Tang Dynasty Puppet Doctor

Chapter 140 The Mystery of Murong Huan's Background
When the woman saw A-Shu, a hint of surprise and disbelief flickered in her eyes. Then, she turned her gaze to Murong Huan and murmured, "Sister... Sister, are you still alive?" But after a moment of confusion, her eyes cleared instantly. "No, it's not my sister, she's dead. Then you are... you are that child!"

Murong Huan and Xiao Muchen also walked up to the woman out of curiosity and asked, "Who are you? Why do you look so much like A-Shu?"

A-Shu looked at the woman with anticipation. She had been with the Second Master and Second Madam since she was a child, and it seemed that she had been A-Huan's maid since she could remember. However, the Second Master and Second Madam never treated her as a maid, but only said that she was A-Huan's sister.

The Second Master and his wife treated her very well. She once regarded them as her father and mother. However, she had no household registration and was an orphan. That's why the Second Master registered her name under his name as a maid.

Under A-Shu's earnest gaze, the woman choked up and finally replied, "I am A-Shu's biological mother, I am also your mother's sister, and I am... Su Minghe's wife!"

If the first two sentences brought Murong Huan surprise and astonishment, then the last sentence was a thunderbolt of shock and disbelief.

"Are you really my mother?" A-Shu seemed momentarily stunned. "But why did you say you were Erlang's wife? If you are Erlang's wife, then what about the Second Madam and A-Huan..."

Liu Sheng was still trying to untie the woman's chains, but after trying for a long time, he seemed unable to break them. Murong Huan then made him stand aside and used his short sword to cut the chains on the woman's body.

With a "clink," the chains fell to the ground, and the woman was finally freed from the cross. However, seemingly due to years of imprisonment and hunger, she had no strength left and quickly collapsed to the ground.

Murong Huan immediately ordered someone to bring some food and tea, which he placed in front of the woman.

"You should eat a proper meal first, and then we'll talk."

Liu Sheng looked at Murong Huan, thanked him with great gratitude, and began to feed the woman, tears streaming down his face as he did so.

Confined in such a place, they have suffered countless hardships over the years. Their mother, who used to be strict with them about even the postures of eating, sitting, and standing, now completely disregards table manners and wolfs down her food.

After she finished eating, she wiped her lips slightly, a little embarrassed, and looked at Xiao Muchen and Murong Huan.

"Who are you?" Her curious gaze fell on Xiao Muchen.

“He is Xiao Muchen, the Imperial Censor, a member of the Lanling Xiao clan, and now he is Ahuan’s husband. He treats Ahuan very well,” Ashu replied, making no attempt to hide her joy.

"You're already married?" the woman exclaimed in surprise, then added, "That's right, it's been twenty years. You... you're both twenty years old now, A-Huan? A-Shu?"

The woman murmured to herself, tears streaming down her face. She reached out and touched A-Shu's face, whispering, "I'm sorry... The people I've wronged the most in my life are your father and you!"

"Are you really my mother?" A-Shu still felt like she was dreaming and couldn't believe it.

The woman nodded and then looked at Murong Huan: "Your mother, Murong Yan'er, is my elder sister, the Murong clan. You should have heard of them. They are descendants of the Murong clan of the Former Yan during the Jin Dynasty."

“I know that. Even the current Tuyuhun royal court is descended from the Murong clan. Could you be Tuyuhun people?” Xiao Muchen asked in surprise.

Tuyuhun and Tang Dynasty still maintain friendly relations. Qinghai Prince Murong Zhong is the current leader of Tuyuhun. His wife is Li Xiuying, the Princess of Jincheng, a member of the Tang Dynasty's imperial family. His son, Murong Xuanche, is married to the Cui clan of Boling, the most prominent clan in the Central Plains.

If she really was a Tuyuhun person, then Ahuan's mother...

As Xiao Muchen was pondering, he heard the woman say, "No, we are not Tuyuhun people. My grandfather was Murong Sanzhuang, a great general of the previous dynasty. After the fall of the previous dynasty, our Murong family also declined. My elder sister and I depended on each other since childhood. Later, my elder sister was fortunate enough to become Li Chunfeng's disciple, while I, because I have loved mechanical arts since childhood, learned mechanical arts from a descendant of the Mo family. My elder sister has a strong learning ability. As Li Chunfeng's favorite student, she not only has excellent medical skills, but is also proficient in astronomy and calendrical calculations, and has the ability to predict the fate of the country and future generations."

