Chapter 16: Awareness

Fu Zhengnan seemed to curve his lips slightly as he looked at the small lump hiding under the blanket.

“Jiang Qingqing, what are you doing under there?”

Jiang Qingqing: “…”

Of course, she was crying under the blanket.

But she couldn’t admit that.

With a hint of uncertainty in her voice, she murmured, “Ugh… Divine One, you came back for me?”

“Hmm. Come out, let me see you.”

Fu Zhengnan’s voice was lazy and calm, low yet indifferent.

Jiang Qingqing wiped the tears from her cheeks and obediently poked her head out from under the blanket, little by little.

From Fu Zhengnan’s perspective, all he could see on the large bed was a round little head and a pair of red, swollen, teary peach blossom eyes.

A rare chuckle escaped his lips. “What did you do to end up crying like this?”

Jiang Qingqing instinctively wanted to answer his question.

But then she suddenly realized—

There was someone else in this room!

Crap!

While people didn’t necessarily shy away from talking about gods and spirits, experiencing something this bizarre firsthand was another matter entirely.

Jiang Qingqing sat up and glanced toward the study.

The partition obscured her view, making it hard to see clearly.

But the study’s light had been turned off—it was dark inside.

Jiang Yu was probably already asleep, right?

After all, he had been in hiding for so many days.

Even for a strong general, it would take a toll.

“Who’s in the study?”

Fu Zhengnan caught Jiang Qingqing’s small movements with perfect clarity.

In a hushed voice, Jiang Qingqing replied, “Keep your voice down… I’m afraid he’ll hear…”

Her soft, delicate tone was intentionally lowered, sounding like a whisper right by his ear—almost teasingly.

“That man is a lieutenant general stationed at the border. Half a month ago, he was falsely accused of treason by the Prime Minister’s estate. He barely escaped to the capital to clear his family’s name, but the Prime Minister’s men have been hunting him down. He was badly injured and is temporarily hiding here.”

Since Fu Zhengnan had asked, Jiang Qingqing briefly explained the situation.

This was the first time she had ever spoken to Fu Zhengnan about the things happening around her.

Fu Zhengnan’s gaze flickered slightly as he recalled the first time he had seen Jiang Qingqing.

“What about you? Why were you in the thatched hut?”

Jiang Qingqing froze for a moment.

She didn’t expect Fu Zhengnan to suddenly ask that.

But she answered truthfully.

“My grandmother sent me here. Not long ago, my mother disappeared, and my father fell seriously ill from grief. No one in the palace could protect me.”

“Disappeared…”

Fu Zhengnan toyed with the pen in his hand, deep in thought.

As she spoke about these painful memories, Jiang Qingqing’s nose began to sting again.

She nodded. “It happened very suddenly. My father sent out many people to search, but they couldn’t find any trace of her leaving the palace. The palace servants say that twenty years ago, my mother also suddenly appeared in Great Liang alone.”

The moment Jiang Qingqing finished speaking, the pen in Fu Zhengnan’s hand slipped and fell to the wooden floor with a thud, thud—

“You’re saying… your mother suddenly appeared in the Great Liang Kingdom? No family, no past…”

Fu Zhengnan repeated Jiang Qingqing’s words slowly and deliberately.

Jiang Qingqing thought about it and did not deny it.

“Mm. My maternal family… is in the capital of Hua Nation.”

“My mother said it’s a very faraway place.”

“There, they have male models… lots of them… one for every day of the week…”

“You can even touch them.”

Jiang Qingqing recalled the things Bai Wan had told her about her maternal family, becoming more and more animated as she spoke.

Fu Zhengnan’s expression darkened, his eyes gradually filling with irritation.

Calling her out by name, he asked, “Jiang Qingqing, do you even know what a male model is?”

Jiang Qingqing shook her head nonchalantly. “Something fun.”

Fu Zhengnan: “…”

Great.

So that’s how they raised their children.

Fu Zhengnan didn’t really want to continue the conversation, so he changed the topic and probed, “That night, the ginger soup you made—I received it.”

