Pu Yunshan gripped the sword, his palms drenched in sweat.
Lady Wang hugged Tiedan and huddled against the wall. Tiedan's head was pressed against her chest, and he kept making muffled noises.
"Auntie, you're hugging me too tightly, I can't breathe."
Upon hearing this, Lady Wang loosened her grip slightly, but still refused to let him go. She simply looked down at him, her tears washing away her makeup and leaving two wet streaks.
Suddenly, the beam above them rattled.
"Click."
As he looked up, a piece of wood from the roof, mixed with dust, fell down and landed right in front of his shoes.
A large hole was visible above, letting in sunlight.
Murong Xue landed first, her boots landing firmly on the ground, still holding half a handful of melon seeds in her hand.
She looked down at Zhao Wuxu, then at the sword in Pu Yunshan's hand, her face full of regret.
"How could you snatch it so quickly?"
Pu Yunshan's face darkened, and he slightly raised the tip of his sword.
Murong Xue flicked the sunflower seed shells to his feet and curled her lip in disgust.
"This heroine was planning to hang that Zhao fellow at the entrance of the public toilet in the south of the city, let him smell the night fragrance for three days, and whip him a few times while she was at it. But you, instead, stabbed him to death with one sword."
Pu Yunshan stared at her.
The woman stood casually, a soft whip hanging from her waist, her skirt stained with dust from the roof, as if she had genuinely come to watch the excitement.
But he never realized there was someone hiding up there.
What's even more frightening is that there's more than one person on board.
Lin Qingdai landed next, her black outfit clinging to her body, barely kicking up any dust when she landed.
She looked at the sword in Pu Yunshan's hand.
Put down the sword.
Pu Yunshan's throat tightened.
When did you arrive?
"When you said you were going out to check if there were any tails~"
"How could I not have noticed? I am..."
"Tsk, Fourth Rank martial artist, huh? Hmm, his swordsmanship is alright, but his hearing isn't even as good as that Murong Xue's..."
"Come on, I'm way better than you, Lin Qingdai. I can run faster than you too. Besides, if it weren't for my nose, would I have known they were hiding here?"
Murong Xue cracked open a melon seed, pointed at Tiedan, and continued speaking.
"Of all people to rob, you had to rob Tiedan. Now, even if Tiedan sneezes, someone in the palace has to listen. And he still has Ling'er's incense on him."
Upon hearing this, Lady Wang blushed, looked at Tiedan, and slowly ran her fingers through his messy hair.
Fortunately, the people in the Prince's mansion were kind-hearted, otherwise her son would have been gone!
The child's skin was tanned, his clothes were old, and there were bits of bread crumbs on his face. He didn't resemble the fair-skinned child in her memory who wore a brocade jacket at all.
Who turned his adorable chubby son into this?
The sound of rapid hoofbeats echoed outside the temple gate, kicking up dirt and sending guards' armor plates clashing together with a loud thud.
"Get out of the way!"
Yun Zhengze's voice came from outside, suppressing his anger.
Several guards from the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's Office burst open the temple gate. Yun Zhengze, still wearing his official robes and with the hem of his cloak covered in mud, quickly stepped across the threshold.
He saw Zhao Wuxu's body first.
Blood flowed into the cracks between the blue bricks, and the handprint left by Lady Wang Shi on Zhao Wuxu's face was still visible.
Yun Zhengze stopped in his tracks, his face darkening.
Who killed him?
Pu Yunshan stood there, his wrist still numb. Just as he was about to speak, Lady Wang took a step forward, holding Tiedan, and tears fell again.
"Master."
Yun Zhengze turned to look at her, then at the child in her arms.
Feeling uncomfortable under the gaze of many people, Tiedan hid behind Lady Wang's sleeve.
Yun Zhengze frowned even more deeply.
"This is...?"
Lady Wang opened her mouth, but her voice was hoarse.
He is Wangchuan.
Yun Zhengze didn't hear clearly.
"What did you say?"
"He is our son, Wangchuan." Lady Wang raised her head, her tears still wet on her face.
Yun Zhengze stood there, a corner of his cloak billowing in the cold wind.
Over the past six years, he has heard similar things far too often.
Someone brought in a child and said the child's ears looked like his.
Some people say the child has a mole on their hand.
Some people even knelt in front of the mansion gate, holding a tattered swaddling cloth, crying and begging for a reward.
Each time, he went to see it with hope.
Each time, they returned empty-handed.
Even when Gu Moran and Zhao Wuxu's people came to inform him that day, he didn't fully believe them.
