“My grandfather told me that after my mother gave birth to me, she and my father were notified by the Empire to rush to the front line to fight against the monsters. According to my grandfather, the time when my mother gave birth to me was exactly the time when the Empire was fighting the monsters in the north.”

At this point, Li Anqi's eyes darted around, as if lost in memories of the past. After a pause, she continued:

"I had just been born then and had no memory of my parents. All I knew was what my grandfather told me when I was about nine years old."

However, my grandfather wouldn't lie to me. He told me everything about my parents without missing a single detail.

I believe my grandfather wouldn't lie to me, because everyone around us said he was foolish. He could have used his position as the Imperial Finance Vice-Officer to prevent my parents from going to the front lines where the fighting was fierce, and instead transferred them to the logistics department behind the front lines.

But Grandpa was never willing to exercise his power. He always was like that. No matter how close the relationship was, or whether someone was his son or not, he would never abuse his power.

However, this led to my parents being sent to the northern front. Within just half a month, they were both ambushed by the monsters during a counterattack. Later, my grandfather received news of their deaths.

Li Anqi tried hard to recall her past memories. When she spoke of her parents' deaths, a hint of regret for never having met them was revealed in her beautiful eyes. However, since she had never met them, her sadness was not too great, and she continued:

"Grandpa was in great pain at the time, but he still didn't regret it. His belief was that as an official of the empire, one should always think about the empire. Otherwise, if everyone used their power to keep those close to them away from the front lines, would anyone on the front lines still fight against the monsters?"

"However, I also agree with Grandpa's approach. After all, that's who he is. He always thinks of the Empire first, no matter what happens. The neighbors all say he's stupid, but he never argues and just focuses on doing his own thing."

“I was only a few months old when my parents died on the northern front of the Empire. My grandfather held a funeral for them, but in the war against the monsters, my parents’ bodies were completely devoured by the monsters, and nothing was left.”

"So Grandpa could only take some of Mom and Dad's old clothes to replace their bodies and put them in that ordinary coffin. The funeral was held in a small house that was rented from someone else."

“There were a lot of people there. My grandfather told me that among them were my parents’ comrades and friends, some relatives we hadn’t seen for many years, and a few imperial officials who were on good terms with my grandfather.”

“These officials, like my grandfather, are different from other officials who embezzle imperial funds. They genuinely care about the empire. Like my grandfather, they would not use their power to keep their relatives who are going to the front lines away from the battlefield.”

"This is what my grandfather told me about my parents, and I saw what they looked like in a wedding photo. In my memory, my father was wearing a black suit and my mother was wearing a beautiful white wedding dress. They were smiling and leaning against each other."

At this point, Li Anqi stopped talking, because that was all her grandfather had told her. She guessed that her grandfather was too busy with imperial affairs to know much about her parents' story.

Looking at the palace that was already so close, the girl's eyes revealed a hint of regret for some reason.

If he finds the last piece of gold and jade, will we be separated forever? A man like him is probably one of a kind that will never appear on the entire continent.

Looking at Gu Changqing's profile, Li Anqi wondered what was going on in her mind.

Perhaps... that's how it should be. After all, I'm just a girl who's not bad-looking; how could I possibly make him fall for me...?

...

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