A thunderous realization struck Du Tinglan’s mind – could it be that A’Yu was truly that A’Gu from years ago?

A’Gu, A’Gu! Du Tinglan’s heart ached. She should have realized this earlier. Given her sister’s state of mind back then, it made perfect sense that she would call herself such a name.

Without her mother, and with her father rarely by her side, her sister had been gloomy all day – wasn’t she indeed a little “lonely child”?

She grabbed her sister’s hand tightly. “Did you call yourself A’Gu?”

The shock on Teng Yu’yi’s face matched Du Tinglan’s. After today’s events, she too suspected this matter involved her, if only because both the doll and the name “A’Gu” that Lin Chengyou mentioned aligned with her past. But this wasn’t a small matter – why didn’t she have any memory of it? If she had always had a poor memory, that would be one thing, but she had possessed perfect recall since childhood…

Even if she had been ill back then, she shouldn’t have lost all her memories. For this reason, she had always believed it was just a coincidence. Until today’s events, that belief had remained unshaken.

Du Tinglan said with heartache: “Don’t you remember? In the eighth year of Long Yuan, you were gravely ill. A child’s high fever and convulsions that lasted so many days. Uncle feared you wouldn’t survive and stayed by your bedside day and night. The physicians said it would be fortunate if your brain wasn’t damaged by the fever. Thankfully when you woke, you were just more tired than usual. Not long after your recovery, Uncle took you back to Yangzhou. You truly don’t remember any of it? Even if you’ve forgotten everything, Lin Chengyou couldn’t have identified the wrong person.”

Teng Yu’yi bit her lip and lifted her chin, addressing Lin Chengyou through the carriage curtain: “I forgot. I forgot everything. You say I’m that girl, so I must be? What proof do you have?”

A smile tugged at Lin Chengyou’s lips – this stubborn attitude was exactly like little A’Gu’s back then. He raised his eyebrows: “Come down then. Stop asking questions from inside the carriage. Come down and I’ll tell you.”

If he wanted her to come down, she would. Teng Yu’yi snorted, put on her veiled hat, and said to Du Tinglan: “Sister, I’m going down to ask him a few questions.”

Du Tinglan nodded, suppressing a smile.

As soon as Teng Yu’yi appeared, Lin Chengyou dismounted.

Teng Yu’yi walked to the side with her head held high, but Lin Chengyou crossed his arms and said: “This is a busy street. Are you sure you want to talk here? Let me take you somewhere where we can discuss this properly.”

No carriage prepared – did he expect her to walk?

“No need. Whatever you have to say, say it here.”

Lin Chengyou smiled and gestured behind him. Kuan Nu appeared from somewhere.

He drove up in an ornate ox cart, cheerfully approaching: “Miss Teng, our Princess wants to invite you to the manor for a chat. This is her invitation – please take a look.”

Teng Yu’yi accepted the invitation, but the handwriting wasn’t Princess A’Zhi’s at all – it was forged by Lin Chengyou.

Hmph. She glanced at Lin Chengyou over the top of the invitation.

Lin Chengyou bowed to Teng Yu’yi and announced loudly: “Miss Teng, you are an honored guest of the Prince of Cheng’s manor. My sister extends her invitation – please do us the honor of accepting.”

Du Tinglan quickly called from inside her carriage: “Sister, since the Princess has invited you, I’ll head back first. With Duan Fu by your side, I need not worry.”

She kept urging her driver to leave.

Teng Yu’yi stood still, neither agreeing nor objecting. The driver understood and quickly drove the carriage forward along the original route.

Kuan Nu respectfully lifted the curtain, and Teng Yu’yi strode onto the cart with her head held high. Duan Fu followed, sitting beside Kuan Nu.

Lin Chengyou mounted his horse and rode alongside the ox cart.

It was getting late, the sun slowly sinking westward, bathing Chang’an City in twilight, tinting even the leaves with a pink glow.

But in Lin Chengyou’s eyes, Chang’an City seemed bathed in morning light, vibrant and joyful everywhere he looked.

