calmly. "What I mean is, I understand how you feel. The people you care about are right in front of you, and you're afraid you can't protect them."