met free Chapter 130 Confirming Identity
Chapter 130 Confirming Identity
Shen Qingtan's eyes flickered slightly. Gu Zongci's reaction and words conveyed a message to her—she looked like someone he knew.
"Is that so?" Shen Qingtan asked tentatively, "You've traveled all over the country, so you must have met my parents by chance."
She paused here, saying, "The wives of officials in the capital all say that I don't look like someone from the Chengen Marquis's family. My mother says that I was clever in the womb and that I was born with good features, so I don't look like them. Instead, I look like my great-aunt whom I've never met."
Shen Qingtan smiled and said, "Perhaps you have met someone from my great-aunt's side."
Gu Zongci clasped his hands tightly together, suppressing the emotions that were about to surge out of his heart.
He asked cautiously, "Great-aunt? Your grandmother's sister?"
Shen Qingtan nodded: "Yes."
Gu Zongci pointed out, "If that's the case, then you and your grandmother should look somewhat alike. Those officials' wives who say you don't resemble people from the Marquis's family are exaggerating."
He didn't have much hope before meeting Shen Qingtan.
Because when my niece went missing, several other children also disappeared at the same time.
Even if Shen Qingtan is not the biological daughter of the Marquis of Chengen and his wife, she is very likely one of the missing children.
She may not be his biological niece.
But the moment he saw Shen Qingtan, he was almost 70 or 80 percent certain that she was his niece.
Her eyes and eyebrows really resemble her younger sister's.
Anyone who has seen his sister will think that the two look very alike.
In particular, Shen Qingtan said that her appearance did not resemble the people in the Marquis's mansion, but rather that she looked like her distant "great-aunt".
The key point is that no one has ever seen this "great-aunt," which seems to be an excuse deliberately used by the Marquis's mansion to appease the public.
Gu Zongci couldn't help but wonder what Shen Qingtan was thinking.
Did she know she wasn't the Marquis's biological daughter and deliberately say those words to him? Or did she blurt out that she didn't resemble the Marquis and his wife?
“I don’t resemble my grandmother at all; the officials’ wives weren’t exaggerating.” Shen Qingtan poured a cup of tea for Gu Zongci while holding the teapot. As she pushed the teacup over, she pulled her wide sleeves up to her wrists, revealing the bracelet on her wrist.
She deliberately joked, "Maybe my great-aunt looks like her great-aunt too? You can't say that I don't look like them because I'm not a daughter of the Marquis's family, can you?"
Gu Zongci stared intently at the filigree inlaid bracelet on her wrist, his eyes stinging and a warm glow emanating from them.
His sister gave birth to three sons before finally having a daughter.
His brother-in-law doted on his daughter like the apple of his eye. From the moment his niece was born, he gathered skilled craftsmen and spent a year making this pair of gold bracelets.
It turns out that when the artist designed the bracelet, he used the emblem of the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion, a mythical beast totem.
My brother-in-law immediately rejected the idea, saying that a delicate girl shouldn't be depicted with fierce and menacing patterns.
The artist then suggested using plum blossom patterns, adding, "Plum blossoms are elegant and noble, symbolizing a spirit of pride and integrity."
Without hesitation, the brother-in-law said, "The fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold. My precious daughter is a noble flower of Liangzhou, and naturally she cannot endure the slightest hardship. So let's use peony instead."
Before my niece was three years old, she was indeed pampered with a life of luxury and indulged in a life of luxury.
Fourteen years ago, a war broke out in Liangzhou, and the deputy general who had fought alongside his brother-in-law was captured after falling into an enemy trap.
Even though he knew the enemy was using his deputy as bait to lure him there, he still led his men deep into the enemy camp and risked his life to rescue the man.
Although the person was rescued, the brother-in-law was seriously injured and fell into a coma.
The enemy's morale was boosted, and they took the opportunity to attack Liangzhou.
Just then, the Gu family patriarch fell seriously ill, and the doctor said he had at most a few months to live.
The old ancestor was worried about his younger sister, but he also knew that after she married the Prince of Zhenbei, she could not leave Liangzhou without imperial decree. Only when he fell into a coma did he unconsciously call out his sister's name.
He didn't know his brother-in-law was in trouble at the time, so he sent a letter to his sister.
The situation in Liangzhou was perilous, and the younger sister worried that the city gates would be breached by the enemy before reinforcements from the imperial court arrived. Also concerned about her ancestor's illness, she secretly ordered her niece to be escorted to Nanlingzhou.
Firstly, to protect her niece from trouble, and secondly, to allow her niece to see her ancestor one last time on her behalf.
When he received his niece, he announced to the public that she was the child of his wife's brother.
He also ordered everyone in the household not to take his niece out of the mansion without permission.
During the Lantern Festival, his son secretly took the person out and lost them.
Upon hearing this news, our ancestor was too devastated and passed away that very night.
Because of the tense situation in Liangzhou and the sensitive nature of their niece's identity, they dared not openly search for her and could only do so secretly.
After handling his ancestor's funeral arrangements, his son disappeared without a trace.
After receiving the letter, my younger sister had two suspicions.
One was abducted by a matchmaker.
One reason was that they were being watched, and people were afraid that the Gu family would suffer disaster because of the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion, so they were asked to move away from Nanling Prefecture.
Over the years, he has traveled to various places to do business and inquire about his niece.
The Prince of Zhenbei's mansion also sent out spies, but they dared not come to the capital, for fear of alarming the royal family and disrupting the stability of the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion.
After all, the late emperor had decreed that anyone from the Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion who stepped out of Liangzhou would be punished for treason.
Although Emperor Jing'an was more benevolent than the previous emperor, the mind of a ruler is unpredictable, and with hundreds of lives at the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion, no one dared to act rashly.
Otherwise, if Emperor Jing'an were to discard them like the late emperor did, even if they found their niece, they would still perish along with her.
They were waiting for an opportunity to perform meritorious service, then apologize to the emperor, so they could find people without any scruples.
This war in the North presents them with an opportunity.
Fourteen years, a full fourteen years.
Given the vastness of the Zhou Dynasty and the complete lack of concrete clues, it was akin to searching for a needle in a haystack.
Unexpectedly, he found it in the capital.
Gu Zongci's hands trembled uncontrollably, and the grown man was almost in tears.
He forcefully suppressed his emotions and tried his best to remain calm.
Because Shen Qingtan's identity is rather complicated—she is now the daughter of the Marquis of Chengen—if they were to recognize each other now, revealing that her biological parents are the Prince of Zhenbei and his wife, it might bring even greater disaster.
After all, the Marquis of Chengen and his wife had been openly and secretly targeting Shen Qingtan.
Isn't this just handing the Marquis's mansion a handle for nothing?
He planned to write to his brother-in-law and sister immediately to tell them that they had found their daughter.
In the letter, she urged her brother-in-law to expedite the war in the north and return to the capital to reunite with his daughter as soon as possible.