When Kang Le arrived at the Marquis of Zhongyong’s residence again with the chief eunuch Chen Banjun, most of the guests had already left.

The Cui family still exists. Because Cui Yihuan was summoned by the Marquis of Zhongyong for a talk, Old Madam Cui was worried that things might change, so she stayed behind to wait for her.

Inside the room, Marquis Zhongyong asked, "Having witnessed everything that happened today, has Miss Cui's opinion changed?"

“My lord, a word spoken is a word kept, and my daughter’s thoughts remain unchanged.”

Cui Yihuan was worried that the Marquis Zhongyong might change his mind, so she said, "Please, Your Excellency, keep your promise to my daughter."

She knew this man somewhat; he wouldn't let Fu Jiang off the hook, had prepared for the worst, and didn't want to implicate others, so he gave her a chance to choose again.

But her son is here, his fate is intertwined with the Marquis's mansion, and she should protect him even more.

Besides, although Madam Liu is dead, the old lady is still alive, and her revenge has not yet been achieved.

Seeing her insistence, Marquis Zhongyong said no more.

He had previously told Madam Cui that he would bring the person over tomorrow, but Cui Yihuan asked him to give her three more days, as she needed some time to retrieve her mother's dowry.

Marquis Zhongyong agreed and sent two more people to her.

After the Cui family left, he went to see Chen Banjun and asked to go to the palace together.

The emperor did not refuse Marquis Zhongyong's entry into the palace, so Chen Banjun naturally had no reason to stop him.

Kang Le frowned, instinctively feeling that the Marquis of Zhongyong's entry into the palace was not a good thing, but the palace was no longer her home, and she had no right to refuse.

Before leaving, she looked around but couldn't find Han Zijin, assuming he had also left with the other guests.

Han Zijin did not leave; he met Chaolu through Xie Tingzhou's arrangement.

Chaolu knew that he was her father, and tears fell when she saw him.

"My eldest brother always told us that Father didn't abandon us; he just couldn't find us."

I agreed outwardly, but inwardly I didn't believe it. The villagers all said that you had become a wealthy man in the capital with countless servants, so why couldn't you find us? You must not want to look for us.

But the young mistress told me that you have never given up looking for us all these years…

Her lips trembled, her throat tightened, and after a long while, she managed to choke out a sentence, "Why not earlier?"

If it had happened sooner, my brother wouldn't have died.

Their mother died, their grandmother died, and over the years, their eldest brother has been both father and mother to them. When the family suffered disaster, their eldest brother was just a child himself.

Floods, famine, fleeing, becoming refugees—the eldest brother protected them all the way to the capital.

But her father, born into the Duke of Lu's family and the consort of Princess Kangle, is even less capable than a child.

Faced with his daughter's questioning, Han Zijin was filled with shame. He knelt on one knee in front of his daughter and carefully tried to wipe away her tears.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault for being incompetent and causing you all to suffer."

Chaolu threw herself into his arms and burst into tears, “I’m not blaming you, I’m just sad that my older brother is gone.”

You have no idea how much suffering he has endured and how much pain he has endured over the years, yet he has protected us so well.

But now my second brother and I have our father to love us, while my eldest brother will never come back to life.

She has no memory of her father, only of her eldest brother, and she harbors resentment towards him.

But her older brother had told her countless times that if they found their father in the future and it was proven that their father had never abandoned them, they could not resent their father, because their father must have had his own helplessness.

Her elder brother wanted her to acknowledge her father, so she did.

Han Zijin was also in tears, tightly embracing his daughter.

Xie Tingzhou, ever the good Samaritan, had already sent someone to the military camp to bring over the new recruit, Wu Er.

The reunion of father and son was another scene of mixed emotions, both sorrow and joy.

Once the two children had calmed down a bit, Han Zijin took one of their hands and helped them sit down on the chairs, then squatted down in front of them.

“Tell your father how you have survived all these years. Did anyone help you? Why do the survivors of Wujiazhuang say they have never seen you?”

Wu Er looked at him and asked in return, "Will Father protect us from now on? No matter what happens, will he protect us?"

Han Zijin answered firmly, "Of course, you are my children."

Wu Er was silent for a moment before replying, "It was Grandpa Village Chief who saved us and took the three of us siblings to escape. He also told the surviving villagers not to reveal our whereabouts to the outside world."

Han Zijin sensed something was amiss.

Why did the village chief do this? Where are his family now?

The village chief's family is a prominent family in Wujiazhuang, with six sons and many grandsons.

If Chaolu's three children could all make it to the capital, their family could also survive that natural disaster.

But over the years, no one from their family has returned to Wujiazhuang.

Wu Er's eyes reddened. "Grandpa Village Chief is dead. He starved to death. His family has settled in a mountain valley in the north. My two siblings and I have settled with them."

Han Zijin gently patted his son's back.

No wonder he couldn't find the children; they had changed their registered residence.

Wu Er continued, "Actually, we didn't leave our hometown at first. Instead, we were taken into the mountains by the village chief."

The village chief, along with several other men, went down the mountain to check if any villagers were in distress, so they could provide timely assistance.

However, they discovered that someone was taking advantage of the flood to deliberately harm the villagers. Anyone they found alive was drowned in the water.

The village chief realized something was wrong and went to check the dike again, discovering that it hadn't collapsed due to the rainstorm, but rather had been deliberately damaged.

Han Zijin's face turned deathly pale. "Deliberate sabotage?"

Wu Er nodded.

Chaolu's face also turned pale, because her brothers had never told her about this situation.

She always thought it was a natural disaster.

Wu Er held his sister's hand. He only found out about this when he left the North. His older brother said that his sister was timid and that she didn't need to know these things.

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