Reborn as Murong Fu: This Time I'm the Protagonist

Chapter 502 Recognition of relatives
The Imperial Street was very long, a full ten miles, and most of the stalls sold only ordinary food and trinkets. Of the three, only the Chu princess, having lived in the deep palace since childhood, had never seen anything like it before, and thus strolled around with great interest.

Murong Fu and Huang Yunjin followed behind the Chu princess at a distance, temporarily acting as her guards.

Huang Yunjin transmitted her voice secretly: "Young Master Murong, there is something I am not sure if I should say."

Murong Fu wanted to say "It's not appropriate to say," but he swallowed the thought and instead used telepathy to say, "What is it, Lady Huang? Please speak freely."

Huang Yunjin said, "Then I will speak frankly. Young Master is a person of high status. The princesses of our Great Song Dynasty are not like the noble ladies of the former Tang Dynasty. Princess Chu is the daughter of the late emperor, and her status is noble. If any rumors or gossip that cause misunderstandings spread, it will certainly damage the princess's reputation. If that is the case, how will the princess face herself in the future?"

Murong Fu remained silent for a while, then bowed and said, "I was very presumptuous in what happened today. Huang Shanggong's reprimand is absolutely right." Although Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism was far from becoming a prominent school of thought at this time, it was not yet at the level of later generations where people would invite girls out to go clubbing in the middle of the night. Murong Fu's act of secretly asking a young lady to run out of her house in the middle of the night was still a bit too avant-garde and bold.

Huang Yunjin was slightly taken aback when she heard Murong Fu's attitude. She had thought that he would at least try to argue back, but it seemed that he was a person who knew when to advance and when to retreat.
Huang Yunjin thought for a moment and continued, "If you, young master, are truly interested in Her Highness the Princess, you can certainly request the Empress Dowager and the Emperor to grant you a marriage. You have rendered great service to the royal family, so I believe the Empress Dowager will not refuse your request. Moreover, in my opinion, Her Highness the Princess is also interested in you. You should not betray this sincere heart."

Murong Fu smiled, and was about to say something in his defense, but then he thought that since the other party already thought so, any further explanation would only make things worse. So he decided to just go along with what the other party was saying. Thus, Murong Fu said, "Alright, thank you for the reminder, Lady Huang."

Huang Yunjin was surprised by the speed of Murong Fu's change of attitude. Suddenly, she thought of something and her face turned cold: "If you, young master, do something like starting something and then abandoning it, even if you are a master of martial arts, you will not be able to get away unscathed."

"Absolutely not, Lady Huang, you're overthinking it!" Although he didn't understand this woman's thought process, Murong Fu didn't want to explain further, as it would only make things worse, so he simply acquiesced.

"I'm tired, I don't want to walk anymore, let's hurry up and get there!"

Although she had practiced martial arts and was much stronger than the average woman, the Chu princess suddenly spoke up. Although enjoying shopping was a natural instinct ingrained in women, the Chu princess felt somewhat uncomfortable with Huang Yunjin by her side.

"Alright, it's getting late. If we stay any longer, we'll keep people waiting too long."

Murong Fu didn't think too much about it and left with the two women. Before long, they arrived at a secluded mansion.

The house is not large, only about 20 acres. It is the Murong family's villa in Bianliang. Usually, only servants come to take care of it regularly, and no one lives there. It was only recently, when Murong Fu brought two women to Bianliang, that servants were arranged to move in.

Upon seeing the patriarch return, the gatekeeper hurriedly notified someone to open the gate, but Murong stopped him, not wanting to alarm others, as too many people would inevitably cause unnecessary trouble.

A tiny golden bean was placed in front of the gatekeeper: "Don't tell anyone else that you haven't seen me tonight, understand?"

Murong Fu then led the two through a side door.

The entire mansion was asleep, except for one room where a light was still on. That was Abi's room. Murong Fu went straight into the room, and the moment he saw the scene inside, he was stunned.

Inside the room, Abi sat quietly by candlelight, doing needlework. On the other side of the table sat another "Abi," identical in appearance, expression, and clothing. After a moment of stunned silence, Murong Fu realized what was happening and said helplessly, "Azhu, you're being naughty again."

With a flick of his sleeve, Murong Fu sent a gentle breeze through, and a pile of rosin, flour, and other substances fell onto the face of the other "Abi".

"Abi" blushed and stomped her foot in grievance: "Oh, young master, you're so mean! I spent so long putting on my makeup and you ruined it all."

But it was A'Zhu in disguise.

Abi stopped her needlework and smiled gently: "Sister Azhu is being mischievous. She wants to see if the young master can't recognize her, and she won't let me speak."

"Well, little sister Abi, you've just betrayed your older sister so readily!"

Azhu refused.

"Huh? These two ladies, uh, Abi!?"

Azhu exclaimed in surprise.

For a moment, the scene was somewhat quiet.

Huang Yunjin's pretty face paled. She looked at the Chu princess, then at Abi, and then at Murong Fu, as if she understood something.

The Chu princess stared wide-eyed at herself, who looked several years younger than her, and suddenly realized: this person wasn't talking nonsense; she had been imagining things. Wait, why does this girl look so much like her?
Abi was stunned. In the dead of night, her husband brought back two women from outside, one of whom looked almost exactly like her. Abi was a little confused about the situation. But for some reason, looking at the face in front of her that was so similar to her own, Abi felt an inexplicable sense of closeness, as if she had seen a long-lost relative.

"You two talk first. I'll go out with Lady Huang for a bit. A'Zhu, please keep them company for me."

Murong Fu felt that it was not particularly appropriate for an outsider like himself to stand there as an oil lamp at such a family reunion.

Murong Fu waved for Huang Shanggong to come out with him. Huang Yunjin was slightly taken aback, but then complied with Murong Fu's suggestion.

yard.

Huang Yunjin spoke first: "Back when the late Emperor was alive, there were two Li sisters in the harem who were greatly favored by him and were known as the Elder and Younger Consorts Li. Each of them bore the late Emperor a daughter. A few years later, for unknown reasons, both Consorts Li passed away one after the other. Not long after, the daughter born to the Younger Consort Li disappeared in the palace and her whereabouts remain unknown. The daughter born to the Elder Consort Li is the current Princess of Chu. The Empress Dowager felt sorry for her granddaughter who had lost her mother, so she brought Princess Chu back to Cifu Palace and raised her herself. Young Master Murong, I would like to ask, could you please tell me the background of this maid of yours?"

Murong Fu suddenly realized and believed it to some extent: so that was the reason.