The 1969 birth certificate was handwritten.

Infant’s Name: Yu Li

Gender: Female

Date of Birth: March 4, 1969, at: Chuncheng Second People’s Hospital

Father’s Name: None

Place of Origin: Chuncheng, Yunnan Province

Mother’s Name: Yu Ru

To find this archived birth certificate, Xia Xiaolan had spent at least several hundred thousand yuan over the past month, employing many people to help.

The lead, verified by local police, couldn’t be fake.

If it were just the same name, it could be a coincidence, but even the birthday matched. Xia Xiaolan never imagined that the person they were looking for might have been right beside her all along, unrecognized.

Yu Li’s hands trembled as she held the birth certificate.

She was even more shocked than Xia Xiaolan.

How could this be possible?

Though she had momentarily considered it, she had pushed the thought away.

“I… I… President Xia… I’m not from Yunnan Province…”

There must be a mistake.

She wasn’t from Yunnan Province!

She had absolutely no memories of Yunnan Province – how could she have been born here?

Xia Xiaolan sighed, “What’s your mother’s name?”

Yu Li fell silent.

Her mother’s name was Yu Ru.

Yu Ru?

You Ru?

Tang Youru… The birth certificate slipped from Yu Li’s hands to the floor. She didn’t know how to explain everything before her. This lead, which she had helped investigate, had unexpectedly led to herself!

Xia Xiaolan sat with Yu Li on the hospital chairs.

“Gather your thoughts, then tell me what you can. When we met, you were already a Beijing resident with a Beijing accent. Do you remember what year your mother remarried and took you with her?”

Yu Li steadied herself and after a long while, spoke:

“…I don’t know. I don’t remember much from my childhood. My mother seemed to always move us from place to place. Later she remarried to Qiao Quanbing, and our household registration was transferred to the Qiao family. I must have been seven or eight then.”

She vaguely remembered moving several times as a child.

Being held by her mother on green-skinned trains.

But she couldn’t remember where they had traveled from to reach Beijing.

She also didn’t quite understand how her mother had come to marry Qiao Quanbing. For a child, how would she care about household registration changes or place of origin?

She had attended school in Beijing and grew up there.

Her mother was hardworking, and employed at a factory while keeping their home in perfect order.

Before her mother’s paralysis, their life had been quite good, not much different from their neighbors. Her stepfather Qiao Quanbing’s only complaint wasn’t about her being excess baggage, but that her mother wouldn’t bear him a son. He would pick fights about this every few months… but despite the arguments, Qiao Quanbing wouldn’t divorce her mother because she was too capable and hardworking.

During arguments, Qiao Quanbing often emphasized that they were outsiders, implying his kindness in taking them in had allowed them to become Beijing residents—

She had needed thorough preparation to help her mother escape, as they truly had no relatives to rely on.

In Yu Li’s understanding, there were no grandparents, uncles, or aunts. People don’t spring from rocks, yet her mother never spoke of these things.

“I don’t know, President Xia, I don’t know anything.”

Yu Li hugged herself.

Xia Xiaolan patted her gently, “Dimples – does your mother have dimples?”

Of course, she had dimples, especially noticeable when she smiled.

But after becoming paralyzed, she smiled less and less, growing thin, making the dimples barely visible!

Yu Li nodded honestly.

The timeline matched. Xia Xiaolan was eighty percent certain that Yu Ru was Tang Youru.

Since they had traced the lead this far, they might as well confirm it. Although Yu Ru was in a vegetative state, DNA testing could provide certainty.

Xia Xiaolan couldn’t tell if she felt more joy or sorrow.

…If Yu Ru and Tang Youru were the same person, could Old Tang accept it?

It was both joyous news and a devastating blow.

After being sold, Tang Youru had indeed suffered greatly, even more than anyone had imagined.

Some people are born into privilege.

But Tang Youru’s life after age seven had been more bitter than Goldthread’s. According to Yu Li, there might have been a few easier years, when before losing her ability to work, she had lived an ordinary life, settling in Beijing… but those stable, lighter days had lasted only a few years.

They say nieces and nephews often resemble their uncles. Xia Xiaolan studied Yu Li carefully.

Did she resemble Old Tang?

Looking at her with the subjective notion that she might be Old Tang’s niece, there did seem to be some resemblance.

Why hadn’t she noticed before?

Because no one had thought to look!

Before Old Tang returned home for the funeral, neither Xia Xiaolan nor Liu Fen had known about “Tang Youru’s” existence.

Seeing Yu Li still dazed, Xia Xiaolan patted her hand again:

“After two months of investigation, the trial ends with you. Whether your mother is Aunt Tang Youru or not, we need to return to Pengcheng!”

Tang, You must have many stories.

Her life held the bitterness of goldthread, yet also the tenacity of cattail.

Being sold multiple times, escaping from the mountains of Yunnan Province, eventually settling in Beijing with her daughter… This wasn’t something just anyone could accomplish – at least the several trafficked women Xia Xiaolan had tried to rescue couldn’t!

If Yu Ru was Tang Youru, Xia Xiaolan didn’t despise her but rather admired her.

Some people squander good cards, while others, dealt a worthless hand, never give up, striving to turn their fate around—such people, regardless of gender, deserve respect.

Xia Xiaolan couldn’t help but hug Yu Li:

“Xiao Yu, come back to Pengcheng with me. Let’s solve this mystery together.”

Yu Li nodded.

“…President Xia, I’ll follow your lead.”

President Xia wouldn’t harm her. When she couldn’t think herself, she should trust President Xia’s judgment.

…

Before boarding the plane, Xia Xiaolan told Tang Hongen what she had discovered.

She had promised Old Tang to tell him immediately of any leads, without concealment.

This promise kept Old Tang working in Pengcheng rather than waiting in Yunnan Province.

Tang Hongen’s emotions were like a roller coaster.

Learning his sister had been sold several times, he couldn’t sleep.

Learning she had escaped, he couldn’t sleep.

Learning she had escaped while pregnant, possibly giving him a niece or nephew, he couldn’t sleep.

His emotions rose and fell with each new lead.

Until Xia Xiaolan found that birth certificate at Chuncheng Second Hospital, believing “Tang Youru” was “Yu Ru,” Tang Hongen truly couldn’t bear it!

He had reached his emotional limit, unwilling to accept that a paralyzed and comatose woman was his sister Xiaoru, who had been sold 29 years ago. The truth was too cruel… yet compared to death, this was the minimum Tang Hongen could accept!

“At least she’s alive, at least she’s alive…”

Liu Fen silently wiped away tears, “Hongen, don’t frighten me!”

Tang Hongen reached over to dry her tears, “Don’t cry, don’t cry, Xiaoru is still alive. Let’s go to the hospital.”