Chapter 5: Lingling's Origin

After the morning court session, Lu Ze intended to change his clothes before heading to the Prince Qi Mansion to offer his apologies. However, just as he stepped into Qiyuan, he heard the milky, childish sound of a young child crying.

Entering the courtyard, Lu Ze saw Qi Yuning, dressed in magnificent attire, standing at his door, looking noble and elegant.

Lu Ze felt a slight sense of surprise upon seeing her. "Commandery Princess, coming to my room so early, is there something important?"

"Daddy!"

Seeing Lu Ze in his red official robes, little Lingling, who was clutching Qi Yuning's leg, brightened up. She wiped her tears with her small hands. "Daddy! Mommy kiss, Daddy is back!"

Seeing the three-year-old child clinging to Qi Yuning's leg, even the habitually composed Lu Ze experienced a moment of dazed confusion. Why did this child, who called Qi Yuning "Mommy," look so much like him?

Lu Ze asked calmly, "Commandery Princess, you have a daughter? Is this child Lu Yun's?"

Princess Pingrou gave a cold snort. "Lu Ze, your younger brother isn't even seventeen yet. How could he have fathered such a large daughter? Lingling looks exactly like you; she must be your daughter!"

Looking similar could also mean they were siblings. Lu Ze looked at the lush green willow hairpin in Princess Pingrou's hair and thought carefully; his father had always been henpecked and certainly wouldn't have the audacity for such a thing.

Seeing Lu Ze suspecting others and refusing to admit Lingling was his child, Qi Yuning let out a mocking laugh.

"Lingling calls the Heir Apparent 'Daddy' the moment she sees him. Is the Heir Apparent too cowardly to admit his own child? I didn't expect the men of the Lu family to be more and more irresponsible!"

Lu Ze said, "Commandery Princess, this child is indeed not my daughter."

Qi Yuning said indignantly, "Lu Yiling's appearance is identical to yours. Since the Heir Apparent has incurred such romantic debts, he should take responsibility."

Princess Pingrou nodded. "Exactly. Ze'er, this Lingling is exactly like you were as a child. How could she not be your daughter?"

Little Lingling blinked her eyes and began to wail, "Daddy, are you going to abandon Lingling too?"

Lu Ze looked down at the weeping little girl. He was not made of stone; seeing such a soft, sweet child crying made him feel uneasy, but he truly was not Lingling's father.

Seeing her little granddaughter crying so hard, Princess Pingrou picked Lingling up and said, "Be good, don't cry. Your daddy won't recognize you, but Grandma will."

Lingling sobbed in Princess Pingrou's arms.

Seeing Lingling crying with such sadness and grievance, Qi Yuning said irritably to Lu Ze, "The debts the Heir Apparent incurs through his philandering are not the child's fault. As the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, surely you cannot fail to recognize your own flesh and blood?"

Lu Ze frowned at the little girl in Princess Pingrou's arms and said in a cold voice, "It is impossible for me to have a child."

Qi Yuning's gaze swept provocatively over Lu Ze's abdomen, and she chuckled. "Impossible to have a child? The Heir Apparent is so well-dressed and dignified; could it be that you are a eunuch..."

Lu Ze's face turned ashen. "Commandery Princess, please show some self-respect."

Qi Yuning said, "If you are not a eunuch, then how is it impossible to have a child?"

Lu Ze's expression darkened further. "Because there has never been a woman by my side. I have never even touched a single lady, so it is impossible to have such a large child."

Hearing this, Qi Yuning did not doubt him. "Then it is strange. Where did this child come from, then?"

Lu Ze said, "This child was brought by the Commandery Princess. Does the Commandery Princess truly not know the child's origin?"

Qi Yuning replied, "I do not know."

Princess Pingrou looked suspiciously at the two before her. She didn't believe her own son, nor did she believe Qi Yuning. "Children do not lie. Since she calls you father and mother, then you are her father and mother."

Lingling nodded in Princess Pingrou's arms and said fiercely in a childish way, "Mhm, you are Lingling's daddy and mommy. You can't abandon Lingling!"

Lu Ze rubbed his temples. It seemed his mother had not given up on the idea of him marrying Qi Yuning. "Mother, please give the child to me first. I will ask about her origin."

Princess Pingrou handed Lingling to Lu Ze, her eyes flashing a warning. "You are not allowed to make my little granddaughter cry again."

