"I've heard that Hong Wen's nature is always suspicious of people. If we stay here, he will try to hinder us from going out of Crescent Lake and continue investigating us. However, Uncle Qiu is different because he will get the decree from the Han Emperor to come back to the capital as soon as possible, so he can go as he wishes. Well... more like, he should go as soon as possible. It will be better if we go first." Lin Jian wanted them to go out safely as soon as possible, otherwise, they would be implicated when Hong Wen was fighting with the esteemed guest.

They already spent too much time at Crescent Lake and they couldn't waste any more time!

"But..." Yao Ling knew that it was for the best, however, she didn't want to leave her father all alone. What if she couldn't meet him again? What if she lost him? What if something happened to him? She would become crazy!

Yao Ling knew that she should think negatively, but she had no choice because she was afraid! Rong Qiu was her only family ah~! Her father! She couldn't lose him just like how she lost her grandmother...

Rong Qiu smiled and patted Yao Ling's head, "Don't worry! I will be fine. We will meet again in a few days, right?" He tried to rea.s.sure her and let her leave first because Yao Ling's safety was the most important thing in his mind. Hong Wen wasn't an easy character to deal with and if he could, he didn't want to involve these youngsters.

Rong Qiu called Ah Zhao over and asked him when would Hong Wen arrive --- the exact time. Ah Zhao answered, "Master, tomorrow night will be the earliest..."

"Good... after planting the evidence, all of you will have nothing to do here anymore. Zhuo Li should tell me where his friends place the jade pendant. After that, you should go first," Rong Qiu said.

"But Father... what kind of excuse that you will give them?" Yao Ling asked worriedly. The guards had been trying to search the parameter, if they went out at this time, wouldn't they feel suspicious? This could implicate Rong Qiu too!

"Your father isn't so easy to bully!" Rong Jiu laughed, wondering why Yao Ling suddenly became such a worrywart.

Yao Ling pouted childishly, "Father!"

Rong Qiu smiled. "Okay... okay... I will be serious now." Rong Qiu looked at the others and explained, "I will tell them that there will be something important for you to report to the Han Emperor..." Rong Qiu laughed. "Don't you still have the blood letter with you?" He directed the question to Xiao Fang.

Xiao Fang nodded her head. "Yes, G.o.dfather..."

"Just used that as an excuse. You actually want to go directly to the Capital, but Yao Ling is sick due to her pregnancy. Now, Yao Ling is feeling better so you should go as soon as possible," Rong Qiu said.

"However, don't let the blood letter fall to the Han Emperor's hands!" Rong Qiu warned.

Everyone naturally understood what Rong Qiu meant --- they were afraid that the Han Emperor would get rid of the evidence. They wouldn't let that happen!

"Father..." Yao Ling was still reluctant which made Rong Qiu and Yao Ying feel helpless. They would never think that Yao Ling would become this clingy.

Rong Qiu also couldn't bear to be apart from her, but he still had some responsibilities that needed to be fulfilled. He patted Yao Ling's head once more, "Be good! Father will be okay."

Yao Ling knew that she could only follow the plan, otherwise, it would jeopardize everything. She knew that they did this to protect her. Yao Ling nodded her head but her eyes started to get teary.

Rong Qiu decided to tease her just to make her forget about her sadness. "Haish... pregnant woman really has mood swings," Rong Qiu said with a smile.

Yao Ling pouted and said, "I'm not really pregnant."

It made everyone laugh at the embarra.s.sed Yao Ling --- at least, the previously heavy mood was thawed and it became lighter.

Their plan went smoothly. Rong Qiu asked where they put the jade pendant and Zhuo Li explained that they put it inside a drawer in the esteemed guest's study room. He explained everything in details so they wouldn't make a mistake.

Rong Qiu quickly told Ah Zhao to spread the news slowly and it had to reach Hong Wen's ears when he arrived the next day. Ah Zhao nodded before going out once more and set the plan in motion. They could only wait when the plan was in motion.

Everyone was pretty idle, thus, they decided to have a chat with each other.

Rong Qiu hesitantly asked Yao Ling, "Can you tell me more about Jiu Lan?" He wanted to know what kind of woman who would be able to raise Yao Ling into such a good woman when the former had so many setbacks in her life.

Xiao Fang quickly perked her ears up. She also wanted to ask Yao Ling about this because she had only heard a bit about her birth mother. She was too afraid to ask in details because in her heart... Xiao Fang felt that she was being abandoned, even if there were several reasons behind it.

Yao Ling reminisced about her past. Even if she had a new family and life, she had never forgotten about her mother, Jiu Lan. She answered, "She was a beautiful and kind woman. When someone bullied me, she would be the one who protected me. When we didn't have that many foods left, she would give everything to me and in the end, she ate nothing and could only sleep in hunger. I only knew about this when I was a bit bigger and felt so guilty that I cried at night because of it."

Talking about Jiu Lan made Yao Ling missed her. That was the reason why she had never talked about her before. If she didn't talk about her, it didn't mean that she had forgotten about her or become an ungrateful brat. She could become this big was also because of her love, guidance, and kindness... How could she forget about it?

Despite being a stepmother, Jiu Lan had never mistreated her at all.

Then, she continued, "I heard her say that she had only a little money left when she arrived at the village where we lived... thus, she could only buy a small house outside of the city. Because taking care of me, she had no way to leave me and find a job --- that was the hardest part of our life."

That was the reason why at four years old, Yao Ling was able to take care of the household ch.o.r.es and started to cook at five. That was the time when her mother could work full time and their life was getting better. However, once in a while, they still had a hard time and had to eat tree-root for survival.

If they weren't in a dire state, Yao Ling knew that her mother wouldn't reveal that she had medical knowledge and embroidery once in a while. Yao Ling noticed this and persisted to ask her mother to teach her those pieces of knowledge.

Rong Qiu felt sad when he heard that Yao Ling had such a hard life, however, Yao Ling reminisced everything with a sweet smile and he could see how much she loved Jiu Lan. He envied their relations.h.i.+p ah~! He would redeem himself in the future... he would pour his love to Yao Ling and dedicate his life to search for Su Wan, so they could become a complete family once more.