Chapter 3: Mother

Liu Li was slightly startled when she heard this, and then subconsciously wanted to defend herself, but the words were stuck in her throat because she met the eyes of Empress Chen, which were gradually welling up with tears.

At this moment, she couldn't make up a single lie to deceive this mother who had lost her child.

She blinked her eyes, struggled to sit up from the bed, tilted her head to look at Chen Ajiao, brewed her words in her heart, and asked in a small voice: "How did you find out I wasn't?"

She shouldn't have shown any flaws!

For the past few days, in order to play the role of this five-year-old princess well, Liu Li rarely spoke. And most of the time, she was lying on the bed recovering from illness; she really couldn't figure out where she had shown any flaws.

Could it be that she was caught stealing bread just now?

Chen Ajiao sat stiffly on the edge of the bed, the momentum she had been bracing herself with vanished in an instant, and she even looked a bit dull.

Actually, she had still held a glimmer of hope in her heart before, wondering if she had misjudged. But looking at it now, she felt her hope shattered instantly, because her A Li couldn't even speak a complete sentence.

Chen Ajiao closed her eyes, her voice bitter: "Your eyes and... my intuition."

Liu Li turned her eyes, a bit puzzled: "My eyes?"

After Chen Ajiao had doubts in her heart, she had silently observed Liu Li for several days. The previous A Li's eyes were empty and lifeless, but the current A Li was different; her eyes were full of spirit, as if she were a different person.

Only then did she gradually confirm that her A Li was no longer her daughter.

Ajiao raised her hand to gently stroke the girl's cheek, her fingertips gently rubbing her eyes, her voice trembling slightly: "The palace servants all say my A Li is a simpleton. I have always been unwilling to admit this, but I know in my heart that what they say is all true."

She was pregnant for ten months and had waited for two lifetimes to give birth to this child, yet she was a natural simpleton.

Her A Li rarely cried or made a fuss since birth. At first, she thought the child was well-behaved. But gradually, Chen Ajiao discovered something was wrong.

Once, she accidentally hurt A Li, and red marks appeared on her little arm, but A Li still didn't cry or make a fuss, and it was only after a long time that she cried very softly like a little milk cat.

Later, when Lady Wei's second daughter Liu Ling could speak and walk, her A Li could barely say a few words.

"A Li's eyes didn't have the light you have, and... she didn't know how to speak much."

But even if A Li was born simple-minded, she was still her daughter. She had even thought that when she was deposed by Liu Che in the fifth year of Yuanguang, she would take A Li to the Changmen Palace, and they would live there together for the rest of their lives.

If she had A Li's company for the rest of her life, she would definitely try hard to live on.

Now her A Li was gone...

Thinking of this, Chen Ajiao bit her lower lip hard, trying not to cry, but the tears in her eyes still fell without warning.

Liu Li didn't know how to comfort the sad Chen Ajiao, but she couldn't bear to see a beauty weeping, so she quickly put down her sleeves, leaned toward Chen Ajiao clumsily, and raised her little hand to wipe the tears on Chen Ajiao's cheeks.

Liu Li spoke in stumbling, not-so-fluent ancient Chinese, her voice soft and glutinous because of the child's body: "You... don't cry anymore, I didn't mean to occupy your daughter's body... I'm... I'm sorry..."

Thinking of the days when she had a high fever, it was this Empress Chen who had taken care of her; she must have loved her daughter very much.

Seeing Chen Ajiao sobbing non-stop, she had no choice but to redeem a pack of tissues from the system store and pull out two sheets to wipe her tears.

Anyway, she had already been exposed, so she didn't have many worries.

After a long time, Chen Ajiao finally stopped crying.

She looked down at the snow-white thing in her hand, feeling puzzled about what it was, as it was so thin and delicate.

Liu Li looked at Ajiao and also felt a bit strange. Was the ancient people's understanding and acceptance so strong? They could actually accept something like borrowing a corpse to return to life? Thinking about it, she still asked the question in her heart.

Chen Ajiao replied: "Actually, I... died once."

Liu Li was stunned.

This secret had been kept in Chen Ajiao's heart for many years. She had never told anyone, not even her mother. But now, facing this stranger who had occupied her daughter's body, she could tell this secret.

"I died in the sixth year of Yuanguang, and when I woke up, I found myself back in the third year of Jianyuan..."

Liu Li understood in an instant. The Empress Chen before her was actually reborn?! So the space-time fission that the system mentioned earlier must have been caused by Empress Chen's rebirth.

Liu Li and Chen Ajiao exchanged their secrets, and both felt much more relaxed. Finally, Chen Ajiao asked: "Do you know why my A Li fell into the water?"

The original Liu Li was a simpleton, and the maidservant who served her should have followed her closely, but on the day she fell into the water, there wasn't a single palace maid by Liu Li's side.

And the other palace maids who were present at the time all said that her A Li had pushed Wei Zifu, and then she hadn't stood firm and fell into the water with her.

It was absolutely ridiculous!

Chen Ajiao didn't believe such a statement, but after questioning everyone who was present at the time, they all said the same thing.

