CHAPTER 370: CHAPTER 338: FROM NOW ON, YOUR NAME IS LI HUAIRU

Li Run turned his head slightly, meeting his mother’s questioning gaze. Realizing he couldn’t hide the truth, he confessed, "Mother, we have a guest in our carriage."

As he said this, his peripheral vision intentionally or unintentionally glanced at the little girl in the carriage.

The little girl was trembling more than before, but remained silent.

It was unclear whether she was scared or truly unable to speak.

Lady Kang Ding grew increasingly curious, speeding up her steps to approach, and peering through the gap in the curtain lifted by Li Run, she made eye contact with the girl’s helpless and frightened eyes.

Lady Kang Ding softened her expression and asked gently, "Little girl, did you get separated from your family because of the earthquake?"

Not hearing a reply, Lady Kang Ding turned to her son and asked in a low voice, "She can’t speak?"

Li Run shrugged, "I asked her for quite some time earlier, and this was her constant reaction."

"She must have been impacted by the earthquake," Lady Kang Ding sighed. "She looks only five or six years old, so pitiful."

Li Run said, "Pity as she is, if she won’t speak, what can we do? Don’t tell me you actually want to be kind and take her back to the Capital?"

Lady Kang Ding looked at the little girl again, recalling what Abbot Miaokong had told her before they left—

Having married into the Kangding Bo Mansion for so many years, she had given birth to four sons, but unfortunately, the first three did not survive, leaving only Li Run.

This time, while distributing porridge and staying at West Mountain Temple for a few days, she prayed for a fortune about her children. At the time, Master Miaokong said nothing, but just before they bid farewell, Master Miaokong suddenly mentioned that she would soon have a daughter connection.

For Lady Kang Ding, who had painfully lost three sons, this was indeed a great joy. On the way, she fantasized about perhaps conceiving again, but now it seemed it might not be about her conceiving, but related to this little girl before her.

Thinking of this, Lady Kang Ding’s tone became even more gentle, "Little girl, what is your name?"

Seemingly sensing no malice from her, the girl relaxed her guard, shook her head, and said in a weak hoarse voice, "I don’t remember."

"You don’t remember your own name?"

"Mm."

"Then do you remember where you live, who your parents are?"

"I don’t remember either." The girl shook her head again.

Lady Kang Ding thought to herself, no wonder Master Miaokong said it was destiny. Isn’t this just destiny? This little girl, who remembers nothing, happened to board their carriage because she was hungry and had no home...

Gathering her emotions, Lady Kang Ding spoke to her again, "Since you don’t remember anything, are you willing to return to the Capital with us?"

After hearing this, the girl did not answer, but curiously observed her.

Lady Kang Ding patiently explained, "Our home is in the Capital. We only came to the Baocheng Prefecture to pay respects to ancestors and will soon return to Beijing. If you really have nowhere to go, come with us!"

The girl lowered her eyelashes, seemingly struggling internally.

"If you’re unwilling, I won’t force you," Lady Kang Ding said. "As for the snacks in the carriage, feel free to take them back to eat. If it’s not enough, I’ll have someone steam more for you."

The girl struggled and hesitated for a long time before hoarsely uttering three words, "I am willing."

Lady Kang Ding choked on her next words, and after a moment, reminded her, "Have you thought it through? Once you come with me, you might never see your family or return home again."

The girl nodded solemnly, having thought it through.

She remembered nothing, not even who she was. She had been receiving porridge with other refugees at the temple and no one had come to find her. Perhaps her family was long gone.

Being young doesn’t mean she was unaware of the disaster’s impact.

Staying meant she didn’t know what she would do in the future.

Next to her, Li Run looked at his own mother in surprise, "Mother, you really intend to do a good deed and take her back? Are you planning on having her be a maid?"

Lady Kang Ding shot him a glance, "What maid, I’m going to treat her as your sister."

"Sister?" Li Run was shocked. "Don’t I already have a sister?"

The concubines in the mansion had given birth to many children. Not to mention sisters, there were even elder sisters.

"It’s different," Lady Kang Ding said.

None of the girls in the house were raised by her hand. Although they came daily to pay their respects, calling her mother every time, in the end, it was just a formal procedure and they weren’t close to her.

She wanted a daughter whom she could raise and nurture herself.

Li Run didn’t understand his mother’s thoughts, but he didn’t oppose them either.

Before long, Kang Dingbo came out and saw that the mother and son hadn’t boarded the carriage and were talking outside, so he came over to ask what was going on.

