Chapter 264 Background

Tao'er gave a self-deprecating laugh, but was filled with disappointment: "Yes, it doesn't matter whether it is or not. Ever since that failed attempt to fake my death, everything has been wrong... But you are definitely not the one I grew up with. She would never be as cold-hearted as you, showing no regard for the past."

It turns out we still have to play the emotional card.

Mu Xi thought Tao'er had really seen through her identity, and continued to press: "Tell me quickly, did you tip off Mu Chong?"

"Yes," Tao'er gritted her teeth and admitted.

"Why?" Mu Xi was not surprised at all.

"Why? Hehe..." Tao'er smiled, lost in thought, and didn't answer.

Mu Xi said impatiently, "Since you've already admitted it, there's nothing you can't say, right? If it's for money or life, that's understandable. After all, everyone has their own ambitions, and I can understand that."

"You can understand? You can understand? What can you understand?" Tao'er suddenly gritted her teeth, her face twisting into a ferocious expression. "You, the high and mighty young master... no... even if you are a young lady of the Jun family... how could you possibly understand a lowly servant like me of unknown origin?"

Mu Xi frowned: "Don't tell me you did all this out of jealousy."

"Haha, jealousy? What jealousy? Everything you have should also be mine. I'm not jealous, I just want to take back what's rightfully mine." Tao'er's peach blossom eyes widened, as if she really wanted to collect a debt from Mu Xi.

Mu Xi asked in bewilderment, "What did you say? What originally belonged to you?"

Why is her rhetoric the same as her thinking when she first transmigrated?

Once Tao'er revealed the truth, she no longer hid it and coldly said, "Hmph, the high and mighty young master probably doesn't know who I really am, does he?"

"Who are you?" Mu Xi asked, bewildered.

Tao'er's lips curled into a smug smile, and she completely changed her demeanor and tone: "I should have been a young lady of the Jin Fangjun family, just like you, but fate played a trick on me. You were born a noble young lady, while I became a lowly servant."

Mu Xi had absolutely no recollection of this statement in the original owner's memories: "What are you talking about?"

“I’m saying I should have been like you.” Tao’er repeated herself, as if repeating it so often gave her confidence. “Because you were born a girl, the Marquis kept the Second Young Master as his concubine’s son. The Second Young Master was nominally the son of the Marquis and a courtesan. But actually, that courtesan’s nickname was ‘Tao Yao,’ and she didn’t give birth to the Second Young Master, but to me… I am the child of the Marquis and his concubine. I should have been the one brought back to the Marquis’s mansion.”

"Ah..." Mu Xi was quite surprised.

What is all this nonsense?

She already knew Mu Xun's true identity, which had nothing to do with what Tao'er had said. What Tao'er had mentioned, however, was his background…

To conceal his identity as a descendant of the former royal family, his scumbag father, Mu Zhen, did indeed fabricate a background for Mu Xun, just as Tao'er had said. However, when Mu Xun later began to have doubts about his own origins, he had already investigated and found that the courtesan "Tao Yao" did exist, but Tao Yao's lover was Xu Bang, the stirrup officer under Mu Zhen who was responsible for leading the horses back then.

Thinking about this, Mu Xi roughly figured out what was going on: "Your full name is Xu Tao? Your surname is Xu?"

“My surname is Xu…” Tao’er saw that Mu Xi’s face showed no surprise, and suddenly felt resentful. “But the fact that Tao Yao and Xu Bang were lovers back then was just a cover-up by Lord Junhou to conceal my true identity, and he had Xu Bang take the blame.”

Mu Xi shook her head: "No, you're mistaken. Tao Yao and Xu Bang must be a couple. It's true that they're 'taking the blame,' but it's not Xu Bang, it's Tao Yao. I remember Mu Xun telling me that Tao Yao and Xu Bang did have a child. Since it's not Mu Xun, then it must be you. You are Tao Yao and Xu Bang's daughter, and it has absolutely nothing to do with you, Lord Junhou."

"No...no...uh..." Tao'er screamed frantically in desperation, but Cao Pan'er immediately covered her mouth again.

Fortunately, the sounds of string and wind instruments, singing and playing, and the clamor of men and women below the building masked the shouts, preventing them from arousing suspicion from those outside.

Mu Xi frowned: "When did you find out about this fake identity of yours?"

"Mmm..." Tao'er struggled but couldn't make a sound.

"If you speak properly and don't yell, we'll let you go," Cao Pan'er reminded her from the side.

Tao'er had no choice but to nod.

Cao Pan'er then let go of her hand again.

Tao'er released her breath and gasped for air: "I already knew about it back in Xihua Mountain."

"Who told you that?" Mu Xi then asked.

"Of course, he's my maternal uncle." Tao'er didn't know why Mu Xi asked this, but she answered without caring.

Mu Xi was even more surprised and suspicious: "You're not an orphan? You actually have a maternal uncle?"

Tao'er sneered: "I originally thought I was an orphan, sold to the Jun family when I was young. But one day, when I had the chance to go down the mountain, my uncle secretly found me and explained my background. It turned out that I was stolen by human traffickers and sold to the Jun family. My family has been searching for me for so many years."

this……

Mu Xun was skeptical: "How can you be so sure that person is really your uncle?"

“Not only my uncle, but also my maternal grandmother. They can tell me what marks and characteristics I have, as well as my exact age and the peach blossoms embroidered on the bib I wore in my swaddling clothes when I was a baby. That’s where my name comes from,” Tao’er answered without any doubt.

Mu Xi then cut to the heart: "Even so, you were most likely sold by your uncle, not stolen by human traffickers. Otherwise, how could they have found Xihua Mountain so accurately?"

"You..." Tao'er gritted her teeth in resentment, but upon closer examination, she still couldn't be sure.

Mu Xi then asked, "Since you acknowledged your family back then, why haven't you revealed anything all these years? I'm afraid you believed your uncle and grandmother's stories and wanted you to conceal your identity so you could have some ulterior motive?"

Tao pursed her lips, suddenly looking surprised and uncertain, which was tantamount to admitting it.

Mu Xi hardly needed to ask any further questions; many things were already clear: "If I'm not mistaken, the reason your uncle traveled thousands of miles to claim kinship with you was to have you act as an informant within my ranks, and the mastermind behind it all is probably the Gao family, isn't it?"

Tao'er's expression changed, she bit her lower lip, but still didn't answer.

Mu Xi continued, "Years ago, I drank a drug that made me appear dead, but it failed and I almost died. At the time, I suspected there was a traitor among us. Now that I think about it, you were the one who drugged me. But I don't understand why, since the Gao family had already established a connection with you, they went to such lengths. They should have been able to confirm that I was a woman long ago."

"This servant did not intend to harm the young master." Tao'er changed her address again in her anxiety. "After we recognized each other, my uncle tried to find out what was going on with me, but I knew it was a big deal, so I didn't say anything."