“So, only the first possibility remains. Both your father and mother must have been hunted down and, at the moment of their imminent peril, they had their people smuggle you out and give you the keepsakes.”
“If you say it like that, I almost believe it,” Qi Qingyao said calmly as she cradled her forehead.
“When you put it that way, it looks like I’ve guessed part of it right. So, that’s why your approach was… like that.” Still rubbing her forehead, she was a bit speechless, but her tone remained calm and composed. She also agreed with the explanation. “You are impressed by my intelligence, but find it a little hard to believe.”
Lu Yan’s expression became clearer and clearer. “It seems that the keepsakes are more special than I thought.”
“Oh?” Qi Qingyao looked at him composedly despite the pressing subject being raised.
“This approach is interesting.” She was waiting for his conclusion, her interest piqued. “What say you? If you’re keeping me hanging like this, does that mean the keepsake is indeed extremely special?”
There was faint mirth in Qi Qingyao’s dark eyes.
“Come, let’s start with your appearance.” Lu Yan looked at her with interest, and his gaze grew more intense. “We discussed the beauty and ugliness of appearances before. Generally, a powerful person in a high position attaches great importance to appearance when taking a wife. It’s human nature to go for the cute ones for picking pet dogs and cats. The daughter of a beautiful man and an ugly woman might still be beautiful since it’s possible they’d take after the father. But if your keepsakes are a twill tape or a jade tablet… The father of a person who possesses a special twill tape or jade tablet is probably from Northern Liang or Eastern Ling, maybe even Southern Ming. After all, no ordinary person would possess a jade tablet, less likely still that they would send their child away from the family. In that case, your mother should also be very beautiful since a man in a high position would not possibly marry an ordinary-looking woman!”
Qi Qingyao could not even react in the face of this huge truth.
She was, however, even more curious. “Why are Eastern Ling and Southern Ming included?”
Lu Yan touched his chin and said, “Qingzhou City’s terrain is special. While located in Northern Liang, it is actually situated at the junction between the three nations. If your father was from Northern Liang, sending you to the village below Qingzhou City would draw too much attention. This suggests that your father’s true identity would have to be some prominent figure in Qingzhou City.” After a pause, he said heavily, “So, that’s impossible!”
Qi Qingyao said nothing. She only took in his words, thinking about something else related.
Lu Yan murmured lightly and slowly, “Also, if your father was a high-ranking individual from Eastern Ling or Southern Ming, it would be quite the act of deception for him to send his child from either Eastern Ling or Southern Ming to Qingzhou City. You would be born as someone from Northern Liang. No one would come here to investigate your existence.”
Qi Qingyao felt some admiration. “Your high intelligence astonishes me. To the point that I feel like calling you my father.”
“But you still haven’t shown me the keepsakes!!!” Lu Yan gritted his teeth, extremely dissatisfied. However, he admitted helplessly, “But based on your attitude, it makes me feel that what I guessed is possibly correct.”
“There’s one thing you got wrong,” Qi Qingyao pointed out bluntly.
“What is it?” Lu Yan asked.
Qi Qingyao’s gaze was glossy and her tone was calm as she said, “If my father is an important figure of Eastern Ling, then based on age, Mo Yang’s father would definitely know mine. Would Mo Yang’s father not be aware that his wife looks similar to another deceased, powerful figure? So, this point can’t stand.”
Lu Yan agreed with her logic. “Your father and Shan Yingying don’t look alike. Could a genetic mutation possibly be the reason behind your and Mo Yang’s appearance?”
“It’s possible.” Zhang Yishan and Xia Yu also looked alike! So, Qi Qingyao acknowledged this reasoning.