Yun Zhengze said in a low voice, "This matter cannot be fabricated."
Lady Wang reached out to undo Tiedan's belt.
Tiedan clutched his waistband, jumping up and down in a panic.
"What are you doing! What son? What are you doing?!"
"Let me see," Lady Wang said, her eyes red-rimmed. "Let me see the birthmark on your buttocks."
"I'm not a candied hawthorn skewer, why does everyone want to see my butt?"
Tiedan cursed, but seeing Lady Wang crying so hard, he slowly stopped moving.
Yun Zhengze walked over, squatted down, his fingers trembling violently.
Tiedan didn't recognize him, but he felt that the man in the official robe had an ugly face, as if he was about to grab someone to recite a text, so he immediately moved back.
Lady Wang hugged him and shielded him from the wind.
Yun Zhengze finally saw the birthmark.
Reddish-brown, half a ruyi (a traditional Chinese symbol of good fortune), with a curved hook at the end.
It was exactly the same as the old handkerchief that Lady Wang had kept for six years.
Yun Zhengze's hand remained suspended in mid-air for a long time before slowly landing on Tiedan's shoulder.
Tiedan looked up at him.
"Who are you? What do you want? I don't have a father, and I don't want one! I only want Sister Yun and the Prince!"
Yun Shuyue stood to one side, biting her lip.
She really couldn't protect Tiedan on her own...
Yun Zhengze's lips moved, as if something was stuck in his throat.
"I..."
He wanted to say, "Son, I am your father, and I have failed you."
But he couldn't finish what he was saying.
Six years, a full six years.
He searched every brokerage firm, carriage shop, dilapidated temple, and mountain stronghold near Yi Prefecture, looking for both the dead and the living child. Eventually, he almost believed it himself: the child was long gone.
But now, he squats in the dilapidated temple, and the child in front of him is looking at him warily.
Yun Zhengze raised his hand to cover his face, his shoulders trembling slightly.
Holding Tiedan, Lady Wang was also crying so hard she couldn't speak a complete sentence.
There was another sound coming from the doorway.
Gu Moran, draped in a white fox fur coat, still feigned a sickly appearance.
The first thing I did upon entering was glance at Tiedan.
When Tiedan saw him, his eyes lit up.
"Your Highness!"
Gu Moran his hand, signaling him not to run around.
Are you alright?
Tiedan wanted to say it was nothing, but then he remembered how Zhao Wuxu had looked with the knife earlier, so he pursed his lips but still puffed out his chest.
"I wasn't hurt, he didn't hit me."
Gu Moran nodded, his gaze falling on Zhao Wuxu's corpse.
"That's good."
Yun Zhengze looked up, his eyes still filled with grief, but his voice already carried an air of official authority.
He was still somewhat displeased. Gu Moran had known all along that Tiedan was his son, but she had kept it from him for the past few days.
" Your Prince Yi, you merely informed me that you found them hiding here."
But now that Zhao Wuxu has died here, he must give me an explanation."
Gu Moran coughed twice, and Uncle Fu quickly pressed down his collar for him.
" Lord Yun's words are quite amusing."
He looked up at Yun Zhengze.
"The adopted son of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's office kidnapped the Commissioner's biological son."
Is this a family scandal or a legal case?
"Fortunately, someone bravely intervened and stopped your precious godson from committing the crime; otherwise, it would have been Lady Wang and your own son who died."
"And now, you dare to blame me?"
Just as Gu Moran finished speaking, a system notification suddenly sounded in his ear.
[Congratulations, host.]
[ Zhao Wuxu's destiny line has been completely severed.]
[ Pu Yunshan's destiny line has shifted again.]
[Successfully plundered Qi Luck, rewarding the host with mid- Fourth Rank cultivation.]
In an instant, heat spread from the dantian, pushing along the shoulders, back, arms, and legs, and even the cold winter wind could not suppress that abundant power.
Gu Moran raised his hand and rubbed his temples.
Hey, you've gotten even stronger.
The six ladies are even more blessed.
[Thanks to: Xixi's character summoning + milk tea, Learning flowers x2, Iris's love letter, Yuwen's likes + flowers, Favorite flowers x5, Mojie's capsule + urging for updates, Quanshui, Baimu, Donghuang's milk tea, Social Anxiety's urging for updates, Suona, Xiaowei's flowers, Baiding's likes x20, Weiyan's milk tea x2 + flowers x4, Zhang Hu, Fish Slice's likes, and everyone else for their love and hard work~!]