"At that time... she was attracted by a beautiful butterfly and followed it to the pond. That Lady Wei happened to pass by, and she should have wanted to help catch the butterfly. As a result, A Li tripped over a stone under her feet, and then it was a mess, and somehow they both fell in..."

This was the bit of memory Liu Li could recall about the original owner's fall, but according to the standing positions at the time, it was impossible for the original owner to have pushed Wei Zifu down.

So why did Wei Zifu eventually fall into the water with the original owner? Liu Li couldn't figure it out.

Chen Ajiao also fell into silence. She paused and said hoarsely: "In the end, it was I who didn't take good care of my daughter."

Seeing her like this, Liu Li hesitated for a moment, stretched out her fleshy little hand, and gently held Chen Ajiao's hand: "It's not your fault."

Chen Ajiao turned her eyes to look at Liu Li, her gaze gentle, but a bitter smile appeared on her lips: "Actually, I know that A Li shouldn't have existed in this world."

After all, in her previous life, she had no children until she died. But in this life, she didn't know how she became pregnant with A Li, and she cherished her exceptionally because she thought it was a gift from heaven.

Yet she didn't expect that she would lose her in the end.

"It's a pity that I haven't had the chance to hear A Li call me mother." Chen Ajiao said as such.

Liu Li stared at Ajiao's slightly red eyes, her nose feeling slightly sour, and finally she whispered: "Actually, my original name was also Liu Li. If you don't mind, just treat me as your daughter."

Chen Ajiao was stunned for a moment, listening to Liu Li's words, and seemed to be a bit hesitant: "Is that really okay?"

Liu Li was also a bit embarrassed, her cheeks turning slightly red, but she still took the initiative to call out: "Niang."

That's what they call them in TV dramas, right?

"What does 'Niang' mean?" Chen Ajiao was puzzled.

Liu Li suddenly remembered that calling one's mother "Niang" originated from the Northern and Southern Dynasties period; in the Western Han, it should be "A Mu." She quickly explained: "Niang means mother."

"Is this the term from the place you were originally from?" Ajiao was curious.

Liu Li smiled and shook her head, saying: "In the world I was from before, we called our mother 'Mama'."

Looking at the bright smile that had never appeared on Liu Li's little face before, Chen Ajiao moved her throat and said: "Can I... hug you?"

Before Ajiao could act, Liu Li had already stretched out her hands to lean into her arms, gently hugging her, and called out in a voice she could hear: "A Mu."

Ajiao heard this call, her body trembled, and then she hugged the girl who had thrown herself into her arms tightly, a feeling she couldn't describe in her heart.

Here, Liu Li and Chen Ajiao had just reached a "revolutionary" friendship, and the palace maid Fuqu, who was guarding outside, knocked on the door panel.

Ajiao released Liu Li and told the maid to come in.

Fuqu pushed the door open and said in a hurry: "Little Mistress, the Empress Dowager wants to summon the Princess."

Ajiao's eyebrows furrowed: "The Empress Dowager summons?" Then she thought of Wang Taihou's purpose in summoning A Li, which was very

likely for the sake of this fall into the water.

Ever since Grand Empress Dowager Dou passed away, the once gentle Wang Taihou had become like a different person, often nitpicking at Ajiao. Now, she was afraid she couldn't hide from this.

"You stay in the Jiaofang Hall and don't go anywhere." Ajiao looked at Liu Li and said: "I will go to the Changle Palace myself." She wanted to see what Wang Taihou was going to do.

Liu Li reached out and gently tugged at Chen Ajiao's sleeve. Ajiao thought she was worried, so she said: "Don't worry, I am here. I won't let anyone bully you."

Including Wang Taihou.

"Take me with you." Liu Li whispered.

Ajiao looked at her suspiciously.

"The fact that Princess Chen is not a simpleton should be known to everyone in the Weiyang Palace and the Changle Palace." Liu Li looked up at Ajiao, her gaze firm.

Ajiao was stunned for a moment, then understood Liu Li's meaning. She thought for a while, slowly hooked her lips, and nodded: "Okay, then let's go together."

Ajiao ordered Fuqu to fetch Liu Li's clothes, and she personally combed Liu Li's hair into two little buns, which was the standard hairstyle for children in the Han Dynasty.

Liu Li looked at the blurry bronze mirror in front of her for a long time, barely able to see her appearance. Two little buns on top of her head, they seemed quite cute.

After getting dressed, Fuqu stepped forward as if to pick up Liu Li. Because Princess Chen had a slight limp, she rarely walked by herself. The fact that the princess had a leg ailment was only known to Empress Chen's confidants and the few maids who served the princess personally.

Seeing this, Liu Li refused: "I can walk by myself." Saying this, she jumped down from the bed, stepped on her short legs, and walked steadily toward Ajiao, not at all showing the limping appearance she had before.

Fuqu was surprised: "The Princess's leg... is it better?"

Ajiao held Liu Li's hand and hooked her lips: "A Li's leg, when has it ever had a problem?" ===== CHAPTER 4 =====