As they moved forward, he kept turning to look at the ox cart.

Teng Yu’yi sat inside.

Upon entering, she discovered the table was laden with various foods – an array of sweet delicacies she typically enjoyed.

A small wineskin sat nearby. Opening it revealed the fragrant aroma of premium grape wine.

This was how noble houses typically treated guests.

Teng Yu’yi was hungry and helped herself to a piece.

The Prince of Cheng’s manor’s pastries weren’t as sweet as the Teng manor’s, but they were surprisingly soft and tender.

There was also a green-glazed twelve-section box on the table. Opening the lid revealed plum blossom-shaped pastries coated in fine, crystalline pink powder, as exquisite as red plums in snow.

One bite was crisp as frost.

Lin Chengyou seemed to know Teng Yu’yi was sneaking pastries and called from outside: “Eat more. Those are Red Plum Cakes – my mother’s favorite.”

Teng Yu’yi had been studying how the pastries were made. Hearing this, she glanced at the carriage window – so the Prince of Cheng’s manor had always had flower-shaped pastries like these, yet Lin Chengyou had the nerve to repeatedly ask her to make them for him.

She had even made flower cakes for him as soon as she returned home yesterday.

Teng Yu’yi said: “These pastries taste much better than the flower cakes I make. Since the Young Master’s illness has improved, I won’t need to send flower cakes to the temple anymore.”

She had made flower cakes for him? Lin Chengyou: “Who says I’m better? Kuan Nu, bring my medicine. Chasing thieves all day has exhausted me, and I’m feeling unwell again.”

Kuan Nu quickly said: “I was just about to remind Young Master to take his medicine. Coughing all night until morning when the fever finally broke – you’re not made of iron, how could you withstand this?”

Teng Yu’yi didn’t believe Lin Chengyou was still ill, but hearing Kuan Nu’s words, she became uncertain. Yesterday Lin Chengyou’s fever had been real – when she visited, the medicinal smell still lingered on him. It had only been one day; logically he shouldn’t have fully recovered.

After such exertion all day, the illness might have returned.

The ox cart suddenly stopped on a street.

Teng Yu’yi lifted the curtain to look outside. They had arrived at the theater outside the Great Seclusion Temple. The lanterns were just being lit, with men and women streaming past on the street.

Lin Chengyou coughed twice outside the curtain: “Time for dinner – can’t talk without eating first. A’Gu, you must be hungry too?”

Who was his A’Gu? Teng Yu’yi dawdled for a while before moving. As soon as she got off the cart, Lin Chengyou handed her a candy figure he had just bought from the roadside.

Teng Yu’yi took the candy but said: “I’m not any A’Gu. Young Master, you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”

Lin Chengyou snorted: “What bastard dares say you’re not?”

“You did.” Teng Yu’yi glared at him. “Today you publicly said my doll was fake. If the doll is fake, then naturally I must be fake too.”

She could certainly hold a grudge – even knowing he had been setting a trap for Li Huaigu at the time…

Lin Chengyou touched his ear and nodded with a smile: “I’m the bastard – if I’m not the bastard, who is? Little A’Gu was right in front of my eyes, yet I didn’t recognize her earlier.”

Teng Yu’yi walked forward proudly: “You say I’m your benefactor – what proof do you have?”

“You called yourself A’Gu – that much is true, isn’t it? Have you ever heard of another child with such a name? I remember asking why you had such a strange name, but you suddenly got angry with me.”

Teng Yu’yi thought to herself that this did sound like something she would do. But A’Gu had been her private nickname – she had never told anyone else about it in all these years. If this happened, she wasn’t surprised by anything else, only wondering why she would have told Lin Chengyou about this self-appointed name.

Lin Chengyou glanced at her: “Then there’s that doll. I bet you always carried it when you were little since you wouldn’t even go to banquets without holding it.”

Teng Yu’yi still didn’t respond. Never mind at age five – even now she couldn’t sleep without the doll.

“You sat by the shore thinking about your mother, crying so much that I promised to take you to find her. I thought you had just gotten separated from your mother, but only today did I learn that at that time, Madam Teng had…”

Just passed away.

