Chapter 3

Chapter 3

My lips trembled slightly as I asked, my voice barely a whisper, filled with a fragile caution:

“Are you… Wanqiu’s daughter?”

Xu Suisui’s eyes sparkled with joy. “Mother, you finally remembered my other mother!”

Her innocent words left the group of rough men utterly bewildered.

“What is this brat talking about? Where did another mother come from? The Marquis of Ning’an? Isn’t that Xu Xingzhou? His Marchioness is indeed named Wanqiu… Gu-Gu Wanqiu, I believe.”

Gu Wanqiu.

How long had it been since I last heard that name?

Eight years ago.

The situation at the Frontier was dire. Worried for my elder brother, I had petitioned the Emperor and was granted command of twenty thousand troops to go to his aid.

On the road, I happened to save a pregnant noblewoman.

Her face had been deathly pale, surrounded by bandits and nearly frightened into a miscarriage. She had pleaded through her tears, “Take whatever valuables you want, just please, do not harm my child!”

But bandits were ever cruel, their business being murder and plunder. They had no intention of leaving survivors. They laughed mockingly at her words.

“It’s just a bastard. If we don’t induce a miscarriage for you, how would the brothel madam ever agree to take you in? We’re truly in luck today. We only had to lure away one of the young ladies from your group, and your husband went off to save her, leaving you wide open for us!”

Despair instantly washed over her face.

Watching the long blade descend, she covered her stomach in resignation, tears sliding from the corners of her eyes.

Then, she was sprayed red with droplets of blood.

But it wasn’t her blood.

She opened her eyes in astonishment to see a tall, upright woman clad in armor, her expression solemn. The bandit who had been so aggressive a moment ago had already been decapitated, his head held in the woman’s hand.

The sudden turn of events sent the rest of the bandits into a panic.

One of them shouted a threat: “Who are you! Do you know this territory is protected by the County Magistrate? How dare you kill our Chief!”

The woman sneered, her voice ringing with authority.

“Rebellion and lawlessness are capital offenses-”

She hurled the head away, and it shattered upon impact.

“Execution without mercy!”

The wails of the cornered bandits filled the air.

A man came stumbling in, shouting that his wife and child were still there.

Finally, his eyes reddened when he saw the haggard but unharmed woman. He pulled her into his arms.

“Wanqiu, thank goodness. You’re safe. It’s good that you’re safe… so good…”

The young girl following behind him sobbed. “Sister, it’s all my fault. If I hadn’t been in trouble, the Marquis wouldn’t have gone to save me and nearly left you in danger.”

Everyone waited for the woman’s reaction.

They expected a scene, a hysterical outburst, or at least a fit of weeping from the shock.

But none of that happened.

She simply allowed her husband to hold her, her gaze fixed steadily on me. She asked, “My name is Gu Wanqiu. May I ask the name of my benefactor?”

I looked at the strange trio before me in surprise. I couldn’t understand why Xu Xingzhou, as a husband, would abandon his wife and child for another woman.

Nor could I understand why this young girl’s every word of self-reproach sounded so much like a provocation.

Fortunately, I didn’t dislike Gu Wanqiu.

I nodded and replied, “Song Yunying.”