Chapter 158

Thus, Ye Qingran was ultimately forced onto the thief's ship, no, thief's carriage…

Watching the carriage of the Guoshi Fu slowly depart, that figure amidst the waning lights was filled with desolation.

"Master…"

Qingshu lowered his eyes, let out a soft call, his voice full of reluctance.

At the previous welcome banquet, Ye Qingran chose the Guoshi adult's carriage; at today's Crown Prince Residence banquet, Ye Qingran likewise made the same choice.

The difference is, this time the master didn't even have the courage to go and argue with the Guoshi adult.

His master…

"Go back."

After a moment, Dongfang Mo softly said, Qingshu pushed him onto a carriage beside…

A skylark darted out from the clouds and burrowed into a deep courtyard.

This skylark is specially raised by the Yaowang Valley. Seeing the message tube tied to its foot, Han Xing intuitively guessed its content, her emotions involuntarily surged, her body trembling slightly from excitement.

"Miss, it's a letter from the Yaowang Valley!"

Han Xing clutched the just-received letter, turned sharply, sprinted indoors in three strides made two, shouting as she ran.

In the room, Ye Qingran was reading; hearing this, she suddenly lifted her gaze, the hand holding the scroll unconsciously tightened.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, since she arrived in Xiliang City, her contact with the Yaowang Valley has been sparse; even for important matters, she mostly goes through Zhuang Xian at the Medicine King Pavilion.

This letter was sent directly to the Ye Residence; what it contained, Ye Qingran needed no guess to confirm.

The result of her and Xiao Hu's bloodline detection!

Han Xing pushed the door open, excitement evident on her face, her chest rising and falling, her breath growing a little coarse.

Ye Qingran suppressed the excitement and nervousness in her heart, forced herself to calm, yet said something unrelated to the letter: "Where are Xiao Hu and Xiao Chen?"

Han Xing blinked, "The two kids went to the Guoshi Fu; Fu San came to pick them up, Leng Yue went together."

Ye Qingran slowly nodded, her dark eyes frightening.

"Just look, after reading, tell me the result." Her voice was weak, carrying a sense of feeble impotence from qi deficiency.

Han Xing pressed her lips, seeing the deep tension hidden within her mistress's heart.

She knew how important the content of this letter was.

For the Miss, it was either heaven or hell.

She took a deep breath; the already tense atmosphere, as she thought more, grew even more tense, to the point that her hand holding the letter trembled.

"Don't be nervous, it's fine."

Ye Qingran gave Han Xing a comforting glance; Han Xing nodded and unfolded the rolled letter.

She had no leisure to read the process, eagerly looking straight to the final result.

At a glance, her eyes widened, pupils shrinking to a point, she forgot to breathe.

Ye Qingran, seeing her act like that, felt her heart tighten, involuntarily standing up.

"Miss, Xiao Hu, he, he really is…"

The words that followed needed no further explanation.

A great joy surged to her heart, dispelling the previous tension and unease; Ye Qingran exhaled a turbid breath, slumped weakly back into her seat, only then realizing she had broken out in a cold sweat at some point.

She stared blankly for a moment; her tensed jawline relaxed, and the corners of her lips rose into a brilliant arc.

"Really good!"

"Xiao Hu, he is her child, really good!"

She finally found her own child!

Ye Qingran's reaction was not overly intense; ever since she decided to undergo the bloodline detection, she had great confidence. Now that the dust has settled, it has finally dispelled her remaining doubts completely.

As for Han Xing, overjoyed, she couldn't help but burst into tears, tears pouring down.

These years, they have truly been through so much.

They have walked through too many places, tried every method, experienced countless hopes and despairs. Especially the Miss, not only has she suffered physically, her heart has known no peace.

Now, at last, the clouds have parted to reveal the bright moon!

Ye Qingran stood up again, without comforting Han Xing, letting her cry. She took the letter from her hand, sat to the side, and read it carefully.

Leng Yue, having sent the children back from the Guoshi Fu, saw her mistress smiling while looking at something, and Han Xing crying tearfully; she was astonished at once.

