CHAPTER 411: CHAPTER 379: THE TRUTH REVEALED

The truth of the matter was far more complex than Wen Wan imagined. After listening, her throat couldn’t produce any sound, and she just stared unblinkingly at her biological mother.

Fanghua tucked the bundle under her arm and reached out to take Wen Wan’s cold hands, "I once thought, if I ignored you for a lifetime, could you live forever without discovering the truth, always considering Wen Guangping as your birth father and the owner of that empty grave as your deceased birth mother.

However, when I learned that you had come to the Capital with the Third Son, I couldn’t resist wanting to see you.

That year when I was leaving the Capital, I specially invited you to the tea house. Perhaps it was the first time you saw me, but I had been paying attention to every bit of you long before then. I knew I had a clever and well-behaved daughter, but I didn’t dare acknowledge you. I feared you couldn’t bear it and might question why I chose to reveal such a cruel truth to you.

Honestly, your quick discovery of the clues was entirely unexpected to me. When you asked if I had ever lost a daughter, I initially wanted to deny it outright, but I didn’t know what harm further denial might cause you. So in the end, I could only choose to lay everything bare."

Fanghua didn’t embellish her story to make herself appear tragically innocent, nor did she intend for Wen Wan to empathize with the hardships she had endured over the years.

She never dared to hope for this child to forgive her.

Wen Wan remained silent.

She was lost in that convoluted story and couldn’t break free, repeatedly recalling it and trying to adapt.

The man she had called father for so many years was merely her adoptive father, and the one she assumed was a third party turned out to be her biological father.

Wen Wan couldn’t immediately transition into her true role.

The resentment in her chest for her biological mother’s "remarrying" suddenly had nowhere to go.

Her biological mother had conceived her by accident, abandoned her out of necessity, married the Prince Consort because she had no choice, and it was a matter of "property returning to its rightful owner."

It seemed everything was as it should be.

So, whom should she resent? Whom could she blame?

"Mother, uncle vomited." Jinbao’s voice came from beside her ear.

Immediately, Wen Wan felt a soft little hand in her palm.

She glanced down and found her son had approached without her knowing, holding her hand now, his big, round eyes blinking. Just one look at them and all the worries seem to melt away.

Fanghua also came to her senses then, looking up to see Lu Yanli squatting by the railing, vomiting non-stop, her expression changed, and she hurriedly walked towards her son.

Wen Wan asked Jinbao anxiously, "What happened?"

Jinbao shook his head, "I don’t know."

At times like this, children are of utmost importance.

Wen Wan immediately went to the bow, instructing the boatman to dock the painted boat, then brought out water for Lu Yanli to rinse his mouth and helped clean up the mess on the deck.

Song Wei and Lu Xingzhou, seated in the cabin, heard the commotion and came out one after the other.

Upon seeing Fanghua holding the pale, sweat-drenched son, Lu Xingzhou frowned slightly and asked, "What happened?"

"I don’t know either."

Fanghua looked anxious, extending a hand to feel her son’s forehead while constantly checking when the painted boat would dock.

Once the boat was stable, she didn’t bother to greet them, hastily carrying her son to find the nearest medical hall.

Lu Xingzhou told Wen Wan and Song Wei to wait in the pavilion, and he himself followed after her.

Chang Chun Medical Hall.

Lu Yanli was placed on the bamboo couch as the elderly doctor took his pulse.

Fanghua sat next to him, not daring to speak and disturb him, but her face was already a palette of urgent colors.

Seeing the man who came in with her, she whispered in explanation, "Earlier, I was too engrossed in talking with Wanwan and forgot about Yanli. By the time I came to my senses, he was like this."

Lu Xingzhou, seeing her full of urgency and self-blame, comforted her, "Don’t worry, the doctor is already diagnosing him; it will be alright."

As soon as the couple’s dialogue ended, the doctor over there withdrew his hand and turned to ask them, "Where were you previously?"

Fanghua murmured, "On the painted boat."

"That explains it," the old doctor said, "the child is not in serious condition, just seasick. I massaged some acupoints for him, which helped quite a bit. Just make sure he gets plenty of rest after returning."

Fanghua asked, "Isn’t it necessary to get medicine?"

The old doctor said, "You can get medicine if you wish, but for such a young child, frequent medication is not advisable, as it’s not good for the body."

Lu Xingzhou heard this, stepped forward to pay the diagnosis fee, thanked the old doctor, then picked up his son and walked to Fanghua, "Ah Yin, let’s go."

Fanghua stood up, patting her chest in fear, "I was scared to death, scared to death..."

