Chapter 3

Lady Xing was easy enough to fool. The real difficulty was Li Jinshuang’s father, Minister Li Xiao.

Her mother had been his childhood sweetheart and betrothed. If he asked about their past, I could easily give myself away.

When he returned from court and heard the news, he rushed to the inner quarters like the wind.

The usually composed minister was almost stumbling.

A flicker of hatred crossed Lady Xing’s eyes.

He looked me up and down, uncertainty in his gaze.

“You… are Shuang’er?”

Li Jinshuang and I had little in common. If I had to find something, we both had fair skin.

I kept my head lowered, trying not to let him see my face clearly, and gave a barely audible “Mm.”

Frightened, shy, painfully cautious.

A girl raised in a small town, newly arrived in a minister’s household and facing a father she had never met, could hardly be too eager or affectionate.

“All these years, you and your mother… did you live well?”

I immediately covered my eyes with a handkerchief, tears streaming down.

“Well enough. Only Mother… she passed away.”

His eyes reddened, and he forgot to scrutinize me.

“Did she… ever speak to you… of me?”

His face was full of hope.

Timidly, I shook my head.

“She always said Father had died of illness. She never spoke of you. Only just before she died did she tell me who I was and ask me to come find… you.”

I knew nothing of his past. Afraid that the more I said, the more mistakes I would make, I took a gamble.

The light faded from his face.

As I waited anxiously, he sighed.

“Your mother was as proud as ever. I wronged her…”

Secretly, I rejoiced. A woman who raised her daughter alone and never contacted Li Xiao for more than a decade must have had some pride.

Once again, I had guessed right.

Seeing him lost in the past, Lady Xing could bear it no longer.

She forced a smile.

“After all the trouble it took for father and daughter to be reunited, my lord mustn’t be sad today. We ought to settle Shuang’er in first.”

He quickly wiped his eyes and smiled.

“My wife is right. Now that you’ve come, Shuang’er, this is your home! And after all this, I still haven’t heard you call me Father.”

A servant brought a kneeling cushion. I knelt, bowed my forehead respectfully to the floor, and said clearly,

“Your daughter greets you, Father!”

That one word established my identity.

Lady Xing looked sick, while the minister nodded in satisfaction.

“Good, good. Fetch Zhen’er. Let the sisters meet.”

Before long, the household’s eldest daughter, Li Yunzhen, entered.

Her father spoke first.

“Come greet your elder sister!”

Li Yunzhen immediately looked at Lady Xing.

In a noble household, the order and standing of children were not matters decided casually.

Before Li Jinshuang appeared, Li Yunzhen had been the eldest daughter of the principal wife. Now the minister wanted her to call me her elder sister without relegating me to a concubine’s daughter. How could they accept that?

Lady Xing spoke at once.

“My lord, surely that isn’t proper. Shuang’er may be older, but her mother never had a recognized place…”

The minister frowned.

“I’ve thought about this for some time and intended to discuss it with you. I wish to recognize her mother as a wife of equal standing. Then Shuang’er will be a legitimate daughter. Her mother is dead, after all. It affects none of your interests. It’s only a title.”

Lady Xing went pale.

“My lord, how can you do such a thing?”

“Why should I not? Had I known she was alive, she would have been my principal wife. We never held the wedding ceremony, but the betrothal and gifts were settled, with a matchmaker and formal offerings. I owe this place to mother and daughter!”

“But…”

“You’ve always been virtuous and understanding. I’m sure you won’t make this difficult for your husband, and will treat Shuang’er as your own daughter. The matter is settled!”

He left no room for argument. Lady Xing had to swallow everything she wished to say.

Who would have thought a man so seasoned in official life could still be such a devoted lover?

No wonder she had been determined to get rid of Li Jinshuang.

I stole a look. Li Yunzhen’s eyes were full of resentment; Lady Xing looked as though she wished to devour me.

Thanks to this dear father, my days ahead would likely be harder still.