Chapter 712: One Family

No sooner had Feihua Zhenren left the Regent Prince Mansion than two more people came calling.

The visitors were none other than Hua Dingzong of the Zhong’an Bo Mansion and his wife, He Family.

Gao Shan was very courteous to them.

“Please, have a seat. Wait just a moment, and I will announce your arrival.”

After Gao Shan left, He Family asked impatiently, “Mr. Bo, are you telling the truth? Is Manman really alive?”

Hua Dingzong had not seen the living Manman with his own eyes, so he couldn’t speak with absolute certainty. He could only reply vaguely.

“Well, that’s what the Regent King told me. Given his status, he wouldn’t lie to us about something like this, would he?”

He Family nodded in agreement. “You’re right. Although the Prince doesn’t have the best temper, he always keeps his word and never lies.”

Hua Dingzong shot her a glare. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?! How dare you gossip about the Prince having a bad temper? If he heard you, just see how he’d deal with you!”

He Family’s mind was completely occupied with thoughts of her daughter, and she paid no heed to Hua Dingzong’s warning.

She first smoothed her hair, then stood up and straightened her skirt.

“Take a look, do I look alright? I’m presentable, right?”

In truth, Hua Dingzong was quite nervous himself.

He stood up and walked to the door, peeking outside. Hearing her words, he glanced back at He Family.

“You look fine.”

He Family also walked to the door, peeked out, and muttered under her breath, “Why aren’t they here yet?”

Hua Dingzong agreed. “Yes, it’s been so long.”

Amidst the couple’s eager anticipation, Li Ji and Hua Manman finally appeared.

They walked step by step, hand in hand, until they stood before He Family and Hua Dingzong.

He Family and Hua Dingzong both froze on the spot, their eyes fixed on Hua Manman as if they had been paralyzed.

Not until Manman called out to them.

“Father, Mother.”

Only then did He Family snap back to her senses. Tears quickly welled up, blurring her vision.

She reached out with trembling hands, wanting to touch Manman, but fearing it was all just an illusion, her outstretched hands hesitated, stopping right in front of her.

For so many years, He Family had dreamed of seeing her daughter again.

Now that her daughter was right before her, she felt a sense of trepidation, like a traveler nearing home, and dared not take another step.

Hua Manman took the initiative, leaning in to press her face against He Family’s palm.

The warm skin met her palm.

He Family finally felt that it was real.

She carefully caressed her daughter’s face and asked through her sobs.

“My sweet child, my darling flesh and blood, is it really you? I’m not dreaming, am I?”

Hua Manman gave a definitive reply, “Of course you’re not dreaming. This is all real.”

Tears streamed down He Family’s face even more fiercely, yet the corners of her mouth strained to curve upward.

She was laughing and crying at the same time. “This is wonderful, just wonderful.”

Hua Manman leaned forward and nestled into He Family’s embrace.

He Family held her tightly, repeatedly calling her “sweet child,” “darling,” and “good daughter.”

Hua Manman took in the familiar scent of the embrace, and her nose began to sting. Though she had memories of two lifetimes, only from He Family had she ever felt a pure, unconditional love.

When she called He Family “Mother,” it was with genuine feeling, straight from the heart.

Watching the mother and daughter crying in each other’s arms, Hua Dingzong couldn’t help his own eyes from turning red.

He wiped the corner of his eye with his sleeve and said consolingly, his voice thick with tears.

“A reunion is a happy occasion. What’s there to cry about? Stop crying, both of you. The Prince is still watching.”

At this, Hua Dingzong remembered that he hadn’t yet paid his respects to the Regent King.

He hurriedly clasped his hands and bowed to the Regent King, then reminded He Family not to forget her manners.

Li Ji said, “We’re all family. There’s no need for such formalities.”

He gestured for everyone to sit down and talk at their leisure.

Manman pulled He Family to sit with her. The mother and daughter huddled together, whispering intimately.

Hua Dingzong couldn’t find an opportunity to get a word in.

Not wanting to seem out of place, he could only turn his attention to Li Ji and try to strike up a conversation.

“Regarding Manman, it is all thanks to the Prince. Our entire family is immensely grateful.”

Li Ji said coolly, “It was Feihua Zhenren’s divine foresight that allowed Manman to escape death. If you want to thank someone, you should thank him.”

Hua Dingzong couldn’t help but ask, “What does this have to do with Feihua Zhenren?”

Li Ji recited the story he had prepared in advance. He explained that Feihua Zhenren had foreseen that Manman would face a life-or-death calamity. He made preparations beforehand, allowing her to feign death and escape, thereby achieving rebirth from a desperate situation.

Hua Dingzong listened, only half-understanding.

“If it was a faked death, why didn’t the Prince tell us?”

Li Ji replied, “To deceive fate, it was naturally best that as few people as possible knew.”

Hua Dingzong nodded repeatedly. “You are right. You are truly thorough in your considerations.”

Li Ji picked up his teacup and sipped his tea leisurely.

He glanced at Hua Dingzong, knowing the man was still pondering Manman’s situation.

Soon enough, he heard Hua Dingzong’s next question.

“Manman faced her life-or-death calamity eight years ago. Logically, she should have successfully overcome it back then. Why have we had no news of her for these past eight years?”

Li Ji set down his teacup and said unhurriedly.

“Although Manman escaped death in that fire, she fell into a long slumber. Her body became very weak, and it was inconvenient for her to appear in public. Furthermore, Feihua Zhenren also predicted that Manman’s luck would be very low for the next eight years, making her susceptible to danger. To be safe, this Prince had no choice but to hide her away. Only after the crisis had completely passed did this Prince allow her to reappear.”

Understanding dawned on Hua Dingzong. “So that’s how it was!”

He Family gripped Manman’s hand tightly and said with heartache.

“Look at you, you’ve gotten so thin! You must have suffered a great deal these past few years, haven’t you?”

Hua Manman smiled. “With the Prince protecting me, I lived very well.”

But He Family didn’t believe her.

‘Even if Li Ji had treated her like a Bodhisattva on a pedestal, she still had to spend all those years in hiding, without any freedom. That kind of life surely couldn’t have been pleasant.’

He Family said, “My sweet child, I’ll have someone send over some restorative tonics later to help you build up your strength.”

Hua Manman said there was no need; the Prince Mansion had plenty of tonics.

Everything in the Regent Prince Mansion had been emptied out before, but it had all been returned in the last two days. Many nobles, trying to curry favor with the Regent King, had also proactively presented a large number of gifts. These included not only gold, silver, and jewels, silks and satins, and rare medicinal herbs, but even Beauties of all shapes and sizes.

Li Ji kept the gold, silver, silks, and medicinal herbs, but sent all the Beauties back.

Now, the storerooms of the Prince Mansion were filled to the brim, and Manman was not at all lacking in restorative tonics or herbs to nurse her health.

He Family also knew that given the Regent King’s current status, he wouldn’t be lacking such things.

She then changed the subject and asked about Li Xun.

“Why don’t I see Xun’er?”

Manman replied, “He’s still at the Xuanjia Camp outside the city. The Prince has already sent someone to pick him up. Judging by the time, he should be home any moment.”

She had barely finished speaking when a familiar shout came from outside.

“Mother! Mother!”

The four people in the room all turned toward the sound.

The next moment, they saw Li Xun come dashing into the room.