Doted By The Regent King
Chapter 446

Chapter 446: 446

Wufu did not reveal the information about the man suspected to be her birth father to Madam Zhou, but instead, she vaccinated her in advance; whether Madam Zhou could come to terms with it depended on her own realization.

If she could understand and henceforth treat this man as deceased, with mother and daughter closing their doors to live their lives together, then it would be happiness for all.

If she could not come to terms with it, then delaying the issue for one more day was one day gained. Of course, this was also Wufu’s own selfish wish. She did not want to follow Madam Zhou in recognizing some man as her father, much less be subject to someone else and become a concubine-born daughter.

In this era, the matter of status was something useful at times, and at other times not so much.

Being a concubine-born daughter was undoubtedly a lower status. Unless absolutely necessary, Wufu had no desire to be labeled with this term as she walked the world.

Fortunately, after the New Year, she would follow Ah Jiu to the capital and then could further investigate this Wu Family and the worthless Wu Lihong.

Putting this matter aside for the moment, Wufu asked Madam Zhou to help her prepare festival gifts for the relevant people, while she plunged into the study herself and did not show her face for several days. It was not until the third day of the twelfth month that she emerged with huge panda eyes.

"Carefully wrap up that mahogany box in my study, go have Hongyu pack a bundle—we’re heading to the prefectural city." Wufu yawned, saying, "I’m going to take a nap. We’ll leave in two shichen."

The prefectural city was a day and a half’s journey from Huayang County, and the date of the competition was on the fifth, so they had to leave now.

Liu Jin saw her exhausted face and did not dare to say more, turning around to make the arrangements.

Two shichen later, Wufu dispelled her fatigue and went to bid farewell to Madam Zhou, spirited and refreshed. She did not know how many days she would be away on this trip to the prefectural city, so of course, she had to say goodbye.

Madam Zhou knew that she had been busy for days and had already instructed the kitchen to stew a pot of cordyceps soup to replenish her vitality. She watched her eat the soup and meat before saying, "You’re a girl with your own ideas, so I won’t say much. When you’re away, don’t be too competitive and always take care of yourself."

"Don’t worry, the Hundred Treasures Silver Building is still the property of Lord Wen’s family. Could anything really go wrong?" Wufu reassured with a smile, "Mother, I’m just going for a few days. You just relax at home."

Madam Zhou nodded.

"Miss, the carriage is ready," Hongyu reported, standing at the door.

Madam Zhou then saw Wufu out.

This time going to the prefectural city, Wufu would take Liu Jin and Hongyu, with Ji Yongqing driving the carriage.

Madam Zhou pulled Hongyu aside and gave her detailed instructions on how to take care of Wufu’s diet. If it hadn’t been for Wufu’s insistence, she would probably have asked Qiu Xiang to accompany her, or even Qiu Ye, as both were older and more stable. Yet, Hongyu was only ten years old—eleven or twelve at most if counting by the traditional virtual age system.

However, Wufu was raising Hongyu as a trusted aide, and the girl had familial ties to the industry and a certain understanding of things like jade. Recently, she had often followed Wufu in handling some minor details and had shown quite the talent.

Madam Zhou also learned from Qiu Xiang that the girls who followed their young ladies were raised from a young age by them personally. In the future, they would be loyal and handle matters smoothly, so she let her go along.

After boarding the carriage and driving out of the alley, Wufu could still see Madam Zhou standing on the steps, looking into the distance.

Indeed, a mother worries when her child travels a thousand miles.

Once they left the city, the carriage slowly stopped, and Liu Jin’s voice came from the front of the vehicle, prompting Wufu to lift the curtain to look.

"Yo, young master, where might you be heading?"

"Wherever you go, there I shall go," Ah Jiu replied from his own carriage, lifting his cup of tea in salute and smiling at her.