Lin Chengyou swallowed the rest of his words.

Madam Teng must have loved Teng Yu’yi deeply when she was alive – you could tell from the doll she had made for her child by hand.

Perhaps in Teng Yu’yi’s heart, she had never accepted her mother’s death. So even knowing her mother was gone when she heard him say his mother knew many noble ladies, she still held onto a thread of hope and let him take her to search.

Remembering that small, lonely figure by the lake, he suddenly felt sad. Though he had much more to say, he found it difficult to continue.

By this point, Teng Yu’yi believed most of it. She had indeed called herself A’Gu, and she had certainly been to Chang’an in the eighth year of Long Yuan. As for the doll – right after her mother passed away, she often carried it around searching for her mother, but no matter where she looked, she never found her mother’s figure.

She cleared her throat: “Then – what about after? You promised to take her to find her mother – where did you go?”

Her mother was already gone – she was curious how Lin Chengyou had handled it back then.

“I failed.”

Teng Yu’yi froze.

Lin Chengyou stared straight ahead, forcing a slight smile: “I promised to take you to your mother, but I left you standing there while I got busy fighting with other children. Later I went to change clothes, and you followed me. You were holding the candy I gave you and said: ‘Big brother, your candy.’ But I-“

At this point, Lin Chengyou couldn’t smile anymore: “I told you not to follow me, and my tone was harsh. When I changed and went back to find you, you were gone.”

Teng Yu’yi was first stunned, then became extremely angry: “Lin Chengyou, how could you?”

Lin Chengyou looked up at the sky, first cursing himself a hundred and eighty times in his heart before responding: “I admit, I’m the number one bastard under heaven. All these years I’ve had people searching everywhere for you because I wanted to apologize to you in person.”

He stepped in front of Teng Yu’yi, his tone extremely solemn: “A’Gu, I’m sorry.”

Teng Yu’yi turned her head away. She knew it must have been like this – if Lin Chengyou had treated her properly that day, how could he have failed to even learn who her parents were?

Was this how he treated his benefactor?

She walked past Lin Chengyou.

Lin Chengyou: “You see, I did something so terrible to you. Now that I’ve finally found you, shouldn’t you let me make it up to you properly?”

Teng Yu’yi was still very angry and snorted: “No need.”

Lin Chengyou remained undaunted and continued: “I know you don’t care for gold, silver, and jewels. How about this – you’ve fought quite a few evil spirits with me now, do you know how fox spirits repay their debts of gratitude?”

Teng Yu’yi’s steps faltered, and she asked curiously: “How do they repay them?”

“By offering themselves in marriage, of course.”

Teng Yu’yi’s face turned red. Lin Chengyou’s smile was so innocent as if discussing the most ordinary thing in the world.

She glared at him in embarrassed anger, walking past him again: “Hah, are you a fox spirit? If you were a fox spirit, then I’d agree to your offer of marriage.”

Lin Chengyou said with utmost seriousness: “I’m not a fox spirit, but I share one thing in common with them—”

Though Teng Yu’yi knew Lin Chengyou was being deliberately mysterious, she couldn’t help but ask: “You’re human, they’re spirits – what could you possibly have in common?”

“That’s where you’re wrong. Fox spirits aren’t just good to their benefactors, they’re even better to their spouses. If they don’t choose a mate, that’s one thing, but once they do, they never betray their wife or husband for all eternity. And I’m just the same.”

After saying this, Lin Chengyou instinctively looked up at the sky while quickly pulling Teng Yu’yi back a step.

Fortunately, this time no lightning struck from above.

Teng Yu’yi naturally knew what Lin Chengyou was afraid of, and couldn’t help finding it amusing. With this amusement, a hint of a smile appeared on her face.

After inspecting the night sky, Lin Chengyou shifted his gaze back to Teng Yu’yi’s face and was surprised to find her smiling at him through the gauze veil. He couldn’t help but smile in return.

When he smiled, his eyes truly sparkled like stars, indescribably beautiful.

