Chu Zhao had just told Xie Yanlai that even if it was painful, she wanted clarity.

When Xie Yanlai said her father was meeting someone and didn’t want her present, she had been perfectly clear-headed and immediately guessed that her mother had arrived.

Even just now, when she heard the voice inside and recognized who her mother was, though shocked, she remained clear-headed. All the strange occurrences suddenly made sense—Xiao Man and the others’ odd behavior, the sudden appearance of real bandits, the mountain bandit guards who were so easily persuaded—

She was so clear-headed that while listening to Zhong Changrong’s words, she could piece together her parents’ past—a bandit beauty, a general hunting bandits, a tale of love and hatred.

She was even clear-headed enough to realize it was merely a honey trap, without any real love or hatred.

If there was anything, it was the general’s shame and the bandit’s victory.

No problem—this truth, for someone who had died once already, was something she could accept.

Until she heard the final sentence, that the infant was fake.

She, this infant—Chu Zhao looked at her own hands—wasn’t even a byproduct of the honey trap. She wasn’t even her father’s daughter!

Chu Zhao’s mind went blank. Her ears buzzed, everything was too noisy to hear anything, yet somehow it also seemed very quiet, and she could hear her breathing.

In the world, only the sound of her breathing remained.

Until someone shook her forcefully, calling “Chu Zhao.”

Chu Zhao’s gaze focused, and she saw Xie Yanlai’s face—

“Let her smell this,” a voice said.

The scent was pungent. Chu Zhao sneezed, which cleared the buzzing in her ears, and suddenly everything was clear. Only then did she realize that she had somehow already entered the room.

Xie Yanlai was still holding her, and before her was Chu Li, who had sat up in bed. To the side was—

Seeing Chu Zhao looking in her direction, the woman stepped back, at a loss for what to do, wanting to hide but with nowhere to go. She could only turn away and lower her head.

Meanwhile, Zhong Changrong slapped himself and cautiously called out, “A-Zhao, you know that Uncle Zhong never speaks well, I was just talking nonsense—”

Chu Zhao looked at him and smiled.

This smile made everyone around her worried again.

“Uncle Zhong, don’t I know what you’re like?” Chu Zhao said with a smile. Without saying anything more to him, she broke free from Xie Yanlai’s grasp and hurried to Chu Li. “Father, lie down quickly. No matter how important things are, you shouldn’t be sitting up now.”

Chu Li allowed her to help him and obediently lay down. Chu Zhao also sat down beside the bed.

The room fell into an awkward silence.

“I’m fine,” Chu Zhao said, looking up at everyone, not missing Mu Mian Hong, and even letting her gaze linger on her. “After all this time, I’ve just learned your name. I’ve been calling you Madam Ding all along.”

Mu Mian Hong looked at her, her expression mournful and concerned. She moved her lips and said, “It would have been better not to know.”

Chu Zhao shook her head. “Things in this world, once they’ve happened, should be known.” As she spoke, she stood up and bowed to Mu Mian Hong. “Thank you.”

Mu Mian Hong looked at her without speaking. What was there to say? This child was unnaturally calm; anything said would only upset her.

Chu Zhao stood up but didn’t sit down again. She bowed once more.

“For saving me earlier when I was attacked, thank you,” she said.

Not just Mu Mian Hong, but Zhong Changrong and Xie Yanlai also thought she was confused—she appeared clear-headed but was muddled, otherwise why thank someone twice?

Zhong Changrong even signaled to Xie Yanlai with his eyes, telling him to let Chu Zhao smell the medicine again, but Xie Yanlai ignored him with a cold face.

Zhong Changrong, guilty of his earlier mistake, didn’t dare give Xie Yanlai any attitude and awkwardly withdrew his gaze.

Only Chu Li smiled. “With these two thanks, are you at peace across both lifetimes?”

Chu Zhao looked at him, sat down, and nodded, raising her hand to wipe away tears. “Father, I’m at peace now. You should be at peace too. Don’t worry about me.”

Chu Li reached out and patted Chu Zhao’s arm. “I don’t worry. I’ve seen firsthand how capable my A-Zhao is. But, A-Zhao, since fate has allowed you to see and hear today, you should know everything.”

Chu Zhao lowered her head. “Father, I understand everything now.”

Chu Li smiled. “What do you understand? That’s just your interpretation. You should hear it from me directly—Mu Mian Hong and I met by chance, met again with shared feelings, and fell in love on our third meeting. Although we never had a formal wedding ceremony, she and I were indeed husband and wife. You are our daughter.”

Hearing these words, Zhong Changrong turned his head away, while Mu Mian Hong raised her hand to wipe away tears.

“Since the General has spoken, I should also speak frankly,” she said. “The General and I didn’t meet by chance. I deliberately planned it. At that time, our mountain stronghold—but let’s not speak of that.”

She looked at Chu Zhao.

“When we first met, I had intended to assassinate him, but my skills were inadequate, and I failed.”

“After our second meeting, and then our third, I stayed by the General’s side. As time passed, the General treated me with sincerity and affection. I was at a loss, not knowing what to do. When the General showed me the wedding dress—”

As she spoke to this point, a hint of reminiscence flashed in her eyes, as if she could still see that red wedding dress personally presented by her beloved.

“I didn’t know what to do anymore, so I ran away. I had intended never to see the General again in this lifetime.”

“But the mountain bandits were cruel and lawless, violating regulations. The imperial court wouldn’t tolerate it. The General came to suppress the bandits, surrounding and attacking us until we had nowhere to go.”

“I was born in the mountain stronghold, born a bandit. I couldn’t watch my family die, so I had to step forward and ask General Chu to let us go—”

She seemed to see the scene from back then—across the weapons and corpses, the general seeing his lover reappear before him, his expression showing joy, shock, and pain.

Mu Mian Hong never expected the General’s forgiveness. Mu Mian Hong doesn’t make excuses for her actions.”

She looked at Chu Zhao.

“When my life couldn’t sway the General, I used my daughter’s life and mine to exchange for our survival.”

“I held my daughter over a knife’s edge. I cut my daughter’s neck with a knife. At that moment, my daughter was killed by my own hands.”

“I didn’t come today to see my daughter. I just came to see the General.”

She looked back at Chu Li.

“The man whom Mu Mian Hong deceived, whom Mu Mian Hong loved, is about to die. I came to see him one more time.”

“A-Li, with this farewell in this life—in the next life, let’s not meet again.”

She knelt and bowed, tears falling in large drops. Without waiting for anyone in the room to say anything more, she hurried away.

The room fell silent.

Zhong Changrong kicked a pillar, making a thud that broke the stillness.

“This vicious—” he wanted to curse but was mindful of Chu Zhao. One couldn’t curse a mother in front of her daughter. But this mother—what kind of mother was this? What had she just said? Not a single word about her daughter, only saying that her daughter had died.

He had forbidden Mu Mian Hong from acknowledging her daughter, but when Mu Mian Hong truly didn’t acknowledge her, he was furious.

How bitter! How bitter the General’s fate was! How bitter A-Zhao’s fate was!

Zhong Changrong let out a roar and rushed out as well.

The room fell silent again. A moment later, Xie Yanlai’s voice broke the silence.

“I’ll,” he said, pointing outside, “I’ll be outside. If you need anything, call me.”

Without waiting for the two to respond, he hurried away.

In an instant, only father and daughter remained in the room.

Chu Zhao looked at her father and suddenly chuckled. “Father, your youth was far more exciting than what they say in the capital.”