Chapter 177: Are You Willing to Acknowledge Me?

Ji Xuan and Qi Min met at Lingzhao Temple in Yunzhong City.

Later, they also confirmed their relationship at Lingzhao Temple.

With her eyes bright and lively, Qi Min said, “Ji Xuan, if we have children in the future, we’ll name a boy Yun Zhao and a girl Ling Zhao. Doesn’t that have great significance?”

“We’ll talk about it then,” Ji Xuan’s face was stern, but his gaze was unusually gentle. “By that time, you’ll have come up with another idea.”

“You’re underestimating me. In your heart, am I such a fickle woman?”

Qi Min held a whip in her hand, using the handle to lift Ji Xuan’s firm chin. She leaned in with a bright smile and lightly pecked his thin lips. “My determination for this name is as unwavering as my feelings for you.”

Ji Xuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his gaze darkening. His large hand clasped the back of her head, pulling her towards him, while his other hand gripped her slender waist, drawing her into his embrace for a deep kiss.

After an unknown length of time, Ji Xuan released Qi Min. She lay soft in his arms, her phoenix eyes shimmering with moisture, the corners tinted with a light pink hue, exuding an alluring charm.

He kissed her eyes and hoarsely said, “Minmin, let me see your determination.”

Qi Min cupped his cheeks and gently kissed the corner of his lips, her eyes filled entirely with him. “I will give you both Yun Zhao and Ling Zhao.”

With her arms wrapped around his neck, she whispered into his ear, “Ji Yunzhao and Ji Lingzhao, don’t they sound beautiful? I like them very much.”

Ji Xuan’s heart trembled, and in that moment, he felt as though he could give her his very life.

More than ten years later, Su Wan brought a wooden figurine, with a piece of paper on which the words “Ji Lingzhao” were written.

His hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

When he saw the birth date and time engraved on the back of the wooden figurine, his eyes slowly turned red, as if wind and sand had blown into them, causing a dull, painful ache.

“This wooden figurine has a small mechanism. If you press the ‘Peace’ character on the belly, the head will pop off. I found this piece of paper inside the head,” Su Wan explained.

Seeing the usually stoic Regent moved to tears by a wooden figurine and a slip of paper, Su Wan gently continued, “I previously found a wooden box in my mother’s room at the Qi family estate. Inside were two wooden figurines meant for you, as well as this one. I noticed it had my birth date and time engraved on the back, so I thought it wouldn’t be appropriate to give it to you. Today, after receiving news about my mother, I was playing with this figurine and accidentally triggered the mechanism.”

This wooden figurine revealed that she was the Regent’s daughter. The piece of paper had been hidden so secretly, deep within the Qi family’s private chambers, suggesting that Qi Min had not planned to tell the Regent this secret anytime soon.

As for why Qi Min didn’t reveal this secret before leaving the Great Zhou Kingdom, Su Wan had no way of knowing.

It was only from rumors that she had heard Qi Min suddenly collapsed at that time, fell into a coma for two days, and then passed away from illness.

Could it be that the situation was urgent, and Qi Min had devised a last-minute plan but didn’t have time to carry it out before she “died from illness”?

The Regent grasped the wooden figurine in his broad palm, and his bloodshot eyes fixed intently on Su Wan.

He slowly scanned her face, inch by inch. This face was so similar to Qi Min’s, as if carved from the same mold.

In the past, he had thought she was Su Jihong’s daughter and had never seen any trace of Su Jihong in her features. Now, suddenly learning that she was his own flesh and blood, he still couldn’t find any resemblance to himself.

But he was very clear that this was not some trick Su Wan had devised.

The promise of Yun Zhao and Ling Zhao was something only he and Qi Min knew.

The paper was yellowed, showing its age, and he instantly recognized it as Qi Min’s handwriting.

Her script was bold and forceful, like iron hooks and silver strokes, flowing with the same flamboyance and unrestrained nature as her personality. At the end of each stroke, she had a habit of easing her force, leaving a graceful little hook.

