Doted By The Regent King
Chapter 442: Acknowledge my father? Am I stupid?!

Chapter 442: Chapter 442: Acknowledge my father? Am I stupid?!

Since they had offered it to her on their own, Wufu certainly saw no reason to turn away the treasure; she happily accepted it, and, upon Ah Jiu expressing a wish to see her contest entry, Wufu led him out of the Floral Hall.

In the front courtyard, which was also a cloister, there stood a very large apricot tree. When the wind blew, Wufu stopped in her tracks, looking toward that apricot tree.

Ah Jiu, noticing her stillness, looked over as well.

Wufu raised an eyebrow and casually scanned the surroundings, saying, "It seems this time the loss you suffered in secret was quite severe; the number of people around you has increased, huh!"

In her residence, there were at least two members of the Hidden Guard lurking in the shadows.

Ah Jiu was momentarily stunned, his complexion turning somewhat unpleasant – not because Wufu had discovered the truth, but because the level of his Hidden Guard might be too poor if even she could see through them.

His gaze swept over two spots, and those hiding there somehow felt a chill run down their spines.

After admiring Wufu’s work, Ah Jiu said, "I will find a piece of top-quality mutton fat jade; when the time comes, you can help me carve a statue of Goddess of Mercy Guanyin."

This was an acknowledgment of her skill. With that chest full of jade at stake, Wufu had no reason to refuse and readily agreed.

Sitting in Wufu’s study, Ah Jiu looked around and said, "The arrangement is a bit too simple."

"As long as it’s comfortable, that’s all that matters. A study is just for reading and office work after all; is it meant to be admired?" Wufu replied with a shrug.

Ah Jiu smiled, sipped his tea, and then disclosed his other purpose for the visit.

"Are you still searching for your biological father?"

Wufu’s teacup lid clinked against the cup as she looked at him.

Ah Jiu met her gaze directly without flinching.

"It must not be any good news," Wufu said with a corner of her mouth hooked up in certainty.

"I’m not certain, but seven or eight out of ten, it is him," Ah Jiu responded.

"Let’s hear it, what’s the origin?"

His tone was like that of addressing a stranger; Ah Jiu thought that perhaps, knowing the man’s background, she wouldn’t be upset.

Indeed, once he described the circumstances of the man called Wu Lihong, all that remained on Wufu’s face was silence and calmness.

Ah Jiu asked, "Aren’t you angry?"

Anyone who heard such news would feel enraged, after all. The man had abandoned his wife and child for over a decade and even remarried; most people would find such an act despicable and would be indignant.

But Wufu was not; on her face, there was only serenity and a sense of ’I knew it would be like this.’

Ah Jiu grew increasingly interested in her; what kind of thoughts were going through this girl’s mind?

"Just as I imagined, if he wasn’t dead, then he had taken another wife. And besides, isn’t it typical of sons from noble families to act this way?" Wufu said with a half-smile looking at him.

She might not have eaten pork but had seen pigs run; Wufu might not have witnessed the scum of this era firsthand, but she had heard enough from TV dramas and palace-styled novels.

A young noble and a peasant girl, or a girl from a brothel, promising to spend their lives together only for one to rise in status and abandon their vow to marry another – such melodramatic stories were all too familiar.

And her mother’s experience was exactly this sort of melodramatic plot. Thus, for her, such an outcome was hardly surprising.

"What do you plan to do?" Ah Jiu asked her. "If you want to acknowledge him, I’m afraid..."

"Are you thinking I’m a fool?" Wufu interrupted him, saying, "I have hands and feet and skills; I can support myself without anyone meddling in my affairs. Why would I be foolish enough to acknowledge such a man as my father and end up trapped in a big house?"

From the beginning to the end, she had never intended to acknowledge her father. Searching for him was simply because she couldn’t stand to see Madam Zhou washing her face with tears in her woeful state!