Chapter 449 Special Visitor
It would be a lie to say that Lian Qianli wasn't surprised when he saw Shen Huaichen.
His first thought was that this Mr. Du, whom he perceived as a friend, had come to congratulate him and Shen Qingyue on their wedding.
After all, back in the border town, this Mr. Du would often pull him aside to talk.
I almost revealed all my secrets in front of him.
But upon closer inspection, Lian Qianli realized that things weren't so simple.
Judging from the seating arrangement of the people inside, Old Madam Shen was sitting in a position reserved for the highest-ranking person in the household.
According to the rules, the seat at the lower end should be where Madam Shen sits.
But Madam Shen didn't sit down; instead, she sat in the seat opposite her.
Could it be that my mother-in-law is going to remarry...?
This thought suddenly popped into Lian Qianli's mind.
Not only did Lian Qianli find it strange, but even the current wife of the Duke of Dingguo, Qian Qingqing, found it strange.
When did this person arrive? How did they get into the mansion?
Why haven't I received any messages?
Shen Qingming, Shen Qingrui, and Shen Qingyu also found it strange.
What is Mr. Du doing here at this time? Is there anything he needs?
Just as everyone was puzzled, Madam Shen, who was seated at the head of the table, spoke up.
"Kneel down! Kneel before your father!"
The group of people, not knowing what was going on, stared wide-eyed...
Shen Qingyue and Shen Qingjun quickly knelt down.
Seeing the astonished expressions on their faces, Shen Huaichen smiled, then gently touched his face and found the edge of the human skin mask.
With a gentle lift of two fingers, the mask of the withered old man was removed.
What is now revealed to everyone is Shen Huaichen's face, which has hardly changed...
Shen Qingming and the others all gasped in shock...
Without a word, they all knelt down one by one.
"Father! You..." None of them knew what to say.
The shock on their faces lingered for a long time.
Shen Huaichen breathed a sigh of relief, fiddled with the human skin mask in his hand for a moment, and then tucked the mask into his sleeve.
"What? Don't you recognize your father?" Shen Huaichen said with a smile.
Upon seeing that Lian Qianli was still standing beside her, Shen Qingyue pulled him down to kneel down as well.
Lian Qianli wondered if he was dreaming!
He pinched himself hard.
It hurts! It hurts so much! I can't be dreaming...
But... why did the chief advisor of the border city, the adoptive father of the border prince, become my father-in-law who should have been buried long ago?
Lian Qianli remembered that the news of the Duke of Dingguo's death in the borderlands had spread throughout the entire Dayu region.
And that funeral—it was personally arranged by the Imperial Household Department at the behest of Emperor Xiao Jing, and it was of a standard comparable to that of a prince...
Now... would that be considered deceiving the emperor?
Even though Lian Qianli had a lot of questions, he wisely kept his mouth shut.
His own children are all here; it's not his place to ask.
only......
"Father, I know you will definitely come back for my wedding," Shen Qingyue said with tears in her eyes.
Thousands of miles...
Damn, my wife already knew about this?
It seems I don't know my wife well enough!
"Father, you're finally back! I've always remembered your words and said I would take good care of Mother!" Shen Qingjun quickly said.
Thousands of miles...
Another person in the know; the Shen family really knows how to keep their mouths shut!
All these years, he hasn't revealed a single word!
As soon as Shen Qingjun finished speaking, Shen Qingming and the others looked at him.
"Brother, do you know that Father has always been here?" Shen Qingming asked first.
Shen Qingjun nodded.
"Yes! My elder sister and I both know what happened back then. Because of the special circumstances, Father had to fake his death."
"Your mother was young back then, and there were many things she couldn't let you know," Shen Qingjun said solemnly.
Shen Qingming...
He looked at Shen Huaichen in front of him, his heart pounding.
While I was in the border town, did I do anything out of line that my father would remember...?
It seems not...
He acted as if he had no other bad habits besides loving money...
No wonder I always felt a sense of familiarity whenever I talked to Mr. Du!
So this is my dad!
"Father, how have you been these past years?" Shen Qingming asked hesitantly.
Shen Huaichen smiled and nodded.
"Alright, weren't you quite the smooth talker back in the border town? Why can't you talk like that now?"
Shen Qingming chuckled, then fell silent, staring at Shen Huaichen with a silly grin.
That's wonderful! My father is still here! He's always been here!
Shen Qingrui also looked at Shen Huaichen with red eyes.
"Rui-ge'er, you did a great job! You've brought honor to Da Yu and to your father!" Shen Huaichen said to Shen Qingrui.
Shen Qingrui nodded while wiping away his tears.
"Father, all I wanted then was to avenge you! It's so good that you're still alive!"
It took the youngest, Shen Qingyu, a long time to come to her senses. Once she was sure that everything in front of her was real, she finally burst into tears.
"I knew it! Father wasn't dead! The one in the coffin wasn't Father!"
Waaaaah! Father's still here! Father's not dead!
Shen Huaichen felt a pang of sadness.
He remembered clearly that the spear Shen Qingyue carried into battle was the same spear he used to use...
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