"What happened? What's going on?" Leng Yue thought, seeing the Miss smile, it surely wasn't something sad. But why was Han Xing crying like this? She is an ice beauty; normally she hardly ever shows such intense emotion.

Ye Qingran handed the letter to Leng Yue, indicating she should read it herself. Leng Yue took it, skeptical, lowered her gaze; seeing it was the special paper of the Yaowang Valley, her expression turned solemn, the more she read the heavier her heart grew, until finally she covered her mouth, tears like beads falling, her sobs growing exaggerated, even drowning out Han Xing's cries.

For a moment, the two usually steady and calm girls cried unrestrainedly, releasing the bitterness that had accumulated in their hearts for nearly five years.

Ye Qingran's gaze swept gently over the two.

Although Han Xing and Leng Yue nominally are her maids, in private they are like sisters. She did not comfort them, letting them vent, because she knew these years they had indeed endured too much.

After a while, she felt it was enough, then said: "When you've finished crying, come with me to the Guoshi Fu." She now couldn't wait to see Xiao Hu.

Fu Chencheng dislikes the Guoshi Fu; it's cold and not at all cozy. If not for having promised his father lord to return every few days, he would rather stay forever at Ting Yu Xuan.

Today, after paying respects to his father lord, he couldn't stay a moment longer; he dragged Mo Xiaohu out of the Guoshi Fu and went off happily to play.

The two children: one closely resembles Fu Hanxiu; the other blends all the excellent traits of Ye Qingran and Fu Hanxiu, appearing extremely handsome and refined. Thus, when they appear on the street without masks, they attract who knows how many gazes.

"Tsk tsk, whose children are these? They're so beautiful."

"Never mind their looks; just this aura shows at a glance they aren't ordinary folk's children!"

"I'd believe they're princes if you said so! These children are too adorable!"

……

Their turn‑back rate is 200%; these two rascals are undoubtedly the cutest kids on this street!

Fu Chencheng and Mo Xiaohu, you look at me, I look at you; it's rare to feel annoyed by our own outstanding looks. Being too handsome makes going out to play terribly inconvenient.

Hey, put it on—the beautiful lady mother said, one should keep a low profile!

Slipping on two masks, they dove into the crowd and instantly went from the loveliest kid to a low‑key kid.

A certain wine house on the street.

Have you heard about the banquet held last night at the Crown Prince's residence? It's said that Ye Qingran defied the Empress's edict, refused to marry Zhou Hai, and even tore out this official's tongue!

No one knows who deliberately said that, but it drew a chorus of gasps from the wine house.

Really? That's the Empress's edict! How dare Ye Qingran defy the edict? Does she not want to live?

What's wrong with the edict? Don't forget, she has the Former Emperor's decree! Who would dare move against her? Not to mention killing her—even the Empress, upon seeing the Former Emperor's decree, would have to perform a deep bow.

I have a relative's relative working at Prince Ji's residence, and it's indeed true! It's said that the earlier buzz about Ye Qingran liking Xiao Ji and confessing, only to be rejected, was all staged by Zhao Yi Niang of the Ye residence, aiming to frame Ye Qingran—Xiao Ji himself admitted it.

What? Zhao Shi is supposed to be virtuous and kind—how could she possibly do something so heinous?

How could it be impossible? You can't judge a person by appearance! What 'first stepmother'? All lies! I heard from my relative's relative that Zhao Shi initially denied it, crying injustice, but then, for some unknown reason, she openly admitted it, saying she had always borne a grudge against General Yun—and by extension, she hated Ye Qingran to the bone… Ye Qingran, over the years she's suffered plenty at her hands! A legitimate daughter bullied by her concubine—truly pitiful.

So Ye Qingran refused to marry Zhou Hai—can she still get married in the future? After all, it's true she's not chaste, and it's also true she lacks a spiritual root.

Why wouldn't she be able to marry? You didn't know? The National Master himself appeared recently, saying he's long admired her—if Ye Qingran is willing to marry, he's willing to take her as his wife.