Teng Yu’yi furrowed her brow and composed her face again: “Lin Chengyou, is this how you treat your benefactor? If you keep speaking to me so frivolously, I’ll never pay attention to you again.”

With that, she pulled her arm free and walked past him. Lin Chengyou’s gaze followed her retreating figure, but he wasn’t discouraged – at least unlike last time, she hadn’t turned and run away.

He followed unhurriedly with his hands behind his back: “I know you don’t want to marry right now. We can discuss the marriage proposal later. But since you’re always on my mind, how about this – from now on, whatever wish you have, I’ll find a way to make it come true. How’s that?”

This suggestion wasn’t bad. Teng Yu’yi thought seriously for a moment, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, only saying: “Well, let me think about it—

“But then again, I can fulfill my wishes.”

Lin Chengyou smiled: “Such big talk – have you found the answer to that secret you’re keeping in your heart? Why not let me help you look for it this time?”

Teng Yu’yi stopped abruptly.

Lin Chengyou gazed at Teng Yu’yi’s profile, understanding dawning in his heart, along with even more shock.

When she told him about being ambushed with poisoned arrows three years later, he should have realized something was off about Teng Yu’yi.

Someone as cautious as Teng Yu’yi wouldn’t take a dream so seriously. Her father’s warning wasn’t enough; to make him truly take this matter seriously, she even went so far as to fabricate a lie about Xiaoya’s ability to foresee the future.

Unless… Teng Yu’yi was certain this would come true.

Moreover, she had repeatedly said she would be harmed by someone in a black cloak in the future.

And then there was Wu Qi’s incident – Teng Yu’yi’s reaction had been unusual then too.

After today’s events with Li Huaigu, he finally understood that there were people in this world who could “foresee” future events.

No, the fear that came from deep within Teng Yu’yi’s heart couldn’t be explained away by merely having the ability to foresee the future.

It was as if she had already lived through it once.

Just like Li Huaigu – that’s why even though she wasn’t A’Gu, she could make an identical doll in advance.

He glanced back at Duan Fu, making sure she couldn’t hear their conversation, then stepped in front of Teng Yu’yi, looking down at her face beneath the gauze veil.

After a moment, he spoke: “Like Madam Li, you also know things that ordinary people don’t, right? Since I’ve known you, you’ve always been surrounded by a large group of guards. You know what will happen in the future, so you’re always worried something will happen to you?”

Teng Yu’yi’s chest heaved. Lin Chengyou’s eyes were so bright as if they could see into the depths of her heart.

She suddenly turned her head away.

Lin Chengyou’s gaze followed her movement. After staring at her intently for a while, he spoke again: “You see, you’re not just the one I love now, you’re also my life-saving benefactor. In this world, besides your father, I’m the least likely person to harm you. Whatever you’re afraid of, let me share the burden. Whatever happens in the future, let me face it with you, alright?”

Teng Yu’yi’s heart skipped a beat. For some reason, Lin Chengyou’s words reminded her of that winter night before her accident, when she walked alone through the falling snow. The wind had howled, and the fine snow had felt icy cold against her face.

Her cousin had been murdered, and half a year ago, her aunt had passed away too. The world had felt desolate, just like her lonely heart.

But she hadn’t known that awaiting her was the terrible news about her father and the assassin who would try to kill her.

When she finally couldn’t escape her fate and was thrown into the icy pond; when she was floating in the freezing water, slowly approaching death; she vaguely remembered a young man coming to save her.

That youth had been very capable, quickly breaking through the black-cloaked person’s evil techniques and jumping into the water to save her.

In her final moments, her vision had already blurred, only remembered that the youth’s movements were nimble and skilled. Unfortunately, she hadn’t lasted long enough for him to grab hold of her, breathing her last breath instead.

Thinking of this, Teng Yu’yi clenched her fingers. Could it be… could that blurry figure from her previous life have been Lin Chengyou?

She remembered that in her previous life, A’Zhi had seen her doll in her room, and on the night of the incident, had sent an invitation to her house.

