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Chapter 148: Chapter 148: The Truth of One’s Background
Li Youshui looked at the Protector kneeling on the ground who had been silent all along and said, "Why are you not saying anything?"
The leading Protector replied, "Sir, that person also left a message for you."
Li Youshui disdainfully picked up the gavel, blew the dust off it, and said, "What audacity that person has! Speak!"
The Protector hesitated, "That person said he took Wen Po away, and if this matter is known to others, he guarantees that your official hat and head will fall together!"
Li Youshui was furious, "He’s got some nerve, does he no longer wish to live?"
The Protector looked up and said, "Right, sir, he said his name was Mu Yan..."
Li Youshui scoffed, "What Mu, what Yan... Mu Yan..."
Thud!
The gavel in his hand suddenly dropped, hitting his foot, and Li Youshui cried out in pain.
Looking up again, his eyes were filled with terror, and he sat pale-faced in the chair, cautiously asking, "What did you say his name was?"
"He said his name was Mu Yan, absolutely certain, and we also saw a flag, couldn’t make out what was written on it clearly, but the flag had black cloth with golden edges."
Cold sweat streamed down from Li Youshui’s face to his neck, yet he felt cold all over. He muttered, "Could it be the Xingtian Department?"
The Protector nodded, "It seems so."
Li Youshui was petrified on the spot.
The Seal Keeper of the Xingtian Department, Mu Yan, had come to Phoenix City. In a panic, he hurried back home.
He saw his wife and blurted out, "Wanniang, I truly can’t help with your sister’s issue anymore."
His wife, Li Wanniang, was puzzled, "What happened?"
Li Youshui recounted to Li Wanniang what had just happened. Li Wanniang was astonished, "Back then my sister only told me to keep a close eye on Liu Jinxiu and not let her leave Phoenix City. I don’t know the exact reason either!"
Li Youshui paced back and forth anxiously, "You, you mustn’t meddle in this matter anymore. Let’s pretend we don’t know anything. You have no idea how powerful that Mu Yan from the Xingtian Department is. If he says he’ll kill someone, it’s as easy as slaughtering a chicken. Don’t contact your sister for now."
Li Wanniang understood the implications and fearfully agreed, "Alright, alright. But Changlong is still studying in Ding’an City. Should we also tell him not to associate with his aunt?"
Li Youshui gestured with his hand, "Changlong isn’t particularly fond of his aunt either; there should be no issues."
Li Wanniang’s eyes darkened, and she nodded heavily, "Okay, in some time, let’s have Changlong come back. That family hasn’t caused trouble again."
Li Youshui nodded, "Yes, it’s been three years since the incident; it’s time."
The couple exchanged glances and were somewhat relieved.
...
Hei Yu was injured and returned to Lingnan.
He met with Si Jun in the straw hut that night. Si Jun looked at Hei Yu, incredulous at his injuries, and asked, "How could you possibly be injured?"
He looked in disbelief at the wounds on Hei Yu’s shoulder and leg.
Hei Yu knelt on one knee and said, "Master, it’s my fault for underestimating the enemy. The opponent’s strength is indeed formidable."
"Are you speaking of Zhan Lan?" Si Jun asked with doubt.
Hei Yu lowered his gaze, "She’s still young, and her skills aren’t refined, but her future strength might catch up to mine."
"Then why were you still injured?" Si Jun hurriedly helped Hei Yu to rise.
Hei Yu spoke with a grave voice, "She has her own Hidden Guards, and this time, someone came to help her. It was a man. I didn’t see his face clearly, but his strength is probably on par with mine."
Si Jun’s eyes darkened as he muttered, "So this time, it was a narrow escape from death..."
"What kind of man could be a match for your martial skills?" Si Jun strained to think of a candidate who would fit.
"It seemed like Zhan Lan knew him. The moment the man was poisoned and fell into the water, Zhan Lan didn’t hesitate to rescue him. They were both swept away by the current," Hei Yu recalled.
Si Jun’s gaze turned sharp and sinister, "Could it be Mu Yan!"
Hei Yu was taken aback, then said, "It is possible. Although the man’s facial contour was not clear, his presence was imposing and carried an inherent sense of oppression."
Si Jun sighed, "Then it must be him!"
He never imagined that Mu Yan would go to help Zhan Lan.
"Master, the people in the carriage were the midwife Liu Jinxiu and her son; by now they’ve probably been taken to Ding’an City!"
Si Jun closed his eyes, "Why would they make a big deal out of finding a midwife? Let’s just watch and see what Zhan Lan and Mu Yan are actually up to."
"Yes!" Hei Yu nodded in agreement.
...
Meanwhile, Zhan Lan also arrived in Ding’an City. First, she went to the old residence of the General Mansion with Xiao Chen.
She confined Liu Jinxiu and her son in a rundown room of the old house.
Zhan Lan removed the cloth from Liu Jinxiu’s mouth and asked, "You better confess what you did back then. How exactly did you switch Lady Zhan’s daughter with Li’s daughter? Otherwise, your only son will surely die."
Liu Jinxiu was greedy, but she feared even more the extinction of her family line.
With tears in her eyes, she looked at her son bound tightly in a corner by Zhan Lan’s underlings and couldn’t keep hiding the truth.
Hastily falling to her knees with red-rimmed eyes, she kowtowed and pleaded, "Miss, I’ll tell everything. Indeed, back then, Li had me secretly switch the babies. When Mrs. Qin was weak from childbirth and asleep, the two of us swapped the babies given to the wet nurses to feed... Newborns all look wrinkled, so no one noticed."
Listening to how she had been swapped with Zhan Xuerou at birth, Zhan Lan grew to loathe Li and these people.
They were the cause of her tragic life in her previous existence.
Zhan Lan stared at Liu Jinxiu, who was a trembling, tearful mess on the floor, and said coldly, "Get up. You’re going with me to the General Mansion’s front courtyard. Tell everyone clearly what happened!"
Liu Jinxiu’s expression stiffened with difficulty, "But over the years, Li has given me many silvers. If I do this to her..."
Zhan Lan scoffed with an intimidating air, "Hah, do you still remember what you initially did to me? Huh! How could you be so cruel to such a small baby!"
Frightened by Zhan Lan’s aura, Liu Jinxiu shuddered as she finally realized Zhan Lan’s true identity.
So she was the legitimate daughter of the Zhan Family who had been switched. Frightened speechless, she quickly knelt and bowed continuously, "I-I’m sorry, it’s... my fault..."
Zhan Lan shook her head, tears swirling in her eyes, "You’re truly ruthless! A baby still in swaddling clothes, torn from her mother to acknowledge another as her own. I called Li ’Mother’ for so long; she didn’t deserve it!"
Zhan Lan felt as though drained of her strength, hatred surging for all the suffering she had endured due to Li over the years.
Her eyes turned bloodshot, filled with poignant grief.
Zhan Xuerou had usurped her mother’s love for so many years; her parents had so dearly loved the false daughter.
Zhan Xuerou had almost everything she ever wanted since childhood.
Zhan Lan did not envy her carefree life, only the familial love and favoritism she had.
Zhan Lan’s eyes stung, her heart heaving violently. Everything that originally belonged to her, she was determined to reclaim it all today!
