Chapter 278: Probing Words

Mother Gu smiled and asked, “Have you eaten?”

“I have.” Gu Baozhu glanced at Mo Yuan. “Uncle Mo Yuan bought wontons for me.”

“Go back to your room and sleep.” Mother Gu released her grip on Gu Baozhu.

Gu Baozhu nodded obediently and waved her small hand toward Su Wan. “Sister-in-law, I’ll come find you to play when I’m back tonight. There’s so much I want to tell you.”

“Alright,” Su Wan replied with a smile.

Gu Baozhu walked briskly out of the main hall, her steps light. As she passed by Mo Yuan, she grabbed onto the scabbard of his sword and tugged him along toward her courtyard.

Her crisp voice drifted all the way to the front hall: “Mother, I’ll ask Uncle Mo Yuan to take me to see Father later.”

Mother Gu’s lips pressed downward, and her fingers traced the embroidered patterns on her skirt. It was unclear whether she was speaking to herself or to Su Wan as she said, “When Jingyun and Baozhu were little, they used to ask me about their father. I told them that their father loved them very much, that he was a man of great skill and ability. That’s why he went to a faraway place to help those in need.”

“They were still young and didn’t understand what it meant to be truly skilled. So, I pointed to the wooden furniture in our home and told them it was made by their father. I said he could hunt, that the pelts he skinned could be made into clothing to wear, and that they could keep out the cold in winter. In their minds, their father became a towering figure, which only made them yearn even more to meet this omnipotent man.”

“If I told her the truth and shattered the image of her father in her heart, it would hurt her.”

Mother Gu couldn’t bear to let Gu Baozhu feel disappointment and sadness; she only wished for her to grow up carefree and happy.

“Mother, you should have more faith in Baozhu. She has a pure and kind heart. I once hurt her, yet because I changed and turned over a new leaf, she was willing to forgive me and wholeheartedly accept me as family.”

Su Wan spoke earnestly, “She has a scale in her heart and can distinguish right from wrong. Knowing the truth may not necessarily be a bad thing for her. The path of growth can never be completely smooth, but as long as she lives in an environment filled with love, her ability to heal will be strong. She won’t pour everything into chasing a single glimmer of light and lose herself in the process.”

Mother Gu was unsure and hesitant. “Let’s wait until Huaizhi arrives and let him decide.”

“Alright.” Su Wan gently pulled Mother Gu up from her chair. “You haven’t had breakfast yet, have you? Let’s go eat something together.”

Though Mother Gu didn’t have much of an appetite, she didn’t want to disappoint Su Wan, so she accompanied her to the side hall to have breakfast.

Su Wan instructed Mrs. Hu to send a bowl of sweet soy milk and some meat buns to Gu Baozhu.

——

As soon as Gu Baozhu entered her room, she slammed the door shut with a loud “bang.”

Mo Yuan looked at Gu Baozhu with a blank expression, unsure of what she intended to do.

“Uncle Mo Yuan, you’re the person my Big brother trusts the most. You must know something about my father, right?”

Gu Baozhu cautiously slid the door latch into place and leaned her back against the door. “Tell me, did my father do something that upset my mother?”

Mo Yuan raised his eyebrow, surprised by Gu Baozhu’s question. Earlier, in the front hall, he had overheard everything. Since Mother Gu had chosen not to tell her, he could not go against his master’s decision.

She tilted her head and asked, “When my father came to the capital, my Big brother asked you to bring me back. Did he specifically instruct you not to tell me anything about my father?”

“He did not.”

Gu Baozhu’s eyes darted around cunningly. “Then that’s it. If my Big brother doesn’t want someone to know something, he would definitely make a special point to remind them, wouldn’t he?”

“If you don’t tell me, and I don’t know what kind of person my father is, what if I end up at a disadvantage or get hurt by him?”

Gu Baozhu racked her brains to come up with this reasoning. “When my father and I meet, you won’t be able to stay in the room to protect me, will you?”