Chapter 3, Acknowledging the Father

He reached out to stroke Yu Zi's hair and said affectionately, "Foolish child, foolish child, why must you be so sad?"

It seems that this is the old man's steed

Two people got onto the donkey cart, with the elderly man sitting in the driver's seat. He cracked the long whip and shouted, and the donkey cart slowly began to move.

The old man appeared very happy, as he drove the donkey cart, he laughed and said: "My son, your father served two kings of Qi in the Qi palace for thirty years."

She knelt before the old man, looking up at him with tear-filled eyes, and pleaded, "Grandfather, please take me in. The world is vast, and I, I do not know where to go!"

Yuzi is overjoyed

He was an elderly man in his fifties, with deep wrinkles across his forehead. Due to his emaciation, the skin on his face sagged downwards. His murky old eyes were filled with tears, and his face bore an expression of deep sorrow

She bit her lip and couldn't help but think: If I were to disappear like this, how heartbroken my old father and my old mother must be right now

The elderly man before me, upon closer inspection, still possesses quite handsome features, suggesting that he must have been a striking young man in his youth

Yu Zi was lying in the grass, carefully observing him

Yu Zi bit her lip, leaning closer to him while shaking her head, and said tearfully: "I don't know. When I woke up in the morning, I found myself alone in the wilderness, surrounded by skeletons. I, I don't know who I am, nor do I know why I appeared there."

He glanced around and said, "Who is crying?"

While Yu Zi was pondering, the old man spoke again: "Father, I was originally born a slave, favored by the former king, and granted the status of a commoner, later rising to the rank of a scholar. In these thirty years, Father, I have received the king's great favor."

The old man's voice was very kind, exuding a friendly warmth that conveyed a yearning for connection.

At that moment, the old man said again: "My son, although you are dressed in the garments of the nobility, your sudden appearance in the wilderness must mean that you have been harmed by someone. You may as well follow me back; if one day you regain your memory and encounter your family, you may leave me and return without any concern for me."

Just as the old man finished speaking, Yu Zi had already walked up to him

Upon seeing the young girl, the old man felt a pang of compassion in his heart. He glanced around and asked, "Where does the young lady come from? Why are you alone in this desolate wilderness?"

After the two wept for a while, the old man gave a pair of tattered straw sandals, which Yuzi burned in front of the small grave mound, calling out a few times "Elder Brother" towards the grave mound. Then, the two supported each other and walked step by step towards the outside.

She quickened her pace and hurried towards the source of the sound

There is still half a day left until dark; following their tire tracks, it is possible to return to the city before sunset.

This set of remarks was prepared by Yu Zi after much contemplation

The old man stretched out his handkerchief to wipe away the tears on his face and chuckled. He stepped forward to help Yu Zi up and sighed, "Foolish child, you suddenly appear before my son's grave, yet you do not know who you are. This is fate. Fate has decreed that you shall become my daughter; it is an unalterable decree, lest there be misfortune. Child, bow three more times, and from now on, I shall be your father, and you shall be my daughter."

The old man looked at her, his gaze becoming gentler, and he murmured: "You must belong to a noble family. In my youth, I once saw a daughter as beautiful and young as you, abandoned in the wilderness. Among those people, some were barely alive, while others had already died."

The sound came from the edge of a small mound deep inside.

As soon as his voice fell, a girl of about fifteen or sixteen, with tears streaming down her face, emerged from the grass in the east.

Her crying clearly touched the old man's heart

The garments he wore were, like the tiger she had just seen, a one-piece outfit consisting of a top and bottom. At his waist, he also carried a sword, and he similarly wore a hat on his head

Upon hearing this, the old man was deeply moved, and two tears welled up in his murky old eyes again

As soon as she finished her first bow, the old man hurriedly helped her up. He gazed at Yu Zi and said affectionately, "My child, you are all alone in this wilderness. If you encounter a ruthless person, you will surely be captured, either to be enslaved or to end up in a brothel. Fortunately, you have met me"

Upon hearing this, Yu Zi quickly bowed three more times to the elder

The old man glanced at the grave mound before him, then looked at Yuzhi. His murky old eyes appeared somewhat dazed. He raised his head and spread his arms towards the sky, shouting: "My son, is it my son? Out of pity for my loneliness and suffering, have you granted me a daughter? Is it my son?"

Gradually, the path ahead became brighter. Indeed, the trees were becoming sparser; she was about to emerge from the woods

Yu Zi, this person, is naturally endowed with a keen sixth sense. As soon as she judged that the old man was kind and benevolent, she decisively and effortlessly attached herself to him

As he spoke further, his voice became increasingly invigorated

With his head bowed, the old man choked back tears and said, "If this is truly the case, then you are my son, who pities my loneliness and suffering, and have been granted to me."

I really want to take a break

The old man cried and cried, until he could no longer make a sound. Yu Zi saw him slowly collapse to the ground, resting his face on the grass in front of the grave, tears streaming down in a continuous flow

Yu Zi felt both anxious and alert, and at that moment, she no longer thought about resting. She quickened her pace and headed in the direction the carriage had departed.