My elder sister has been very strong-willed since she was a child. Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng predicted that after three generations of the Tang Dynasty, a woman would rule the world. She also predicted that the Wu Zhou Dynasty would be short-lived. She wanted to give birth to an offspring who could change the fate of the Wu Zhou Dynasty, so she entered the Eastern Palace as a female physician and became the personal physician of the then Crown Prince Li Hong.

Li Hong was frail and originally had no children, but my elder sister did her best to cure him. During their time together, they gradually developed feelings for each other… Later, she became pregnant with Li Hong's child, and even calculated the most auspicious time for her child's birth based on celestial phenomena and destiny, awaiting the child's arrival.”

When the woman said this, Xiao Muchen's expression changed completely. Although he had learned about A Huan's background from Guo Hongba, he had no concrete evidence and found it hard to believe. Especially since Wu Chengsi kept making a fuss about A Huan's background, he did not want to believe that A Huan was Li Hong's daughter.

Murong Huan was so stunned that he couldn't utter a single word.

A-Shu, equally incredulous, continued, "Is the child you're talking about A-Huan? You mean... A-Huan isn't the Second Prince's daughter, but rather the late Crown Prince Li Hong's? Then she wouldn't be..."

"Did your older sister calculate A-Huan's birth time?" Xiao Muchen interrupted and asked.

The woman nodded: "Yes!"

Xiao Muchen felt a pang of unease. Every child's birth is something parents look forward to, but this was the first time he had ever heard of someone deliberately choosing a child and timing the birth just to get the child she wanted. Such meticulous planning made Ahuan's birth seem so contrived.

Seemingly afraid that Murong Huan would be disappointed or saddened, Xiao Muchen held her hand tightly, signaling her not to overthink it.

Murong Huan remained silent for only a moment before asking, "If what you say is true, and your elder sister has the ability to predict the future, then why didn't she foresee Li Hong's death? And her own?"

The woman glanced at her with some surprise, seemingly not expecting her to ask such a question so calmly, as if it were a question completely unrelated to herself.

She smiled and replied, "Because even if one can predict the future, one cannot change fate. If she changed the present fate, it would inevitably affect the future. She just doesn't want to change your fate."

"So how exactly did Li Hong die?"

"He was poisoned by imperial decree and died!"

Murong Huan's expression changed again, and he clenched his fists inwardly.

"Then, since my mother married Li Hong, why did she later marry my father, Su Minghe?"

The woman's expression darkened, and she lowered her head. After pondering for a while, she replied, "It's because of me. I made him marry her. My elder sister took Minghe as her disciple, and Minghe also respected her very much. When she learned that the Crown Prince had been poisoned and died shortly after she became pregnant, the Pei family was also implicated. She needed a place to stay, so I made Minghe marry my elder sister."

"But your actions have harmed Su Minghe and the Su family!"

Murong Huan suddenly raised his voice and roared angrily.

The woman seemed shocked by her anger as well, and she suddenly lowered her voice and said:

“My elder sister wants to protect you; you are her only hope. Minghe respects her and is willing to help her; they are doing it willingly.”

"And what about you? If you are A-Shu's mother, why have you ignored her for the past twenty years?"

A-Shu immediately turned her back, trying to control herself from crying. "Because I dare not. I have no official status in the Su family. Originally, Minghe and I were married in secret, but later, in order to protect my sister, I asked him to give her a formal status."

I once traveled with them, but there were just too many people chasing us. Besides the King of Wei's men, there was also an assassin organization. I lured away the assassins for my sister, and later, in order to find out the details of this assassin organization, I concealed my identity and joined it, becoming one of its members.

"Because I was very good at mechanical arts, I quickly gained the approval of that legendary leader there, so whenever he sent people to hunt down my sister, I was able to get the news."

I eliminated those assassins before they could go looking for my sister.

“But my mother was ultimately assassinated by those people,” Murong Huan continued.

The woman then covered her face and began to cry: "I know, I didn't expect the people sent by the King of Wei to be so persistent. Even without the help of the legendary, they still bribed some famous assassins in the martial arts world. My sister..."

"By the time I learned the news, it was too late. By then, the legendary leader had also found out about my secret elimination of those assassins. So, I rescued some children who had been bought into the legendary organization for training as assassins and escaped from that organization. After that, I lived in anonymity in a village with traps set up."

