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

Chapter 503

Murong Fu pondered for a moment and said, "I am not clear about the specifics. I only know that Abi was only seven years old when she came to the Murong family. Her father sent her to the Murong family to avoid trouble. I later privately investigated Abi's birth parents, but to no avail. Given the Murong family's intelligence network, this should not be the case. Today, after meeting the Chu princess, I had a bold guess in my mind, and judging from the current situation, I am about 80 or 90 percent right. I need Lady Huang to enlighten me on the remaining one or two percent."

Huang Yunjin pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Ten years ago, when the late Emperor passed away, the palace was in chaos. The palace servants were overwhelmed, and the guards were negligent in their duties. At that time, the late Emperor's youngest daughter, the Sixth Princess, was only four years old and was being raised by Consort Li. On the night of the late Emperor's death, the palace servants were busy keeping vigil for him, and the Empress Dowager presided over the funeral rites. No one expected that on the third day of the funeral, after the wet nurse had helped the Sixth Princess to bed, the palace servants discovered she was missing the next day. They searched the entire palace but couldn't find her." The whereabouts of the Sixth Princess were unknown. At the time, the late emperor's funeral and the current emperor's enthronement ceremony captivated everyone's attention. By the time the emperor ascended the throne and the late emperor removed his mourning clothes, two months had passed. Despite the imperial family dispatching a large number of people and having the Kaifeng Prefecture issue a widespread reward of one thousand taels of gold, searching for a full year, the Sixth Princess was like a drop of water lost in the ocean, nowhere to be found. As a result, the then-prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture was dismissed from his post, and the twenty-eight palace servants responsible for caring for the princess were all flogged to death.

Murong Fu said, "So, this was done by a master of lightness skill with extremely high martial arts prowess?"

Huang Yunjin said, "The Imperial City Guard once severely interrogated the palace servants responsible for taking care of the little princess, ruling out the possibility of collusion from within. At that time, the Imperial City Guard's expert detectives also carefully examined the scene and left no clues. Therefore, there is only one possibility: the thief who kidnapped the little princess must have extremely high skill in lightness techniques to be able to commit the crime so stealthily in the Imperial Palace."

Murong Fu pondered for a moment: A master of lightness skill? Yun Zhonghe?

The thought was quickly dismissed by Murong Fu. Yun Zhonghe's lightness skill was only good enough to impress second- or third-rate martial arts masters; it was utterly impossible for him to steal a princess unnoticed in the Song Dynasty palace, a place teeming with hidden experts. As for Ye Erniang, it was even less likely. She had neither the ability nor the guts. After stealing children for so many years, she was nothing more than a bully who preyed on the weak and played with ordinary people's children.

Among the experts he knew, there were at most five people with this level of skill. Tong Lao wouldn't be so bored, Li Qiushui had no motive, and Xiao Yuanshan wasn't that idle. Although Murong Bo was sometimes inexplicable, to be frank, as the weakest of the Four Great Masters of Tianlong, this was truly a difficult task for him. That left only Li Qiulin, Li Qiushui's sister, who genuinely possessed the ability, and it seemed like something she would do.

Seeing Murong Fu's expression, Huang Yunjin asked, "Young Master, has something come to mind?"

Murong Fu said, "I do know a few of these experts. Once this matter is settled, I will definitely ask them a few questions and investigate the reasons behind this."

Huang Yunjin was taken aback, not expecting Murong Fu to answer like that. She gave Murong Fu a deep look, then hesitated to speak.

Murong Fu said, "If there's anything you'd like to ask, please feel free to ask."

Huang Yunjin sighed and said, "Actually, in my opinion, with your lightness skill, you are the most likely culprit from back then, although this idea is a bit absurd."

Murong Fu rolled his eyes slightly: You know this idea is absurd. How old was Murong Fu ten years ago? How much skill could he have? Sneaking into the palace to steal a little princess? How could you even say that?

Inside Abi's boudoir.

Princess Chu and Abi sat quietly, gazing at each other silently for a long time. One's eyes were as calm as a spring lake, while the other's delicate hands trembled slightly.

“This lady has a very kind face,” Abi said softly, a smile in her eyes. The Chu princess’s voice trembled slightly: “You, what is your name?”

Abi smiled gently: "Young Master has called me Abi. It's been like this since I was little, for over ten years now, ever since I can remember. Abi doesn't even remember what her other name is. Sister Azhu always tells me to call her sister, so can I call you sister from now on too?"

The Chu princess's eyes welled up with tears: "Good, good, of course it's good, dear sister, you've suffered so much these past years."

Abi asked in confusion, "Why do you say that? The Murong family treats Abi very well, and the young master also treats Abi very well." As she said this, she seemed to remember something, her pretty face blushed, and her voice gradually lowered to a whisper.

The Chu princess excitedly grabbed Abi's hand: "Good sister, do you really not recognize your older sister? Don't you remember anything about what happened before?"

The sudden attack made Abi instinctively pull her hand back. However, after feeling the warmth from the other person's palm, she did not feel resistant. Instead, she felt a strange sense of familiarity. Abi smiled and shook her head: "This is the first time I've met this lady. I don't know why, but I have a strange sense of familiarity with her."

The Chu princess murmured, "Yes, you were only four years old that year. You've suffered so much all these years, you probably don't remember. Do you still remember your mother and father?"

Abi shook her head: "Father said that Mother died when I was born. In order to protect me, Father sent me to the Murong family to be cared for by Old Madam Murong. After that, there was no news of me for many years. Young Master once looked for Father, but he could not find him."

Princess Chu could no longer contain her emotions and embraced Abi, weeping uncontrollably: "My poor little sister, I am your elder sister! I am your own sister! Your father passed away when you were four years old, and you disappeared unexpectedly. We have been searching for you for fourteen long years!"

Abi looked bewildered, but the moment the older sister who looked so much like her hugged her, Abi felt an unprecedented warmth rise in her heart. Perhaps that was what is called family affection.

That night, Abi and the Chu princess chatted until dawn. When the first ray of sunlight crossed the horizon, the two reluctantly parted ways. Huang Yunjin and the Chu princess were then led back to the palace by Murong Fu without anyone noticing, so as to avoid any rumors.

After seeing the two off, Murong Fu went to a teahouse, asked for a private room, and soon a purple figure darted into the room.

"Azi greets Master. May everything go well for you. Please do not hesitate to ask if there is anything you need me to do."

(End of this chapter)