Regrets lingered from the first two children, and her irreparable guilt piled onto Lu Yanli, resulting in her being particularly attentive to this youngest son in daily life.

Earlier on the painting boat, she overlooked her youngest son due to being too deeply emotional with the reunion with her daughter.

Even though it was eventually diagnosed as seasickness, without any major issues, Fanghua couldn’t help but feel a sense of self-blame.

Lu Xingzhou glanced sideways, seeing his wife with her eyelids lowered, appearing calm, yet her pale face betrayed her internal emotions.

His pace naturally slowed down.

Back then, the Imperial Physician said, for someone like Fanghua who has been depressed for many years, it is very difficult to completely cure; the best scenario is only a slight relief. If she is subjected to similar stimuli as before, it is very easy to trigger her to fall into depression again.

Depression, ultimately, is a disease of the mind; aside from being comforted by those around, it cannot be cured by medicine.

"Ah Yin." Lu Xingzhou spoke, "What did you just say to Wanwan?"

Her emotions seemed to differ slightly from when she arrived; perhaps not entirely because of excessive worry about her son.

Before Fanghua could speak, Wen Wan’s voice came from opposite.

"How is Yan Li?"

Unable to sit idly in the pavilion and wait, Wen Wan had Song Wei bring their son and actively came to join them, holding the bundle Fanghua had left on the deck earlier.

As she spoke, she stepped forward again, handing the bundle to Fanghua.

Lu Xingzhou replied, "Just seasickness, nothing serious."

Wen Wan suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

Today’s visit to the painting boat was suggested by the couple; if Lu Yanli had faced any issues, all responsibility would fall on her and Song Wei.

Glancing at the little fellow, listless in his father’s arms, Wen Wan smiled and extended her arms, "Come on, let sister see where you feel uncomfortable?"

Lu Xingzhou handed his son over.

The little fellow suddenly started to whimper, his little face scrunched up, seemingly about to cry.

Fanghua looked at her son, "Let sister hold you, later she’ll make new clothes for you, okay?"

The little fellow refused, the lingering nausea in his stomach made him feel uncomfortable. Seeing his parents trying to hand him over to a stranger, he couldn’t resist and simply opened his mouth and wailed loudly.

Seeing the small child suffer, Wen Wan felt distressed and quickly coaxed, "Alright, alright, sister won’t hold you, let your father hold you, okay?"

The little fellow’s eyelashes were still wet with tears, his crying stopped, but he still sniffled occasionally.

With the child restless, it was uncomfortable for the adults as well.

No matter what emotions were present, all focus was on Lu Yanli.

Wen Wan deeply understood the feelings of being a parent and suggested, "Why don’t you take Yan Li back to rest first, the little fellow looks quite pitiable like this."

The sudden term of address added a touch of surprise to the ever-calm face of Lu Xingzhou.

Busy sending his wife and child back to the Lu Family, he didn’t have time to ask in detail, and it was only after boarding the carriage that Fanghua told him Wen Wan already knew the whole truth and was aware she wasn’t Wen Guangping’s biological child.

She spoke while opening the bundle Wen Wan had given, taking out a set of clothes.

Earlier when Lu Yanli vomited from seasickness, he dirtied his outerwear. Fanghua was busy taking him to the medical hall and didn’t have time to change it.

Gently removing the little clothes from her son, Fanghua put on the ones Wen Wan had made by hand, slightly larger than Lu Yanli’s original size, wearing them loosely. However, baby clothes should be loose rather than tight; too tight might rub his skin, making the little fellow uncomfortable.

Once her son was comfortable, she turned to the man, "Back in Ningzhou, we promised Second Brother Wen that we wouldn’t acknowledge our daughter. Today I broke that promise, once we return you should find an opportunity to visit him and specifically apologize."

Lu Xingzhou responded with a sound, refocusing on the daughter, "When you revealed everything, how did Wanwan react?"

Fanghua carefully recalled, "She said nothing, probably didn’t expect her existence to be entangled in the grudges of two generations. I’m guessing it’s difficult for her to accept this identity at once."

At this point, Fanghua sighed softly, "Had she not asked on her own today, I might have chosen to keep it hidden for a lifetime."

Lu Xingzhou thought of the departing call from Wen Wan, which, though not intimate, wasn’t awkwardly stated as "father and mother." He felt things might not be as bad as Fanghua imagined, "Wanwan is a rational and calm child; regarding her background, she might find it easier to accept than we imagine."

Fanghua said, "I would rather she be angry with me for a while; at least she could vent her emotions instead of being bottled up inside. Her silence is what worries me most."