“From now on, I will never go to you again. I cannot let the leader of the legends know my identity or that I have a child. Otherwise, the legends will send all their assassins to kill you…”

"Speaking of which, what kind of assassin organization is Legend? Who is their leader?" Murong Huan asked.

The woman replied, “Everyone in the legend is exceptionally talented and possesses at least one skill. They have fought their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, so there is not a single useless one. As for their leader, the master of the legend, he is even more unfathomable. I have never seen his true face, and even when we are in the same room, I dare not look him in the eye.”

"So, you don't know who he is?"

Xiao Muchen continued to ask.

The woman nodded: "Yes, but I know where the legendary assassins are trained."

"Where?" Xiao Muchen and Murong Huan asked in unison.

"The Western Regions and the Four Garrisons of Anxi!"

"The Four Garrisons of Anxi? They're actually there?"

Murong Huan was silent for a moment, then asked, "By the way, what's your name?"

"Murong Xian'er".

……

When Murong Huan and Xiao Muchen brought Murong Xian'er out of the secret room, Wei Xun, who had just woken up from his dream, was dumbfounded.

But Murong Huan didn't give him much time to be surprised. Instead, he found the children he had kidnapped in his memories and handed them over to the Fangling County government for disposal.

The two then decided to set off for Luoyang.

However, Murong Huan was not in a good mood that night. Murong Xian'er's words kept echoing in her mind like a snowball, making it impossible for her to distinguish between truth and falsehood.

Xiao Muchen comforted her, saying, "Ah Huan, what she said may not be entirely true, so you don't have to take it all to heart."

“I know, don’t worry that I’ll be sad. I just feel that if what she said is true, then for the past twenty years, I have been using A-Shu’s identity. She is the real legitimate daughter of the Su family. This is very unfair to A-Shu.”

As soon as Murong Huan finished speaking, A-Shu rushed in from outside the door, crying, "A-Huan, please don't think like that. It's not that you took over my identity, but that you've borne all the suffering that originally belonged to me for the past twenty years."

I am heartless and never care about anything. Even after you returned to the Su family, they still bullied and humiliated you, calling you an unlucky person. All the grievances you suffered in the Su family should have been borne by me.

Ah Huan, I've always hoped that you and I were true sisters, but I never imagined that this wish would actually come true. It turns out we really are sisters by blood.

After saying this, A-Shu threw herself into Murong Huan's arms, hugged her tightly, and burst into tears.

Murong Huan could only comfort him, saying, "Alright, stop crying. You have a mother now; you should be happy."

Yes! I have a mother now, but Ah Huan not only lost her mother, she also lost her original identity. And her true identity cannot be known to any outsiders except them, right?

I can't let Ah Huan be any more upset or heartbroken.

"Okay, I won't cry, Ah Huan. Let's be like before, okay?"

“That won’t do. After we return to Luoyang, I will take you back to the Su family to acknowledge your ancestors.”

"No, no, that's not important. The Su family doesn't know my mother's identity, and they won't acknowledge her. Ah Huan, I don't care. I only know that every day I spent with Ah Huan was extremely happy. As long as Ah Huan is happy, Ah Shu is happy too."

After saying that, A-Shu gripped Murong Huan's hand tightly and pleaded, "So, A-Huan, don't fight for this so-called identity for me anymore. I really don't care. You put in so much effort to gain the Su family's recognition. They begged you to acknowledge your ancestors, but I don't want to beg anymore."

I just want to live happily every day, like this!

If the news that she is Su Minghe's daughter spreads among the Su family, then A Huan's true identity will inevitably be revealed, and who knows what kind of storm will be stirred up in Luoyang City. That would undoubtedly be handing a knife to the two Wu family princes who have repeatedly questioned A Huan's identity.

She absolutely cannot do something that would hurt Ah Huan.

Seeing A-Shu's radiant smile, Murong Huan had no choice but to comply with her request, saying, "Alright, let's not talk about it for now! Once I have enough power to protect you, I'll get this identity back for you!"

"it is good!"

Regardless of whether Murong Xian'er's words were true or false, Murong Huan temporarily accepted that what she said was true. At least A-Shu was no longer an orphan and could enjoy the maternal love she had never received before.

The next day, when they set off to return to Luoyang, Murong Xian'er also asked to go with them, and they also brought Liu Sheng along.

Li Xian only took Lady Wei and his children with him, traveling light and quietly from Fangling County to Luoyang.

Even so, they never expected that swords and spears would still be waiting for them along the way...