Lu Ze took the child into the study. Qi Yuning did not yet fully trust Lu Ze; she feared he might use the interrogation methods of the Court of Judicial Review on the child, so she followed him into the study.

Lu Ze sat Lingling down on a wooden chair. Lingling looked up at him and asked, "Daddy, can I play with the rings?"

Lu Ze frowned. "What rings?"

Lingling opened a wooden drawer and pulled out a set of red jade nine-linked rings. "These rings!"

Lu Ze's peach-blossom eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at Lingling, probing, "How did you know there were nine-linked rings here?"

Lingling said, "Daddy told Lingling."

Qi Yuning said to Lu Ze, "Is the Heir Apparent still unwilling to admit that Lingling is your child?"

Lingling even knew about the hidden items in the private areas of Lu Ze's study.

Lu Ze said to Qi Yuning, "Commandery Princess, could you please ask the servants behind you to leave?"

Qi Yuning said to Gu Yu, Li Chun, and the others, "All of you, please leave."

After the others had left, Lu Ze spoke in a low voice, "Commandery Princess, I have never touched any woman, so it is absolutely impossible for me to have a child. Regarding Lu Yun entering the clergy yesterday, it was the fault of my Lu family. If you are angry and wish to take revenge on the Lu family, the Lu family has nothing to say. But you cannot teach a three-year-old child to lie just to ruin the reputation of the Lu family."

Qi Yuning said, "My Qi family is full of heroes and has always been upright. We disdain the behavior of petty people who slander others! If I am to take revenge on your Lu family, I will do so honorably. I have no interest in using such low tactics to ruin someone's reputation.

Furthermore, this child called me 'Mommy' the moment she saw me. I would not stoop to slandering your Lu family and risking my own reputation for that."

Lu Ze pursed his lips slightly. "I misunderstood the Commandery Princess."

Qi Yuning gave a soft snort.

Lu Ze looked down at little Lingling, who was focused on playing with the nine-linked rings, and asked with a tenderness he had never shown before, "Lingling, what is your zodiac sign? How old are you?"

Little Lingling raised her head and held up five fingers. "Lingling is a little bunny! I'm five years old! Little Imperial Uncle said Lingling is only three, but since the New Year just passed, Lingling grew another year. Lingling is five."

Qi Yuning sensed something was wrong. "This year is the Year of Yichou. How could you be born in the Year of the Rabbit?"

This year was the Year of the Ox. If she were born in the Year of the Rabbit, even by western age, the youngest child would be ten. Since Lingling said she was five, she must be referring to her nominal age, but looking at her, she appeared to be around three.

Little Lingling said, "Mommy kiss, this year isn't the Ox year, it's the Year of the Xinwei Sheep. During the Lantern Festival, Lingling won many sheep lanterns, and the lanterns had 'Xinwei' written on them."

Qi Yuning and Lu Ze exchanged a glance. The Xinwei year... that was six years later...

Lu Ze asked Lingling softly, "Then does Lingling know which year she was born in?"

Lingling took off the small jade pendant hanging around her neck and handed it to Lu Ze. "It says here when Lingling was born. You can't show it to others, only to Mommy and Daddy."

Lu Ze looked closely. On the front of the jade pendant was a lifelike carving of a little rabbit, and on the back were two lines of small characters.

"Lu Yiling, daughter of Lu Ze and Qi Yuning, born on the ninth day of the ninth month in the Dingmao year. May she live a long life of a hundred years, with enduring fortune and longevity."

Lu Ze handed the jade pendant to Qi Yuning.

Qi Yuning found it hard to believe. The Dingmao year was clearly two years away. Was this child born two years in the future?

Lu Ze said, "This jade is a rare piece of Lanling Warm Jade, worth a fortune. On such a rare treasure, they wouldn't carve a year and name haphazardly."

Qi Yuning touched the jade in her hand; it was warm and moist, indeed a top-quality jade worth a king's ransom.

A bold suspicion had formed in Qi Yuning's heart, yet she felt it was too inconceivable.

Lu Ze looked into Qi Yuning's eyes and said, "Commandery Princess, Lingling is indeed our daughter. However, she came from the first month of the Xinwei year, six years from now, into the eighth month of this Yichou year."

Qi Yuning's willow brows furrowed slightly as she scrutinized the Lu Ze before her. The Lu family had insulted her so much; how could she possibly have a daughter with him?

(End of Chapter)