Chapter 3: 3. Chapter 3: The Phoenix Palace at the Foot of the Emperor, Returning Home!

Chapter 3: The Phoenix Palace at the Emperor’s Feet, Returning Home!

Ji Qingwu watched helplessly as her round little daughter trotted all the way up to her.

The little girl held the newly picked fruit in both hands, her round eyes filled with the reflection of her beloved mother.

In a milky voice, she said, "Mama, for you! The fruit I picked!"

The attention of the other two was also drawn to her; the child was delicate and adorable, and very sensible to boot.

However, as Ji Changlin watched, his expression changed.

He muttered to himself, "Too similar, truly too similar."

Hearing this, Ji Qingwu’s back stiffened.

She rubbed the child’s little head and urged her softly, "Be good, Jiujiu. Mama will eat it later. Go to the couch inside and play by yourself for a while."

The little girl, named Jiujiu, was not shy at all.

She tucked the fruit into the small cloth bag she was carrying, her little hands tugging at the red string hanging around her neck, and walked inside while playing with it.

Ji Changlin looked at the jade pendant hanging from the red string, his eyes gleaming.

Isn't this...

Ji Changlin estimated the young woman's age in his heart, suppressing his excitement.

He asked as casually as he could, "Is this child your biological daughter?"

Ji Qingwu looked at him vigilantly, her dark pupils darting about—the very image of the child’s adult counterpart.

What kind of question was that?!

The envoy who had just been threatening her now had tears welling up in his eyes.

"Xiao Wu, come home with your big brother!"

Even though Ji Qingwu had prepared herself mentally, she was still stunned by Ji Changlin’s "big brother."

By the time Ji Qingwu was holding her daughter, sitting in the carriage back to Beili, she was still in a daze.

Jiujiu, however, was highly adaptable and was already sleeping soundly in her mother’s arms.

She had disguised her appearance, but as fate would have it, she had given birth to a miniature version of herself. Ji Changlin, the eldest son of the Ji family, had keenly seen through it at a glance: she was the younger sister who had gone missing in their youth.

She lifted the carriage curtain. The woman who had previously pretended to seek medical treatment from her had shed her village-woman attire and was now dressed in capable military armor, riding a horse behind the carriage train.

Ji Qingwu’s guess was correct; she was the guard for Ji Changlin’s mission to Southern Chu.

At this moment, Ji Changlin lifted the thick curtain of the carriage and bent down to enter.

Seeing him appear, Ji Qingwu opened her mouth to say, "I am not—"

"You are our Ji family’s fifth daughter, my own sister!"

Ji Changlin’s expression was extremely firm.

He had already written a letter in another carriage and sent it to the Ji family.

Just now, Ji Changlin had recognized at a glance that the child’s features were extremely similar to his fifth sister’s.

But the most important evidence was the jade pendant hanging from the child’s red string.

It was originally a pair of carp pendants.

When Lady Ji was pregnant with Ji Qingwu, she had a prenatal dream of two koi fish playing, which she took as a good omen. She had ordered a pair of identical koi pendants carved from warm Kunlun jade, designed to fit together head-to-tail.

Though there was only one now, it was enough to confirm Ji Qingwu’s identity.

Ji Changlin looked at the sister who had been missing for many years, filled with emotion.

He never expected that when they met again, that little girl who was once like a pearl or jade would already be a mother.

He looked at her eyebrows, which she had drawn even thicker than his own, and asked, "Fifth sister, you are a fine young woman, why do you dress like this?"

Ji Qingwu lowered her lashes and replied softly, "It is inconvenient for a woman to practice medicine while traveling, and this appearance makes people more likely to believe I am a skilled healer."

Ji Changlin felt that she had suffered much over the years, and that his words had touched a sore spot, so he asked no more.

Ji Qingwu looked at the trembling curtain of the carriage.

Since returning to Lin'an City was a foregone conclusion, she tried to look on the bright side.

The Ji family were the backbone of the Beili court before the new Emperor ascended, and they held great prestige in the capital. With such a prominent maternal family, at least her daughter Jiujiu’s future would be secure.

But!

Back in the northern military camp, she had fed the Great General Zhao Mingyan a potent drug and humiliated him for a night.

Now that the war was over, he would surely be rewarded and promoted, and he might even settle in the capital.

If they were to meet by accident...

Ji Qingwu thought of the man’s cold, hard demeanor and felt a chill down her spine. She absolutely could not let her identity be revealed.

After traveling for over ten days, the carriage finally arrived at the capital, Lin'an.

"Xiao Wu, we are almost home."

Ji Changlin did not feel tired; having found his younger sister and thinking of reuniting with his family, he was incredibly excited.

Ji Qingwu looked out through the gap in the carriage curtain. The city gates were towering and magnificent, with an imposing aura.

Following her gaze, Ji Changlin smiled and said, "This is the Phoenix Palace at the Emperor’s feet. His Majesty has lived here since his ascension."

Ji Qingwu had never been to Lin'an City. Ever since she transmigrated, she had been in the deep mountains and forests, and to follow her target, she had chased all the way to the frontier military camp.

Four years had passed, and the fires of war had been extinguished.

The person who finally ascended the throne had already taken up residence in the capital.

The new Beili Emperor’s palace had not been rebuilt, only slightly renovated on the foundations of the previous dynasty, showing that this monarch did not care for luxury or indulgence, but rather for the suffering of the people.

Even in Southern Chu, she knew that the current Emperor governed well, the national treasury was full, and the people lived in peace and contentment.

Lin'an was now a scene of dreamlike prosperity.

Ji Qingwu was dazzled by the boundless splendor.

The little girl in her arms had finished her nap, rubbed her eyes, and familiarly climbed onto Ji Changlin’s lap.

"Jiujiu, want to see!"

Blindsided by the little bun’s sweet "Uncle" (Jiujiu), Ji Changlin ignored the etiquette of being at the foot of the imperial city and secretly lifted a corner of the curtain.

"Alright, Uncle will let you see."

Ji Qingwu had explained to him once before that her daughter’s nickname was Jiujiu, and she was calling herself, not him.

But Ji Changlin didn't believe a word of what this mother said.

It wasn't until the female guard, Lanling, who had been following the carriage train, rode her large horse over to block their view.

She reminded them, "My Lord, this is against the rules."

Carriages passing the palace had to be cautious; one could not lift the curtains to inspect the defenses at the palace gates.

Ji Changlin and Jiujiu both let their faces fall at the same time—the big one and the little one actually looked quite similar.

Ji Qingwu pursed her lips, suppressing the upward curve of her mouth.

As the carriage train neared the Ji residence.

Perhaps it was the nervousness of nearing home, or perhaps it was the sense of security Ji Changlin had given her as a brother along the way, but Ji Qingwu felt her heart leap into her throat.

In her previous life, she had been abandoned at an orphanage due to a rare disease; she had never met her parents, let alone siblings.

But in this life, not only did she have her closest blood relatives, but the home she had wanted most was also very close—just a few streets away.

The women of the Ji family had been waiting at the door for a long time.

It was hot, and they had been waiting for nearly an hour.

In the crowd, there was a tall woman with striking features, her phoenix eyes filled with impatience.

"Why must everyone wait at the door? When the carriage arrives, the servants can just come and report it."

At that moment, a servant ran quickly toward the group.

Panting, he shouted, "They’re back! The eldest young master’s carriage has entered the city!"