Since that’s the case, I must do my best to protect our family and hopefully help him.
Thinking back, many questions have been explained. Why An Jin was so nervous when the Eastern Palace approached me, why the Eastern Palace repeatedly tried to pull me to his side, why Qi Emperor gave the sterility wine.
That cup of sterility wine was meant for me. The An family is the secret department of Qi Kingdom, and I am a person from Nan Rui Kingdom, who might even be found by the Nan Rui royal family. If we had a child to take over the secret department, and the secret department then united with Nan Rui—for the great Qi Kingdom, it would be a catastrophic disaster.
So when did An Jin know about my origins?
My mother, big brother, and Miao Yin were waiting for me in the courtyard, and seeing me unharmed, they finally relaxed.
I took out the blood-stained silk handkerchief embroidered with yao flowers from my chest and handed it to my mother.
My mother’s expression changed dramatically, grabbing the handkerchief: “This—isn’t this the one my son-in-law carried?” She suddenly wailed loudly, pulling me into her embrace: “My poor son-in-law… my poor daughter…”
Big brother and Miao Yin looked at me with heavy expressions. “My brother-in-law, he—”
I shook my head.
Big brother and Miao Yin’s expressions became even more sorrowful. My mother lovingly patted my shoulder.
It seemed they thought An Jin had met with misfortune and believed I was deeply hurt and unwilling to face reality. I smiled bitterly: “Mother, I want to ask you something.”
“What is it?”
“Where did you see this handkerchief’s yao flower pattern?”
My mother stopped wailing, her expression stiffening, and after a long while, she stammered: “I—I thought of it myself.” My big brother’s expression also looked off, constantly glancing at my mother’s face, looking guilty.
Sure enough, something was wrong. I carefully observed my mother and big brother’s expressions, and my heart had already made a judgment.
“I already know about what happened back then,” I sighed, looking at my big brother. “I didn’t expect that even you would hide this from me along with our parents.”
