Su Xiaoqi waited and waited but no one came.
Only the sound of receding footsteps could be heard.
Su Xiaoqi instantly understood.
Chu Yunwei was a man of profound schemes, he had made thorough preparations.
He had no intention of letting Su Xiaoqi show her face to Chu Yu.
It made sense. According to Yu Jing, she was Chu Yu's daughter.
They must have resembled each other in some way.
And she was virtually a perfect replica of Yu Jing.
Chu Yu would likely recognize her the moment he saw her.
Chu Yunwei had gone to great lengths to bring her here.
How could he reveal his intentions at this moment?
Therefore, he must have found a substitute for her.
That person was from Da Liang, and was very cold…
Su Li seemed to have a guess.
She hesitated and struggled, wondering whether to scream.
Or to create a commotion to alert the King of Northern Chu, thereby escaping Chu Yunwei's confinement.
But she quickly dismissed the idea.
Because she remembered the fate of the King of Northern Chu in the book.
He eventually lost his position as King.
Allowing that position to fall to Chu Yunwei.
It was just that Chu Yunwei had bad luck, and before he could even get comfortable on the throne of Northern Chu, he died of illness.
Perhaps due to deep obsession, he was given a chance to be reborn.
This left Su Xiaoqi very puzzled.
It was one thing for a good person like her to be reborn.
But for someone like him, who had usurped the throne, to have a chance at rebirth.
She harbored great resentment, but ultimately abandoned any form of seeking help.
Because she felt that the King of Northern Chu was likely no match for Chu Yunwei, who had lived another life.
If she blindly sought help, she would only cause Chu Yunwei to reveal his true intentions prematurely and attack the King of Northern Chu.
Su Xiaoqi stopped overthinking and climbed onto the bed from the window, pulling the covers over herself.
She was feeling down.
Meanwhile, Chu Yunwei led Chu Yu down another path.
They were moving further and further away from Su Xiaoqi's courtyard.
They reached the adjacent courtyard and came before Zhang Yu.
Granny Guan was speaking to her in a low voice.
Chu Yunwei exchanged a silent glance with her, and upon receiving an affirmative answer, waved her away.
"My King, this is the young lady from Da Liang that your humble servant brought back. Please take a look and see if she is acceptable?"
Chu Yu looked at the slender young woman before him, cleared his throat, and motioned for her to turn around.
Zhang Yu's hands and feet had been immobilized by Granny Guan with silver needles, rendering her unable to move.
She could only stiffly turn around.
Chu Yu's gaze fell upon her almost greedily.
However, in just a brief moment, Chu Yu knew that the person before him was not the daughter born to him and Yu Jing.
Chu Yunwei had indeed not brought her back.
He breathed a sigh of relief, it was unclear whether it was disappointment or sadness.
His emotions were somewhat inscrutable.
Chu Yunwei, having lived a past life, understood Chu Yu's emotions very well.
He likely both hoped that the person brought back was his daughter Su Xiaoqi.
And also did not wish for it to be her.
The reason he hoped it was her was because he wanted to see his precious daughter, whom he had never met since birth, but had yearned for for most of his life.
The reason he did not wish for it to be her was that he did not want to accept that he had done such a thing.
He knew Chu Yu had treated him well.
He felt guilty towards Chu Yu for making him impersonate a hostage!
Therefore, he was willing to satisfy his wishes to a great extent.
Even if Chu Yu wanted to marry his daughter, he probably wouldn't object too much.
After all, he owed him!
Chu Yunwei wasn't just thinking about this.
Because in his previous life, when he seized Chu Yu's country, it wasn't as bloody as others might have imagined.
Instead, it was very smooth.
After returning to Northern Chu from the Liang kingdom, he cultivated himself for a period of time before making his move in the court.
Basically, he encountered no significant resistance.
He smoothly obtained the ruling power of Northern Chu.
And he did not erupt into war with Chu Yu.
Because he left with his beloved wife in advance.
No one had seen him since his death.
To think of a man like him, who abandoned even his own country, what was a mere daughter to him?
This was why Chu Yunwei was so bold.