A rush of hot blood surged into his chest. He wanted to call out to his friends, to announce to the whole world that he was a father, that he had a daughter.

But then he thought of Qi Min’s cruelty, how she had hidden this from him for more than ten years.

Ji Xuan felt a surge of hatred.

He hated her for her heartlessness toward him, and he hated that their child had endured so much suffering.

But above all, he felt joy.

At least she hadn’t been as heartless and unfeeling as she had seemed—after all, she had given him a child.

This was, perhaps, her gift to him.

“Zhao’er,” the Regent began, his voice hoarse, “I am your father.”

Su Wan nodded her head. “Mm.”

It was the Regent’s first time being a father, and he had no idea how to interact with his child.

Thinking about how he had coldly neglected Su Wan for over a decade, regret and guilt pierced his chest like sharp blades. He hadn’t treated her better when he could have, hadn’t personally delivered her birthday gifts into her hands, hadn’t attended her birthday banquets, and hadn’t properly watched her grow up.

The absence of sixteen years couldn’t be filled with just one word, “daughter,” or by the mere fact of their shared bloodline.

It was a lifetime’s regret.

Su Wan had called Su Jihong “father” for fifteen years, and the Regent felt as if his heart was being eaten away by bitterness.

“You gave me this. Does that mean you’re willing to acknowledge me?”

When the Regent said this, his intense gaze was fixed on Su Wan. Although he appeared calm and composed, upon closer inspection, there was a faint trace of unease.

Luo Cheng’s three-year-old daughter had ignored him for several days simply because he had broken a promise.

His previous attitude toward Su Wan had been extremely harsh—so much so that it was difficult to fully describe.

If he used Luo Cheng’s daughter as a reference, Su Wan probably wouldn’t be willing to speak to him for years.

“Zhao’er…”

“I can acknowledge you, but let’s not make it public for now. We’ll discuss it after Jingyun ascends to the throne.”

Su Wan noticed the Regent’s cautious demeanor. She couldn’t find the words to reject him, seeing the light in his eyes fade into desolation. This man, who was always so high and mighty, lowered himself so much when facing someone he cared about. It was hard for anyone to harden their heart against him.

The Regent’s jaw was tightly clenched, and he remained silent.

He was eager to add Su Wan to his family registry, to grant her the title of Princess, and to allocate her fiefdom.

He envisioned hosting a grand banquet, inviting all civil and military officials to celebrate, feasting for ten days and nights. He wanted the world to know that Su Wan was his daughter, Ji Xuan’s daughter—not someone like Su Jihong, who couldn’t possibly father such an outstanding child.

Su Wan’s words disappointed him, but he did not lose his composure. Acknowledging his daughter at this time would be tantamount to announcing to the world that Qi Min had been unfaithful and branding Su Wan as an illegitimate child. He didn’t care about public opinion, but he couldn’t allow Su Wan to suffer any injustice.

“I understand.” The Regent glanced at her lowered head, her black hair soft and shiny. He clumsily raised his hand and gently ruffled it twice. “I will give you a rightful identity. I won’t let you be stained by any dishonor.”

Su Wan froze. The hand on her head was large and warm. Though the gesture was a bit rough and not exactly gentle, it was unexpectedly heartwarming. It even made her want to instinctively rely on him, to act spoiled.

So this is what it feels like to have a father.

In her previous life, she had been very young and without parents, and in this life, her birth mother was not around. However, Mother Gu had allowed her to experience a mother’s warmth.

“I wasn’t annoyed by you,” the Regent awkwardly explained. Seeing that Su Wan’s expression remained calm, with no sign of holding a grudge, he added, “I just soaked in a medicinal bath, I didn’t take any medicine, and I haven’t eaten yet.”

Luo Cheng, walking over, was so shocked by his master’s words that his jaw nearly dropped to the ground.

Especially since the master, who used to be so dismissive of Su Wan, was now ruffling her hair and gazing at her with the very look he had once deemed sticky and revolting. And yet, without the slightest blush or breathlessness, he calmly told such blatant lies.