The reasoning was that simple. After that, Gao Cheng seemed to open the floodgates, no longer caring that he was in the great hall of the Ministry of Punishments. "My family was poor, and I had no real skills. All I knew was how to raise Wufeng Bees. Nobody wanted them, so I sold what little honey they made. Keeping a family fed was hard enough. I gritted my teeth and scraped by, wanting nothing more than to carry on the family line."
"Only San was a girl. I couldn't manage with two children to feed, so I had to abandon her."
"Half a year ago, a merchant caravan came to our village. I heard one of the noble lords in charge say someone was raising centipedes in Chaoge's West Garden. I figured someone might want Wufeng Bees too, so I came to Chaoge."
"Sure enough, I made quite a bit of money in Chaoge. Even the Medical Academy bought them."
"Once I had money, I started missing San. If I hadn't truly been unable to get by, how could I have borne to give up my own flesh and blood?"
"I kept looking and looking. About half a month ago, I saw San in armor and a helmet, marching onto the battlefield. She even went into the Imperial Palace to put down a rebellion. She was a general!"
"I didn't dare tell her who I was, and San didn't recognize me either. I wasn't her father. I didn't deserve to be. Her father was Chaoge, was King Zhou, was everything that had kept her alive and made her a general."
"But I had to do something. I owed her that."
Gao Cheng recalled the past. Twenty-three years had gone by so quickly.
In the blink of an eye, his