Lady Kang Ding pulled him aside to talk privately, telling him about the little girl in the carriage and how she was willing to go back to Beijing with them.

After listening, Kang Dingbo furrowed his brows deeply and looked at his wife, "Do you really want to take her in?"

Lady Kang Ding was convinced that the fate Master Miaokong spoke of was about the girl in the carriage, but instead of insisting on taking the girl back, she asked Kang Dingbo, "Do you think Master Miaokong’s words will come true?"

Upon hearing this, Kang Dingbo understood that his wife believed the little girl to be the daughter they were destined for.

Even though predictions made by Master Miaokong were never unfulfilled, Kang Dingbo had to remain vigilant at all times, after all, when traveling, who knows if someone might secretly plant spies around them.

Kang Dingbo’s nature was straightforward, and he did not hide his doubts, speaking directly to Mrs. Yao about them.

Mrs. Yao replied, "She’s only six years old, looking so small and frail, afraid of strangers; how could she possibly be a spy? Besides, where would such a young spy come from? Surely, you’ve overthought it, Lord Marquis."

Kang Dingbo also hoped he was overthinking it, as this would fulfill his wife’s dream of having a daughter, sparing her from longing in her dreams.

After discussing it, the couple decided not to leave immediately but to stay at the West Mountain Temple for a few days to find an opportunity to probe into the girl’s background.

Having the carriage unloaded, Mrs. Yao took the girl directly to the guest room in the backyard.

Mrs. Yao brought two close maidservants on this trip: Chuyu and Chulu.

She asked Chuyu to heat water for the girl’s bath and asked Chulu to find a set of clothes for a little girl nearby.

After the disaster, everything was in ruins, and there were no ready-to-wear shops or even cloth shops in the Prefecture streets, just desolation.

Chulu searched for a long time and spent a tael of silver to buy a set of clothes for a seven- or eight-year-old girl from a farmwoman. The material was coarse, without any pattern, but at least it was clean.

When brought back, the girl was just about to finish bathing.

Mrs. Yao looked at the clothes Chulu handed over and was visibly dissatisfied.

Chulu explained that it was a special time, and there was nothing on the streets. It was extremely difficult to find such a set of clothes.

Mrs. Yao understood the current situation well and hesitated only a moment before taking the clothes behind the screen.

Seeing her come in, the girl tried her best to cover herself with the towel, showing a bit of shyness.

Mrs. Yao, seeing the girl’s not very delicate skin, guessed that life at her original home should not have been easy, and gently said, "Change into the clothes first, and then come out. I have something to say to you."

After that, Mrs. Yao turned around and sat at the table. The sound of dressing came from behind the screen, and soon, the girl walked out slowly and stood quietly in front of her.

Mrs. Yao said, "From now on, your name is Li Huairu. You are the sister of the Princely Heir, Li Run, and you should call me ’mother’ like him, understand?"

The girl nodded timidly.

Mrs. Yao was pleased with her response: "It’s okay if you can’t say it for a while, you will get used to it over time."

Thinking she might be hungry, Mrs. Yao had Chulu bring in some vegetarian food and, fearing that the adopted daughter might not be used to it, left the room while Li Huairu was eating, standing in the courtyard talking with Chuyu.

Chuyu had helped Li Huairu bathe earlier and told Mrs. Yao, "The back of the girl’s head seems to have been injured. I just touched it lightly, and she gasped in pain."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Yao realized, "No wonder she says she doesn’t remember anything; it turns out her head was injured."

This directly ruled out the Lord’s suspicion—the little girl was not a spy sent to them but an unfortunate child separated from her family by the earthquake.

Her appearance was purely coincidental.

Mrs. Yao didn’t delay and soon told Kang Dingbo about it.

Kang Dingbo clearly hadn’t expected this truth, and after a brief astonishment, he chuckled, "It seems Master Miaokong’s words indeed were true; she is the daughter destiny has tied to you."

Mrs. Yao was naturally delighted to have a daughter with no memory, as with no past to cling to, all her future experiences would be tied to her foster mother alone.

However, since the child was injured, there might come a day when she heals completely, "Lord Marquis, if one day she recovers and remembers her family, will she leave us, her adoptive parents, and return to look for her biological parents?"

With children of his own, Kang Dingbo couldn’t say something like "find a way to prevent her from recovering." Instead, he told Mrs. Yao, "You’ve raised her for so long. If she truly recovers one day and cannot call you mother but calls you godmother, and even that old affection means nothing to her, it shows her character is just like that. If she leaves, she leaves; it wouldn’t be worth your sadness or effort."