He was certain that Chu Yu did not know what had happened to him.
Of course, it was not yet time to reveal the truth.
"What is your name?" Chu Yu, despite his disappointment, still held a sliver of hope.
He remembered very clearly that Yu Jing's letter had mentioned that their precious daughter looked exactly like her.
The person before him was clearly not.
"Oh, her name is Xiao Yuan," Chu Yunwei preemptively answered, fearing that Zhang Yu might reveal her true name.
"Xiao Yuan…" Chu Yu repeated the name and turned to leave.
Since she wasn't his daughter, he lost the inclination to look further.
Zhang Yu remained frozen in place, about to speak.
But she saw Granny Guan making a gesture to her from a distance.
She was threatening her, that if she dared to say anything wrong, her master would be tortured.
She didn't care about herself, but her master absolutely could not be harmed.
Zhang Yu's heart tightened, she rolled her tongue in her mouth, and all sound dissolved into nothingness.
Chu Yunwei glanced back at her, his eyes holding a subtle smile.
After quickly seeing Chu Yu off, Chu Yunwei appeared before Su Xiaoqi with a smile of relief.
He said lightly, "He's gone!"
Su Xiaoqi gave him a indifferent glance, then turned her eyes away.
"He is actually a very good father.
He came here, he must have received a letter from your mother, and specifically came to test me.
Unfortunately, he still trusted me too much."
It was precisely because of his unconditional trust that in his previous life, he was able to seize the throne of the King of Northern Chu so easily.
And now, he even held his daughter in his grasp.
Su Xiaoqi remained silent, it would be false to say she wasn't disappointed.
She attributed Chu Yu's easy dismissal by Chu Yunwei to his indifference towards her.
If he cared about her as much as Yu Jing did, she wouldn't still be confined here…
Su Xiaoqi's indifference caused Chu Yunwei a slight pang of sadness.
He made conversation.
"Do you remember when I first saw you in Mianzhou City?
You weren't as beautiful as you are now.
You were dark and thin, but you became more and more beautiful later.
When I saw you again, I almost didn't recognize you," Chu Yunwei said happily to himself.
Su Xiaoqi still ignored him.
She already disliked Chu Yunwei, and hearing him recount these old stories made her even less willing to listen.
She walked directly to the window, leaned on the window frame, and stared blankly at the rockery in the courtyard.
Chu Yunwei talked for a while, but eventually ran out of things to say. Bored, he left.
It was dark again.
Su Xiaoqi had been sleeping a lot lately, and now she couldn't sleep.
She tossed and turned, and suddenly a gust of wind blew, causing the window frame to creak slightly.
Su Xiaoqi's heart leaped into her throat.
She quietly gripped her dagger, clenched her fist, held her breath, and waited for the person's arrival.
As soon as he dared to come closer, she would stab him.
A dark figure tiptoed in through the window, looking intently into the darkened room.
He oriented himself and quietly moved towards the bed.
Su Xiaoqi's lips trembled with nervousness, but she had to slow her breathing, pretending to be asleep.
When she felt the person getting closer, she suddenly raised her hand, the cold glint of the dagger flashed, and struck directly at the dark figure's face.
However, the person seemed to have anticipated this. He raised his hand, grabbed her wrist, and softly exclaimed, "My wife…"
Su Xiaoqi's heart trembled, she couldn't believe what she heard.
"It's me, my wife!" Shen Yun said urgently.
He also took the dagger from Su Xiaoqi, who was stunned, and tucked it under the pillow. He then lunged forward and embraced the soft woman on the bed.
"Husband!" Su Xiaoqi, having recognized his scent, happily threw herself into his arms.
They held each other like this, not saying a word.
Time flowed quietly, and then faint sobs echoed in the dark night.
Shen Yun's heart tightened. He raised his hand to caress Su Xiaoqi's cheek, tears streaming down her face.
"My wife, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's all my fault, I'm late," Shen Yun whispered apologies as he stroked her chin.
"Husband, it's good that you're here!" Su Xiaoqi said, reaching for his lips and gently covering them.