Jiang Qingqing asked eagerly, “Did it taste good?”

Fu Zhengnan replied indifferently, “It was alright.”

In reality, he hadn’t touched the bowl of ginger soup at all. He wasn’t reckless enough to consume food that had mysteriously appeared in his home.

Jiang Qingqing, however, thought he truly meant it was good.

A hint of joy flickered in her eyes.

“So, did you receive the Hundred Birds Facing the Phoenix painting and the anklet as well?”

Her tone carried a trace of hope.

Fu Zhengnan narrowed his eyes slightly and enunciated each word clearly, “That was an anklet?”

Jiang Qingqing suddenly snapped back to reality, her mind going completely blank, her embarrassment rendering her speechless.

At that time, she had been utterly desperate, and it was the only thing she could find to trade. The golden hairpins and silver jewelry on her had all been confiscated by the Empress Dowager’s order.

Only the anklet she had hidden in her sock remained.

It was, admittedly, a rather intimate item.

Jiang Qingqing struggled to explain. “I…”

“Wait for me a moment.”

Fu Zhengnan abruptly disconnected from the game, got up, and strode towards Old Master Fu’s room.

His steps were noticeably larger than usual.

Lately, the old man had been out of town, visiting old war buddies.

The room was empty.

An entire wall was dedicated to his collection of antiques—hand beads, jade plaques, scroll paintings, and countless other trinkets.

Fu Zhengnan scanned the shelves, his gaze drawn to a chain in the lower-left compartment.

A chain adorned with small golden gourd charms.

To be precise, an anklet.

He reached out, took the chain, and held it in his palm. The delicate anklet was wrapped in his long fingers, clutched tightly.

The real thing was indeed far more exquisite than it had looked in the photo.

—

Without anyone to talk to, Jiang Qingqing suddenly felt a bit bored lying in bed.

She wondered—was the Divine One busy with something even this late at night?

Such a busy person…

—

Prime Minister’s Manor

Mo Yunyu sat by the window, her six-month pregnant belly unmistakable, even under the loose robes she wore.

A maid approached respectfully. “Madam, the young master has urgent business tonight and won’t be coming over.”

Mo Yunyu’s eyes darkened with anger.

That excuse again!

“What urgent business could possibly keep him away at this hour?”

She was the daughter of the Minister of Justice and had married Liu Xubai as his official wife a year ago. She had thought she was marrying the perfect husband, only to later discover that his heart already belonged to someone else.

That person was none other than Jiang Qingqing.

How could Mo Yunyu, who had always been proud and domineering in the capital, accept such a thing?

She had never considered herself inferior to Jiang Qingqing—so why were all the men in the capital entranced by that little vixen?

“Send someone to investigate why my husband hasn’t returned. If he’s in the palace, I’ll go keep him company.”

Mo Yunyu’s voice was cold and commanding.

The imperial palace was now under the control of the Empress Dowager’s faction, and the Ministry of Justice had gained influence because of it. Gaining entry to the palace was merely a matter of a single request.

The maid nodded and quickly withdrew.

Just then, Mo Yunyu thought of Liu Mei.

A glint of cruelty flashed through her eyes, and she called the maid back.

“Come here, there’s something else.”

She whispered instructions into the maid’s ear.

Hearing them, the maid’s face turned pale with fear. “Madam, this… this might not be appropriate. The young master has strictly forbidden anyone in the manor from discussing this matter.”

Mo Yunyu smirked, idly playing with her blood-red nails.

“What is there to be afraid of? I want them to tear each other apart. If Liu Mei finds out that her own purity has been ruined—and that the entire capital knows—do you think she wouldn’t want to kill Jiang Qingqing?”

“Jiang Qingqing is just a powerless orphan now. How could she possibly defend herself against a crazed Liu Mei?”

“Hahahahaha…”

Mo Yunyu covered her mouth as she laughed so hard that tears nearly streamed down her face.

Liu Xubai wanted to protect Jiang Qingqing?

Then she would make sure to destroy her.