Butler Cheng had told her Princess A’Zhi would visit the next day and would bring someone to see her.

Perhaps the person A’Zhi had wanted to bring was Lin Chengyou.

Lin Chengyou had learned about her doll from his sister and suspected she was the A’Gu from back then – after all, in her previous life, only she had called herself A’Gu, only she had possessed that doll.

Maybe Lin Chengyou couldn’t wait until the next day to come see her. Out of curiosity, he had either been wandering outside her manor that night or had come to visit, accidentally encountering the incident at her house.

Was it him? Could it have been him? Tears welled up in Teng Yu’yi’s eyes as she tried to examine Lin Chengyou carefully.

So he had once tried so hard to save her.

Plop – tears suddenly rolled from her eyes, and after the first one fell, countless others followed.

Teng Yu’yi quickly turned away, using her hand to wipe away the tears.

Lin Chengyou was stunned.

He knew his words would affect Teng Yu’yi, but he hadn’t expected such a strong reaction.

Teng Yu’yi was strong-willed – even in the most dangerous situations, she had never cried in front of him.

She was crying so sorrowfully, clearly deeply moved. He felt helpless, raising his hand to wipe her tears before remembering they were standing on a street corner, and besides, with her veiled hat, he’d have to lift the gauze first, and she might not even allow it.

He could only withdraw his hand.

“What’s wrong?” This time his tone was very careful…

Teng Yu’yi sniffled: “Nothing.”

She turned to face him again, examining Lin Chengyou once more.

She had so many questions she wanted to ask but didn’t know where to begin. As she stared, tears welled up in her eyes again.

Lin Chengyou grew increasingly puzzled. Though he didn’t know exactly why Teng Yu’yi was so upset, seeing her cry made him feel terrible too. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he forced a smile and said: “Alright, forget what I said before. If you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to say anything. Just know that from now on, I’ll shelter you from wind and rain. Whatever happens, I’ll bear it all for you— Hey, don’t look at me like that, I’m not saying you have to marry me. I’ll treat you this way whether you marry me or not.”

Teng Yu’yi burst out laughing through her tears.

Lin Chengyou unconsciously smiled too, sighing in relief: “You must be hungry? Let me take you to eat something.”

Teng Yu’yi wiped her tears: “I want to eat the bianshi we had last time in Pingkang Ward.”

“The ones He Mo made? No problem, I’ll take you to find him right now.”

Teng Yu’yi nodded. As Lin Chengyou led her to look for the Prince of Cheng’s manor’s ox cart, Kuan Nu unexpectedly pushed through the crowd and ran over.

“Young Master, Madam Li suddenly wrote a letter and had General Li deliver it to His Majesty, saying she has evidence of the Peng family’s rebellion. It looks like she’s trying to atone for her crimes by rendering meritorious service.”

Teng Yu’yi froze.

Lin Chengyou was also somewhat surprised – he had underestimated Madam Li.

His uncle had been worried about finding concrete evidence of the Peng family’s rebellion. If Madam Li’s evidence was genuine, the court could immediately surround the Peng manor with troops.

Teng Yu’yi was also considering this in her heart, never expecting that Li Huaigu would be the one to ultimately expose Peng Zhen.

Lin Chengyou sneered: “She’s calculated well. She knew someone was plotting rebellion and held evidence but wouldn’t speak up. Revealing it at this time might not reduce her punishment – it might even increase it. Where is she being held now? I want to see her.”

Kuan Nu said: “His Majesty wants to question Madam Li in person. She’s been taken to the palace.”

“Prepare the carriage, let’s go.”

After Kuan Nu left, Lin Chengyou turned to look at Teng Yu’yi and said softly: “It’s time to find the answers. Let’s go.”

Teng Yu’yi looked up at him, traces of tears still visible in her eyes.

Lin Chengyou’s heart ached a little – this was the A’Gu he had searched for for so long. One moment of letting go had cost them so many years. He smiled, his tone more serious than ever: “I’ll take you to find the truth, Teng Yu’yi. Don’t worry – this time, I won’t abandon you halfway.”