Outside Jiying Hall, civil and military officials, guards and soldiers, eunuchs and palace maids were all murmuring among themselves. Yue Fei's reputation had been far too great; even the Jin Dynasty knew all about him, let alone the Southern Song.
At the thought of Yue Fei, everyone present wore complicated expressions—some regretful, some sorrowful, and naturally, some gritting their teeth in hatred.
Upon hearing Xiaolongnü's identity, Han Tuozhou's eyes lit up. He had not expected the situation to take such a turn, and he hurriedly said, "Indeed, this young lady does bear some resemblance to Madam Yue from back then."
The younger officials looked utterly bewildered, while some of the older, more experienced ones nodded to themselves. She really did look somewhat alike.
Hearing their whispers, a faint change came over Xiaolongnü's frost-like face. "Mother..." That word was far too distant for her. She had always believed herself to be an orphan and had never cared about such things. Even if her birth parents had appeared before her, she might not have felt the slightest ripple. But learning that her parents had been harmed by treacherous villains and had only left her out of helpless necessity changed everything.
Wan Qixie was shocked and furious. When he had gathered information on Xiaolongnü, he had learned that she was ignorant of worldly matters, so he had not feared that she would reveal anything. But who would have thought Song Qingshu knew her identity?
How did he know? Xiaolongnü's identity was extremely secret; even he himself had uncovered it only recently! Could there be a traitor among his trusted confidants?
But he quickly realized that this was no time for paranoid suspicions. With a cold snort, he said, "That is merely Song's one-sided claim. Since Minister Han thinks she resembles the wife of