The old man raised his head warily

There is someone

The old man cried with great sorrow, wiping his tears with a handkerchief, softly and heavily murmuring in a tone that was completely understandable to Yu Zi, "My son, you left this world while still so young, never having seen the heavens and earth beyond Qi Palace, five li away. My son, you were born beside me at the command of the spirits; why did you leave so hastily? Is it due to my lack of virtue? Is that why you were unwilling to stay by my side, leaving your old father all alone in this world to endure the loneliness and helplessness of life? My son, you were born beside me at the command of the spirits; why did you leave so hastily? Is it due to my lack of virtue? Is that why you were unwilling to stay by my side, leaving your old father all alone in this world to endure the loneliness and helplessness of life? My son, my son, my son..."

The young girl before me is dressed in luxurious brocade garments, her skin is fair and delicate, and her features are beautiful, clearly indicating her noble lineage

Before long, the person's face appeared before her.

Having narrowly escaped from the jaws of the tiger, she encountered people, yet she still had to remain in this terrifying place

Since she woke up, Yu Zi has not realized that whenever she encounters outsiders, her voice changes from her original Hunan accent to a strange, soft, and slow monotone.

However, at this moment, Yu Zi no longer liked this refreshing feeling at all. In the woods so close to the official road, tigers had appeared, and she could hardly imagine what it would be like to spend the night in such a place

Yu Zi looked at the old man, who was sometimes sad and sometimes joyful, and couldn't help but think of her parents, who were honest and humble, growing up in the countryside, and her heart ached once more

Yuzi quickly walked two hundred steps and then stealthily approached that person. The vigilance of the handsome young man towards her had caught her attention: perhaps this world is very wary of others, so it is better for her to be cautious. At the same time, she could not help but think that since ancient times, the profession of courtesans has been a thriving industry. As a young girl who is completely defenseless, if she were to encounter someone with ulterior motives, it would be a situation where she would have no tears left to cry.

As she walked through the increasingly sparse trees, gradually, a series of mounds appeared before her. Oh, those were not just mounds; they were graves.

With a lift of her foot, Yu Zi felt a surge of strength within her

However, on her feet, a pair of wooden clogs had already accumulated a layer of dust. Her hair was disheveled and unkempt, clearly indicating that she had not groomed herself for a long time. Her brocade garment was tattered at the hem, evidently snagged multiple times by wild grass. On her delicate, fair face, tears streamed down, and her eyes were filled with helplessness and sorrow

The trees on both sides remain tall and dense, and when the wind blows, it brings an extreme sense of refreshment

At this moment, her stomach was growling, and her legs felt both soft and heavy, as if they were filled with lead

The sound came from the left side of the woods, very faint.

Yu Zilian shook her head repeatedly and decisively said: "Once a father, always a father"

In his comfort, Yu Zi's sobs became even more pronounced

Yu Zi nodded repeatedly upon hearing this

Upon reaching this point, Yu Zi was suddenly overwhelmed by sorrow, unable to contain herself as she covered her face and wept loudly

On the road outside the forest, there is a dilapidated donkey cart parked.

Yu Zi lowered her head and thought to herself: I do not know whether becoming your daughter is a gift from your son. However, I do know that as a stranger in this land, wandering aimlessly in this world, I need a place to stand. I need guidance from someone as kind-hearted, benevolent, and knowledgeable as you

Yu Zi listened and suddenly stopped crying. She bowed her head to the ground and knocked her forehead heavily, exclaiming: "Daughter has seen her father, daughter has seen her father"

The old man nodded repeatedly, wiping the corners of his eyes with a handkerchief, and said softly: "Yes, it has passed, it has passed. My wife, my son, all have passed. Only I am still alive, but now I have a daughter again, I have a daughter again"

Yu Zi gently placed her hand on the old man's shoulder and said softly, "Father, the matter has passed, do not dwell on it."

When she had walked for an hour, the dense forest still flanked her on both sides

At that moment, a low murmur of voices drifted into her ears with the wind

In broad daylight, with the sun shining brightly, Yu Zi was still not particularly afraid of the grave mound. She quickened her pace and cautiously approached the person a few more steps.

The old man, upon reaching this point, expressed his resentment in a continuous stream of curses, and could no longer continue speaking

Yu Zi looked on, tears streaming down like rain

As the tears flow, the anguish surges forth like a flood, unstoppable and overwhelming

As he spoke to this point, he let out a long sigh, his voice lowered significantly, "However, Father, I am ultimately a favored person (one who has risen from slavery), without fiefdom or retainers. Although I possess great wealth, once I leave the palace, it is all taken away by villains. Those villains, those villains..."

The reason for judging that this old man is knowledgeable is that Yu Zi heard him say he had stayed in the Qi Palace

With a thud, Yu Zi fell to her knees on the ground

Thirty years? How did it come to such a difficult livelihood?

At that moment, a gust of fresh wind blew in, lifting the clothes and straw sandals that had just been burned on the grave, enveloping the old man in a cloud of black ash and soot.