"Dudun might be your only living relative," Little Yanzhi said gently. Though she knew it was useless, she still hoped this might lessen the Dragon King's cruelty.
It was useless. Gu Shenwei was looking down at the two old bellybands.
They were very ordinary, their colors faded in places, but the pattern of mandarin ducks playing in the water was still clear. Beneath each one was a line of embroidered birth details.
"These are Central Plains things." Little Yanzhi sounded impatient. Before the Dragon King could ask, she explained, "You can find someone who knows about these things and ask. Neither has been altered in any way. If there haven't been any surprises, the Dragon King will certainly be interested in those two dates."
Gu Shenwei was certainly interested. The two sets of birth details were identical to his and his sister's.
"Is this your evidence?" Gu Shenwei handed the bellybands over.
Little Yanzhi took them carefully. "Are the birth dates on them wrong?"
"Many babies are born on the same day."
"First, I had no way of finding out the Dragon King's birthday or his sister's. Second, finding two bellybands in Beiting would have been difficult enough; finding two with dates embroidered on them would have been like searching the sea for a needle. In any case, believe it or not."
"Tell me," Gu Shenwei said after waiting a while.
"Tell you what?"
"The story you came up with."
"It isn't a story."
"Whatever you like."
Little Yanzhi smiled. Whether he was moved or not couldn't be judged by his words alone. The Dragon King had asked her to "tell him," and that was a good sign. "Dudun's sister gave me the bellybands before she died."
Little Yanzhi paused for a moment, giving the Dragon King time to ponder